Restricting The Cabinet To 25 Alone Will Not Do The Job

By W.A Wijewardena -June 3, 2013

Dr. W.A. Wijewardena

Two of the draft proposals that have recently been presented by sections of the Opposition for a new constitution for Sri Lanka have one common feature – that is to restrict the number of Cabinet ministers to 25.

Reducing the size of the Cabinet will ease budgetary burdens

This proposal merits consideration in view of the huge cost that has been imposed on the nation’s public finances by the ever-expanding Cabinet and the correspondingly expanding public service. This is because when a new minister is appointed, he has to have an office with staff and that staff should have additional supporting staff and so on.

So, the number of the public servants in service and the logistics needed to support them multiply even without the knowledge of the Executive that appoints the ministers. This has imposed a huge constraint on the Government budget which has tax revenue of only 11% of GDP but has to use more than half of that – roughly about 6.5% of GDP – to pay salaries to existing public servants and pensions to those who have left the service.
An emerging economy like Sri Lanka aspiring to undertake a massive infrastructure development program out of borrowed money from foreign sources cannot afford to run a huge public sector with such high costs without running into a severe fiscal crisis and from that point, restricting the number of ministers is a worthy proposal.

The Executive taking over the legislature through a large Cabinet  

Restricting the Cabinet to 25 Alone Will Not Do the Job by nelvely

Help Hiruni

Monday, 03 June 2013 

LankaNewsWeb, TheIndependent.lk and Share & Care partnership to build a house for Sri Lankan school girl living in a cemetery

(Media – charity partnership to build a house for Sri Lanka school girl living in a cemetery)

People are born in hospitals, live under some kind of shelter and die.

Then only they come to the cemetery to be buried or cremated there.

That’s the normal routine for everybody: or so we are told.

But this is an unusual story of a Sri Lankan girl who is forced to change that routine.

Instead of coming to the cemetery to spend the final leg of her journey (or journey after life) she is forced to make it her home.

Not alone, though: together with her 85-year old grand-mother.

This is the story of ten year-old Hiruni Vishva Lanka, who lives in a makeshift hut at a corner of the cemetery in Ragama.

She currently studies at Dharmarakshitha Junior School, in Ihalagama, Raggama.

She is about to sit for her year-5 scholarship examination.

As far as Hiruni remembers her parents also lived in the hut when she was a small girl but when the mother fallen in love with another young man, her father left them.

Within a year, the mother has also fled-away with the new boyfriend leaving the grand-mother and the grand-daughter alone.

Since then, it was for the elderly grandma, who was 80 at that time, to look after the young girl.

Even today she is doing all odd jobs she could and walks along the houses to sell greens in order to look after the daughter of her own son.

In addition, some good-hearted people have made small donations once in a while.

The part of the cemetery has later turned into a playground forcing Hiruni & grand-mother to another corner.

Neither authorities, nor religious or social leaders were concerned about their plight.

Unlike many living creatures, they are not afraid of the dead.

They only fear the living ones; for many, including Buddhist monks, have been trying to evict them from their hut in the cemetery.

Hiruni’s only hope is that she’d be able to continue her education. And it is no secret that the grand-mother will not be there for her, for ever.

This is the summary of a long story penned in Sinhala by journalist Jayasiri Alawatta.

After LankaNewsWeb & TheIndependent.lk published her story, a concerned charity based in London, Share & Care kindly offered a helping hand for Hiruni’s education.

Share & Care has also created a fund to build a house hoping that at least authorities will offer a piece of land.

But as we have seen many a times, we do not want to wait few more years, if not decades, until the authorities open their eyes.

So together with Share & Care, we at LankaNewsWeb & TheIndependent.lk appeal all concerned to offer a helping hand to this noble cause; to fulfil Hiruni’s dream of continuing her education to lead a normal life in future.

And we sincerely hope this will be the beginning of many more such partnerships to help Sri Lanka’s troubled young generation in future.

Minister orders halt to inquiry

Monday, 03 June 2013

Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa has intervened to stop an inquiry into the legal department officials of the National Gem and Jewelry Authority over an alleged frau committed in issuing gem mining licenses.

Yapa was the former Environment Minister and the National Gem and Jewelry Authority was under his purview.

The alleged fraud had taken place in issuing gem mining licenses for a mine in Dabaraliyedda in Amunugoda, Ratnapura.

