TNA violating Constitution alleges JHU

Sunday, 29 Sep 2013

The government’s coalition partner, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), alleged the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is violating the Constitution by demanding the government to remove Northern Governor, G.A. Chandrasiri from his post.

JHU’s Legal Advisor, Udaya Gammanpila, addressing an event held in Colombo said, if a governor needs to be removed that has to be  done through passing a resolution in the Provincial Council proving that he or she has violated the Constitution or has involved in any misconduct.

“Northern Province Governor has not violated the Constitution nor has he been involved in any other misconduct and no resolution was passed by the Northern Provincial Council to remove him. I am ashamed of the legal knowledge of former Supreme Court judge, C.V. Wigneswaran and counsel M.A. Sumantiran,” he stressed.

He added the TNA has no intention to address the real issues of Tamil community and raise their living standards; it only wants to rouse the feelings of the people in the North.

“Those who got lots of foreign funds to destroy the North have not brought a single dollar to develop the North,” he claimed.

He also noted the Tamil people believe that the TNA is taking them to Eelam, but they are actually heading towards destruction.

He said that once terrorism was defeated political organs related to the terrorist groups were also banned.

“Once Saddam Hussein was defeated his party the Ba'ath Party was banned in Iraq. Similarly when Hitler was defeated his party was also banned in Germany. Our Army defeated the LTTE and at that time we stressed that the little tigers should also be destroyed,” he added.  (Ceylon Today Online)

Young Professionals’ Proposals On Constitutional Amendments Submitted To PSC

September 30, 2013 

A group of young professionals have made submissions to the latest Parliamentary Select Committee appointed in July to go into constitutional changes required to resolve the national question, with the primary objective of upholding democracy at all levels of governance processes in the country. The young professionals group includes Parliamentarian Vasantha Senanayake, Waruna Padmasiri, Supipi Jayawardena, Mohamed Hisham, Prabhu Deepan and Selyna Peiris.

Senanayake MP

The “Senanayake Proposals”, as its been called, have already been shared with all leaders of political parties representing the Parliament of Sri Lanka, all the first-time MPs in Parliament and the President. The group is seeking support from these stakeholders as well as civil society to consider this as a base document for discussions at the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC). The group strongly believes that the proposals represent the needs of moderate Sri Lankans, including young people of all ethnic groups, rural or metropolitan.

Some interesting features of these proposals include a broad, inclusive preamble followed by recommendations for additions to the Fundamental Rights enshrined in the constitution including Right to Life along with amendments to Article 12(2) and Article 13. They have also proposed changes to Fundamental Duties section with the amendment to reflect the need to have provisions for monitoring the effective implementation of state policies at all levels of government with any inconsistencies with the provisions of the articles being subjected to the review of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.

The proposals also call for removal of the power of the President to dissolve Parliament before the end of its term while introducing a 2 tier legislation assembly with the Parliament and a Senate. The senate will be headed by a Vice President who will be appointed by the President for the proposed 5 year term as President. While the proposals call for limiting any candidate from contesting for the office of President for more than 3 years, introduces a fixed month (January) for Presidential elections followed by assumption on duties on the 04th of February.

Among other interesting aspects of the proposals, the provisions for a fixed number (25) of ministerial portfolios with 21 pre-defined ministries, the introduction of the concept that Cabinet ministers are appointed from outside the parliament with the parliament being given oversight functions for all activities including appointment of high posts, parliament consisting 225 members appointed through 3 different mechanisms to ensure a broader representation and the complete overhaul proposed for the current provincial council system with more constituent responsibility for provincial councilors are novel and noteworthy.

The proposals also consist of a broad and a novel set of recommendations on Judiciary, Decentralization of Powers and Devolution of state functions with a heavy emphasis on accountability and right to information for the public.

