Saturday, April 12, 2014

| by Laksiri Fernando

(April 12, 2014, Sydney, Sri Lanka Guardian) I did not see anything particularly disagreeable When the NPC Chief Minister, CV Wigneswaran, interpreted the National Question in Sri Lanka As the ‘Question of non-recognition of nations’ On an equal basis, I might add, in the country in his Bernard Soysa memorial lecture recently. If there was any major weakness that was in respect of the binary manner that it was raised in respect of the Sinhalese and the Tamils which can raise and has raised some eyebrows. After all the selection of the topic was not of his own but apparently given by ‘brother Tissa’ as he remarked. His actual topic that day was “Brother Bernard and the National Question.”

Recognition Of Sinhalese, Tamils & Muslims As Equal Cultural Nations Might by nelvely

Our fairy tales and an explosion of religious hatred

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Not even during the entire three decades of the war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and government troops has communalism and race hatred been displayed so openly by Government protected groups of men wearing yellow robes as in these most unhappy times.

Our Fairy Tales and an Explosion of Religious Hatred by nelvely

Quebec and India: A tale of two elections and still more lessons for Sri Lanka

Rajan Philips-April 11, 2014

India has just started the five-week long ritual of its 16th national election. In Canada, the Province of Quebec last week had its one-day election after less than a month of campaigning. The outcome of the Indian elections is widely expected to be a defeat for the ruling Congress alliance and victory for the opposition BJP alliance. The results in Quebec were a huge surprise with the governing Parti Quebecois of French Canadian separatists suffering a crushing defeat and the opposition Quebec Liberal Party securing a spectacular victory.

Quebec and India a Tale of Two Elections and Still More Lessons for Sri Lanka by nelvely

Human Rights Character Of The Rajapaksa Regime

| by Robinhood
( April 12, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) On the 27th of March 2014 there was a new era opened for Sri Lanka. That is the post Geneva Era. The signs of these posts Geneva Era are that the Human Rights character of Sri Lanka would be taken upon for an international inquiry by the UNHRC. There is no other higher organization found who can investigate these crimes. These types of inquires are held for a country under special situation and circumstance.

Although the Geneva Era has a long history towards Sri Lanka, a starting and a decisive juncture was in the year 2009. During the year in May the European Council presented a resolution in the UNHRC about Sri Lanka. That was the first resolution brought in the UNHRC with reference to accountability in the war.

Human Rights Character of the Rajapaksa Regime by nelvely

Britain to continue its push for international probe against SL Alleging human rights violations

By Sujeeva Nivunhella in London-April 11, 2014,

In the backdrop of Sri Lanka opting not to cooperate with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution, the British government warned that it will use its position in the Geneva-based key human rights body to actively press for an international investigation.

British Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Hugo Swire said that "the international community now has a duty to act, and we will be using our position on the UN Human Rights Council to actively press for an international investigation given the lack of a credible domestic accountability process to date."

He said that the international community has spoken through the United Nations Human Rights Council, and it is imperative that the government in Colombo listens to what has been said and what is asked of them.

"We can conduct an investigation through the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights", he said.

"We were completely vindicated in our decision to go to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, because had we not gone there, we would not be in the position that we are today." Swire noted.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague expressed hope that the Sri Lankan government will attend the summit on preventing sexual violence in London in June 2014."I have invited the 143 nations that so far have endorsed the declaration that I launched on ending sexual violence to attend the summit, but I cannot force any of them to do so. However, given the events in Sri Lanka in recent decades, it would be highly appropriate for the Sri Lankan government to be there and to present their plans. I have encouraged them to do so," Hague said.

In another development, the 2013 Human Rights and Democracy Report, released by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office has criticized Sri Lanka’s human rights record.

The report observed that there was "no improvement in the situation for freedom of expression during the last three months. Sri Lanka dropped three places to 165 out of a total 180 in the 2014 World Press Freedom Index".

Calling Jayantha Dhanapala a liar, or the tragedy of Lankan public life

Photo courtesy CTBTO

by Dr. Chaminda Weerawardhana

- on 04/12/2014

On March 16, 2014, Colombo Telegraph, a UK-based online news outlet published an article entitled ‘Jayantha Dhanapala Is A Liar; Caught Lying Over Silence On Colombo Telegraph Blocking’. This article was a follow-up of an earlier article on the failure of Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala, a member of the Board of Directors of Dialog Axiata PLC, one of Sri Lanka’s premier telecommunications service providers, to prevent Colombo Telegraph from being blocked by that company in Sri Lanka.

