News
Israel-Gaza conflict: NPC asks int’l community to step in
The National Peace Council has urged the international community to intervene immediately to bring the Gaza conflict under control or face the consequences.
The following is the text of the NPC statement: “The ongoing war in Israel-Palestine is in some crucial ways similar to what took place in Sri Lanka a decade and a half ago. The same basic features are to be seen—terrorism, unimaginable atrocities, including the bombing of a hospital in Gaza and a massacre at a music festival in Israel, military confrontations on land, sea and air, and in the last phase, a problem of civilians trapped in the battleground of epic proportions albeit with greater intensity and brutality and on a bigger geopolitical and international canvas.
Gaza has a population of more than two million on whom Israel has issued an exit order. Hamas, like the LTTE, will not permit those people to leave the killing fields even if they want to. Unlike in the Sri Lankan case, with the world’s attention being focused on Gaza, the question of disproportionate use of forces common to both, and the horrors of bombardment of areas of civilian inhabitation will generate more opposition. Also, Israel will not be able to physically eliminate the Hamas fighters in the way the Sri Lankan Army eliminated the LTTE fighters. After they were encircled by the numerically larger Sri Lankan Army, the LTTE fighters had nowhere to go. The Israeli security forces cannot encircle the Hamas fighters who have neighbouring Arab territories to go to.
Many of the Palestinians may support Hamas, as indeed many Tamils supported the LTTE’s fight for a separate Tamil state. But even those who supported the LTTE were not combatants, and needed to be treated as civilians.
The same applies to the Palestinians. The international community and humanitarian organisations need to do their utmost to ensure that civilians are protected by both Israel and Hamas so that they do not add to crimes against humanity perpetrated by both sides during the past several days.
The National Peace Council sees the need for de-escalation as urgent. The right to exist of Israel and Palestine needs to be guaranteed. Until the political issues in Israel-Palestine are settled by political means the conflict will remain and escalate with international human rights sanctions being added to complicate the solution even more. What needs to be done immediately is to have the UN Security Council take steps to establish a ceasefire to end the war and in the longer term to reach a negotiated settlement. We urge the Sri Lankan government to use its good offices to this end.”
The government has chosen not to respond to questions raised by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) regarding the detention of retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay in connection with the ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the ex-official in late February this year. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers have jointly raised the issue on 20 July, 2026.
Drawing attention of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to what they called alleged arbitrary detention of Sallay, former Director General of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and former Director of Military Intelligence (DMI), under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), as well as allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment while in custody, resulting in the grave deterioration of his health, and imminent risks of retaliation through further torture and ill-treatment resulting in irreparable harm, should he be released from hospital and returned to custody, the UN sought the government explanation with a 60-day period.
The UN has stated: “This communication, and any response received from your Excellency’s Government, will be made public via the communications reporting website at the 60 days mark. Should your Excellency’s Government respond within 60 days, both the communication and the response, may be published before the 60 days mark. The communications and responses
will also be made available in the subsequent periodic report to be presented to the Human Rights Council.”
In the absence of the government’s response, the UN posted the letter, dated 20 July, 2026, addressed to President Dissanayake. The full letter can be accessed https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=31125
News
Section of wartime KKS High Security Zone vacated to facilitate economic development in the area
The Army, last week, vacated an area, within the wartime high security zone in the Jaffna peninsula. The Defence Ministry said that an extent of 187.56 acres of land, belonging to the Cement Corporation in Kankesanthurai, Jaffna, has been released by the military. The released land, located in Grama Niladhari Division J/233, Kankesanthurai West, within the Valikamam North (Tellippalai) Divisional Secretariat Division, had been utilised by the Sri Lanka Army since the middle of 1997.
The release of the 187.56-acre extent forms part of the initiative to make State land available for the proposed investment zone in Kankesanthurai, thereby facilitating future investment and economic development in the area.
A complaint has been lodged with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau against the Government Printer and the Secretary to the Ministry of Media regarding the online release of falsified documents bearing a forged Speaker’s certificate.
Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri has lodged a complaint with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau requesting legal action against the Government Printer of the Department of Government Printing (No. 118, Dr. Danister de Silva Mawatha, Colombo 08), Prasanna Jayaratne, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media (Asidisi Medura, 163, Kirulapone Mawatha, Polhengoda, Colombo 05), Dr. Anil Jasinghe.
The complaint alleges the commission of offences by forging and uploading falsified documents online using a forged Speaker’s certification, failure to perform statutory duties, and misappropriation of public property.
The complaint states that a copy of the English translation of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was downloaded and printed from the official website of the Government Printing Department (www.documents.gov.lk), which operates under the Ministry of Mass Media. On its outer cover and on page 1, the text “certified on 25th of September, 2026” is inscribed inside brackets.
The complaint pointed out that the Speaker has certified an English translation. Under Articles 23, 79, 83, and 80 of the Constitution, Parliament enacts laws and the Speaker certifies bills strictly in the Sinhala and Tamil languages; under the Constitution, therefore the Speaker cannot apply such certification to an English translation.
Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in the most part of the island after 1.00 p.m
GS1 Lanka drives Sri Lanka’s shift to 2D barcodes
Geneva takes up Sallay’s case and govt. ignores opportunity to answer accusations
Section of wartime KKS High Security Zone vacated to facilitate economic development in the area
Lawyer lodges complaint against Govt. Printer, Media Ministry Secy.
Sri Lankan troops in joint anti-terrorist exercise in Russia
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Latest News5 days agoGold winner Tharanga gets brand-new Honda Vezel from SLAAJ
-
Features5 days agoWhy Sri Lanka needs an Inclusive Civic Nationalism – urgently
-
News4 days agoUS-assisted ‘Ice’ detection: NPC to examine IGP’s move to transfer drug-busting team
-
Features6 days agoThailand’s biggest new global star …
-
News6 days agoFirst cases taken up by SC after enactment of 22A dismissed
-
News5 days agoCivil society activist accuses govt. of favouring Ven. Gnanasara
-
Editorial3 days agoColombo Port drug bust: The plot thickens
-
Editorial6 days agoAftershocks of 22A