TN house resolution calls for boycott of Colombo CHOGM

• The HinduChief Minister Jayalalithaa leaving the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday after unanimously adopted a resolution asking the Indian government to completely boycott the Commonwealth Head of Governments Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in November in Sri Lanka. Photo: V. Ganesan
  

  B. KOLAPPAN-CHENNAI, October 24, 2013

  Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution asking the Indian government to “completely boycott” the Commonwealth Head of Governments Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in November in Sri Lanka.

  Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who moved the resolution, said even “token participation of Indian representatives” should not be allowed.

  “India should immediately communicate its decision to the Sri Lankan government and take steps to suspend the country from the Commonwealth till it secures rights for the Tamils on par with the Sinhalese and their independence,” she said amid thumping of desk by the treasury benches.

  Ms. Jayalalithaa recalled how she in the past took exception to India providing training to Sri Lankan Army personnel in India, the resolution passed in the Assembly seeking economic embargo against Sri Lanka, and her letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take efforts to shift the venue of CHOGM from Sri Lanka to some other country.

  She said her consistent efforts led to India putting an end to providing training to the Sri Lankan Army. The Assembly also wanted India to abstain from using the term “friendly nation” while making any reference to Sri Lanka.

  Ms. Jayalalithaa said India should take a cue from the stand taken by the Canadian Prime Minister that he would not participate in the CHOGM meet on the ground that Sri Lanka had violated the basic principles of the Commonwealth and boycott the meet.

Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously demands full CHOGM boycott by New Delhi

[TamilNet, Thursday, 24 October 2013, 14:02 GMT]
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Ms Jayalalithaa on Thursday moved a resolution in the Tamil Nadu State Assembly demanding the Indian Central Government to completely boycott its participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka this November. The resolution was particular in demanding that there should not even be a token participation from the Indian side. Instead, India should take steps to temporarily suspend Sri Lanka from the Commonwealth till the Sri Lankan State acts upon ensuring the freedom and equality of Tamils on a par with the Sinhalese. All the political parties present in the Assembly, including the Congress, passed the resolution unanimously. 

• [Tamil] Full text of Tamil Nadu Assembly Resolution on CHOGM

TN House Resolution Calls for Boycott of Colombo CHOGM by nelvely

Aussie Cricket Skipper Is Casino Packer’s Education Ambassador In Lanka

October 24, 2013 

Australian Cricket Captain Micheal Clarke has signed up as Education Ambassador for Crown Sri Lanka, a million dollar casino investment in Colombo by Aussie gaming mogul James Packer.

Micheal Clarke

Clarke will work closely with training aspects of the proposed project, newspaper the West Australia said.

In a video released promoting the project, Clarke said “I look forward to providing a helping hand to support and mentor young people in all parts of the country to ensure Sri Lankans get the training they deserve and an opportunity for a career in hospitality.”

Clarke is already under increasing pressure by lobby groups not to be part of the 400 million dollar Packer project.

Government minister warns of rift between Muslims and Buddhists

Thursday, 24 October 2013 

Minister of the Mahinda 

Rajapaksa government, Rishard Bathiudeen has warned of attempts to create a rift between Muslims and Buddhists in the country.

The Minister has said that a handful of people claiming to be doing a service to Buddhists who are the ones attempting to target Muslims.

“Muslims have never supported attempts to divide this country or do anything against the country,” Bathiudeen has said.

The Minister has also recalled that Muslim leaders had even gone to Geneva and obtained the support of Muslim countries for Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council.

Bathiudeen’s comments come as the Bodhu Bala Sena (BBS) declared a year of protests against the halal certification.

‘Casinos are good, I too, played’ – S.B.

 Thursday, 24 October 2013 

People may say various things about the casino game, but it is a good game. Early this year, I too, played casinos in the casino city in the US, higher education minister S.B. Dissanayake has told ‘Divaina.’

He has said further,

“Our people are worried very much about casinos. They are presenting various views. In the US, I placed two dollars a bet at the casino. But, the girls working in the casino told me to place bets at 140 dollars. I did not fall for that.”

“It is good that Sri Lanka too, is having casinos. Foreigners will come to our country and spend millions of rupees. Isn‘t that very good? Let our Sri Lankans too, play casinos.”

“We should also listen to the views, proposals and criticisms by those who oppose casinos. There is no harm if casinos are banned only for Sri Lankan people.”

Higher education minister S.B. Dissanayake, who says casinos are good, on numerous occasions branded as a traitorous act the struggle by the Federation of University Teachers Association to demand a six per cent allocation of the GDP for education.

