Judge Thilakaratne’s SIM card in the custody of Gota’s confidential unit
(Lanka-e-News -10.Oct.2012, 11.45PM) According to inside sources of the Defense Ministry , the SIM card of the mobile phone that was wrested from the Judicial service Commission (JSC ) secretary Manjula Thilakaratne after he was attacked , is now under the custody of defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse in the data analyzing unit .

This unit is housed in the defense Ministry building itself , and the specialist services are provided towards this data investigation & analyzing by two Chinese Nationals. Four Majors of the Army from the Signal Core are serving in that unit , as well as two individuals under the name of Dispatch Riders are also in that service.

The police spokesman told yesterday (09), investigations are being conducted into the exchange of telephone calls covered by the Galkissa area telecommunication posts on the day of the attack. But it is not known whether a court order was obtained in case it was necessary for that purpose. While the police announces that , according to sources within the defense Ministry, it is the calls made by Judge Thilakaratne and with whom are the particulars that are being probed via his SIM by the defense Ministry. 

The same inside sources reveal that since the collision course began with the Judiciary, the calls for the last three weeks via the mobile phone , the official phone ,the residence phone and the private phone of the chief Justice had been tapped . 

It is also learnt that the phone calls of three Senior Ministers, two Cabinet Ministers, a Deputy Minister and an army Major General are also being tapped these days by the Gotabaya Rajapakse unit. 

The regime’s internal confidential information reaching the websites operating from abroad well in advance had drawn the grave attention of Gotabaya at the Security Council meeting. To combat this situation , he had said all notifications in the future to the Security Council members shall be by a secret code, and it must be learnt how to get that read (Reading chart ) from the relevant officer of the defense Ministry.

Gotabaya Rajapakse had also made a wild accusation that these websites are paying large sums of money and gathering information , and officers who are lured by money are transmitting them abroad. 
Footnote :
-------------
Lanka e News proudly states that it makes no payment whatsoever to anyone or group for the information passed to it. Neither has it any need to do so, because the patriotic people of Mother Lanka who are concerned sincerely about the country and the future , and are aware of the atrocities , cruelties and treacheries perpetrated by the Rajapakse regime are compelled to expose the truths in the best interests of the country and the nation. We hereby express our effusive thanks to all of them who have come forward burying race and religious differences to provide information. 

Might we emphasize that regardless of Gotabaya’s measures , anyone who wishes can come on the Skype via ‘sandaruwans’ at any time round the clock fearlessly and speak with us , as Skype call exchanges cannot be tapped .

A FUNERAL FOR JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE...

A protest was held by lawyers in front of the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court condemning the attack on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) secretary by an unidentified group. The protestors, shouldering a mock-coffin, were engaging in a protest march in the vicinity of the Hulftsdorp court complex, which houses the Fort Magistrate’s Court, chanting slogans mourning the death of the independence of the judiciary. (Pic by Sanjeewa Lasantha)

The broken survivors of Sri Lanka's civil war

 

By Frances Harrison---Injured children were treated in makeshift hospitals during the civil war

Former BBC Sri Lanka correspondent.

The Sri Lankan civil war - which claimed 100,000 lives - ended in 2009 when government forces finally crushed a near-40-year-long insurgency by the Tamil Tiger rebel group. The final months were especially brutal and survivors will not easily forget what happened to them.

It was not hard to spot her. The house on the outskirts of Dublin, Ireland, was full of plump Sri Lankan Tamils, joking loudly and overloading the table with dishes of steaming biryani for Sunday lunch.

In the corner, reluctant to come forward, stood a skeletal gaunt-faced woman with dark circles under her eyes, a tell-tale sign of sleepless nights.

When her brother stood next to her it was impossible to see any family resemblance because she was so physically different after months of starvation and trauma. She looked like the figure in Edvard Munch's famous Scream picture come to life.

I call her Sharmila but that is not her real name. Nobody who escapes Sri Lanka wants to be identified when they tell their stories for fear of what might happen to their extended families back home. Sharmila more so than others because she left behind a husband and two children.

