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News Archive for May 2013
A mountain of evidence against ex-CJFormer Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake who is facing bribery and corruption allegations before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption appeared before the Commission yesterday and made oral submissions. The commission will next summon witnesses to record evidence regarding the allegations of bribery and corruption proffered against her. The Commission recorded oral submissions from the ex-Chief justice for a duration of nearly five hours yesterday. After investigating the submissions made by her, the Commission will summon her for further submissions if necessary only. The Commission has received a Mountain of evidence against... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/05/13)
Awaiting Indictment of Allied Forces for strategic bombing and planned starvation of German CIVILIANS
The topic is accountability. The question is why has there been zero accountability of crimes against humanity committed by Allied Forces which specifically targeted civilian populations with strategic area bombing and post—war comprehensive starvation campaign that killed 2million German POWs and 5.7million German civilians – how else can such a number die after the war has ended? Why have these crimes escaped the attention of the World Court and why are present day Germans and Japanese leaders not calling for justice for the millions of civilians killed by Allied Forces during and after World War 2?... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/05/13)
Scarcity of Hope Not Equally Distributed Across Countries
I wish to answer R Chandrasoma in his response to my article appeared in Lankaweb. I thank him for his response. Humans are by nature ambitious which is natural and is the driving force of improvement. However, a reasonable assessment of what the future holds is made by most. This is found in investment, political and social spheres of human endevour. From the 1970s to 2009 Sri Lankans hoped against hope that a day will dawn when they could win the war on their terms. They dreamt their potential in such an eventuality. The day finally arrived.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/05/13)
India Cautions Lanka
The Editor The Island Colombo, Sri Lanka Dear Sir: The telephone call made by the External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid to Minister G.L. Peiris has been reported in news media under different captions. The Island heading refers to India's opposition to the army acquiring private land while the Indian Express headline reads "Don't Dilute Autonomy India tells Sri Lanka". The Indian version illustrates the fact that India believes that it can dictate to Sri Lanka where to station the army, what to do with land in Sri Lanka, ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/05/13)
Many outside powers tried to rule Sri Lanka- President Mahinda Rajapaksa
* President pledges to fight all ‘external elements’ that ‘disrupt’ country’s peace * Thousands of heroes sacrificed their lives to protect motherland * 11,000 ex-LTTE cadres rehabilitated, live freely * All past Presidents believed that the Tigers were unbeatable * 4000 Tamil youth have joined the Civil Defence Corps * No room for separation... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/05/13)
NIGERIAN REBELS COULD FACE WAR CRIMES CHARGES FOR ‘POPULATION CLEANSING’ – UN RIGHTS OFFICE - WHY NOT THE LTTE TERRORISTS?
Members of Boko Haram and other extremist groups in Nigeria could face war crimes charges for deliberate acts leading to ethnic and religious cleansing, the top United Nations human rights official said today. In a <"http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13334&LangID=E">press briefing in Geneva , the spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Rupert Colville, reiterated calls on Boko Haram and other extremist groups in Nigeria to cease their “cowardly attacks” against civilians and politicians, members of Government institutions, security forces and foreign nationals. “The High Commissioner has also noted that members of Boko Haram and other groups... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/05/13)
Questioning “Final Days of War” – British and American accountability for Dresden and Hiroshima bombings
“Final days of war” and accountability is the hot topic in the diplomatic and international arena. Let us ask the Germans and the Japanese what they thought of when the Allied Troops flattened Dresden the night prior to Valentine’s Day in 1945 in a 2 night blanket bombing using 3,300 tons of high explosive and 1,500 tons of incendiary bombs that had no strategic goals except to murder 35,000 (some argue it is far more) German civilians and create cultural hurt and the Royal Air Force bomber SIR “Harris” claims he would repeat the bombing again 30... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/05/13)
Remembering the Golden Victory of May 2009
As Sri Lanka and her people complete the 4th year of peace following the defeat of the LTTE - the world's most brutal terrorist organization - we salute the Sri Lankan defence forces and all other organisations which collectively safeguarded the unity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. We also remember patriotically those who gave political leadership to the victory which led to the liberation of 21 million Sri Lankans who had been held to ransom for nearly three decades by the Tamil Tiger Terrorists.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/05/13)
Getting Tough With Commemorative LTTE Celebrants Is A Start Where The TNA Should Also Be Censured!
May 19th 2013 All kudos to Army Commander Maj.Gen. Boniface Perera who has sent a clear message to those concerned that "Any organisation or individual will not be allowed to venerate a terrorist organisation. Anyone participating in a commemoration ceremony for LTTE cadres will be arrested" in a strongly worded statement that also overviews the somewhat inconsistent paradox involving Government celebrations of a legitimately won victory over the LTTE terrorists in the Capital Colombo. Synonymously the TNA who have somehow wormed their way into political legitimacy based on Presidential pragmatism and tolerance... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/05/13)
ANOTHER TYPE OF TERRORISM
Though the nation is very much delighted over the continuity of democratic process in Pakistan but this feeling of joy and happiness won’t last longer if the tree of democracy does not bear the desired fruit. The list of the problems which this nation has been facing since long is not endless but it requires a lot of hard work, determination and above all a sincere will to resolve these problems. Unfortunately in the previous five years, the elected government wasted a lot of time in strengthening itself in the name of stabilizing democracy and nothing could... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/05/13)
Continuing the book review of Dayan Jayatilleka's Long war, Cold Peace -- Part IV -INDIA A THREAT TO REGIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY
The main thrust in my friend Dayan's political predictions -- both domestic and foreign -- is invariably aimed at projecting passing fears, laced with his political preferences / prejudices, into impending doomsday scenarios . In his calculations it is always going to be the end of the world for Sri Lanka if the 13the Amendment or any of his other prescriptions are not implemented. His latest book, Long War, Cold Peace, and his interview in the Financial Times (FT -- (5/10/2013) titled "We are on the road to lose peace" summarises his predictions, based on his fears,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/05/13)
Western role in the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) of Sri Lanka
It is well-known that US has taken a lead role in combating, and sometimes fostering Islamic extremism in many parts of the world. Its support for the Taliban in Afganistan by arming them against the Soviets is well known. The US has also supported Islamic groups to create tension is some African states to counter other tendencies. In many of these moves, and in some of its UN lobbying, the US uses third parties to cover its hand. Norway has figured prominently as one of the not-so-hidden hands of Western foreign policy in this regard.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/05/13)
TNA’s strategy for NPC elections & CHoGM
May 18, 2013, 6:44 pm When looking at the UNP’s new list of electoral organisers, we see that General Sarath Fonseka has once again been left high and dry. Two of the three UNP parliamentarians who had pledged their support to Fonseka and were even planning to field a separate list of candidates at the forthcoming Provincial Council elections, have made up with Ranil Wickremesinghe and gone back into the UNP fold. Palitha Thavarapperuma, the Kalutara district parliamentarian has been appointed organiser for Matugama and Palitha Range Bandara who was seen breathing fire... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/05/13)
Hope remains scant for all of Mankind
In a leading article, Dilrook Kannangara writes ' After Four Years of Freedom the Nation Remains Poor, the North Remains Tamil Only and Hope Remains Scant'. To any reasonable person conversant with the facts, all three propositions are palpably false. This nation - Sri Lanka - has never been so prosperous as it is today. This is not quite the same as saying that all of its citizens are leading fulfilled lives and are untroubled by material wants and pangs of conscience. The human condition is such that anything approaching genuine contentment is not within the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/05/13)
4th Annual Ranaviru Commemoration In Wellingtobn NZ - 18th May 2013
The United Sri Lanka Association of New Zealand held it’s 4th annual ranaviru commemoration at it’s premises in Tawa, Wellington earlier today with USLA president Channa Ranasinghe, Presiding. As before following the singing of the national anthem and the observance of a two minute silence in memory of the deceased war heroes, all the attendees lit a candle also in their memory. President Ranasinghe, observed that the Ranaviru victory ensured the right to life for citizens of motherland Sri Lanka. Victory came at a prize that included thousands of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/05/13)
Sri Lanka needs dedicated and loyal people post-Terrorism
May 19th will mark the 4th anniversary of the conclusion of a 3 decade terrorist conflict. The ground realities of terrorism combined with destabilizing efforts are nothing that should surprise us given the visible efforts underway to undermine the victory given to us by our national war heroes. Indebted to them for showing the world that “unwinnable wars” can be won with passion and dedication, civil society and in particular the political establishments now need to play a greater role in fortifying that victory given at the cost of life and limb. As citizens we need to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/05/13)
BUDDHISM INVOLVES INNER TRANSFORMATION THROUGH INTELLECTUAL EFFORT AND SCIENTIFIC REASONING
No useful purpose is served by explaining to or arguing with those who depend exclusively on religious books and accept their words without question or without debate. No monotheistic religion respects the human mind. Spiritual wisdom is lost when one embraces monotheism. Understanding the human mind is the central theme in the Buddha Dhamma. It is up to us to decide where we are heading and it all depends on our intelligence not on any so called “holy” book. One may read the Quran or Bible or whatever, and examine what’s in it. Ultimately,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/05/13)
Yes, we killed, JVP stalwart Lalkantha admits
The JVP continued to deny the gruesome atrocities it committed in the past until recently one of its stalwarts, K.D. Lalkantha said that the JVP accepts the commission of such crimes. "It was true that the enemies of a patriotic war were bumped off; identity cars collected and transformers destroyed, Lalkantha told a meeting. So far the survivors of thousands of families killed have not responded. The JVP never admitted its killing hub brazenly attributed them to the Deshapremi Sanvidanaya led by Keerthi Wijebahu alias Saman Fernando. It... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/05/13)
Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid says Don't dilute autonomy
Contradicting the international law and the law of the land of Sri Lanka, the India External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has told Sri Lanka not to dilute the autonomous powers granted to its Tamil-majority northern province ahead of provincial elections, official sources said Friday. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid also sought the early release of 31 Indian fishermen detained in Sri Lanka. Khurshid made the observations during a telephonic discussion with his Sri Lankan counterpart G.L. Peiris. According to the sources, the Indian minister demanded freedom for the 26 Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan prisons. He made... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/05/13)
Holding Northern PC Elections. Amending the 13th Amendment or Abolishing the 13th A altogether with the Rajeev-JR pact. Which one will prevent the formation of EELAM and save the Motherland?
