Senior ISIS leader killed in U.S. raid in Syria

The U.S. says its special operations forces carried out a raid inside Syria, killing senior Islamic State leader Abu Sayyaf, who helped direct the group's oil, gas and financial operations. (Reuters)

By Karen DeYoung and Missy Ryan-May 16

U.S. Special Operations forces staged an overnight ground raid in Syria early Saturday, killing what the Obama administration said was a senior Islamic State official and capturing his wife.

Delta Force troops, flying from Iraq aboard Black Hawk helicopters and V-22 Ospreys, encountered almost immediate fire from militant forces when they touched down in al-Amr, near eastern Syrian oil fields that the Islamic State has tapped to generate income with black-market fuel sales.

In what a U.S. Defense official described as “close-quarters combat” against militants using women and children as human shields, about a dozen militants were killed. They included the target of what was originally designed as a capture operation, identified by the White House and the Pentagon as Abu Sayyaf, a Tunisian.

His wife, identified only as Umm Sayyaf, was said to have been captured and brought back to Iraq in one of the bullet-riddled U.S. aircraft that landed at dawn back in Iraq. Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said that no U.S. forces were killed or injured during the operation. No civilians were reported injured.

U.S. forces recovered laptops, cellphones, files and a number of archaeological artifacts and historic items, including an Assyrian Bible and antique coins, the Defense official said.

The soldiers also rescued a young woman, an Iraqi from the minority Yazidi sect, who was being held by the couple as a slave, according to statements issued by the White House and the Defense Department. 

Countless Yazidis have been executed or enslaved by the Islamic State as it has moved through their homeland in northern Iraq. Officials said they hoped to reunite her with her family.

The raid was only the second time U.S. Special Operations forces are known to have operated on the ground in Syria, and the first “direct action” mission by American forces there. Special operators conducted an unsuccessful mission last summer to rescue American hostages being held by the militants, who later executed them.

[A look inside a failed hostage rescue]

President Obama has said that U.S. forces, who have been conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria and neighboring Iraq, will not enter either of those countries in a ground combat role. Although several thousand U.S. troops are in Iraq training and assisting Iraqi forces, the administration has said there are none in Syria.

The raid in Syria came as Islamic State forces in Iraq tightened their grip on the city of Ramadi, in a significant setback to Iraq’s U.S.-backed government. Residents and police reached inside the city, the capital of Iraq’s largest province, said the militants were executing dozens of civilians and blowing up homes.

In Washington, the Defense official described Abu Sayyaf as “fairly high up” in the Islamic State hierarchy, but not among the four most senior militants tracked by the United States. In addition to directing oil and gas operations in Syria, Abu Sayyaf was also “involved with the group’s military operation” and likely in contact with Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the White House said.

Many of the U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria have targeted oil and gas refinery and storage sites, and the administration has said it has significantly reduced Islamic State revenues from that source. Al-Amr is located southeast of Deir al-Zour, the largest city in eastern Syria.

The U.S. expectation was that Abu Sayyaf’s removal will lead to further disruption in the Islamic State’s “revenue-generating network and command and control of ISIL operations,” according to a senior administration official. ISIL is another term for the Islamic State.

Beyond statements issued by the White House and Defense Department early Saturday, senior officials spoke on the condition of anonymity about still-secret details of the raid.

Officials said that the building targeted in the operation had been under surveillance for several weeks before the raid. The White House statement said that President Obama authorized the operation “with full consent of Iraqi authorities” and upon “the unanimous recommendation of his national security team.”

Senior lawmakers, including the leaders of intelligence committees in the House and Senate, were briefed on the mission Friday, and were to be given details of the operation in further briefings this week.

The attempt to capture Abu Sayyaf was made not only because of the positions he held, but also to obtain information about the Islamic State and possible hostages who are still being held by the militants, officials said.

Although there are no public reports of Americans being held in Syria, the senior administration official said: “We are aware of reports that other U.S. citizens have gone missing in Syria. But due to privacy concerns, we have no further comment.”

