The LTTE recruited 5,000+ children as fighters. No one knows the exact number. This was genocide of children – a genocide UNHRC writes reports on but did nothing to stop.
LTTE stole childhoods, turned innocence into weapons. LTTE supporters overseas did not mind Tamil children being kidnapped. LTTE supporters overseas sent their children to schools & universities but poor & low caste Tamil children were kidnapped & trained in camps. The children who tried to flee & return home were shot or cruelly tortured.
The Sri Lanka Army rescued them — disarmed, rehabilitated, returned to families.
Would Geneva have saved them? Or abandoned them?
Who should Sri Lankans trust — our Army, or outsiders?
WE TRUST OUR ARMED FORCES … their bravery and acts of kindness have never got the appreciation they deserve
Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was arrested and remanded on Friday (22), has been granted bail, Ada Derana reporter said.
The order was issued by Colombo Fort Magistrate Nilupuli Lankapura.
Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe was ordered released on three surety bails of Rs. 5 million each.
The hearing of the case filed against former President Ranil Wickremesinghe commenced at the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court, at around 1:40 p.m. on Tuesday.
The former President, who is at the Intensive Care Unit of the Colombo National Hospital at present, joined the court hearing virtually via Zoom.
During the hearing, a detailed medical report of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s medical was presented to the court by his attorneys.
According to the submissions made by President’s Counsel Anuja Premaratna, three of the four coronary arteries of the former President have been blocked.
He also submitted that the former President is suffering from multiple health complications and therefore requested the Magistrate to consider it as a special case and released former President Wickremesinghe on bail.
Earlier today, Prisons Media Spokesperson Jagath Weerasinghe said the former President is unlikely to be produced before court today, due to medical recommendations stating that he must continue to remain under observation in the ICU.
He further stated that if the Magistrate issues an order for Wickremesinghe to be presented via Zoom for legal proceedings, necessary arrangements can be made accordingly.
Accordingly, the case against the former President was taken up without his presence at the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court.
Following his arrest on Friday (22), court ordered that former President Wickremesinghe be remanded until today. However, considering his health condition, he was first admitted to the Prison Hospital, and later transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of the Colombo National Hospital based on medical advice.
Former President Wickremesinghe, who was arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department at around 1:10 p.m. on Friday for allegedly misusing state funds, was produced before Colombo Fort Magistrate Nilupuli Lankapura at around 3:00 p.m. the same day.
The case, filed under the under provisions of the Penal Code and the Public Property Act, was adjourned after initial submissions, and subsequently the commencement of court proceedings delayed due to a blackout at the Fort Magistrate Court premises.
After the resumption, considering the submissions made by the Attorney General’s Department and the defence attorneys, Colombo Fort Magistrate Nilupuli Lankapura ordered that the former President be remanded until August 26, a first in the history of Sri Lanka.
Wickremesinghe was taken into custody for allegedly misusing government funds” after being questioned about a September 2023 visit to London to attend a ceremony for his wife at a British university while he was head of state.
Ranil Wickremesinghe had stopped in London in 2023 on his way back from Havana, where he attended a G77 summit.
He and his wife, Maithree, attended a University of Wolverhampton ceremony.
Wickremesinghe had maintained that his wife met her own travel expenses and that no state funds were used.
However, the Criminal Investigation Department of the police alleged that Wickremesinghe used government money for his travel on a private visit and that the state also paid his bodyguards.
Wickremesinghe became president in July 2022 for the remainder of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s term, after the latter stepped down following months of protests over alleged corruption and mismanagement. He lost his re-election bid in September 2024.
This was the first time a former president had been arrested in Sri Lanka’s history.
Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s legal counsels say that the National Audit Office has conducted an audit on the President’s expenditure head and there’s no mention of a misuse of state funds, adding that there’s no case, and the accusation against him is false.
A request by the Bribery Commission to seize the property of former Minister Rajitha Senaratne, who has an outstanding warrant for his arrest, was rejected by the Colombo Chief Magistrate.
