Peace for the World

Peace for the World
First democratic leader of Justice the Godfather of the Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle: Honourable Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam

Monday, October 20, 2014

வடமாகாண மக்களை புறக்கணித்துவிட்டு ஜனாதிபதியாக முடியாது: சி.வி


'வடமாகாண மக்களின் வாக்குகளை புறக்கணித்துவிட்டு, ஜனாதிபதி பதவியை மூன்றாம் முறை எட்ட முடியாது. ஆகவே, வடமாகாண மக்களை எப்படியாவது தன் பக்கம் இழுக்க வேண்டும் என்ற எண்ணத்துடன்தான் ஜனாதிபதி தாராள சிந்தையுடைய கொடையாளியாக மாறியுள்ளார்' என வடமாகாண முதலமைச்சர் சி.வி.விக்னேஸ்வரன் கூறினார்.

முள்ளிக்குளம் பகுதியில் தலா 50 ஆயிரம் ரூபாய் பெறுமதியுடைய 82 தற்காலிக வீடுகள் அமைக்கும் திட்டத்துக்கான அடிக்கல் நாட்டு விழா ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை (19) இடம்பெற்றது. இந்நிகழ்வில் கலந்துகொண்டு உரையாற்றுகையிலேயே முதலமைச்சர் மேற்கண்டவாறு கூறினார்.

அவர் அங்கு மேலும் கூறியதாவது,

'இரண்டு வருடங்களாக எமது மக்களுக்கு வழங்காது இடைநிறுத்தி வைக்கப்பட்ட காணி அனுமதிப்பத்திரங்கள், திடீரென்று மக்களைப் போய்ச் சேர்கின்றன என்றால், அதற்கு காரணம் என்ன?. மக்களின் ஆபரணங்களை 5 வருடங்களின் பின்னர் திடீரென்று வெளிக்கொண்டு வரும் தார்ப்பரியம் என்ன?.

வடமாகாண மக்களின் வாக்குகளை புறக்கணித்துவிட்டு மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷவால், ஜனாதிபதி பதவியை மூன்றாம் முறை எட்ட முடியாது. புகையிரத பாதையை நிர்மாணித்து தந்தது இந்திய அரசாங்கம் என்றும், வன்னியில் வைத்தியசாலையை அமைத்து கொடுத்தவர்கள், பசுபிக் பிராந்திய அமெரிக்க கடற்படையினர் என்றும் எமது மக்களுக்கு நன்றாக தெரியும்.

சுயநலங்கருதி சும்மா இருந்த ஜனாதிபதி, சுறுசுறுப்பாக வடக்கு வந்து சுற்றுலா மேற்கொண்டுவிட்டுச் சென்றுள்ளார். நாம் பதவியில் இருப்பது எந்தளவுக்கு அரசாங்கத்தை நிலை குலைய வைத்துள்ளது என்பது இதிலிருந்து தெரிந்து கொள்ளலாம். நாம் வெறுமனே பதவியில் இருந்தாலே போதும், அரசாங்கம் எமது மக்களுக்கு வாரித்தரும்.

வட, கிழக்கு மாகாணங்களில் படையினர் பெருவாரியாக அரசாங்கத்தால் நிலை நிறுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளாதால் எமது மக்கள் படும் அவலத்தையும் அவதியையும் எடுத்தியம்பும் ஒரு நிகழ்வாக இன்றைய இந்த நிகழ்வு அமைந்துள்ளது.

முள்ளிக்குளம் பகுதியில் இருந்து கடந்த ஏழு வருடங்களுக்கு முன்னர் இடம்பெயர்ந்த எம்மக்கள் தமது சொந்த இடங்களுக்கு திரும்பி சென்று குடியேற முடியாத ஒரு நிலையை இருக்கின்றது.