Will Logarani Be The Last Victim Of Violence Against Women?

• by Cayathri. D
• - on 10/24/2013 

• 

• All photographs by the author, or sent it by the author.
  Around 5pm on 17 October 2013, within the Jaffna municipality, one of our friends (a male youth resident of Jaffna) came to our home (a few friends were gathered there) looking very disturbed. We were surprised to see him again, as he was with us since afternoon and had just left a little while ago. After seating himself on a chair, he spoke, “A female dead body, without cloths, has been found near Naachimar Amma Kovil. I saw it. The sight of it made me sick. There were a few other people looking at it. Chiiiii (he sighed)”. It took a good minute for all of us to comprehend and the first among us to speak. We began to question our friend who brought the news – “has the police arrived? Is she totally naked? Could it be rape and murder? Can you recognise her face”? Indeed, he did not have clear answers. He kept repeating, “I don’t think the police have arrived. Someone was calling the police”. Another male friend asked, “shall we go and make sure that the police arrive”. Five of us (two women and three men), went to the location. The body was found because of the bad odour emanating from it, as it had started decomposing. Because of this, within an hour of it being found, there were about 100 people, mostly men and small boys, trying to view the woman’s dead body. All were intrigued to see the cloth-less female body – despite the fact that it was brutality violated.

Will Logarani Be the Last Victim of Violence Against Women by nelvely

Colombo ‘legalizes’ land distribution to Sinhalaese at North-East link

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 October 2013, 22:14 GMT]
The occupying Sri Lankan State has deployed its divisional secretaries and provincial land officials in the East to legally re-distribute thousands of acres of agricultural lands of the uprooted Eezham Tamils in Thennai-maravadi village in Trincomalee district to Sinhala villagers from the nearby ‘Padavi Sripura’. The latest move comes while hundreds of uprooted Tamil families are still awaiting resettlement in their village. The ancient Tamil village of Thennai-maravadi is situated in the strategic narrow corridor linking the North and East in Trincomalee district. Washington, New-Delhi and the UN, maintaining total silence on the geographical and demographic genocide undertaken by Colombo and imposing the LLRC-13A ‘experiment’ amounts to complicity with Colombo in the genocide, said Tamil civil sources in Trincomalee. 

Colombo’s Deputy Minister to the Economic Development ministry, Susantha Punchinilame, is coordinating the land appropriation, the sources in Trincomalee further said.

The location of Thennai-maravadi village

The move to legally appropriate the lands comes when more than 400 Tamils are yet to resettle in their traditional village of Thennai-maravadi and the 187 families that have already resettled there are still struggling to access their agricultural lands that have been occupied by the Sinhala farmers. 

Colombo has stepped up legal moves, including surveying of lands and the move to ‘re-distribute’ lands to Sinhalese in the area in recent weeks. 

The Sinhala farmers using the lands of Tamils are from the nearby settlement, known as Padavi Sripura, which is an already Sinhalicised ancient Tamil village Pathivaavi. 

Thennaimaravadi, located strategically between the North and Eastern province borders was the scene of intense colonization activity in 1984 by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in a planned attempt to drive a wedge in the contiguity of Tamil presence across the provincial borders. 

Thennaimaravadi was the first Tamil village completely displaced in the Trincomalee district following the SL state sponsored Black July pogroms in 1983. 

Several new Sinhala settlements, Padavi Siripura, Sri Tissapura, Samanpura, Gemunupura and Sinhapura, were established in public lands in the north of Trincomalee district located close to Thennaimaravadi village thus making the Tamil population a minority in the area.

Dambulla Kovil Attacked; Hindu Politico Says Mosques And Kovils Must Not Be Shifted

TOctober 24, 2013 

Hindu politicians have issued an urgent appeal to President Mahinda Rajapaksa asking him to act immediately to stop an old kovil in Dambulla from being shifted, after the temple was partially dismantled by a group recently.

Bhadrakali Mata Statue /File photo

Dr.N Kumar Guruparan, Western Provincial Councillor and Deputy Leader of the Democratic Peoples’ Front and Spokesman for the Hindu Front said the President needed to take steps to safeguard the Badhrakaali Amman Kovil and the Moor Mosque in Dambulla where violent protests erupted last year when hardline Buddhist groups insisted the mosque and kovil were encroaching on sacred ground near the Dambulla Golden Temple.

