SAY ‘NO’ TO SRI LANKA, AND DILMAH TEA

Dilmah founder Merrill Ferando and Sri Lanka’s Secretary of Defence Gotabhaya Rajapaksa cutting ribbon at an event organised by the Sri Lankan Army

IN OPINION, TREVOR GRANT / ON SATURDAY, MAY 31, 2014

It was a scene that has been played out many times since the brutal end to the civil war in the Tamil homeland.

Say ‘No’ to Sri Lanka, And Dilmah Tea by nelvely

மயானத்திலுள்ள தமிழர்களின் 

சமாதிகள் சேதம்

ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை, 01 ஜூன் 2014 13:33 0 COMMENTS

-வடமலை ராஜ்குமார்

திருகோணமலை, அன்புவழிபுரம் பொது மயான சமாதிகளிலுள்ள தமிழ்ப் பெயர்களடங்கிய கல்வெட்டுக்கள் இனந்தெரியாதோரால் சேதமாக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.

குறித்த கல்வெட்டுக்களிலுள்ள பெயர்கள், விரங்கள், மற்றும் புகைப்படங்கள் என்பவையே இவ்வாறு சேதமாக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன என்று தெரிவிக்கப்படுகின்றது.

இது தொடர்பில் கிடைக்கப்பெற்ற முறைப்பாட்டினைத் தொடர்ந்து, திருகோணமலை நகரசபை தலைவர் க.செல்வராஜா மற்றும் உறுப்பினர் எஸ்.அருட்செல்வம் ஆகியோர் சனிக்கிழமையன்று (31) சம்பவ இடத்திற்கு சென்று பார்வையிட்டுள்ளனர்.

SL Minister accompanied by Pakistani officials threatens Tamil villagers in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 June 2014, 21:06 GMT]
Sri Lankan Minister of Industry and Commerce, Rishard Badurdeen, who has been inciting conflicts among the Tamil-speaking people in Mannaar and Mullaiththeevu districts, has now threatened more than 40 Tamil families living in Paarathi-puram village in Vavuniyaa to vacate from their village, news sources in Vavuniyaa told TamilNet. Accompanied with five Pakistani officials and British trained Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF), the SL minister has gone to the village last week claiming that a factory is going to be built at Paarathipuram and that the Indian origin Tamils living there since 1977 should vacate from their settlement. 

The Upcountry Tamils were settled at Paarathi-puram in 1977 when they faced anti-Tamil pogroms in the South. 

The living standard of the families is still below the poverty line and the families are dependent upon daily earnings. 

Mr Badurdeen has now claimed that the lands where the Tamils are settled belongs to the SL Department of Forest Conservation and that their settlement is ‘illegal’. 

The SL minister has gone threatening the families without providing any alternative arrangement to them, said Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Sivaskathi Anandan when contacted by TamilNet. 

When the Tamil parliamentarian contacted the civil officials in Vavuniyaa the officials had cited the SL minister as claiming to build a housing scheme at the locality for Muslims and Tamils. 

But, the people at the locality said Mr Badurdeen, who was accompanied by Pakistani officials and the Sri Lankan STF commandos, was consistent in claiming that their lands were being taken over by the SL State to build a factory. 

The SL Police and government officials are under the control of the controversial minister, who has been behind causing unrest between Catholics and Muslims in Mannaar district. 

Mr Badurdeen has also been behind appropriating public lands allocated for forest conservation in Vanni to create settlements for his supporters who were being brought from elsewhere into Mullaiththeevu district.

ASIA: Council should do more to end extrajudicial execution

ALRC-CWS-26-05-2014
June 2, 2014

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Twenty sixth session, Agenda Item 3, General Debates

A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre

ASIA Council Should Do More to End Extrajudicial Execution by nelvely

TNA, SLMC to jointly work on N&E issues 


By Ananth Palakidnar-June 1, 2014
 
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) have decided to join hands and work towards finding a solution to the problems faced by the people of the North and East. Parliamentarians of the two Parties met at the Kalmunai Municipal Council on Friday (30) to discuss the possibility of working together. The SLMC was represented by its Leader and Justice Minister, Rauff Hakeem, and General Secretary, Hasen Ali, while the TNA was represented by Jaffna District MP, Mavai Senathiraja, M.A. Sumanthiran (National List), along with Batticaloa District MPs, C. Yogeswaran and P. Ariyanenthiran.
 