It is learnt that Yapa’s wife was involved in issuing these licenses.

The inquiry had found that the Minister’s wife had kept back shares of the mines when issuing the licenses.

National Gem and Jewelry Authority Director General, R.M. Sumith had conducted the inquiry against the legal department officials of the Authority. However, Yapa had put pressure on the director general to stop the inquiry after finding out that his wife’s involvement was being revealed.

Employees at the National Gem and Jewelry Authority say that the transaction has resulted in the Authority losing out over Rs. 20 million that was due to it.

The fraud was first unraveled by the Eheliyagoda office of the National Gem and Jewelry Authority that carried out a raid in the gem mines that are now under scrutiny.

Saravanabawan MP in his condolence message, Jayalath voiced for justified rights.

Political Leader Jayalath Jayawardena voiced without fear for the justified rights of Tamil community said Tamil National Alliance Jaffna district parliament member E.Saravanabawan.

 

In the condolence message expressed by him for the late United National Party former parliament member Jayalath Jayawardena, he said,

 

 Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena was a former minister,  a parliament member functioned has the  finest human rights activist, and I was shocked and depressed when I heard his death announcement.

 

The value of a human being  is only treasured after the  death is the  general opinion. However this gentleman, during the period he lived, even after his death, he acquired a unique dignity, peoples admiration which none cannot deny,  is an absolute  truth.

 

Beyond being a politician,  Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena was a serious justified human rights  activist and a true Christian worked with backbone.

 

The ongoing human rights violations in Sri Lanka, activities against  humanity was focused to the international domain by the splendid service by joining with late Joseph Pararajasingam which none can forget.   

 

Late Joseph Pararajasingam, was assassinated by the enemies of mankind on the Christmas day due to this activities, but Dr.Jayalath did not get afraid, he with much courage without slacking continued his humanitarian activities. He showed more concerned that the Tamil people should live by acquiring their fundamental rights.

 

He personally was on the field in relief work during tsunami disaster occurred and rendered tremendous assistance to the Tamil community.

 

During the war crisis period, under amidst several threats, he journeyed to the northern region, shared the goodwill with the Tamil people which we should consider.

 

Sri Lanka through its false campaigns, executed anti humanitarian activities,  racial oppression acts, efforts taken to conceal to the international arena, Dr.Jayalath contributed constructive measures to expose such activities.

 

He was a human rights activist with much commitment in the international and national level, resembled a justified politician, voiced without fear for the Tamil communities reasonable rights.

 

Towards his sudden demise we joining with his family are in deep sorrow.  By continuing his humanitarian work, we will affirm that his soul will eternally be with us.

 

The most important aspect is not a human being living longer, but in what extent that human being was useful to the mankind, which reflects through his life.

Monday , 03 June 2013

Global Tamil Forum says death of Dr. JJ a great loss

June 2, 2013
The UK based Global Tamil Forum (GTF) has said that sudden passing away of UNP MP Dr. Jayalath Jayawardana is a great loss to Tamil speaking people, whose plight received the attention of the Gampaha District politician. The GTF said that Jayawardana was a genuine Christian politician who served people of all faith unreservedly.

The following is the full text of a statement issued by Rev. Father S. J. Emmanuel, GTF leader based in Germany: "With the passing away of Dr. Jaylath, so early in life, Sri Lanka loses a genuine courageous politician who combined his humanitarian and religious values in serving the people – especially those affected by discriminations and violence. As a Tamil catholic priest, who had known him for many years for his interest and services to people of Wanni as well as for his keen interest in restoring the human rights of all, I bear witness to his good Christian life and service. Even recently, in the company of Bishop R. Joseph of Mannar, he was visiting victims of war in the prisons.

Here was a man who besides suffering false accusations, threats and even man-handling from his own politicians, went out of his way to travel to war-torn areas to serve the people. He was so altruistic that he was more interested in serving others than his own self or family. He did not possess great wealth to get the necessary medical services in the western world. In his agonising hours of suffering false accusations, he had called on me to get the help of human rights organisations in Geneva.

He had a deep devotion to Our Lady of Madhu and contributed much in improving conditions at Madhu. His religious practice as a catholic layman extended beyond pilgrimages and feasts. He crossed religious and ethnic boundaries to bend down to give solace and comfort, aid and medicine to the needy.