Other officials said that the intelligence community and the FBI continue to gather information and evidence in connection with previous hostages.

The last known U.S. ground raid inside Syria took place in July, when Special Operations forces landed outside the north-central city of Raqqa, which serves as Islamic State headquarters in that country, to rescue journalistsJames Foley and Steven Sotloff. When they arrived, they found the hostages had been moved. Foley, Sotloff and several European hostages were subsequently beheaded by the militants, and an American woman held with them, Kayla Mueller, was also later killed.

The White House statement on the most recent raid said that U.S. forces were working “to determine an ultimate disposition” for Umm Sayyaf, who it said was currently being held in “U.S. military detention in Iraq.”

The Defense official said she was being debriefed and described her as a “player” in the Islamic State and an active participant in her husband’s activities. The senior administration official said that Umm Sayyaf was being debriefed “to obtain intelligence about ISIL operations” and “to determine any information she may have regarding hostages — including American citizens who were held by ISIL.”

The arguments against the Human Rights Act are coming. They will be false

Keir Starmer
As Michael Gove prepares his attempt to repeal this fundamental act, here’s some myth-busting about what it is, and how it works

 Judges congregated in Westminster Abbey. ‘The Human Rights Act only obliges our courts to ‘take into account’ judgments of the European court; they are not bound by them.’ Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Wednesday 13 May 2015

In the aftermath of the second world war, nations came together to say “never again”. They established the United Nations and agreed a simple set of universal standards of decency for mankind to cling to: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These standards were intended to protect the individual from the state, to uphold the rights of minorities and to provide support for the vulnerable.

The idea was simple; these standards would first be enshrined in regional treaties such as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and then be given legal effect in every country. In the UK this was achieved when Labour enacted the Human Rights Act (HRA) in 1998.

The incoming Tory government now intends to strip our people of these universal rights by repealing the HRA. Michael Gove has been appointed as the new justice secretary to lead the assault. In a week when we celebrate VE Day, the irony should not be lost. British politicians, many of them Tory, participated in the drafting of the ECHR in Whitehall because they believed that they were drafting an instrument to reflect the values that we in this country took for granted and which, they thought, vindicated our military triumph.

No doubt Gove will peddle the usual myth that the HRA is nothing more than a villains’ charter. But the evidence is against him on that. There has been no fundamental shift in defendants’ rights under the HRA, mainly because legislation passed by the Margaret Thatcher government in 1984 set out clear rights for suspects that have been successfully embedded in our law for many years.

By stark contrast, the HRA has heralded a new approach to the protection of the most vulnerable in our society, including child victims of trafficking, women subject to domestic and sexual violence, those with disabilities and victims of crime. After many years of struggling to be heard, these individuals now have not only a voice, but a right to be protected. The Tory plans to repeal the HRA, together with the restricted access to our courts already brought about by the restriction on judicial review introduced by Gove’s predecessor, Chris Grayling, will silence the vulnerable and leave great swaths of executive action unchecked and unaccountable.

Gove may try another tack, arguing that the Tories are not against human rights at all, but simply want to keep those pesky judges in the European court at bay. But this argument also unravels quickly. The rights in the ECHR are very simple. They include the right to life, liberty and security of person; the right to a fair trial; protection from torture and ill treatment; freedom of thought, conscience, religion, speech and assembly; the right to marry; the right to free elections; the right to fair access to the country’s education system; and, to top things off, the right not to be discriminated against. Which of these rights would you not want? One of the reasons the much-vaunted Tory “British bill of rights” has never seen the light of day is because any proposal that does not match these basic ECHR rights will be torn to shreds.

That only leaves Gove with the shallow argument that our courts are shackled because they are bound to follow the decisions of the European court of human rights. But that argument runs into two fundamental problems. First, the HRA only obliges our courts to “take into account” judgments of the European court; they are not bound by them. Second, it is not the HRA that obliges the UK to respond to the judgments of the European court. It is Article 46(1) of the ECHR itself.

