VIDEO: ARACHCHIKATTUWA PS CHAIRMAN REMANDED

October 21, 2013
Arachchikattuwa Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Jagath Samantha Perera who was arrested over the alleged assault on three private bus operators has been remanded until November 4, the Ada Derana reporter confirms.

The PS Chairman is accused of assaulting a group of operators on a Chilaw-Colombo intercity bus in the Mahaweva area yesterday.

The private bus operators on the Chilaw-Colombo route protested the incident and began strike action last afternoon.

The Marawila police stated that the PS Chairman who surrendered to them today will be presented to the Marawila District Court.

KOSGAMA POLICE OIC SUSPENDED

October 21, 2013

The Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Kosgama Police station Thilina Hettiarachchi has been suspended with immediate effect for releasing nine suspects on police bail. He is accused of not following proper protocol in releasing the suspects who were arrested on charges of illegal gem mining.

Police media division stated that his services were suspended by the Sabaragamuwa DIG Lalith Jayasinghe. It is suspected that the OIC had diverted from usual procedures due to alleged corruption, Police said. Inquiries over the conduct are currently underway.

However, the threshold of income for levying the higher tax rate is still being worked out.

MR trying to control the rich in the country through taxes

Monday, 21 October 2013 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is now paranoid of losing control inside and outside his government, is looking at ways to take control.

The President’s close confidantes have advised him on unleashing a witch hunt against governing party members who are deemed as disloyal to the Rajapaksas.

However, the Rajapaksas have now found a good way to take control of the rich and influential businessmen who are not under their control. The President had formulated this plan with the help of his racketeer businessmen.

The Rajapaksa government is reportedly looking at introducing an additional tax on wealthy Sri Lankans in the 2014 budget to be presented on November 21.

The annual income and assets of wealthy Sri Lankans are to be taken into account in establishing a new tax category for the super-rich.

This tax is to be applied in addition to other normally levied taxes paid by them.

However, the threshold of income for levying the higher tax rate is still being worked out.

A senior member of a business chamber said that regardless of the new moves, the Rajapaksas will find ways to ensure that their racketeer businessmen friends are shielded from such payments.

CPC reportedly buying Iranian crude thru’ third parties

Sunday, October 20, 2013

A crude oil shipment delay and changes in a bill of certification have given rise to speculation that Sri Lanka is procuring Iranian crude from third parties despite imposed sanctions imposed by the United States.

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) contracted a company by the name of Mercol General Trading LLC to supply a consignment of ‘Murban’ light crude oil which could be refined at the Sapugaskanda refinery. The shipment is due to arrive at the Colombo Port from Sharjah at any time. There has already been a delay of 17 days from its scheduled date of arrival.

The certification sought to be produced by Mercol is different to the usual certification required by CPC for Murban, authoritative sources said, adding that the load port particulars appear to have been changed. This delay in Mercol’s crude oil shipment and changes in the bill of certification have given rise to suspicions that the tanker, which is expected on October 24, is a third-party shipment of Iranian crude.

The sources said that, despite a US warning not to purchase crude oil from Iran, the CPC was continuing to buy Iranian crude from ships in international waters — thus evading US sanctions. The deal with Mercol may have been one such attempt to buy Iranian crude, they said.

Meanwhile, it was also revealed that the CPC was desperate to continue operations at the Sapugaskanda oil refinery when it contracted Mercol, an international chartering company of the United Arab Emirates. The refinery is now running at reduced capacity of 35,000 barrels a day and the delay in the shipment will compel the authorities to shut down the country’s only refinery as there was inadequate crude for refining, they added. Capacity stands at 50,000 barrels a day.

The state-run refinery has faced closure from time to time due to supply shortfall after the purchase of Iranian oil was halted by US sanctions.

Was US ship detained in Tamil Nadu smuggling arms to India?

