Reuters,  Mon Feb 15 19:31:53 EST 2010

    BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union said on Monday it planned to withdraw preferential trade benefits to Sri Lanka because of concerns about the south Asian island's human rights record.

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- The Academic

The Academic wrote:

Reuters,  Mon Feb 15 19:31:53 EST 2010

    BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union said on Monday it planned to withdraw preferential trade benefits to Sri Lanka because of concerns about the south Asian island's human rights record.

Full Story

i am least surprised why we lost the GSP+ because of utter idiotic actions of the government and the police force under it. Today the editor of Lanka newspaper has been released by the Judge after 18 days in Jail because of lack of evidence. His newspaper was earlier sealed and then allowed for the same reasons. Seriously why do these things happen? why was he taken into custody and his human rights violated if there was no evidence in the first place? This shows the CID has been playing politics all this time and suddenly realized that they could not bluff to the judge anymore. And i am sure these things dont take place in isolation from the political masters, namely the president and defense secretary. Funny enough it is the President who claims to have asked the IGP to arranged this editor to be released. Does he think we and EU are profound genius too?

with CID playing such politics what faith do we have of the same department currently investigation SF and his Son in Law?


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VOTER COORAY
"A nation is a collective enterprise - outside of that it is a gambling hall for the opportunism and adventurism of power."-Wole Soyinka

votercooray wrote:

with CID playing such politics what faith do we have of the same department currently investigation SF and his Son in Law?

This is what I have been trying to say over and over. This is not about the Rajapakses or the Fonsekas. The gradual loss of Democratic ethos in our country should be an issue for everyone including SF and MR supporters. This is not a cricket match where we get another match some day. Since the day the Executive Presidency was introduced we have been amenable to forfeiting our rights in the interest of “Fighting terrorism”. No where in the democratic world have we had entire governments being run under emergency regulations for 4-5-6 years at a stretch. Today the separation of powers between the executive, judiciary and the legislature has been effectively neutralized by Rajapkase. The President does not obey Supreme Court rulings. The Legislature is a joke with “appointed MP’s” who have never faced the will of the people. Dr. Mervin who did not get sufficient preferential votes was appointed by CBK  through the National List defeating the entire purpose of creating a National List in the first place. A certifiable thug and murderer Karuna was appointed a MP and a Minister by the  President. The opposition has effectively being preempted with the creation of a mega cabinet that is designed to absorb any retard who is willing to cross over to the government. The powers of the Executive are willfully abused... The constitution is flagrantly violated. Electoral laws are abused with no repercussions.

Is this what Sri Lanka stand for?? Is this what the poor rural kids in the Sri Lankan security forces died for?? To restate the obvious the rural youth has made immense sacrifices for the war by serving in the forces. Did they fight for a Rajapakse kingdom??
Or did they fight for the unity and territorial integrity of a democratic country with an open society where people are judged on what they achieve and not what their ethnic or caste origins were.


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There are no minorities in Sri Lanka. --- Dr.Percy Mahinda Rajapakse Ph.D

votercooray wrote:

why was he taken into custody and his human rights violated if there was no evidence in the first place?

You mean "adequate evidence", right ?

It's the the job of the police to arrest and furnish the evidence they have and the job of the judge to decide whether the
burden of proof has been met or not. It's not the job of the police to decide "x amount of evidence is adequate or not".

As far as I am aware, this is perfectly normal procedure