SRI LANKAN-INDIAN FISHERMEN REACH AGREEMENT, AWAIT GOVT APPROVAL

January 27, 2014 

Representatives at the bilateral talks between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka fishermen, in Chennai on Monday. Photo: The Hindu

Representatives of Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen said they reached an agreement on the vexed issue of their fishing rights after daylong talks in Chennai on Monday. However, they said the agreement they reached should be approved by their respective governments.

Talking to newspersons after the talks, Arulanandam, a fisherman from Rameshwaram, said they held open and smooth discussions on the issue.

Sadasivam, a fisherman from Sri Lanka, said it was up to the two governments of both countries to resolve the issues relating to flouting of the international maritime boundary line by fishermen.

They said they discussed the contentious issue of fishing near Katchatheevu and the decision should be approved by the governments.

Meanwhile, a source told TOI that five resolutions were adopted during the talks. The resolutions would be sent to the respective governments for approval.

The meeting, aimed at resolving the vexed issue of traditional fishing rights in Palk Straits, today seemed to have made some headway, but both sides were tightlipped on what transpired in the closed-door meet held in the presence of government representatives from the two countries.

Briefing reporters after the day-long discussions, one representative each from both country - U Arulanandam from India and Sri Lanka’s Sathasivam - said the talks went on “smoothly” and the decisions taken at the meeting would be communicated to the respective governments.

Arulanandam said there was good progress in talks and indicated that the decisions will be released only by the respective governments.

In the brief media interaction, Sathasivam echoed Arulanandam and said that “certain decisions” have been taken, which will be communicated to governments of both countries.

They also parried questions on the contentious issue of Katchatheevu, an islet ceded by India to Colombo in 1974.

The talks were held to find a solution to the dispute over fishing in the Palk Straits which has seen Tamil Nadu fishermen coming under alleged attacks and detentions by Lankan Navy frequently.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had on Saturday made it clear that today’s talks will be held without prejudice to a case pending in Supreme Court on Katchatheevu issue by her.

She had said the talks would be based on a five point agenda which would include stressing the traditional fishing rights of Tamil fishermen in the Palk Straits, ending the assault on them and confiscation of their boats. – Agencies 

CEB: Breach of contract costs the public dear 

By Ifham Nizam-January 26, 2014

The CEB management has paid a construction consulting firm close to Rs. 35 million in damages.

CEB awarded the firm a contract to built its new head office at Narahenpita in 2009 in keeping with the government tender procedure.

The consultants proceeded with their work until the CEB directorate changed in late May 2010 with the appointment of Power and Energy Minister Champika Ranawaka. The General Manager of CEB at the time, Badra Jayaweera was ordered by the new Chairman to terminate the consulting contract with the firm in question and award it to a private company affiliated to the University of Moratuwa.

However, she refused to terminate the contract without a valid reason. The Chairman then took a unilateral decision to terminate the existing consulting contract and award a new contract to the firm associated with the Moratuwa University.

When the original consultants challenged the termination of the contract, an arbitration panel awarded them approximately Rs. 35 million which, according to CEB sources, is significantly greater than the balance payment due to the consultant on the original contract.

The CEB, having paid the amount, has now asked its Internal Audit Department to conduct an inquiry. CEB unions said that it was only an attempt to confuse everyone as it was obvious who should be held responsible for the costly blunder. The work on the project has got delayed.

The piling was completed even before the building design had been finalised, at a cost of Rs. 300 million. The CEB has now been forced to modify the design to match the piling.

Lessons from Venezuela: Rich oil income is not an insurance against bad economic policies

iHugo Chávez: Hero to Sri Lanka’s nationalists0-January 27, 2014
Venezuela’s popular President, the late Hugo Chávez, was, and is still, a role-model in many respects for nationalistic minded groups in developing countries. This was specifically true for similar groups in Sri Lanka. Their love and awe for Chávez were amply demonstrated by them when they made anti-American and anti-Western marches in the streets of Colombo waving placards featuring photos of smiling but defying Chávez to support their cause. They had all the reasons to hero-worship him.
Bad economic policies supported by rich oil incomes

Lessons From Venezuela Rich Oil Income is Not an Insurance Against Bad Economic Policies by nelvely

UNP for anti-corruption laws

By admin on January 27, 2014

The main opposition UNP today said it will back any attempt to implement anti-corruption laws in the country.