 
The current political situation of the Tamils and Muslims in the two provinces were discussed at this meeting.
Senathiraja told Ceylon Today the meeting was cordial and the two Parties were able to find solutions to various issues between the Tamil and Muslim communities in the Eastern Province.
 
 
He also said there was a need to work together and voice the necessity for the two minority communities to live in dignity.
"The SLMC and the TNA have agreed to continue with these talks in Colombo for greater cooperation between the two communities in the future," Senathiraja said.

13th Amendment Minus The Answer

| by Rajasingham Jayadevan

( June 2, 2014, London, Sri Lanka Guardian ) Many battles have been fought by the warring parties – won and lost - since the adoption of the 13th amendment in 1987, and the war too eventually ceased in May 2009 with the overwhelming power of the state and the international support. But the implementation of the infamous 13th amendment to the constitution has become a political football game even after the end of the war.

13th Amendment Minus the Answer by nelvely

Commonwealth Secretariat adjusting to cope with fund cut

 Monday, 02 June 2014 

The Commonwealth Secretariat is reportedly in the process of making adjustments to development programmes to cope with the withdrawal of Canadian funds in protest over Sri Lanka’s Chairmanship of the Commonwealth Organisation, a spokesperson has said.

The Canadian Government announced in April that it was suspending its voluntary contribution of 10 million Canadian dollars (Rs. 1.2 billion) to the Commonwealth Secretariat.

“While Sri Lanka is Chair in Office, Canada’s $10-million annual voluntary Commonwealth contribution will instead go for two years toward supporting initiatives that espouse the Commonwealth’s values and help to deliver results for those who need them the most,” a statement from Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said.
“We are immediately making necessary adjustments to our development programmes to manage this,” said Victoria Holdsworth, Deputy Director of the Secretariat’s Communications and Public Affairs Division. “We are hopeful that we can still deliver on important priorities agreed collectively by our membership, with sufficiently strong results and impact.”

“However, the reduction of a significant amount of funding will invariably have an effect on delivery,” she has added.

The Secretariat’s Board of Governors has met this week to examine its budget for the new financial year July 2014-June 2015.

Holdsworth has said the full impact of the funding cut would become easier to determine and view after the meeting. But despite repeated requests for information about what the Board of Governors had decided, the Secretariat did not respond.

Canada was the largest contributor to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation, which was set up at its request. It contributed 30% of the CFTC’s budget. Authoritative sources said Canada’s action also had implications for Britain’s own contribution which is linked to the level of other countries’ contributions.

Friday Forum Wants President To Support Wigneswaran

June 2, 2014

“Encouraged as we have been by the holding of elections for the Northern Provincial Council (NPC), Friday Forum is, however, perturbed by the hindrances that impede the proper functioning of the NPC”, says theFriday Forum after visiting to Jaffna and Kilinochchi.

Issuing a statement last night the Friday Forum said; “The integrity and commitment of Chief MinisterWigneswaran to work for the good of the people of the Northern Province, and indeed all of us in Sri Lanka, as well as his commitment to work towards post-war reconstruction and reconciliation in a united Sri Lanka that respects diversity and the rights of citizens of all communities, are, we feel, commendable. The delegation was struck by the re-iteration of the assurance given by the Chief Minister to direct his energies to a people-centred sustainable development of the Province, while safeguarding and ensuring the rule of law, justice and human security. It is the sincere hope of Friday Forum that the Governor and the President will extend their vital support and cooperation to the Chief Minister and the duly elected NPC by the provision of the requisite financial and administrative resources to enable the NPC to discharge its duties and responsibilities to the citizenry.”