It is now speculated that the Government is ready to amend the 13th A by removing Land and Police powers and hold NPC elections in September. The conclusion of the NPC elections, I would say, could be the end of the control of the Sri Lankan Government in the north and be the beginning of a new phase of conflict which will end up by unilateral declaration of a unit of Tamil self rule that will lay the foundation for the future Tamil EELAM on our... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/05/13)
උතුරු පළාත්සභා මැතිවරණය සහ රටේ ඉරණම
ලබන සැප්තැම්බර් මාසයේදී උතුරු පළාත්සභා මැතිවරණය පැවැත්වීමට රජය තීරණයකර ඇතිබව වාර්තාවේ. දැනට මාස කිහිපයකට පෙර 'දිවි නැගුම' පනත සම්බන්දයෙන් ලැබුණ අධිකරණ තීන්දු හමුවේ 13 වෙනි සංශෝධනයට එරෙහිව මතුව ආ රැල්ල එමතීන්දුවලට මුලිකවූ හිටපු අගවිනිසුරුවරිය ඉවත්කිරීමත් සමගම 13 වෙනි සංශෝධනය හරහා පළාත්සභාවලට පැවරීඇති බලතල සහ එහි අදීනව බොහෝදෙනෙකුට අමතකවූ සැටියක් පෙනෙන්නට තිබේ. තරස්තවාදය පරාජය කල නොහැකිබවත් , බලය බෙදීම හා අන්තර්පාලනයන් එයට ඇති විසදුම්බවත් පවසමින් දශක ගණනාවක් තිස්සේ පාලකයන් මුලාකළ පිරිස් වලට උතරු පළාත් මැතිවරණය යලිත් නව පණක් ලබාදී තිබීම පුදුමයක් නොවේ. 1987 ජූලි 27 වෙනි දින ජනාඩිපති ජේ. ආර්. ජයවර්ධන හා ඉන්දීය අගමැති රජීව් ගාන්ධි අත්සන්කළ ඉන්දු-ලංකා... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/05/13)
After Four Years of Freedom the Nation Remains Poor, the North Remains Tamil Only and Hope Remains Scant
Young graduates queuing up at the migration lawyer’s office look ambitious. They eagerly wait a time with a consultant to whom they will have to pay a few hundred thousand rupees; a year’s salary for most. One opts to talk. “This country offers no future for us. Everything goes to the north and nothing for us”, he laments. Few others quickly join in. “Honestly I see today worse than 4 years ago. We could survive bombs but we can’t duck inflation and hopelessness”. A third says how Indians are depleting the scant economic resources in the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/05/13)
India’s tilt towards West betraying Asia will fast-forward its Balkanization
There are some clues that are dead giveaways. When Hillary Clinton the former US Secretary of State goes to discuss “innovative” ways to break the impasse in Sri Lanka with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and not the Indian Premier and after 30 years the US Government has decided to financially assist Tamil refugees languishing in Tamil Nadu refugee camps it all adds up to just one conclusion – India’s disintegration will be launched from the State of Tamil Nadu kickstarting a domino effect given that troubles prevail in all of India’s borders. It was only once upon... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/05/13)
Sri Lanka’s victory over terrorism – why should Sri Lanka apologize?
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam of LTTE had its ground militant force vanquished by the armed forces of Sri Lanka on 19th May 2009 after several appeals made by the Sri Lankan President to lay down their arms and surrender were ignored. Close to 12,000 LTTE fighters gave themselves in of which 594 were child soldiers and the Sri Lankan military ended up sacrificing close to 6000 military lives to save 294,000 Tamil civilians who had been herded by the LTTE to be used as civilian combatants or hostages. That the world’s most brutal terrorist organization... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/05/13)
The Administration And Leadership That Has Preserved Sri Lanka Like None Other Needs Recognition!
May 17th 2013 In rank testimony to the reality that the present Administration and its leadership has done something right for the country a vast multitude of people have shown their solidarity with voices raised in appreciation while also condemning the enemies of the State who continuously seek a means to discredit and bring to disrepute the country’s development and progress in the aftermath of the victory against terrorism. It was a march of people power. This was the manifestation of people power that transpired on the 15th of May in the vicinity of the Lake House Colombo and speaks volumes for the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/05/13)
Tim Hudac, Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader on his Tamil constituents
17 May 2013 Tim Hudac, MPP Provincial Conservative Leader 4961 King Street E, Unit M1, Beamsville, Ontario, L0R 1B0 (sent by surface mail and e-mail) Dear Tim: I have just read your Press Release joining the “Tamil Canadian community in observing the fourth anniversary of the end of the decades-long civil war in Sri Lanka.” What you did not notice was that the Press Release was one-sided and an effort to lick-the-boots of every Tamil who could vote in Ontario. You were bold to openly lick-the –Tamil-boots, but... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/05/13)
Lord Soulbury and stupid Sinhala politicians
The Colombo Telegraph website printed a letter from Lord Soulbury to Sutheralingam as if everybody in this world is a born-again Christian who forget history. Colombo T has a responsibility to give the whole story, the other side to the Soulbury story (letter). Printing stories by the likes of Dayan Jayatileka who twists facts or hide facts mostly to blow his own triumphant must be balanced by writings of others with different views and facts. The purpose of this note, therefore, is to show specifically that Lord Soulbury as well as Sunderalingam was stupid, and that the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/05/13)
SRI LANKA AHMADIYYA MUSLIM ANNUAL CONVENTION
The Annual Convention (Jalsa Salana) of the Sri Lanka Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at was held on last Sunday the 12th May 2013 at Ahmadiyya Jubilee Hall, Periyamulla, Negombo. The Markaz Representative Mr. Khalid Mahmoodul Hassan Bhatti was the Chief Guest. The day-long program started with pre-dawn prayers and the main event started at 9.00 a.m. with flag-hoisting followed by silent prayers. In his inaugural address, the National President of Sri Lanka Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at A.H. Nasir Ahmad said: The Founder of the Ahmadiyya Community Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad inaugurated... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/05/13)
Let us save Kuragala Heritage
DAFTHER JAILANI MOHIYADEEN MASJIDis a mosque situated at the edge of the Balangoda plateau in KuragalaBalangoda .This place has a long history of Muslims visiting this site from ancient times first as a resting place from their journey from the South of Sri Lanka to Adam’s Peak and then as a holy site where one of Islam’s greatest Saints namely SHEIKH MOHIYADEEN ABDUL QADIR GILANImeditated on a ledge accessible through a cave known as “ SorangaMalai ‘ or the ‘Mountain of the Cave’ From the 16th Century when Sri Lanka ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/05/13)
Historic Indo-Lanka trade pact goes public for the first time
– MAY 16, 2013 ‘Bilateral trade up by 508%’ – Rishad In Q1-2013 alone trade at $723 Mn! “Commendable! But I wonder why this debate about CEPA..!”–(HE) Kantha ‘A certain trade asymmetry still exists’ - Rishad ‘Lanka perhaps needs CEPA more than India does’ – (HE) Kantha (HE) HE Ashok K. Kantha (High Commissioner of India-left) and Rishad Bathiudeen (Minister of Industry & Commerce of Sri Lanka) unveil the Handbook on Indo-Lanka FTA on 15 May in Colombo as Saman Kelegama (Executive Director-IPS, Colombo,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/05/13)
Industry Gold!
‘Sri Lanka historic industry rate surpassing GDP rate’ – Rishad Public & Private Ind. Indices rising! 10.3% Ind. Surge in Y2012 Preethi Jayawardena (Chairman – CNCI- at centre) looks on as Rishad Bathiudeen (Minister of Industry and Commerce-left) receives a light hearted comment from Kumara Kandalama (SG / CEO of CNCI-at right) on 14 May at the CNCI Achiever Awards launch event held at Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo. As Sri Lanka experienced a 10.3% industry surge in 2012, Sri Lanka’s historic industry growth rate... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/05/13)
Greatest battle veterans forgotten
The year was 1943. Phukon Chandra Rabha had a quiet life in his village Bisonigaon in Assam-s Lakhimpur district. Son of Sambaru Ram Rabha and Ratibari Rabhani, he didn-t want to be a farmer like his father. Instead, he went to the front. Rabha enlisted as a sepoy in the then British Indian Army and was assigned to the newly raised 1st battalion of the Assam Regiment. Little did the 23-year-old know that he was soon going to be involved in an epic battle that was destined to become a part of military folklore.... -Full Story- (articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com - 17/05/13)
75 Years in Prison For Videotaping Police
Video Michael Allison faces 75 years in prison for five counts of recording law enforcement officials without their consent in Robinson, Illinois. Illinois is one of the states applying old eavesdropping and wiretapping statutes to new technologies like cell phones or anything else that records audio.Most states allow citizens to record audio in public of on-duty law enforcement officials without their permission. But that-s considered a felony in Illinois, punishable by up to 15 years in prison for each offense.... -Full Story- (informationclearinghouse.info - 17/05/13)
Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered In US War And Occupation Of Iraq "1,455,590"
"Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people" - John Adams - Second President - 1797 - 1801... -Full Story- (informationclearinghouse.info - 17/05/13)
Who pays "puppets" without borders to slander Russia?
