Mangala released after recording of statement ; 22 UNP P.C. local body members and organizers arrested

(Lanka-e-News-07.Oct.2013, 1.00PM) While those who did the shooting were allowed to go scott free , those who were the victims of shooting were arrested in pursuit of the Medamulana hidden agenda. 22 individuals including UNP organizers and Mangala Samaraweera M.P. who were arrested at 7 police stations were remanded from 5th night until 6th morning according to reports reaching Lanka e news.

Mangala released after recording of statement ; 22 UNP P.C. local body members and organizers arrested by nelvely

Ranil To Transfer Powers To UNP Leadership Board

October 7, 2013 

The UNP Working Committee has decided to appoint a Leadership Board to make decisions on the party’s future course of action.

UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has proposed that former Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya be appointed to head the new Board.

A decision has also been made based on an proposal by UNP MP Kabir Hashim that Jayasuriya be invited to accept membership in the Working Committee

The board will report to the Party’s Working Committee.

UNP MP Sajith Premadasa who is leading the challenge against Wickremesinghe’s leadership has requested time from the Working Committee to mull over the new restructuring proposals.

However Working Committee members had urged him to make a spot decision since the entire UNP was hoping for a decision from them today.

Premadasa asked for time to “consult” with PC members and other UNP supporters.

However Wickremesinghe intervened and said the Working Committee had put proposals to him and he had decided on the spot despite that. “I am the one who will give up some of my powers as leader, so I should be the one with the problem,” Wickremesinghe said.

Thus coerced, Premadasa had ultimately agreed. WIckremesinghe will take a step back and allow the new Board to make decisions on the party’s future. Some of the powers accrued to the UNP Leader will be transferred to the new board.

Wickremesinghe, Premadasa and Jayasuriya are to meet later this week to discuss the formula on which the new board will operate.

Why engaging in commercial businesses is taboo for central banks

October 7, 2013 
John Exter to the Central Bank: Don’t engage in commercial businesses

The father of the Sri Lanka’s Central Bank, John Exter, was emphatic on one point when he drafted the Monetary Law Act or MLA, the legislation under which the Central Bank has been established. Going by the traditional central banking principles, in the General Section of the Exter Report, he prohibited the Central Bank to engage in commercial businesses. This prohibition has got into the MLA as Section 117 of the Act in the form of three separate sub sections exactly as recommended by Exter.

Why Engaging in Commercial Businesses is Taboo for Central Banks by nelvely

 Gary Anandasangaree To Seek Federal Liberal Nomination In Scarborough

Gary Anandasangaree

For Immediate Release

October 6, 2013

Gary Anandasangaree To Seek Federal Liberal Nomination In Scarborough

Scarborough, Ontario – Gary Anandasangaree announced that he will be seeking the Federal Liberal nomination in one part of the former riding of Scarborough Rouge River.

The final report of the Electoral Boundaries Commission was released on September 30, 2013. The former Scarborough Rouge River electoral district now forms two new ridings that include Scarborough North and Scarborough Rouge Park. The new boundaries reflect the growth in Scarborough. In the coming days, Gary Anandasangaree will announce in which of the two ridings he will be seeking nomination.

Gary Anandasangaree To Seek Federal Liberal Nomination In Scarborough

QUOTES:

“I have lived, worked, volunteered and established my law practice in this riding. I am honoured to put forward my name forward to contest as a candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada in the next federal election. I am excited at the opportunity to work towards a more just society that addresses social needs, economic justice, and inequities of all forms.”

“My entire adult life has been dedicated to public service – I have been a student leader, labour union representative, advocate for the right to education, and an international human rights lawyer. I want to put these experiences to work for the hard working people of Scarborough.”

BIOGRAPHY:

Gary Anandasangaree is the Principal lawyer at Gary Anandasangaree and Associates, Professional Corporation, one of the largest law firms in Scarborough. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) degree in Political Science from Carleton University, and an LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2006.

He has played leadership roles within several organizations. He was Chair of the Canadian Tamil Youth Development Centre (CanTYD), President of the Canadian Tamils’ Chamber of Commerce, Counsel to the Canadian Tamil Congress, Legal Counsel to the IMBA, Board member of the Youth Challenge Fund, Member of the Toronto Police Chief’s Advisory Board, and Member of the United Way Newcomers Grant Program.

Gary has worked as a human rights activist and lawyer for close to two decades. He continues to advocate for justice through public advocacy, education, mediation, and within the legal framework. Gary has advocated on international issues through his presentations at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on behalf of Lawyers Rights Watch Canada. He is the recipient of the Queens Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals.