We publish below the statement in full;

Friday Forum, since its inception in 2009, has been profoundly disquieted about the post war scene in the Northern Province. A delegation of the Friday Forum visited Jaffna and Kilinochchi recently and met some members of the clergy of all religions, political leaders, academics and professionals, representatives of women’s groups and fisher folk, and the office bearers of the Jaffna- Kilinochchi Muslim Federation. The delegation consisted of Bishop Duleep de Chickera, Daneshan Casie-Chetty, Savitri Goonesekere, Chandra Jayaratne, Tissa Jayatilaka, Ahilan Kadirgamar, Ranjini Obeysekera and Selvy Tiruchandran. Jayantha Dhanapala was unable to join at the last minute due to illness.

Despite efforts made by the Friday Forum, much to our regret the scheduled meeting with the Northern Province Governor, twice postponed at the request of the latter, did not take place. We thus missed the opportunity we sought to place before the Governor the concerns of Friday Forum related to the current scene in the North.

Encouraged as we have been by the holding of elections for the Northern Provincial Council (NPC), Friday Forum is, however, perturbed by the hindrances that impede the proper functioning of the NPC. The integrity and commitment of Chief Minister Wigneswaran to work for the good of the people of the Northern Province, and indeed all of us in Sri Lanka, as well as his commitment to work towards post-war reconstruction and reconciliation in a united Sri Lanka that respects diversity and the rights of citizens of all communities, are, we feel, commendable. The delegation was struck by the re-iteration of the assurance given by the Chief Minister to direct his energies to a people-centred sustainable development of the Province, while safeguarding and ensuring the rule of law, justice and human security. It is the sincere hope of Friday Forum  that the Governor and the President will extend their vital support and cooperation to the Chief Minister and the duly elected NPC by the provision of the requisite financial and administrative resources to enable the NPC to discharge its duties and responsibilities to the citizenry.

Our recent visit confirmed Friday Forum’s conviction that the under-mentioned issues are of critical importance. We hope that officials and civil society members of the north as well as outside will recognize these as such. The issues are the need for  

* vocational training and development, especially in the rural areas, for generation of sustainable livelihoods. Women and youth in these areas should be given priority while at the same time rural cooperatives are strengthened;

* a sustainable solution to the problems of the fisher folk and Fisheries Cooperatives given the devastation of livelihoods of the people of the area by systematic incursions of Indian trawlers;

* coming to grips with the consequences arising from the crisis of food security and malnutrition in the Northern Province, especially so within its more vulnerable and marginalized segment;

* a resolution of land, housing and resettlement issues in a manner that recognises the legal rights of owners of private land, integrating a clear norm of equality and non-discrimination in formulation and implementation of laws and policies on State lands. The difficulties of those who have lost relevant deeds and related documents need special redress. Allegations of land acquisition on the basis of a mere letter from military authorities should be investigated forthwith; 

* support for the proposals put forward by the Northern Province Task Force on Education. Academic specialists from other parts of the country and, if necessary, from abroad should evaluate these proposals and seek to arrive at a consensus. Such a carefully considered and distilled set of proposals could be a possible model for education reform in the island;

* implementation of the rule of law and the addressing of complex problems relating to missing persons, detainees, women-headed households and children. In this regard, a significant increase in the number of police officers including women officers proficient in Tamil is crucial and urgent;

* psycho-social counseling and, in certain contexts trauma counseling, for war-affected citizens of the Northern Province;

*encouraging leaders of all religions in the Province to contribute more to the promotion of ethnic and inter-faith harmony;

* addressing the impact of the all–pervasive militarization on the normalization of relations between citizen and state. Civil administration needs to be strengthened and the military withdrawn from non-military sectors such as agriculture and pre-school education confining it to such security matters as the police are unable to handle.

We hope in a future publication to offer more insights on the prevailing realities and the way forward towards national reconciliation and integration.