An (another) open letter to the Commonwealth Secretary-General Hon Kamalesh Sharma

Flags of the members of the Commonwealth talk-shop

by Rajasingham Jayadevan

Dear Hon Kamalesh Sharma

( September 29, 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) I take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for your timely condemnation of the Nairobi terrorists attack that saw killings of 59 Commonwealth citizens and the terrorist taking many others hostages. Calling this a ‘cowardly act’ and a ‘heinous act’ which must be condemned in the ‘strongest terms’ is very appropriable and welcome.

An (Another) Open Letter to the Commonwealth Secretary-General Hon Kamalesh Sharma by nelvely

Lanka not on CMAG agenda

September 28, 2013

Sri Lanka was not part of the agenda of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which met in New York yesterday (Friday).

The Commonwealth Secretariat said that CMAG held its Fortieth Meeting in New York yesterday. Dr Dipu Moni, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, chaired the meeting.

Human Rights groups had earlier called on CMAG to formally discuss Sri Lanka and raise concerns over the human rights situation in the country. However Fiji was the main topic discussed at the meeting while a joint statement was also issued on the Maldives.

The CMAG meeting was also attended by Julie Bishop, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, John Baird, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada, A J Nicholson, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica, Mariyam Shakeela, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives, Dr Samura Kamara, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sierra Leone, Bernard Membe, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Tanzania, Winston Dookeran, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago and Nipake Edward Natapei, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade of Vanuatu.

Earlier Polly Truscott, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia- Pacific Director said that the CMAG meeting is an opportunity for the Commonwealth to show some real leadership on human rights. It said that CMAG has been shamefully silent so far about Sri Lanka’s human rights crisis– including the persistent lack of justice for past crimes and ongoing attacks on human rights defenders and other activists.

Human Rights Watch had also called for Sri Lanka to be discussed at the CMAG meeting in New York. (Colombo Gazette)

Central Bank’s Professionalism Vs. Ours

By Hema Senanayake -September 30, 2013

Hema Senanayake

A few days ago, on September 24th, Sri Lanka Central Bank (SLCB) issued a “Notice To The Public” in order to absolve it from allegations leveled at it by politicians, investors, general public and certain professionals in the financial industry, after the virtual collapse of Central Investment & Finance PLC (CIFL).

If  I remember correct, for the first time in history average people during a recent protest, held placards with writings that denounced SLCB. A placard held by a possible retired old lady says “Central Bank Plays With Retiree’s Money.” If it does, it would be the most immoral thing that this prestigious state institution can do. Perhaps this message was hit hard on SLCB. That may be the reason for issuing the said “Notice To The Public.” But the irony is that the very “Notice To The Public” proves the SLBC’s lack of professionalism not vice versa. Hence, I am afraid that SLCB may continue to ignore the interests of poor depositors. Also, due to their lack of professionalism the country’s monetary system might be at risk, at least there could be significant problems.

SLCB bluntly criticize its critics. In the very beginning of the “notice” it says “unfair allegations that the Central Bank has not been acting are being levelled every time some weakness is displayed, in any NBFI. That reasoning indicates an absolute ignorance of the financial sector, or a deliberate misunderstanding of the situation.”                                                                             Read More 

Canada On War Footing

By Easwaran Rutnam -Sunday, September 29, 2013

Canada is on a virtual war footing against Sri Lanka ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) with Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird pushing for human rights concerns on Sri Lanka to be taken seriously by the Commonwealth.

Baird made a last minute push to have Sri Lanka included in the agenda of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which met in New York on Friday, but the attempt failed.

A day earlier he told Commonwealth Foreign Ministers at a separate meeting in New York that his government will not be fully represented at the Sri Lanka summit.

Commonwealth foreign affairs ministers met in New York on the margins of the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The Canadian Foreign Ministry said the meeting provided an opportunity for ministers to discuss a troubling lack of progress in Sri Lanka. Canada has repeatedly called for Commonwealth engagement in response to Sri Lanka’s alleged violations of the Commonwealth’s core values and principles.