Guruparan said on October 21, in the early hours of the morning, the temple trustees had invaded the temple premises and removed its roofing. A month ago, he said, the statue of the deity Badhrakaali had been smashed and thrown into a well. “There is a group of Buddhist fundamentalists eager to change the history of tamils and Hindus’ and Muslims’ in Dambulla demolishing the temple and Mosque in prominent palace.This issue and deliberate attack on Badrakaali amman temple  is still continuing, the deity’s statue was smashed and thrown in to the well not even a month back. Guruparan said the trident in the premises had been used to remove the roofing.

“As we know  Hon Parliamentarian R. Yogarajan with the assistance of Hindu Businesman donated a new statue, handed over at the temple. Mr. Yogarajan  also had discussions with the UDA and the Ministry of Religious Affairs to obtain a more spacious land in another location in Dambulla to rebuild this temple. I also held discussions with UDA officials  to stop shifting the residences and the Temple.

Plot to assassinate me –Says Mangala Samaraweera in parliament
(Lanka-e-News-24.Oct.2013,4.30PM)

Mr. Speaker,

I have reliable information about a plot to assassinate me in the run-up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting ( CHOGM) to be held in Colombo from the 15th - 18th November.

According to intelligence reports prepared by the SIS ( State Intelligence Service) a well known contract killer called 'Chaku' and another underworld criminal called ' Kota Gamini' have been assigned the task of carrying out my murder. According to the warped criminal minds of those who want me killed, this is a propitious time to do so , as everyone will assume that the killing carried out just before so many heads of state are in attendance, is to embarrass the government . The blame is to be squarely put on those who are waging a political and media mud slinging war against me since the recent incident in Matara. The conspirators hope 'to kill two birds with one stone' through this insidious act: on one hand a vociferous critic of the regime, both inside and outside Parliament will be silenced and on the other, they think they can further divide the opposition by putting the blame on sections of the UNP.

Mr. Speaker, the most important paragraph of my statement has been deleted and this proves beyond any doubt that the freedom of speech of even MPs is curtailed under this regime. When I met you in your chambers at 4pm last afternoon, you consented to the whole statement but later in the evening I received a censored version with the most important para censored. Is the Secretary General now the censor general of Parliament? On what grounds has the following para been censored?

However, I can, with responsibility state that the master mind behind this conspiracy is a senior Defence Official who has been behind many of the political killings, white van abductions and assault on journalists during the last several years. 

Why has this been censored? Under what standing order? Who is the SG trying to protect? The SG must be looking after the interests of Parliamentarians and not senior officials in the defence sector.

The following has also been censored.

I have also been told that a very important VIP recently talked of the need ' to shut me up' in front of several senior cabinet Ministers. The standing orders of this house prevent me from naming those concerned but I will be lodging a formal complaint tomorrow with the Police with all the details of this conspiracy.

This high handed act by the SG is a direct violation of the Commonwealth Charter and the Lattimer house principles.

V. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
We are committed to peaceful, open dialogue and the free flow of information.....and to enhancing democratic traditions and strengthening democratic processes.

VI. SEPARATION OF POWERS
We recognise the importance of maintaining the integrity of the roles of the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary.........

If you expunge the relevant para, I will make a formal complaint to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Union. The Parliament must protect the integrity of the legislature without pandering to the interest of the executive.

As the custodian of the safety and security of all the members of this house, Mr. Speaker, I request you to urgently intervene in this matter with those concerned. I also request you to provide me with adequate security including the allocation of local police guard provided to the residences of MPs which I have been deprived of since the inception of the present Parliament.

Thank you.

The United Nations in Sri Lanka Marks the 68th UN Day

Thursday, 24 October 2013 

The United Nations (UN) in Sri Lanka marked the 68th UN day in the presence of Chief Guest, Honourable Senior Minister, D.E.W. Gunesekara, Guest of Honour, Honourable Minister of Youth Affairs and Skills Development Mr Dulles Alahapperuma, other Honourable Ministers, Senior Government Officials, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, National and International Partners, the media and students. The event was held at the National Youth Services Council in Maharagama.

In marking the 68th United Nations Day, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon highlighted the need to act collectively to address the most urgent development challenges facing us today.

This year saw the operationalization of the 2013-2017 United Nations Development Assistant Framework (UNDAF), which will guide UN’s work in the country over the next five years. The work of the UN, in the coming years, will see a gradual shift from providing humanitarian support to focusing on development assistance. With the overall goal of supporting Sri Lanka achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth with equitable access to quality social services, strengthened human capabilities and reconciliation for lasting peace, the new UNDAF also has a strong focus on young people. Given this focus, this year’s UN Day celebrations highlighted the theme, “UNiting for Youth: My Sri Lanka, My Future”.