It is the belief of the Friday Forum that a sincere and sustained commitment of all Sri Lankans to the addressing of the above issues will make a substantial contribution to the protection of the self-respect, dignity and wellbeing of our citizenry in the north, creating an environment of trust and confidence in post-war reconstruction and reconciliation.

Jayantha Dhanapala                Professor Savitri Goonesekere            Tissa Jayatilaka

On behalf of Friday Forum

Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala, Professor Savitri Goonesekere, Mr. Tissa Jayatilaka, Rt. Reverend Duleep de Chickera, Mr. Ahilan Kadirgamar,  Professor Ranjini Obeyesekere, Mr. Danesh Casie Chetty, Dr. Selvy Thiruchandran, Dr. G. Usvatte-aratchi, Ms. Suriya Wickremasinghe, Professor Arjuna Aluwihare, Professor  Camena Guneratne,  Mr. J.C. Weliamuna,                Dr. A.C. Visvalingam, Professor Gananath Obeyesekere, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Rev. Dr. Jayasiri Peiris, Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, Dr.Upatissa Pethiyagoda,  Dr. Deepika Udagama, Ms, Damaris Wickremesekera, Mr. Faiz-ur Rahman, Ms. Manouri Muttettuwegama, Ms. Shanthi Dias, Dr. Devanesan Nesiah, Mr. Suresh de Mel, Mr. Javid Yusuf, Mr. Chandra Jayaratne.

UN drafts probe team for Lanka

By Dharisha Bastians-Monday 02nd June 2014
The UN team probing major human rights abuses by both sides during the last seven years of the Sri Lankan war will comprise at least 13 members, supervised by two experts, including at least one high profile personality in the international arena, the Daily FT exclusively learns.
The experts and sections of the investigation team, which will include forensic experts to study digital evidence, will travel to Sri Lanka and the Asia Pacific, North America and Europe over the next eight months, to gather witness and victim testimony and access ‘other sources of information’ to complete its findings, the Daily FT learns.
The international investigation that was mandated by the UN resolution on Sri Lanka passed in March this year, after being moved by the US and 42 co-sponsors, is expected to commence in the coming weeks.
The two experts will work on a pro-bono basis for the period of 10 months, to provide high level expertise and guidance to the investigation, analysis and preparation of report, according to a UN Human Rights Council document outlining the preliminary budget and staffing for the Sri Lanka probe.
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) staff will conduct the investigation, but the report will be rubber-stamped by the two pro bono experts – one very senior personality of international stature, highly placed sources told the Daily FT.
Speculation that former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan could be tapped to lead the probe arose from this decision to appoint at least high profile figure with international name recognition, the sources said. The OHCHR had a comprehensive list of ‘senior experts’ that were to be approached for availability, the Daily FT learns.
“We know that it will be someone with very high international stature – like a Michael Kirby or a Kofi Annan,” a source with knowledge of the process said. Kirby is a former Australian jurist who headed the Commission of Inquiry on the DPRK (North Korea) mandated by the UNHRC.
However, Annan was an unlikely choice to lead the Sri Lanka probe because the head of the investigation would report to the High Commissioner for Human Rights, likely UN officials who worked under the former UNSG in the past, sources said.
Some of the high profile names being considered to lead the team are also being considered to replace present High Commissioner for Human Rights Pillay who will retire in August, the Daily FT learns.
While the initial outlay of budget and staff is not final, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has earmarked three human rights investigators, one legal advisor, a senior coordinator, an administrator and a Sinhala and Tamil translator to be part of the investigation panel. One of the human rights investigators will specialise in gender issues, according to the preliminary staffing outline.
A forensic consultant to analyse photographic and video material and an archiving consultant will also be enlisted for shorter periods, according to the document currently in possession of the Daily FT.
Provision has also been made for a single security officer to travel with the investigating team if access is granted to Sri Lanka.
A preliminary budget of $ 1.4 million has been allocated for the investigation, but the figure could be higher by the time the probe is officially announced by Pillay’s Office, sources said. The composition of the investigating team could alter slightly by the time the final announcement is made early this month.
The investigators will consult with three ‘relevant’ UN Special Rapporteurs, namely Extra Judicial and Arbitrary Killing, the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances and the mandate holder on Torture.
Travelling budgets have been provided for the two pro-bono experts, to Geneva, Sri Lanka and the Asia Pacific, and for one of the experts to travel to Europe and North America for five days each. “The two experts will participate in information gathering and interviews with victims and witnesses in these locations,” the document said.
Four staffers from the investigating teams will also travel to the Asia Pacific region for 10 days each, two staffers will travel to Europe for seven days and another two will travel to North America for seven days – “all to access victims and witnesses now living outside the country and other relevant sources of information”.
After several weeks of delay, the Office of High Commissioner Navi Pillay is expected to announce the composition of the investigating panel over the next 10 days before the next UNHRC sessions commence in Geneva on 9 June.
Several sources confirmed that the delay could have been a result of being unable to confirm availability of one of the top experts who will lead the mission, who would require to commit to about 10 months of work.
The OHCHR will inform the Government of Sri Lanka through its mission in Geneva of the investigating panel and its terms of reference, before going public with the announcement, it is also learnt. However the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN is yet to be officially notified.
The OHCHR investigating team will be called upon to present a preliminary report to the Council in September, but its final report will have to be ready by January 2015 in order to be presented before the UNHRC March session. This would give the investigators a little over six months to complete its findings and compile a report, human rights activists said.
The Daily FT learns that High Commissioner Pillay and her staff team remain determined to get the Sri Lankan Government to engage with the investigations mechanism, even though the Government has rejected the probe outright and publicly refused to cooperate.
Pillay’s Office is firm that the Sri Lanka investigation will be an OHCHR led probe and not assume the style of a Commission of Inquiry, as with North Korea and Syria, the Daily FT learns.

