Mutiny In The Ranks Over Dilution Of 13A

By Dharisha Bastians -June 13, 2013

Dharisha Bastians

“It is necessary that we give to these people the freedoms that are the right of people in all others parts of our country. Similarly, it is necessary that the political solutions they need should be brought to closer to them faster than any country or government in the world would bring. However, it cannot be an imported solution” – President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a statement to the Parliament of Sri Lanka on 19 May 2009

The one-week cooling-off period offered to members of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Cabinet of Ministers to review an urgent bill to dilute the powers of the provincial councils ends today. And yet, in a bizarre twist, a Government that looked well on its way to amending the Constitution of Sri Lanka for the second time in three years appears to have been stopped in its tracks by strong opposition from within its own ranks.

The Rajapaksa regime has long since grown accustomed to getting its way on matters of governance, irrespective of the views of its constituent allies. But the constitutional requirement of a two-thirds majority in Parliament to amend the country’s supreme law means that if it wants to revise the 13th Amendment and dilute the powers of the councils ahead of a promised Northern Provincial Council election this September, it has no choice but to win over its coalition partners in order to make the necessary numbers.

A stormy Cabinet

Mutiny in the Ranks Over Dilution of 13A by nelvely

Auschwitz survivor recognizes Sri Lanka genocide

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 June 2013, 01:29 GMT]
Supporting Tamil activists efforts to raise the awareness of Sri Lanka's genocide of Tamils, a noted holocaust survivor, 79-year old Eva Mozes Kor, told the activists, "Remembering is not enough, we must take all actions possible to stop, and prevent genocides such as in Sri Lanka today." Ms. Kor, who formed a close kinship with the Tamil group on the second workshop day of the "One Million Bones" rally in Washington last Sunday, is a tireless activist for prevention and stopping Genocide, and runs a holocaust museum, doesn't simply project the wrongs of the holocaust but is forward looking on using the past experiences to prevent and stop Genocide, the organizer of the Tamil protest said. 

The objective for the second day was to get signatures for a petition to President Obama for an independent international inquiry into the killings of Mu'l'livaaykkaal, according to the attendees to the protest rally. "We had 2 mobile versions of the poster, and broke into teams that started canvassing for signatures. Meeting with Ms Kor was the unexpected highlight of this effort," spokesperson for the Tamil group told TamilNet.

"The One Million Bones Project has for the first time brought together a critical mass of concerned people - mainly thousands of concerned Americans. Our initiative has, I believe, opened the door to them for the first time to critically examine what happened and continues to happen in the Genocide of the Tamils in Sri Lanka," the spokesperson added.

Young Ms Kor is coincidentally the child seen in the right side of the Auschwitz image.

13th Amendment dilution bid by Lanka worries India

By Devirupa Mitra -12th June 2013 07:59 AM

India is deeply worried about the seemingly determined efforts being made by the Sri Lankan government to dilute provisions of the 13th Amendment, a key to reach a political settlement with Sri Lankan Tamils, thus casting a shadow over the credibility of the forthcoming Northern Provincial elections there.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leaders have already said publicly that they will boycott the elections to the Northern Provinces if there is any dilution of powers of the provincial councils, as envisaged through the proposals of the Sri Lankan government.

Government sources asserted that the move by the President Mahinda Rajapaksa regime to dilute the 13th Amendment would be counter-productive.

The sources pointed out that while Colombo is tom-toming that it is going to hold the elections in the Northern Provinces, especially to the international community, it was also trying, on the other hand, to remove the powers of the councils.

Three weeks ago, alarmed at indications of such moves after media reports, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid had called up his Lankan counterpart G L Peiris, to inform him that they should not take any step to remove the powers under the 13th Amendment, especially since Colombo had spoken of going beyond this key provision of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka accord.

At that time, Khurshid had raised concerns about moves to remove land and police powers from the provincial councils, as then reported by the Lankan media. Eventually, the Lankan government changed tactics and decided to dilute the 13th Amendment on less emotive issues.

Last Thursday, two notes were circulated among the Lankan cabinet members for modifying the constitution, which would take away powers of the provincial councils under the 13th Amendment, which has been projected as a major tool for devolution of power and reaching a political settlement with Lankan Tamils after the civil war.

Firstly, the cabinet note proposed changes that would allow for a simple parliamentary majority to approve legislation related to subjects under provinces, provided a majority of the nine councils agree. It would change the current constitutional clause which called for a two-thirds majority.