Expressing his thoughts, Mr. Subinay Nandy, the UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka stated ‘the UN’s collaboration in Sri Lanka will shift from humanitarian to long term development support with a special focus in the areas of Governance, Social Inclusion and Human Rights. In order to achieve the development objectives of Sri Lanka, the UN will be working with young people and encouraging their participation in all UN initiatives’.

The event also saw the culmination of UN art competition, “My Sri Lanka, My Future”, which was held in the run-up to the UN Day this year. The winners of the art competition were recognized at an award ceremony which marked the event. The students also exchanged their views and aspirations for Sri Lanka’s future during the event.

Chief Guest at the event, Senior Minister, Honourable D.E.W. Gunasekara, noted the importance of remembering the ideals and the commitment of the founding fathers of the United Nations, adopt to current ground realties and work towards building a better world for us to live in peace”.

The Guest of Honour of the event, Honourable Minister of Youth Affairs and Skills Development Mr Dullas Alahapperuma, noted the importance of the partnership between his Ministry and the UN. He said ‘the Ministry of Youth Affairs, as the foremost Ministry responsible for youth issues in Sri Lanka, commends UN’s decision to reach out to youth and address their issues through the new UNDAF.’

An exhibition which showcased UN’s work in the country under its four priority areas, equitable economic growth and sustainable livelihoods; disparity reduction, equitable and quality social services; governance, human rights, gender equality, social inclusion and protection; and environmental sustainability, climate change and disaster risk reduction was a highlight at the UN day celebrations.

See  the statement made by Mr Subinay Nandy UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Sri Lanka

Racism’s strident rise and  imperiling of Obamacare

October 23, 2013, 12:00 pm 

In these times of economic hardship, it is quite easy for the political Right to play on the racial sensitivities of ethnic majorities. Immigrants, for instance, could be projected by the Right as the arch enemy of the majority community, since it could be made out that these migrants grab economic and employment opportunities which should be solely acquired by the racial majority. Thus are racial animosities relentlessly built-up by the Right to the point of complete social disruption.

Racism’s strident rise and  imperiling of Obamacare by nelvely

Thousands march in Cambodian opposition protest

By AP News Oct 24, 2013 

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Thousands of Cambodian opposition supporters marched through the capital Wednesday to deliver a petition to the United Nations urging it to intervene in what they say was a rigged election that illegitimately returned Prime Minister Hun Sen to power.

The march kicked off a three-day rally marking the opposition’s latest push to demand an independent probe into alleged cheating in the July 28 election.

Cambodian opposition party leader Sam Rainsy, center right, holds hands with his deputy Kem Sokha at Wednesday's rally. Pic: AP.

Hundreds of bystanders lined the 2.5-kilometer (1.5-mile) route, cheering “Change!” as the protesters walked past waving Cambodian flags. The march snarled traffic along one of Phnom Penh’s major boulevards as the protesters walked from Freedom Park, where thousands more protesters had gathered, to the U.N. human rights headquarters in the city.

In total, about 15,000 protesters turned out, according to the human rights group Licadho.

“We have asked the United Nations to help to find justice for the Cambodian people,” opposition leader Sam Rainsy told reporters after delivering the petition. “They promised they will send those petitions to the U.N. headquarters in New York.”

The opposition said some 2 million supporters thumb-printed the petition.

Official election results extended Hun Sen’s 28-year rule and gave his party 68 seats in Parliament, compared to 55 for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party. The CNRP says it was cheated out of a victory and will boycott the new Parliament until the government has met its demands.

The new demonstrations coincide with the 22nd anniversary of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia, which laid the groundwork for U.N.-sponsored elections after the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge and years of civil war that followed. Opposition leaders say that in the next two days they will deliver petitions to several embassies of countries that signed the agreements, including France, Britain and the U.S.

More than 1,000 police and soldiers were put on duty for the protest, which authorities said they would allow as long as there is no violence. Military police spokesman Kheng Tito has said authorities were ordered to take a softer line on this rally than on one in September, when clashes with police left one man dead and several injured.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy assured the protest would be peaceful. “If there is any violence, it will not come from us,” he said.

Human Rights Watch echoed the CNRP’s calls for an investigation.

“Cambodia’s donors and other countries should publicly press the Cambodian government to set up an independent, internationally assisted investigation into disputed national elections in July 2013,” the New York-based rights group said in a statement Wednesday.