Calling Jayantha Dhanapala a Liar, Or the Tragedy of Lankan Public Life by nelvely

Mahinda on his knees before World Bank to escape from Chandrika!

Saturday, 12 April 2014

The Sri Lankan government, at the instigation of president Mahinda Rajapaksa, has gone down on its knees before the IMF and pleaded that former president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga be not allowed to attend a meeting of Club Madrid, a grouping of former heads of states, that is being held parallel to the annual meeting of the World Bank and the IMF in Washington.

Club Madrid had organized a workshop on Roles of the WB and IMF for the development of unstable and weak economies, and Mrs. Kumaratunga had been invited to deliver the keynote speech.

The air ticket and hotel accommodation had already been booked for her to go to Washington for the lecture that was to be delivered yesterday (11). However, after coming to know that Mrs. Kumaratunga was to address the workshop, one of the participants, a top official of Sri Lanka Central Bank by the name Duralage Ranasinghe, had immediately informed finance ministry secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundara about it.

Right away, P.B. Jayasundara had told that to president Rajapaksa, which has made him very much concerned, thinking that his predecessor would gain political advantage by addressing Club Madrid. Therefore, he has told P.B. Jayasundara to make any promise to the IMF in order to prevent her speech.

Accordingly, the finance ministry secretary has promptly spoken to top officials of the IMF on behalf of the Sri Lankan government and pleaded that Mrs. Kumaratunga’s lecture be cancelled, and promised in return to implement any condition the IMF has imposed on Sri Lanka. At first, IMF officials had totally rejected the request, but thinking twice about it, later decided to cancel the speech.

Then, an official has informed Mrs. Kumaratunga that her lecture had been cancelled due to unavoidable circumstances. But, upon making her own inquiries, she found the actual reason. Anyhow, the government is now bound to implement any condition that will be laid down by the IMF. This act has earned the finance ministry secretary much admiration from the president.

Multimillion dollar Avurudu gifts for Hambantota

By Our Political Editor-Sunday, April 13, 2014

President works out plans for private power plants and other huge projects to make the southern district a mode While one district prospers, another province is left to die from kidney disease epidemic while more committees make more proposals After the New Year honeymoon, Rajapaksa regime will face Geneva and other crisis-management issues

President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared open a Bird Research Centre in Hambantota last month. Photo: Sudath Silva, Presidential Secretariat

As another National New Year dawns, the movers and shakers of the UPFA Government will be heading south. Ministers, military top brass, senior bureaucrats, commoners and family members will be there to greet President Mahinda Rajapaksa at his ancestral home in Meda Mulana, just 32 kilometres from Tangalle. The area, like other parts of the Hambantota District, is all Rajapaksa heartland. That no doubt is reason for this region receiving high priority in development activity.

This is notwithstanding the UPFA’s drop in voter support at last month’s Southern Provincial Council (SPC) elections. The ruling party’s vote reduced to 57.42 per cent from the 2009 polls where it stood at 66.95 per cent. Yet, there is a remarkable difference in the festivities this time.

Multimillion Dollar Avurudu Gifts for Hambantota by nelvely

Terrorism label on peaceful advocacy for independent state is a denial of freedom of speech - TGTE

Saturday, 12 April 2014

The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)’s Parliament & Cabinet have taken decisions to respond to Sri Lanka's listing of Tamil groups as terrorists

The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)’s Parliament & Cabinet have taken decisions to respond to Sri Lanka's listing of Tamil groups as terrorists"— TGTENEW YORK, USA, April 10, 2014 /EINPresswire.com/ --

• TGTE to take this matter to:
a) UN Human Rights Committee,
b) the UN Special Rapporteur for freedom of speech,
c) the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter Terrorism and
d) the Anti-Terrorism Committee established under UN Security Council Resolution 1373.

• TGTE will argue its clear position that labeling the peaceful advocacy for an independent and sovereign state of Tamil Eelam, which is based on the remedial right to self-determination, as terrorism is a denial of the freedom of speech.

• TGTE has formed three committees to coordinate response.

• TGTE will take forward the “Say No to Sri Lanka” campaign.

The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)’s Parliament and Cabinet have taken the following decisions in response to the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL)’s “list” of banned organizations, and also to intensify the TGTE’s campaign to realize Tamils’ political aspirations through peaceful, diplomatic and democratic means.

The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)’s Parliament & Cabinet have taken decisions to respond to Sri Lanka's listing of Tamil groups as terrorists

• TGTE has formed three committees to coordinate response.

• TGTE will take forward the “Say No to Sri Lanka” campaign.