The 13A: Joint Cabinet Memorandum Of Ministers DEW, Tissa And Vasu

June 13, 2013

Joint Cabinet Memorandum of Ministers DEW Gunasekera, Tissa Vitarana and Vasudeva Nanayakkara of the Socialist Alliance.

We are opposed to both proposals on a matter of principle and in view of the serious adverse political consequences that will surely follow. However, we can agree to legislation to repeal section 37 of the Provincial Councils Act, No. 42 of 1987.

Vasu, DEW and Tissa

The reasons for our stand are outlined as follows:

1. The 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution was formulated with the intension of solving the national question and bringing back the Tamil militant groups into the democratic political stream. It achieved this objective with the sole exception of the LTTE. The latter has now been militarily defeated, so that the door is open to win over the Tamil people as a whole to democratic politics within the framework of a single united country. When extra power devolution, 13 plus, has been promised, any deletions and modifications of the 13th Amendment, without due consultation, prior to holding the election to the Northern Provincial Council, will be viewed as an attempt to deprive the Tamil speaking minority (Tamils and Muslims) of a right that has hitherto been enjoyed by the Sinhala majority.

2. The fact that the proposed amendment to paragraph 3 of the existing Article 154 G has the objective of removing the safeguard which requires a 2/3 majority of the total number of members of Parliament to be obtained if one provincial council does not agree to a Bill that is being passed by Parliament, with regard to powers that have been devolved to the Provincial Councils, would further strengthen the fear of majority views being imposed on the minorities.

3. Criticisms leveled against the Government on the grounds of acting in a majoritarian anti-democratic fashion would be strengthened. It would further alienate the Tamil speaking minority and help those with a separatist agenda, both in Sri Lanka and abroad, to manipulate them once again, and also win international support, thereby increasing the danger of separatism rather than reducing it. It is our view that any changes to the 13th Amendment should only be made after due consultation, preferably at a meeting of the proposed Select Committee of Parliament, at which representatives of the Tamil and Muslim parties are able to be present.

4. We have no objection to legislation being framed to repeal section 37 of the Provincial Councils Act No. 42 of 1987, as this was a transitional arrangement and there is a Supreme Court ruling against the purported merger by the former President J.R. Jayawardene. The best course would be to retain Article 154 A (3), and include provision for a mandatory poll of all the electors in each of the adjoining provinces that desire to be merged. This would ensure that the decision of Parliament is approved by the voters of the concerned provinces.

Rising Muslim-Buddhist tensions in Sri Lanka

Muslims make up 9 percent of the population-Buddhism is the predominant religion in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, 12 June 2013 (IRIN) - An increasing number of Muslim Sri Lankans, who make up around 9 percent of the population, are feeling uneasy amid fears of growing sectarian tensions, say local people and observers. 

“We just don’t feel we belong here any more,” Fadhil Ahamed, who works in a food store in Colombo, told IRIN. “I had a shop where I sold halal food, but several Buddhist monks who were aligned with a government politician told me not to sell halal food as this was a Sinhalese Buddhist country.” 

Rising Muslim-Buddhist Tensions in Sri Lanka by nelvely

SLMC won’t support amending 13-A

by Franklin R. Satyapalan-June 13, 2013

General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), Parliamentarian M. T. Hassen Ali, said that his party leader Rauff Hakeem had informed President Mahinda Rajapaksa by letter yesterday that in no way would the SLMC support the repealing of the 13th Amendment at the present juncture.

Hassen Ali said that in a 13-page letter addressed to the President, SLMC Leader and Minister of Justice Hakeem had clearly explained the reasons for his party’s decision.

The letter was forwarded in response to the President’s request to leaders of all UPFA constituent parties to make known their position on the Cabinet Paper submitted by the government last Thursday to repeal certain sections of the 13th Amendment within a week.

At the SLMC parliamentary group meeting presided over by Minister Hakeem on Monday a unanimous decision had been taken that the SLMC should not be a party to any changes to the 13th Amendment, Hassen Ali said.

"They are of the opinion that any amendments to the Constitution to prevent the merger of the two provinces in the future will lead to the dilution of the legitimate powers of the Provincial Councils at a time when attempts are being made to further strengthen the 13th Amendment."

