by Shamindra Ferdinando Courtesy The Islandƒ”š‚  Army Chief Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya yesterday dismissed British press reports that weapons of British origin had been used against the LTTE in the Eelam war IV. Sri Lanka’s largest ever combined forces offensive, spearheaded by former Army Chief General Sarath Fonseka brought the LTTE to its knees, first […]

Authored By Smiling – with roots in Galle Fort. Sent by : Dr.Reffai The controversy of Ms Rifqa Barrie’s conversion from Islam to Christianity has been in the news in recent weeks. ƒ”š‚  To me, it started out as just another attack by the media on topics of a similar nature. With the passage of […]

Media Release Sri Lanka High Commission Nairobi Kenya Kenyan Deputy President, Kalonzo Musyoka welcomed Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama to Kenya on the 20th of August and congratulated the Sri Lankan Government for laying a solid economic and political foundation for sustainable peace having defeated the LTTE terrorism. Deputy President Musyoka briefed the Sri […]

Shripal Nishshanka Fernando BETTER LATE THAN NEVER – BUT BETTER NEVER LATE”ƒ”š‚¦”ƒ”š‚¦.. All hats off to the brave and courageous UNP members who demonstrated yesterday that UNP is not a party to host politically impotent and nationally dangerous people like Mangala Samaraweera and his band but for the people who love the country truly and […]

By Walter Jayawardhana President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared yesterday that by giving an overwhelming majority to the ruling party after the routing of terrorists in Sri Lanka the people have endorsed bringing the country under one flag. “Uva was the first election held after completely defeating the terrorists in the country. The overwhelming victory at the […]

Sawmeer Khan -Anuradhapura It is from the nature of humans to ask and to wonder why they do things. Muslims do things to please Allah, and they can please Allah only by obeying Him and practicing His religion. Thus, in answer to the question some ignorants may ask “Why do we fast ?” we respond […]

Nava Thakuria Finally the bereaved family of journalist Kamala Saikia, who was murdered by separatist militants 18 years back, has seen a ray of hope. The Assam-based freedom fighter turned teacher-journalist, Saikia fell prey to the conspiracy of the banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA, which admitted to it 15 years later in an […]

MEDIA RELEASE The Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office at Geneva Dr Dayan Jayatilleka leaves Geneva for Colombo this weekend, having served as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, since June 1st 2007. Thursday, August 20th 2009 was his last day of service in that post. During […]

Media Release Public Communications Division Embassy of Sri Lanka Brasilia President Luiz InƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚¡cio Lula da Silva has underscored the importance of enhancing economic and trade ties between his country and Sri Lanka. He made this call at a discussion with the new Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil, A.M.J. Sadiq, who presented his credentials to the […]

By Walter Jayawardhana A top secret report written to Norway’s Foreign Ministry by a country’s senior diplomat and leaked to the newspaper Aften Posten has severely attacked the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon for what is generally believed for not toeing the line of the West. Among the many things he has been criticized […]

By Walter Jayawardhana Pandemonium reigned at an opposition United National Party (UNP)meeting at Kurunegala yesterday when Mangala Samaraweera was hooted down and was compelled to stop his speech. Ultimately the United national Party Deputy leader karu jayasuriya’s efforts to calm down the vociferous members of the meeting to stop their boos had to be given […]

By H.L.D. Mahindapala Delivering the Eighth Neelan Tiruchelvam Memorial Lecture at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES), Colombo, on July 29th 2007 Gareth Evans, President, International Crisis Group (ICG), has in his characteristic eloquent style clinically analyzed and described the new instrument of international intervention needed to prevent future “Holocausts and Cambodias and Rwandas […]

LankaWeb Editorial August 19th 2009 A recent item in the Toronto Star by Human Rights Watch ~ representative Jo Becker captioned “Canada missed opportunity to right Sri Lanka’s wrongs” mayƒ”š‚  be a bold instigation urging Canada to take an anti Sri Lankan Government stance while also sounding sympathetic towards the huge anti Sri Lankan Government […]

Embassy of Sri Lanka Washington DC USA New figures released by the government of Sri Lanka show that the number of displaced people living in government-run welfare centers has dropped by nearly 50,000 as people continue to return to their homes. According to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, the welfare centers housed […]

Ira de Silva London, Canada Mr. Robert Blake Assistant Secretary of State, South & Central Asia State Department Washington,D.C. U.S.A. ƒ”š‚ Dear Sir: ƒ”š‚  I have written to you in the past when as Ambassador in Sri Lanka you were doing what you could to help the Tamil Tiger terrorists (LTTE),ƒ”š‚ projectingƒ”š‚ an attitude that your mandateƒ”š‚ wasƒ”š‚ toƒ”š‚ “instruct” the […]