Turkey condemns 'Armenian genocide' resolution in U.S. Senate

ANKARA Fri Apr 11, 2014

(Reuters) - Turkey condemned on Friday a U.S. Senate committee resolution branding the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces during World War One as genocide and warned Congress against taking steps that would harm Turkish-American ties.

The nature and scale of the killings remain highly contentious nearly a century after they took place. Turkey accepts that many Armenians died in partisan fighting beginning in 1915, but denies that up to 1.5 million were killed and that this constituted an act of genocide - a term used by many Western historians and foreign parliaments.

The resolution, adopted by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Thursday, called "to remember and observe the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24, 2014".

"The President should work toward an equitable, constructive, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish relationship that includes the full acknowledgment by ... Turkey of the facts about the Armenian Genocide," the text of the resolution said.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the committee had acted beyond its position, competence and responsibility by adopting a "hastily and ineptly prepared" draft resolution.

"We reject this attempt at political exploitation that distorts history and law and we condemn those who led this prejudiced initiative," the ministry said in a statement.

"TRAGIC EVENTS"

It said Turks and Armenians could reach a "just memory of the tragic 1915 events" and that an earlier proposal from Ankara to set up a joint historical commission remained on the agenda.

Armenia did not take up the Turkish offer because it regards the genocide as an established historic fact and believes Turkey would use such a commission to press its own version of events.

"It is essential that the U.S. Congress engages in efforts aimed at strengthening our historic alliance ... instead of damaging Turkish-American bilateral ties," it added.

Last December, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made Turkey's first high-level visit to Armenia in nearly five years, raising the prospect of a revival in peace efforts between the historical rivals which stalled in 2010.

The legacy of the killings has remained a major obstacle to reviving frozen relations between Turkey and its small former Soviet eastern neighbour.

Armenia accuses the Ottoman authorities at the time of systematically massacring large numbers of Armenians, then deporting many more, including women, children and the elderly and infirm in terrible conditions on so-called death marches.

The issue has long been a source of tension between Turkey and several Western countries, especially the United States and France, both home to large ethnic Armenian diasporas.

A Narendra Modi victory would bode ill for India, say Rushdie and Kapoor

Salman Rushdie and Anish Kapoor among artists and academics to sign letter to the Guardian to express 'acute worry' at Hindu nationalist's expected victory in general election

Novelist Salman Rushdie and the sculptor Anish Kapoor are among signatories of a letter expressing 'acute worry' at the prospect of Narendra Modi (above) becoming the country's prime minister. Photograph: Divyakant Solanki/EPA

Jason Burke in Delhi

Thursday 10 April 2014

More than a dozen of India's most respected artists and academics - including the novelist Salman Rushdie and the sculptor Anish Kapoor - have written to the Guardian to express their "acute worry" at the prospect of Narendra Modi, the controversial Hindu nationalist politician, becoming the country's prime minister.

A Narendra Modi Victory Would Bode Ill for India, Say Rushdie and Kapoor by nelvely

Reactor Reax Top Stories - World Needs to Get Ready for Next Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Salem-News.com-Apr-11-2014

"Reactor Reax" is brought to you by Physicians for Social Responsibility.

thesundayindian.com

(WASHINGTON DC) - Today in Reactor Reax, experts warn that the world needs to prepare for the next nuclear accident. Three major atomic accidents in 35 years are forcing the world's nuclear industry to stop imagining it can prevent more catastrophes and to focus instead on how to contain them.

Also, in the Wake of Fukushima: Global Research examines Japan's Nuclear Energy Policy Impasse. "Tepco is not viable in its current form, having lost a stunning 81.2% of its market capitalization between March 10 of 2011 and April 2 of 2014."

World Needs to Get Ready for the Next Nuclear Plant Accident, Bloomberg, April 3, 2014. "Three major atomic accidents in 35 years are forcing the world's nuclear industry to stop imagining it can prevent more catastrophes and to focus instead on how to contain them. As countries such as China and India embrace atomic power even after the Fukushima reactor meltdowns in 2011 caused mass evacuations because of radiation fallout, scientists warn the next nuclear accident is waiting to happen and could be in a country with little experience to deal with it. 'The cold truth is that, no matter what you do on the technological improvements side, accidents will occur -- somewhere, someplace,' said Joonhong Ahn, a professor at the Department of Nuclear Engineering of University of California, Berkeley. The consequences of radiation release, contamination and evacuation of people is 'clear and obvious,' Ahn said. That means governments and citizens should be prepared, not just nuclear utilities, he said.