இவர்களின் பலகால வாழ்விடங்களை விட்டு வெளியேற படையினர் மறுக்கின்றனர். எங்கு சென்றாலும் இப்பொழுது இராணுவ பிரசன்னத்தையும் அவர்கள் முகாம்களையும் தான் பார்க்க வேண்டிய ஒரு நிர்ப்பந்தம் காணப்படுகின்றது.

நேற்று இரணைமடு குளத்தை பார்வையிட சென்றேன். அங்கும் இராணுவம். சென்ற கிழமை ஈச்சிலவக்கை சென்றேன். அங்கும் இராணுவம். எங்கும் இராணுவம். இவர்கள் எம் மண்ணில் நீடித்து நிற்பதால் பல அவலங்களை நாம் எதிர்நோக்கி வருகின்றோம்.

நீர் பற்றாக்குறை, நீரில் அசுத்தம் கலத்தல் போன்றவை கூட படையினரின் பிரசன்னத்தால் ஏற்பட்டுவரும் விளைவுகளே என்று சென்ற சில நாட்களுக்கு முன்னர் கருத்து தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டது.

படையினர் எதற்காக மக்களை வசீகரிக்க செயற்திட்டங்கள் வகுத்து செயலாற்றுகின்றார்கள். அவர்களை வெளியேறுமாறு வடமாகாணசபை கேட்டுள்ளது. தாம் தொடர்ந்து இங்கு இருக்க வேண்டும் என்றால் எமது மக்களின் மனத்தை குளிர வைக்க வேண்டும்.

பலதை கொடுத்தும் பயம் காட்டியும் தேர்தலில் தமது பங்காளர்களை நிறுத்தியும் மக்கள் தங்களுக்கு வாக்களிக்காத படியினால் எப்படியாவது எமது மக்கள் மனதை மாற்ற வேண்டும் என்று மானியங்களை வழங்கி வருகின்றார்கள் படையினர்.

நாங்கள் பதவியில் இருக்கும்வரை அவர்கள் தொடர்ந்து பலதை உங்கள் நன்மைக்காக செய்து வருவார்கள். ஏனென்றால், அவர்களுக்கு எமது வாக்குகள் வேண்டும். ஏன் அவர்கள் பதவியில் இருந்தால் அவற்றை செய்ய மாட்டார்களா என்று கேட்பீர்கள்.

செய்வார்கள் ஆனால் முழுமையாக வடமாகாணத்தை சிங்கள நாடாக மாற்றி செயற்படுவார்கள். நாம் இருப்பதால்த்தான் அவர்கள் சென்ற ஐந்து வருடங்கள் தான்தோன்றித்தனமாய் செய்து வந்தவற்றை சற்றுத்தளர்த்தி தவிர்த்து வருகின்றார்கள்.

நாம் இருப்பதால் இங்கு பலர் செய்த ஊழல்கள் அம்பலத்திற்கு வந்து கொண்டிருக்கின்றன. மக்களின் பணத்தை எவ்வாறு கொள்ளை அடித்தார்கள் என்பது வெளிவந்து கொண்டிருக்கின்றது.

நாமிருந்தால் ஊழலின்றி செயற்பட வேண்டிய ஒரு கடப்பாடு எல்லோருக்கும் எழுந்துள்ளது. நாம் 3 விதங்களில் எமக்கு வேண்டியவற்றை பெறலாம்.

ஒன்று வன்முறை. ஆனால் வன்முறை மேலும் வன்முறைக்கே வித்திடும். இரண்டு வலிய சென்று சரணடைந்து எமது வாழ்வை விருத்தி செய்வது. என்றென்றும் இவ்வாறு நலன் பெறுபவர்கள் அடிமைகள் என்றே கணிக்கப்படுவார்கள்.

மூன்றாவது அப்பழுக்கற்ற கொள்கைகளை முன்வைத்து எமது தேவைகளை கூறிப்பெற எத்தனிப்பது. இது காலம் போகும். ஆனால் காலக்கிரமத்தில் நன்மை பயக்கும். நாம் இதைத்தான் செய்து வருகின்றோம். வன்முறையை கண்டித்துள்ளோம்.