UNP MP Tissa Attanayake said that the JVP had challenged the UNP to publicly state its stand on such laws.

Attanayake said the UNP had always stood for corrupt Government officials to be held accountable and so it will back such laws being implemented by any Government.

He said that when the UNP comes to power it will investigate all corrupt practices of Government officials and even politicians.

He recalled that in 1994 when the Commission to investigate allegations of bribery or corruption proposed laws to deal with corrupt officials the UNP had given its full backing to the then Government.

Attanayake also said that the misuse of State property has been a serious issue and the UNP has always been ready to support moves against such activities. (Colombo Gazette)

Cops’ umbrage

Editorial-January 26, 2014,

Police Spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana has, in a recent television interview, challenged those who claim that the Police Department is the most corrupt state institution, to substantiate their allegation with credible proof. His consternation is understandable. Statistics are simply plucked out of the air by some people who conduct 'surveys' based on tiny samples and riddled with errors with a view to supporting their preconceived opinions and furthering their hidden agendas. They make their ‘findings’ out to be the truth and aggressively market them.

In 2007, no less a person than a US ambassador in Colombo said that a study had indicated that Sri Lanka’s GDP would have grown by at least two more percentage points in 2006 had government corruption been prevented. True, corruption has taken a heavy toll on national development and everything possible must be done to eliminate it, but how could one quantify its ill-effect on the economy so precisely? Reliable information about corruption is woefully lacking in this country.

Moreover, it is being claimed in some quarters that 50,000 youth were killed during the JVP’s second uprising (1987-89). Who took a body count? This figure is based on what an Opposition firebrand cum human rights lawyer at that time—Mahinda Rajapaksa—told the foreign media. Now, the UN and a section of the international community tell us that more than 40,000 civilians were killed during the closing stages of the Vanni war in 2009. This figure is based on information provided by unnamed persons and organisations taking cover behind a wall of secrecy.

Prior to invading Iraq the US and the UK commissioned a study on what they claim to be Saddam Hussein’s WMD programme and produced an elaborate report to justify war. The world is now aware that the evidence therein was falsified. So much for surveys, studies and statistical data!

It is now up to those who claim that the police are the most corrupt state institution to take up the Police Spokesman’s challenge and produce irrefutable evidence.

Meanwhile, SSP Rohana and several other high ranking police officers have taken exception to our editorial comment, ‘What a shame!’ on Jan. 22. We hauled the police over the coals for their failure to arrest the absconding Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Sampath Vidanapathirana, one of the accused in the Khuram Shaikh murder case. He was subsequently taken into custody. They told us that it was regrettable that the good work done by the police, more often than not, went unappreciated. But, we keep saying in these columns that the police are not short of good, efficient men and women and they must be given a free hand to deal with lawbreakers.

The police have, on more than one occasion, proved that they are capable of doing their job. They rid the Peliyagoda fish market of extortionists who had been exacting millions of rupees from traders and transporters. The police mounted a pre-dawn raid and arrested all underworld figures obtaining protection money. Senior DIG Anura Senanayake himself, albeit in a different capacity at that time, took part in the operation and collared several extortionists himself. That raid yielded desired results because Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa ensured that there was no political interference. There is a pressing need for many such ops against the underworld controlled by politically connected criminals.

In one of Saki’s beautiful short stories, 'Penance', three children who angrily call their otherwise affable neighbour ‘beast’ upon catching him in the act of burying their small tabby cat he had killed for preying on his chickens, later change their opinion of the man after he performs many a propitiatory act; finally they throw a note into his garden with this word scribbled on it, ‘Un-beast’. Similarly, now that the Tangalle PS Chairman has been arrested and remanded till the conclusion of the trial and the Police Spokesman has suggested good-humouredly that we at least correct the title of our comment in question, shall we say, "What an UN-SHAME!"?

However, one swallow, as they say, does not make a summer. While the police should be praised for the arrest of the Tangalle PS Chairman, let it be stressed that they have a long way to go before public faith is restored in their institution. That will remain an elusive goal unless they are liberated from the clutches of politicians in power responsible for protecting lawbreakers of all sorts including hardcore criminals in the garb of parliamentarians, provincial councilors and local government members. Shame on those who eviscerated the 17th Amendment, which came close to ensuring the independence of key state institutions including the police!