October 21, 2013 

The close proximity of the Arab billionaire who owns the seized ship, MV Seaman Guard Ohio, to the Pentagon raises a number of questions about its presence in Indian waters. Vicky Nanjappa reports    

 The mystery shrouding the United States ship carrying arms and ammunition, which was detained at Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin port, appears to be getting deeper. Even as investigations in the case move at a snail’s pace, preliminary reports suggest that the huge cache of arsenal was being smuggled into the Indian territory.

Investigators have recovered 35 assault rifles and nearly 4,000 rounds of ammunition from the vessel MV Seaman Guard Ohio. The ship belongs of AdvanFort, a firm in Washington, and is owned by US-based billionaire Arab Samir Farajallah. He lives in the vicinity of the White House and this raises even more suspicion about a direct link of America to the incident, point investigators. They categorically state that the ship was carrying weapons, which were part of a smuggling deal. However, it not clear if the ammunition was going to be off loaded on the Indian shore. The ship was docked at Kochi before sailing into Tamil Nadu waters where it was detained.

Authorities from the southern state have complained about similar incidents in the past. Chinese vessels smuggling arms and ammunition from Sri Lanka often pass through Indian waters but get away because they are very influential. The case of MV Seaman Guard Ohio is no different, they say.

The crew cannot argue that the arms belong to the security on board. AdvanFort has not provided any satisfactory explanation. They have in fact claimed that they were given a clean chit by the Coast Guard on September 9 when it docked at Tuticorin. The claim however has been proved wrong. Investigators say that they will look into this angle as well. 

Farajallah, who hails from United Arab Emirates, is said to be very close to the US establishment. He has played a significant role in the as facilitator for US companies in supplying arms to warn-torn nations such as Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is said that Farajallah is close to the Pentagon and has been instrumental in fixing meetings between delegates and US military officials. His company AdvanFort, which was established in 2009, has branches in Dubai and London and has been since then providing maritime security and armed security personnel.

Was he up to similar tricks in India as well? There are three angles to the investigation of MV Seaman Guard Ohio.

Who were the rebels in South India that this vessel intended to supply the arms to? It had made a stopover at Kochi, which investigators say was a dumping ground for such weapons in the past. The National Investigation Agency is probing this angle.  

The other possibility is the proxy war being fought in south India. Kerala has a huge presence of Islamic terrorists. Over the past few years, Indian agencies have pointed out an increase in the number of Israelis who have launched their form of counter intelligence and terrorism in the state. They believe their nationals are a target and hence have decided to launch independent operations in southern India.

The other issue that is being investigated is that of a possible turf war against China by the US. The Chinese, according to government reports, are gradually building a base in the south. There has been a confirmed presence of nearly 200 Chinese nationals in Tamil Nadu and a good number of them have been setting up base near Loyola College, Chennai.  

The Tamil Nadu authorities have been probing the possibility of Chinese authorities, who use the Sri Lanka route, offloading arms and ammunition here. With the Chinese presence increasing down south starting from Sri Lanka, the US could be possibly attempting a turf war here, is what some officials believe.

Photograph: Flickr-Vicky Nanjappa

Colombo CHOGM means condoning Sri Lanka: HR expert

CCD's report on war widows was launched on Wednesday, 16 October 2013, at House of Commons. The event was chaired by Mr Stephen Timms, MP for Eastham.

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 October 2013, 23:44 GMT]
“Sri Lanka has got a lot to answer internationally in actually accepting an investigation into the atrocities. We don’t think that the CHOGM should be happening in Colombo, because it is like an almost condonation [of Sri Lanka],” said Margaret Owen, the director of Widows for Peace through Democracy (WPD), 3 months ago at a conference held in London by the Centre for Community Development (CDC). “Could we talk [on Sri Lanka] to the Foreign Office, whom we are in discussions with the whole time on revising the UK national action plan,” Ms Owen said she had asked her group. The response from the members of her own group was that even attempting to mention Sri Lanka to the FCO may blow everything else the group was working with the British FCO. “That is the attitude, I am afraid at the moment. The UK doesn't feel it can get involved.” 