வருந்தி அழைத்தாலும் எமது வலுவான கொள்கைகளில் இருந்து வழுவாது எமது நடவடிக்கைகளில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ளோம். ஆகவே, வடமாகாணம் எந்த விதத்திலும் நன்மை பெறப்போவது நிச்சயமே. எமது வருங்காலம் நல்ல காலமாக அமையும் என முதலமைச்சர் மேலும் கூறினார்.

இந்த தற்காலிக வீடுகளும், நடுத்தர வகையான வீடுகள். சீமெந்தினால் அமைக்கப்பட்ட தளத்தின் மீது இரண்டு வரிகள் கற்கள் அடுக்கி சுவர்கள் அமைத்து, அதன் மேல் கிடுகு மூலம் மறைப்பு செய்யப்பட்டு, கூரைக்கு தகரம் இடப்படவுள்ளது.

இரண்டு அறைகள் விறாந்தை உள்ளடங்கலாக இந்த வீடுகள் அமைக்கப்படுகின்றன. மூன்று வாரத்திற்குள் இந்த வீடுகள் அமைத்து முடிக்கப்படவுள்ளது. 

Tit-for-tat: Govt. officials boycott NPC programme

Sunday, October 19, 2014

The Sunday Times Sri LankaCentral Government officials boycotted a Northern Provincial Council mobile service, in what has been described as tit-for-tat, after Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneshwaran kept away from the District Development Council (DDC) meeting presided over by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Jaffna on Monday.
The mobile service was organised in Nedunkerny in Vavuniya to resolve public problems related to land, passports, birth and death certificates and development activities among others. It was held on Friday and Saturday. However, only NPC officials took part in the event, while Central Government officials from Vavuniya kept away.
Vavuniya’s District Secretary Bandula Harishchandra said the mobile service was arranged without the consent of the Governor and the Chief Secretary, and hence, the officials did not attend the event.  “They should have consulted the Governor or the Chief Secretary, who in turn would have contacted us to make the arrangements,” he said.
“The PC members and the local council members in Jaffna lost a golden opportunity to raise their issues and get responses directly from the President,” he said referring to the DDC meeting on Monday. “When they do not cooperate with the Central Government, how can we help them solve problems of the northern public,” he asked.
TNA MP Selvam Adaikalanathan charged that the officials did not show up at the last minute though they had informed earlier that they would come for the programme.
“The GA, the NPC Chief Secretary and other top officials did not attend the event. They are not representatives of the people to do politics. They are government servants. The People, who came here to solve problems with their National Identity Cards and Birth Certificates, went empty handed. There is a huge gap opening between the Central Government and the NPC, and the people are ultimately affected by this,” he said.
Earlier, the NPC Chief Minister declined an invitation to attend the DDC meeting, stating in a letter to the President, “The NPC was neither consulted nor informed of the necessity or agenda of this curious meeting that purports to deal with issues addressed in 2012, after a lapse of two years.”
During President Rajapaksa’s visit to the North, many development projects and infrastructure schemes were inaugurated. In his visit to the Kilinochchi District last Sunday, he gave away cheques worth Rs 100 million to 1,250 displaced personnel in the Northern Province, while land deeds and grants were offered to 20,000 settlers living in State lands in the province.

Is Gen. Fonseka’s franchise like the monsoon rain ? last year ‘yes’, this year ‘no’- Mahinda Deshapriya be a bureaucrat not a stinking rat


