Jacka not attached yet to Presidential Secretariat; but received a cab

 Monday, 11 August 2014

Actor Jackson Anthony has been provided a cab with a dirver for his personal use by the Presidential Secretariat but not attacted him yet to the PS.

 It said that the only service provided by Jackson to the Presidential Secretariat using the given cab is managing the production activities of the teledrama 'Daskon', which is being telecast in Swarnavahini.

He has been thus provided with a cab numbered PB - 8004 and the driver named, Pradeep Ranatunga

The reason for allocating a vehicle for Jackson Anthony who is not attached to Presidential Secretariat is yet to be revealed.

When inquired from an officer attached to the transport division of Presidential Secretariat, he stated that no information can be provided on this regard without a written request.

Neville Jayaweera’s Writing Of Prime Worth

By S. Sivathasan -August 11, 2014 

S. Sivathasan

Engaging his incisive powers of intellect with deadly effect, Jayaweera has brought forth a work to make a lasting impression on readers. The clarity with which his discernments are crafted, the passion with which his convictions are canvassed and the limpid style in which they are presented are strikingly remarkable. In ethnic relations, reaching back to millennia past and telescoping his mind to ages hence, the real as he sees it is painted with rare honesty. In not compromising with truth little quarter is shown to ruffling feathers, be it personalities or be it groups. In this overarching frame his book ‘Jaffna Exorcising The Past And Holding The Vision’ is set. In the months to follow when responses flood in, Jayaweera like Nehru will share the latter’s thought “Out of place everywhere at home nowhere”. While knowing it full well, he has not recoiled at writing the plain truth the explicit way.

It was to Jaffna that three of us, CAS recruits were sent for our cadetship in August 1965. It was our privilege to have had Mr. Jayaweera as our Mentor. The first encounter of 60 minutes with the GA was memorable. He took up 50 minutes for a lecture on ‘Values’. It was an article of faith with him even then. He wanted us to have it as a sheet anchor in our career. It is vividly seen that this principle permeates his work like a honeycomb. It appears that a benevolent destiny had brought him to Jaffna and the latter continues to hold him in her benign clasp. If the author’s thoughts on Jaffna are acted upon, her people can have a vision of hope.

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Is the UN peacekeeper selection process flawed?

Bangkok, 29 July 2014 (IRIN) - On Reports  Exponent Development Ideas ,  India ,  Ltd. , and Russie  released in July 2014 at  The Open Society Institute in New York reveal failures in vetting for Human Rights in Countries That Contribute to UN peacekeeping OPERATIONS Soldiers. 

"These Are The Top Seven of troop-contributing Four Countries in The world, So Are Their policies and practices important to On The Ground Are What Happens When deployed in The field people,"  said  Jerry Fowler, Senior Policy Analyst at Open Society Policy Center . Currently Are there more Than  82,000 troops  deployed UN peacekeeping missions around The world On. 

Is the UN Peacekeeper Selection Process Flawed by Thavam

The Big Lie Americans Tell Themselves

• BY DHRUVA JAISHANKAR-AUGUST 9, 2014

At an August 7 press conference, Ed Henry of Fox News askedWhite House Press Secretary Josh Earnest a straightforward question about President Barack Obama's decision to authorize force against the Islamic State (IS): "Is preventing a genocide in America's core interests?" The question assumed greater resonance later that day, when Obama justified military action in Iraq "to prevent a potential act of genocide," as IS surrounds thousands of members of Iraq's Yazidi religious sect.
The Big Lie Americans Tell Themselves by Thavam

NATO sees 'high probability' of Russian invasion as Ukraine troops close on Donetsk

1 OF 4. A Ukrainian military convoy moves along a road near Donetsk August 9, 2014. 

BY ADRIAN CROFT AND SERGEI KARPUKHIN-BRUSSELS/DONETSK Mon Aug 11, 2014 

(Reuters) - NATO said on Monday there was a "high probability" that Russia could launch an invasion of Ukraine, where the government said its troops have been closing in on Donetsk, the main city held by pro-Russian rebels.
NATO Sees 'High Probability' of Russian Invasion as Ukraine Troops Close on Donetsk by Thavam

Hopes for peace? Gaza talks resume in Egypt

MONDAY 11 AUGUST 2014

A new ceasefire in Gaza appears to be holding, as Israeli negotiators fly to Cairo for indirect peace talks with the Palestinians.