“I spoke out loudly and clearly on the issue of human rights in Sri Lanka, including on our concerns on the lack of accountability for the serious allegations of war crimes, the lack of reconciliation with the Tamil community and with the events that have taken place since the end of the civil war,” Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said at that meeting.

“As the Prime Minister has stated very clearly, we expect our concerns to be addressed seriously by the Government of Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, given the current circumstances in Sri Lanka and the lack of substantial progress to date, it would be difficult for the Government of Canada to fully participate,” he added.

Baird then looked to discuss the issue at the smaller, but influential CMAG meeting also in New York on Friday.

Human Rights groups had also called on CMAG to formally discuss Sri Lanka and raise concerns over the human rights situation in the country. However Fiji was the main topic discussed at the meeting while a joint statement was also issued on the Maldives. Dr Dipu Moni, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, chaired the meeting.

The CMAG meeting was also attended by Julie Bishop, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, John Baird, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada, A. J. Nicholson, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica, Mariyam Shakeela, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives, Dr Samura Kamara, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sierra Leone, Bernard Membe, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Tanzania, Winston Dookeran, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago and Nipake Edward Natapei, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade of Vanuatu.

Earlier Polly Truscott, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director said that the CMAG meeting was an opportunity for the Commonwealth to show some real leadership on human rights. It said that CMAG has been shamefully silent so far about Sri Lanka’s human rights crisis – including the persistent lack of justice for past crimes and ongoing attacks on human rights defenders and other activists.

Human Rights Watch had also called for Sri Lanka to be discussed at the CMAG meeting in New York.

Meanwhile the Canadian delegation at the UN Human Rights Council which concluded its 24th session last week made harsh comments on Sri Lanka.

The Canadians said they were discouraged that Sri Lanka continues to ignore calls for it to establish a credible and independent investigation into widespread allegations of humanitarian law and human rights violations by both sides during the nearly 30-year civil conflict.

The Canadians went further by requesting the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay to comment on specific activities her office plans to undertake to monitor the human rights situation in Sri Lanka ahead of her written report to the Council in March 2014.

Vasu wants land powers devolved By Niranjala Ariyawansha-Sunday, 29 Sep 2013 Minister of National Languages and Social Integration, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, plans to present the proposal made by the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) to equally distribute power over State lands between the Central Government and the Provincial Councils, to the Special Parliamentary Select Committee on amendments to the 13th Amendment, when it meets on Wednesday (3 October). The APRC headed by Prof. Tissa Vitarana proposed in its final report, "All State land entitlement should be equally distributed between the government and the Provincial Council, under the authority of a Land Commission." The Supreme Court last Thursday (26) delivered three judgments and held that land is a subject matter of the Central Government and that the Provincial Councils shall administer control and utilize lands, in accordance with the laws and statutes governing the lands. Minister Nanayakkara, expressing his views on the recent Supreme Court judgment, which stipulated that State lands fall under the sole authority of the Central Government, said that in spite of the above judgment, the Legislature can make laws relating to any matter, and that the laws can be changed when necessary. He further emphasized that the position of his party on the land power allocation remains unchanged, irrespective of the contrary views expressed by the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and the National Freedom Front (NFF), two coalition partners in the ruling party. Nanayakkara said he was against devolving powers only to the Northern Province, disregarding the eight other provinces in the country, said he is unaware when his resubmitted proposal will be taken up for discussion in the Parliamentary Select Committee.

Government firm on land powers

September 29, 2013

Sri Lankan provincial councils, including the Tamil-dominated Northern, will not have discretion over land and police matters and they will have to operate within the existing limits of power, the Press Trust of India quoted a government spokesman as saying.

“Provincial councils would have to operate within the existing limits (of powers),” Minister of Information and government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said.

The Northern Chief Minister-elect K.C. Wigneswaran was no stranger to these limitations of powers for provinces as he was a judge of the Supreme Court, Mr. Rambukwella said.