LEN logo(Lanka-e-News- 19.Oct.2014, 11.45PM) Democratic party leader General Fonseka whose franchise had been cancelled according to the electoral register of 2013 , yet allowed to cast his vote at the western provincial council elections ,has now been denied franchise based on the electoral register name list of 2014.
Following a complaint received by the Elections commissioner after seeking Attorney general’s (AG) advice , based on a directive given by the AG , Palitha Fernando who went on retirement yesterday , the name of General Fonseka was withdrawn from the 2014 electoral name register The elections commissioner had notified this in the letter addressed to the secretary of the Democratic party day before yesterday.
Fonseka convening a media briefing yesterday stated as follows :
''Truly speaking , it is the elections commissioner himself who told me that I am eligible to vote according to the elections register of 2013.When I had served 20 months of my 30 months sentence of imprisonment , the President freed me. It was the commissioner himself who told me about a month before the western PC elections that I have the right to vote because I had been freed before completing the sentence.
Until the last month end , in the electoral list of 2014 , my name was there .If there is truly a system to withdraw the franchise that should have been given effect to since the day I was imprisoned. If after I have cast my vote once , various individuals are conspiring together to withdraw that right , certainly I shall go for litigation. But , in the present lawless climate I doubt whether I can expect justice from the courts.
I shall even take this up internationally and with the Human rights commission while highlighting that under this corrupt election practices the sovereignty of the people is being compromised and destroyed. ''
Section 89 (c) of the constitution stipulates as follows pertaining to denial of franchise :
''If any court sentences an individual found guilty for any reason to not less than six months in jail for an offence punishable with a jail sentence of not less than two years , and is serving the sentence, or within a period of 7 years that had elapsed had served the sentence fully , that individual is not eligible to vote at an election to elect a President , Parliamentary election , a people’s referendum nor have the right to vote .
According to this section , if an individual who is not eligible is granted a pardon sans conditions , the ineligibility ceases from the date the pardon was granted.''
Accordingly ,if General Fonseka is not serving a jail sentence ; if he has not served the full sentence ; and he had received a pardon , it is not necessary to be an elections commissioner or an AG to understand that the withdrawal of his franchise is a violation of the constitution . Just a knowledge of simple Sinhalese language will be more than sufficient.
Casting all this aside , there is no provision anywhere that allows double standards to be practiced whereby franchise is granted once and withdrawn second time on the same grounds. The right to franchise is not like the monsoon rain which changes its pattern every year .
This double standard applied is a broad daylight most obnoxious anti national villainy , for which the elections commissioner should hold himself finally responsible. In order to cover up this most abominable treacherous perfidy committed by the elections commissioner , no room should be allowed to enlist the AG to protect him . It is therefore the absolute and inescapable duty of the elections commissioner to restore General Fonseka’s franchise.
Mahinda Deshapriya please don’t stoop this low . At least now act with rectitude and integrity . You are performing duties of a lofty bureaucrat , so don’t become a cursed stinking rat playing hide and seek inside a filthy drain.
'மகிந்த குடும்பத்தை விமர்சிப்பதால் மரண அச்சுறுத்தல்': ரஞ்சன் எம்.பி.

கீழே காணப்படும் ஒலிப்பெட்டகத்தை தரவிறக்கம் செய்க
BBC19 அக்டோபர் 2014 கடைசியாக தரவேற்றப்பட்டது 17:26 ஜிஎம்டி

Death Threats to Senior Journalist and His Family From So-Called ‘Patriotic Force’