25-year corporate tax holiday for US$ 1.3 billion offshore Colombo Port City

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Government has granted a generous 25-year corporate tax holiday to Colombo Port City, the Rs 172.4 billion (US$ 1.3 billion) project to reclaim more than 575 acres (233 hectares) of sea off Galle Face Green.

The project company, CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Ltd, will also be exempt from tax on dividends for 25 years as well, as a host of other levies for a lesser period of time. The concessions were gazetted on January 24 under Section 3 (2) of the Strategic Development Projects Act.

The move to build Colombo Port City follows an unsolicited tender from China Communications Co. Ltd (CCC). The project is more expensive than the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (US$ 210 million), Phase 1 of the Hambantota Port (US$ 361 million) or the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway (US$ 350 Million) put together.

The project will be in two phases. The cost of US$ 1,300 million is inclusive of the construction of a wave protection breakwater, land reclamation, ground improvement, revetment (retaining wall) as well as canals to connect seawater, artery roads and utilities. Implementation is expected to take eight years from the date the agreement is signed between the Board of Investment and the CHEC Port City Colombo.

Among other concessions granted is an exemption from withholding tax payable on the interest on foreign loans taken for capital expenditure and on technical fees paid to consultants; on management fees and royalty payments, provided the total of such charges does not exceed 3% of gross operating revenue; on marketing fees, provided the total of such fees does not exceed 1.5% of gross operating revenue; and on incentive management fees, provided the total of such fees does not exceed 10% of gross operating profit.

Up to 30 expatriate employees of the project company are exempt from ‘Pay as You Earn Tax’. This will be applicable for project implementation staff and project operational staff for a period of 10 years from the date of commencement of commercial operations. The Company is required to gradually replace expatriates with local employees “on a best efforts basis”.

The importation of project related goods and services and the local purchases of project related goods and services during the implementation period of eight years are exempt from charge and payment of Value Added Tax. This deferment is applicable for direct supplies and for supplies made to a contractor or sub-contractor. The Company shall be liable for payment of VAT on the commencement of commercial operations.

During the implementation period, the Company shall also be exempted from the Ports and Airports Development Levy, the Construction Industry Guarantee Fund Levy, Excise Duty, CESS, National Building Tax and Customs Duty on importation of project-related items.

The project falls under the purview of President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is also Minister of Highways, Ports and Shipping. He recently told ministers that the Port City will consist of luxury hotels and apartment complexes, shopping malls, space for modern offices for corporate sector, leisure and recreational activities such as yacht marinas, formula tracks, etc.

As first reported in the Sunday Times, a significant feature of the project is the granting of a portion of the land area on a 99-year lease to the Chinese firm which made the unsolicited proposal. The base price of the land is being estimated at US$ 24 million or more than Rs 3 billion.

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) is to be allocated 125 hectares including 62 hectares which is saleable. The SLPA is to be exempted from licence fee, royalty fees and buyers of their land will be exempt from the Property Transfer Tax (or Land Tax) and Stamp Duty. The Government will transfer the reclaimed land to the SLPA as a “free gift.”

The SLPA has, ahead of approval by the Cabinet, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese firm. This was after a Standing Cabinet Appointed Review Committee (SCARC) gave it instructions.

Rajapakse's diabolic plot and plan to imprison Mangala Samaraweera

(Lanka-e-News- 26.Jan.2014, 11.30PM) The Rajapakse regime which is preparing to hold a number of elections is aware fully and thoroughly that UNP M.P. Mangala Samaraweera is the most powerful pillar of the opposition and therefore a thorn in the side of the regime , has made arrangements to file action against him under section 365 (A) of the penal code on the 27 th (tomorrow) and imprison Samaraweera with a view to silence him, according to reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division.

The case No.16758 in the magistrate court in connection with the robbery committed by thieves entering Samaraweera’s house is to be called up again on the 27th. On that day , based on the affidavits secured from the accused Shevan and his wife , the Panadura north police is in the ready to file action against Samaraweera after making him the accused.

The OIC of the Panadura north police Tissa Kumara IP has filed action against Samaraweera under the archaic time barred section 365 A of the penal code instructed by SSP R C D Katupitiya based on a conspiracy hatched by the notorious senior DIG Anura Senanayake on the orders of Gotabaya Rajapakse.