A farmer's wife inside rebel-held areas of northern Sri Lanka, Sharmila was one of hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians caught up in the final phase of the war as the government crushed the Tamil Tiger rebels once and for all.

A UN investigation said it was possible up to 40,000 people were killed in those five months alone. Others suggest the number of deaths could be even higher.

As European tourists sunned themselves on Sri Lanka's southern beaches in 2009, at the other end of the island Sharmila was cowering on a squalid overcrowded beach as scores of rockets from multi-barrelled launchers pummelled the area.

Doctors were forced to amputate children's legs without anaesthetic, using butchers' knives in a series of makeshift hospitals that repeatedly came under direct fire. Human rights' groups counted 35 attacks on hospitals in those months - too many to be purely accidental.

It is a story of atrocities that was not fully told at the time - journalists and aid workers were barred from the war zone.

Three years on, most of the Sinhalese - the majority of Sri Lankans - simply choose not to ask what their troops did in the name of victory. The government still denies accusations that it committed war crimes.

Sharmila though cannot forget how she used a shovel to collect up the body parts of her neighbours, blown to pieces by shells.

She is haunted by all the people she saw die: a man as he took his son to the toilet, two small children nearby, hundreds queuing under a tree for food.

Her own daughter narrowly missed being hit by a shell and a bullet whizzed past her cheek when she went to a Hindu temple to pray that if they were going to die, it would at least be all together, rather than one by one.

If the indiscriminate shelling by the government was not enough, there was the added threat of the rebels who needed cannon fodder.

Sharmila's daughter was 14 years old and at risk of being snatched. It had long been compulsory for every family to give one child to the rebels to fight. As the war drew to a close they returned for the others.

It happened to Sharmila's sister as they camped on the beach. Her first son died fighting so the rebels came for the second, then the third, only 16 years old.

"Kill us first, we have already given you two children," screamed Sharmila's sister, but the Tigers just pushed her aside and snatched the boy. That was the last they ever saw of him.

Years later Sharmila is still a shattered woman.

As she told her story in Dublin, she twisted her sweating palms in anguish and her chair started wobbling. Then I noticed the curtain behind her was quivering too - her whole body physically trembling so much with the effort of remembering that it made everything around her vibrate.

I have never seen a person so literally shaken by what they had experienced, many months after the event.

Sharmila is typical of the survivors I have interviewed, many of whom are now suicidal, broken people coming forward to tell their stories for the first time.

A brave doctor who served in the makeshift clinics saving thousands of lives can no longer stand the sight of blood. A photographer cannot look through a camera lens without seeing dead children. And a Catholic nun struggled to keep her faith in a loving God after everything she had seen.

Tamil Net Interview With Frances Harrison

 

Frances Harrison, former BBC Correspondent to Sri Lanka, and the author of ‘Still Counting The Dead’interviewed by Palaka’ni, TamilNet.

Last stage of war LTTE interested to surrender: WikiLeaks

[ Thursday, 11 October 2012, 03:44.59 AM GMT +05:30 ]

Minister for International Development Erik Solheim, who was involved in setting up the Nordic Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in 2002, stated that the LTTE had an understanding of international affairs that was close to zero.