Nimal Tissa Wijetunga We as Sri Lankans can very well remember the speeches, press conferences and discussions given by Malcolm Ranjith as Bishop of Ratnapura during the period of 2001 “ƒ¢¢”š¬…” 2005. The comments given by him during those speeches are full of distorted facts and specifically related with Ceasfire Agreement entered by the BIGGEST […]

By Janaka Alahapperuma Dayaka Sabhawa of Gangarama Viharaya, Hunupitiya, Colombo-2 donated Rs.10 million to the newly established “Mahinda Rajapaksa Country Development Fund” at Temple Trees recently. Members of the Dayaka Sabhawa officially launched the Fund and handed over the donation to the President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the ceremony. Symbolically this Fund was inaugurated by Chief […]

By Walter Jayawardhana President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday in Ratnapura that no one is above the law in Sri Lanka and in the Security forces and the police there is no place for those people who have no control over themselves. Addressing a felicitation ceremony organized by the people of Sabaragamuwa to mark three months […]

Ben Silva One of the basic needs of human and the responsibility of the government is to provide safe and clean drinking water.ƒ”š‚  This is particularly important in the North Central Province (NCP) of Sri Lanka .ƒ”š‚  Vast majority of the drinking water supply in this region is contaminated and hence people suffer from ailment […]

Anjalika Silva USA A US State Department press release of Wednesday August 12, 2009 following a meeting with 16 representatives of the Tamil Diaspora on August 11, 2009 to discuss the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka sends a message of many hues to those of us who have followed the actions of the US State […]

EMBASSY OF SRI LANKA WASHINGTON — The situation in Sri Lanka continues to improve dramatically as the nation approaches the three-month anniversary of its defeat over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam terrorist group. Sri Lankan government figures now show that 248,813 displaced people are living in government-run welfare centers, a number that is down […]

Reyyaz Salley Chairman Islamic Solidarity Front Of North America. This is a response to an press release by the Asst Secretary Mr. Thassim of the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama on the 18th of August 2009 in the Daily News. The Islamic Solidarity front of North America says the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama and the tawheed […]

By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando Tarusha Fernando’sƒ”š‚  excellent performance (while playing for Switzerland) at a tender age of 15 will no doubt catch the eye of the selectors of the Sri Lankan Cricket Boardƒ”š‚  with a fervent hope of yet another shining star emerging to uplift and maintain the high international standard of Sri Lankan […]

Saman Malik Mohamed ElBaradei has aptly highlighted the prevailing unbalanced nuclear environment (Time magazine August 17, 2009). Baradei, whose reappointment was `vehemently opposed by the USA’, every country has the right to nuclear technology. The Nuclear Suppliers’ Group granted waiver to India though it had, like Pakistan, stayed away from signing the NPT. The NSG […]

By Walter Jayawardhana General Sarath Fonseka said in Kandy the Internally Displaced persons in welfare centres run by the government cannot be easily resettled in their villages haphazardly but in a very methodical manner due to very many factors important for the benefit of them as well as for the country. “Some people think it […]

Ganeesha David The cricket captaincy of Sri Lanka changed hands with consummate ease. As reckoned Kumar Sangakkara proved captain “ƒ”¹…”le magnifique’. Opening his occupancy with theT20 world cup final, a format in which Sri Lanka was not even remotely expected to figure in, the new guard to slithered into business. Taking on the same opponents […]

By Walter Jayawardhana Britain’s The Independent newspaper has reported that the dawn of peace in Sri Lanka has resulted in a rapid jump of the number of tourists coming to the country- “a leap that officials say represents part of the peace dividend.”ƒ”š‚ Quoting Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority the report said tourist arrival in […]

By Walter Jayawardhana Rev. S. Emilianus Pillai one time caretaker of the Madhu shrine told the Time magazine that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) broke an agreement with the church not to move into the church compound, and moved mortar launchers in the church property and started firing for hours. Telling his main […]

by Shamindra Ferdinando Courtesy The Island Dismissing UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe’s criticism that nearly 280,000 displaced persons had been held at camps in the Vavuniya region against their wish, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa accused the Opposition of playing politics with essentially a security issue. The Defence Secretary warned that LTTE terrorists masquerading as civilians, now […]

Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1 Canada August 17, 2009 To Hon. Maria Minna, Liberal MP for Beaches-East York Hon. John McCallum, Liberal MP for Markham-Unionville John McKay, Liberal MP for Scarborough-Guildwood Andrew Kania, Liberal MP for Brampton West Derek Lee, Liberal MP for Scarborough-Rouge River Yasmin Ratansi, Liberal […]