Reporters Without Borders Calls Putin a Predator and Control Freak - Mikhail Doubik, Publisher at Vedomosti is the director of the Moscow Times. Vedomosti was conceived by Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal, the One Percent. The "news" outlet which calls itself the Moscow Times today published an article with this headline: As you have probably already guessed, I am exposing the sources of such accusations, to weaken their credibility and to show how politically motivated and shallow they are... -Full Story- (english.pravda.ru - 17/05/13)
Russia rejects creation of no-fly zone over Syria
Russia opposes the initiatives of the west to create a no-fly zone over Syria, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Tuesday. "Unfortunately, these destructive ideas keep popping up over time, but no one ever bothered to think about the consequences," said Gatilov.... -Full Story- (english.pravda.ru - 17/05/13)
FSB: CIA crossed ‘red line’ with agent Fogle
The CIA has crossed a certain ‘red line’ in professional ethics of intelligence as American spy Ryan Fogle attempted to recruit a Russian agent, an FSB operative told RT. “In case with Fogle, the CIA crossed the red line and we had no choice but to react observing official procedures,” a representative of the Russian Security Service, the FSB, said in an interview with RT. The spy story broke earlier this week after it was made public that Fogle – who had worked under the guise of a third secretary at the US Embassy in Moscow – was detained... -Full Story- (rt.com - 17/05/13)
දුප්පත්කම පරම්පරාවෙන් පරම්පරාවට ගෙනියන 'නිදහස්' උසස් අධ්යාපන ක්රමය
උසස් අධ්යාපනය නොමිලයේ දෙන දුප්පත් රටකට එසේ අධ්යාපනය ලබා දිය හැකි සිසුන් ප්රමාණය සීමා සහිතය. එම නිසා විශ්ව විද්යාල හෝ අනිකුත් රජයේ උසස් අධ්යාපන ආයතන වලට ඇතුලත් වීමට නොහැකිවන වන දුප්පත් පවුල් වල සිසුනට උසස් අධ්යාපනයක් නොලැබීම සිදුවන අතර පොහොසත් පවුල් වල සිසුනට මෙරට හෝ පිටරටක පෞද්ගලික අංශයේ උසස් අධ්යාපනය ලබා ගැනීම සිදුවේ. එවිට වන්නේ එක පරම්පරාවක දුප්පත් කම හෝ පොහොසත් කම වෙනසකින් තොරව ඊලඟ පරම්පරාවටත් ගෙනයාමයි. විශ්ව විද්යාල සිසුන් සහ ආචාර්යවරු දළ ජාතික නිශ්පාදනයෙන් සියයට හයක් උසස් අධ්යාපනය වෙනුවෙන් වෙන් කරන ලෙස ඉල්ලා සිටී. සියයට හයක් වෙන් කල පමනින් උසස් අධ්යාපනය අපේක්ෂා කරන සියළු දෙනාට... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/05/13)
Copulation of 13A Nazis and Tamil National Fascists Spell Doom for the Nation
The problem with 13A proponents is they don’t listen to reason. They are hell bent on the full implementation of it one way or the other. Their fallback argument is 13A is now law and it must be implemented. Absurd logic. No law is set in stone. 13A was never discussed in the community; it was simply imposed by India. Under the agreement between the two countries cemented with the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord (1987), the spineless Jayawardena administration was forced to pass it. India knew it’s 13A orphan will not grow up safely which led it to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/05/13)
Tirukkovil on the Eastern coast of Batticaloa (Madakalpuva)
I would appreciate an opportunity to comment on the town named `Tirukkovil' situated on the Eastern coast of Sri Lanka about sixty kilometers south of Madakalapuva (Batticaloa), that Mr. .Selvarajan Rasiah had discussed in the Daily News, 16th of May, 2013. The `Citira Velayuta Cuvami Kovil' has been located here at least since the 13th century and commented upon by various writers including the Portuguese historian de Queyroz. The temple has been used by Vedda, Hindu and Buddhist people. The Hindu kovil is referred to as "tricoli" by de Queyroz probably because it had... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/05/13)
Is training students in vocational certification by National Schools a solution to the lack of sufficient higher educational opportunities?
In the last 50 years Sri Lanka has made huge strides in the primary and secondary education. My estimate is that at least 90% or more of children of school going age are attending schools. Everything changes once the students sit for Advance Level Examination. For over 300,000 who sit for Advanced Level only 25,000 or so get admitted to the Universities. Considering the better organized nature of the school system they could do more on the issues such as youth unemployment and lack of technically qualified personnel in the country. One way forward would be to in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/05/13)
Sri Lanka's debt to Burma
In 1069, Vijayabahu I of Ceylon asked Anawrahta for aid against the Chola invaders from Tamil country. Anawrahta sent ships of supplies in aid of Buddhist Ceylon.[25][27] In 1071, Vijayabahu who had defeated the Cholas asked Anawrahta for scriptures and monks. The Chola invasions had left the original home of Theravada Buddhism with so few monks that it was hard to convene a chapter and make valid ordinations. Anawrahta sent the monks and scriptures, and a white elephant as present for Vijayabahu. The Burmese monks ordained or re-ordained the entire clergy of the island. In return, the Ceylonese king gave... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/05/13)
Wimal Weerawansa’s big mouth
One would expect Wimal Weerawansa (WW), the minister, to be different from chracters such as Mangala Samaraweera, SB Dissanayaka, Vasudeva or Amunugama when it comes to Sinhala Buddhist affairs. If he is not acting as a reasonable person then one would wonder whether his brain is in his head or his rearend. He has done so many good things such as supporting MahindaR in 2005 and thereafter, but he has also done so many foolish things. Going to Egypt in August wearing a three-piece suite can be fulfillment of a childhood desire not knowing how hot the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/05/13)
Can we bring about national development? It is difficult but it can be done.
To me, someone who has struggled hard to bring about development, to create jobs and alleviate poverty for easily over four decades in four countries, I sense that something is radically wrong today. Instead of development and peace what I see is chaos. No less a person than Professor Paul Krugman one of the leading economists today has said that the World is lurching from crisis to crisis. What went wrong is the mission of this Paper. Can we ever hope for development. What has to be done? Far back, in 1955, I belonged to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/05/13)
13A is Extremely Dangerous Even Without Police and Land Powers
Police and land powers are only the tip of the 13A iceberg. There are far worse implications of 13A. Provincial list include, among others, the power over economic planning, education, local government, housing, roads (other than national highways), rehabilitation, agriculture, rural development, food supply, irrigation and ancient and historical monuments and records. If TNA or any other Tamil mono ethnic political party lays their dirty hands on these powers, it will be a national catastrophe. They will only implement development plans in areas of Tamil habitation and willfully neglect other areas. Economic planning will be done only... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/05/13)
Vanni Street in Markham
14 May 2013 Paul Calandra, Conservative MP for Oak Ridges-Markham, Ontario John McCallum, Liberal MP for Markham-Unionville, Ontario House of Commons, Ottawa Dear Paul and John: Re: New Vanni Street in the City of Markham I had an e-mail yesterday from a Tamil friend from Toronto which said “Please read below News – Vannie Street Opening Ceremony Media Promotion by Elliyabarathu Radio (TBC). This is a New Street in City of Markham…..” Hmmm……interesting I thought! My memory raced back to just two years ago when I sent... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/05/13)
Sri Lanka’s Parliament must ban BEEF in its canteen
Amid the political fanfare the Sri Lankan Parliament canteen also made headlines recently. It was nothing to do with the 5-star hotel breakfast for Rs.80 or similar lunch for Rs.150 and nothing to do with honey, cornflakes, golden syrup and other delicacies accommodated on requests by Parliamentarians slavishly and tirelessly working on behalf of this developing nation’s citizens. The topic was Pork. While it was announced with glee and likened to a major victory that the previously banned pork had been removed, within weeks that ruling has been changed and pork remains banned in the Parliament... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/05/13)
General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) establishes the Moragoda Endowment Professorship in Public International Law
A MOU was signed on 15th May 2013 between the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) and the Moragoda International Law Trust to establish the Moragoda Endowment Professorship in International Law at the KDU. This is a project under which the Moragoda International Law Trust, established to advance, promote and provide further education in the field of International Law, will arrange annual academic programmes on selected topics of Public International Law, to be conducted by internationally renowned experts. Each programme will cover from... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/05/13)
Oil falls below $94 as recession drags on in Eurozone
The price of oil fell to near $93 on Wednesday after the publication of disappointing economic growth figures in Europe, with the 17-country eurozone languishing in its longest recession to date. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for June delivery was down 94 cents to $93.27 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. New figures released on Wednesday showed the eurozone-s economy continued to contract in the first quarter, keeping it in recession for a sixth consecutive quarter. Although Germany avoided recession, its 0.1 percent quarterly growth was weak, while France fell into... -Full Story- (thehindu.com - 15/05/13)
New & old knowledge about the 13-A death-trap
With reference to the recent Lankaweb news item: “LET US UNITE TO ABROAGTE THE 13TH amendment, Posted on May 9th, 2013-Ranjith Soysa (Spokesperson) SPUR (Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka Inc) We wish to record our appreciation of the bold stand adopted by Mr Wimal Weerawansa MP and his party the JNP with regard to the 13th Amendment and the Elections to the Northern Provincial Council…” I wish to state the following. Old knowledge about 13-A (what we already know about 13-A) 1. 13-A is not a reasonable concept as... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/05/13)
Arun Thambimuttu wants Provincial Councils scrapped
Arun Thambimuttu saw the flames of terrorism sweeping across the country when he was in his teens. His parents like many families in the North, East and the South became the victims of bloody terrorism that engulfed the nation destroying the very ethnic and social fabric of the country. Arun Thambimuttu who left for the UK for higher studies soon after the assassination of his parents is SLFP organizer for Batticaloa today. Following in the footsteps of his father, Sam Thambimuttu who was a parliamentarian representing the Batticaloa electorate, Arun says he decided to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/05/13)
මහින්ද කවුද? – තෙමසක් ඇතුළත විසඳෙන රටේ ඉරණම
ප්රභාකරන්ගේ බෝම්බ පුපුරණ හඬ අද නැත. වැඩි සද්දයක් බද්දයක් නැතිව සිදුවන දෑ හඳුනාගැනුම පහසු නැත. අද සිදුවන්නේ දිය යටින් ගින්දර ගෙන යාමයි. එනිසා බොහෝ දෙනා ඉතා සරළ අර්ථකතන වලින් සිද්දීන් විස්තර කරමින් සිටිත්. නැතිනම් වෙනත් එදිනෙදා සිද්දීන්ට වැඩි අවදානයක් දෙමින් සිටිත්. නමුත් අද අප ජාතිය විශාල අභියෝගයකට මුහුණ පා ඇති බව අප වටහා නොගතහොත් ජාතියක් ලෙස අප ඉතා දුර්ධාන්ත ඉරණමකට මුහුණ පානු ඇති බව අප වැටහීමයි.ප්රභාකරන් යනු බටහිටරයන් විසින් බිහි කර ඉන්දියාව විසින් කිරි පොවා උස් මහත් කළ දරුවෙකු විය. එම දරුවා විසින්ම ඔහුගේ බොහෝ බෙදුම්වාදී සහෝදරයන් විනාශ කර සම්බන්ධන්ලාද... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/05/13)
The success rate of modern terrorism is dismal
14 May 2013 The Editor THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Ed Whitcomb who dealt with terrorism for three decades as a diplomat and intelligence analyst says "The success rate of modern terrorists is dismal." But to quell modern terrorism by sovereign nations has taken a strange life of twists and turns, some for the better and some not. Take Sri Lanka for example. One wonders whether it was worth it to be the only country which on 19 May 2009, wiped out militarily the most ruthless terrorists in the world, the Tamil Tigers, after a 27... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/05/13)
What is the Agenda of Sri Lanka’s Ministry of External Affairs for CHOGM?
