[AHRC]

A former minister of the government and a well-known lawyer, Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha, is quoted in Lankadissent (December 22), in an interview given earlier to Lakbima as saying: “I relinquished my ministerial position because I was not allowed to exercise my powers. I was the only minister without a secretary. Then, how could the work be done? The appointment of ministers is a hoax”. He also said, “Not only for me, it is also the same for the 109 ministers who are still there. The President has the powers. In short, most ministers do not have any say in the appointment of chairmen and directors to institutions. The situation is like that at 99 per cent of ministries…

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[HRW]

[Reuters]

Sri Lanka’s separatist Tamil Tigers on Tuesday vowed to fight on even if they lose more territory inside the area they want to establish as a separate nation for Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority. In an e-mail interview from an undisclosed location in northern Sri Lanka, Balasingham Nadesan, political head of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said the group’s “freedom struggle does not centre on a town or a city.” The Tigers will also target Sri Lanka’s economy as part of their guerrilla strategy to counter a military offensive that has made the most progress of any in the 25-year-old war, and is now on the edge of the rebels’ self-proclaimed capital, Kilinochchi.

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[UN News Centre]

An independent United Nations human rights expert has called on Sri Lanka to significantly improve access for more humanitarian relief and personnel to reach hundreds of thousands of people displaced in the northern Vanni region by the ongoing conflict between the Government and Tamil separatists. In a letter to the Government, Walter Kälin, the Secretary-General’s Representative for the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), acknowledged Sri Lanka’s continuing efforts to enable humanitarian convoys to reach the estimated 200,000-300,000 IDPs in the region.

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[ TIME ]

In January the Sri Lankan government pulled out of its shaky 2002 cease-fire agreement with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in an official nod to the fact that the country is once again engaged in civil war. Deadlier this year than the fighting in Afghanistan, the combat has raged largely under the radar because the government has banned from the war zone foreign journalists as well as most aid groups, which is bad news for the 300,000 Sri Lankans who have been forced out of their homes.

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[BBC]

Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels have said they will continue to fight even if they lose their political headquarters town of Kilinochchi. There has been fierce fighting as the army tries to capture Kilinochchi. The head of the rebels’ political wing told the BBC he rejected the government’s offer of talks if the Tigers disarmed first. The Tigers say they killed 75 soldiers in the latest clashes. The army has put its losses at 12 dead and 12 missing. The rival claims cannot be independently verified because journalists are barred from the conflict area.

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[AHRC]

Is it an attribute of sovereignty that the state is allowed to be corrupt? Is it a challenge to sovereignty to question corruption and also to make corrupt leaders, civil servants and even powerful sectors of private business responsible before law and even to punish them? Can a state apparatus that does not have a truly effective mechanism to control corruption hold its leaders, civil servants and also the private sector responsible for any form of corruption? Can a state apparatus that deliberately prevents the emergence of an effective corruption control agency be sovereign? The use of sovereignty as a defence against every form of criticism is exposed worse for its hollowness when it comes to the issue of corruption.

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[BBC]

People in many countries believe in astrology, but horoscopes have a particularly enthusiastic following in Sri Lanka. Many consult astrologers when choosing marriage partners, on when to start new jobs, or even to find out the auspicious time to leave their house in the morning. And politicians are said to be heavily influenced by the stars too. At a wedding hall in Colombo, a bride and groom are sitting on a stage brightly decorated with paintings of Hindu gods. At their feet, several Hindu priests are breaking coconuts and lighting oil lamps, performing rituals to invoke blessings on the couple.

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[ United States Department of State]

The Department of State warns American citizens traveling to or living in Sri Lanka about the continuing danger of terrorist attacks throughout the country. The Department of State urges American citizens to evaluate carefully the risks of travel to Sri Lanka and specifically warns Americans against travel to the Northern Province and most of the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Non-official travel by U.S. Government personnel to the Eastern Province, other than the A6 road corridor and Trincomalee Town in Trincomalee District, and areas in Ampara District south of the A4 road and west of Maha Oya, is prohibited. Americans are also advised to avoid government buildings, military installations, and government vehicle convoys.

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[Reuters]

Sri Lankan navy boats destroyed a Tamil Tiger weapons-smuggling ship on Saturday and four other small rebel boats in an attack that killed at least 20 fighters, the navy spokesman said. The ship, approximately 40 metres long (130 feet), was spotted in international waters steaming toward the only sizeable port the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) still control on the Indian Ocean island nation, Mullaitivu on the northeastern coast. “Navy offshore patrol craft observed a medium-sized LTTE vessel about 70 miles (112 km) northeast of Mullaitivu and navy fast attack boats attacked it,” navy spokesman Mahesh Karunaratne said. “The vessel was destroyed. Four LTTE attack crafts that came in support were also destroyed.”

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