He further commented that their unfounded hope for some sort of external salvation, either through pressure from the Diaspora community or other international intervention, combined with a leader surrounded by yes-men, led to the ‘shocking’ and disastrous decision by the LTTE to finish the war as a conventional fighting force. The Norwegian government was in contact with the political leadership of the LTTE until the end of the conflict, but after 2006, only by telephone.” the US Embassy Oslo informed Washington. A Leaked “CONFIDENTIAL” US diplomatic cable, dated August 24, 20o9, recounts the details of a meeting the US ambassador to Oslo Clint Williamson has had with Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheim. Cherrie Daniels wrote “Information of particular interest to Ambassador Williamson was the GON’s communications with senior LTTE that took place on May 17 and 18 just prior to the conclusion of the conflict. Solheim explained that the MFA had a series of phone conversations with LTTE political and military leaders who wanted to surrender to Red Cross or United Nations representatives. The Norwegians advised them that no Red Cross or UN representatives were in the area and that their only option at that point was to raise the white flag and surrender directly to the Sri Lankan army. The next day, all those persons were dead, and the Norwegians said that the circumstances under which they died remain unknown and implicitly suspicious. At the same time, Solheim and his staff noted that during their conversations with LTTE leaders on May 17 and 18, gunfire could be heard, and their interlocutors admitted shot were being fired by both sides. The fact that they may have tried to surrender under these circumstances further muddies whether or not this incident could be considered an IHL violation. More generally, the Norwegians found the wholesale slaughter of LTTE forces in the last days of the conflict to be highly suspicious, as ‘it is most likely that at least some LTTE forces tried to surrender.’”

Tamil Genocide debated in the National Assembly!

The 11-10-2012 

Historic day for the Tamil cause in France! For the first time, the theme of Tamil genocide was discussed at the National Assembly. In the event of the first order, a delegation of Tamil, which we were part, was invited to the National Assembly. Account. 
 

Note: Thanks to the Franco-Pondicherry "Self Respect" and the association "Tamil Youth Organisation" which led to two members of Team Express Tamil to be invited to the National Assembly.

Wednesday 10 October 2012 will remain a historic day for advocates Tamil! After years of protest to denounce rape and repeated massacres of Tamil civilians, a delegation of forty Tamils ​​has been received for the first time at the National Assembly. It is under the leadership of Marie-George Buffet , member of the fourth district of Seine-Saint-Denis, and the Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO), has been held in the meeting rooms of the Palais Bourbon. Marie-George Buffet took the opportunity to announce the establishment of a study group on the situation of Tamils ​​in Sri Lanka. "  I will do everything to ensure that the study group was created before the end of the year. TO this, I also made ​​a request to Claude Bartolone, President of the National Assembly. [...] But there are pressures against these projects and the Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, does not give a satisfactory answer  , "said Marie-George Buffet front of the audience. Following the first intervention of the member Communist a video demanding justice for the 17 members of Action Contre la Faim shot in 2006 by the Sri Lankan army has been projected. Shortly after the documentary "Sri Lanka's Killing Field", directed by Channel 4 and subtitled by the Association of Self Respect, was also screened. Following these views images and videos that have the room in turmoil, Logeswaram, a member of the Tamil district of Batticaloa in Sri Lanka, came specially for this meeting in the highest levels of French power, spoke. He says that since the end of civil war in 2009, the situation of the Tamil population has hardly improved. "  The laws always vote in favor of the Sinhalese, inequality persistence and rehabilitation of Tamils ​​was not successful. [...] The Tamils ​​are still treated like dogs  , "he said. spite of the few MPs present for this conference, the presence of a delegation of Tamil National Assembly is first and reflects the return to the big day Tamil militancy. The expectation is high on the establishment of this office study. Appointment in December 2012!

Pandian

Remove negativity and we may join PSC: TNA to Sri Lanka

Brian Senewiratne: Deterioration of human rights

in Sri Lanka

 

i

Remove negativity and we may join PSC: TNA to Sri Lanka

IBN Tamil Nadu | Posted on Oct 11, 2012 

New Delhi: Sri Lanka's Tamil National Alliance on Thursday said it would consider joining a proposed Parliamentary Committee to find a political solution if the Mahinda Rajapaksa government removes the "negativity" and hand out an assurance that they would not be "cheated again". TNA Parliamentary Party leader R Sampanthan, who is leading a delegation of his party MPs, articulated the views after an hour-long meeting with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna during which efforts to achieve a political solution to the Sri Lankan Tamil questions was discussed at length.

