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Kumar Ponnambalam
Gaasinather Gangaser Ponnambalam ( ta, காசிநாதர் காங்கேசர் பொன்னம்பலம்: 12 August 1938 – 5 January 2000; known as Kumar Ponnambalam) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. Leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, he was a presidential candidate in 1982. He was shot dead in January 2000 in an assassination many suspect to be ordered by President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Early life and family Ponnambalam was born on 12 August 1938. He was the son of G. G. Ponnambalam, a leading Tamil politician and lawyer, and Rose Alagumani Clough. He was educated at St. Patrick's College, Jaffna and Royal College, Colombo. After school he studied at Aquinas University College, Colombo before joining King's College London, graduating with a LL.B. degree. He then proceeded to the University of Cambridge, graduating with a MA degree. He was a contemporary of leftist politician Vikramabahu Karunaratne at Cambridge. Ponnambalam married ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1982 Sri Lankan Presidential Election
Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka for the first time on 20 October 1982. Nominations were accepted on 17 September 1982 and electoral participation was 81.06%. The election was described as a fight between capitalism and socialism, Hector Kobbekaduwa who advocated to carry on the policies of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party - led regime from 1970 to 1977 was expected to undo most of the open market and capitalist reforms brought in by J. R. Jayewardene. Incumbent president Jayewardene of the governing United National Party was elected, receiving 53% of all votes cast. Although the SLFP lost they managed to win a significant number of votes in Tamil speaking areas such as Point Pedro. Results District References {{Sri Lankan elections Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dominion Of Ceylon
Between 1948 and 1972, Ceylon The Sri Lanka Independence Act 1947 uses the name "Ceylon" for the new dominion; nowhere does that Act use the term "Dominion of Ceylon", which although sometimes used was not the official name. was an independent country in the Commonwealth of Nations, that shared a monarch with other dominions of the Commonwealth. In 1948, the British Colony of Ceylon was granted independence as Ceylon. In 1972, the country became a republic within the Commonwealth, and its name was changed to Sri Lanka. History Independence and growth Following the Second World War, public pressure for independence increased. The British-ruled Colony of Ceylon achieved independence on 4 February 1948, with an amended constitution taking effect on the same date. Independence was granted under the Ceylon Independence Act 1947. Military treaties with the United Kingdom preserved intact British air and sea bases in the country; British officers also continued to fill mos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Bank Bombing
The Central Bank bombing was one of the deadliest attacks carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the separatist civil war in Sri Lanka between the government and the Tamil Tigers. Incident The attack took place on 31 January 1996, in the Sri Lankan city of Colombo. A lorry containing about 440 pounds of high explosives crashed through the main gate of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, a seaside high-rise which managed most of the financial business of the country. As gunmen traded fire with security guards, the suicide bomber in the lorry detonated the massive bomb, which tore through the bank and damaged eight other buildings nearby. The lorry was followed by a three-wheeler, carrying two LTTE cadres armed with automatic rifles and an RPG launcher. The blast killed at least 91 people and injured 1,400 others. At least 100 people lost their eyesight. Among the wounded were two US citizens, six Japanese, and one Dutch national. Most of these were bystan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
State Of Emergency
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state during a natural disaster, civil unrest, armed conflict, medical pandemic or epidemic or other biosecurity risk. ''Justitium'' is its equivalent in Roman law—a concept in which the Roman Senate could put forward a final decree (''senatus consultum ultimum'') that was not subject to dispute yet helped save lives in times of strife. Relationship with international law Under international law, rights and freedoms may be suspended during a state of emergency, depending on the severity of the emergency and a government's policies. Use and viewpoints Though fairly uncommon in democracies, dictatorship, dictatorial regimes often declare a state of emergency that is prolonged indefinitely for the life of the regime, or for extended periods of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prevention Of Terrorism Act (Sri Lanka)
The Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1978 is a law in Sri Lanka. It provides the police with broad powers to search, arrest, and detain suspects. It was first enacted as a temporary law in 1979 under J. R. Jayewardene presidency, then made permanent in 1982. Elements of the Act Under the PTA of Sri Lanka, a person can be detained for periods up to 18 months (renewable by order every three months) if the Minister has reason to believe or suspect that any person is connected with or concerned in any unlawful activity. Unlawful activity includes even pasting posters on walls, and is punishable with death. Offences not known to ordinary laws of the country were also introduced. For example, if a person knows the whereabouts of terrorist (“terrorist” not defined in the Act) and if such person fails to inform the police, he commits an offence punishable with a minimum 5-year jail term. If the terrorist stays with any person for a night such person is guilty of harbouring, punishable ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chemmani Mass Graves