There are some vital questions that need to be posed to the Ministry of External Affairs in particular the Minister for answer vis - a - vis the important upcoming event of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November 2013. No one will deny that the External Affairs Ministry has come in for flak by virtue of its actions or inactions depicted by the manner in which Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister was omitted from representing Sri Lanka at the last Geneva sessions. Nevertheless, the fact that CHOGM will be staged amidst a hail... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/05/13)
Kandy witnessed the peak of Aung San’s political career
This is a postscript to last week’s Lankaweb article titled, “British complicity in murder of Burma’s national hero Aung San raises issues for wider investigation of British crimes in colonial era.” Sri Lanka played an indirect role in the highlight of General Aung San’s political career. Two years before his tragic death, on September 4, 1945 Aung San - then head of Myanmar’s Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League - led a military delegation to Kandy where he signed the historic agreement that paved the way for Myanmar’s independence. The event took place at the Allied South-East Asia Command... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/05/13)
Only thing the President Mahinda Rajapakse did………with determination and confidence.
Only thing the President Mahinda Rajapakse did with determination, and with confidence to face the consequences was the elimination of Terrorists. After that what happened to the President and his government’s determination to do what they think is right and what happened to their confidence to face the consequences of their acts which they believe is correct ? After that the President became cautious. He acted to please the West, escape being accused for violation of human rights at the UNHuman Rights Council. He Suffers the indignities of a Navineetham Piilai a biased Tamil woman trying to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/05/13)
Reponse to an article in the Ottawa Citizen - Tamils like Tories shift on Sri Lanka'
With reference to an article titled: ‘Tamils like Tories shift on Sri Lanka’. I am not sure of the background of Lee Berthiaume, but it certainly looks like either he is not aware of the definition of a Terrorist, or he is not aware of the atrocities carried out by the Tamil tigers (LTTE). He is addressing them as ‘rebels’. Let’s call a spade a spade and not try to whitewash the LTTE, which was a Tamil Tiger terrorist organisation till they were vanquished in 2009 by the Sri Lankan Government forces. For the benefit... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/05/13)
Khalifa of Islam presented with key to Los Angeles
According to our Press Department U.K., the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at and Fifth Khalifa, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad delivered the keynote address at a special reception held in his honour at the Montage in Beverly Hills, LA on 11 May 2013. More than 300 politicians, academics and community leaders attended, including the California Lieutenant Governor, mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti, and several members of the United States Congress. During the event the Los Angeles City Council presented Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad with the golden key to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/05/13)
Genesis of Bodu Bala Sena
Before organizing Bodu Bala Sena, majority of the Buddhist monks in the outfit and Mr. Dilantha Withanage were in Norway. The trip to Norway was arranged by Mr. Dilantha Withanage and by Mr. Arne Fjortoft of the Worldview International Foundation. According to Norwegian Ambassador for Sri Lanka Ms. Grete Løchen, “Ven. Galegodatte Gnanasera Thero contacted the Sri Lanka based organization Worldview International Foundation in April 2011 to explore the possibility to meet with representatives of the Tamil Disapora in Norway to look for ways and means to create a common policy to solve political problems regarding the... -Full Story- (asiantribune.com - 13/05/13)
Statement regarding the alleged connection between Bodu Bala Sena and Norway
Last updated: 22/04/2013 // The Norwegian government strongly denies any financial, moral or ideological support to Bodu Bala Sena. Under no circumstances will Norway support organizations that seem to work against religious kinship and peaceful coexistence, neither in Sri Lanka nor in any other country. On the contrary, we are deeply concerned about the anti-Muslim rhetoric and actions which we witness today in Sri Lanka. This message has been conveyed by the Embassy to different religious leaders including Muslims as well as government officials. Dialogue is an important part of Norwegian Foreign Policy. This means that Norwegian diplomats will talk... -Full Story- (norway.lk - 13/05/13)
Xavier was aware of the brutality of the Inquisition
One of the darkest chapters in Indo-Portuguese history, the "Inquisition" deserves far more comprehensive research to bring out the truth from an Indian perspective, says historian Teotonio R de Souza.... -Full Story- (Deccan Herald - 13/05/13)
Hungry? Lacking protein? Eat an insect, UN says
The UN has been working on ways to end world hunger for decades, but their newest idea does not involve economics, politics, or even food: The organization is now advising people to eat more insects. Insect farming is "one of the many ways to address food and feed security," the agency said in a 200-page report released at a news conference at the UN-s Rome headquarters. The report said that insects are "extremely efficient" in converting feed into edible meat for humans. It added that insects are "particularly important as a food supplement for undernourished children."... -Full Story- (rt.com - 13/05/13)
Karunanidhi and the ‘boycott’ of CHOGM by Queen Elizabeth
The DMK chief M Karunanidhi has demanded that India boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in November2013, according to a The Times of India report dated 10 May 2013. Why should he not do it? His rival Jayalalitha has been making a song and dance about the ‘suffering of the Tamils in Sri Lanka’ for quite a while, saying that India should not attend the CHOGM. Which politician will forego the opportunity of earning some Brownie points at the expense of an issue over which he or she does not... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/05/13)
The Government is still battling as to what it should do with the 13 Amendment.
While the Government is battling as to what it should do with the 13 Amendment, the TNA and the Tamil National People’s Front are busy formulating a draft proposal to address Tamil issues. SLMC General Secretary Ha ssan Ali opposes a 19 Amendment proposed by the government and opposes removal of the Land and Police powers proposed in the 17 Amendment. The Government is still not sure as to what it should do and informs reducing armed forces from the North. While the TNA is demanding, “ voting rights be granted to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/05/13)
International Relations and Security: Moving forward with India
With regard to the collapse of relations with India in the eighties, the reasons are clear enough. If anyone doubted the corrosive effect of President Jayewardene’s Cold War adventurism, the Annexe to the Indo-Lankan Accord makes crystal clear what India feared. At the time the Liberal Party regretted the fact that we should have acknowledged Indian supremacy over our foreign relations, but we also said that, without spelling this out, we should always have acted on the assumption that we could not afford to alienate India. We have also always pointed out... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/05/13)
Time to tell US diplomats who is boss here
The content of the recent speech by the US ambassador to Sri Lanka Michele J Sison to the Foreign Journalists’ Association in Colombo on the “next steps” for US engagement with Sri Lanka is typical of the forceful and uncivilised approach to diplomacy being practiced by US state department officials whose career rise roughly coincides with the neocon capture of the US government and the Armed Forces. Some US diplomats in this category who have got promoted to ambassadorial postings are typified by a level of arrogance that borders on... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/05/13)
ශ්රී ලංකාද්වීපයේ දිව්ය ආරක්ෂක බලමුළුවේ නූතන රක්ෂණය (දෙවන කොටස)
හයවෙනි පරිච්ඡේදය .හිරු සේවය සූර්ය දිව්ය රාජෝත්තමයාණන් වහන්සේ මේ වසරේදී මීන රාශියේ සිට මේෂ රාශියට ප්රවිෂ්ඨ වූයේ ලබන්නා වූ නව වසර පමණක් නොව ඉදිරි කාලයද ශ්රී ලංකාද්වීපයට ඉතා හොද බවට වැදගත් පණිවුඩයක් නිකුත් කරමිණි. දැන් මේ රටේ ප්රධාන ඝාතන රැල්ල නිම කිරීම සදහා කල යුතුව තිබුණේ, රටේ ජනාධිපතිතුමාව එම ධූරයෙන් නිදහස් කර හැරීමේ කටයුත්තට පණ පෙවීම පමණි. මේ සම්බන්ධව කල යුත්තේ කුමක්දැයි සාකච්ඡා කිරීම සදහා ශ්රී ලංකාද්වීප ආරක්ෂක දිව්ය බල මුළුව රැස්වී සාකච්ඡාව ආරම්භ කරන ලද්දේ උපුල්වන් සුරිදුන්ගේ ආරාධනයෙණි. රැස්වූ දෙවි දේවතාවුන්වහන්සේලා ඇමතූ උපුල්වන් සුරිදුන්. " 'අප ආරම්භ කල ශ්රී... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/05/13)
Ex CJ Shiranie faces Bribery Commission & BASL sheds crocodile tears !