The warrant was issued for Senaratne in a case where he is accused of causing a loss of over Rs. 20 million to the government.
The alleged offence is linked to a sand mining project at the Kirinda Fisheries Harbour, which was awarded to a Korean company.
The Bribery Commission had sought an order to seize a property in Colombo, registered under Senaratne’s name and valued at over Rs. 30 million.
The Chief Magistrate advised the Commission to make the request on the next hearing date, which is the 29th, should the suspect fail to appear in court.
The arrest of Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe which was carried out yesterday by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) after arriving to record a statement over allegations of misusing state funds despite being unprecedented in the history of Sri Lanka seems to have many circumspect areas which appear not only to be questionable but appears also to points towards an act of revenge and unethical on the part of the NPP Government where many grey areas appear to have surfaced towards its legitimacy albeit its sudden enactment and a degree of ruthlessness on the part of those who initiated the arrest namely the present Administration especially considering the prima facie evidence presented towards its justification where a far deeper and in depth investigation would have been more appropriate given his status as a former Head of State.
This has been attested to by many who have opposed the arrest including international sources and those within the country who have voiced their vehement opposition where perhaps more consideration should have been given as the fallout from such an action could easiily compromise as well as jeopardize the future of the presidency as we know it and does not favour the well being of the country towards future stability as many intellectual minds have observed and perhaps even a slur on a Nation which has struggled through many crises where Mr Wickremasinghe has stood firm towards their resolution in patriotic dedication as some have put it and hardly fair by him that such a sudden enactment of stringent authority has been imposed towards his incarceration when greater consideration should have been given to the role he paid in restoring Sri Lanka to a degree of normalcy where the conclusion that he misappropriated State Funds seems more speculatively erroneous as one delves into their realities relative to those who handled his official expenses.
The arguments towards its validity appear to have not been proven beyond reasonable doubt and a benefit of the doubt perhaps something the former President was entitled to given his denial and the facts presented by his legal representation which probably deserved greater attention and scrutiny rather than being shrugged off ignominiously as the case appears to have been.
The probe concerns his September 2023 visit to London to attend a University of Wolverhampton graduation ceremony for his wife, Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe, during which investigators claim government money was used for travel and security expenses.
Former President Wickremesinghe has denied the charges, insisting that his wife bore her own costs and no public funds were misused.
There is evidence also that the University conferring the honor on Mrs Wickremasinghe had officially invited them and the expenses which Mr Wickremasinghe is said to have misappropriated could well have been attributable to part of an official visit outside the country in his capacity as President. The CID had earlier presented evidence to the Fort Magistrate’s Court and recorded statements from his former private secretary Sandra Perera and former presidential secretary Saman Ekanayake.
He was taken into custody last morning after stating his case in defence attested to by his legal representation and is expected to be produced before the Fort Magistrate’s Court later on.Subsequently he has been remanded without bail until the 23rd of August it has ben learned.
Wickremesinghe, who assumed the presidency in July 2022 after Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation and lost re-election in September 2024, is now the first former President in Sri Lanka’s history to be arrested.
There are shades of anti Wickremasinghe sentiment and pursuit by his political opponents relative to the infamous Batalanda massacres
which took place during his tenure where despite an in depth investigation he was found to have no liabilities regardless of his political status and no charges were proven against him.
All things considerd including his present weakened health and the response of the majority of those loyal to him who have expressed their justifiable concerns in the matter of his arrest perhaps a reversal of the conditions he is being subjected to from a government perspective which appears unfair and unjustified may be in order provided a through investigation towards his accusations is re-initiated towards the maintenance of Democracy within the Nation.
It also seems unfair that he has been denied bail which further attests to the determination of the Government to incarcerate him unconditionally and needs consideration which now seems to be on compassionate grounds for a former Head of State whose health conditions could easily deteriorate and worsen.