SC staff report on SCANA nuke project sees more challenges ahead, SNL Energy, April 8, 2014. "The nearly $5.7 billion project to expand the V.C. Summer nuclear plant in South Carolina may continue to have problems with its modules, raising the possibility of more delays for the new reactors that are among the first to be constructed in the country in decades, according to a report from the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff. The report, publicly released by state regulators April 7, came a few days after Summer majority owner and SCANA Corp. subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. said that a key date for the installation of a module for Summer unit 2, the first of the two new reactors, has been pushed back."

Under Revised Quake Estimates, Dozens of Nuclear Reactors Face Costly Safety Analyses, New York Times, April 5, 2014. "Owners of at least two dozen nuclear reactors across the United States, including the operator of Indian Point 2, in Buchanan, N.Y., have told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that they cannot show that their reactors would withstand the most severe earthquake that revised estimates say they might face, according to industry experts. As a result, the reactors' owners will be required to undertake extensive analyses of their structures and components. Those are generally sturdier than assumed in licensing documents, but owners of some plants may be forced to make physical changes, and are likely to spend about $5 million each just for the analysis."

Nuclear Safety Requires New NRC Commissioners: Author, Forbes, April 6, 2014. "The Oconee Nuclear Power Plant in Seneca, South Carolina remains vulnerable to the same earthquake, tsunami and flooding risks that led to meltdowns at Fukushima, according to Lyman. And the NRC continues to ignore earthquake risks at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant sited near a number of seismic faults on the Central California coast. Lyman blames industry influence over the NRC. The only two recent commissioners not approved by industry—former chair Gregory Jazcko, who resigned under pressure in 2012, and current chair Allison M. Macfarlane—had to be paired with industry favorites, Lyman said, to win Congressional approval."

In the Wake of Fukushima: Japan's Nuclear Energy Policy Impasse, Global Research, April 7, 2014. "Tepco is not viable in its current form, having lost a stunning 81.2% of its market capitalization between March 10 of 2011 and April 2 of 2014. It was nationalized in June 2012 via a YEN 1 trillion injection of public capital, the biggest state intervention into a private non-bank asset since America's 2009 bail-out of General Motors (Economist, 2012). Resolving pressing matters such as the Fukushima and area clean-up and compensation, the decomissioning of ruined assets and the like are well beyond Tepco's means. Some specialists question whether the other nuclear-dependent utilities are viable as well (Kaneko, 2013), and in early April of 2014 Kyushu Electric and Hokkaido Electric were revealed to be in discussion with the public sector Development Bank of Japan for bailouts (Financial Times, April 2, 2014). Kyushu Electric's reliance on nuclear power is 42% of generating assets and Hokkaido Electric's reliance is 30%. Their respective losses of market capitalization are 38.9% and 58.2%."

"Reactor Reax" is featured on www.NuclearBailout.org, a Web site maintained by Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Did MH370 co-pilot make mid-flight phone call?

SATURDAY 12 APRIL 2014

The Malaysian government responds to reports of a phone call made by the co-pilot of the MH370 plane just before it disappeared by saying "if it is true, we would have known about it much earlier".

Missing MH370 flight phone call rumour (Getty)

The co-pilot of Flight MH370 made a "desperate" call from his mobile phone just before the plane disappeared, according to a report in the New Straits Times.

The call was apparently picked up by a telecommunications tower in Penang because the plane was flying low enough for the signal to be detected, reports suggested .

However, Malaysia's acting transport minister has refuted the latest story about the missing plane.

Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters: "I cannot comment [on the newspaper report] because if it is true, we would have known about it much earlier."

He said that throughout the mystery of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight, he had not confirmed anything without corroboration or verification, citing other rumours such as claims of finding safety jackets, oil spills or satellite images, which have proved to be false.

It was a roller-coaster ride, whereby we received information and investigated, but they were baseless.Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia's acting transport minister

"We received numerous leads and we followed them but unfortunately, it was a roller-coaster ride, whereby we received information and investigated [them] but they were baseless," he added.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, went missing on 8 March en route to Beijing - more than a month ago. Since then, there has been an international search effort to find the plane, although it is now accepted that the plane crashed, leaving no survivors. Despite promising signals this week - including "pings" thought to be from the black box inside the plane - its whereabouts, and what happened to the aircraft, remain a mystery.

The search is ongoing.

‘Son of Muslim bus driver’ seen as good news story for UK’s troubled Tories

Britain’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury Sajid Javid speaks during a news conference about the consumer payday loan market, in London March 6, 2013. (Reuters)

By Ben Flanagan | Al Arabiya News, Dubai
Thursday, 10 April 2014

The son of a Muslim bus driver has been appointed to a top job in the UK government, marking a ‘positive’ news story for the ruling Conservative Party amid an ongoing scandal over MPs’ expenses, media experts say.