Colombo CHOGM Means Condoning Sri Lanka HR Expert by nelvely

Avaricious Sangha (Buddhist sentinels) forced to vomit casino dhana and return the gifts as people furiously protest

(Lanka-e-News -19.Oct.2013, 11.00PM) The Sangha members the so called sentinels of the Buddhist faith who held a media discussion to oppose the gazette notification giving long term relief to casino moguls and the proposed legalization of gambling, which is to be tabled in Parliament on the 23 rd and 24 th , and then making a bee line to the luxury Restaurant ‘ Maharaja Palace’of the casino mogul Ravi Wijeratne for a sumptuous dhana , and thereafter each of them collecting prodigious gifts (extortion money) worth in millions from this casino ‘King’ , are now trying to return the atapirikara and gifts to the casino ‘King’ in the face of massive protests mounted in every area against their dastardly actions and despicable greed, according to reports reaching Lanka e news.

Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera

Professor Bellanwila Wimalaratne Thera

Iththepane Dhammalankara Thera

Kotugoda Dhamawasa Thera

Muruththetuwe Ananda Thera 

Following the exposure of the collection of these lavish gifts most secretly and illicitly by a group of monks including the aforenamed sentinels of the Buddhist faith from Nanda Thera of a temple near the parliament , Champika Ranawake of the JHU had made inquiries via phone about this from Prof. Wimalaratne of Belanwila temple and had blamed him severely.

Though JHU is an allied party of the government, on the issue of casino it was antagonistic. Yet when the casino bill was presented in Parliament the JHU did not cast its vote with the opposition against it. 

When Champika blamed Bellanwila Thera , the latter had defended himself by fastening the blame on Sobitha Thera , stating that it is the latter who forced him to attend the dhana when he wanted to desist from going. Bellanwila Thera had added that he is prepared to return to Ravi Wijeratne the atapirikara worth millions which was collected . He had also pointed with deep regret that the reputation he was safeguarding so far has been tarnished by this.

Meanwhile Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera who orchestrated this double dealing which is worse than the egregious sins committed by Devadhatthaya and Judas had gone into hiding , it is learnt. A close associate of Sobitha Thera, the organizer of this illicit extravagant gift collection (extortion) and the dhana speaking to Lanka e news revealed , since the Thera was desirous of having a Thai meal at the dhana at Maharaja palace , and casino mogul Ravi Wijeratne’s Maharaja palace serves only Indian dishes and not Thai meals , a Thai cook was specially employed and Thai meals were served to the so called Buddhist sentinels by casino King .

Banagala Upatissa Thera and Theeniyawala Palitha Thera have however by a special communication informed Lanka e news that they did not participate in the dhana at casino mogul’s restaurant or collect the gifts (extortion ) worth millions , and that they only attended the media briefing held during noon. ( Lanka e news in its report did not mention that Theeniyawala Pailtha Thera attended the dhana )

Constitutional Configurations Lanka Should Avoid: The Democracy Deficit In The US

By Kumar David -October 20, 2013 |

Prof Kumar David

The United States prides itself as the longest continuous constitutional democracy though the Brits, home of the mother of parliaments, may demur. The written document apart, US pride must be tempered by the unfortunate truth that enforcement of the right to vote by blacks became reality only after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Squabbling with the Brits aside, the American Constitution enshrines the separation of powers, Presidential term limits, checks and balances, and most important, accountability and answerability to the people. A hyperactive media both helps and confounds the processes of American democracy.