வடக்கிற்கு காவல்துறை அதிகாரங்களை வழங்குவதில் தவறில்லை – டியூ.குணசேகர

உலக 

தமிழ்ச் செய்திகள்

02 ஜூன் 2014

வடக்கிற்கு காவல்துறை அதிகாரங்களை வழங்குவதில் தவறில்லை என அமைச்சர் டியூ.குணசேகர தெரிவித்துள்ளார். எனினும், ஏனைய மாகாணங்களுக்கு இவ்வாறு காவல்துறை அதிகாரங்களை வழங்குவதில் ஆபத்து காணப்படுவதாகத் தெரிவித்துள்ளார். ஏனெனில் சில அரசியல்வாதிகளின் நடத்தை குறித்து திருப்தி அடைய முடியாது எனவும் இதனால் காவல்துறை அதிகாரங்களை சகல மாகாணங்களுக்கும் வழங்க முடியாது எனவும்; அவர் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

13ம் திருத்தச் சட்டம் காவல்துறை அதிகாரங்களுடன் அமுல்படுத்தப்பட வேண்டியது அவசியமானது என அவர் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார். மத்திய காவல்துறை ஆணைக்குழு, காணி ஆணைக்குழு ஆகியவற்றின் நிர்வாகத்தின் கீழ் அதிகாரங்களை வழங்க முடியும் என அவர் சுட்டிக்காட்டியுள்ளார். வடக்கு கிழக்கு மாகாண முதலமைச்சர்களுக்கு காவல்துறை அதிகாரங்களை வழங்குவதில் பிழை எதனையும் காணவில்லை என அவர் சுட்டிக்காட்டியுள்ளார், ஏனைய மாகாணங்களில் புதிய அரசியல் கலாச்சாரம் உருவாகும் வரையில் காவல்துறை அதிகாரங்களை வழங்க முடியாது என அவர் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார்.

Govt. doesn't seriously apply itself to tackling N-E
June 1, 2014
Five years after the end of the armed conflict in the North and East, legitimate political aspirations of the Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka still remain to be fulfilled. The newly-elected Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, during his impromptu talks with Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has insisted on the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution as an acceptable solution to the issue.

