Is Maithri The Next President?

By P. Bertie Ranaweerage -December 19, 2014 

Bertie Ranaweerage

It is evident that the Maithri’s camp is fully confident that Mr. Maithripala Sirisena will emerge the winner at the Presidential Election scheduled to be held on January 08, 2015. According to a statement made by Mr. Rajitha Senaratne, former Minister , recently, Maithri will win the Presidency with a majority over 55 per cent. There is no reason for me not to believe in his statement because the majority of the people from different walks of life I talked to during the last two weeks said they would vote for Maithri for different reasons. I would like to list the responses of the people I talked to in connection with the Presidential candidates. The readers are free to draw their own conclusions.

A friend of my son who comes from a SLFP family. He is from the Kalutara district.

“ My wife and I will vote for Maithri because one family robs the country. My father is for Mahinda and he told us not to return home after voting for Maithri. One of my aunts who has never voted for any party in the past said she would vote for Maithri.”

A software engineer in Matara who spoke to me on phone said,

“I will vote for Maithri because of the rampant corruption in the government.” He further said that according to her sister who works in Colombo in an office where around 50 employees work ,there are less than 10 who are ready to vote for Mahinda.Read More

Bodu Bala Sena Handlers Unroll Plan B

By Hilmy Ahamed -

Hilmy Ahamed

The Bodu Bala Sena has unrolled its plan B by merging with the ultra-nationalist break away group of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) led byUdaya Gammanpila after attempts were made to form a Sinhala Buddhist alliance under the leadership of Venerable Ellawala Medananda Thera, the former head of the JHU failed. The formation of a Sinhala Buddhist party as declared by Gammanpila with the support of the Bodu Bala Sena and the Ravana Balaya comes as no surprise after the Bodu Bala Sena failed to gather even a few hundred people for their much-publicized meeting at Hyde park a few weeks ago. The Sinhala Ravaya, the radical wing of Wimal Weerawansa’s party has been deprived of membership to this ultra nationalist camp. Is this because of the suspicion that has been highlighted about Wimal Weerawansa’s motives or is it just a clash of ideologies?

Gnanasara |Picture courtesy Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Sri Lanka Facebook page

Gammanpila, only a few days ago spoke of corruption, good governance and nepotism within the Rajapaksaadministration, has suddenly gone in to reverse mode with the repetitions of his verbal trash of “foreign conspiracy, NGO strategies to destabilize Sri Lanka, Tamil Tiger infiltration and saving the Sinhala race. How does one change overnight? Is it the lure of power and positions or is it the right price paid, or is it really the commitment to one’s religion and race? A man who committed to run a noble election campaign at the provincial council elections has made an about turn within a few months to become “just another Sri Lankan politician”.Read More

Dissanayake should make public apology and resign

(Excerpts of a media statement)-December 19, 2014, 12:00 pm 

On 12 December 2014 Minister of Higher Education, S.B. Dissanayake said on Sirisa TV, that the former President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Kumaratunga should be "put down on the ground, trampled, stripped naked and made to run along the streets". This is a terrible statement to come from any individual, but that a Minister of Higher Education, a supposed role model for young people, felt it was even remotely appropriate for him to make such a statement, is truly appalling. In many other countries, he would have been forced to resign or have been dismissed the very next day. At the very least he would have been asked to apologise. None of this was forthcoming, pointing to the culture of violence and hate speech having been so normalized in Sri Lanka that both government and public seem to tolerate it with little or no dissent.

As election fever for the presidential election mounts, there is a lot of talk about institutional change, better economics and a fight against corruption. What is also needed is a drastic change in our political culture. Viciousness and vitriol existed previously but were confined to the periphery of political space. Editors did their job and printed news that "was fit to print". Today this government, more than any other, has given vitriol and hate speech centre place, whether in its newspapers, radio or TV. We have become accustomed to the crudeness of the so called "attack dogs" of the government, whether they be Ministers, members of Parliament, editors of newspapers, journalists or supportive intellectuals, so much so that we read them with amusement or turn the page. Some people, however, sadly take them seriously. The purpose of this privileged place being given to vitriol is to make individuals the target of hate and thereby to intimidate them, either to keep silent, stop their work or go abroad. To a great extent the government has succeeded in "chilling" speech and action because of the viciousness and vitriol.