MPs of the TNA, which has emerged as the only credible representative of ethnic Tamils, told Krishna that Tamils in Sri Lanka should be given an opportunity to lead a "dignified life" and there should be no effort to "cheat them again". Here at the invitation of Krishna for consultations on the process to achieve political solution, the delegation told the Indian side that Tamils have the "genuine right" for a political solution and everyone should respect the traditions which are followed by them.

"If we get assurances that we will not be cheated again and that our people will not be deceived once again, we are ready to walk towards the path of finding a (political) solution. The negativity has to be removed," he said. Asked whether the TNA was ready to join the Parliamentary Select Committee, he said, "If the PSC has the intention of thrasing out a solution and has an agenda for (arriving at a political solution), we are ready to consider it. But, we are ready to get cheated again."

The TNA has been opposed to joining the PSC, which the Sri Lankan Government has proposed to find out a political solution to the conflict, saying the agenda was not clear. Sampanthan also claimed that Indian side did not ask them to join the PSC. Sampanthan said they apprised Krishna of the current political situation in Sri Lanka and also deliberated on how India can be of help in the process to achieve "genuine political reconciliation".

Asked about India's opinion on the views expressed by them, the TNA leader said he could articulate his views only after concluding their discussions with the top leadership. The delegation will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh later in the day. The delegation's visit is part of India's continuing engagement with the government and political parties of Sri Lanka over the process of reconciliation and meaningful devolution. The high-level visit has raised hopes in Sri Lanka that India would nudge TNA to join the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee to thrash out a political solution to the conflict that ended in 2009. TNA had secured a landslide victory in northern Sri Lanka in the 2010 parliamentary polls.

The TNA, which handed over its proposals for a political solution to Sri Lankan government last year during its series of talks with the ruling party, has been asking for total devolution of powers to provinces and transfer of 'extensive financial and fiscal powers' to the provinces including land and police powers. Talks between the government and the TNA have been deadlocked at the moment given the differences of opinion between the two sides on the participation in the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee.

SRI LANKA: Interview with Eran Wickramaratne, MP from Sri Lanka

September 10, 2012
(Hong Kong, September 10, 2012) Further to our Press Release of September 7, 2012,ASIA: Speeches of the Asian Alliance against Torture and Ill-Treatment - the meeting of the parliamentarians, we are pleased to inform you of this interview with Eran Wickramaratne, a Sri Lankan Member of Parliament, which he gave at the meeting of the Asian Alliance against Torture and Ill-Treatment which took place from July 21-24, 2012.
The YouTube presentation of this interview may be found at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lMdbMmpmgE&feature=share&list=PLl-ezTUH-w138m3VLmE9e1pcx-mpoLwEI

Lankan deported from Canada tortured in Colombo [ Wednesday, 10 October 2012, 08:19.24 AM GMT +05:30 ] 492 refugees arrive to Canada by the sun seek ship among them Canadian officials have deported one of the SriLankan asylum seeker to the country. At present he was detained the 4th floor detention center in Colombo. This asylum seeker has faced various tortures in detention center and also his legs and hands were also broken. Officials fail to provide medical treatment for him. Canadian government is the only responsible for this human rights violation. Canadian government was well aware about such situation and they have forcibly deported the Lankan from Canada. At present Canadian government as violated the refugee act of the United Nation. Since end of the war in SriLanka number of disappearances, abductions, tortures and illegal activities increased in the country. It was also revealed respective officials fail to hold investigations on human rights violations reported in the country. We hope Canadian government will take necessary steps to save the life of SriLankan face torture at the 4th floor in Colombo.

Sri Lanka’s Knowledge Export Road Map – Is It Achievable?

By Eran Wickramaratne -October 11, 2012 

Eran Wickramaratne MP

Sri Lanka is known for the export of cheap labour.  While it is the intension of government to turn it into a knowledge hub, the road to make Sri Lanka known as a exporter of knowledge requires a meaningful commitment of resources by government and all other stake holders.