Govt. Doesn't Seriously Apply Itself to Tackling N-E by nelvely

Modi Tells Neighbouring Countries India Means Business

By Veluppillai Thangavelu -June 2, 2014

Veluppillai Thangavelu

Like the adage from rags to riches Narendra Modi, a sutra by birth, has been anointed as the 14th Prime Minister of India on May 26th in a lavish ceremony that became a public relations coup for the new leader.  It was attended by over 4,000 dignitaries  including SAARC leaders.  Modi Mania griped India ahead of the swearing-in ceremony.

Those who thought that the inaugural ceremony will be kept at a low key were proved wrong. Probably Modi wanted to convey the message right from day one that his style of governance will be different from the corruption riddled and dysfunctional Congress led government of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh.

If the swearing-in ceremony was fat and pomp, Modi’s cabinet looked slim and trim. Some states like Thamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal and Northeast got short shrift and there is just one Muslim. But there are plenty of women at the top. A general rule was followed, a Ministership for every ten members of parliament from a particular state.

As widely predicted Modi has settled for a cabinet of 46 ministers with only 24 holding cabinet rank. This was a historic change in the formation of Ministries. The fact BJP is dominated by Brahmin – Bania castes is no secret. This is reflected in the composition of the cabinet. Obviously Modi did not break with tradition when it came to caste. Various upper castes, like Brahmins, Rajputs, Kayasthas and Vaishyas in the north or socially dominant communities like Lingayats, Vokkaligas and Marathas account for 20 of the 46 ministerial berths. OBCs have 13, tribals 6 and dalits three.

Only three of the 46 ministers can clearly be identified as non-Hindus – Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a Sikh, and Najma Heptulla, a Muslim. Two others – Smriti Irani and Maneka Gandhi – are difficult to define by caste/community. What is interesting is how the caste mix changes across different levels of responsibility. Among the 24 Cabinet members (including Modi), 12 are upper caste, five OBC, two Dalit and one a tribal.

Interestingly enough of the 47 ST-reserved seats in the Lok Sabha, BJP won 26 and its allies another two. Compared to the tribals Dalits fared badly with just 3 berths compared to a share of about 15% -16 % in the country’s population.  Of the 87 such Lok Sabha constituencies, BJP alone won 40 and its allies like Shiva Sena, LJP and TDP won another nine. To put it differently, the Dalits voted for the BJP/NDA combine knowing well the in-built domination by the upper caste.                                                                                 Read More

Asylum seeker dies after suffering burns to 90 per cent of his body

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Patrick Hatch, David Wroe, Judith Ireland-June 1, 2014

A Tamil asylum seeker on a bridging visa has died with burns to 90 cent of his body after apparently dousing himself in petrol and setting himself on fire in Geelong.

A spokesman for the Tamil Refugee Council said 29-year-old Leo Seemanpillai feared being sent back to Sri Lanka.

Mr Seemanpillai arrived in Darwin by boat in January 2013 and was first granted a bridging visa last May.

Tamil asylum seeker Leo Seemanpillai. Photo: Combined Refugee Action Group/Facebook

He was taken to the Alfred Hospital on Saturday before dying of his injuries overnight.

Tamil Refugee Council spokesman Aran Mylvaganam said he had known Mr Seemanpillai for 13 months, and was at his bedside on Saturday night.

He said both his parents lived in a refugee camp in India, and were in shock over their son's death.

"He feared for his life if he was returned to Sri Lanka," Mr Mylvaganam said.  "His housemates have told me he repeatedly talked about being sent back, he was quite worried about it."

Trevor Grant, a convenor at the Tamil Refugee Council, said: "He knew that if he was sent back he'd face persecution from the military."

Mr Grant said Mr Seemanpillai suffered depression after fleeing Sri Lanka about five years ago and living in a refugee camp in India.

Mr Grant said he understood Mr Seemanpillai had a soft drink bottle full of petrol which he poured on himself and set himself alight.