Tamils in Sri Lanka, especially in Wanni, as well as those in Diaspora, do appreciate the human and religious qualities of this rare politician. At a time when we need more politicians from the South, from among the majority Sinhala community, to stand up for genuine democratic and humanitarian values, which can build up a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and peaceful country, his passing away is a big loss for the future of Sri Lanka.

I express my prayerful condolence to the members of his family, to the members of the United National Party and pray God to reward him with Eternal Life."

In Syria, Hezbollah forces appear ready to attack rebels in city of Aleppo

By Loveday Morris, Published: June 2

HOEP/AP - This image shows homes destroyed by government airstrikes and shelling, in the Barzeh district of Damascus, Syria on Saturday, June 1, 2013.

BEIRUT — Thousands of Lebanese Hezbollah militants were massed around the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday, according to rebels and a senior commander in the Lebanese Shiite movement, broadening Hezbollah’s backing of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and stoking fears of an imminent assault on the city.
The commander, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media, said there were about 2,000 Hezbollah fighters in Aleppo province, largely stationed in Shiite towns north of the city. The rebel Free Syrian Army said Hezbollah forces had gathered in a suburb of the city Sunday and appeared to be preparing for an attack.
Rebels have secured swaths of Aleppo — Syria’s commercial capital and most populous city — since fighting engulfed it last summer, but the two sides have been locked in a grinding stalemate for months. An assault on the city could stretch rebel forces, which have sent reinforcements from Aleppo to fight against Hezbollah and Syrian troops in the battle for the town of Qusair, near the Lebanese border.
The claims of a Hezbollah presence in Syria’s north follow a pledge by its leader, Hasan Nasrallah, to back Assad to victory and indicate that the movement could be used as a guerrilla force wherever required. A long-standing ally of Syria and Iran, its decision to knuckle into the fight raises the specter of a regional conflagration spilling over Syria’s borders, pitting Sunni against Shiite. Underscoring that point, Syrian rebels and Hezbollah fighters engaged Sunday in their first serious clashes on Lebanese soil.
“The Aleppo battle has started on a very small scale; we’ve only just entered the game,” said the Hezbollah commander in an interview in Beirut on Saturday while on leave from fighting in Qusair, where he oversees five units. “We are going to go after strongholds where they think they are safe. They are going to fall like dominoes.”
He said the militants were largely concentrated around the Shiite towns of Zahra and Nubol, which have been under siege from largely Sunni rebel forces. A spokesman for Hezbollah said he could not confirm or deny their presence.
Louay al-Mokdad, political and media coordinator for the Free Syrian Army, said Hezbollah militants had gathered at a military academy in Aleppo’s western district of Hamdaniyah on Sunday. He put the number of the Shiite movement’s soldiers in the area at 4,000, quoting rebel intelligence.
“We think they are going to engage inside Aleppo and the province,” he said.
In what appeared to preparation for that, pro-government forces began a push to secure supply lines to the city on Sunday, activists said. Aleppo-based activist Kareem Abeed said pro-government forces had advanced from the military academy in Hamdaniyah, with rebels repelling an attack in the Rashideen neighborhood.
The infiltration of Hezbollah fighters into Syria — along with the supply of weapons from Russia and Iran — has helped turn the tide in favor of Assad’s government, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Sunday.
“We are seeing, unfortunately, a battlefield situation where Bashar al-Assad now has the upper hand, and it’s tragic,” McCain, who slipped into Syria last week to meet with rebel fighters, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
McCain, who has repeatedly called for military action in Syria and who has been among the harshest critics of the Obama administration on the issue, recalled claims from U.S. officials dating back more than year ago that Assad’s fall was inevitable.
“I think we can’t make that statement today,” he said. “Hezbollah [has] now invaded. The Iranians are there. Russia is pouring weapons in. And anybody that believes that Bashar Assad is going to go to a conference in Geneva when he is prevailing on the battlefield — it’s just ludicrous to assume that.”
McCain was referring to an international conference planned for this month or possibly July to bring the warring sides together. The Syrian opposition has said it will not attend while Hezbollah’s siege of Qusair continues.
The siege showed no sign of abating Sunday, as Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem rejected a request from the United Nations to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to enter the town immediately and tend to an estimated 1,500 wounded trapped inside.
The Hezbollah commander boasted about gains in Qusair, saying that when he left the battlefield for leave a week ago, the movement controlled 70 percent of the city at the cost of 72 of its men. He said 3,000 Hezbollah fighters are in the town, among “no more than 10,000” in the whole of Syria.
However, Sami al-Rifaie, an activist based in Qusair, said rebels have made gains since reinforcements arrived, with Hezbollah and army control reduced to 20 percent of the city.
Liwa al-Tawhid Brigade, one of the largest opposition groups in the area, has sent men from Aleppo to back embattled rebels in Qusair.
In a sign that Hezbollah may be under more strain than expected, the commander said that seven-days-on, seven-days-off military rotations have been changed to 20 days on before a week-long leave.
Justifying Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian conflict, Nasrallah has painted the largely Sunni opposition to Assad as extremist Muslims backed by the United States and Israel, Hezbollah’s long-standing enemy. He has warned that they will eventually invade Lebanon if they are not put down across the border.
But even after announcing all-out backing for Assad, Hezbollah fighters had been largely confined to Qusair, which is just a few miles from Lebanon, and in Damascus suburbs around the Shiite shrine of Sayyida Zeinab, which it has pledged to protect.
In a video posted online Saturday, a battalion of the Liwa al-Tawhid Brigade declared it was leaving for Zahra and Nubol to fight the “party of the devil,” a term often used by rebels to refer to Hezbollah, which translates as Party of God.
If Hezbollah is present in Aleppo, it is plausible that it could be utilized anywhere in the country, said Emile Hokayem, a Middle East-based analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
“A deployment so deep into Syria and in such a crucial place would be a clear indication that Hezbollah’s role in Syria was never limited to defensive aims but is geared toward helping Assad score major victories,” he said.
Hezbollah’s entanglement in Syria has sparked a backlash within fragile Lebanon, with Syrian rebels firing rockets on Shiite areas of the country with increasing frequency in recent weeks.
On Sunday, according to Lebanese security individuals quoted by the Reuters news agency, one member of Hezbollah and at least 12 rebels were killed in clashes in Ain el-Jaouze, a finger of Lebanese territory that juts into Syria, near Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley town of Baalbek. The men may have been ambushed by Hezbollah as they tried to fire rockets at Shiite areas of the Bekaa Valley, they said.
“The presence of Hezbollah units around Aleppo will only deepen the divide in Lebanon and confirm, in the eyes of its rivals, Hezbollah’s complete alignment with Assad,” Hokayem said.