The Rajapakses who call themselves as patriots (cardboard patriots) and opposing imperialism have filed action based on the very laws of the Vijitha Victorian era under the imperialists , thereby proving how little they know of patriotism and imperialism and how much they are anti imperialistic. 

Section 365 A , states , openly or secretly if a grave immoral activity is indulged in with somebody else’s husband or is a party to such an activity or such activity is engaged in using another’s husband or makes attempts to commit such a wrong is guilty of committing a wrong liable to two years jail sentence or a fine or both. He is also liable to a punishment with whip lashes. In any event the code does not define what is grave immoral activity .

SSP Katupitiya had forced SI Livera to record two statements which is a part of the conspiracy against Samaraweera. It is significant to note that this Katupitiya had never any day been an OIC of a police station nor worked in a crime branch. He has also not received any training at the police training school. He was just an STF soldier who was later attached to the Presidential security division , finally turning out to be a Rajapakse bootlicking lackey. Subsequently he was straight away promoted as an SSP and sent to the area where Samaraweera lives . This is seen as part of this conspiracy to hound and corner Samaraweera , according to reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division.

Mangala Samaraweera who has earned a reputation for his organizing abilities and strategies that are positively uniting the opposition , and therefore the Rajapakses who have realized tough times are ahead for them , and this coupled with Samaraweera arranging for the absorption into the opposition of break away groups of SLFP against the Rajapakses have perturbed the latter beyond measure . Having realized that Samaraweera is the strongest single source building the opposition in a way no one else could , the Rajapakses who were laying in wait for a long while to trap Samaraweera, planned this cold calculated conspiracy.

Earlier on too the Rajapakses plotted to liquidate Samaraweera but was foiled because that plan leaked out. At that time , though the speaker who is Rajapakse’s elder brother agreed in Parliament to provide security to Samaraweera as an M.P. , so far that had not materialized.

The plot and diabolic plan of Rajapakses to hit below the belt and stab behind the back when they cannot win in a straight open fight legally , are surely going to be a fiasco , which in other words means Rajapakses are digging their own graves.

Court Refuses To Be Guided By Smear Campaign Against Mangala

January 27, 2014 

The Panadura Magistrate today declined to hear evidence against UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera based on media reports and said the Court would only be guided by the Police B report regarding the theft at the Parliamentarian’s residence last month.

The case of petty theft that has elicited significant media attention due to the sexual allegations and aspersions being cast on Samaraweera and the suspect that broke into his home came up before Panadura Magistrate’s Court.

President’s Counsel Hemantha Warnakulasuriya with a team of six lawyers appeared on behalf of the suspect Shiran Priyankara, accused of stealing a laptop and several bottles of whiskey from the home of the Parliamentarian in December. Reports are that Warnakulasuriya is being retained on behalf of the suspect by Sirasa director Nimal Cooke.

Lawyers for Samaraweera submitted to court that the Government was carrying out a smear campaign against the opposition MP long after the suspect made a confession to the police and was remanded on 2 January. “We submitted to court that at that point, the suspect was so short of money that he was unable to retain a lawyer. But then when the case was taken up again on 13 January, he had a top Government lawyer retained and his wife had submitted an affidavit with sexual allegations,” a lawyer for samaraweera said.

The lawyers for Samaraweera told court that the suspects lawyers were attempting to bring charges against the MP under Section 365A of the Penal Code for political mileage.

Panadura Magistrate Ruchira Weliwatte said court was only concerned with the theft at Samaraweera’s residence and added that any other complaints can be filed in different cases. The Magistrate said the Court was not interested in the allegations being made in the media.

The case will be taken up again on February 24 and lawyers for Samaraweera told court that Warnakulasuriya and others are unlikely to show up in court for the rest of the case since the magistrate had refused to indulge the sexual allegations.

Ex-NoW reporter: I told Coulson about my hacking skills

MONDAY 27 JANUARY 2014
A former reporter tells a court he informed ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson about the hacking skills he had acquired at the Sunday Mirror before he was taken on by the Murdoch newspaper.

The Old Bailey heard evidence from Dan Evans, who admitted hacking phones at the two Sunday tabloids.

The former reporter was appearing as a witness for the prosecution in the phone hacking trial and claimed that he was recruited from the Sunday Mirror to join the NoW, partly because of his knowledge of phone hacking.

