Brother of Kolonnawa UC Mayor abducted

The brother of the Kolonnawa Urban Council Mayor was abducted in Meethotamulla by a group of men in a van, police media spokesman Ajith Rohana said.

The incident took place in front of the Meethotamulla garbage pit at around 12.00pm. The victim has been identified as Janaka Prabath (30). (SD)

Final decision on not presenting LLRC report not decided

THURSDAY, 02 FEBRUARY 2012
The government today said it had not taken a final decision on not presenting the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report to UN Human Rights Commission in March this year.

This is contrary to the statement made by External Affairs Minister Professor G. L. Peiris at a press conference last week that the report would not be presented to UN Human Rights Commission.

Acting Minister of Mass Media and Minister of Environment Anura Priyadharashana Yapa told the cabinet briefing that the government is yet to decide on the matter.

He said the world is actually aware what had been said in this report and therefore the government is assessing whether it is necessary to present it to the Human Rights council in Geneva.

Referring to granting police powers to the provinces, the Minister said that there had been only one police service that had existed in the country ever since the department came into exist. He said there are practical issues when it comes to land powers. The Minister said the lands that are to be handed over to the provincial councils in the
event such powers are devolved to them are state lands. “Therefore it is necessary to look at all these issues when devolving such powers,” he said.

Responding to a question raised by the journalists on India when it comes to the national issue, the Minister said it is not an issue as long as Sri Lanka manages to maintain bilateral relationship with the central government of India. “Relationships with the state governments of India does not matter as long as Sri Lanka maintains a sound
bilateral relationship with the central government,” he said. (Yohan Perera)

President relates gleefully how he took India for a ride: 'There is no 13 plus I know of' he says

(Lanka-e-News-01.Jan.2012, 11.45PM) President Mahinda Rajapakse who promised to the Indian foreign Minister Krishnan on the 17th January that he would provide a 13 plus solution to the Sri Lanka East –North issue had announced the very following day that he took India for a ride. The President had given this as an answer to questions posed by the Ministers about Krishnan’s statement ,when he attended the function on 18th on the occasion of the Birthday of Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa. ‘There is no 13 plus that I know of. That is to take them for a ride. A Dharusman report was brought forward . I dragged that for about two years , and then introduced to the LLRC.. Now where is Dharusman? Thirteen plus will also meet with the same fate. They can be taken for a ride over and over again this way for another two years on the thirteen plus.’. The President had made these remarks with a loud hearty laugh at the function. One of the Ministers who was present on the occasion had whispered to another Minister ‘ By trying to apply the Medamulana theories in relation to the world , he is some day going to court a disaster much worse than that of Gaddafi. (These Photographs from that Minister Anura Priyadharshan’s

CPI moots Tamil Nadu State Assembly participation in Geneva HRC

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 February 2012, 17:56 GMT]
Tamil Nadu State Assembly should press New Delhi to make arrangements for its participation in the UN Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva in March to present the case of war crimes against Eezham Tamils, said, Communist Party of India’s MLA for Sivagangai, Mr. S. Gunasekaran, during debate on Governor’s Address in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. He reminded the Assembly on its earlier resolution on this issue and said that a case should be filed in the International Court of Justice against SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the genocide committed on Eezham Tamils. Deprivation of political, homeland and language rights of Eezham Tamils continues in the island and they are treated like slaves without security. SL has not even spent the Indian monetary assistance meant for Eezham Tamils sufficiently, the MLA said.

S. Gunasegaran, Communist Party of India MLA and Deputy Leader for the party in the Tamil Nadu State Assembly

Mr Gunasekaran, who is also the deputy leader of CPI in the Assembly, started his speech highlighting the attack on Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lanka military in the Palk Bay.

Whenever an attack takes place on the fishermen, every Tamil feels humiliated. This has to be stopped once and for all, and the TN Assembly should insist on its participation in the talks between New Delhi and Colombo, Mr. Gunasekaran said.