Ahmed Ramadan and Suzan Haidamous contributed to this report.

Running With The Hare And Hunting With The Hounds

By M A Sumanthiran -June 2, 2013 |

M A Sumanthiran

Many ask me what I think of Sri Lanka’s foreign policy. My response has always been somewhat apologetic, as I’ve struggled to ascertain whether such a policy even exists. We are constantly forced to contend with Sri Lanka’s irresponsible international statements, riddled with contradictory positions and unsubstantiated facts.

Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, AmbassadorRavinatha Aryasinha’s recent statement at the 23^rd session of the UN Human Rights Council was an altogether unsurprising continuation of this trend.

Contraction and inconsistency

First, the Ambassador’s principled position contradicts Sri Lanka’s own track record at the Council.  Ambassador Aryasinha observes that the ‘selective’ adoption of country-specific resolutions in the Council is ‘a tool that exploits human rights for political purposes’. Yet the Ambassador’s own argument has been selectively applied by this government, since Sri Lanka—under this very government—has been happy to support numerous country-specific resolutions in the past.

During the 7^th Session of the Council in March 2008, a resolution on the ‘Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar’ was adopted without a vote. Sri Lanka held the Vice Presidency at the Council during this time and supported the resolution. The resolution expressed its ‘deep concern at the situation of human rights in Myanmar, including the violent repression of peaceful demonstrations…and the failure of the Government of Myanmar to investigate and bring to justice the perpetrators of these violations’ (emphasis mine).

During the 13^th Session of the Council in March 2010, Sri Lanka co-sponsored a resolution against Israel titled ‘The grave human rights violations by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem’. The resolution specifically called for ‘the immediate international protection for the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law’ (emphasis mine). Sri Lanka was not even a voting member of the Council during this session. Yet it thought it fit to endorse this country-specific resolution.