The words of the Minister of Higher Education are part of this strategy. He feels no shame in saying such things in a country that once extolled "lajja" as one of the highest virtues, and he thinks that they are acceptable words to be broadcast to the people of our country on public TV. That such crude words of violence against women, advocating forced nudity - which in situations of armed conflict is an international war crime - should come publicly from any human being, let alone a Minister of Higher Education, truly beggars belief.

Minister Dissanayake should resign forthwith, making a public apology to Chandrika Kumaratunga and to the country. The Attorney General should look into the possibility of taking legal action against him.

Jayantha Dhanapala

Professor Arjuna Aluwihare

On behalf of Friday Forum, the Group of Concerned Citizens

(Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala, Professor Arjuna Aluwihare, Professor Savitri Goonesekere, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy,

Ms. Suriya Wickremasinghe, Mr. Priyantha Gamage, Rev. Dr. Jayasiri Peiris, Mr. Tissa Jayatilaka, Dr. Deepika Udagama, Ms, Damaris Wickremesekera, Professor Gameela Samarasinghe, Dr. Selvy Thiruchandran, Dr A.C.Visvalingam, Mr. Pulasthi Hewamanna, Professor Camena Guneratne, Ms. Manouri Muttetuwegama, Dr. G. Usvatte-Arrachchi, Dr.Upatissa Pethiyagoda, Mr. Ahilan Kadirgamar, Ms. Shanthi Dias, Mr. J.C. Weliamuna, Mr. Danesh Casie Chetty , Mr. Javid Yusuf, Rt. Reverend Duleep de Chickera, Professor Ranjini Obeyesekere, Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne , Mr. Ranjit Fernando, Mr. Saliya Peiris, Mr. Chandra Jayaratne)

Basil out, Gota in!

FRIDAY, 19 DECEMBER 2014 

It is revealed that the National Organizer of the SLFP Minister Basil Rajapaksa has been removed from Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s election campaign and the slot is being filled by Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Accordingly, Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa participated in the TV political programme ‘360’ telecast by ‘Derana’ TV recently. It is also revealed that he is scheduled to participate in several programmes telecast by all channels during the three days prior to postal election.

Minister Basil Rajapaksa actively participated in Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s campaign commencing propaganda work three months ago. He established public as well as secret propaganda and operation offices throughout the country.

Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the UNP Tissa Attanayaka joined Mahinda faction and when the President offered him the health ministry Minister Basil Rajapaksa has advised the President against it. However, Tissa Attanayaka was appointed the Minister of Health and in disgust Minister Basil Rajapaksa has completely withdrawn from the campaign say sources. He has warned Mr. Mahinda Rajapaska that appointing Tissa Attanayaka the minister of health would create turmoil in the vote base of the SLFP.

Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has started actively participating in various programmes after the inaction of Minister Basil Rajapaksa. Recently, he laid the foundation stone to build 75 houses for those who were affected in the landslide at Meeriyabedda. He has planned to play a major role in Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s campaign by carrying out various programmes with Civil Defense Force, police and the three forces.

Election 2015: Our choice

 December 20, 2014

Given what we know of the Opposition’s declared strategy and policy at this stage, I am unconvinced that we should vote Mahinda Rajapaksa out. Change is necessary; even imperative. But what kind of change, where, when and to whom? There is a case for peaceful democratic regime change, but what has the current Rajapaksa regime to do with the decades older Executive Presidential system, which is a form of state?

Election 2015 Our Choice by Thavam Ratna

Muslim Congress Falls Into Sinking Boat Of Mahinda

| by A Special Correspondent

( December 19, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) This presidential election teaches us hundreds of lessons for Sri Lankans. It tells us who are the real patriotic and who are making money out of politics. It tells us who are ideological politicians and who are not? It tells us how minority political parties swing with waves of political influence of ruling elites. 

Muslim Congress Falls Into Sinking Boat of Mahinda by Thavam Ratna

President gets ‘Sellam Nagaradhipathi’ to harass Dhammika!