Sajid Javid has succeeded beleaguered Maria Miller as culture secretary, becoming the first Asian male Conservative Cabinet minister, it was reported yesterday. Miller was forced to resign after it emerged she had over-claimed mortgage expenses.

Though dubbed by the British media as the “high-flying Muslim heir” to the late Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher, Javid’s working-class background certainly distinguishes him from many of his party peers.

“Mr Javid brings some diversity to the Cabinet… which has previously been criticized for being dominated by white, privately educated men,” The Guardian reported.

Sajid Javid, arrives in Downing Street in central London on April 9, 2014 after being appointed to replace Maria Miller as British Culture Secretary. (AFP)

Javid’s father came to the UK from Pakistan in 1961, reportedly with just £1 in his pocket. Though Javid has said his own family’s heritage is Muslim, The Independent reported that he does not practice any religion himself, and his wife is Christian.

He embarked on a career in investment banking before entering politics, and has long been tipped for promotion within the Conservative party.

Chris Doyle, the director of the London-based Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), says that Javid’s appointment comes as the Conservatives seek out some more positive press coverage.

“The government – the Conservative Party – will want to be boosting his credentials as much as possible… Given the fracas over Maria Miller, of course they will want to replace her resignation with a more positive news story,” he told Al Arabiya News.

“He will improve the government’s poor ethnic-minority representation at highest level of government,” he added. “However, many will have noticed his overly pro-Israel stance that will bring into question his ethical judgment given Israel’s appalling human rights record.”

Doyle says Muslims and, particularly Arabs, are historically underrepresented in UK politics.

“We haven’t had an elected British Arab MP or member of the House of Lords, let alone reached the dizzy heights of Cabinet level,” he said.

“It’s a two-way issue, in that the British Arab community needs to get more involved in British politics… And the existing political parties need to be more open to British Arab membership and participation.”

But while Doyle sees Javid’s appointment as a possible “antidote to the spread of more far-right politics in Europe”, it remains to be seen whether the positive news story will continue.

“It’s always nice to see a rising talent. I hope that he delivers. But time will tell,” he said.

Last Update: Thursday, 10 April 2014 KSA 20:40 - GMT 17:40

Pro-Russian gunmen seize key buildings in eastern Ukraine

Armed men storm police station and state security service building in Slavyansk and distribute weapons

Armed pro-Russian activists guard a police station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk. Photograph: Anatoliy Stepanov/AFP/Getty Images

Armed pro-Russian activists in Slavyansk

Saturday 12 April 2014

Gunmen have seized a police station and other government buildings inUkraine's eastern industrial heartland amid a tense deadlock in the country's east, where armed pro-Russian protesters have barricaded themselves inside government buildings and demanded independence from Kiev.

Ukraine's interior minister, Arsen Avakov, said another group of gunmen tried to storm the Donetsk regional prosecutor's office but was repelled.

The early morning raid on the police station happened in Slavyansk, a town about 35 miles north of the regional capital, Donetsk. The men collected weapons and distributed them to their supporters. A second group later took the headquarters of the state security service.

"Armed men in camouflage fatigues have taken the police station in Slavyansk," Avakov wrote on his Facebook page. "Here, our response will be very severe."

A local police official told Kiev's private Channel 5 television that the raid was staged by six men who had fired several shots into the air before storming the station. It was not immediately clear how the local police responded or whether the gunmen had taken any hostages.

Avakov said that Ukrainian special forces had been dispatched to the scene.

"There is zero tolerance for armed terrorists," he said.

The interior minister added that a separate group of assailants had tried to take control of the prosecutor's office in Donetsk.

"They have all been expelled. The building has been clear of unauthorised personnel," he wrote.

"Another self-declared defence minister has been arrested."

Protesters in the eastern Ukrainian cities of Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk seized government buildings on Sunday. While police managed to clear the Luhansk office swiftly, protesters in Donetsk and Kharkiv remain entrenched.

The Donetsk adminstration centre remains under the control of several hundred gunmen who have proclaimed the creation of their own "people's republic" and called on the Russin president, Vladimir Putin, to send in troops.

In a further sign of growing tensions between the two countries, Ukraine's state-run energy company Naftogaz on Saturday suspended gas payments to Russia.

Russian gas giant Gazprom earlier this month increased gas price for Ukrainian consumers to $485 per 1,000 cubic meters (tcm) from $268 for the first quarter, saying Kiev was no longer eligible for previous discounts.

Naftogaz chief executive Andriy Kobolev told the Zerkalo Nedely weekly that payments would be suspended until the conclusion of price negotiations.