Gary is married to Harini Sivalingam. They have two daughters, Bairavi, and Sahanah.

For more information, please contact Gary Anandasangaree 416 564 9991.

* Extremist Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka vows to launch a crusade

Sun, Oct 6, 2013, 11:10 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Oct 06, Colombo: Extremist Buddhist monk Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero, the leader of the Sinhala Buddhist Bodu Bala Sena militant movement said today that a crusade would be launched in Sri Lanka.

Addressing a meeting of the movement held in Anuradhapura, the Buddhist monk blamed the government for allowing the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to engage in politics.

Introducing TNA as the political front of the militarily defeated rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Gnanasara Thero said the government should be responsible for the consequences of TNA coming to power in the Northern Provincial Council.


He urged the government to name the Sinhala Buddhist majority as the historic nation of the state.

Was Rajiv Gandhi Deceived By Jayewardene?

By M. A. Sumanthiran -October 6, 2013 |

M A Sumanthiran

The timing of the Supreme Court’s judgment last week on devolution of land powers—just two days after a historic election for the Northern Provincial Council—gained significant attention within and outside Sri Lanka. Inevitably, the focus has shifted to the Tamil National Alliance and how the party—and the Provincial Council it controls—would respond to the judgment.

While I intend to comment on the political repercussions of this judgment, a few observations on its legal implications may be in order. The first is that the judgment contains three separate opinions and they arrive at the same conclusion—that the power of issuing a quit notice in terms of the State Lands (Recovery of Possession) Act lies with the centre, and not the Provincial Council—which was the only question before court. The Supreme Court granted Special Leave to Appeal on two questions of law but decided to stick to only the first question. The constitutional provisions dealing with the Provincial High Court’s jurisdiction are separate and distinct from the provisions dealing with devolution of powers. Thus any pronouncement other than on the question before court would tantamount to obiter dictum and does not form the ratio decidendi, or “the reason for the decision”. Secondly, although all three judgments arrive at the same conclusion they follow divergent lines of reasoning. For instance, while one opinion explicitly rejects the existing statement of the law laid down in the Land Ownership Bill Determination and Vasudeva Nanayakkara vs. N. Choksy that the President’s power to dispose state land is qualified by the Thirteenth Amendment—which states that such power should be exercised “on the advice of the Provincial Council”—another cites with approval the very passage taken fromthe Land Ownership Bill Determination rejected in the other.

Thus, at least in terms of the question of whether the President requires the approval of the Provincial Council to dispose state land, existing law appears not to have been disturbed. This is the case because, as stated in the case of Bandahamy vs. Senanayake, the rules of precedent require that “three Judges as a rule follow a unanimous decision of three Judges, but if three Judges sitting together find themselves unable to follow a unanimous decision of three Judges a fuller bench would be constituted for the purpose of deciding the question involved.” Since the Land Ownership Bill Determination and the judgment in Vasudeva Nanayakkara’s case were both issued unanimously by benches comprising three judges, it is seriously doubtful that the recent judgment—which did not follow existing precedent—changes the law in respect of the disposition of state land. This question is critical because successive Sri Lankan governments have continued to settle ethnic Sinhalese from southern Sri Lanka in the North and East by disposing state land to them, with a view to changing the demographic composition in these areas. That programme has been intensified under the Rajapaksa regime.

Read More

SL govt service in East means officialising genocidal land grab

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 October 2013, 23:53 GMT]
The occupying Colombo government has forced the Tamil divisional secretaries in Trincomalee district to comply with its genocidal land grab and Sinhalicisation schemes if they are to retain their jobs, informed civil sources in Trincomalee said. The latest victim to such pressure is the divisional secretary of Trincomalee Town and Gravets division, the sources said alleging that the divisional secretary Ms Sasithevi Jalatheepan has been instructed to identify lands without deeds and to allocate those lands to the occupying Sri Lankan military to set up new camps. 

Neither the world establishments in complicity with genocidal State in the island nor the UN officials utter any word on the land grab genocide that is taking place in an accelerated way in the North and East. 

The UN Human Rights chief Ms Navanetham Pillay who recently visited the North and East said that legal proof is needed to use the word genocide. She said it without any effort on the part of the UN to investigate the matter. Whether the UN is also ‘forced’ to internationally officialise the land grab genocide that takes place against the country of Eezham Tamils, the civil sources in Trincomalee asked. 