Comparatively, it’s bloody chaos in Lanka. The awful JR-Constitution must to be discarded and the depraved Executive Presidency (EP) abolished. EP would be long gone but for Mahinda Rajapakse’s greed for power and the droppings there from that his siblings gorge on. Public distaste is growing and Rajapakse covetousness and public anger will collide. Then it is EP that will be flushed down the WC. Sobitha and the UNP have proposed drafts – fairly good and with considerable overlap – Chandrika is said to have called on Sobitha Thero; presidency and constitution surely were on the agenda, I doubt she was seeking guidance on chastity, abstinence and the Dhamma. Since we have to discard our constitution, deadlock in the US that has shut the government down, is worth exploring. (Currently there are 9 presidencies with over 20 years grip on power in Africa, another 6 of over 10 years duration; these ogres no doubt are Rajapakses exemplars).

The Mad-Hatter’s Tea Party    

  Neither the Constitution nor the doctrine of separation of powers is to blame if Mad-Hatters take over Congress and prance in bibs spilling scalding hot folly all over. The blame falls on voters in 50 US congressional districts who chose these tenderfoots, now holding the Republican Party and House Speaker John Boehner hostage. The 2012 elections did a funny thing; America re-elected a black president of liberal bent, but in fear it had gone too far (racism is not far below the surface in some Americans and liberalism is only a shade less awful than card-carrying communism) it corrected itself by inserting 50 unmitigated loonies called the Tea Party caucus into the 435 member House of Representatives; the ‘lower house’. In a European country with a managed institutional system, these fruitcakes would be confined at public cost, medicated, and cared for.                    


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International Goodwill Keeps Sri Lanka On Devolution Path 

By Jehan Perera- Sunday, October 20, 2013

The holding of the elections to the Northern Provincial Council has been the most significant political development relating to the ethnic conflict since the end of the war

As recently as the middle of this year, none of what is currently transpiring in the North would have seemed possible.  At that time Nationalist Sinhalese groups aligned themselves with hardliners within the government to call for the abolishing of the Provincial Councils system.  There were government efforts to introduce a 19th Amendment to the 

International Goodwill Keeps Sri Lanka On Devolution Path by nelvely

Amid CHOGM rush, Lanka blows hot for coal

By Our Political Editor-     Sunday, October 20, 2013                                         

• BOI recommends huge investments in foreign coal companies to ensure supplies, but some ministers raise questions
• State institutions rushing in the rain to complete summit projects; doubts remain as to how many leaders will come
• Hakeem, Bathiuddin clash openly at President’s tea party; UNP’s crisis talks makes slow progress

UPFA councilors pose for a photograph with President Rajapaksa after they were sworn in by the President this week. Picture courtesy EPDP

Amid CHOGM Rush, Lanka Blows Hot for Coal by nelvely

Khuram Shaikh And Weliweriya: Lessons In Resistance

by Tisaranee Gunasekara

“Nothing is given: we must find our law.”

Auden (In Time of War)

( October 20, 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Indictments were filed against Sampath Chandrapushpa and other alleged murderers/rapists of Tangalle, 22 months after Khuram Shaikh was hacked to death and his Russian girlfriend gang-raped.

Sampath Chandrapushpa was the Ruling Family’s choice as the Chairman of the Tangalle Pradesheeya Sabha1. The Rajapaksas used every trick to prevent their henchman from being indicted. Time and again justice was promised – and denied. There was even a Defence Ministry-initiated crude attempt to efface the gang-rape charge2.

Khuram Shaikh and Weliweriya Lessons in Resistance by nelvely

UPFA politico arrested for threatening journalist

Sunday, October 20, 2013

A UPFA Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) member from Medirigiriya was arrested for threatening a journalist who exposed illicit felling of trees on the pretext of flood control measures in the area.

The PS member, Nishantha Pradeep Kumara had telephoned the journalist and threatened him for reporting the news item. The member had not identified himself, but the journalist had recorded the call and noted the telephone number of the caller, enabling police to track down the member.

Police arrested the member and produced him before Polonnaruwa Magistrate U.D. Kulatunga, who later released him on surety bail of Rs 50,000.Journalist Roshan Thushara had reported that, on the pretext of stopping flood threats in Van ela, Kawdamulla in Medirigiriya, a number of Kumbuk trees had been felled.