Untitled
Sri Lanka Brief[Jayasiri Jayasekara handing over certificates at the ceremony]
An unknown gang called ‘Patriotic Force’ has threatened to kill senior journalist and former editor Jayasiri Jayasekara and his family for his leading role in an investigative journalism training course conducted by the Transparency International, Sri Lanka (TISL). In his complaint to the Inspector General of Police jayasekara has provided time and phone numbers of the threatening phone calls he received but so far no action has been taken. The would be killers has repeatedly called his mobile phone and finally when they came to know that he has not listened to their warnings the ‘Patriotic Force’ has ‘threatened in a cruel way, to kill me, my wife and my children’ says Jayasekara.
The Sinhala language letter to IGP: Jayasiri Jayasekara complaint to IGP
The English translation follows:
Jayasiri Jayasekara
138/5, High Level Road
Colombo 05.
Inspector General of Police
Police HQ
Colombo.
Dear Insspector General of Police,
A complaint regarding the threats received via telephone
I am a journalists and a journalism trainer by profession. Currently I work as a training consultant for an investigative journalism course conducted by the Transparency International (Sri Lanka) located at the above address. My national ID number is 720401819V and mobile phone number is +94777 31670.
A certificate awarding ceremony and a get together of a group of journalists trained by the said programme was scheduled to be held at the Janaki Hotel, Narahenpita, Colombo, on 25th October 2014. I sent an SMS to all invitees for the ceremony form my mobile on 13th October.
At 5.10 pm on 14th October I received call to my mobile phone from another mobile with the number +94756245489. The person on the other end threateningly told me to resign from the Transparency International (Sri Lanka) and not to hold the above mentioned event. Further he threatened to torture me to death if I participate in the event.
The person did not identify himself. When I tried to explain the programme he continued to threaten me without listening to what I said. Same evening at 7.38pm I received an SMS from the mobile number +94725436266 which said ‘”The Meeting which is organized for the Journalist in the Janaki Hotel on the 15th is the canceled do not attend for the LTTE meeting you will be attacked-RATA BERAGATH DESHAPREMI BALAKAYA”.
As the ceremony was being held in another undisclosed location due to the threats received by Hotel Janaki, a person called my mobile phone through a land line telephone with the number +94112438359 and inquired me where I was at that time and threatened in a cruel way, to kill me, my wife and my children because I have acted against their warnings.
As these threats have posed a serious risk to my profession and my life I urge you to take steps to protect my life. At the same time I urge you to initiate a proper investigation and to take legal action against those who threatened to kill me.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely
Jayasiri Jayasekara

Kerosene, Koothu and Paper: Questions and answers

GroundviewsOn Sunday, 19 October 2014 the Sri Lanka Archive of Contemporary Art, Architecture & Design screened, for the first time in Jaffna, three short films by Kannan Arunasalam. Kerosene, Koothu and Paper were produced forGroundviews in 2011 as part of the Moving Images project.
The Sri Lanka Archive of Contemporary Art, Architecture & Design is a flagship project of Raking Leaves, a non-profit organisation that commissions and publishes contemporary art projects. Kannan Arunasalam was born in Jaffna and grew up in London. He returned to Sri Lanka in 2005 and moved to Cambodia in 2013. In 2013, he was awarded best documentary short for Kerosene at the Seattle South Asian International Documentary Festival. His work has appeared in The Guardian, The New Yorker, the BBC and Al Jazeera English.
This Q&A is based on a request by the Editor of Groundviews to capture key questions from the audience after the screening of the trilogy, so that Kannan’s responses could be placed in the public domain as a foundation for further debate and discussion.
All three films are embedded below. More details here.
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Can you tell us about your approach to narration? Because we feel more than the moving camera the series of still shorts push the story further.
I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules. If you are telling a story that is unfolding in front of you, going hand held may be better, rather than the rigidity of a camera on a tripod. Sometimes you need to shoot on an iPhone, which I have done. I think you need to choose the style and approach, both narratively and visually, that will best suit the story you are trying to tell. The resilience trilogy are portraits, rather than documentaries, and for those I felt the the fixed camera perhaps worked better.