Sri Lanka Army has forcibly appropriated the general market of the Trincomalee Urban Council constructed at Power House Road. The general market was appropriated by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in the year 2006 and is still being used as their camps.

The divisional secretary is unable to voice against continued occupation of the UC market. When questioned on the actions taken to get the lands back from the SL military, the divisional secretary chose to explain that the UC market is situated in a private land. 

The Sri Lankan Government Agent of Trincomalee, Major General (retd) T.T.R. De Silva, had earlier instructed the divisional secretary to assist the construction of a Buddhist Vihare close to the Trincomalee Clock Tower and the Fish Market in the heart of Trincomalee city. The civil sources also allege that the divisional secretary was not able convey the sentiments of the people on the construction of Buddhist vihare at Kanniyaa Hot Wells area to the SL military GA of the district.

Customs Case Against De Facto CJ Mohan Pieris Before HR Commission Geneva

October 7, 2013

A fraud case against Sri Lanka’s de facto Chief Justice and former Attorney General Mohan Pieris has been taken to the Human Rights Commission in Geneva seeking proper inquiry since justice has been denied by the Sri Lankan judiciary now run by Pieris.

De facto Chief Justice Mohan Pieris

A senior Customs Officer, T R Ratnasiri who was denied an opportunity to support his fundamental rights petition (SCFR/246/2010 – the case that made very serious accusations against the AG Mohan Peiris and Colombo Dockyard Ltd for criminal misappropriation of public funds of 619 rupees) to the Supreme Court by a Bench selected by the de facto CJ Mohan Pieris has petitioned the Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

Sri Lanka’s de facto Chief Justice who was illegally appointed after the removal of his predecessor Shirani Bandaranayake is the main Respondent in the Case. One of the charges in a 14 point charge sheet brought to accuse Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake by the ruling Rajapaksa regime that she had personal prejudice and stakes in the cases before her at Supreme Court.

The Colombo Telegraph reliably learns that the Human Rights Commission has formally acknowledged this Petition for proper investigation and inquiry and notified the Petitioner’s counsel of their decision.

In the Human Rights action Ratnasiri filed before the Supreme Court, the Customs Officer had challenged the gross misconduct and dishonesty of the Respondent Mohan Peiris (cited him in his personal capacity) for abusing the office of the Attorney General to withdraw a case filed by the Director General of Customs filed before the Supreme Court [SC/SLA/100/2009].

The case was about the wilful misappropriation of public funds to the tune of over Rs. 619 million by the Colombo Dockyard Ltd. The Petitioner alleges that the AG Mohan Peiris had deliberately disregarded the clear instructions given by the Director General of Customs against the withdrawal of the said case and withdrew the case. Written instructions were provided by the Director General of Customs to proceed with the case.

619 million-revenue fraud committed by the Colombo Dockyard Ltd       Read More

SALMAN KHURSHID TO MEET WIGNESWARAN DURING SRI LANKA VISIT

October 6, 2013

Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will pay a two-day visit to Sri Lanka from Monday to hold talks with the country’s top leadership on key issues, including Indian fishermen languishing in jails there and devolution of powers to the provinces. 

This is his first visit to Sri Lanka after the provincial elections in Tamil-dominated Northern Province last month which the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) won. 

Apart from holding talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart GL Peiris, Khurshid will call on President Mahinda Rajapaksa and meet other senior leaders. 

He will also visit Jaffna and is expected to meet top leaders there, including chief minister-elect of the Northern Province C V Wigneswaran, who will be sworn in by President Rajapaksa on Monday in Colombo. 

Expeditious implementation of the 13th amendment on devolution of powers to the provinces, Indian fishermen languishing in Sri Lankan jails, implementation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission and cooperation in commerce are some of the main issues which are expected to be highlighted by the minister during his meetings. 

The issue of Sri Lankan forces arresting scores of Indian fishermen has become contentious with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also raising it with the Sri Lankan foreign minister when he called on him here to invite him for Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo in November. 

Last week, a Sri Lankan court had ordered the release of 35 Indian fishermen but did not pass a direction on five seized boats. 

Also, 20 fishermen were arrested last week by Lankan navy in the Palk Strait. 

Another issue that is expected to be discussed during the talks is India’s continuous demand of full implementation of the 13th amendment, a byproduct of the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord. - PTI

Behind The Numbers: A Closer Look At Voting Trends In Jaffna

By Gibson Bateman and Rathika Innasimuttu -October 7, 2013 

Wigneswaran

Introduction

A recent article[1] has questioned our analysis[2] of the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) election results. While thoughtful, the piece – published onColombo Telegraph – is misguided and reflects a lack of understanding of both the current political context in the north and Tamil people’s ideological mindset.