The party had maintained that the two provinces should be merged since the days of the late Leader ‘Maamanither’ M. H. M. Ashraff, Hassen Ali said. A resolution to that effect had been passed unanimously by almost 1,200 delegates present at the 23rd Delegates conference in Colombo recently, he added.

It Is Customary To Bury The Dead

By Malinda Seneviratne -June 13, 2013 

Malinda Seneviratne

A form of drama that emphasizes the absurdity of human existence by employing disjointed, repetitious, and meaningless dialogue, purposeless and confusing situations, and plots that lack realistic or logical development.  That’s the description of a particular form of drama called ‘Theater of the Absurd’.  In the 21^st Century where confusion has been globalized courtesy finely orchestrated media campaigns whose sole objective is to justify crimes against humanity and manufacture public consent for the same, the description is valid for any number of things and processes.  In Sri Lanka, perhaps there’s nothing more deserving of that description as the 13^thAmendment to the Constitution.

It was, to recap, thrust down Sri Lankan’s throat by Rajiv Gandhi determined to ‘Bhutanize’ the island, as a logical ‘next step’ to a process of destabilization started by his mother Indira Gandhi in 1982, when the first batch of Tamil militants were trained in India.  It was illegal.  Its legality was obtained by reiteration via elections.  It was rejected quickly enough by the ‘sole representatives of the Tamils’ (self-appointed) and their one-time mouthpieces, the TNA which recovered voice and franchise, paradoxically, courtesy the Sri Lankan security forces in May 2009.  Even today, the Tiger rump which clubs internationally rejects the 13^thAmendment.  No one wants it.  It has benefitted only politicians and only because it serves the political teething necessary to take bigger bites out of the body politic at the national level.

Those who reject the 13^th do not subscribe to the same political ideology of course.  For some, the 13^th is ‘too much’ while for others it is ‘not enough’.  Either way, it is neither here nor there; not an ‘interim’ option, not a working document for a better text.  It has only served political theatrics of the absurd kind.

Although the Supreme Court de-merged the North and East, the potential for re-merging remained intact.  The clause for merging of provinces has no logic except to serve India’s purposes, i.e. destabilizing Sri Lanka in the event of a Government that is not as India-friendly as India would like comes to power.  The 13^th is then essentially a Bankanization script awaiting enactment.

The drama over the ‘Divi Neguma’ Bill demonstrated how a spoiler can scuttle national development initiatives.  It is in this context that a re-visit is called for.  The Cabinet is currently deliberating on the matter.  Those who have traditionally been ‘Pro-13^th’ have asked for time to offer views.  Time has been given and that’s good.  The issue of land and police powers has been raised and remains ‘up in the air’ with both the Opposition (touching but not touching the issue in its much trumpeted recommendations for constitutional reform) and the Government (we’ve only seen the smaller elements of the coalition coming up with strong views) being cagey about definitive statements.

Meanwhile, an ill-conceived and deformed political entity that has done nothing for the people continues to distract from the core issues of good governance and institutional reform which, rightfully, ought to take center stage in the matter of constitutional changes.  It is for all intents and purposes a dead object whose stench is a nauseating political reality that unsettles post-conflict processes of reconciliation and development.

Indeed, it robs devolution from whatever logical worth it may have.  The 13^th, after all, is not coterminous with ‘devolution’.  There can be other models.  For example, if taken to its logical conclusion, we would have to leave provinces behind and go straight to the Village Councils.  Alternately, the Eelam-map-fixing 13^th can be done away with to make way for a more logical and scientific re-drawing of provincial boundaries that make for a more equitable distribution of resources and more efficient planning.  The 13^th stops all that.

If the Government feels charitable in letting the likes of DEW Gunasekera, Rauff Hakeem, Vasudeva Nanayakkara and others to offer views on proposed amendments to the 13^th, it can go the whole hog and put the question to the voting public.  End of story.

The bottom line is, Sri Lanka’s unity and integrity are not negotiable.  Want another ‘PS’?  ‘We cannot import a solution, and it cannot be a Rajapaksa – Sampanthan agreement.’  It’s a people’s thing and that is exactly what the 13^th Amendment is not!

The 13^th is a political corpse that has being carted from forum to forum, election to election; it is a filthy rug that is posited as banner of conflict resolution.  It was India’s baby.  It is a cadaver that Sri Lanka is saddled with.  It is customary, need we say, to bury the dead.

