Category Archives: press freedom

June 10, 2022 · 2:37 pm

Sumana Saparamadu: An Appreciative Vale from 2016

Lalitha Karalliadde Witanachchi, in the Sunday Observer, 8 May 2016, with this title “Epitome of Generosity, Kindness and Loyalty” **

The death occurred on April 15 [2016] of well-known journalist Sumana Saparamadu at the age of 92. She was born in Havelock Road, Wellawatte in the home of her parents Mr and Mrs. D.C. Saparamadu. Her father was a well-known apothecary who worked for several years in Kadugannawa, where Sumana spent her childhood “in the beautiful hill country with mist-laden hills and the train winding its way upcountry”, as she was wont to tell me when recalling her happy childhood.

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April 20, 2022 · 2:58 pm

Taking to Street: Protests typically Lankan in Style

Mey Lankaava Neydha!!!  …… !!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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April 6, 2022 · 11:52 pm

Newsline: Paikisothy Saravanamuttu in Discussion with Faraz Shauketaly

Faraz Shauketaly of NewslineSL: with Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu on leadership crisis in SL (05 April 2022) #eng Subscribe us: http://bit.ly/NewsfirstSubscribe Watch more videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/NewsFirs… Like us on Facebook: https://fb.com/NewsfirstSL Follow us via Twitter: https://twitter.com/NewsfirstSL

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March 24, 2022 · 10:26 am

The Plight of Indian “Fishermen” in Sri Lankan Waters

Fateh Veer Singh Guram, in The Diplomat, 19 March 2022, witht his title “India, Sri Lanka, and the Fishers Caught in the Middle”

April 2, 2011, is a day etched in the memories of millions of Indians. Under a clear sky, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, more than 30,000 people screamed Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s name as he hit the winning six, lifting India’s second Cricket World Cup in the process. As the country erupted in celebration, nearly 1,600 kilometers away, Cinna Thambi’s world came crashing down. “A bunch of fishers came to me that day, and told me that the Sri Lankan Navy had arrested my younger brother, Victus,” Thambi, who is the Coordinator of the National Traditional Fishermen Federation, told The Diplomat. “Eight days later, on April 10, 2011, his body washed up on the Sri Lankan shores. Following a post-mortem, a doctor confessed to me that my brother had been tortured and murdered.” 

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February 25, 2022 · 11:59 pm

Remembering Mervyn De Silva and His Reach

Bradman Weerakoon, writng in the year 2000  …

When Mervyn de Silva passed away, many tributes were paid to his contribution to critical writing, to journalism, to literature and the arts, to his scholarly weekly radio commentaries on world affairs, his lone editorship of the Lanka Guardian and the stimulation he provided to popular discussion by his constant and thoughtful, intellectual engagement with whatever was current in the public debate.

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January 24, 2022 · 12:18 pm

Anarchy via Modern Media: Belgium Erupts ….

HOT NEWS ITEM …………“Clashes erupt in Brussels as tens of thousands protest Covid rules” …………. rance24.com/en/europe/20220123-clashes-erupt-in-brussels-as-tens-of-thousands-protest-covid-rules

NEWS WIRES

Police fired water cannon and tear gas Sunday at stone-throwing protesters after tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through Brussels against Covid-19 rules.

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January 18, 2022 · 11:48 pm

The Pandora’s Box That is the Djokovic Case

Josh Roose, in The Age, 16 January 2022, where the chosen title runs thus: “Right and left unite over Djokovic – and why they are both wrong”

It is easy to dislike Novak Djokovic. At the height of a pandemic that has claimed millions of lives globally, he has consistently refused to reveal his vaccination status, despite freely travelling the world for tennis tournaments, and has been pictured acting irresponsibly on numerous occasions.For many, he has become the embodiment of the adage that one rule applies for the wealthy and powerful and another for the rest of us.

 

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November 27, 2021 · 6:42 pm

In Appreciation of “Our Sam” … The Samarasinghe Family Collective

It is with profound sorrow that we share with you the passing of Prof. Stanley (Sam) Samarasinghe on Monday, Nov 22, 2021. Our husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, teacher, colleague and friend fought his illness with relentless courage and undiminished fortitude for several years. His enthusiasm to live his life to the full did not abate. Except family and close friends, no one else had even the slightest inkling that he was battling an invasive enemy within.

 

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October 15, 2021 · 5:48 pm

Malaysia Challenges Australia’s AUKUS Smokescreen

Yiswaree Palnasamy in Malay Mail, 12 October 2021,   where the title reads thus “Hishammuddin: Aukus can potentially disrupt South-east Asian peace; Malaysia won’t stand by”

Malaysia has made it clear to Australia that it won’t stand for any external threat to the peace and stability in South-east Asia, Parliament was told today.Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the federal government’s position has been very clear and consistent regarding the three-way security pact Australia has with the United States and the United Kingdom in the Indoe-Pacific region, better known as Aukus. “The latest stance of the Malaysian government on Aukus remains consistent with the stance affirmed by the prime minister, that the formation of Aukus raises concerns as it has the potential to disrupt peace and stability in Southeast Asia. 

KUALA LUMPUR, 5 Okt — Menteri Kanan Pertahanan yang juga Ahli Parlimen Sembrong Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein ketika Mesyuarat Khas Penggal Ketiga Parlimen Ke-14 di Parlimen hari ini.?–fotoBERNAMA (2021) HAK CIPTA TERPELIHARA

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October 8, 2021 · 7:44 pm

Thiru Nadesan & Nirupama Rajapaksa’s Shady Dealings?

 Scilla Alecci, in Pandora Papers, where the title is longggggggggggggg …… https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/sri-lanka-rajapaksa-family-offshore-wealth-power/

In early 2018, workers in a London warehouse carefully loaded an oil painting of Lakshmi, the Hindu deity of wealth, onto a van bound for Switzerland. The painting, by 19th-century Indian master Raja Ravi Varma, depicts the four-armed goddess clad in a red sari with gold ornaments and standing atop a lotus flower. It was one of 31 works of art, altogether worth nearly $1 million, that were being shipped to the Geneva Freeport in Switzerland. That vast, ultra-secure warehouse complex, larger than 20 soccer fields, stores among its many treasures what the BBC once called “the greatest art collection no one can see.”

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