His comments came as the main Tamil party Tamil National Alliance (TNA) met in Colombo on Sunday to deliberate on the future functioning of the Northern Provincial Council.

He said this week’s Supreme Court determination that land powers are the preserve of the Central government would invalidate the TNA’s claim for land-controlling powers in the north.

The Supreme Court on Thursday annulled an earlier Appeal Court ruling that provinces have the right to exercise land powers.

“It is very clear now, the government can’t devolve land powers by contravening the constitution,” Mr. Rambukwella said.

The TNA won 30 out of 36 seats in last week’s first-ever Northern Provincial elections in 25 years in the former war-torn region.

Their campaign was based on a programme to force the Central government into fully implementing the 1987 India-backed 13th Amendment.

The councils were created under the 13th Amendment, a byproduct of the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord.

However President Rajapaksa’s nationalist allies say unfettered powers to provinces would lead to Tamil-minority dream of separation of the island.

The Idea Of Community Policing: Then And Now

By Rajiva Wijesinha -September 30, 2013 

Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha MP

In visits to the North and East over the last couple of years, I have been most impressed by the Community Policing commenced by the present Inspector General of Police. This is a worthy initiative, which must be encouraged and developed further. It would be helpful if senior police officials all over the country noted that, as indicated in the very systematic instructions given in the Eastern Province, this is in accord with one of the basic ideas of theMahinda Chintanaya.

Though the President has made it clear he is deeply committed to consultation of the grass roots and swift responses to the needs that are expressed, unfortunately I do not know of any other government departments that have acted to institutionalize this policy. The IGP therefore deserves double commendation for his imaginative work in this regard.

However I should note that the idea of Community Policing is not new. Its first exponent was Mr Osmund de Silva, the first Sri Lankan to become IGP by promotion from the force – though I should note that he would have preferred the term Police Service to Police Force. Unfortunately Mr de Silva came under suspicion from politicians, who were just establishing themselves as central decision makers on all subjects. Naturally they felt threatened by the symbiotic relationship between police and people that Osmund de Silva was trying to develop, and wanted to stop such threats to their own increasing control of all aspects of life.

This is a pity, because politicians cannot solve all problems. They function at too great a distance for this to be possible, whereas the police can ensure close contact at all levels as well as conveyance of problems that cannot be resolved locally to the next decision making level. Sadly politicians tend to dislike alternative sources of satisfaction being developed, though if they thought more carefully they would realize that they could take advantage of such practical mechanisms.                                                 Read More    

Our Road Is Stilly Muddy Johnston

By Helasingha Bandara -September 30, 2013 

Mega development projects

Addressing a press conference in Nikaweratiya Johnston Fernando, the Minister of Co-operatives and Internal Trade, has said

“Those individuals who cannot bear to see the massive development that is taking place in Nikaweratiya are creating conflicts with the politicians of the area and trying to make Johaan and Johnston blameworthy for that” (Ceylon Today-27 Sep 2013)

Some people are fools but not all. Johnston’s lies can still survive because of that percentage of fools. But others have wisely rejected his son Johann Fernando. If Johnston claims that Nikaweratiya has been experiencing mega developments, those developments should be visible and Johnston’s son could have got an overwhelming majority of preferential votes from Nikaweratiya. Instead people have pushed his son down to third place in Nikaweratiya, the constituency for which Johnston has been the organizer for many years. His undue culinary and monitory overtures that he could afford with ill gotten money seem to have been rejected en masse.

Nikeweratiya-Ambanpola main road is still muddy for at least two kilometers. Along one side of the road between Nikaweratiya- Ambanpola road and Anamaduwa- Nawagaththegame road lie hundreds of villages which have no good roads that can allow proper vehicular access. The entire road network to villages such as Ellagammillawa, Meewellewa, Gallkalla, Yakadapotha, Girilla, Hidogama (list is endless) is still earthen. This is the 21^st century and Johnson uses his political rhetoric about mega developments and people wonder what they are.