Article 46 states that: “The High Contracting Parties undertake to abide by the final judgment of the Court in any case to which they are parties.” The UK signed up to that international obligation when it signed the ECHR in the 1950s. Repealing the HRA would have no effect whatsoever on the UK’s obligations under Article 46. The only way for the Tories to achieve what they want is for the UK to pull out of the ECHR and, as a consequence, out of the Council of Europe.

That would leave the UK outside the family of nations upholding universal human rights and would hugely diminish our reputation abroad. It would also widen the fracture in our own politics evidenced by last week’s elections. When the bill of rights commission set up by the coalition government in 2012 went to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to find out what they thought of the HRA, they returned to London with a very blunt message ringing in their ears: the plan to repeal the HRA and adopt a British bill of rights is a ridiculous metropolitan Tory idea that should be put back in the box.

A proposal that deprives people of their rights, divides nations abroad and divides nations at home is a grossly disproportionate reaction to one or two adverse rulings from Strasbourg. It also cuts across the basic fairness, dignity and equality that all nations committed to nearly 70 years ago.

First girl student who contested Aligarh varsity polls found dead

Former AMU student leader Asma Javed. (Manoj Algadi/HT Photo)

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, Aligarh-

Updated: May 14, 2015

A day after former Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) student leader Asma Javed was found dead in her apartment, the police had yet to arrest any suspects in connection with the case, triggering resentment among her family members and AMU students.

Javed's brother, Salman, told HT the family had lodged an FIR and informed police about a suspect, but no action was taken.

"Asma had earlier told senior police officials that she feared she was going to be murdered and had named some persons, including one Akram, against whom she had earlier also lodged a complaint. But police did not take her seriously and she was murdered," he said.

Javed, the first woman to contest the election of Aligarh Muslim University student union, was allegedly strangled to death five days ago.

Her decomposed body was found on Wednesday afternoon, after neighbours alerted police about a foul smell coming from her rented apartment in Aligarh.

Her brother had lodged a missing diary the same morning. Her family could not contact her and her flat was found locked from outside.

Police said a tablet and Rs 45,000 was missing from her apartment. Superintendent of police (crime) Shri Krishan said, "The motive behind her murder is being investigated and soon police will arrest the accused. A four-member team was formed to conduct the post-mortem."

According to reports, Javed had earlier registered an FIR in civil lines police station against one Akram, accusing him of rape on the pretext of marriage.  She had later withdrawn the rape charges.

However, a few days she met senior police officials again, and alleged that a compromise was reached under pressure and she was afraid.

Aligarh senior superintendent of police J Ravindar Gaur said, "All new and old relations inside and outside AMU will be included in the investigation. The civil lines police have changed the FIR from missing person to murder and the investigation has been handed over to the SOG and surveillance team has also been pressed into service."

Javed, 28, had contested the AMU students' poll for the president's post in 2011. A vocal campaigner for women's rights, she had completed her doctorate from the university couple of years ago, NDTV reported.

According to reports, she had been living alone since her husband reportedly left for South America.

China, India sign more than $22 billion in deals - Indian embassy

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang talk during the Taiji and Yoga event at the Temple of Heaven park in Beijing, China on May 15, 2015.

REUTERS/KENZABURO FUKUHARA/KYODO NEWS/POOL

Sat May 16, 2015

China and India signed 26 business deals worth more than $22 billion in areas including renewable energy, ports, financing and industrial parks, an Indian embassy official said on Saturday.

Namgya C. Khampa, of the Indian Embassy in Beijing, made the remarks at the end of a three-day visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during which he sought to boost economic ties and quell anxiety over a border dispute between the neighbours.

"The agreements have a bilateral commercial engagement in sectors like renewable energy, industrial parks, power, steel, logistics finance and media and entertainment," Khampa said.

At the same event, Modi encouraged Chinese companies to embrace opportunities in India in manufacturing, processing and infrastructure, announcing "now India is ready for business" with an improved regulatory environment.