Commenting on the issue, an Eezham Tamil politician in the island told TamilNet that the fishermen issue is one that has been deliberately created by New Delhi and Colombo, to deviate the concentration of people’s uprising in Tamil Nadu for the liberation of Eezham Tamils.

Similar intentions are behind in fuelling Tamil Nadu–Kerala issues too, the Eezham Tamil politician said.

Further comments from the new generation Eezham Tamil politician in the island follows:

All the three powers, India, China and the US that are engaged in a geopolitical game in the southern part of South Asia, harp on keeping the local peoples engrossed in rivalries so that the agenda of imperialist and corporate grab could be achieved smoothly and imperceptibly.

A game is also now being played by all the three of them in fuelling political rage among the people of Maldives, in the name of fundamentalism and anti-fundamentalism, while their land, sea, resources and economy are grabbed in partnership by the powers.

Peoples of the region should realise, that if they keep quiet when powers-orchestrated genocide and structural genocide befall on one of the peoples in the region, it will befall on all of them one after the other.

When there was an open genocide on the nation of Eezham Tamils, the politicians sitting in power in Tamil Nadu kept quiet. The people of Kerala kept quiet at their elite in New Delhi setting its course. The Maldivians kept quiet at their government bracketing itself with the genocidal regime of Rajapaksa. And progressive voice among the Sinhalese was almost inaudible.

Many countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, tagging them with one or the other power, bail out genocidal state and regime of Sri Lanka in the Human Rights Council and in other international forums by projecting the issue as a ‘sovereignty’ issue. But the immoral stand only helps the designs of imperialism that deprives sovereignty of small nations one after the other. The stand could never help the peoples of those countries or their sovereignty.

Liberation of the nation of Eezham Tamils is not a mere Tamil sentiment. At the core, it is not even a Tamil–Sinhala issue. But the liberation and independence of Eezham Tamils is a test case for all the peoples in the region and elsewhere in course-correcting the powers to set a civilized paradigm for world polity.

The responsibility and leadership of Tamil Nadu in this regard is of prime significance that has to be understood and projected to the masses in the right perspective. The role the Tamil Nadu CPI could play, ranges from elucidating on the wider perspective of the need for Eezham Tamil independence to enlightening the imperialists in the garb of Marxism in India on their course-correction, commented the new genre Eezham Tamil politician.

How a U.S. agency cleaned up Rwanda’s genocide-stained image

The Globe and Mail  Feb. 01, 2012

For a monthly fee of $50,000 plus expenses, the U.S. agency offered a tantalizing prospect to the Rwandan government: a burnished image, a sophisticated media campaign – and a chance at “drowning out” those pesky opposition voices on the Web.

It was 2009, and the authoritarian regime in Rwanda was facing mounting criticism of its human-rights record. It was accused of censoring the media, suppressing freedom, shutting down newspapers and creating a climate of fear. So it turned to a public-relations agency, Racepoint Group, that had already polished the image of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

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  Just two years earlier, Racepoint had charged $167,000 for its role in a campaign to promote Colonel Gadhafi, whom it respectfully referred to as “The Leader.” It touted the Libyan strongman as a democrat, a reformer, “an intellectual and philosopher.” Compared to this, the Rwanda job would be an easy one.
  The contracts reveal the increasingly high-tech tactics of the publicity war between African strongmen and their foreign critics – a war in which many governments are becoming more aggressive and sophisticated in their efforts to deflect attention from their human-rights abuses.
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Colombo second worst stock exchange in the world

January 31, 2012,

The Colombo Stock Exchange has seen a dramatic reversal from being the world’s best performing stock exchange to the second worst ahead of the Dhaka exchange in Bangladesh.

According to country stock exchange data compiled by Bespoke Investment Group based on year-to-date performance of leading indices as of January 26, 2012, Sri Lanka had the second worst performing stock exchange which fell 7.94 percent, ahead of Bangladesh which fell 14.66 percent.

