Govt. to take website to British court

Sunday, 03 March 2013

A Britain-based website, banned in Sri Lanka, has come under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The move is said to be a prelude to the Government instituting legal proceedings in British courts against the website for what is being called “scurrilous and often false reporting on Sri Lankan issues.” The court action is to cite specific instances where VIPs have been reportedly maligned by the website.

Last week, investigations by CID detectives focused on how the website in question was funded. Some Colombo firms, which placed advertisements, have been questioned. One in particular in the motor trade has told detectives that he had made payment to Google which in turn was placing the ads in various websites including the one under probe.

This week, detectives recorded statements from officials in the Colombo office of Google to determine how funds for advertisements were being collected and placed in websites. The CID wants to determine whether such funds are being handled in accordance with the country’s tax laws and exchange control regulations.

CID sources said a comprehensive dossier on the website would be handed over to the Attorney General’s Department. Such a dossier, they said, would include the identities of Sri Lankans domiciled abroad and allegedly defaming VIPs in obscene language. Already, legal help from London has been sought. A leading firm is to appear on behalf of the Government and will argue on the grounds that even British laws were being violated to defame those in Sri Lanka.

Courtesy - The Sunday Times - 'Talk at the Cafe's Spectator'

Lanka fumes as war crimes film is aired at UN

AFP | Mar 3, 2013,

GENEVA: The Sri Lankan military committed numerous war crimes during the final months of the country's 26-year civil war, according to a documentary aired for the first time, amidvigorous protests from Colombo.

Using graphic video and pictures taken both by retreating Tamil Tiger rebels, civilians and victorious Sri Lankan troops, "No Fire Zone — The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka" presents a chilling picture of the final 138 days of the conflict that ended in May 2009.

Filmmaker Callum Macrae insisted before the screening on Friday at the UN headquarters in Geneva that the film should be seen as "evidence" of the "war crimes and crimes against humanity" committed by the troops. "The real truth is coming out," he said.

Sri Lanka's ambassador in Geneva, Ravinatha Aryasinha, strongly protested the screening of the film on the sidelines of the ongoing UN Human Rights Council.

He described it as "part of a cynical, concerted and orchestrated campaign" to influence the debate in the council about his country.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, which hosted the screening, are calling for the council to order an international probe. They charge that Sri Lanka's domestic Lessons Learnt andReconciliation Commission (LLRC) has glossed over the military's role.