The 72-hour ceasefire came into effect at 9pm on Sunday, and there have been no reports of action being taken by either side.

The month-long war has resulted in the deaths of 1,910 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 67 Israelis, 64 of whom were soldiers.

One rocket was launched by Hamas at Tel Aviv just before the ceasefire came into effect, the Israeli military said, and may have landed in the sea.

Previous efforts to secure a more lasting peace in the region have failed, and Israeli negotiators returned from Cairo on Friday.

However, with the new ceasefire in place talks will be resuming.

'Last chance'

Hamas is calling for an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza and the opening of a seaport in the area. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the new negotiations would be "the last chance" for a deal.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said in a radio interview on Monday that disarming Gaza militants was crucial to sustain a long-term truce and he hoped this could be done by diplomacy rather than force.

"I certainly hope that there will be a diplomatic solution," he said. "If there will not be a diplomatic solution, I am convinced that sooner or later we will have to opt for a military solution of taking temporary control of Gaza to demilitarise it again."

Egypt's Foreign Ministry, which is meeting separately with each side in Cairo, urged "both sides to exploit this truce to resume indirect negotiations immediately and work towards a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire agreement".

Meanwhile, a third Palestinian is reported to have been killed in the West Bank during four days of clashes. Zakaria al-Aqra, 23, was wanted by Israel and was shot dead during a raid on his home, medical officials saud.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was aware of troop activity in the area but initially had no further details.

Exodus from the mountain: Yazidis flood into Iraq following U.S. airstrikes

By Liz Sly August 10 at 10:33 PM

After being stranded on the parched Mount Sinjar for almost a week and then walking 12 miles to seek refuge in Syria, some of the persecuted civilians were able to safely return to the Kurdish region of Iraq with the help of Syrian Kurdish forces.

Aug. 10, 2014A Yazidi woman carries her son on her back after crossing into Fishkhabour, Iraq, via a safe route from Syria. Thousands of Yazidis — a minority religious group in Iraq — have made their way to Syria after being stranded on Mount Sinjar. There, Syrian Kurdish forces waited to transport them to refugee camps or to safe crossings back into the Kurdish region of Iraq. Sebastian Meyer/for The Washington Post

Exodus From the Mountain Yazidis Flood Into Iraq Following U.S. Airstrikes by Thavam

Iraq president names new PM but Maliki hangs tough

BY MICHAEL GEORGY AND AHMED RASHEED-Mon Aug 11, 2014 
(Reuters) - Iraq's president named a new prime minister to replace Nuri al-Maliki on Monday, urging him to form a broad government that can stem communal bloodshed, but it was unclear whether Maliki would bow to U.S. and Iranian pressure to step aside.

A Shi'ite Muslim blamed by erstwhile allies in Washington and Tehran as well as Baghdad for driving the alienated Sunni minority into revolt, Maliki deployed loyal militias and special forces in the capital on Monday after making a defiant speech accusing the head of state of abusing the constitution.

Militants from the Islamic State, who routed Maliki's army in the north in June, made new gains over Kurdish forces despite three days of U.S. air strikes and Baghdad, long braced for the Sunni fighters to attack the city, was now tensing for possible clashes between Maliki and rivals within the Shi'ite majority.

There was no immediate reaction from Maliki to the naming of Haider al-Abadi as prime minister. However, Maliki's son-in-law, a close political ally, told Reuters that he would seek to overturn the nomination in the courts.