Violence                       Read More

Posted by Thavam

Colombo deploys ‘military land-surveyors’ to seize more lands in Pulmoaddai

Note the location of Pulmoaddai and Thennai-mvaravadi in the coast along the border of the Northern and Eastern provinces. [Satellite Image Courtesy - Google Earth. Legend by TamilNet]

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 September 2013, 23:41 GMT]
The occupying Sri Lankan military is seizing more lands in Pulmoaddai, a traditional Muslim village in the coast along the border of the Northern and Eastern provinces. In its latest move, the SL military has surveyed 60 acres of lands situated in front of an army camp at 14th Mile Post. Openly claiming that the lands are being taken over for the families of Sri Lankan soldiers under the so-called ‘Ranaviru Gammanaya’ project, the SL military has deployed its own surveyors without the knowledge of the Department of Civil Survey and the Divisional Secretary of the division, civil sources in Trincomalee told TamilNet. 

The Muslims of Pulmoaddai have been protesting against the accelerated land appropriation taking place in their traditional village. 

As the civil survey officials were being stopped by the protesting Muslims, Colombo has now deployed ‘military land surveyors’ to do the work, the sources further said. 

The SL military has also deployed several heavy equipments to clear these lands earlier used by Muslim farmers who possess legal documents and permits as owners. 

The occupying Colombo, intensely spearheading a Sinhala colonisation programme to wedge the North and East at several strategic locations in the north of Trincomalee district, has already appropriated several hundred acres of paddy lands of Muslims at Arisi-malai and Naaka-malai in Pulmoaddai under the “Buddha Pooja Boomi,” scheme to construct new Buddhist Viharas in Pulmoaddai village.

Colombo is also appropriating about five hundred acres of land in Chuvaami-malai area in the traditional Tamil village of Thennai-maravadi, located just north of Pulmoaddai. 

Posted by Thavam

Global Economic Crisis To Dispossession In Jaffna: Neoliberalism And The Search For Alternatives

By Ahilan Kadirgamar -September 29, 2013 

Social Science Study Circle 19 September 2013

Ahilan Kadirgamar

In response to an article I wrote last month in the Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) on the second wave of neoliberalism in Sri

Lanka,Muttukrishna Sarvananthan and Kumar David have offered disparate critiques from diverging positions. While Sarvananthan claims that government policy is insufficiently neoliberal (EPW, 21st September 2013), David takes the view that neoliberalism is more or less redundant (Sunday Island, 15th September 2013). In the meantime, several interesting questions about neoliberalism were raised in a discussion organized by the Social Science Study Circle in Jaffna last week. In this article, I try to explain the theory of neoliberalism in order to bring more clarity to these debates.

There has been considerable discussion and work on neoliberalism in many parts of the world, particularly in relation to the economic crises of recent times. However, there has been little work and little debate on neoliberalism in Sri Lanka. In a previous article, I advanced the argument that a second wave of neoliberalism was fast transforming the post-war economy in Sri Lanka. These economic changes, I argued, were shaped by policies prioritised in the second term of the Rajapaksa regime and the fall out of the global economic crisis with capital flowing to “emerging markets.” While I historically located my argument in the neoliberal character of the Sri Lankan economy over the last three decades, I argued that the acceleration of neoliberal policies in recent years in the context of post-war stability and an authoritarian regime was rapidly reshaping class relations in Sri Lanka.                         Read More

Indian University Offers Students Lessons On Love

September 29, 2013 

Now, a prestigious Indian university is offering students a chance to learn the answer.

The sociology department at Presidency University in Kolkata will offer the course “Love” as an elective to first-year students, particularly those who are studying more technical subjects such as maths and physics, said Souvik Mondal, an assistant professor of sociology at the university.