A Sri Lankan Journalist Eagerly Toes the Line

Kuni Takahashi for The New York Times

"In the end, you gravitate to a place where the management views are in consonance with yours," Rajpal Abeynayake said. "And I have gravitated to that place.”

By GARDINER HARRIS

Published: October 18, 2013

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — He calls himself the Rush Limbaugh of Sri Lanka, “except I’m not as obnoxious.” His critics say he should be hanged from a lamppost.

Rajpal Abeynayake, 50, is the editor in chief of The Daily News, the country’s largest English-language daily newspaper, which is wholly owned by the government. He is also the host of a morning radio program, and the two platforms make him the most influential English-language journalist in Sri Lanka.

His position atop Sri Lanka’s journalistic firmament has been assured in part because those who have criticized the government in recent years have been killed, intimidated or forced into exile.

Such a fate is difficult to imagine for Mr. Abeynayake, a gushing admirer of Sri Lanka’s president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, and his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the defense minister. But leading a government news media organ can be a precarious job; his predecessor at The Daily News lasted only two years.                     

 Full Story

Face To Face With Killers 

By Faraz Shauketaly-Sunday, October 20, 2013

Journalists are a different species entirely. Well, I would say that but consider the inherent risks. Actuaries would be foolish if they did not load the risks when being asked to insure the life of a journalist practising that rather peculiar art in Sri Lanka. That is to say, because – for whatever reason – journalists have been at the receiving end of a number of attacks on their person, they have been threatened, cajoled, beaten up, threatened, insulted by having their parents and grandparents also remembered, kidnapped or held against their will, shot at and yes, even sadly, murdered. Their loyalties have been held up high and questioned by all and sundry, even at the highest echelons of power. Doubts, aspersions and whatever else have been cast on their allegiances and their very existence on Mother Earth questioned. The reasons could well be many and the credible evidence, varying in credibility, but in all instances, these incidents have been significantly contrary to common law.

Face To Face With Killers by nelvely

No pressure to rush Khuram's case

By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan-Sunday, 20 Oct 2013

Attorney General, Palitha Fernando refuted claims that his Department had been subjected to political influences and interferences over its investigation into the murder of British tourist, Khuram Shaikh. "There was no influence whatsoever. Nor was any international pressure applied to 'quicken' the trial, he said, in an exclusive interview with Ceylon Today. It was a judicial matter and no one can pressurize his Department to 'rush'," he said.

The Attorney General's Department, which had been dragging its feet for two long years over taking legal action against the murder of Khuram Shaikh, finally charged six men, including the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman, who is a close confidant of the ruling family, with offences including murder... ...possession of unlawful weapons and the gang rape of Shaikh's partner. The much-delayed arraignment of suspects was made in the wake of the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Colombo next week. The Attorney General, however, defended the delay.

"It's unethical to ask us to 'hurry up' the case. We are not a ministry or an organization that issues press releases or that has a media spokesperson to issue updates on a crime scene," he said.

He added, "This does not mean we have kept the public in the dark. We are handling a sensitive murder trial, where a foreigner is involved."

British Prime Minister, David Cameron, who had decided to attend CHOGM, brushing aside appeals for a boycott by human rights groups, has said he would ask for the justice for the murdered British aid worker. Last week, the AG revealed that a direct indictment has been filed against the six suspects. "There are some cases that run into years, not only in Sri Lanka but anywhere in the world, and it cannot be rushed or hurried. It is a sensitive matter and you need to gather every bit of information you need and that is not easy." he said.

He admitted that there was a major delay in obtaining the DNA report from the Ragama Hospital due to 'lack of resources'. He, however, claimed that the matter will be expedited now without any further delay. Asked whether the forthcoming CHOGM pushed the AG's Department into action, the AG said, "That is an absurd claim. We can assure everyone that there is no influence exerted over this case. There is no political interference.