The BASL in a statement had said that when Ex CJ Shiranie appeared before the Bribery Commission, she had been subjected to, 'absolutely unnecessary harassment and humiliation'. The BASL Committee had passed a resolution asking the Commission to stop harassing 'her ladyship', in the name of Justice, fairplay and democracy. The BASL is controlled by the torchbearers of the UNP. After her impeachment, when she left the Supreme Court premises to attend the Parliamentary Select Committee meetings, BASL members dashed coconuts to invoke the blessings of deities, garlanded & cheered her, lighted crackers and so on. For the first time in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/05/13)
A RESPONSE TO US ABASSSADOR Ms. SISON
( Published in two installments in the Sunday Island of 5th and 12th May 2013) of these problems, I would like to put down one quotation I have It is necessary to respond to the statement made by Ms. Michele J. Sison addressing a meeting with Foreign Correspondents Association at the Galle Face Hotel Colombo as reported in ‘The Island’ newspaper of 10th April. Hence this response. You have said that “History had shown that societies which did not satisfactorily deal with reconciliation and accountability issues in the in the aftermath... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/05/13)
Building the future, gifting hope
Every dark cloud has a silver lining, they say. The tsunami of December 2004 brought untold suffering to many in Sri Lanka as elsewhere. But for the villagers of Kosgoda 100 km South of Colombo and of Miyagala about 100 km from the east coast it was a blessing in disguise. In January 2005 - a month after the calamity - Sri Lankans domiciled in Germany together with their German friends founded the Sahana Tsunami Relief organization to help those who survived the tsunami in the two villages. By December of the same year the STR... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/05/13)
Ahmadis' mission of peace in an age of terror
Just weeks after the terrorist bombings at the Boston Marathon, the global leader of the world’s 200 million plus Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has brought his religion’s message of peace, public service and uplift to the faithful of Southern California. While those principles are embraced by most of the Muslim world, the Ahmadis' outlook is distinctive. The visiting Ahmadiyya Head (Khalifa), Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, is critical of mixing religion and governance and points to the restive Middle East countries in the "Arab Spring" aftermath as examples of discord born of religious rule. He speaks lauding... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/05/13)
Sri Lanka president arrives for Commonwealth summi
President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka has jetted into Uganda today to participate in the Commonwealth Local Government conference. Mahinda was received at Entebbe international Airport by Foreign Affairs minister (International cooperation) Henry Okello Oryem and Uganda’s high commissioner to Sri-Lanka, Nimisha J. Madhvani at about 1:00 pm. Vellupillai Kanathan, consul general for Sri Lanka in Uganda, said the head of state would spend four days here. “He will be a key note speaker at the conference. The next commonwealth will be hosted by Sri Lanka this year and so he will be... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/05/13)
Saudis, Qatar fire UN torpedo at Syrian peace
UNITED NATIONS - It is a popular term at the United Nations. "Multilevel peace process" is used often to refer to complementary efforts in conflict-prevention, and the UN-s history is rich with countless such examples. Yet, somehow, the UN has misdirected its energy in the case of Syria, by entertaining a General Assembly resolution that, if adopted, will likely act as a disservice - call it negative input - with respect to the US-Russian peace conference planned for the end of May.... -Full Story- (atimes.com - 11/05/13)
The glaring missing element in the Electricity Tariff Hike.
While most commentators howled in opposition to the Electricity tariff hike , I have argued (e.g., 7th May, Island newspaper) that this would jolt the nation into a more salutary developmental trajectory. The first stages of development relate to basic agricultural capabilities needed to feed the people. The vision of successive governments before and after independence had been fired by the ancient hydraulic civilization of Sri Lanka. This led to the Galoya, Walawe, Mahaweli and other schemes that created the nation's foundation for agriculture as well as hydro-electricity. As the agricultural needs become established, the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/05/13)
British complicity in murder of Burma’s national hero Aung San raises issues for wider investigation of British crimes in colonial era
Mr. David Cameron, British Prime Minister, has vowed to give Sri Lanka lessons on human rights when he attends the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka in November 2013. It is an astonishing statement coming from a head of a country that once ran an Empire not so long ago, on which it was said that ‘the Sun never sets’. At its peak the British Empire was the largest empire the world had ever known. Closely associated with Empire Rule was the term ‘White Man’s Burden’ coined by Rudyard Kipling in a poem (1899)... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/05/13)
Dayan Jayatilleka singing hosannas for Azath Salley !
Dr. Dayan Jayatilleke, writing to an English Daily and defending Azath Salley had said, "Azath Salley's rhetorical flourish, in which he was never abusive towards the Sinhalese or Sinhala Buddhists as a community..." and so on. In contrast to all the drumming Dayan is doing for Azath, the 'no nonsense and outspoken' Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse had stated, "...Azath Salley had been arrested as he comprised to mobilize Sri Lankan Muslims for an armed struggle along with a Tamil Group in Tamil Nadu. He had held discussions to mobilize Tamil speaking Muslim people into the ranks of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/05/13)
Get rid of 13amendment and “Manape“ system
The nation has been discussing 2 issues but not a single person seems to have the guts to do away with either though everyone gives a nod that both are adversely affecting the nation. The first is nothing that has been indigenously incorporated and will always be seen as a stepping stone to carving out a separate state while the other is a bizarre system of electing representatives who end up killing each other and they happen to be from the same political party. The signing of the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord signed in July 1987 did... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/05/13)
Elephant House ‘Under the Moodiya’ consumer promotion rewards consumers
Lucky consumers had much more than their thirst quenched recently as drinkers of Elephant House Ginger Beer (EGB), Elephant House Cream Soda, Elephant House Necto, Elephant House Orange Barley, Elephant House Orange Crush and KIK Cola won some valuable prizes with the climax of the 'Under the Moodiya' consumer promotion. Grand prize winners walked away with a Suzuki Dzire sedan and a Maruti 800cc car, as well as three Yamaha FZ-S motorbikes, plus a number of valuable instant prizes, as part of this promotion which saw over 130,000 entries pouring in from... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/05/13)
ජාතියේ ටෙලි සම්මාන උළෙල මැයි මස 17 වන දා පැවැත්වීමට සියළු කටයුතු සුදානම්
• පළමු වරට සම්මාන උළෙලට පෙර නිර්දේශිත නාම ප්රකාශයට පත් කෙරේ. • ජනප්රිය නළුවා, නිළිය සහ ටෙලි නාට්යය තේරීමට SMS මත විමසුම ක්රියාත්මකයි - ඔබේ මනාපය 0772 522 522 ට SMS කරන්න. • මෙවර උළෙලේ දී පිදෙන සම්මාන සංඛ්යාව 57 ක්. English release, nominations. Award & Photographs attached here with නව වැනි ජාතියේ ටෙලි සම්මාන උළෙල - “රයිගම් ටෙලීස් 2012” මැයි මස 17 වන දා සවස 6.30 ට බත්තරමුල්ල වෝටර්ස් එජ් හිදී අති උත්කර්ශවත් ලෙස පැවැත්වීමට කටයුතු සංවිධාන කර ඇත. මෙවර සම්මාන උළෙල සඳහා සියළුම රූපවාහිනී නාලිකා නියෝජනය කරමින්... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/05/13)
Battling our own brothers from across the sea, say Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen
Their trawlers very close to our shore, say Sri Lankan fishermen “Tamil fishermen pose the biggest threat to our livelihood,” said M. Lingarajan, a Sri Lankan Tamil fisherman based in Jaffna, on Wednesday. “And that is the irony. We are battling our own brothers,” he said, staring emptily at the shore just a few metres away. His is among the seldom-heard voices from this side of Palk Strait. Wedded to the waters since his childhood, Lingarajan knows no other job. After a disastrous season of losses, he has barely begun to see some income, thanks to the 45-day... -Full Story- (thehindu.com - 10/05/13)
Russia, UK both interested in ending Syrian violence – Putin
Despite having a different approach to Syria, Russia and UK share an interest in preserving the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, Vladimir Putin said after talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron in Sochi. The negotiations in the capital of the 2014 Winter Olympics were initiated by the British PM and covered a range of political and economic issues, but it’s the Syrian conflict, which topped the agenda.... -Full Story- (rt.com - 10/05/13)
Sri Lanka making advances after years blighted by fear
Calls for New Zealand to support a campaign to have the Commonwealth heads of government meeting moved from Sri Lanka should be dismissed, writes Aruna Abeygoonesekera. It was disappointing to read former Green Party MP Keith Locke-s article (NZ-s reputation at stake over summit venue, May 3). Many Sri Lankan expatriates living in New Zealand have taken the opportunity to visit their ancestral homes, an opportunity denied to them for so long. Both Sinhalese and Tamil Sri Lankans living in New Zealand have travelled back to Sri... -Full Story- (stuff.co.nz - 10/05/13)
Azath Salley a Security Threat to India Too in the Background of Recent Bangalore Attack by Muslim-Tamil Terrorists
The day Muslim-Tamil National Alliance leader Azath Salley was taken in for questioning three more Tamil Muslims were arrested in Tamil Nadu over terrorism allegations. With that the total number of arrests in relation to the Bangalore bomb attack rises to nine. They include Valayal Hakeem, Asghar Ali, Rehamatullah, Tenkasi Suleman, Bukhari, Basheer Sunnathi and Basheer Peer Mohiddeen. All of them Muslims from Tamil Nadu. A group of terrorists suspected to be from Al Ummah terrorist group carried out many terrorist attacks in India, the most recent being the Bangalore bombing on 17 April 2013 which... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/05/13)
ශ්රී ලංකාද්වීපයේ දිව්ය ආරක්ෂක බලමුළුවේ නූතන රක්ෂණය (පලමුවන කොටස)
පලමුවෙනි පරිච්ඡේදය. මහා රහතුන්වහන්සේලාගේ පණිවුඩය මෙසමයෙහි ශ්රී ලංකාද්වීපය තුල මිනිසත් බව යනු කුමක් දැයි නොදත්, නොහදුනන ජන සංඛ්යාව ක්රම ක්රමයෙන් දළුලා වැඩෙමින් පැවතිණි. පාලකයෙක් සිටියද පාලනයක්ද, නීතියක් තිබුණද නීතියක්ද, ආරක්ෂකයින් සිටියද, ආරක්ෂාවක්ද නැතිව, මිනිසත් බවට එරෙහිවූ වටපිටාවක් නිර්මාණයව තිබුණී. උගතුන්, බුද්ධිමතුන්, ප්රාඥයින්, ක්රම ක්රමයෙන් තමනට නුසුදුසු, මේ පරිසරයෙන් ඉවත්ව යන්නට විය. එසේ ඉවත්ව යෑමට හැකියාවක් නැති උගතුන්ට, නොමිනිස් සමාජ රටාව වැලද ගැනීමටද, එවැන්නක් කිරීමට අපහසු වූ උගතුන් බුද්ධිමතුන්ව, පැවති සමාජ රටාව විසින්, වල් පැලෑටි විනාශ කර දමන්නාක් සේ මරා පුළුස්සා දමන ලදී. නිර්වාණය අරමුණු කරගත් සග පරපුරකට පැවතීමට අපහසුවන ආකාරයට... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/05/13)
LET US UNITE TO ABROAGTE THE 13TH amendment
We wish to record our appreciation of the bold stand adopted by Mr Wimal Weerawansa MP and his party the JNP with regard to the 13th Amendment and the Elections to the Northern Provincial Council. In keeping with the hopes and aspirations of the vast majority of Sri Lankans who uphold the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of the country as a sacred principle governing the State of Sri Lanka, the timely action taken by Mr WW has galvanized the national opinion and will... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/05/13)
NEITHER A SPY NOR A TERRORIST
I never knew that there is no difference between a spy and a terrorist but the recent reporting of some of our own national media houses on the Sarabjeet Singh’s death revealed upon me that a spy could be called a terrorist and a terrorist could be a spy. According to my knowledge, a spy is a person who secretly collects and reports information about an enemy or competitor. A spy is usually employed by a state or institution to obtain secret information from rival countries, organizations and companies. In short his sole responsibility is to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/05/13)
LIFE ABROAD – Part 27: LOST OPPORTUNITIES
The colossal amount of foreign exchange drain on steep accommodation bills for Sri Lankan diplomatic and 'home based' staff sent abroad from the Foreign Ministry had been the subject of discussion for a long time in London. The decision to purchase buildings for government use, as far back as in 1998, was considered as a far-sighted cost effective policy to save the much need foreign exchange for the country. The late Lakshman Kadirgamar as the Foreign Minister suggested that a treasury allocation of Rs.100 million to the Foreign Ministry be utilised in the purchase of properties... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/05/13)
Kerry couldn-t set Moscow River on fire
The foreplay of Russian-American high-level exchanges can be very revealing. This time too the two sides indulged in some robust shadow play in the run-up to the overnight "working visit" of the United States Secretary of State John Kerry to Moscow on Tuesday. Kerry-s talks produced a significant result with Washington and Moscow agreeing on a "road map" for the resolution of the Syrian crisis. Part of the reason why the perception of a "breakthrough" formed almost instantaneously is because Kerry-s visit took placeagainst a backdrop of dark forebodings.... -Full Story- (atimes.com - 09/05/13)
Best Russian weaponry on show in Red Square parade (PHOTOS)
From trademark tanks and fighter jets to the latest, unrivalled missile defense systems – the Victory Day parade stages a military show right in the heart of Russia’s busy capital. RT takes a closer look at the defense technology in the spotlight. Over 11,000 servicemen from all the branches of the Russian armed forces marched through Moscow’s central square to mark the 68 year of WWII Victory.... -Full Story- (rt.com - 09/05/13)
Please do not make Sri Lanka a playground of the foreigners and the rich, like Cuba under Batista.