The group’s Asia director, Brad Adams, criticized France, Australia and Japan for sending congratulatory letters to Prime Minister Hun Sen, saying in the statement that “democratic leaders should skip the congratulations and instead insist on an independent investigation into malfeasance at the polls.”

Watch the video on Israeli racism The New York Times didn’t want you to see

October 24, 2013 
Submitted by Ali Abunimah on Fri, 10/18/2013

Regular readers of The Electronic Intifada are familiar with the shocking and escalating racism in Israel against people from countries in Africa.

Our extensive coverage of the incitement and attacks on Africans, thanks in large part to the work of David Sheen, demonstrates that this phenomenon is not marginal, but is incited by Israel’s top political leadership.

When Israeli government ministers incite angry mobs, calling Africans “cancer,” they are simply expressing another face of the racism that Palestinians have always experienced.
Solicited, then rejected by The New York Times

Watch the video on Israeli racism The New York Times didn’t want you to see by nelvely

Should Sri Lanka be hosting CHOGM conference? - video

Channel 4 News

Sri Lanka hosts this year's Commonwealth summit despite allegations of human rights abuses and war crimes. C4 News speaks to Simon Gimson, aide to Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma.

Pinwheels of fortune

October 24, 2013 

If there is one thing the Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa loves, it is to put on a grand show. Domestically and internationally, the regime has excelled at marketing its smallest successes to great effect. As it prepares to strut upon the global stage for the performance of a lifetime, the ruling administration is pulling out all stops to showcase Sri Lanka’s paradise potential, economic promise and political stability. Blown away by the pomp, pageantry and red cement sidewalks, who will stop to look just beneath the surface of the CHOGM beautification?

Pinwheels of Fortune by nelvely

5 Judges Nominated By De Facto CJ Refuse C’wealth Lawyers & Bar England & NSW Chance To Assist In CJ Impeachment Appeal

POctober 23, 2013 

A five judge Supreme Court bench specially nominated by de facto Chief Justice Mohan Pieris, today (23.10.2013) refused the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and the Bar Association of England & New South Wales, permission to be heard on the important questions of law relating to the appeal from the challenge to the removal of the de jure Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake.

Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake

The five judges were S. Marsoof, Chandra Ekanayake, Sathya Hettige, Shanthi Eva Wanasundera and Rohini Marasinghe.

Dr. Bandaranayake had refused to participate in the appeal, with the Supreme Court being controlled by the de facto CJ. However, the case is seen as crucial to restore judicial independence. The Attorney General, not even a party to the case and who had only been asked to make submissions to assist the Appeal Court, took the controversial step of appealing the Appeal Court ruling holding the so called impeachment unconstitutional. This step was earlier objected to as bad under the law but the objection was overruled by the same five judges.

Today, senior counsel and constitutional law expert Dr. Sunil Coorey appeared for the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and the Bar Association of England & New South Wales, who said that it was important to allow the court to have the benefit of submissions given the importance of judicial independence. The Attorney General strongly objected to them as outsiders being allowed to appear and assist court.

The case was ordered to be listed for hearing on 28.11.2013.

Setting up a legalised casino: Good or bad?

October 23, 2013  

An issue that is highlighted in the newspapers now is about the Government planning to allow a foreign businessman to set up a casino. The Opposition has criticised the proposal although casinos were allowed to operate during the time of the UNP governments as well.
Of course the argument against them is now couched in terms of the moral dimension. Is gambling inherently immoral? Buddhist monks say so. But we already have lotteries run by the Government. 
The British colonial ruler banned cockfighting – a village sport popular in certain parts of the country and hence gambling is not entirely absent from our ancient culture. Villagers are known to take bets on future events like which party will win an election.

Setting Up a Legalised Casino Good or Bad by nelvely

Mahinda Rajapaksa Was Strongly Opposed To Casinos As MP

October 24, 2013

President Mahinda Rajapaksa was vehemently opposed to casinos and gaming centres as a Parliamentarian, believing they would make Sri Lanka a hub for prostitution, homosexuality and even AIDS.

In a speech made in August 1993, SLFP MP Mahinda Rajapaksa said casino kings fleeced the public making millions and transforming their black money into dollars.

“In the recent past casinos have become entertainment. Joschim was able to appear in photos with high profile politicians. People like Joschim worked to bring casinos and prostitutes from Thailand to Sri Lanka as a business,” Rajapaksa said, referring to a gaming mogul in Sri Lanka in the 90s.

“It is under these circumstances that prostitution, homosexuality and AIDS can come to this country,” he is reported to have said.

*Picture courtesy Our Feelings Facebook page