President Fouad Masoum asked Abadi, a leader of Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party, to lead an administration that can win the support of a parliament elected in April. In remarks broadcast on television, Masoum, an ethnic Kurd, urged him to "form a broader-based government" over the next month.

Abadi himself, who spent decades in exile in Britain during the rule of Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein, urged national unity against the "barbaric" Islamic State, which has driven tens of thousands from their homes as it swept Baghdad's troops from the north and west to consolidate a "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria.

"We all have to cooperate to stand against this terrorist campaign launched on Iraq and to stop all terrorist groups," he said in broadcast remarks after meeting Masoum.

Maliki, 60, who emerged from obscurity to become prime minister in 2006 under U.S. occupation, may not go quietly.

'Stranded Pakistanis' living in camps in Bangladesh – in pictures

 Monday 11 August 2014 

Bangladesh’s Urdu-speaking minority community, sometimes known as Biharis, are consigned to live in camps for ‘stranded Pakistanis’ that were set up in 1971, during the establishment of the Bangladeshi state, even though they have no roots in modern Pakistan. They often live in dire conditions, facing discrimination from mainstream society. Legal aid NGO Namati is trying to help them gain access to citizenship



Staff camp, Dhaka. There are about 300,000 Urdu-speaking people living in camps for stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh. The camps date from 1971, when fighting during the establishment of the Bangladeshi state forced the Urdu-speaking minority into these supposedly temporary dwellings'Stranded Pakistanis' Living in Camps in Bangladesh – in Pictures by Thavam

Gammy story full of bizarre twists, prompts surrogacy crackdown in Thailand 

Pattaramon Chanbua, 21, poses with baby Gammy at a hospital in Chonburi province, southeastern Thailand Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014. Pic: AP

By Casey Hynes Aug 11, 2014
The sad and bizarre story surrounding baby Gammy takes yet another turn. Gammy’s biological parents have declared they want their son and “would fight to get him back,” according to Australia’s Channel Nine.

Gammy Story Full of Bizarre Twists, Prompts Surrogacy Crackdown in Thailand by Thavam

'Sinister' demographic changes made in North-East to stop need for political solution - TNA
10 August 2014
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) accused the government of ‘sinister’ militarisation and land appropriation in the North-East with a ‘definite purpose’ of changing the demographic composition of the North-East with the aim of making a political solution for the Tamils ‘irrelevant and unnecessary’, during a statement made in parliament on Thursday.

Highlighting that thousands of Tamil families host their land to the Sri Lankan military in High Security Zone in the North-East the TNA leader R Sampanthan asked, if there was a ‘sinister’ motive to the appropriation of Tamil land.

“There are tens of thousands of Tamil families in this position. Why is there no serious effort to address this issue? Despite all the protests and demonstrations that are taking place in the North and the East, despite the matter having been raised in Parliament on several occasions, why is this issue not being addressed seriously? Is this attitude of the Government not indicative of the Government having a sinister objective? I want to pose this question,”  he said.

“All this is being done because you want to change the demographic composition of the North and the East and you want to change the cultural and linguistic identity of the districts in the North and the East. These things are being done with a definite purpose, the purpose being to change the demographic composition of the Northern and Eastern Provinces and the cultural and linguistic identity of the Northern and Eastern Provinces so as to make a political resolution, a political solution irrelevant and unnecessary. That is the objective with which you are pursuing this agenda,” he later said in an answer to his question. 

Sampanthan further asked,

“What is the need for the High Security Zone? It is not necessary any longer. So, what is the purpose in the army continuing to occupy the land which was being held as a High Security Zone purely for security reasons against the LTTE and the LTTE's long range artillery? When the LTTE is not there, the long range artillery is not there, you are in complete control of all land, what is the need?”

The TNA also said that there was a strategy to break up the ‘linguistic continuity’  of the North-East as part of the government plan.