In 1998, allegations of mass graves at Chemmani were made by a Sri Lankan soldier on trial for rape and murder. He claimed hundreds of people who disappeared from the Jaffna peninsula after it was retaken by Government troops from the LTTE in 1995 and 1996 were killed and buried in mass graves near the village of Chemmani. There are reports about 300 to 400 bodies being buried there. Internationally observed excavations in 1999 found 15 bodies, two of which were identified as men who had disappeared in 1996. The findings led to charges against seven military personnel. The number of bodies exhumed is far less than the number originally alleged, and the Sri Lankan government stated that the local and foreign investigators found no graves as originally alleged and that there was no evidence of grave tampering either. Seven years later, the investigation remained open, but no further bodies have been found at Chemanni. Allegations In July 1998, Sri Lankan Army Lance Corporal Somar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Krishanti Kumaraswamy
Krishanti Kumaraswamy ( ta, கிருஷாந்தி குமாரசுவாமி), also spelled Krishanthi Kumaraswamy, was a Tamil woman in Sri Lanka who was raped and murdered on 7 September 1996 by 6 Sri Lankan Army soldiers; the effort to bring her assailants to justice became a cause célèbre as a part of the protest against atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan Army during the Sri Lanka civil war. Background Krishanti Kumaraswamy was student of Chundikuli Girls High School doing her GCE Advanced Levelhaving earlier passed the Ordinary Level exam with seven distinctions Her mother Rasamma was the principal of Kaithady Maha Vithyalayam.Her father had died in 1984.Her elder sister Prashanthi was studying in Colombo. Pranavan her younger brother was student of St.Johns College Jaffna had given his G.C.E (O/L) exams.Her neighbor Kirupakaran had got married just 6 months ago.Her family lived in Kaithady. Incident On September 7, 1996 Krishanti Kumaraswamy went mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts European legislation, following a proposal by the European Commission. The Parliament is composed of 705 members (MEPs). It represents the second-largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India), with an electorate of 375 million eligible voters in 2009. Since 1979, the Parliament has been directly elected every five years by the citizens of the European Union through universal suffrage. Voter turnout in parliamentary elections decreased each time after 1979 until 2019, when voter turnout increased by eight percentage points, and rose above 50% for the first time since 1994. The voting age is 18 in all EU member states except for Malta and Austria, where it is 16, and Greece, where it is 17. Although the E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Nations Commission On Human Rights
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and was also assisted in its work by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR). It was the UN's principal mechanism and international forum concerned with the promotion and protection of human rights. On March 15, 2006, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to replace UNCHR with the UN Human Rights Council. History The UNCHR was established in 1946 by ECOSOC, and was one of the first two "Functional Commissions" set up within the early UN structure (the other being the Commission on the Status of Women). It was a body created under the terms of the United Nations Charter (specifically, under ''Article 68'') to which all UN member states are signatorie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1982 Sri Lankan National Referendum
The 1982 Sri Lankan national referendum took place on December 22, 1982, giving the people of Sri Lanka the option to extend the life of Parliament of Sri Lanka, parliament by 6 years. It was the first and so far only national referendum to be held in Sri Lanka. The referendum was called for by President J. R. Jayawardene, who had been 1982 Sri Lankan presidential election, elected to a fresh six-year term as President of Sri Lanka, President in October 1982. With the life of the current parliament due to expire in August 1983, Jayawardene faced the possibility of his ruling United National Party losing its massive supermajority in parliament if regular general elections were held. He therefore proposed a referendum to extend the life of parliament, with its constituents unchanged, thereby permitting the United National Party to maintain its two-thirds parliamentary majority. President Jayawardene claimed that he needed the existing parliament to complete work on the programs he ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Rights In Sri Lanka
Human rights in Sri Lanka provides for fundamental rights in the country. The Sri Lanka Constitution states that every person is entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice. And, that every person is equal before the law. Several human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the British government, the United States Department of State and the European Union, have expressed concern about the state of human rights in Sri Lanka. The government of Sri Lanka and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as well as various other paramilitaries and marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) rebels are accused of violating human rights. Although Sri Lanka has not officially practiced the death penalty since 1976, there are well-documented cases of state-sponsored 'disappearances' and murders. Background Sri Lanka was embroiled in two JVP insurrect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinhalese People
Sinhalese people ( si, සිංහල ජනතාව, Sinhala Janathāva) are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. They were historically known as Hela people ( si, හෙළ). They constitute about 75% of the Sri Lankan population and number more than 16.2 million. The Sinhalese identity is based on language, cultural heritage and nationality. The Sinhalese people speak Sinhala, an insular Indo-Aryan language, and are predominantly Theravada Buddhists, although a minority of Sinhalese follow branches of Christianity and other religions. Since 1815, they were broadly divided into two respective groups: The 'Up-country Sinhalese' in the central mountainous regions, and the 'Low-country Sinhalese' in the coastal regions; although both groups speak the same language, they are distinguished as they observe different cultural customs. According to the Mahavamsa and the Dipavamsa, a third–fifth century treatise written in Pali by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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