"Of the 78 countries analysed, 59 (75 percent) are in the black for the year, while 19 are in the red.  Twelve countries have posted double digit gains already in 2012, with Argentina leading the way at 18.11 percent.  Russia ranks second with a gain of 13.70% percent followed by Hungary in third and Greece (yes, Greece) in fourth," Bespoke Investment Group (BIG) said.

"The US currently ranks 33rd on the list with a gain of 4.73 percent year to date.  The US ranks fourth among G7 countries behind Germany (10.88 percent), Italy (6.77 percent) and France (6.44 percent).  The UK has been the worst performing G7 country so far in 2012 with a gain of 4 percent.

"Last year the BRICs were significant underperformers versus the rest of the world, but they’ve bounced back so far in 2012.  As mentioned above, Russia is up 13.70 percent year to date, which is the best of the BRICs.  Brazil ranks second with a gain of 10.92%, India isn’t far behind at 10.50 percent, and China ranks fourth with a gain of 5.44 percent. 

The once-best performing stock exchange in the world, which grew 125 percent in 2009 and 96 percent in 2010, registered an 8.46 percent dip last year as controversy rocked an already overvalued market, analysts said.

Influential investors were successful in having the then Director General of the watchdog Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Malik Cader removed from his post and promoted as an advisor in the Treasury. SEC Chairperson Ms. Indrani Sugathadasa resigned soon after as a ‘matter of principle’. The watchdog had been clamping down on market manipulation and malpractice.

Limits on broker credit and price bands were also introduced to cool down what many thought to be an overheated market. Also, several actions had been taken against market offenders.

The slump in the Colombo Stock Exchange was put down to over regulation by some players in the market.

The removal of the Director General towards the end of last year resulted in a brief rally but the market soon fell.

Later, brokers who had been clamouring for a relaxation of credit restrictions had their request granted when the SEC relaxed limits, effectively releasing Rs. 5 billion in to the market. As expected, the market rallied for a while, only to fall again.

Yesterday (Jan. 31) the market fell 1.07 percent after a few days of closing in positive territory. Year-to-date, the All Share Price Index had fallen 6.26 percent.

Brokers say the exchange is plagued by deep-rooted problems. Foreign inflows would also be needed to create funds for the market to grow.

Sri Lanka: Human Rights

31 Jan 2012

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has had any discussions with the Sri Lankan government on (a) the human rights situation in the North and East of that country and (b) access to those areas for independent human rights monitors. [92572]

Mr Duncan: Ministers at the Department for International Development have not had any discussions with the Sri Lankan Government on the human rights 

31 Jan 2012 : Column 588W

situation in the North and East of that country, or on access to those areas for independent human rights monitors. The high commission in Colombo, however, regularly meets with the Sri Lankan Government to discuss a range of human rights issues including access for monitors.

Sri Lanka: Politics and Government

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the post-conflict humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka; and whether he has discussed with the Sri Lankan government any proposals to improve the situation. [92573]

Mr Duncan: The UK continues to have concerns about human rights in Sri Lanka, including disappearances and extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and restrictions on free expression. Ministers at the Department for International Development have not held discussions with the Sri Lankan Government. Ministers in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and our high commission in Colombo continue to raise the matter with the Sri Lankan Government.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) assessment he has made of and (b)discussions he has had with the Sri Lankan government on food security and shelter for people from the North and East of that country. [92576]

Mr Duncan: The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is one of the main providers of humanitarian assistance in Sri Lanka. Its shelter grant project continues to help people from the North and East restart their lives; including through livelihoods support.

Ministers at the Department for International Development have not had any recent discussions with the Sri Lankan Government on food security and shelter for people from the North and East of that country, but the high commission in Colombo has regular discussions with the World Food Programme about the situation in Sri Lanka and continues to raise the importance of ensuring internally displaced people are living in adequate conditions.