“Trincomalee is the northern most district in the Eastern Province and Mullaitivu is the southern most district in the Northern Province. All these actions of the Government and persons who are working with the Government are concentrated largely in Mullaitivu and Trincomalee because you want to break the linguistic contiguity of the Northern and the Eastern Provinces. That clearly shows that you are pursuing a definite sinister objective which cannot be permitted and this is why I say that these actions of yours have geopolitical and geo-strategic dimensions and there can be consequences which will not be to the benefit of this country,” said the statement.

It also highlighted that as the Northern and Eastern provinces were historically Tamil areas, they must become one unit of devolution, with one provincial council. 

Sampanthan added that, though promises had been made by the Supreme Court to release these lands back to the Tamil people, the commitments had not been met and civilians were not able to resettle in their original lands. 

“A large number of houses, a large number of schools, a large number of temples within these lands have been destroyed. Some lands are possessed by the Army, some lands are possessed by the Navy. They have been used for purpose of occupation, for purpose of cultivation, for purpose of recreation and several other purposes. Tennis courts have come up on these lands, golf courses have come up on these lands, swimming pools have come up on these lands, luxury bungalows for occupation by security personnel have come up on these lands, lands on which our people lived and from which our people, farmers derived their livelihood. They have been taken over, they have been used in this way and tens of thousands of Tamil civilian families are being kept out of these lands for these reasons because the lands are being used by the Armed forces in this way,” he added.

Further questions were raised about the way the appropriated land was being used to benefit the Sinhalese community, and adding to the disenfranchisement of Tamils. 

“At the expense of tens of thousands of Tamil families, persons of the majority community are being settled on these lands. Who are the members of the armed forces? The armed forces are almost exclusively Sinhalese. When they come into possession of these lands and when the Tamil civilians are permanently kept out, what will happen? These Armed forces will continue to occupy these lands, they will cultivate these lands, they will derive their livelihood from these lands and they will continue to live in the North and the East,” he said.

Sampanthan added, 

“Is this not yet another way of settling the majority community people on lands which have belonged to Tamil civilians for generations and centuries on which they have lived, on which they have farmed, which they have cultivated, and making these lands available to the majority community?”

Highlighting the desecration of Hindu and Christian places of worship, the statement also asked questions about the erection of Buddhist shrines in areas of the North-East where there were no Sinhala Buddhist residents.

“I do not want my Sinhalese friends to misunderstand me. We all venerate Lord Buddha. But, they are coming up even in places where not one Sinhala Buddhist person lives. What is the purpose? Why is this being done? Lord Buddha's statue is being installed in various parts of the North and the East where the Sinhala Buddhist people do not live,” he said.

The TNA statement was made in parliament during a debate on the Prescription (Special Provisions Bill).

Tamil student at Sabaragamuwa University arrested by TID

Sunday, 10 August 2014 

Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) has detained another Tamil student from Sabaragamuwa University, following his discharge from hospital where he was receiving treatment after being attacked.

Santhirakumar Sutharshan from Muhamalai was arrested on his return to the university hostel by Sri Lanka’s TID. The student had been receiving treatment at Balangoda and Ratnapura after he had been attacked on Sunday.

Following Sutharshan’s arrest, his parents were told that he had been sent to the infamous 4th floor of Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department in Colombo.

Another Tamil youth, second-year student Yoganathan Nirojan, was arrested on Tuesday and is also being detained at the 4th floor.

Earlier this month, a Tamil student was attacked and severely beaten by masked men. He was admitted to hospital with his injuries. Meanwhile, posters appeared across the university campus warning Tamil and Muslim students to leave or be killed, accusing them of being members of the LTTE. Listing the names of Tamil and Muslim students, one poster, written in broken Tamil, read: "Muslim, Tamil students do not study here, if you do, we will shoot and kill. Women - rape you and kill.. otherwise shoot and kill".