There is no reason why Sri Lanka should put all its cards on tourism, as the number one money maker. It should be kept in mind that tourism while it brings financial benefits , it also brings innumerable social problems. Sri Lanka as a developing country which made much head way in the economic growth should consider for whose benefit the country is being developed. It is the people of Sri Lanka that should first benefit by the countries development. Secondly, the promoters of tourism should not be allowed to do so haphazardly, it should be planned... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/05/13)
The Accretionary Model for the Origin of the Sinhala Race
It is widely believed that the Sinhala people - the 'autochthons' of Sri Lanka - constitute a well-defined 'race' because the language they speak is unique and their religio-cultural traditions set them apart from their congeners in Asia and elsewhere. There is also a remarkable chronicle - the Mahavamsa -that purports to give a a full account of the history of the Sinhala people. No serious attempt has been made by historiographers and others to define the Sinhala race in terms of physical features or other biological attributes - because it is obvious to all but the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/05/13)
COMPLAINT ON ABC TV PROGRAM 7.30 REPORT OF 25TH APRIL 2013
ABC Audience Affairs ABC PO Box 9994 Melbourne-Victoria COMPLAINT ON ABC TV PROGRAM 7.30 REPORT OF 25TH APRIL 2013 We wish to refer to the above program and request you to investigate into the following issues based on the ABC Code of Practice and restore the integrity as a leading media organization. We wish to draw your attention to the section 2 i.e. Accuracy , of the Principles and Standards outlined in the Code of Practice especially to the necessity to ensure the gathering... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/05/13)
Travels of a journalist: MAKE ADAM’S BRIDGE MORE ATTRACTIVE TO TOURISTS
I wanted to visit Adam’s Bridge (or Rama Setu) straddling Talaimannar (on Sri Lanka’s Mannar Island) and Dhanuskodi (on India’s Rameswaram/Pamban Island) for a long time. The putative “bridge” is a 30-km long chain of 16 limestone shoals one-half of which belong to Sri Lanka. Ramayana, the Indian epic, says that Rama built this “bridge” with the assistance of Hanuman, the monkey god, to rescue Sita from Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. Mahavamsa identifies Thambapanni, where Prince... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/05/13)
AZATH SALLEY’S CALL TO ARMS HIS UNDOING
* Sixteen complaints against Salley and sister * Arrest based purely on allegations * Started taking meals from Sunday Former Deputy Mayor of Colombo, Azath Salley was arrested for inciting citizens to take to arms. In an interview to Junior Vikatan magazine on April 24, 2013, Salley had said the Sri Lankan Muslim community had no option but to take to arms. This report could also be accessed on website www.vikatan.com. The public that accessed the report over the website had also complained to the authorities over the statement. The CID commenced their investigations... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/05/13)
The making of a writer
Recently, my novel, Untouchable Woman’s Odyssey was featured in the Toronto-based website www.MyBindi serving the wider South Asian community. Invited to be interviewed via a questionnaire, what appears in the published interview is an edited version. Below I produce the full answer to one of the questions in the thought that perhaps it may be of some interest and value for budding authors. Question: You used to be an actor and dancer in Sri Lanka. How did that art form aid in strengthening your creative writing skill? Answer: Suwanda Sugunasiri I was a good dancer all... -Full Story- (sundayobserver.lk - 08/05/13)
Queen-s Speech: UK government to crackdown on EU migrants
In this year-s Queen-s speech, the UK government announced tougher rules on immigration in a bid to stem the flow of EU migrants to Britain. In her annual speech to parliament, Queen Elizabeth II began by saying the government-s priority is to "strengthen Britain-s economic competitiveness." She also announced a cap on social care costs and a single state pension of £144 a week, in contrast to the cuts which have dominated government policy since coming to power.... -Full Story- (rt.com - 08/05/13)
Suffer the children: 1 in 4 UK kids to live in poverty by 2020 - report
Nearly one-quarter of British children will be living in poverty by the year 2020, a new report has predicted. PM David Cameron pledged that child poverty would be gone by this time, yet some of the government-s policies seem to exacerbate the crisis. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) estimated that the UK government-s budgetary decisions in recent years will reverse improvements in child poverty rates made over the previous 10 years. By 2020, approximately 3.4 million children – about 1 in 4 children – will be living in poverty, nearly 1 million more than the current... -Full Story- (rt.com - 08/05/13)
Response of H. L. D. Mahindapala, former Editor of THE OBSERVER, to Chris Johnson, Political Editor of the SUNDAY AGE, an Australian newspaper in the state of Victoria. .
Chris Johnson is the Political Editor of the SUNDAY AGE, an Australian newspaper in the state of Victoria. In his column last Sunday he was raising concerns about Australia handing over the chair of CHOGM for two years to Sri Lanka. Here is the response of H. L. D. Mahindapala, former Editor of THE OBSERVER, to Chris Johnson. Dear Chris, Even before the ink could dry in last Sunday's AGE international events and facts were running against your conclusions on Sri Lanka. In your article you wrote: "The UK court gets it; Canada's Prime... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/05/13)
How does the layman decide between expert- and pseudo-expert views?
The ordinary man has often been misled by genuine experts as well as pseudo-experts, fear-mongering individuals and false prophet. Experts can be used by powerful people (governments. corporations, lobby groups) to disseminate their version of "the truth". Also, conspiracy theories can be psychologically more appealing than the bare truth. Getting at the whole truth is very hard, and is the endevour of all research. So the question "what should the layman do" (raised by Janaka) is very important and has to be answered carefully and in some detail. When a problem has to be solved, and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/05/13)
Why the Northern Provincial Election Will be the Waterloo of UPFA
When 13A Nazis join Regime Change agents it creates real change. This is the latest ploy of the two and apparently a seamless one. It has the potential to work better than all previous attempts because it attacks the heart of the success of UPFA since 2004. UPFA’s election success is no match to the UNP’s 17 year rule. However, the common theme running in both is that ruling parties remained better than the opposition in national popularity. This can only be broken piecemeal, province by province. Twenty Years Ago After winning all national and provincial elections... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/05/13)
HRH PRINCE CHARLES CONFIRMED TO ATTEND THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2013 IN SRI LANKA
The Royal Household today confirmed that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Heir to the Throne, will represent Her Majesty the Queen at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka this November. HRH Prince Charles has previously represented The Queen as Head of the Commonwealth in the past, including at the Commonwealth Games 2010. Her Majesty celebrated her 87th Birthday this April, and unfortunately had to cancel her attendance at the Commonwealth Day celebration in March this year at London’s Westminster Abbey after many years, due... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/05/13)
A rebuke to Sri Lanka
7 May 2013 The Editor THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Sir: Permit me to share my observations on your Editorial – A rebuke to Sri Lanka, of May 2. In the body of that editorial you said; “…the diplomatic equivalent of a slap in the face – is for the leader of one country to refuse to attend a high profile gathering hosted by another. Well, Canada has just slapped Sri Lanka.” With Canada failing miserably to change the venue of the Commonwealth Summit from Colombo to another country, perhaps, to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/05/13)
Germany confirms October delegation to Colombo
As Sri Lanka and the leading economy of the EU, the Federal Republic of Germany, together mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations, the Eurozone leader is looking to enhance its profile in Sri Lanka significantly. And the race for Sri Lanka’s key strategic resource (rare earth elements and mineral sands) has just tightened with Germany too exploring this crucial domestic sector, which is poised for a boom. “I too believe that there is strong unrealised potential for trade and investment cooperation between the two countries as we arrive... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/05/13)
Lyden av en klappende hånd.
Erik Solheim’s «Politikk er å Ville» ble publisert 5 Mars 2013, manglet mye fakta og substans og var ganske mangelfullt for min smak. Hvis det var noe mann kunne få fra det var det datoene på forskjellige historiske hendelser. Spørsmålet om hvordan og hvorfor fredsprosessen gikk gærent forblir uklart. Det er hvis en ser bort fra Solheim sine uformelle anklager av Thorbjørn Jagland som er for det meste ubekreftet sladder. Rajiv Gandhi Erik Solheim Jagland var ikke hvem... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/05/13)
SOUTH ASIA -LeT: Augmenting Threat
Emphasizing the Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) clout and survival capabilities in South Asia, Admiral Samuel Locklear, Commander of the US Pacific Command (PACOM), observed, on April 9, 2013, “LeT remains one, if not the most operationally capable terrorist groups through all of South Asia. LeT was responsible for the November 2008 attack in Mumbai, India, that killed over 160 people, including six Americans, and has supported or executed a number of other attacks in South Asia in recent years.” Significantly, the Combating Terrorism Centre (CTC) at the US Military Academy, West Point, published... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/05/13)
Stephen Harper fights for Human Rights for Tamils in Sri Lanka , while he violates Human Rights of Canadian aborigine people- the First Nations.