How do you identify yourself? A photographer or filmmaker.  
How do you define photography?
I’ve used photography, sound, and film in my work. Sometimes together, sometimes on their own. I use whatever can help me to tell the story in the most compelling way. Sometimes a stills camera works best. Other times, sound alone. It depends.
I try not get bogged down with definitions. I feel they tend to restrict you, creatively. I’m sure people have defined what photography is, and there are many facets to its meaning, both artistically and technically, but I don’t personally feel that defining terms help me in what I am trying to do, which is to tell the story.
How do you go about choosing your topic of each film because some of the issues are not even known to the locals and you are living abroad. How do you make films on Sri Lanka sitting outside Sri Lanka?
I was born in Jaffna so there was always a connection. I’ve had an ambiguous relationship with my hometown. I moved back to Sri Lanka and was living there for 8 years up until a year ago. While I still feel like an outsider, the relationships I built over the years helped me to discover stories and characters, and their nuances. These slowly opened up to me.
My long term engagement with elders in Jaffna and around the country through the http://iam.lk project has been a rich source of stories for my films over the years.
For whom were these films are made? 
The Kerosene, Koothu, Paper trilogy was a tribute to Jaffna, my hometown, and to the resilience of the people who lived through war. I hope they have universal appeal but the films were made primarily for the people of Jaffna. That was my key audience.
One of the striking things for me is the rhythm and humour of the language used by people like Esan in the films, so particular to the Tamil used in Jaffna. A lot of that is lost in translation. It’s always wonderful to observe a Jaffna audience watching my films, seeing them pick up on those nuances. One of my favourite screenings was the impromptu one I did at garage of the mechanics that pioneered the kerosene-run engines.
I regret missing the screening at the Sri Lanka Archive in Jaffna.
Your craft is more professional in its outlook, Have you undergone any formal training in photography or filmmaking? Why and how you became a filmmaker? Can we call your work as ethnographical in its approach? 
When I started, I picked up a camera and started shooting. Kerosene, Koothu and Paper were made like that. I worked in radio and that helped me to craft stories. But a lot of it was trial and error. I’m still experimenting. And of course watching a lot of films, absorbing what is available to everyone.  Filmmakers are incredibly generous with their knowledge and there are plenty of resources, especially online, if you look. Also, the Canon 5D Mk 2 was a revolutionary camera. Suddenly filmmaking was accessible and you could make movies that had this gorgeous look. While it has its limitations, I will always cherish that camera.
I don’t feel my films are ethnographical. They are meant, first and foremost, to entertain.

In Paper, there are shots where the human figures are shown headless. Is that intentional? In Kerosene, why didn’t you show the home made jam bottle lamp that became the symbol of how we were made to live? 
The elderly security guard in Paper didn’t want to be too identifiable. So we discussed what he would be comfortable with and I experimented with different ways to do that. I’m not sure if it entirely worked in terms of its aims but visually it was interesting.
I get asked this question a lot. I knew about the wonderful jam bottle lamp and spoke to many people about it. I even put one together from scratch with the help of a gentleman who lived through that time. Instead of Koothu, I explored making the third film on the impact of restrictions on children’s education and the jam bottle lamp would no doubt have featured in that. That said, I wanted to tell stories that people didn’t already know about too well. As a filmmaker you make certain choices and I wanted to make ‘kerosene’ the symbol of scarcity for that time.
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No other auspicious day for MaRa in his horoscope ; post elections civil unrest sure –Pope’s visit unlikely therefore


LEN logo(Lanka-e-News- 19.Oct.2014, 11.45PM) It is almost certain that by holding the Presidential elections on the 8 th of January 2015 , the arrival of the holy Pope on the 13 th is rendered impossible , and therefore the holy Pope’s tour of Sri Lanka (SL) will have to be cancelled , sources from the Christian church revealed.
A representative team of the Vatican is due to arrive in SL on the 27 th to take a decision in this regard. As a matter of policy of the holy Pope , he does not do a tour of the country just before a national election or just after it.
Based on the horoscope of MaRa (horoscope maniac), if the date, 8th of January 2015 is missed , his next auspicious day (the least) is after a year , it is learnt – that is ,it will be like not only missing the bus but also the last bus for MaRa . It has been decided to hold the Presidential elections somehow on January 8th , because MaRa is getting more and more involved in issues that are denting and diminishing his popularity , and incurring people’s bitter displeasure, meaning that his defeat is becoming increasingly certain.
According to the assessment made by the Christian prelates , the holy Pope will not in any case be able to visit the country because ,at the Presidential election to be held on the 8 th of January 2015 , Medamulana MaRa’s defeat is already writ on the wall. Gotabaya too who is aware of this but does not want to give up the reign , is likely to summon the forces and continue with a military administration in which even the disgruntled and oppressed people are definitely going to stage a rebellion and take to the streets .
In such circumstances , certainly holy Pope cannot arrive in this country. It is also the view of the Christian prelates that even if Medamulana MaRa wins by a ‘jilmart’ (deceitful practices) , the rebellion of the people cannot be quelled , and in such an environment of civil unrest , the holy Pope cannot land in this country.
It is their consensus that if violence can be provoked and promoted which continued for a week after even the Uva elections , the post elections violence at the Presidential elections would be worse under a lawless Rajapakse climate between the 8 th and 13 th of January 2015, and therefore holy Pope’s visit is ruled out.
Hence , the Medamulana MaRa’s Presidential elections ‘nandana vindhana’ or the great tamasha encapsulated in deceitful , dubious and devious election malpractices is spelling doom and gloom for the Christians of Sri Lanka who prayed and hoped to see their holy Pope in their own motherland. In other words, while Rajapakse has all along been a jinx on the whole country , his Presidential elections is militating against the Christian hopes and prayers.