"We treat this case as a matter of national interest and has appointed a special prosecutor to handle it."

He added that he is not involved in appointing the special prosecutor and had left it to be handled by the Criminal Division of the AG's Department.

"I still don't know who will be the prosecutor representing the AG and I will not appoint him, but leave it to the Criminal Division to decide. If I appoint him, then there would be another story that I have appointed so and so," he opined.

Court To Fix Trial Date 

By Indika Sri Aravinda-Sunday, October 20, 2013

The Colombo High Court is expected this week to fix the trial date to hear the charges filed against the suspects involved in the December 2011 murder of a British tourist in Tangalle.

Last week the Attorney General’s (AG) department filed direct indictments in the Colombo High Court on the suspects including the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman (UPFA) Sampath Vidanapathirana.

Additional Solicitor General Suhada Gamalath told The Sunday Leader that the incident is seen as controversial with so much international focus on it.
He said that attempts will be made to ensure the case is taken up soon and concluded without delay. British MP Simon Danczuk has meanwhile cautiously welcomed the news that the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman (UPFA) Sampath Vidanapathirana was indicted before the Colombo High Court over the murder of a British tourist in Tangalle.

“This has been a long and hard campaign and let’s hope this is now the beginning of the end. I have directly raised my concerns with the Prime Minister about his attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka next month, and I hope the first thing the President does when he shakes David Cameron’s hand is confirm that justice is being done,” the MP said in an email. Danczuk has been campaigning for justice over the murder of the tourist, Khuram Shaikh who is from his constituency in Britain.

“We have had to push very hard to get the Sri Lankan authorities to properly investigate this terrible crime and the family has waited nearly two years for justice. They are heartbroken and want closure. If Sri Lanka wants to continue to develop its tourism sector then it needs to send out a very clear message. When British tourists are brutally murdered then we need to see justice being delivered and the killers put behind bars,” he said. Meanwhile Khuram’s brother, Nasir Shaikh, said it was an encouraging development, but it won’t sink in until a trial date is announced. “We have waited a long time for this and my family won’t rest until the Sri Lankan authorities deliver justice for my brother,” he said.

Basil to leave country if Pushapa is not made chief minister!

 Sunday, 20 October 2013 

Economic development minister Basil Rajapaksa has said in front of the president with sorrow and anger that he would leave politics and return to the US if attorney Pushpa Rajapaksa is not given nominations to contest the upcoming Western Provincial Council election as the UPFA chief ministerial candidate, according to Temple Trees sources. The president has so far not responded to minister Basil’s request, which has disheartened him even further.

Owing to the serious mental stress and pressure he has undergone due to the conflict of opinion regarding this matter among the family members, minister Basil Rajapaksa had to be hospitalized and received in-house treatment at Lanka Hospitals Ltd.. The hospital, whose chairman is defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, has not levied any charge from minister Basil Rajapaksa for his in-house treatment. During his incarceration, the president, and at his request, MP Namal Rajapaksa, visited minister Basil at the hospital. However, Mr. Namal Rajapaksa had stayed there for less than five minutes. Notably, the defence secretary did not visit his ailing brother at the hospital.

First lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa and both Namal and Yoshitha are strongly against the bringing in of attorney Pushpa Rajapaksa to the political fore as the chief ministerial candidate for the western provincial council. Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa too, has expressed his opposition to the idea. Members of the president’s family have proposed that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa be given the nomination. However, the president is intentionally avoiding a response to all these proposals.

Last week, Mrs. Pushpa Rajapaksa told the SLFP women’s organization that she had no intention of entering active politics although she has been urged by many SLFP organizations to take to politics. She is saying so in the backdrop of a situation in which the president is yet to approve her name. The other two persons trying their level best to prevent the entry of Mrs. Pushpa Rajapaksa to politics are western province chief minister Prasanna Ranatunga and the province’s minister Nimal Lansa. As the chief organizer for Gampaha district, minister Basil Rajapaksa has deployed Mr. Nimal Lansa to shoulder the burden in the district, by throwing at him the carrot of the chief ministership.