It once again co-sponsored a resolution against Israel at the 16^th Session of the Council in March 2011. The resolution expresses grave concern at ‘the continuing Israeli settlement and related activities, in violation of international law, including the expansion of settlements, the expropriation of land…and the construction of bypass roads, which change the physical character and demographic composition of the occupied territories’ (emphasis mine).

It is not my intention in this article to compare and contrast the human rights practices of Myanmar and Israel with our own in Sri Lanka; let my emphasis on certain key words in those resolutions speak for itself.  However, it is clear that this government has rightly endorsed international scrutiny of domestic human rights practices in the past.

Notwithstanding such a track record, the government now cries foul when its own record is rightly scrutinised. It complains of unfair treatment, as other countries with equally questionable records appear to escape scrutiny. Yet such questions of fairness do not arise when laws are violated. A man accused of murder cannot complain that his prosecution is unjust merely because another murderer escapes prosecution. If that were the case, no court in Sri Lanka could legitimately try anyone, given the gross impunity enjoyed by some. Mr.Mohan Pieris is accused of flagrantly abusing his power to withdraw indictments against government officials during his tenure as Attorney-General. Can others accused of the same crimes now claim that their cases are unjust? Not even he would think so.

False and unsubstantiated facts and figures

Second, Ambassador Aryasinha’s statement is replete with either unsubstantiated or wholly false facts and figures. He makes a number of statistical claims relating to post-war progress; the most curious of which remain the institution of legal proceedings against 194 ex-combatants, the establishment of a centralized, comprehensive database of detainees which allegedly enables next-of-kin to receive details of detainees, the estimate of only 7,896 conflict related deaths, and the reduction of military presence in the Jaffna peninsula to 13,200 personnel.

The day-to-day testimonies and the lived experience of the Tamil and Muslim communities in the North and East paint a contrasting picture. In December 2012, 45 persons in Jaffna were arrested and detained without charge under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and related regulations. Despite repeated requests, the government has refused to disclose information on the total number of similar detainees held in various detention facilities in the country. The relatives of most of these detainees still complain that they are unable to obtain any information on their detained loved-ones. Moreover, estimates of civilian deaths emerging from the communities themselves suggest that a much larger number is missing or deceased.  Meanwhile, 16 of the 19 divisions constituting the Sri Lankan Army are deployed in the North and the East. Hence it is certain that over a hundred thousand military personnel remain in the Northern and Eastern provinces.

Ambassador Aryasinha also alleges that significant progress had been achieved in implementing the recommendations of the LLRC. He insinuates this by referring to plans to establish the Fourth Land Commission and to the recent initiative under the new Land Circular No.2013/01. The government is in the process of establishing a Fourth Land Commission in order to circumvent its constitutional responsibility to establish a National Land Commission (NLC) under the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The LLRC very clearly recommends expediting the appointment of the NLC which has constitutional powers to formulate national policies on land. Yet this ‘Fourth’ Land Commission the Ambassador speaks of, in reality, refers to the fourth in a series of Land Commissions established in 1927, 1956 and 1985 respectively. The last two of these Commissions were established under the Commissions of Inquiry Act of 1948 with mandates to recommend policies on land, but certainly not to formulate such policies. The Ambassador also claims that the government launched a new programme in May 2013 to resolve issues pertaining to state land in the Northern and Eastern provinces. He claims that a notice issued by the Land Commissioner in this regard has been widely circulated in all three languages in order to inform the public of this initiative. Yet the government’s own progress report on the implementation of the LLRC’s recommendations, dated 26 February 2013, claims that the programme was launched on 31 January 2013 and that a communication campaign covering 75 DS Divisions would be completed on 31 March 2013. It appears that the Ambassador has recycled old information in order to create an impression amongst the international community that fresh initiatives are being carried out and that further time is needed to yield results. These all-too-familiar dilatory tactics aim to conceal the gross lack of progress in implementing the LLRC’s recommendations, which were first published in December 2011.

Loss of credibility

In any event, the government’s credibility with respect to factual claims made in Geneva has remained in serious doubt for some time. To illustrate this credibility gap, one need only consider Mr. Mohan Pieris’ statement on 9 November 2011 at the 47^th Session of the UN Committee Against Torture in Geneva when he was Legal Advisor to the Cabinet. Responding to a question on the whereabouts of missing journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda, Mr. Pieris claimed that the journalist was alive and was seeking asylum in a foreign country. This information was naturally relevant to the ongoing habeas corpus case filed by Mr. Ekneligoda’s wife to ascertain his whereabouts. Accordingly, on 5 June 2012, Mr. Pieris was compelled to give evidence at the Magistrate Court in Homagama to explain his statement in Geneva. Mr. Pieris testified in court that his statement was based on hearsay evidence and claimed that he did not remember what the source of his information was. He thereafter admitted in court that he had no information on whether Mr. Ekneligoda was alive. In the context of such irresponsible statements at UN fora, the most recent set of spurious claims should come as no surprise.