 Friday, 19 December 2014 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa is getting one of his stooges, Hambantota mayor Eraj Ravindra Fernando alias ‘Sellam Nagaradhipathi’ to harass notorious casino businessman and transport ministry secretary Dhammika Perera, reports say.

A few days ago, ‘Sellam Nagaradhipathi’, accompanied by his thugs, had gone to Bayliss Casino at McCullum Road, Colombo and created chaos there, pushing away deal tables and other equipment. As the security guards there could not bring the situation under control, they had sought police protection. Police evaded it by saying they could not act since there was no complaint. Later, Dhammika has told DIG Anura Senanayake and he has gone there alone.

The president has got ‘Sellam Nagaradhipathi’ to teach a lesson to Dhammika, after believing a businessman who had told him that Dhammika had given an additional Rs. 100 million to the UNP election campaign by buying a Rs. 50 m worth of a property owned by a key UNP figure for Rs. 150 m.

Rajapaksa Family Dynasty And Namal’s Business

By Rajiva Wijesinha -December 18, 2014 

Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha MP

Enemies of the President’s Promise: Dopey 2

Another consequence of the electoral system from which we now suffer is that simple name recognition is generally enough to ensure election. Often voters, having selected the candidate from their constituency, use their other two preferences on those whose names they know. Obviously posters put up all over the electoral catchment area help in getting one’s name known, but there are other easier reasons too for some individuals to get votes. So film or sports stars do very well at elections, as do those who obtain publicity for other reasons, through eccentric behavior, or even by being jailed, as happened with a relatively unknown character from the opposition in the 2010 General Election.

And of course if one’s father or mother or brother or uncle is already an established politician, then one is more likely to pick up the loose preferences of a large number of the voters. In short, the children of well known politicians start with a built in advantage. Contrariwise, in the past, when candidates were chosen for particular electorates, they had to establish themselves in that area, as individuals with some connection with the constituency they wanted to represent. Now however they simply have to command patronage in order to get their names on the electoral lists. So in recent years there have been increasing numbers of children standing for election, and many of them have done very well. Whereas Mahinda Rajapaksa had to prove that he was the most able of his siblings to step into his father’s seat, and whereas he lost elections under the first past the post system and was not in Parliament for several years, Namal had no difficulty in getting nomination for the Hambantota District, and in topping the list there on preferences at the election. And he will surely be able to get enough preferences in any future election to stay in Parliament, even if the SLFP becomes less popular in the District than another party.Read More

U.S. attributes Sony attack to North Korea

Workers remove a poster-banner for "The Interview" from a billboard in Hollywood. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

By Ellen Nakashima December 19 at 11:55 AM

Federal investigators on Friday accused North Korea of carrying out acomputer attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment, blaming the Stalinist government for an intrusion that exposed corporate e-mails, wiped out computer data and underlined the cyber capabilities of one of the United States’ top adversaries.

Based on a screenplay by Dan Sterling, "The Interview" tells the story of two celebrity journalists (James Franco and Seth Rogen) who land an interview with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on their popular television show, only to have the CIA ask them to assassinate him. (Sony Pictures)

Reports say that a data breach of Sony Pictures happened as early as the spring of 2014. Employees have launched a class action lawsuit against the company. (AP)

U.S. Attributes Sony Attack to North Korea by Thavam Ratna

Iraqi Kurds free 'vast area' of Mt Sinjar freeing trapped Yazidis, Kurdish leader says

Assault, backed by US air strikes, ended months-long ordeal of hundreds from Yazidi religious minority, who had been besieged on the mountain since August

A member of the Kurdish forces they pushed towards Sinjar Mountain, as they inspect the aftermath of the site in Kasr Reej, Iraq Photograph: Zana Ahmed/AP

Reuters in Zumar, Iraq-Thursday 18 December 2014 

Kurdish peshmerga fighters have fought their way to Iraq’s Sinjar mountain and freed hundreds of people trapped there by Islamic State fighters, a Kurdish leader said on Thursday.

“The peshmerga have managed to reach the mountain. A vast area has been liberated,” said Masrour Barzani, head of the Iraqi Kurdish region’s national security council, adding that 100 Islamic State fighters had been killed.