*Malinda Seneviratne is the Chief Editor of ‘The Nation’ and his articles can be found at www.malindawords.blogspot.com

APPOINT CIVILIAN INSTEAD OF RTD. MILITARY OFFICER AS NP GOVERNOR – RANIL TELLS PRESIDENT

June 13, 2013  03:
In a letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe today called for the appointment of a civilian instead of a retired military officer to the post of Northern Province Governor. 

Ranil seeks urgent meeting with MR

Thursday, 13 June 2013

Opposition UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe today sought an urgent meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss four issues that he said should be resolved before elections are held to the Northern Provincial Council.

Appoint Civilian Instead of Rtd. Military Officer as Np Governor Ranil Tells President by nelvely

Postwar Sri Lanka: Between Expectation And Fulfilment

By Dayan Jayatilleka -June 13, 2013

Dr Dayan Jayatilleka

[Pre-AGM address to the Citizens Movement for Good Governance-CIMOGG]

Let me venture a banal observation. Most of us in this room -and most people we know- would have been positively disposed about the decisive termination of the war in May 2009. Now the term “positively disposed” covers a continuum from ‘relieved’ to ‘glad’ to ‘happy’. But I also think that most of us in this room and most of the people we know have a sense of disquiet about the present. If we take our minds back to May 2009, I dare say that none of us really expected to be here in this mood 4 years down the road. That is not what we thought things would be like. That’s not what we thought we would feel 4 years later. So there has been an important gap between expectation and fulfillment.

Postwar Sri Lanka Between Expectation and Fulfilment by nelvely

Viroda Vipakshaya, General Fonseka and early presidential stakes

Viroda Vipakshaya, General Fonseka and early presidential stakes

Image courtesy The Australian

Groundviews

Harim Peiris-13 Jun, 2013

The political opposition in Sri Lanka seems freshly energized if recent events are anything to go by. The UNP has formed some form of a broader opposition coalition through the “Viroda Vipakshaya” and released a draft constitution as a discussion document for public and civil society debate, while the JVP galvanized by the economic issue of the electricity rate hike is seeking to mobilize support. General Fonseka, the united opposition’s presidential candidate in 2010, succeeded in getting his democratic party recognized by the Elections Commission, thereby changing the political opposition landscape at a time when there is considerable speculation in political circles that the proposed 19th amendment to the constitution will not only reduce the powers of the provincial council but also reduce the presidential term from six years to five years and thereby enable presidential elections early next year, with only a loss of one year in the incumbent’s current term.

However, there are several important strategic political policy issues that General Fonseka and the democratic party particularly needs to decide on as it surveys the opposition landscape and explores its options, chooses its policies and decides on its course of action.

So here are some political perspectives for General Fonseka and his Democratic Party.

1. Challenge the UPFA and not the UNP

Viroda Vipakshaya, General Fonseka and Early Presidential Stakes by nelvely

President reprimands Thonda for meeting Sonia

Thursday, 13 June 2013 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has badly reprimanded Livestock Development Minister Arumugam Thondaman on the 10th for meeting with Congress Party Leader Sonia Gandhi during his recent visit to India.Minister Thondaman had met with Sonia Gandhi in India with Deputy Minister of State P. Narayanswamy on Friday. A group of CWC representatives had also participated in the discussion. Deputy Minister Muttu Sivalingam, Provincial Councilor P. Rajadhoray and former Provincial CouncilorYuvaraj and Anusha Sivaraj had been at the meeting. Narayanswamy accompanied Sonia Gandhi in the discussion.

During the discussion Sonia Gandhi had criticized the government’s failure to implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that was designed under the Indo-Lanka Accord to devolve power to the provinces through the provincial council system. She had said that the Indian government would put pressure on the Sri Lankan government to implement the Indo-Lanka Accord signed by her husband, Rajiv Gandhi.

Thondaman had also spoken in support of Sonia Gandhi’s stance.

Thondaman had promised Sonia Gandhi that he too would take the lead in the struggle to ensure that police and land powers are devolved to the provinces according to the 13th Amendment. However, Thondaman had requested representatives of the party who participated in the discussion and Narayanswamy not to divulge details of the discussion to the media.

Nevertheless, while the CWC members refrained from making any statements to the media about the discussion, Sudar Oli newspaper had contacted Narayanswamy and inquired about the discussion. He had revealed details of the discussion to the newspaper. Disturbed by the news report, Minister Douglas Devananda had taken it along with a translation to the President and asked how other Tamil parties could remain silent when Thondaman behaved in this manner. Devananda had criticized Thondaman’s actions to the President.