What emerges from the Ambassador’s recent statement in Geneva is confirmation that Sri Lanka will continue to mislead, deceive and contradict itself at international fora. The government has been quick to defend itself by spraying retorts of ‘hypocrisy’, ‘subjectivity’ and ‘political motivation’ at its accusers. Yet it too is an easy target for those very labels. These contractions and falsities have undoubtedly resulted in a loss of credibility in the international sphere. Hence even supporters of this government would agree that its recent record in foreign affairs and international diplomacy is a source of embarrassment.

The Sri Lankan government may lack the competence to devise a sophisticated foreign policy. Yet the Sri Lankan State should not rule out the possibility of adopting a value-laden approach to international affairs. Simple values such as consistency, sincerity and fidelity to the truth ought to be the hallmarks of Sri Lanka’s international engagement. Those who represent the State overseas should not forsake their duty to uphold these values.

The author, M. A. Sumanthiran (B.Sc, LL.M) is a Member of Parliament through the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), a senior practicing lawyer, prominent Constitutional and Public Law expert and civil rights advocate.

Family man abducted by white van in Puthukudiyiruppu. Spouse complains to police

A young family man was abducted by a white van two days back during nigh hours at Puthukudiyiruppu, Ananthapuram locality. Sivarasa Sivakaran aged 25 years; a father of one child a resident of Puthukudiyiruppu Ananthapuram area got abducted.

Concerning this, a complaint was made to the Puthukudiyiruppu police by his relatives. So far there is no intimation concerning to the abducted person was said by his spouse to “Uthayan”

The spouse of the person got abducted said; those witnessed informed her that an employee assigned to a governmental organization located in Kilinochchi had abducted her husband. The said person is a relation of the abducted person was said.

Police informed the person suspected in connection with the abduction, to report to the Puthukudiyiruppu police. However, so far he has not reported was said. Further police investigations are continuing.

Sri Lanka Treasury loses Rs. 15 billion from a number of state enterprises 
Sat, Jun 1, 2013, 08:25 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Jun 01, Colombo: Sri Lanka's parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) says that some state enterprises have caused a loss of Rs. 15 billion to the Treasury.
Chairman of COPE, Senior Minister D.E.W. Gunasekera said the Committee had examined 235 state institutions under six categories. The categories included regulatory bodies, promotional agencies, state owned enterprises, educational agencies, development agencies and research institutes.
The Committee has also monitored and reviewed the follow up measures on the COPE report submitted to parliament last year.
"This has had an impact on the control of public finances," Gunasekera said.

According to the Minister, state entities including Lankaputhra Development Bank, Sri Lanka Cricket, National Child Protection Authority, National Library and Documentation Services Board, Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau, Samurdhi Authority, Sri Lanka Export Development Board, Sri Lanka Tea Board, Sri Lanka Telecom, Ceylon Fisheries Corporation, Central Bank, University Grants Commission, Urban Development Authority, People's Bank, Securities and Exchange Commission and Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation are among those that have caused the Rs. 15 billion loss.

Video: The Story Of The ‘White House Champion Of Change’ Dr. Sivalingam

June 3, 2013 

Dr.Sivalingam Sivananthan, a distinquished old boy of Jaffna Hindu College (1968 -75) and currently professor of physics at the University of Illinois Chicago and founder of Sivananthan Laboratories in Bolingbrook, USA, has been named a White House Champion of Change, an honour that recognizes immigrant entrepreneurs. He was given this honor at a ceremony at the White House on May 29th 2013.

Sivananthan’s work with a semiconductor material, mercury cadmium telluride or MCT, is at the heart of night vision technology and made the raid that took down Osama Bin Laden on a moonless night possible. Developing “technology that protects our protectors” has given him the opportunity to give back to his adopted country, said Sivananthan.

