In brief
Offer
Following a mediation offer by PLO leader Yasser Arafat on a brief visit to Sri Lanka on 24 March, Batticaloa Tiger political leader Shanker said that third party mediation was imperative. Sources say Tiger International Representative Lawrence Thilagar travelled to Mullaitivu to brief LTTE leader V Prabhakaran on the concerns of the international community.
Commission
A new five-member Human Rights Commission headed by former Supreme Court judge OSM Seneviratne was appointed by the government on 17 March. The Commission will monitor and investigate human rights abuses and has power of penal sanction.
Failure
London-based agency Article 19, the International Centre against Censorship says in a March report titled Reform at risk? Continuing censorship in Sri Lanka, that the People’s Alliance (PA) government has not only failed to implement many reforms promised, but also has acted in a manner which threatened freedom of expression.
Released
Justice minister GL Peiris released 18 Chapters of the proposed new constitution on 26 March including changes by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional Reform. The chapter on devolution is yet to be made public.
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