The Law In Their Dangerous Hands

By Waruni Karunarathne-Monday, October 20, 2014
There had been a spate of incidents where suspects had been shot dead or killed accidentally, while fleeing from police custody or during a confrontation with the police. Recently, the suspect wanted in connection with the Kolonnawa- Sinhapura murders was shot dead while trying to escape police custody. Another suspect who was arrested in connection with the killing of an eight-year-old girl in Akmeemana had drowned while trying to flee from the police. There is a long list of similar incidents that had taken place in the recent past, and many had questioned how the suspects had managed to escape if they had been handcuffedwhile at the same time they were being guarded by the police,as well.
However despite such incidents taking place regularly, the general public had noted that the police had not taken necessary precautions to prevent such incidents from recurring.
The Law in Their Dangerous Hands by Thavam

History On And Off Track: The Return Of Yal Devi And The Executive Presidency

By Rajan Philips -October 19, 2014 
Rajan Philips
Rajan Philips
Colombo TelegraphMore than a century after Jaffna was first connected by rail to the south it was reconnected again last week. For twenty five years Jaffna did not have a rail connection. It was first disconnected by service stoppage, and then totally severed by the wanton removal of nearly 100 miles of railway – iron, timber and footing. The planned connection by the British, its removal at the start of the war by juvenile delinquents, and the postwar reconnection by India – are indicative of Sri Lanka’s history of nation making and unmaking over hundred years, as well as the present government’s pathetic efforts at nation-remaking after 2009. The railroad from Colombo to Jaffna, or more longitudinally from Matara to Kankesanthurai, was the physical spine of the unified political and administrative template that the British invested and imposed on the island. The British started the railroad system in 1867 as the mainstay of the plantation economy, but in less than fifty years it became the mainstay of a fleeting island nation. Alas, what the railway provided physically for nation making could not be supplemented politically. The reasons for the failure are too many and too well known.
Mahinda Yal DeviThe story of the Sri Lankan railway is a part-narrative, albeit an important part, of how Lanka’s modern history went off track in mid journey, not only on the national question but also in the economic domain. Last week, a beaming PresidentRajapaksatook his train-long entourage on a mid-day train ride from Pallai to Jaffna, to mark the return of Yal (Yazh, phonetically) Devi after twenty five years. Mr. Rajapaksa, who is a good raconteur of historical anecdotes of the ancient type, came up wanting in giving the historical context to Yal Devi’s return. Of course, he took his political mileage, all 250 of them, by reminding everyone that he had brought back the train of peace to the peninsula, but forgetting that the peninsula is still recovering from the war that he won. He also seemed to have been unaware of the country’s political circumstances when Yal Devi first journeyed into Jaffna. He is not the only one. Until now, I took it for granted that the Yal Devi train service began sometime in the 1960s. Apparently, it was inaugurated on April 23, 1956 – 13 days after the watershed elections of that year, and 43 days ahead of the passage of Sinhala Only, on June 5. Historical coincidences could not be more embarrassingly enlightening.
Rampala’s Trains                                              Read More