He said: "I was bringing phone hacking techniques and methodology. I was bringing a pretty lengthy list of phone hacking targets. People whose voicemails had been intercepted, general skills to perpetuate that activity."

I was made aware very recently that there had been some kind of communication with this person... I was never aware money had been exchanged- Jude Law

Mr Evans said that he was approached by NoW staff three times before he finally resigned from the Sunday Mirror in October 2004, and the court heard that phonehacking, or "voicemail interception" was mentioned in the very first meeting. At the second meeting, Mr Evans said he was asked: "I know you can screw phones, what else can you do?".

'Bring exclusive stories, cheaply equals job'

Mr Evans told the court about the "Kerching moment" when he met Andy Coulson at a hotel to discuss the job for the third time.

He said: "I told him about my background, the sort of stories I had been doing. Almost the sort of stuff I had been through before."

Following prompting by the other NOTW journalist he had dealt with before, he said: "I got onto voicemails and interception and I told him I had a lot of commercially sensitive data in my head and how things worked at the Sunday Mirror and I could bring him big exclusive stories cheaply which was the kerching moment. Bring exclusive stories cheaply equals job."

The ex-tabloid journalist told the jury that he was involved in hacking at the Sunday Mirror for about a year and a half from 2003 when he was given a staff job, but it had been going on before that.

Asked by prosecutor Andrew Edis QC what his job at the Sunday Mirror was, he said said: "I was a news reporter. Principally I was tasked with covering news events, investigations, undercover work, latterly with hacking people's voicemail."

The court heard that Mr Evans has already admitted conspiracy to hack phones at the Sunday Mirror between February 2003 and January 2005, and the same offence at the NoW between April 2004 and June 2010. He has also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.

Seven people are on trial and deny charges of phone hacking, including former NoW editors Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks.

Best Vines as video app reaches first birthday

Australian student raped in Sri Lanka

Ambalangoda beach, Sri Lanka. Photo: Markus Spring/Flickr

Amanda Hoh-January 27, 2014

An Australian university student has reported been raped by a tourist guide during a study excursion in Sri Lanka.

Local media reported on Sunday that police in the southern town of Ambalangoda were searching for a man suspected of raping the young woman on a beach.

Sri Lankan internet newspaper Colombo Page said the student was from the Australian National University (ANU), and was among a group of 15 Australian students conducting studies in the coastal town.

She had been working as a volunteer at a turtle hatchery as part of an academic project since last December, another Sri Lankan news website, Daily Mirror, reported.

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A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) confirmed they had been told of the incident.

“We are providing consular assistance to a young Australian woman in Sri Lanka. The family seeks privacy at this time.”

The ANU was investigating the reports, a spokesman from ANU told Fairfax Media.

“At this stage we're still checking if there are any students on university work in Sri Lanka,” the spokesman said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/australian-student-raped-in-sri-lanka-20140127-31ih7.html#ixzz2rcOiVfzd

Shiranthi’s Brother, SriLankan Chairman Diverts Commercial UL Flight; Refuses To Wait Two Hours For Regular Flight

January 27, 2014

In a blatant abuse of authority, brother of First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa and Chairman of the country’s national carrier SriLankan Nishantha Wickremasinghe diverted a commercial UL flight to Singapore to have himself, his wife and a guest picked up from Singapore’s Changi Airport recently, several Sunday newspapers have reported. Telephoning the airline, Wickremasinghe ordered that the scheduled SriLankan direct flight from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to Colombo be diverted to Singapore so that he and his entourage could be picked up on the way, the Sunday Times reported. Passengers had to face an unscheduled landing at Changi Airport and were baffled as to the reasons for the change of course. Making matters worse, the Sunday Times reportsthat Wickremasinghe had been so highhanded with the national airline run at tax payers cost – that is already making billions in losses due to gross mismanagement – despite the fact that a scheduled SriLankan flight from Singapore to Colombo was to take off from Changi in just two hours. However, the Chairman had to get home “in a hurry” the newspaper reports. This despite the fact that the Chairman of SriLankan was on a personal visit to Singapore.

Nishantha Wickremasinghe

“Diverting an aircraft on a scheduled flight from one country to yet another is an exclusive privilege enjoyed by Heads of State or Government. However, in Sri Lanka it is a different story. Even the Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, can do it by merely making a telephone call,” the newspapre said.

