Press Statements – Sri Lanka

South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) condemns the execution of Rizana Nafeek, and expresses grave concern about the continuing vulnerability experienced by many migrant workers from South Asian countries.

Rizana was 17 years old when she traveled to Saudi Arabia, under forged documents, to be employed as a domestic worker. The child in her care died, and while she claimed it was accidental, she was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, over two years later.

Efforts to have her pardoned were championed by many, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, but contrary to some reports that she would soon be pardoned, she was executed on 9^th January 2013.

South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) is disappointed to note that the Sri Lankan government has for the second time failed to pass Right to Information (RTI) legislation in parliament. The Bill presented by United National Party Parliamentarian Karu Jayasuriya was voted against by 97 Members of Parliament (MPs) of the ruling coalition while only 34 MPs from the opposition parties voted for the Bill.

This has not been the first instance that the issue of an RTI bill has been raised. Initially, the bill was drafted in 2003 but was not passed due to a change in government. Karu Jayasuriya presented the Bill in 2010 as a private member’s bill to Parliament but it was withdrawn after a commitment by the government of the time, to put forward its own Right to Information Act. However, the government failed to do so. It is unfortunate that the most recent introduction of the RTI bill was rejected on 21 June 2011.

South Asians for Human Rights vehemently condemn the attack on the MTV/MBC office at Braybrooke Place, Sri Lanka on 22nd March 2010. The attackers forced themselves into the premises of the head office of the Sirasa media network while…

South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) vehemently condemn the violence and other election malpractices that have taken place in the past few weeks in Sri Lanka. We fear that this threatens the possibility of a free and fair Presidential election.

Sri Lanka is at a pivotal point where the end of the war has given hope for a fresh start, in which rights of all citizens are promoted. The upcoming elections have presented an opportunity for every citizen to exercise their sovereign right to vote and thus make it integrated and inclusive process. All citizens should be able to vote in a secured environment, especially those in the recently liberated areas in the North and East. However, given the turn the campaigns have taken, the reality of the situation appears to be otherwise.