The President had immediately telephoned Thondaman and reprimanded him in filth and shouted that he would not work according to India’s agenda and that Italian women cannot decide on Sri Lanka.

The President had then shouted saying, “You better choose between India and Sri Lanka. I will release details of all you and your mistress.” The President had referred to one of the Minister’s female advisors, Rupa Magandhi Ram Mohan in this manner.

The Sri Lankan government had black listed Rupa Magandhi Ram Mohan for playing out US$ 4.2 million from a computer project at the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB). Thondaman at the time was the Minister of Water Supply and Drainage.

A resident of Hyderabad, she had then joined the Thondaman Foundation and taken millions of rupees from the Treasury after setting up two NGOS called Praja Shakthi and Nava Shakthi.

However, after the corruption that took place at the NWSDB was cast aside, Thondaman appointed her as an advisor.

Rupa Magandhi Ram Mohan is currently receiving medical treatment in a hospital in New York and Thondaman had sent US$ 50,000 to cover her hospital bills. The monies were sent to New York through Undiyal.

Although Thondaman had tried to meet with Indian premier Manmohan Singh during his visit to India, the Indian High Commission in Colombo had prevented it saying it was against diplomatic protocol.

Govt. To Present The 19th Amendment Next Week, Confident Of Obtaining Two Thirds Majority

June 13, 2013  

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government will present the 19th Amendment to the Constitution as an urgent bill to Parliament next week to repeal provisions in the 13th amendment that permit the merger of one or more provinces, Media Minister and cabinet spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said today.

The cabinet of ministers that met today has decided to refer the second amendment proposed to a Parliamentary Select Committee that will be set up by the Speaker next week following stiff resistance to the moves by political parties within the ruling UPFA alliance.

Minister Rambukwella said the fresh PSC process would be time bound and speedy to ensure it did not interfere with or delay the provincial council elections scheduled for September in the North. The Minister said the Government believed the repeal of the demerger clause was critical because the merger of provinces could pose a threat to the authority of the central government. He said the UPFA was confident of obtaining the two thirds majority required to pass the constitutional amendment.

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Socialist Alliance comprising the Communist party, the LSSP and the DLF led by Vasudeva Nanayakkara have officially opposed both proposals brought to the cabinet to dilute the provisions of 13A last week. The SLMC and the parties of the Old Left are unlikely to support the Government’s urgent bill to repeal the merger clauses, sources told Colombo Telegraph.

Related stories;

The 13A: Joint Cabinet Memorandum Of Ministers DEW, Tissa And Vasu

Govt. to cut merger power

Thursday, 13 June 2013

Cabinet spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said today that the government would present a bill to amend powers of merger granted in the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, as an urgent bill next week.

He said that ‘Simple majority’ amendment to the 13th Amendment together with other proposed amendments would be presented to a Parliamentary Select Committee. - See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/30864-govt-to-cut-merger-power-.html#sthash.UvtXMTqA.dpuf

‘Miracle  of Asia’

June 12, 2013, 7:35 pm 

(1) Frontline banker / businessman and wife accused of robbery. Thumbelina sized wife cannot be found.

(2) Chief Justice accused of undeclared assets - impeached.

(3) District Judge accused of bribery - interdicted.

(4) DIG accused of murder - remanded.

(5) Mawanella Pradeshiya Sabha chairman accused of murder - convicted.

(6) Several local authorities chairmen / members accused of murder, rape, robberies - pending.

(7) Mothers and children committing suicide

(8) Fathers abusing their own daughters.

Nihal Ratnayake

Dehiwala

Never the twain shall meet

Editorial-

June 12, 2013, 8:01 pm 

The UNP is cock-a-hoop that the JHU has welcomed its commitment to a unitary state. Following meeting with the JHU yesterday at Sirikotha it is sanguine about the prospects for another round of talks on its constitutional proposals.

There’s no harm in the Greens and the Saffrons having talks on a new Constitution. In fact, the UNP proposals contain some valuable features that need to be discussed widely, the downsizing of the Cabinet being one of them. But, it is doubtful whether even if the two parties go on talking about devolution for all they are worth till the cows come home anything will come of their discussions. For, their ideological stances on devolution are like chalk and cheese!