The thrust of the argument presented is that the real story behind TNA’s victory has little to do with past UPFA performance. Rather, it’s principally a product of a significant increase in voter turnout since the conclusion of war. It’s true that voter turnout has increased since Jaffna Municipal Council elections were held in 2009. But does that argument hold up under further scrutiny? Is that the main reason why TNA won last month? Or is there more nuance to this narrative than meets the eye?

Behind the Numbers

In the Jaffna Municipal Council election in 2009, 22,280 actually voted,[3] but there were only 100,417 registered voters. In the 2013 NPC election, the number of registered voters for Jaffna polling division has been listed as 28,610.[4] It is important to note here that the Jaffna Municipal Council boundary is larger than Jaffna polling division, which includes an extra nine polling sub-areas from Nallur polling division. If we do the math right, the figure for those nine polling areas can be calculated as approximately 20,454 people. [This figure is deduced by subtracting the Nallur Pradeshiya Sabha registered voters (20,012[5] people) from the registered voters of the provincial council Nallur polling division (42,466[6] people)]. This means that a more realistic number of registered voters for the Jaffna Municipal Council election would have been around 49,000. (That figure includes registered voters from Jaffna polling division (28,610), plus the approximate number of voters from nine Nallur polling stations, which amounted to 20,454 people, in 2009). This produces a much smaller pool of registered voters than official statistics suggested in 2009 – bringing the approximate voter turnout for that 2009 election to 47%. (The boundary lines for polling divisions for provincial council and local authorities elections are not exactly the same; this needs to be taken into consideration).                            Read More  

CBK causes ripples in SLFP

North appointments cancelled

October 5, 2013

Several public service appointments made in the North, most of which were on a contract basis, have been cancelled following the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) elections.

Over 600 people were given appointments in the public service in the North a few months ahead of the elections, including in the Jaffna and Kilinochchi Districts.

In July letters of appointment were handed over to 645 people at an event held under the patronage of Northern Governor G.A. Chandrasiri at the Weerasingham Hall in Jaffna.

At the time the government announced through the State media that the appointments were given to fill vacancies “with the intention of imparting a more efficient and streamlined public service to the Northern polity”.

State media also quoted the Northern Province Public Service Commission as saying that the appointments had been made to those found suitable to fill the vacancies after interviews were conducted with the selected applicants.

However this week some 400 of those appointments were cancelled by the provincial secretary of the North.

“We were given appointments just before the recent elections. However now all the appointments have been suspended. He has said that since there is a new provincial council, the council will decide on the appointments,” a resident of Vavuniya who was among those whose public service appointments were cancelled, said.

Of the appointments cancelled, 124 people were from the Vavuniya district. Most of those who lost their new jobs were health sector staff.

“I was given an appointment on a six month contract basis. I was also told that after six months I will be made permanent. But I have not got my salary for two months,” a health worker said.

When contacted, the office of the Northern Province Governor said that the appointments cancelled were of those who were on a contract basis. The Governor’s office also said that adequate funds had not been allocated for the appointments. (Colombo Gazette)

CBK causes ripples in SLFP

 Sunday, 06 Oct 2013

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) is in jitters over former President Chandrika Kumaratunga's reported overtures to form a new youth organization.

This follows reports reaching the government that the former President has had several meetings with several SLFP MPs in Kandy.
Last week, Minister Duminda Dissanayake, the son of the former North-Central Province Chief Minister, Berty Premalal Dissanayake, caused a storm within the SLFP, after he devoted a significant part of his speech to express his family's gratitude to former President Kumaratunga. Dissanayake Jr. recollected how his father had been unfairly treated within the SLFP, and heaped praise on the former President for visiting Dissanayake Sr. while in his deathbed.

Dissanayake's speech has ruffled feathers within the SLFP hierarchy and inside party sources said the President is expected to reprimand the Cabinet Minister, purportedly over his conduct.

Meanwhile, eyebrows have been raised by protests initiated by the son of Prime Minister, Anuradha Jayaratne, against the reappointment of Sarath Ekanayake as the Chief Minister of the Central Province.

The appearance of Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne in the protest has caused concern within the ruling party echelons, which have termed the move tantamount to challenging the President's decision, inside SLFP sources, who requested anonymity said.

