Minister National Languages and Social Integration, Vasudewa Nanayakkara, today assured United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Navi Pillay, that the Select Committee appointed by the government to look into the revision of the 13th Amendment, will not water down the steps taken by his Ministry to uphold the trilingual policy.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says she is not visiting Sri Lanka to criticise the country but to look into human rights concerns.

Responding to a question raised by the BBC’s Colombo correspondent Azzam Ameen during a brief media interaction at the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel this evening, Pillay said that she wants to see if the government is complying with the human rights standards set to the whole world and accepted by the Sri Lankan government.

UN high commissioner for Human rights Ms. Navi Pillai arrived at the Katunayake international airport yesterday (25) for a week's official visit.
And expressing his views on her visit to Sri Lanka, Dr. Dayan Jayathilaka says that this could be decisive for Sri Lanka.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) today accused the United Nations (UN) of being biased and working under an agenda influenced by the West.

JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that the recent actions of the UN have shown that they work towards making the US and other Western nations happy.

The army says a total of 58 soldiers involved in the Weliweriya incident had given evidence before the army Court of Inquiry which handed over its report to the army commander recently.

Army headquarters said that the Army-appointed Court of Inquiry which inquired into recent Rathupaswala-Weliweriya incidents has recorded evidence from 72 witnesses, including clergy, Army and Police personnel, wounded victims, eye witnesses, etc between Aug 2-21.

Mandana Ismail Abewickrema speaking to media after the horrific incident

Mandana Ismail Abeywickrama, Associate Editor of The Sunday Leader and President of Sri Lanka Journalists’ Trade Union (SLJTU), yesterday said that one of the five-member gang that broke into her house, in the wee hours of Saturday, had told her that they had been given a contract by a person who had an axe to grind with her.

The current visit to Sri Lanka by UN Human Rights Commissioner Ms. Navanetham Pillay known as Navi Pillay has aroused much interest and anticipation in the country. There is hectic activity by many Human rights activists and Non–Governmental Organization personnel to meet Ms. Pillay directly and air their grievances. It appears that meeting Navi Pillay in person is almost a status symbol for a certain category of persons. There are also attempts to derive political mileage out of such encounters.

Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association has issued a press release demanding that the suspects of the attack on the President of Sri Lanka Journalists’ Trade Union (SLJTU) and ‘Sunday Leader’ journalist Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema’s residence should be revealed.

The press release with the signature of its General Secretary Ranga Jayasuriya states:

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navaneetham Pillay is free to meet any person, delegation or members of any civil organization during her scheduled visit to Sri Lanka, MP for Monitoring External Affairs Ministry Sajin Vaas Gunawardena said during a CHOGM preparation briefing held at the Ministry External Affairs Ministry, yesterday.