WON’T SEEK PARDON FROM PRESIDENT EVEN IF SENT TO GALLOWS – MANGALA

October 20, 2013 

UNP parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera says he will never ask for forgiveness from a leader such as Mahinda Rajapaksa - directly or indirectly- if he is sentenced to prison or even to the gallows.

Samaraweera says that not only him but even his leader, Ranil Wickramasinghe will never seek forgiveness in that manner.

The MP made these comments while speaking to journalists after visiting the Bataduwa residence of UNP Southern Provincial Councilor Krishantha Pushpakumara, who was injured in the recent clash between UNP supporters in Matara.

Referring to recent media reports which alleged that he was released on bail after being arrested following the President’s intervention, Samaraweera stated that if reports published in the papers are in fact true then that means the President can change the decision of the judiciary and police.

That means the country’s law has gone to the dogs, he charged, adding, that is the truth they are continuously uncovering.

Especially the Sri Lanka Police service has today become “slaves” who are fulfilling every wish of the Rajapaksa family, he alleged.

The head of the UNP media division further charged that the “UNP hunt” within the Matara District is continuing and that 45 prominent party supporters are already in remand custody.  

He stated that even though photographs and footage of the” thugs” who surrounded and attacked UNP Vice President Jaliya Jayawardena during the Matara clash have been produced, the Matara Police has still not arrested the suspects.

Samaraweera stated that the country’s law had deterred to such an extent that Matara Police have only arrested the UNP Vice President, who he says was brutally assaulted and the person who had rushed him to hospital.   

The SLFP dissident and former Foreign Minister stated that he possesses video footage showing how the police treated the “terrorist” Herman Gunaratne, who was arrested after shooting five persons.

Samaraweera also said that he intends to file complaints with the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission and International Human Rights Commissions, against the officers of the Matara Police including the SSP in charge.

He also vowed to take legal action against the “shameless” media organization, which he says was responsible for operating the entire hunt.

What Is Karu?

By Rasika Jayakody -October 20, 2013 

Rasika Jayakody

Many believe that Karu Jayasuriya is an umbrella under which many factions of the United National Party can work together with the aim of forming a government within the next two years. It is true that Jayasuriya is appealing to the Sinhala-Buddhist elements which have become the decisive factor as far as election results are concerned, especially in the post-2005 Sri Lanka.

He is a man of a clean track record, whose name remains unstained with bribery and corruption allegations, or any other charge that are often wedded to the names of politicians in this day and age. It is clear that he is a politician who has a sound knowledge of every aspect of his business and someone who possesses a pluralistic mindset towards media and other establishments that are essential to maintain a healthy democracy in a country.

Moreover, he is a fatherly figure who is capable of being a guiding star to many of the rising leaders of the party who will have to take over the baton in the future. All these are plus points that stand in favor of Karu Jayasuriya who has now been propelled into the supreme council of the party in the aftermath of a shameful election defeat.

Outfoxed                                        Read More

Kabir To Be Made UNP Chairman

October 20, 2013 

As the main opposition United National Party mulls drastic changes to its leadership structure a decision has been reached to appoint Kegalle district parliamentarian Kabir Hashim the new chairman of the party, sources told Colombo Telegraph.

Kabir Hashim

Current UNP chairman Gamini Jayawickrema Perera has expressed a willingness to resign to make way for sweeping changes to the party’s list of office bearers.

Hashim is seen as a party man with the capacity to unite factions within the UNP.

His appointment however is unlikely to be made until the leadership council is finalized by the Ranil Wickremasinghe, Karu Jayasuriya and Sajith premadasa trio and agreement can be reached by consensus. Meanwhile sources said UNP MP Ajith Perera is likely to be appointed president of the UNP trade union.