Read more

Posted by Thavam 

Reconciliatory Process And Political Realities 

By Austin Fernando

The major exercise for both parties is to build trust for coexistence and cohabitation

Sunday, September 29, 2013

‘Democracy works in Sri Lanka’ is the message one gets from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) electoral victory, even with complaints of violation of election laws and other harassments. Nevertheless, TNA must be thankful to President Rajapaksa for the opportunity afforded to show their real strength. This election result opens a new difficult path to reconciliation. The reconciliatory process goes hand in glove with emerged political realities.

Reconciliatory Process And Political Realities by nelvely

Igniting Racist Fires; Undermining National Unity

By Tisaranee Gunasekara -September 29, 2013 

“If Vigneswaran and Sumanthiran insist (sic) any more Nandikadals at Wellawatte, Mattakkuliya or in any other part of the country, they are bound to confront them”.- Champika Ranawaka (Nation – 29.9.2013)[i][ii]

Mahinda And Champika

In 2011, the Rajapaksasintroduced a hugely controversial new law: the Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill. Commonly known as the ‘Sacred Areas Act’, this bill gave the Minister of Buddha Sasana the power to expropriate any private land anywhere, just by labelling it a ‘Protection Area’, ‘Conservation Area’, Architectural/Historic area’ or ‘Sacred Area’.

On 2^nd December 2011, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief JusticeShirani Bandaranayke decreed that the new bill cannot be presented to parliament without the consent of all provincial councils as land is a devolved subject. A few days later, the government withdrew the Bill.                Read More

Igniting Racist Fires; Undermining National Unity

| by Tisaranee Gunasekara-29 Sep 2013 

“If Vigneswaran and Sumanthiran insist (sic) any more Nandikadals at Wellawatte, Mattakkuliya or in any other part of the country, they are bound to confront them”.

- Champika Ranawaka (Nation – 29.9.2013)12

Igniting Racist Fires; Undermining National Unity by nelvely

Champika says Wigneswaran should be arrested for violating laws

By RASHINI MENDIS-Sunday, 29 Sep 2013

Secretary of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Minister Champika Ranawaka, said if the Chief Minister elect of the Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran, acts in violation of judicial orders and attempts to call for international intervention in national affairs, he should be arrested by the law enforcement authorities.

He reiterated that Wigneswaran could be dealt with under the existing legal provisions for violation of the law, and the government need not deal with a fascist who is striving to push the country towards war again.

Ranawaka also accused Wigneswaran of trying to incite India and others, to create a war situation in the country, thereby causing immense danger to peace-loving, innocent Tamils, who live in areas such as Mattakkuliya and Wellawatta in the Southern part of the country. Earlier, the Chief Minister elect of the Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran, warned if the government does not devolve police and land powers to the Province as stipulated in the 13th Amendment, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), will mobilize support from the International Community to compel the government to do so. Wigneswaran reiterated that he would first engage the government in discussion, with a view to obtaining the relevant powers through negotiations. However, in the event he fails, he would not hesitate to take measures to win their legitimate rights. "The ball is in the government's court now," he said.

Moves afoot to create artificial offshore island off Hambantota  Using sand dredged from seabed

By Franklin R. Satyapalan-September 28, 2013

The government has decided to go ahead with plans to dump the sand dredged from the seabed under the second phase of the Mahagampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port Development Project in Hambantota to create an artificial offshore island with a 40- acre land area, senior government sources said yesterday.

The second phase of this key port project is now underway at a cost of US$ 808 million, which has been negotiated as loan from the EXIM Bank of China.With the completion of dredging of the seabed up to a depth of 17 meters under this project by the latter part of 2015, the present vessel quayside berthing capacity of four vessels could be increased to accommodate berthing for 11 large Roro vessels, which transport automobiles, and container transport cargo vessels .

Chief Engineer/Director of the Southern Port Development, Agil Hewageegana said that around 20 million cubic meters of sand is expected to be excavated from the seabed and as a solution on a location to dump such a large volume of sea sand, the creation of an artificial offshore island.