Why cannot Stephen Harper give equal rights to Canadian First Nations, if he has given equal rights to the Sri Lanka Tamil Community in Canada ? If Stephen Harper has any sense of righteousness, his first duty should be to remove the Indian Act of 1876 to give the Canadian First Nations’ freedom to move away from their confinement in the Reserves. Harper should thereafter build them houses, schools, hospitals and give them the right to be educated in Universities and find respectable employment, and provide decent living conditions and treat them as “Canadians”. They deserve it... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/05/13)
Beyond collective egos: Our relational grounds of belonging and faith. -A reply to Sajeeva Samaranayake.
In my opinion, this article (24 Apr, 2013 Sajeeva Samaranayake Colombo, Religion and faith) is an attempt to put India in the spotlight as the founder and sustainer of the Sinhalese Buddhist civilization, more specifically of Sinhalese-ness and Buddhist-ness.. The article comes at a time when the Sri Lanka-India relationship is plummeting to a new low mainly due to the Sri Lanka Tamil and Tamil Nadu factors. If the idea is to restore some equilibrium in that relationship then the attempt is acceptable. What however, seems to me as unacceptable, is the selective erroneous interpretation of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/05/13)
MOTHER LANKA COMMITS HARA-KIRI
President Rajapaksa in the recent past has been telling the people that Northern Provincial Council(NPC) elections will be held in September under 13 Amendment. If NCP elections are held and the onetime LTTE proxy TNA wins (not if, they will most certainly will) on the very next day the patriotic tabloids if there are any, would carry the headlines as “Mother Lanka commits hara-kiri (ritual suicide) being unable to bear the pain of seeing that she will be dissected into ethnic enclaves”. There is no doubt that TNA is going to win as unlike the Sinhalese, the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/05/13)
The Buddhist world must rally around Burma (Myanmar)
The roots of the world’s troubles lead to Britain Colonial apologists are unlikely to agree but in looking deeper to understand the dynamics that continue to rip continents, regions and nations apart, it is the policies adopted by the British in all of the nations they conquered and ruled that are to be blamed. Myanmar is no exception. Its land was demarcated to the advantage of the British, it flooded Burma with foreign labor giving rise to the question of citizenship and controversy surrounds deaths of Burma’s leader Gen. Aung Sun (father of Aun Sui ki) as... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/05/13)
UN notes -concrete suspicions- that Syrian rebels used chemical weapons
UN human rights investigators have spoken to the victims of Syria-s civil war and gathered medical testimonies which point to the Syrian rebels having used sarin nerve gas, while any allegations of its use by the government remain unsubstantiated. The United Nations independent commission of inquiry on Syria has concluded that no evidence of the use of sarin by Syria-s government troops has so far been uncovered, said the lead commission member Carla Del Ponte on Sunday.... -Full Story- (rt.com - 06/05/13)
West ‘fomenting a proxy war’ in Syria
Israel’s recent attack on Damascus and the talk of ‘red lines’ over alleged use of chemical weapons by government forces is part of a broader plan by the West to foment war in the region. That is according to Charlie McGrath, founder of the news website wideawakenews.com. He told RT of the early signs seen and the PR tactics used to manufacture that war. Moreover, with the decision by the West to arm the Syrian rebels now on the horizon, while the same rebels are still terrorizing Iraq and Afghanistan, McGrath paints a very grim picture.... -Full Story- (rt.com - 06/05/13)
Continuing the review of Dayan Jayatilleka's book, Long War, Cold Peace -- Part II- Searching for ethics in a five-month war
Of the many tangled and intertwining issues that are bound to sprout from the 33-year-old war there are only two serious questions worth asking for those pursing reconciliation, peace, justice, understanding the past and, above all, the ethics of the overwhelming violence that impacted on all communities: 1. was the war declared by the Tamil leadership in the Vadukoddai Resolution of May 14, 1976 necessary? and 2. what did the Tamil leadership, which insisted on waging war rejecting national and international offers of peace even on the banks of Nandikadal, achieve in dragging the Tamil... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
The nation waits for closure
The nation waits for closure. Stepping back ... and looking at the larger picture, it could be argued that this has been some decades in coming .... It could be argued, also, that Sri Lanka is closer than ever before, at this moment in time, to this long-elusive goal. History tells us that such 'moments in time' for so many nations around the world, have not lasted long. Which is why time is of the essence for Sri Lanka to finally put the ethnic issue behind it. Doing so will decidedly demand an end to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
Ambassador Sison and Asath Sali
Breach of diplomatic protocol Is US Ambassador Sison trying to make SL the next ‘hotspot’? 1. Michele J Sison (US Ambassador), 2. ‘Farisz Master’ (Head, YMMA), 3. Jazeer (Member, YMMA), 4. Nawaz (Member, YMMA), 5. Kamudeen (Treasurer, YMMA), 6. Amir (Mosque Representative), 7. Maharoof (Mosque Representative), 8. Registrar of births, deaths and marriages, Kinniya, 9. Bizer (Member, YMMA), 10. Naushad Abdul (translator) Source: The Nation, Sunday, 28 April 2013 02:18
Ms. Sison who came to Colombo with the job description of getting NP elections under 13-A has got an unexpected... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
What have Center for Policy Alternatives, National Peace Council and Transparency International done with Rs.600million given to them?
When foreign nations like Canada, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Netherlands, the EU and USA collaborate to donate 3 NGOs that are often quoted on international arena as the mouthpieces for “democracy”, “transparency” and “truth” our next question unanswered thus far is what have these organizations being doing with Rs.600million given to them? Rs.277million to the Center for Policy Alternatives headed by Mr. Pakiasothy, Rs.171million to the National Peace Council headed by Jehan Perera and Rs.174million to Transparency International now needs to provide answers as they are eternally seeking truth from all others. The Rs.600million is only disclosed amounts... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
Have the Powerful Global BRICS Jettisoned India to the Mighty Chinese Dragon?
India seems to walk into its own cans of worms making a Comedy of Errors on its own way. The global association BRICS, consisting of Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa could not give a rats-arse about China entering Indian territory whilst there are vital global considerations boiling on the fire. There are several areas which India had treaded into, making itself an international joker. 1: Commercially, Indian corrupt, inept, inconsiderate, bureaucratic government "intellectuals" have created a backlash from some of the largest global MNC, Royal Dutch Shell, Vodafone, LG, Nokia and many others, by trying to blackmail them into... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
Way to Happiness!
We now live in a world where everybody is rushing with high ambitions to get all the materialistic things in the world. Every day there are new things coming up and we keep on chasing them. In this endless chase we get into stressful conditions . We need to spend some time with our-selves . We will realize that we can be happy with few of these materials. Relaxing your body and mind can be achieved by your-self without much effort. This will naturally lead you to observe Sathi-Pattana’ meditation as taught in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
Congratulations On your decision
Rt Hon David Cameron Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Dear Mr Cameron, We write to congratulate & thank you for your decision to support the CHOGM in Colombo in November by attending. We agree with you whole heartedly that the best way to promote change in SL for the better is by engaging with rather than isolating Sri Lanka. We also note that Commonwealth and Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt as well as many UK Parliamentarians such as Conservative MP's Ian Pasely Jn , & James Wharton who have... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER CAMERON WILL ATTEND CHOGM IN SRI LANKA - DR CHRIS NONIS
British Prime Minister Rt Hon David Cameron, and Foreign Secretary Rt Hon William Hague, will be attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka, Dr Chris Nonis, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the UK confirmed. The Commonwealth biennial meeting in November this year, will be preceded by the Commonwealth People’s Forum, the Commonwealth Youth Forum, and the Commonwealth Business Forum, and usually attracts several thousand delegates, and global media coverage. It will provide the opportunity for the 54 Heads to meet to discuss matters of global and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
Tamil like Tories' shift on Sri Lanka
4 May 2013 The Editor THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Sir: The circus about Sri Lanka's alleged human rights violations and Canada boycotting the Commonwealth Summit is spinning stories and swinging in its trapeze acts sans opinions from the Sri Lankan-Sinhalese community. Now I read comments from the Canadian Tamil Congress spokesperson David Poopalapillai and their acquired voice of John Argue of Amnesty International who were given $50,000 publicly by the Canadian Tamil Congress two Septembers ago in Toronto. The Tamils are being discriminated by the majority Sinhalese they say and that is why they arrived in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
John Baird says Sri Lanka is "Evil"
2 May 2013 Hon. John Baird, PC. MP Minister or Foreign Affairs for Canada House of Commons, Ottawa Dear John: This letter to you is in response to four news articles which you have been quoted in reference to Sri Lanka hosting the Commonwealth Heads Summit in November and Canada wanting to deny it happening because of the alleged human rights violations. My response to it is – “See who is talking? Phew! Canada has a mighty big ego with an attitude of “We are Holier... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
Corruption, bribery at the Highest levels in the West, and stealing African money
1)Clinton, Bush, Blair, the king of Spain, Israeli politicians and others seem to have been given access to millions of dollars from the convicted industrial crook and gangster who was also a top CEO of the Copper multinational GenCore. 2)It shows how Switzerland has been in collusion with the multinational to defraud the power countries by acting as a tax haven. 3)It shows how Mark Rich (a CEO who got caught and sentenced to jail) escaped to Switzerland how the Swiss government refused to extradite him to the US. 4)Finally, he was pardoned by... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
Canada Helping Evil Forces
The Editor Montreal Gazette, Montreal, Quebec Dear Sir: Canada has stated that it may not send a "full delegation" to the summit in Colombo which I assume is diplomatic jargon to indicate that Mr. Harper and Mr. Baird may not attend. Good. It is Canada's democratic right to go or not go. However, Canada does not have the right to harass or bully Sri Lanka or any other country and this has been clearly demonstrated by the other members of the Commonwealth not entertaining Canada's strident,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
John Kerry USA Secretary of State should take a lesson from ever present fear of terrorism in USA and leave Sri Lanka alone to traverse its own fortunes.