More than one million Sri Lankan workers remit 5 – 6 billion US Dollars annually to the country.  The trade deficit of nearly US $ 10 billion is largely funded by these worker remittances which annually grow by 15 – 20 %.  If Sri Lanka is to be known as a knowledge process out sourcing (KPO) destination we have to set our sights on increasing our IT-BPO/KPO revenues above the worker revenues within the next decade.  SLASSCOM’s goal is reaching US$ 1 Billion in revenue with 80,000 employed in the industry by 2015. Is this achievable? Presently the IP-BPO industry employs about 40,000 and government revenues in excess of US$ 400 million.

The IT-BPO industry is dependent on having a steady supply of high quality IT-BPO professionals.  The human resource availability is the key critical success factor.

The enabling environment has improved in many areas over the past decade while the availability of quality human resources and the unstable policy environment is of concern.

The physical infrastructure consists of eight mobile operators, broadband, leased line and stattelite connectivity.  Office infrastructure and road networks are improving.  But the power supply is less reliable and too expensive.

The legal infrastructure is largely in place with Sri Lanka being a signatory to international treaties on intellectual property, TRIPS, Electronic transactions, computer crimes and E-contracting.  However, the enforcement of commercial contracts in timely manner is yet to be achieved. Tax holidays of 5 – 12 years, concessionary income tax rates of 15%, and special assistance on real estate acquisition based on investment and employment generating potential has been a boon to the industry.

Even though post war  economy has grown at reasonable rates the country has still not been able to realise its potential in the ICT sector.  SLASSCOM itself has had to revise its goals for the IT-BPO industry.  While A.T. Kearney and Gartners have rated Sri Lanka for financial attractiveness and as a top destination in the Asia Pacific, investment has not materialized in significant amounts. The US department of State Investments climate statement of June 2012 stated “with an unpredictable policy environment, cumbersome bureaucracy, and a recent asset  seizure bill has created business uncertainty”.

The slow down on the European and North American economies which are Sri Lanka’s largest trading partners has major implications for the IT-BPO sector too.  Cost and effectiveness are paramount in making outsourcing decisions.  The outsourcing needs and the IT needs are merging.  The job of the Chief Information Officers (CIO) is becoming more about information than technology.  Outsourcing is no longer a standalone decision.  There is an increasing focus on an end to end approach, business outcomes, domain expertise and  technology as an enabler.  BPO services out of Sri Lanka have mainly focused on financial and accounting services, investment research, engineering services and UK based legal services.  The country has attracted some of the prestigious global brands, but generates relatively small revenues.

The single critical success factor is the available human resources.  A study in 2008 by the Export Development Board (EDB) describes expectations at policy level – “should improve the relevance of education by changing curriculums to meet the industry’s skill requirements”.

While the ICTA has been proactive in spending over US$ 5 million for capacity building as a part of the e-Sri Lanka initiative the human resources problem is more complex to fix.  Pre-vocational skills of English, IT literacy and familiarity are a prerequisite.  The industry also requires the workers to have the attitudes that support a global 24 x 7 work environment where men and women have equal access.

India produces more than 3 million graduates a year, while Sri Lanka graduates 22,000 from its state universities.  I hazard a guess that the total graduates from both state and private institutions are about 35,000.  Sri Lanka’s under investment in education over several decades has blunted a comparative advantage with competitors overtaking us even in smaller countries.  A Knowledge Process Outsourcing industry requires quality and reasonable supply of people.

Sri Lanka’s investment in the education sector :

Educational Expenditure as % of GDP            University Expenditure as a % of GDP

1990                3.3                                                                                0.37

1995                3.4                                                                                0.48

2000                2.8                                                                                0.45

2005                2.8                                                                                0.50

2010                1.9                                                                                0.28

Sri Lanka’s low investment in education has been rapidly declining in recent years. It must be noted that Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Cambodia, Indonesia & Singapore have educational expenditures at 2.4 – 4.7 % while China 3.6%, New Zealand 7% UK 5.6%, USA 5.4% and South Africa 6% are continuing to invest in creating knowledge.  When budgetary educational expenditures are compared as % of total expenditure, or  the investment per university student, or the research expenditure as a % of university expenditures are compared across countries both in Asia and Europe, Sri Lanka’s under investment in education becomes apparent.