[ திங்கட்கிழமை, 20 ஒக்ரோபர் 2014, 10:45.32 AM GMT ]
நீண்ட கால இடைவெளியின் பின்னர் கடந்த 13ம் திகதி தான் யாழ்ப்பாணத்துக்கான ரயில் சேவைகள் ஆரம்பிக்கப்பட்டது.
இந்நிலையில் ரயில் சேவை ஆரம்பித்து பத்து நாட்களுக்குள்ளாகவே யாழ்ப்பாணத்தில் புகையிரத வண்டியொன்று தடம் புரண்டுள்ளது.
யாழ்ப்பாணத்தில் இன்று காலை ரயில் தடம்புரண்டுள்ளது.
யாழ்ப்பாணத்துக்கான தபால் புகையிரதமே இவ்வாறு தடம்புரண்டுள்ளதாக ரயில்வே கட்டுப்பாட்டு அலுவலகம் தெரிவித்துள்ளது.
யாழ்ப்பாணம் ரயில் நிலையம் அருகில் ரயில் தடம்புரண்டுள்ளதுடன், புகையிரத திணைக்கள தொழில்நுட்பவியலாளர்கள் தற்போது அதனை அகற்றும் பணியில் ஈடுபடுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளனர்.
தபால் புகையிரதம் தடம் புரண்டுள்ளதன் காரணமாக யாழ். தேவி புகையிரத சேவைக்கு பாதிப்பில்லை என்றும் தெரியவருகின்றது.


by Rajeewa Jayaweera-

article_imageHigh Commissioner Sinha in his speech during the symposium to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Anagarika Dharmapala which he attended as Chief Guest had stated his country was "saddened by the under-appreciation of Indian aid" by Sri Lanka. He had further spoken of the failure to mention or acknowledge India’s assistance in the Northern Line railway project which enabled the recent start of the Yal Devi train connecting the North to the rest of the country in publicity material, the USD 1.6 billion handed over to Sri Lanka since the end of the war of which 30% being grants, rebuilding of hospitals to medical services with Indian doctors provided free of charge, assistance for IDPs, building of 50,000 houses of which 15,000 have been completed to name a few. He has also stated that "India was focussed on the needs of the people of Sri Lanka and was not dictating the needs of the Indian government or its people" and the "need for Sri Lankan people to know that India has been continuously providing aid and assistance".

Mahinda’s highways bring him endless commissions

Monday, 20 October 2014 
road1roadPictures show part of the Hiyare road near Hiyare Maha Vidyalaya that was washed away due to the minor flooding that followed the incessant rains last night (18).
The Road Development Authority functions under the highways ministry of which the president is the minister in charge, and it is a very well known secret that president Rajapaksa likes to build roads very much as such projects bring him massive commissions.
Built by contractors friendly with him, these roads get washed away even during minor flooding. In the past, roads in Sri Lanka did not get wash away like that, but got dilapidated by potholes becoming bigger.
A senior civil engineer told us that roads get washed away like that due to the substandard construction. Even the recently built expressways too, are faced with that risk, he said.
When these roads are rebuilt, the previous contractors are given the job and the commissions are paid as usual.
These roads are called ‘Mawbimata seemawak nethi Mahindage seemawak nethi comis parawal’.

Only a progressive left movement can bring victories to country – Bimal

lankaturthMONDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2014
The unity and the sovereignty of the country could be defended and victories politically could be achieved to the country only by the Left says the National Organizer of the JVP and the President of Peace and Solidarity Council of Sri Lanka Bimal Ratnayaka.
He said this addressing a seminar held at Grand Oriental Hotel in Colombo yesterday (19th) under the theme ‘Challenges imposed by imperialists’ interventions and extremism’ to mark the 69th Anniversary of World Peace Council.
The Executive Secretary of World Peace Council Iraklis Tsavdaridis and a large number of local and foreign intellectuals were present.