When will America learn that their foreign policies are out dated, self centred , and not progressive? Democrats have failed to change the Republican policies still embedded in their administrative System. Be it Hillary Clinton or John Kerry , the changes to American Foreign policies are not forth coming. What has Sri Lanka done to America ? Sri Lanka is not promoting terrorism in America. Sri Lanka is only asking to be left alone to develop the country which had been devastated by a terrorist war for three decades, and reconcile the Communities psychologically wounded under terrorism.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
Amarakeerthi’s female underwear
Source: Anti-Sinhala Buddhist website Colombo Telegraph The writer Liyanage Amarakeerthi (Islamic Culture And The Challenge Of Buddhist Fundamentalism) is a senior lecturer at department of Sinhala, University of Peradeniya, and visiting scholar at university of Santiago, Spain One can understand all out anger against Bodu Bala Sena from the English-speaking people. BBS is an idea, a plant or a germ, a paradox originated with a group of relatively unknown four Buddhist monks and a layman just one year ago. It spread like wild fire. One can understand a Christian Marxist like Dayan Jayatileke shouting against BBS,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
John Baird says Sri Lanka is "Evil"
2 May 2013 Hon. John Baird, PC. MP Minister or Foreign Affairs for Canada House of Commons, Ottawa Dear John: This letter to you is in response to four news articles which you have been quoted in reference to Sri Lanka hosting the Commonwealth Heads Summit in November and Canada wanting to deny it happening because of the alleged human rights violations. My response to it is – “See who is talking? Phew! Canada has a mighty big ego with an attitude of “We are Holier... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
නව ජලවිදුලි බලාගාරයක් බ්රෝඩ්ලන්ඩ්ස්හි ආරම්භ කිරීමට පියවර.
ජාතික විදුලිබල පද්ධතියට මෙගා වොට් 35ක සක්රීය ධාරිතාවක් එක්කිරීමට සැලසුම් කොට ඇති බ්රෝඩ්ලන්ඩ්ස් ජලවිදුලි බලාගාරයේ ඉදිකිරීම් කටයුතු කඩිනමින් ආරම්භ කරන ලෙස විෂයභාර අමාත්ය නීතිඥ පවිත්රා වන්නිආරච්චි මහත්මිය බලාගාර භූමියේ නිරීක්ෂණ චාරිකාවකට එක් වෙමින් පැවසුවාය. මහින්ද චින්තන වැඩසටහන යටතේ වහා ම ප්රමූඛත්වය දී ආරම්භ කළ යුතු විදුලිබල යෝජනා ක්රමයක් ලෙස නම් කර නව ජලවිදුලි බලාගාරය ඉදි කිරීමට පියවර ගෙන තිඛෙන අතර එය කැලණි ගඟ ආශ්රිත ව ඉදිකෙරෙන අවසන් ජලවිදුලි බලාගාරය ද වේ. බ්රෝඩ්ලන්ඩ්ස් ජලවිදුලි ව්යාපෘතිය පිළිබඳ ව එම ව්යාපෘතියේ අධ්යක්ෂ ආචාර්ය කමල් ලක්සිරි මහතා කරුණු පැහැදිලි කිරීමෙන් අනතුරුව එම ව්යාපෘතියේ ඉදිකිරීම් නිසා නැවත... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/05/13)
A rebuke to Sri Lanka
2 May 2013 The Editor The Ottawa Citizen. Sir: You say in today's editorial,"... the diplomatic equivalent of a slap in the face - is for the leader of one country to refuse to attend a high profile gathering hosted by another. Well Canada has just slapped Sri Lanka," by announcing that Prime Minister Stephen Harper not wanting to attend the Comonwealth Summit in Colombo. The reason being that there has been alleged human rights violations during the last five months of the 27 year long Tamil Tiger terrorist's Eelam War... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/05/13)
A Rebuke to Sri Lanka May 2,2013
The Editor Ottawa Citizen Ottawa, Ontario Dear Sir: You state that "the diplomatic equivalent of a slap in the face - is for the leader of one country to refuse to attend a high profile gathering hosted by another. Well, Canada has just slapped Sri Lanka". Based on the decision of the other members of the Commonwealth to dismiss Canada's strident, aggressive, prejudiced attack on Sri Lanka, one news report calls it "John Bairds Campaign" and states that Canada was the lone voice raising the issue of Sri... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/05/13)
Canada's Flawed Policy on Sri Lanka
Hon. John Baird Minister of Foreign Affairs House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario Dear Sir: A news report dated May 1, 2013 indicates that Canada will not be sending a "full delegation" to the Commonwealth meeting in Sri Lanka this year. I am assuming that this is diplomatic jargon to say that Mr. Stephen Harper and perhaps you will not be attending the summit. Your decision was made after you, representing Canada at the meeting in London on April 26th, were unable to bully and coerce other members of the Commonwealth... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/05/13)
‘Meegamuwa’ sets the trend for an investigative provincial press in Sri Lanka
MSUM
I spent a couple weeks touring Sri Lanka late March and early April after an absence of 13 years. One main purpose was to attend a book debut event organized by the mass communication faculties of the Sri Palee Campus and the Kelaniya University to promote my autobiographical trilogy published in the United States late last year—Village Life in the Forties and From Village Boy to Global Citizen (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2). On our arrival date, three promising journalists visited me at the home of Athula Jayamanne, an... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/05/13)
Pakistan eases tariff on three Lankan commodities
100% waiver for coconut oil exports! Lanka-Paki trade jumps by a strong 174%! Y’12 total trade at $ 433.69 Mn 11th JEC Sessions coming before end-‘13 Secy level meetings conclude successfully in Islamabad Boosting Lanka-Pakistan bilateral trade levels and cooperation and ahead of the next JEC meet, Pakistan has now eased tariffs on three Lankan commodities it directly imports from Sri Lanka. “On behalf of Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, I thank the government of Pakistan for honouring Minister Basil’s requests and reducing tariff on three Lankan export items. This... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/05/13)
Life Abroad – Part 26: WITHOUT CAP, GOWN OR CONVOCATION
Sir Arthur C. Clarke found his way to Sri Lanka in 1956 intending to stay for six months to write a book on exploration of the Sri Lanka’s coastal waters. Until his demise, not so long ago, he decided to remain here for life. Sri Lankans are generally reputed to a have a higher intelligence quotient (IQ). For a small country of 20,263,723 (2012 Census) million people she has raised outstanding scholars in a multiple of professions out of which a good proportion has left her and living and working abroad to raise the economies of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/05/13)
Islam and Terrorism
It is unfortunate that Islam, the religion of peace, hope, harmony, goodwill and Brotherhood had been badly tarnished by the perpetrators of various terrorists acts and barbarism as seen in recent years. The purpose of this presentation is to set forth the teachings of Islam so that manifestations of various terrorist acts are fully exposed in the light of Islamic teachings under whose shelter these activities are being committed. Diplomatic immunity and ethics of war in Islam Islamic Jihad Peace and international relations in Islam... -Full Story- (alislam.org - 02/05/13)
NDP campaigns to boycott Commonwealth summit in Colombo
27 April 2013 Paul Dewar, MP (NDP Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre) Rathika Sitsabaiesan, MP (NDP Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Rouge River) House of Commons, Ottawa cc. Mr. Kamlesh Sharma, Secretary-General, The Commonwealth, Marlborough House, London, UK Dear Paul and Rathika: Re: NDP launching a national campaign to boycott Commonwealth Summit in Colombo I was intrigued to read that you two have ganged together to launch an NDP campaign to boycott Sri Lanka’s Commonwealth Meeting. The Press Release said that you two “have launched a national campaign... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/05/13)
Commonwealth failing on Sri Lanka, Baird says
1 May 2013 The Editor THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Sir: You said that "Foreign Minister John Baird says that Commonwealth is failing its greatest test by letting Sri Lanka host this year's leaders summit - but that Canada has no intention of leaving the organization." Why not? That's a copout isn't it? What he has not told us is that with the Conservative's bullying Sri Lanka about its alleged Human Rights violations during the last five months of a 27 year war which saw 100,000 civilians killed Canada has... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/05/13)
A CIVILIZATION IN RETREAT- AN ASIAN PERSPECTIVE
INTRODUCTION The news of today, whether it is the Bombs in Boston, gang rape of a young woman and her demise in India or the continuous wars in Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria, the violent demonstrations in Egypt and the continuous security checks are a reflection of the dehumanisation of the present society, a failure of trust and a reflection of the insecurity of society and its leaders, a clear indication of regression. It is time we understood the reality of this present world order and understand the mind set of the rulers who have imposed this... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/05/13)
Crackdown on Russia's civil society after Putin's return to the Presidency
April 14, 2013 Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International today released "Laws of Attrition - Crackdown on Russia's Civil Society after Putin's Return to the Presidency". http://www.hrw.org/node/115058/section/2 Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International who watched NATO kill 50,000 blacks, women and children in Libya are agitating because the laws passed by the Russian Duma interfere in the work of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), seeks to cast government critics as clandestine enemies, thereby threatening the viability of Russia's civil society. The new laws "clearly seek to limit, or even end, independent advocacy and other NGO work... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/05/13)
Britain and the Rise of Wahhabism and the House of Saud
In today’s article, Dr. A bdullah Mohammad Si ndi provides an analyt ical and historical review of Wahhabism, Britain’s role in its rise, and its relation to the Saudi ru ling family. Kana’an welcomes the debate that aims at exposing the history and role of reactionary Arab regi mes, particularly the crucial role of colonial and imperial powers in their formation, surviv al, and their dependency on continuous imperialist support.... -Full Story- (kanaanonline.org - 01/05/13)
13th AMENDMENT INCOMPATIBLE with LLRC RECOMMENDATIONS on DEVOLUTION
The recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) have come to be accepted as the holy-grail by the International Community judging from the repeated references to it both nationally and internationally in complete disregard to the Government’s National Plan of Action that was developed by incorporating selected recommendations in the LLRC Report. In fact, this acceptance has led many to believe that the implementation of the LLRC recommendations would bring much needed relief to Sri Lanka’s bruised image. Since it was the search for a political solution that led to the three decade long conflict,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/05/13)
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