Global comparison of Annual cost per student ;

US$

University of California                      66,667

Singapore NUS                                  41,025

University of Oregon                         25,547

Cape Town                                         14,745

Sri Lanka Universities                          1,761

Source : FUTA Presentation

We must truly be amazed at the quality of our graduates for such  a meagre investments we make.  It must also be pointed out that in creating a knowledge Economy the quality of the graduate has to be internationally competitive.  We cannot export the required quality without much more investment in the university system to increase  both quality and quantity to support KPO, cutting edge research and increase patents with the present low levels of investment.

I have always believed that Sri Lanka’s greatest asset is its human resources.  We have the potential to become   South Asia’s hub of excellence for IT- BPO.  We need a government that not only professes but will put its resources where it  will give returns that are commensurate to the investment.  “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do” was Apple’s  ‘Think different commercial’, 1997.  Ladies and Gentlemen You can do it – provided the government understands the priority of investment in human resources.

*Extracts of the key note address made by Eran Wickramaratne, Member of Parliament and founder Chairman of the Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA).

Thilanga Sumathipala to be blocked from cricket

Thursday, 11 October 2012 

The Sports Minister it is learnt is to amend the Sports Act on a Presidential directive in order to prevent UPFA Colombo District parliamentarian Thilanga Sumathipala from becoming the Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket.

Therefore, the relevant amendments are to be introduced after the conclusion of the budget. The amendments are to extend the period of a president of a sports association to two years and elections for office bearers have to be held before March 31st.

According to the amendments, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board is to be dissolved by the next January 7th and fresh elections fro office bearers are to be held before March 31st.

Major assaulted by Malaka Silva to be removed from service?

The Major who was assaulted by Minister Mervin Silva’s son Malaka Silva has been found guilty according to the report of the investigation carried out on the incident by the Sri Lanka Army.

The relevant report has been handed over to the Army Commander says Army spokesman Brig. Ruwan Wanigasuriya.

The Major first complained to Slave Island Police that a group led by Minister Mervin Silva’s son Malaka Silva assaulted him. However, he informed the court later that Malaka Silva did not assault him and he made the complaint under stress.

The Army appointed an investigating team of three to inquire regarding the incident.

Brig. Ruwan Wanigasuriya said the Army Commander will take a final decision after studying the report.

Assaulted Army Major faces prison term and dismissal Related news:

Malaka’s visit to US is not for studies – His counsel

Major assaulted by minister’s son Malaka to court martial

Malaka’s visit to US is not for studies – His counsel

Malaka released on bail

Major says Malaka didn’t assault him

Malaka & Rehan admitted to prison hospital

Malaka & gang remanded

Police before HRC for not arresting Malaka

Another attack on Major assaulted by Minister’s son

Keheliya explains why Malaka was not arrested

A court for Malaka Silva

Mervin's son Malaka Silva’s powerful charm

Independent Bank Employees’ Union swindling money

Thursday, 11 October 2012 

The independent group of the Lanka Bank Employees’ Union is involved in a financial fraud amounting to Rs. 5 million, sources from the union said.

The independent group was defeated by the progressive group of the union that was elected to office at the union’s election for office bearers. The former office bearers of the union had immediately taken out Rs. 5 million in the union’s account soon after the election.

The progressive group that had won at the election had complained to the CID about the alleged financial fraud saying the monies had been taken out illegally. The independent group still occupies the union’s head office on Temple Lane in Punchi Borella although the progressive group had been elected to office. The progressive group had complained to the police about the matter. The police however have asked them to resolve the matter before court.

The Lanka Bank Employees’ Union at one time managed to win many benefits and rights to the bank employees. However, once the union split into two factions – independent and progressive – the situation changed. The independent group that earlier held power of the main union body worked in support of the government, which resulted in the bank employees losing various perks and benefits that were entitled to them.