“An irate local businessman asked a crew member why Chairman Wickremesinghe could not wait and board the scheduled flight out of Singapore. Replied the crew member; “For them, our aircraft are like three-wheeler taxis. They can stop them anywhere and whenever and wherever they need it.” The businessman remarked that no other self-respecting carrier would divert scheduled flights to pick up their Chairmen,” the report notes further.

Sri Lanka’s national carrier is in grave financial trouble, having to raise international bond issues in order to pay off its loans. The airline functions on a lifeline from the Treasury, going from being an award winning carrier during the management tenure of Emirates to the loss-making decrepit and unprofessional mess it has become today after the Rajapaksa Administration “nationalised” SriLankan and put a member of its massive extended family in charge.

SriLankan’s troubles have increased several fold after the Rajapaksa budget carrier Mihin Lanka, the brain child of Presidential confidant Sajin Vaas Gunewardane, was made a subsidiary of SriLankan. Mihin Lanka has been a loss making institution from inception, but the name the airline carries, a derivation of “Mahinda” – has made the Rajapaksa Administration wary of dissolving the ill-advised carrier. Mihin Lanka now offers trips to various destinations in the world that the two aircraft carrier cannot fly to, using SriLankan as its codeshare. Often Mihin Lanka also acts as the main carrier when in fact, the entire flight is managed by SriLankan staff and aircraft. Cabinet Ministers fear that SriLankan is headed for an economic crashlanding unless its management issues are resolved, Sunday Times says.

18 PERSONS INCLUDING 7 BUDDHIST MONKS SURRENDER TO COURT OVER PRAYER CENTER ATTACK

January 27, 2014 

After police identified 24 persons involved in the attack on two Christian places of worship in Hikkaduwa on January 12, 18 persons including seven Buddhist monks handed themselves over to the Galle Magistrate Court today (January 27).

The police identified the suspects who were allegedly involved in the demonstration outside Christian establishments in Hikkaduwa which spiralled out of control. The mob led by Buddhist monks entered the premises of the prayer center and destroyed property after the police failed to hold the group at bay.

The Galle Additional Magistrate Gunendra Kumara Munasinghe granted bail to the suspects who handed themselves over today, setting two personal bails of Rs.500,000 each.

The court case concerning the incident will be taken up on March 17.

Monks granted bail over attack

By admin on January 27, 2014

Seven Buddhist monks, accused of leading a mob to attack and vandalize two churches in Hikkaduwa, were granted bail by the Galle Magistrate today.

Police had identified 24 suspects, including eight monks, over the attack on the churches recently.

The suspects surrendered to the police today and they were produced before the Galle Magistrate.

The Magistrate granted bail to the monks and fixed March 17 as the next date for the hearing.

The Galle Additional Magistrate today ordered the police to arrest the suspects involved in the Hikkaduwa church attack, police spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana told the Colombo Gazette.

The Magistrate also instructed the police to obtain unedited video footage of the incident from the media to assist the investigations. 

The police said that 26 suspects had been identified as being involved in the incident and among them are 10 monks.

The ‘Hela Bodu Pawura’ consisting of a group of Buddhist monks led the protest march against the Calvary Free church and Assembly of God (AOG) Church in Hikkaduwa and the protest eventually turned violent with the mob attacking both churches.

The ‘Hela Bodu Pawura’ however claimed that the media had distorted what actually took place during the “peaceful protest” against the worship center.

The monks had claimed the two worship centers were operating illegally in violation of a police ban and a directive from the Government. (Colombo Gazette

International Community Urged to Stop the 'Silent Genocide' of Rohingya Muslims

Salem-News.com-Jan-26-2014

According to the country's law, Rohingya are not a recognised minority group and have no rights of citizenship. Due to their statelessness, they are subject to systematic persecution and have been victims of violence and discrimination.

Buddhist soldiers on the hunt for Rohingya Muslims.

(GLASGOW) - A Scotland-based human rights organisation is calling on the international community to intervene in what is being called the ‘silent genocide’ of the Burmese Rohingya Muslims, who the United Nations has called the most persecuted minority group in the world.

Global Minorities Alliance, a human rights group which advocates for the rights of persecuted minority groups around the world, is deeply concerned about the recent escalation of human rights abuses against the Rohingya minority and criticised the Burmese government for their ongoing sub-human treatment to one of the most vulnerable communities in the world, and for their unwillingness to ensure any protection.