Mr Mylvaganam said that Mr Seemanpillai had previously expressed his wish to be an organ donor, and his liver, an eye, both kidneys and a lung were removed for donation.

"We were in communication with the family last night and they wanted his organs to be donated, and as a result five people have benefited," he said.

Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said paramedics were called to West Fyans Street in the Geelong suburb of Newtown at 11.38am on Saturday.

Mr Mullen said the man was doused in petrol, which had been ignited, causing "full thickness" burns to nearly 100 per cent of his body.

A Victoria Police spokesman said: "At this stage we believe the injuries were self inflicted."

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said the government was working with the hospital to make funeral arrangements.

''I and the department and the government extend our deepest sympathies to his family and to his friends who are here in Australia,'' he said.

In April, another Tamil asylum seeker, identified as Janarthanan, doused himself in petrol and set himself alight in Sydney after a government decision to deport him back to Sri Lanka.

The tragedy came as Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said that an 18-year-old asylum-seeker had tried to kill himself on Christmas Island and several dozen detainees on the island remained on a hunger strike.

"This is the tragic, human consequence of the government's cruel refugee policy," Senator Hanson-Young said.

"A young man came to Australia, asking for our help, and we are failing him.''

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Mr Seemanpillai's organs were removed prior to death.

Is Nalaka Godahewa resigning as SEC Boss?

(Lanka-e-News-02.June.2014, 5.30PM) Just a day or two after a big high spending bash of Securities Exchange Commission in London to woo Foreigners to invest in Sri Lanka, speculation is rife that SEC Chairman Nalaka Godahewa has decided to quit his job. Without even mentioning a word of it to the SEC Board, Godahewa has submitted an application for appointment to the Post of Director of the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM) which is a Full Time job with a modest academic salary. 

The PIM is Sri Lanka’s best known Postgraduate Institute on Management Established in the 1980’s. It has earned a reputation for awarding the best MBA degrees in the island. 

Each year over 250 senior staff of private sector institutions graduate as MBA’s from PIM which is a Fee Paying institution not dependent on Treasury funds. 

Former Directors of PIM have been Professor Gunapala Nanayakkara and Professor Uditha Liyanage.

In 2010 an Audit conducted by the prestigious audit firm Ernst & Young found that Professor Nanayakkara had allegedly misappropriated nearly Rs. 50 million from an academic operation of over three years conducted by him as Managing Director on behalf of PIM in Dubai between 2007 to 2009.

A CID investigation against Professor Nanayakkara on this matter is now pending supervised by the Attorney- General’s Department.

Some observers feel that Nalaka Godahewa’s application for Post of Director PIM is a ploy or sham. The truth is that he is being put forward by Professor Nanayakkara who is staging a comeback to PIM from which he has been disbarred since 2010. Godahewa is a former (and loyal) student of Professor Nanayakkara and if appointed Director, PIM 

Godahewa is expected to withdraw the CID investigation and “white – wash” Gunapala Nanayakkara’s financial wrongdoing in Dubai and rehabilitate him to PIM.

Many also say that Nalaka Godahewa past conduct has tainted his reputation beyond repair. The most talked about is the so called “KRISH” investment in which Godahewa is alleged to have profited over 500 million. With his very poor “ethical” track record, academics wonder how he had even the “guts” to apply for a prestigious post like Director PIM – which is certainly not a “political appointment!”

Although Harry Jayewardene got Godahewa as CEO of the privatized Insurance Corporation (SLIC) later on he wanted Godahewa out because he was doing private work, (Imperial College) while being on Jayewardene's pay roll.

Next, when SLIC was handed to the state by a Supreme Court decision, Dr. P.B. Jayasundara did not want Godahewa to run it. With some political influence, Godahewa went to the Tourist Board but Dr. P.B. Jayasundara got him out of that as well. It was then that Godahewa “pulled strings” and got the SEC job with all perks and a monthly allowance of Rs. 75,000/- and foreign trips galore. People also question his doctorate and his ability as a speaker is very sub-standard. Without political favour he may remain unemployed because of his bad ethics.