Head of the independent group, Sha was appointed as the Chairman of

SRI LANKA: Uneven development in former war zone

Photo: Amantha Perera/IRIN

A recent returnee thatches his roof with coconut leaves

ATUMAGASKODA, 11 October 2012 (IRIN) - The Sri Lankan village of Atumagaskoda is only 6km from the town of Vavuniya - the financial and business hub in the north since the end of the country’s long civil war - but in development terms it is years away. 

Village roads here were cleared of jungle shrub and made suitable for vehicle travel only last week, almost three and half years after the war’s end. 

“We have waited long for this. Finally, we got our roads cleared,” Punchirala Ranbanda, a village elder, told IRIN. 

Rural residents in Sri Lanka’s former northern war zone (locally known as the Vanni) express frustration at being left behind in the fast-track development taking place near main towns and highways like the A9, A32 and A35, all of which are being widened. 

Even the country’s president has noted the disparity. During a visit to the region on 25 September, President Mahinda Rajapaksa remarked that from the helicopter flying in, it was evident how development work in the towns has yet to seep into the villages. 

In the village of Selvanagar, deep in Kilinochchi District some 10km from the main A9 highway, villagers were hand-digging a community well in early October. “We know it will take a long time if we wait for the authorities to do this. It would take months, maybe years, so we are doing it ourselves,” said Selva Ranjini, one of the female workers. 

In neighbouring Ambankulam village, 17-year-old student Thanlaxmi Maheswaeri said jobs were so scarce that her family was finding it difficult to make US$40 monthly payments on a $1,500 loan taken out in mid-2010 to rebuild their war-damaged house. “There is no work, no businesses come here, no factories or anything that will give jobs,” she said. 

She also spoke of erratic electricity, impassable roads and lack of public transport. “For any health emergency we have to get to Kilinochchi [about 10km away].” 

Potholes                                                       full report

Police produces queer pictorial sketch of suspect in attack on Judge –Picasso had signed !
(Lanka-e-News-11.Oct.2012, 7.30PM)
The police while providing a pictorial sketch of the face of the suspected assailant to the media in the Judicial service commission (JSC) secretary Manjula Thilakaratne assault case , had stated thus :

In the attack launched by four unidentified individuals on JSC Secretary Manjula Thilakaratne at Hotel road , Mt. Lavinia, articles worth Rs. 41000/- was robbed . The Crime reporting division based on the description provided on the chief suspect , the artist of the crime division had drawn a picture supposedly fitting the description given of the suspect .The police has also requested the public to give any information on the suspect by calling the following phone Nos.

* DIG Western range – 077 7755950 mobile
Office - 011 24441147

* DIG – Colombo district 
Office 011 2431428

* Director – Colombo crime division 
Office 011 2662323
Mobile 071 7774400

* ASP –Colombo crime division 
Mobile 077 7661137
Office 011 2662322

* OIC – Colombo crime division 
Mobile 071 4060906
Office 011 2662311

The police producing a further report on this attack to the Galkissa Courts , said it was releasing this sketch of the suspect to the media , and a statement of Thilakaratne’s wife has to be recorded. It is interesting to note that the police released a similar sketch of the suspect in the Museum robbery . But that sketch was more colorful and had more details. But the name of the artist who drew the sketch was not given ( Later, the prime suspect the police claimed as Kanegediya had no resemblance at all to the individual in the sketch ). In the present case the sketch is markedly different . It is barely drawn without color. What’s more , the artist has signed as Picasso. Such a thing never happens when a police sketch is produced . It can be inferred from this ,the police has the confidence that the artist who is drawing the sketch of this criminal is not facing any threats. 
It is also very evident that the sketch of the suspect produced by the police to the media follow no fixed standards or norms.

Might we highlight that the days when the police publicized the suspect’s description based on drawings of artists are long defunct. In the modern advanced age , it is the more accurate and advanced technology of graphics that is used since a long time ago.

Interestingly in SL the police is therefore using modern methods to stoke criminals and ancient methods to track them down.