"You are the ‘factory of the world’ whereas we are the ‘back office of the world'," Modi said.

"You give thrust on production of hardware, while India focuses on software and services."

These 26 deals are in addition to 24 agreements signed on Friday between the two countries.

China is interested in opportunities in India's $2 trillion economy.

During a visit to India last year by Chinese President Xi Jinping, China announced $20 billion in investments over five years, including setting up two industrial parks.

Since then, progress has been slow, in part because of the difficulties Modi has had in getting political approval for easier land acquisition laws.

(Reporting By Sue-Lin Wong; Writing By Megha Rajagopalan in BEIJING)

Hockey: A $2.6-billion (and counting) Canadian industry

MICHAEL BABAD- May. 14 2015

What hockey means to Canada

The hockey greats of old would be proud.

Hockey is now worth $2.6-billion in direct business in Canada, with related "economic activity" that tops $11-billion a year, according to a new study.

Tourism accounts for more than half of that first number, with National Hockey League teams and major events representing 31 per cent, says the report commissioned by Bank of Nova Scotia and Canadian Tire Corp., which was released today.

Hockey A $2.6-billion (and counting) Canadian industry by Thavam Ratna

Man Without Penis Slept With Over 100 Women

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

By Carrie Weisman-May 13, 2015

Andrew Wardle claims to have slept with over 100 women. It’s an impressive feat for any man, but especially so for Wardle, namely because he doesn’t have a penis.

The 40-year-old was born with penile agenesis, a condition that occurs in just one in every 30 million babies. Those born with the condition lack a penis but have normally functioning testicles. According to a case report published in the Iranian Journal of Pediatrics, “Penile agenesis (PA) is believed to result from either the absence of the genital tubercle or its failure to develop.”

Despite his condition, Wardle has managed to maintain a fulfilling love life. He told the Huffington Post UK, “Ladies love me because I was completely non-threatening to them.”

But not all the women in Wardle’s life have been able to stomach the affliction. When he was born, his 17-year-old mother was reportedly “horrified” by his condition, and decided to give him up for adoption shortly after his birth. Wardle was raised by a couple from Wales.

Wardle was also born with his bladder outside his body. As a child, he underwent a total of 15 operations to build a tube from his bladder that would allow him to urinate normally.

He told the Huffington Post UK, “I could urinate standing up with the tube, but if anyone ever looked, I would just joke that I had a small penis.”

“I hid it from everyone—apart from girls I took to bed.”

Fortunately for Wardle, he found a way to navigate around his condition in the bedroom. He explained to the publication, “I’d take girls to bed but tell them things could only go so far because I couldn’t rise to the occasion… Most of the time they didn’t seem too bothered—they liked the fact I could pleasure them in other ways and never expected anything in return.”

He added, “I’ve done everything you can imagine, apart from full sex. Ladies love me because I’ve got the gift of the gab and a handsome face.”

“Only once has telling a woman I don’t have a penis turned out badly. She got angry and punched me in the face.”

Wardle says he’s told around 20 percent of his lovers the “truth” about his condition.

The issues surrounding penile agenesis extend beyond functionality. One can only imagine the level of sexual insecurity plaguing those afflicted with the condition, not to mention the feelings of isolation and confusion. The authors of the case report Penile Agenesis recommend that newborns or infants afflicted by the condition undergo “feminizing operations.”

It's an alarming claim, and one that will remind many readers of the disastrous case of David Reimer, a man who underwent gender reassignment surgery as a toddler following a botched circumcision. At the age of 14, Remier decided to stop living as a girl. He eventually committed suicide at the age of 38. The LA Times wrote that the case proved the "the immutability of one's inborn sense of gender." 

The authors of a separate journal article insist that taking such measures could be harmful to the patient, and would likely leave them struggling with gender dysphoria. They write, “Patients affected by [penile agenesis] should be raised as males.”