Sources said the SLFP leadership is concerned as to whether there is a link between the recent discussions held between former President Kumaratunga and the SLFP seniors and the recent developments.

The Country of Mirrors

 by Tisaranee Gunasekara

“Madness is the purest, most total form of qui pro quo. It takes the false for the true, death for life….and the victim for Minos”. - Foucault (Madness and Civilisation)

( October 6, 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Ciudad Constitution is a name unknown to most Peruvians, but this insignificant town-let of around 8,000 people was once destined to be Peru’s magnificent new capital. Few abandoned ‘model houses’ and a functioning highway are the sole relics of that grandiose project, commenced in 1984 by President Belaunde Terry. Bedevilled by financial troubles and corruption charges, the project to build a capital in the jungle was abandoned when its author lost the Presidential election in 1985.

The Country of Mirrors by nelvely

PC Elections And The Opportunities

By Jayantha Dhanapala and Ahilan Kadirgamar on behalf of Friday Forum -October 6, 2013 

Jayantha Dhanapala

The Friday Forum keenly followed the three Provincial Councils elections in the Northern, North Western and Central Provinces held on 21^st September 2013. The encouraging turnout, with voters exercising their franchise in all three provinces, supported the claim that the elections were relatively free and fair. The Friday Forum expresses its appreciation of the role played by the Election Commissioner, the Election Department, all officials, staff and others as well as the local and foreign election monitors. The democratically elected councillors in all three provinces must now carry forward their mandate towards good governance of the provinces and the well-being of the citizens.

In the Northern Province, this is the first Provincial Council election since 1988 and as such gains further significance. Four and a half years after the war, this is a new and small opening for the country to move on reconciliation. However, many challenges remain in ensuring that this democratically created opening is utilised.

The Centre and the Northern Provincial Council should work together to take forward the day to day needs of the war-torn population while working in parallel towards a devolved political settlement within a united Sri Lanka. Crucial here is the devolution of powers in the 13^th Amendment. Participating in development with a sense of security is important for the Northern population to identify as citizens of Sri Lanka both in spirit and in practice.

The Government must recognise that its majoritarian agenda after the war has alienated the people of the North. In particular, it must rethink its approach to centralised and top down governance and development, characterised by continuing militarisation and large infrastructure projects that did not seek the participation of the local population in their planning or execution. Furthermore, there needs to be a deep understanding of the challenges of converting the war-time and post-war military administration to the now democratically elected civil administration. Thus demilitarisation is a priority. Next, the powers of the Governor should not be used to undermine devolution. While there are a range of powers from land to police, which are being debated, it is crucial for the Provincial Council to have the necessary finances to administer and develop the Northern Province.

Read More

Indian EA minister to lunch with SL governor, meet CM designate in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 October 2013, 14:30 GMT]
New Delhi Establishment’s External Affairs Minister, Mr Salman Kurshid will be on an official visit to Jaffna on Tuesday. He will have a lunch meeting with the SL Governor in Jaffna and a ‘bilateral’ meeting with the Chief Minister of North, said a press note by Suresh K Menon of the Consulate General of India in Jaffna. New Delhi’s High Commissioner in Colombo, Mr Yashwardhan Sinha and senior officials of the MEA will accompany the minister. The programme is scheduled to end with the New Delhi minister meeting Indian journalists in a hotel room in Jaffna. 

The External Affairs Minister’s programme also includes visiting an Indian housing project at Thellippazhai and distributing certificates for the beneficiaries of the housing project and Indian-assisted small business enterprises.

Thellippazhai borders the so-called High Security Zone, now converted into a Sinhala Military Zone, where both Colombo and New Delhi have long-term partnership programmes. 

The Indian-assisted housing at Thellippazhai could never be a compensation for New Delhi’s complicity in genocidal Colombo erasing out scores of traditional Tamil villages in the Palaali-KKS tract to create a permanent region for the occupying Sinhala military, Tamil activists for alternative politics commented in Jaffna.

Political observers noted the usage, ‘bilateral’ meeting, phrased by the Indian Consulate General in Jaffna, for the meeting between the Indian External Affairs Minister and the Chief Minister of the NPC, who will be still CM designate at the scheduled time of the meeting. 

New Delhi attempts to simulate such verbal images for a hollow, substance-less and guarantee-less process, to hoodwink public opinion in Jaffna and Tamil Nadu, and to orchestrate opinion through the corporate media in India, the observers commented.

Extremist political party candidates in JHU, JNP and MEP in UPFA lost election…..