The JHU does not see eye to eye with even its main coalition partner, the SLFP, on devolution though their nationalist agendas dovetail with each other in many other respects. The latter is for provincial councils, of course, without powers to handle the police and land and stymie the enactment by Parliament of laws that clash with the 13th Amendment. The former wants the provincial councils abolished. So, one should not be so naïve as to expect the JHU to agree to the UNP’s offer of ‘meaningful devolution’ which one may read as a promise to fully implement the 13th Amendment.

The JHU is in a dilemma. Its support base in the urban and semi-urban areas is shrinking with a considerable part thereof already lost to the UNP and the SLFP as could be seen from the results of the last few elections. It has also had to vie with Minister Wimal Weerawansa’s National Freedom Front (NFF), the Ravana Balaya, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) etc to retain the support of the dyed-in-the-wool nationalists. Today, it is in the same predicament as a wayside grape seller who started his business with very little competition but today has more competitors than customers!

The JHU, fighting a political turf war of sorts, has got to compete with President Mahinda Rajapaksa as well while benefiting from his munificence and popularity; when the commander in chief responsible for defeating the LTTE vows to defend the country at any cost and goes among people kissing children and hugging the elderly, the JHU has its work cut out electorally. The only way it could retain what is left of its vote bank is to try to be more nationalist than the SLFP, the NFF and others by campaigning against the provincial councils. Given this situation, it will be political hara-kiri for the JHU to discuss devolution with the UNP. Instead, it is likely to make use of future meetings with the UNP, if any, to discuss its move to abolish the provincial councils

President Rajapaksa has shrewdly made a virtue of necessity; he is reported to have allowed the JHU to go ahead with its anti-devolution campaign; he knows that anyone who refrains from voting for the SLFP in protest against its failure to either scrap the 13th Amendment or at least strip the provincial councils of police and land powers, is likely to vote for the JHU or the NFF at the forefront of the on-going campaign against the 13th Amendment. A vote for the JHU or the NFF is, in the final analysis, a vote for the government.

Therefore, we reckon all chances are that the JHU in spite of having commended the UNP’s commitment to a unitary state will go all out to mine a rich seam of fears and prejudices of the majority community as regards devolution and wild horses wouldn’t keep it from opposing the UNP’s draft constitution to gain political mileage.

Video: Yes, he is there: Arundika

Thursday, 13 June 2013

UPFA MP Arundika Fernando said yesterday that the French Embassy should conduct a full inquiry and provide any information available on missing journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda to the Sri Lankan authorities.

Video

Fernando said that the disappearance of Eknaligoda would be detrimental to the future of the country if it was not properly investigated as the government had already come under fire for the disappearance of journalists, including Eknaligoda before international human rights tribunals.

“When I found out about Eknaligoda I informed the relevant authorities and an investigation was likely to have been conducted at the time. I stayed quiet about it. But there have been continuous allegations against the government and when the UNP charged that the government was responsible for suppressing, assaulting and killing journalists, I decided that I should speak up,” Fernando said.

He alleged that he met Eknaligoda during a visit to France in December 2011 in a house shared by about ten Sri Lankans including journalist Manjula Wediwardena who introduced Eknaligoda to him.

 “I recall that he was short, bald and elderly-looking. Manjula introduced him to me at the time, but now he denies it. I believe he is afraid and feels that there might be a threat to his life and the others who are also secretly residing abroad like Eknaligoda,” he said.

He said that several journalists like Eknaligoda had sought refuge abroad with the support of international agencies and diplomatic missions and could not be returned home. However, the people need to be informed about the truth, he said.  (Olindi Jayasundara)

Video by Indika Sri Aravinda - See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/30868-yes-he-is-there-arundika.html#sthash.ogOGNXND.dpuf

Sri Lanka Tamil party still harbors separatist line, dangerous to hold elections for North - Deputy Minister

Wed, Jun 12, 2013, 08:32 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

June 12, Colombo: Faizer Mustapha, the Deputy Minister of Investment Promotion in the Sri Lankan government says that it is dangerous to hold election to the Northern Provincial Council with land and police powers since the major Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) still harbors a separatist line.
The Deputy Minister joined by Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Batticaloa organizer, Arun Thambimuttu told the media that the provinces did not need land and police powers.
Mustapha and Thambimuttu said the provincial council system was a white elephant and land and police powers allocated to the provinces under the 13th Amendment should be repealed before the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) election.
According to Mustapha, if police powers were granted to the provincial councils it would interfere with the independence of the police.