Currently, Wardle is saddling up to go (very) public with his case. The TLC show The Man With No Penis will follow Wardle as he opens up about his rare medical condition. Viewers will also see him come clean to his long-term girlfriend Freda and entertain a surgery that could arm him with a fully functioning penis.

Throughout four operations, surgeons would use muscle, skin, nerves and blood vessels from Wardle’s right forearm to construct the penis. If the surgery is successful, Wardle should be able to achieve an erection by using a pump device to force blood to flow into the penis.

When asked why he chose to participate in the production, Wardle told theMirror, “I was sick of hiding.” The special will air this June on TLC UK.


TLC Promo - The Man With No Penis from Nicki Noermark on Vimeo.

Carrie Weisman is an AlterNet staff writer who focuses on sex, relationships and culture. Got tips, ideas or a first-person story? Email her. 

In these situations, DO NOT use baking soda!

January 20, 2015
You may be aware of a number of fabulous baking soda purposes that go beyond its use in cooking. This product among other benefits can help you maintain hygiene in the household and beauty care. However, in some situations, it should be avoided.

Here’s when baking soda is not an ideal solution

1. Do you often suffer from heartburn? Baking soda is in these situations extremely effective medicine, but it should not be exaggerated. If you often plague these problems, however, contact your doctor.

2. Although baking soda is excellent for cleaning the household, please do not use it on the containers of aluminum. There may be some unwanted effects and stains may appear on the dishes.

3. If you place an open bag of baking soda in the refrigerator or pouring it into a bowl, will not be as effective in neutralizing odors. For the best effect it is necessary to sprinkle baking soda on a tray and keep it on a shelf in the fridge.

However, it will take a large area in the fridge and it will be less room for other foods.

4. You probably know that you can use baking soda to extinguish burning oil. However, this is not a simple procedure. Even if you have a large amount of baking soda, there is no safe distance from which you can sprinkle the soda on a pan or pot on fire.

Therefore, forget about this role of baking soda and obtain efficient fire extinguisher that will always be at hand.

5. Baking soda has many useful applications in skin care. However, with respect to the alkaline substance, it is not recommended for the treatment of acne. The soda eliminates the natural acids in the skin, thus creating favorable conditions for the spread of acne.

6. They may look similar, but baking soda and baking powder don’t have the same effect. Both products generate carbon dioxide in certain circumstances, which provide an excellent texture on the baked goods. However, baking soda reacts with acids that are already in the food. On the other hand, the baking powder in it has acid.

Therefore, it is not good to change them with one another.

- See more at: http://www.healthyfoodteam.com/in-these-situations-do-not-use-baking-soda/#sthash.ApshMnzp.dpuf

Living With Violence: Rape & Murder In Jaffna

By Thanges Paramsothy –May 15, 2015

Thanges Paramsothy

On 14th May 2015, morning around 8.30 am, a domestic servant who came telling an incident of rape and murder of a student studying advanced levels in Pungudutivu Maha Vidiyalam. The landlord, eighty years old lady, was listening to the incident scolding the unknown person/s who committed the crime. I came out of my room and listen to her. She explained the incident as follow:

“An eighteen years old student, S. Vidhiya, went to school on 13th May 2015 from her home. She did not return home after the school. As she did not return home in the evening, Vidhiya’s brother went to the school in search of her. He got to know that she did not attend the school. Her brother with their relatives was searching her. They did not find her immediately. They eventually reported about her disappearance to the local police and kept searching her. The next day early morning, on the way to the school from her home, her bicycle was found. One of her shoes was found near her bicycle and other was in another place. Her dead body was found inside the bush in Vallan, ward-10 in Pungudutivu. Her each leg was separately tied up in two separate trees. Her hands were tied together keeping behind her head. She was raped and then murdered.” She finished telling the incident and started doing her usual work in her landlord’s home.