"We are awaiting clearance from the Coast Conservation Department (CCD) to go ahead with the plans to dump the sand dredged by the contractors China Harbors Corporation (CHC) which is pushing ahead with phase two of the Mahinda Rajapaksa Port Development project", he noted.Hewageegana said that there had been expressions of interest from foreign investors to utilize the artificial offshore island after completion of the second phase of the port development project by end 2015.

They have proposed utilizing the offshore island for setting up duty-free shopping malls, restaurants with entertainment facilities to cater mainly to the large number of seamen aboard merchant vessels calling over for bunkering of fuel, water, laundering of linen and provision of supplies of local fruits and vegetable, he explained.

There had been expressions of interest from a few foreign investors to set up an offshore container transshipment terminal and offshore industries manufacturing processed food items, cement, garments and sugar exclusively for export, the Director said.

"The government has not finalized any of these offers so far as everyone knows that Rome was not built in a day. Similarly the government is steadily progressing positively on this initiative. We would entertain expressions of interest, which would be evaluated during the latter stages of the completion of this project", he said.

Muslim village seized for Sinhalicisation in Ki’n’niyaa, Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 September 2013, 06:23 GMT]
After keeping the Muslim residents of K'andal-kaadu village in Ki'n'niyaa division of Trincomalee district as uprooted people since 1990 and sabotaging their resettlement efforts after the war, the occupying SL military and Police are now blocking the villagers even from entering their village. The entire village and its paddy fields overgrown with bushes, is now being appropriated to construct a Sinhala settlement, complain the Muslim villagers who possess legal documents provided to them under the British rule. The Eastern Province Chief Minister, who is a Muslim from Ki'n'niyaa, has also failed to secure their village back to them, they say. 

The entire Muslim population of around two thousand people were uprooted from their century old village in 1990 and fled to safety elsewhere leaving their lands and other properties.

The uprooted people were not allowed to resettle permanently in their lands thereafter. 

But, huts were erected by a non-governmental organization. 

In 2010, the Sri Lankan Police burned down these huts. The resettled people had left the village once again. 

Now the occupying Sri Lanka Army and Police are not allowing uprooted people to resettle in the village. 

The Sri Lankan military has also destroyed the mosque in the village.

Two arrested with counterfeit notes

Sunday, 29 Sep 2013

Two individuals who had arrived on a bike were arrested by the Police Special Task Force (STF) for the possession of nine counterfeit Rs 5000 and Rs 1000 notes each, during the inspection of vehicles close to the 27th Km post along the Mannar- Madhawachchi main road, the Police Media Unit told Ceylon Today Online.

The suspects who were arrested at the location have been handed over to the Settikulam Police.

The STF officers of the Ganeshapuram area conducted the raid based on a tip off.

Following interrogations the suspects have revealed information with regard to the chief suspect and his residence, while three counterfeit Rs 5000 notes and 60 counterfeit notes of Rs1000 have also been seized from the residence.

The suspects have been identified as 28 year old and 33 year old residents of the Settikulam area.

The suspects are due to be produced before Courts today. (Ceylon Today Online)

Gems worth 20 M missing

By Premalal wijeratne  -Sunday, 29 Sep 2013

A quantity of gems worth over Rs. 20 million that was brought from a gem polishing and selling centre in Beruwala to  be displayed to a Chinese national arriving at a Colombo hotel had gone missing.

This centre at Beruwala was launched by a French national to provide employment to groups who were displaced by the Tsunami.

The French national had dispatched the parcel containing 46 gems through an employee of the centre on 26 September, but the Chinese national to whom the gems were to be shown had not met the employee, according to the police.

Since the Chinese national was not met , the  employee had  then carried  the parcel of  gems to a branch of the same centre located in  Bambalapitiya  where  this parcel had gone missing , the Bambalapitiya police which is conducting investigations  revealed.

The Bambalapitiya police had interrogated two suspects in connection with this loss, and further investigations are proceeding.