The honor recognizes immigrant innovators and entrepreneurs—”the best and brightest from around the world who are helping create American jobs, grow the economy and make our nation competitive in the world,” the White House said in a press release.

Eastern Provincial Council in crisis: Members boycott sessions

By Franklin R. Satyapalan-June 1, 2013,

The Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) has run into a crisis with 20 members of the ruling party (UPFA), including the four Ministers, boycotting sessions demanding the postponement of the Northern PC polls until the Governor and the Chief Minister are replaced and the administrative infrastructure restored.

"We are talking of inefficiency and indifference which are an impediment to the working of the Eastern PC", Deputy Chairman of the Council, M. S. Subair said yesterday.

"This decision by the members should not be misinterpreted as something against President Mahinda Rajapaksa or his government ", he clarified.

He said the ruling members are disappointed that they are unable to implement any welfare measures on behalf of the people.

The Chief Minister has failed to keep the Council members informed to participate in events when Ministers from the Central government visit the Eastern Province to implement or inaugurate development activities, Subair asserted.

Wimalaweera Dissanayake, Provincial Minister of Education and a longstanding member of the SLFP from the Ampara district, yesterday confirmed that all 20 members of the ruling party in the Council, including the Provincial Ministers have decided to boycott sessions.

There is a total breakdown of the activities of the EPC as a result of the negative actions of the Governor and the Chief Minister, he said.

Attempts to contact the Governor, Rear Admiral (Retd) Mohan Wijewickrema, failed.

An aide said the Governor is not in a position to comment on the developments.

At the Group meeting of the ruling party on May 18, all the members walked out saying it is meaningless to participate in the proceedings, he said.

"All are unanimous in their decision that they should boycott activities until President Rajapaksa took action to remove the obstacles", he said.

There are people in the province affected by the recent natural disasters, who need assistance, but nothing has been done to help them, he claimed.

Last Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting of the Council could not be held as scheduled as the four Provincial Ministers and all other members of the ruling party boycotted it on an unanimously decision. They had taken up the position that they cannot continue to function in a Council where the Governor does not allocate funds nor implement decision of the Ministers or members, political sources said.

The Chief Minister has been unable to get the Governor to respond and the breakdown administration had led to bureaucrats taking the upper hand, the sources said.

Elections to the EPC were held in September 2012 and after much controversy the Council was established with seven SLFP members, seven SLMC, three National Congress (NC), three All Ceylon Muslim Congress (ACMC), and one each from Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP) and National Freedom Front (NFF) totaling 22.

Mrs. Ariyawathi Galappathi (SLFP) is the Chairperson and M. S. Subair a former a Provincial Minister of the All Ceylon Muslim Congress (ACMC) the Deputy Chairman.

The four Ministers are Wimalaweera Dissanayake (SLFP Provincial Minister of Education), Nazeer Ahamed (SLMC Provincial Minister for Agriculture), M. S. Uthuma Lebbe (National Congress Minister of Highways and Irrigation) and M. Munsoor (SLMC Minister of Health).

Rajapaksa facing uphill task before Commonwealth summit

By Our Political Editor-Sunday, June 02, 2013

•  JHU, NFF intensify campaign against 13th Amendment; private-member motion and unofficial referendum
•  Basil says concerns expressed by UPFA partners and officials need to be considered
• President going ahead with plans for polls, SC ruling and Gazette notification this month

Two giant Russian Antonov 124 transport planes touched down this week at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), taxied in the opposite direction towards the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) base apron instead of the passenger terminal building to unload the heavy cargo in their bellies.

They were six Mi 171 helicopters; part of a fleet of 14 Russia is giving to Sri Lanka under a 2010 credit line for US$ 350 million. Some US$ 200 million from the credit still remains for other purchases.

Each An-124 strategic airlift jet carried three helicopters in knocked-down condition. Of the six, two are Mi 171-E VIP versions and will be for the President’s fleet. They have been specially configured to carry eight passengers plus crew and are equipped with satellite communications. The SLAF’s aging VIP fleet has often forced President Mahinda Rajapaksa to land unannounced in some areas. This was due to technical defects. Four more are Mi 171-Sh versions for military use. Eight other Mi-171 troop transport variants are due for delivery. Russian engineers and technicians have also arrived to assemble the helicopters, carry out test flights and formally hand them over to the SLAF.

Rajapaksa Facing Uphill Task Before Commonwealth Summit by nelvely