Photo: by Thanges Paramsothy, students protesting against the murder of the fellow student in Pungudutivu

The incident quite disturbed me. I wanted to obtain further information about this incident so that I decided to visit the place of the incident. When I went there, it was bit late. Police were present in the area. Nobody was allowed to see the body. However, people after getting to know about this have visited the place and seen the body before the police came. It seemed that the body was in a terrible condition according to the people’s expression. Even though people were not allowed to see the body after the present of the police, they were on the lane talking about this with anger, fear and suspicion. After a while, the body was taken away from the scene.Read More

Much Needs to Be Done to Ensure That The Overall Environment For the Media in Sri Lanka

Joint Statement/ International Media Assessment Mission to Sri Lanka.
14 May 2015.

The International Media Assessment Mission to Sri Lanka visited Sri Lanka from 8 to 14 May 2015 to assess the media freedom situation in the country,including Jaffna.

The International Mission was represented by ARTICLE 19, Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), International Media Support (IMS), Open Society Foundations (OSF) Program on Independent Journalism, South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN) and UNESCO, with support from Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI).

The International Mission welcomes the important positive changes in the environment for media freedom since the new government came into power on 8 January 2015. These include steps to end the climate of threats against and pressure on media outlets and journalists, the unblocking of websites, moves to provide legal protection for the right to information, an invitation to exiled journalists to return to Sri Lanka, and the allocation of relatively greater editorial freedom to the State media. The improvements were recognised and welcomed by a wide range of the stakeholders we met during the mission.

Mission with PM Ranil

At the same time, as was acknowledged by the government leaders that we met during the mission – the Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Minister of Buddha Sasana, Public Administration, Provincial Councils, Local Government and Democratic Governance, Karu Jayasuriya, and the Minister of Mass Media and Information, Gayantha Karunathilaka – much needs to be done to ensure that the overall environment for the media respects international standards regarding the right to freedom of expression and provides a strong basis for the growth of a robust, diverse and professional media in Sri Lanka.

The Mission heard about excessive politicisation of much of the media–both private and State–and about the lack of editorial freedom experienced by both editors and working journalists.

There is also a serious challenge in terms of professional standards in the media, with issues in terms of qualifications of journalists, the quality of academic training programmes and the availability of quality ongoing training opportunities for journalists. This is exacerbated by low wages and poor working conditions and benefits for many journalists, obstruction of the right to join trade unions, weak systems for promoting and supporting ethical standards, and ethnic divisions in the media, including instances of negative reporting and a culture of ‘communalism’.

The Mission also heard that while physical threats to journalists have diminished in the last four months it is important to address the high levels of impunity regarding the killing and disappearance of media workers, and physical threats remain a problem in the North and East of Sri Lanka where many journalists continue to feel at risk and insecure.

These factors threaten to undermine seriously the ability of the media to perform its role as watchdog of government and powerful societal actors, and to inform the public. The International Mission is making the recommendations below with a view to assisting the government and other stakeholders in Sri Lanka to address these and other concerns.

Implementation of these measures should only be undertaken after a broad consultative process which involves all interested stakeholders. We note that all of these proposals received support from the government leaders we met.

1. Comprehensive legislation on broadcasting should be adopted in line with international guarantees of freedom of expression. This should provide for, among other things, proper planning in relation to the frequencies allocated to broadcasting, including during the digital transition, an independent body to regulate broadcasting , a three – tier system of broadcasting which recognises public, commercial and community broadcasters, and obligations on broadcasters to be balanced and impartial in their coverage of politics and other matters of public concern.

2. The three State broadcasters – the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) and the Independent Television Network (ITN)–should be transformed into independent public service broadcasters which enjoy editorial independence, have a clear mandate to serve the public and benefit from public funding which does not compromise their independence.

3. Measures should be taken to ensure that the State print media group– Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL) – is also able to operate in
dependently of government and to enjoy editorial freedom. A broad public consultation should be held to determine the most appropriate way to do this.

4. A right to information law, giving individuals a right to access information held by public authorities and other bodies which are funded or controlled by public authorities, which is in line with international standards, should be adopted and then implemented properly.