The recent call for the protection and the promotion of the human rights in Burma came amidst the fresh riots between Buddhists and Muslims in the Rakhine state, killing at least 48 including children and a local policeman.

According to the BBC, the recent killing follows reports of clashes between Rohingya Muslims and the police in the Maungdaw in the Rakhine State in the Western Myanmar. Tensions escalated due to several reports that many Rohingya Muslims had been killed trying to flee over the border into Bangladesh. A policeman is also presumed dead, which further aggravated the situation. Local Buddhists, allegedly with the help of the local authorities, took revenge and launched an attack.

Global Minorities Alliance's Vice-Chairperson, Shahid Khan, called on the United Nations as well as the international community to intervene to stop human rights abuses through an independent enquiry and hold those accountable according to international criminal law:

“Rohingya are said to be the most vulnerable community in the world and they are being systematically victimised by the state and military in a silent genocide. It is unimaginable that people are being made homeless in the neighbourhood where they have been living for generations. We urge the Burmese government to restore citizenship rights to the Rohingya minority and call for understanding and tolerance between Buddhists and Muslims in Burma.”

In a statement made available to the Global Minorities Alliance, the Director of Burma Campaign Mark Farmaner, stressed the need for international intervention to stop the ongoing persecution of Rohingya:

“To simply repeat a call on the government of Burma to investigate the most recent attacks, when similar calls have already been ignored on countless occasions, is not an adequate response to human rights abuses which violate international law and where there is evidence of ethnic cleansing.

"The only way any kind of impartial investigation is going to happen is if it is conducted by the international community."

According to the country's law, Rohingya are not a recognised minority group and have no rights of citizenship. Due to their statelessness, they are subject to systematic persecution and have been victims of violence and discrimination.

Last year more than 200 Rohingya Muslims died during the clashes between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims.

About Global Minorities Alliance

Global Minorities Alliance (GMA) is a human rights organisation which campaigns for the rights of minority groups and communities across the world, regardless of race, colour, religion or belief, faith or no faith, gender, or membership of another particular social group.

GMA works for global peace, interfaith harmony, equality in law and society, empowerment of women, access to education and justice for all. This is achieved through working with likeminded partner agencies, policy makers, NGOs, community/faith groups the world over to affect change for better.

GMA endeavours to achieve this through advocacy for groups or individuals, practical help in humanitarian crises, small business projects, education projects and awareness raising campaigns.

Our vision is of a world free from persecution; a world where no-one will be disadvantaged because they belong to a certain group,” says GMA’s Chairperson, Manassi Bernard. “We believe that there is more that unites us than divides us, and that every human has inalienable rights that should not be curtailed because of who they are. We strive for justice, peace and equality.”

For more information go to www.globalminorities.co.uk.

The author of this press release is Claire Fuller, GMA’s Press Secretary, who can be contacted at info@globalminorities.co.uk.

Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar says that only solution to Kashmir is making borders irrelevant PTI  Islamabad, January 26, 2014 Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah

The only possible solution to the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan is to create a situation where the "lines while in existence" become "irrelevant", Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in an interview published today. In the two-page interview in the Daily Times, done by journalist Mehr Tarar in New Delhi last month, Omar says if former military ruler Pervez Musharraf had not got into a "scrap" with Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in 2007, there was "every possibility" that both countries would have moved forward on the dispute. "...if you were to create a situation wherein the lines while in existence but irrelevant, I think that is the only situation. Wherein if you start from Kashmir and then you widen it, we have this grand vision of a South Asian Free Trade Area which essentially would mirror what you have in the EU," Omar is quoted as saying. "But I believe that is the only way forward. The moment we get into territorial give-and-take we will get nowhere. We have not so far. The problem of Jammu and Kashmir has plagued our relations since 1947, and it will continue to plague our relations," he said. Tarar has been at the centre of a controversy over an alleged affair with Union Minister Shashi Tharoor though both have denied being in a relationship. The issue took a dramatic turn after Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in mysterious circumstances in a Delhi hotel on January 17. Omar said there were opportunities in the four-point formula proposed by Musharraf to resolve the Kashmir issue, including demilitarisation and softening of borders. "Because for the first time he (Musharraf) stepped away from stated positions. I think what happens is that India and Pakistan?s relations are hostage to stated positions...The stated position is that both sides have to vacate the occupied part," he said.