When the Sri Lankan Government wanted to give away free laptops to journalists, many seemed happy. But Lasantha Ruhunage differed. As the president of the largest media trade union in the island – Sri Lanka Working Journalists' Association – he had overwhelming reasons to do so."What we need is not free laptops, but freedom to write and justice," he wrote to the Media Ministry. "Tell us who killed our colleagues. Bring the perpetrators to book. That can strengthen us – but free laptops cannot."

Last Wednesday was May Day – the International Workers’ Day which has been officially recognised and observed since 1890. It began as a commemoration of the death of four workers by Police shooting in Haymarket, Chicago during a General Strike. The Second International which met in Paris in 1889 to coincide with the centennial of the French Revolution called for demonstrations on 1st May of solidarity by the workers throughout the world. It was not long after.

Nine Sri Lankan students sent by University Grants Commission to the Faculty of Medicine of Peraduniya University yesterday (2nd) have been rejected.  The UGC had asked the University in writing to charge the students Rs.7.5 million at the rate of Rs.1.5 million (US$12,000) from each student annually.

With the arrival of the nine students at Peradeniya University students who have entered the University after passing the A/L examination have got disturbed and carried out a 'Sathyagraha' at University premises oppo

The Federation of University Teachers' Associations (FUTA) vehemently condemned the decision taken by the Ministry of Higher Education to provide free air travel and visa facilities to foreign students, who apply for scholarships to study in universities in Sri Lanka.

The Federation said the funds spent on providing 100 scholarships to foreign students, as well as free passage to Sri Lanka, should be used to develop the human and physical infrastructure of the State university system, instead.
FUTA Spokesperson,

Sri Lanka has been ranked 4th by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in its 2013 Impunity Index, which lists unsolved journalist murders.

Sri Lanka’s impunity rating among 12 countries, where at least five journalists have been murdered and governments have failed to win any convictions, was unchanged from 2012.

“... Four years after the end of the nation’s long civil war, President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration has shown no interest in pursuing the perpetrators in

During the past 25 years the plight of the media in Sri Lanka is to live with fear and harassment. During the last ten years the journalists who were with us celebrating the press freedom has left the country, forced to leave or live in exile fear of lives said the Executive Director of CaFFE.

He further added celebrating the World Press Freedom Day in a troubled democracy is nothing much similar to an arms giving for dead souls.

Lucky-PhotoFormer Deputy Mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council Azath Sally was arrested last morning from a hideout in Kolonnawa, for allegedly attempting to stoke the fires of ‘ethnic and religious strife and harm national unity.’

Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) Director General Lakshman Hulugalle said Azath Sally was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department following several complaints received by the CID regarding conduct which could damage ethnic harmony, and harm national unity

A leading human rights group, Amnesty International (AI) says Muslim politician and government critic Azad Salley must be immediately released or charged with an internationally recognizable criminal offence .

Sally, the leader of Sri Lanka’s newly formed Muslim Tamil National Alliance, was taken into custody yesterday by the police.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper won’t be attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka next November, The Huffington Post Canada has learned.

The decision may ostracize Harper as the only G8-level leader not attending the meeting with Britain, Australia and New Zealand all expected to send their prime ministers, but it is expected to be very popular with Tamils, a new community the Tories are going after.

The Conservative government has yet to decide whether it will send a minister,

Britain has not decided if it would attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) summit in Sri Lanka in November and at what level it will attend, the Guardian newspaper said.

A spokesperson for the British Foreign Office said that a decision had yet to be made on whether the UK would attend the summit, and if it did, who would attend.

“The decision to hold the meeting in Sri Lanka was taken by the Commonwealth as a whole in 2009 and reaffirmed in 2011. We respect the collective will of the Comm