5. An independent Commission of Inquiry should be created with a mandate and adequate power s to investigate past killings of, threats to, disappearances of and other attacks on journalists, media workers and media outlets, with a view to ensuring that those responsible are prosecuted and that appropriate compensation is paid to the victims and their families.

6. The Press Council Act should be repealed and the government-controlled Press Council  should be abolished. Steps should be taken to ensure that there is an independent and effective system to address complaints regarding the professional conduct of both the print and broadcast sectors.

7. Media owners should recognise and support journalists’ and media workers’ right to form unions to negotiate and advocate on behalf of their members.

8. A broad, multi-stakeholder consultation should be held to identify needs in the area of professionalization of journalists and media workers, and this should be followed up by a series of concrete actions to deliver on those needs.

9. Civil and criminal law restrictions on media content should be reviewed so as to bring them into line with international standards regarding freedom of expression. Among other things, the Prevention of Terrorism Act should be repealed and replaced with carefully tailored legislation which strikes an appropriate balance between respecting freedom of expression and the need to address terrorism, and the rules on contempt of court should be codified through the adoption of legislation on this matter.

Sri Lanka: The long road home for the exiled

Ruki Fernando-13 May, 2015

On April 30, 2015, three Sri Lankan journalists and human rights defenders (HRDs) Shantha, Jayampathi and Kumuduni returned home after several years in exile in Nepal and short periods in India and the Maldives[1].

All three had been recognized as refugees by UNHCR in Nepal, but had renounced their refugee status and opportunity for permanent resettlement in a western country. Instead they decided to return home after the former Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, was defeated at presidential elections on January 8 this year.

Sri Lanka the Long Road Home for the Exiled by Thavam Ratna

Sri Lanka: Post-Election Tamil Politics – Analysis

By Dr. S. I. Keethaponcalan-May 14, 2015

Some of the recent articles written from a Tamil perspective on the 19th Amendment blamed Colombo for not accommodating Tamil demands for devolution of power when enacting the Amendment. Arguments centered around the point that if the government was sincere in resolving the Tamil problem, it could have done so within the framework of the 19th Amendment because the government had more than enough majority in parliament to successfully adopt the new changes to the constitution. A striking feature of these analyses is that they failed to look internally at how the Tamil parties approached the issues of constitutional change that were made in April 2015.

Sri Lanka Post-Election Tamil Politics – Analysis by Thavam Ratna

Jagath Dias - Yahapalanaya continues with MR’s militarisation agenda

Friday, 15 May 2015

The appointment of Major General Jagath Dias as the second in Sri Lanka Army indicates that President Maithripala Sirisena is continuing with the militarisation agenda adopted by his predecessor, despite promising to dismantle it.

Militarisation of the Civil Service and the Foreign Service has been one of the main accusations by the then opposition against the Rajapaksa regime.

Yet the current government has appointed General Jagath Jasuriya, with whom Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka even refused to shake hands following his promotion, as the country’s ambassador to Brasil & General Daya Rathnayake as the ambassador to Pakistan.

Interestingly, General Rathnayake is not only accused of openly campaigning for Mahinda Rajapaksa during the presidential elections, but has also been a key figure in dismantling the police investigation into the coup attempt on the election day night.

Since being elected to the office on 08 January, many supporters were surprised, to say the least, about the President’s appointments to some of the crucial positions in the government and media.

Whether it is his incompetency or simply ignoring the advice by well-wishers is not clear but his latest decision to appoint war criminal Jagath Dias as the second man in command is certainly a serious matter of concern.

Jagath Dias’ name is thought to be among 40 war criminals named by the UNHRC report to be published in September.

He is accused of serious crimes against humanity while commanding the 57 Division during the last stages of the war.

While Jagath Dias was not permitted to attend training courses in Western countries, he faced strong protests when he was attending training in India.

With this controversial appointment, the president’s good image as a champion of peace and reconciliation has irreversibly been damaged in Sri Lanka as well as among his international allies.