Saturday, October 5, 2013 8:56 am, Posted by eyeadmin

    The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) has welcomed the TNA’s readiness to work together with the government within the framework of the unitary state and the 13th Amendment of the present Constitution.

Having met on September 27, to discuss the result of the recent provincial council polls in the Central, North-Western and Northern provinces, the LSSP politburo welcomed the TNA stand that it desired to strengthen the provisions of the 13th Amendment through discussion.

The following is the full text of statement issued by Senior Minister Tissa Vitarana on behalf of the LSSP:

“The Politbureau of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, which met on the 27th of September, congratulated the two candidates from the LSSP, Samanpriya Herath and Jagath Wijenayake, who won, against heavy odds, in the Kurunegala district of the North Western Province (NWP), and the Kandy district of the Central Province (CP) respectively, and the remaining candidate in the UPFA lists, from the Jaffna district of the Northern Province (NP), Nadarajah Thamil Alagan, who faired creditably and came 10th out of the 19 candidates.

After a detailed analysis of the results the following main conclusions were drawn:

* Despite the present unsatisfactory electoral system, together with the Executive Presidential system, that were introduced by the UNP, and the abuses that invariably result, the latest round of Provincial Council elections has helped to strengthen democracy in the country; with a 67% poll in the NP and the CP, and 64% in the NWP.

* The results in the two Southern provinces, with the UPFA receiving 66% in the NWP and 60% in the CP, clearly indicate that the support of the people for the UPFA Government remains intact, despite the rising cost of living and public concerns regarding weaknesses in governance.

*The main Opposition Party, the UNP, and the JVP too, have continued to lose support among the people. The UNP failed to gain a single seat in the NP, and dropped to 12 seats (24% of the votes) in the NWP, and to 16 seats (28% of the votes) in the CP. The JVP votes dropped further and it barely held on to its single seat in NWP (less than 2% of the vote) and failed to win a seat in the CP (barely 1% of the vote).

* The emergence of some limited popular support for the Democratic Party led by Sarath Fonseka, about 4% of the vote each in the NWP (3 seats) and the CP (2 seats) is not a reflection of its emergence as a third force in Sri Lankan politics, but rather a protest vote against the UPFA Government, and a personal expression of sympathy for him.

* The rejection of communalism by the majority Sinhala Buddhist community, as expressed by the defeat of all the JHU, JNP and MEP candidates in the UPFA lists, is a positive development. The victory of three candidates from the Socialist Alliance, which is opposed to communalism, the two LSSP candidates as well a the SLMP candidate, Asanka Navaratne in the Kurunegala district, tends to confirm this fact.

* It is however clear that the minorities continue to support communal parties like the SLMC and CWC, whether separately or as part of the UPFA, and overwhelmingly in the North as in the case of the TNA.

* The massive victory of the TNA in the NP with over 78% of the vote and 30 seats, while the UPFA obtained only 18% of the vote and 7 seats, is a clear indication that the Tamil people in the North are not satisfied with economic development in the absence of devolved power and the ability to direct their future developments through their own elected representatives. This is a vindication of the stand taker’ by the LSSP, and the other parties of the Socialist Alliance (CP, OLF, SLMP and DVJP), soon after the war end d in 2009, emphasizing the need for a political solution for the nationals question acceptable to the Tamil speaking people.

We are glad that the TNA has declared its readiness to work together with the Government within the framework of the unitary state and the 13th Amendment of the present Constitution. That it desires to strengthen the provisions of the 13th Amendment through discussion is also reasonable. The Government should respond positively so as to build mutual trust and confidence which would lay the framework for establishing genuine national unity as one Sri Lankan nation.   

No Tectonic Shift In ‘State Land Being Vested In The Republic’

by Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena

( October 6, 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s repeated claim, (pronounced with appropriate gravitas most recently to Al Jazeera), is that Sri Lanka does not exhibit authoritarian or dictatorial tendencies as it holds regular elections at which his government is comfortably elected into power.

Unitary nature of the State never disputed

No Tectonic Shift In ‘State Land Being Vested In The Republic’ by nelvely

Save Elections To Save Democracy 

By Austin Fernando-Sunday, October 06, 2013

Conduct of elections is a great job of meticulous planning and tact

During the elections in North Western Provincial Council and the Central Provincial Council there were allegations of violence and violations of law reported – some inter-party rivalries and many more intra-party rivalries. In the Northern Provincial Council, a different set of violent actions and violations were reported – some are before courts already.

Save Elections To Save Democracy by nelvely