Tamils And Changing Of The Guard In Delhi

By Kumar David -August 10, 2014 

Prof. Kumar David

There is a tussle in the BJP over 13A and the Indo-Lanka Accord and speculation about what the political line vis-à-vis the “Sri Lanka Issue” may be when the dust settles. It will take time to come into full view, but the writing is on the wall. There are two tendencies pulling in opposite directions; one is continuity with no big changes (tactics aside), the other is that the new government should make a drastic policy shift. Protagonists of the second option call it “looking with new eyes and cutting loose from the past.”

This essay is an arms length look at trends; arms length in that it will not be overweight with moral dimensions and instead focussed on which way the BJP, in its own interests, may swing and impact Lanka (Rajapakse, Tamils, State) and India (not only Tamil Nadu). After Modi gave Rajapakse a dressing down at his inauguration it seemed he intended to hold firm and retain continuity on India’s stance on our national question. This is the line crafted by the mandarins of Delhi who have been running foreign policy for decades. But there is a visible struggle with another BJP section attempting to ditch the 13th Amendment and the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987.

Modi, an outsider in the BJP power centre, was catapulted into prominence by the RSS. Critical decisions will be collegiate, not the PM’s. He will be trapped between a pro-change faction and its cabinet opponents supported by foreign ministry and intelligence service bureaucrats. This was clear when a five-man BJP team led by Subramanium Swamy arrived here in July. Their seminar broke new ground and their press interviews were more significant. The coup de grace will be if India prohibits the UNHRC Investigation team from visiting India and collecting evidence to surmount the travel ban imposed by Rajapakse. In that case the message would be loud and clear; India does not want the Lankan state and military probed on human rights and war-crimes Charges. A decision to deny visas has not been announced but Jayalalithaa has raised the alarm. Secondly, if the Indian military participates in exercises planned by its Lankan counterpart for later this month while the UNHRC investigation is still in progress, India and will be mired in a diplomatic morass. The quagmire has been further muddied by the Defence Ministry’s foot-in-the-mouth website.Read More

Transparency – LTTE V The Sri Lankan Soldiers

| by Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

( August 10, 2014, Sydney, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Sri Lankan leadership was/is being criticized by the UN over the conduct of Sri Lankan soldiers during the Vanni battle. The Sri Lankan Government is rejecting the criticism and is effectively claiming that Sri Lankans have the right to manage themselves. It’s a bit like Terra Nullius claim by the British when they arrived in Australia. Study of this issue is significant due to Land being at the Center of the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict in its current form.

Land occupied and used continuously without interruption is at the core of Land ownership. Sri Lankan laws include Prescriptive rights on this basis. Sri Lankan laws include also Law of Thesawalamai which has strong provisions relating to Land ownership and management in Northern Sri Lanka. Unlike Jaffna Tamils, Aborigines of Australia did not express their beliefs about land ownership that could be understood by ‘new entrants’. Hence the claim of Terra Nullius by the British which resulted in ‘invasion’ instead of lawful occupation as per Global principles and International laws.

‘The visible credits we ‘show’ are just the entrances to ourselves. Those who show more than their earned credits risk entry of outsiders into their inner ‘homes’ and risk internal pollution. The innermost chamber of ourselves is the altar of our Truth. .

Sometimes others ‘see’ even though we don’t show. Towards preventing takeovers by such ‘seers’ we need to show our own values as per our own system. Australia’s Aborigines did show – Mr. Eddie Mabo being such a leader of our times. Eddie Mabo demonstrated that he felt ownership in his land through his community – even though he did not ‘show’ it through written customary laws or legal titles as per the Western system. When others do not ‘show’ their ownership – and outsiders enter as if there is no claim of prior ownership – it would be invasion if there were invisible ownership powers. It would be acquisition if there was no deeper ownership but mere occupation as if it was transit area and the new entrant carries strong opportunities based on working the land at another time at another place.’ Beyond Consciousness – Chapter on Motherland

To the extent Jaffna Tamils showed their Land ownership prior to war occupation by the Army as well as the LTTE, and did so as per laws of Thesawalamai and/or the Common Law applicable to all Sri Lankans – and these lands are later taken over by the Government of Sri Lanka – the Government is invading. To the extent a citizen lived and worked in that Land in the belief that s/he owned it – but like the Aborigines this citizen did not have documentary proof of ownership – and the Government takes-over that Land – the entry and occupation amount to invasion.

