FM strongly protests US State Department's Human Rights Report

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama today (14th March 2008) called in the US Ambassador in Sri Lanka Robert Blake to register Sri Lanka's serious concerns about the recently released U.S. State Department's 2007 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Sri Lanka.

The report presents a distorted view of the actual situation in Sri Lanka during the year 2007 and is unfortunately a litany of unsubstantiated allegations, innuendo and vituperative exaggerations.

It was noted that there was a suspicious similarity between the comments made in the report and the views expressed by those deliberately seeking to denigrate the Government of Sri Lanka. While Sri Lanka had concerns with respect to human rights in the late 2006 and early 2007, the government had taken a range of positive steps to address these concerns.

The Government was confident that the situation will continue to improve. Human rights is an important issue for the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL).

The Minister who said the Foreign Ministry was in the process of preparing a detailed response on the issues raised in the U.S. State Department Report, went on to share Sri Lanka's objections to the conclusions of the State Department report.

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Hearing set for alleged Tamil Tiger conspirator

A Malton man charged in connection with a North American network that police allege provides weapons and other materials to a terrorist group in Sri Lanka has had a date set for his extradition hearing.

According to Justice Canada officials, Ramanan Mylvaganam, 30, will appear June 10 before a Federal Court judge as American authorities attempt to have him brought to the U.S. to face charges. Mylvaganam is expected to fight extradition.
Mylvaganam was arrested by RCMP on Aug. 22, 2006 at his Derry Rd. E. apartment. He was picked up on a provisional warrant at the request of U.S. authorities. One month later, he was granted bail.

"This whole ordeal has been a total shock to my family, especially my mother; she can't stop crying," Mylvaganam's brother, Raghu, said in an earlier interview.
Mylvaganam and four other Ontario men have been charged with one count each of conspiring to provide material support and resources to the Tamil Tigers, a political/military organization that has been waging war with the government of Sri Lanka since the 1970s. The group is trying to secure a separate state for the Tamil regions of the country.

In April 2006, the Tigers were added to Canada's official list of terrorist organizations.
In total, 12 men have been charged in the joint FBI-RCMP investigation into the alleged criminal organization.
The sweep also included arrests in Buffalo, San Jose, Seattle and Connecticut.

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http://www.mississauganews.com/article/12108

Sri Lanka to stop sending women overseas as housemaids

Sri Lanka has decided not to send women as housemaids to Middle East countries with effect from next year.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa recently advised the relevant ministries to implement this proposal from next year and send trained females as prospective nurses and attendants where they can earn more with due respect.

Currently, some thousands of Sri Lankan women are working as housemaids in the Middle East countries and most of them were subjected to harassments and physical abuses.

Extracted from,
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_08/March13161748JV.html

Another Rupavahini Corporation staffer hunted

The latest target of the hunt down of Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation staff is Anurasiri Hettige, the Chairman of the trade union attached to JVP.

When Mr. Hettige was waiting at Kotokawaththa junction to go for duty around 7.30 AM today (14), a group of thugs attacked him with a sharp knife injuring his head. He was immediately admitted to Colombo General Hospital with severe bleeding from his head. Poddala Jayantha, the Secretary of the Working Journalists' Association who was in hospital said to 'Lanka-e-News' that the doctors were attending his injuries.

This is the fifth incident of the spate of violence the SLRC workers are facing since Minister Mervin Silva who trespassed the SLRC premises and assaulted the News Director was chased by the staff.

Media organizations joined with the main opposition launched a massive demonstration before the SLRC on March 11 against hunting SLRC staff. On that day, they declared that the SLRC would strike work continuously if another worker is attacked.

Extracted from,
http://www.lankaenews.com/English/news.php?id=5546

China issues human rights record of United States in 2007

China issued on Thursday the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2007 in response to the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2007 issued by the U.S. Department of State on Tuesday.

Released by the Information Office of China's State Council, the Chinese report listed a multitude of cases to show the human rights situation in the United States and its violation of human rights in other countries.

The report says the United States attacks more than 190 countries and regions including China on their human rights issues, but mentions nothing about its own human rights problems.

By publishing the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2007, the report says it aims to "help the people have a better understanding of the real situation in the United States and as a reminder for the United States to reflect upon its own issues".

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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/13/content_7778748.htm

UNESCO withdraws patronage to RSF

UNESCO has withdrawn its patronage of the Online Free Expression Day, organized by the non-governmental organization, Reporters Sans frontiers (RSF).

UNESCO reiterates its support for freedom of expression on the internet but felt compelled to withdraw patronage following the publication of information by RSF which did not follow the arrangements agreed upon between the two organizations concerning the event, said a press release issued by the UNESCO Secretariat in Paris on Wednesday(12)

The statement said that UNESCO could not endorse material published by RSF concerning a number of its Member States. Further, it objected to the use of UNESCO's logo along with the above material.

Political observers say that, interestingly, the RSF blacklist did not include a single Western country, and that its fire was concentrated on the so-called Third World.

RSF has several times published wrong information about Sri Lanka in a bid to tarnish its image.

Extracted from,
http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080314_03