The Beruwala police had forwarded a complaint made by the French national in this regard to the Bambalapitiya police.(Ceylon Today Online)

Cat among the pigeons

Editorial-September 28, 2013

Health Minister Mathripala Sirisena, an aspirant for the prime ministry, set the cat among the pigeons when he alleged at a recent meeting in Polonnaruwa that the tobacco industry had offered him a huge bribe – enough for 14 generations to live in a first world country, he is reported to have said - to go slow on his campaign to further shackle cigarette manufacturers from marketing their deadly product. We have now gone far beyond the compulsory `Smoking is Dangerous’ warning on cigarette packs. The health warnings are now much more visible than they used to in the early days. But Sirisena and government agencies like the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol, headed by the redoubtable Prof. Carlo Fonseka, are ready to use a sledgehammer that will compel those who market what has been dubbed as ``cancer sticks’’ to have most of the face of a cigarette pack covered with a gruesomely graphic warning of what lighting that cigarette would do to your innards. That issue is now in court and a determination is expected in the short term.

Despite all the information widely disseminated by the World Health Organization and anti-smoking activists at home and abroad, there are still stupids who burn money and irreparably damage their health by smoking. Many of them shorten their lives. There are also governments, including our own, who piously profess their commitment to the wellbeing of their electors, who rake huge revenues from penal taxes imposed on tobacco. The Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC, which holds a virtual monopoly on the manufacture of cigarettes in this country – it is in fact the only legal manufacturer – was quick to deny that it had in any way attempted to bribe Sirisena to go slow, or slower, on his anti-tobacco campaign. CTC, one of the highest dividend paying companies quoted on the Colombo Stock Exchange, has in recent years seen sales dropping. But, paradoxically, its profits have been rising. The government has been using the price stick as a double-edged weapon to draw revenue to its cash-strapped coffers and also deter people from smoking. Nevertheless the CTC share which used to bear a par value of 10 rupees (shares no longer have par values, replaced now by stated capital of companies) on Friday topped Rs. 1,000 much to the delight of the Lankans who own them. But there aren’t many such fortunates with over 90 percent of the company owned by British American Tobacco which continues to do very nicely in Sri Lanka, thank you.

When Sirisena told his Polonnaruwa audience that he has spurned the bribe, he also offered some details on how the offer was made although he stopped short of naming names. He revealed that ``some person’’ had been sent to him for a discussion and others wanted to meet him either at home or in Parliament. Many in the tobacco industry wanted him to stop his anti-smoking campaign but he did not want money offered by multi-national tobacco companies. All credit to Sirisena for his determination to continue doing the right thing to stamp out or at least significantly reduce smoking in this country. There is no doubt that the tobacco industry worldwide has thrown a lot of money around to dilute measures taken against it by many countries in the interest of their people. If the local industry is trying to buy out a high profile politician, it must be exposed. It is now the minister’s duty to lodge a complaint with the Bribery Commission and say exactly what happened. It is not impossible that a lobbyist, seeing some money for himself, spoke to the minister on the possibility of going slow. If the minister bit, his next port of call would have been CTC. But this company which says it has operated lawfully in this country for over 100 years, and is one of the best governed here, has issued an unequivocal denial. The big question now is will the minister make the complaint. If he does not, he would have damaged his own credibility.

There was a previous instance where many years ago, then President Chandrika Kumaratunga alleged over national television that a foreign company had attempted to bribe her. She did not reveal the identity of this company at that time although many years later she went public and said who it was - a Singapore based entity that has been here for a long time. We do not know whether the former president, even belatedly, lodged a formal complaint with the Bribery Commission. That seems unlikely because if she did and a proper investigation resulted, there would have been some public disclosure. Since there was no further reference to this matter in the public domain, we would assume that the matter stopped with then president’s first allegation and thereafter her belatedly naming the ``culprit.’’ If Minister Sirisena wishes to go no further than he already has and will say no more about the subject, it is up to public opinion and the opposition to push him. But whether any of that will happen remains an open question. There is an unfortunate tendency in this country for uncomfortable issues to be swept under the carpet.