There has been some discussion within the Sri Lankan Diaspora in regards to the conduct of the soldiers during the Battle of Vanni. Instead of Land – if we use culture for the analysis – it would lead to a just understanding leading to a righteous solution to problems caused by actions during the war.

The LTTE is also accused of war atrocities. But in the case of LTTE – they were ‘Transparent’ about their modus operandi. Showing violence in punishing their enemies was part of their weaponry to takeover control. They were not bound by international treaties but largely by their own beliefs and customary paths of their group. Given that there was strong recruitment by LTTE from rural areas and disenfranchised groups – their approach would have been to maximize non-accountability factor. Their parallel within the majority race – the JVP – did likewise. Both were like less organized cultural groups – living in their own areas with little commitment to the laws governing Sri Lanka, leave alone the world.

The Sri Lankan soldiers would have been recruited from also the areas that gave birth to the JVP. Just because they now carry the official label does not mean that they would think like an official soldier – especially out in the battlefield facing a natural enemy. On one on one basis – a solider of proper official conduct would have had difficulty getting rid of the LTTE for this reason. Fear of losing status and therefore their jobs is the handicap. This is also the case in terms of Equal Opportunity at Australian workplaces.

Both Ravana and Rama in the Indian epic Ramayanam were clever. But Ravana desired conjugal pleasures outside the boundaries of marriage. Likewise, Ravana fought for wins with less regard for law and order in the process. That was right as per his culture driven by physical powers. Rama on the other hand was committed to His wife Seetha and took the structured path of marriage in enjoying the joys of marriage through the higher cultural path. Towards this He chose a wife equal to Himself. When Ravana changed his form to look like Rama – Ravana effectively wore Rama uniform – and that limited him from enforcing himself on another man’s wife. That uniform is the law governing that person/area.

Thus, a soldier wearing Sri Lankan uniform / law without deeper commitment to national governance – would not have gotten rid of the LTTE who were free of commitment to the higher laws and were transparent about it. The LTTE did practice discipline in many ways – often more than the discipline demonstrated by the Official Army. But they were not wearing the Tamil cultural uniform i.e. customary and national laws practiced by Tamil Leaders and all Tamil citizens who invested in National level structures and systems. Hence victories by the LTTE are the parallels of victories over Ravanas at the same level of culture as Ravana.

Any Sri Lankan leader who takes on the parallel structured path in governance as Rama would accept the weaknesses of her/his side soldiers and discipline their parallels in the group being led by the Sri Lankan leader. Those who travel along Ravana’s path would see nothing wrong with it and allow that conduct to continue. This is fine – so long as they did not go beyond Sri Lankan borders for any assistance from outside – especially at UN level. UN being the parallel of Rama with higher culture – invasion of Tamil areas by killing LTTE and using that ‘win’ to occupy others’ cultural space – brings the standards down to the lower of the two. No true Sri Lankan would do so – for once Sri Lankans sought the status of the UN to eliminate the LTTE – they have the responsibility to raise their actions to UN levels. Likewise Israel in the Middle Eastern war. Failure to do so would bring their standards down to the level of Palestinian militants (Ravanas). Likewise standards of the Nations assisting Israel.

Body of missing monk found hanging from tree

August 10, 2014 

The body of a Buddhist monk, who had missing for several days, from a temple in Ukgalwala, Ahangama has been found hanging from a tree in a wooded area today. 

The Police Spokesman’s Office stated that a complaint had been lodged with the police regarding the monk’s disappearance since 1st of August. 

Police suspect that the 49-year-old Buddhist monk may have committed suicide by hanging himself.