The LTTE banned Sinhalese & Muslims from Jaffna in 1990.
Entire families left with only the clothes on their back.
What happened to their land What happened to their homes What happened to their belongings & possessions? What did LTTE do with these? Similarly, the LTTE took lands & homes of Tamils too — these Tamils are begging the Armed Forces not to leave North These Tamils trust Sri Lanka’s Armed Forces more than LTTE – only those living in North know this truth. You wont hear it from those living in Oslo, Toronto, London, Paris or Colombo
If Geneva dictates our Army to leave North, who will shield us, Tamils who know the truth are asking?
Senior journalist Dharman Wickramaratne’s latest book Premakeerthi Ghathanaye Sulamula”, written about the JVP’s second insurrection, will be launched on Wednesday, 27th August at 3 p.m. at the National Library and Documentation Services Board Auditorium, Colombo 7.
This book is based on the assassination of veteran radio broadcaster Premakeerthi de Alwis on 31st July, 1989, 36 years ago, and the series of true events connected to it, compiled through in-depth research. This 256-page book contains 168 photographs.
During this said period, around 60,000 people were killed, including 17 artists with Premakeerthi amongst them. This latest release is the fourth book of Dharman Wickramaratne’s series on the JVP’s second insurrection, and it is also his 55th publication.
The book launch ceremony will be chaired by Attorney-at-Law Jaliya Samarasinghe, while key-note speakers will be veteran poet and lyricist Buddhadasa Galappatty, veteran music critic Dhammika Bandara, and Prof. Rohana Lakshman Piyadasa. The launch is open to the public, and further details can be obtained by calling 071-2733986.
Colombo, August 25 (Daily Mirror) – Police protection provided to social activist and YouTuber Sudatta Thilakasiri has reportedly been withdrawn.
Thilakasiri was previously granted protection after filing a complaint with the police, claiming threats to his life.
However, the protection was withdrawn following intelligence reports which concluded that there is no credible threat to his safety. (Gayan Sooriyaarachchi)
Colombo, August 25 (Daily Mirror) – A government cannot claim the law is equal to all” when it chases the opposition with urgency, yet moves like a tortoise when its own ministers face serious corruption allegations, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Politburo member Geethanath Cassilingham said.
“Where is the inquiry into former Speaker Ranwala’s fake educational credentials? What happened to the investigation into the release of the 323 containers? What about the growing list of corruption cases involving those in power- including Cabinet Minister Kumara Jayakody? The Hon. courts have even reprimanded the police for delaying the case against Minister Samarasinghe. Where is equality before the law for him?” Cassilingam asked in a post on X.
“Selective justice is not justice, it is a political weapon,” he added.
A number of opposition political parties and civil society organisations are planning to hold a protest in Colombo tomorrow. The demonstration is timed to coincide with a court hearing for former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is facing charges related to the alleged misuse of state funds.
Organisations including the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Youth Front, Ceylon Workers Congress, and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) are involved. They plan to gather near the Colombo Magistrate’s Court.
According to Charith Abeysinghe, an organiser for the SJB, the protest is about more than just one person. He stated: “This is not just about one individual. It’s about standing up against political suppression.”
Hemantha Srilal, from the SLPP Youth Front, expressed similar views, arguing that the rally is to protect democratic principles. He warned that the legal action against Mr Wickremesinghe could be part of a wider trend. He said: “Ranil has been arrested today, and other former Presidents could be next. We cannot allow a former leader—who led the country through a civil war—to be politically harassed. If this continues, even President Anura Dissanayake could be restricted from accessing his party headquarters in Pelawatte.”
Dr Don Wanigasuriya, a representative of Sarwajana Balaya, emphasised the importance of unity in the face of what he described as political suppression. He added: “We are standing in unity to protect democratic freedoms.”
Sri Lankan journalist S Venkat Narayan said former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s arrest has nothing to do with corruption. He called the situation very silly” and suggested there may be other reasons behind it