“Now a corridor is open and hopefully the rest of the (Sinjar) region will be freed from Islamic State (Isis) fighters.”

The assault, backed by US air strikes, ended the months-long ordeal of hundreds of people from Iraq’s Yazidi religious minority, who had been besieged on the mountain since Isis stormed Sinjar and other Kurdish-controlled parts of northern Iraq in August.

“All those Yazidis that were trapped on the mountain are now free,” Barzani said. The peshmerga had not yet begun to evacuate them, he added.

Kurdish peshmerga soldiers began their offensive on Wednesday to break the jihadists’ siege of the mountain and the town of Sinjar.

The peshmerga advanced from Zumar, east of Sinjar, capturing back 700 sq km (270 sq mi) over two days. US fighter planes carried out 45 strikes in support of Kurdish fighters on Wednesday, in addition to two strikes near Sinjar.

The impact of the air strikes was evident on Thursday. In one village, called Little Koban, the bodies of five militants lay in a valley.

The peshmerga said the Isis fighters had been trying to take cover from the air strikes.

“It’s the best feeling to kill the enemy,” said a peshmerga who took a photo of himself with a corpse in the background on his cell phone. “Look at his beard, the son of a bitch.”

The words “Property of Islamic State” had been sprayed on houses in a nearby village.

The Kurds have yet to take back the actual town of Sinjar, but the freeing of the Yazidis from the mountain is a victory for the Kurds after Isis’s routing of peshmerga fighters this summer.

The August spectacle of Isis fighters racing towards Irbil and the pleas of Yazidis trapped on mount Sinjar, with thousands of others captured or killed, galvanized US President Barack Obama to military action.

Since then, Kurdish peshmerga forces have regained most of the ground they lost to Isis in northern Iraq, but Sinjar’s awkward geography, out on a limb to the west, has made it difficult to penetrate.

Why Would the Saudis Deliberately Crash the Oil Markets?

• BY ANDREW SCOTT COOPER-DECEMBER 18, 2014

On January 2, 1977, the Shah of Iran made a painful admission about his country’s economy. “We’re broke,” he confided bluntly to his closest aide, court minister Asadollah Alam, in a private meeting. Alam predicted still more dangers to come: “We have squandered every cent we had only to find ourselves checkmated by a single move from Saudi Arabia,” he later wrote in a letter to the shah. “[W]e are now in dire financial peril and must tighten our belts if we are to survive.”
Why Would the Saudis Deliberately Crash the Oil Markets by Thavam Ratna

Anniversary of Babri Masjid 

Demolition Observed on December 6

                           Peace for the World ! Your War Our Lives

                               

Away from media limelight preparations for construction of Ram Temple at the Masjid site underway.

By Latheef Farook

Amidst tight security throughout India 22nd anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid    passed away on Sunday 6 December 2014 without any incident. 

The demolition of the Babri Masjid, spearheaded by the  former Bharatiya Janatha Party, BJP, leader L.K.Advani with the connivance of the Congress of Prime Minister C.V Narasimha Rao, inflicted a deep wound on India’s around 200 million Muslims. This wound will heal only if the mosque is rebuilt and justice is restored.

Anniversary of Babri Masjid Demolition Observed on December 6 by Thavam Ratna

Pakistan's most hated man - volleyball player, child killer

Students sit and hold placards for the victims of the Taliban attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, along a road in Karachi December 19, 2014.

BY SAUD MEHSUD-DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan Fri Dec 19, 2014

(Reuters) - The most hated man in Pakistan is a 36-year-old father of three and volleyball enthusiast nicknamed "Slim".

His real name is Umar Mansoor and the Pakistani Taliban say he masterminded this week's massacre of 132 children and nine staff at a school in Peshawar - the deadliest militant attack in Pakistan's history.

A video posted on Thursday on a website used by the Taliban shows a man with a luxuriant chest-length beard, holding an admonishing finger aloft as he seeks to justify the Dec. 16 attack. The caption identified him as Umar Mansoor.

"If our women and children die as martyrs, your children will not escape," he said. "We will fight against you in such a style that you attack us and we will take revenge on innocents."

The Taliban say the attack, in which gunmen wearing suicide-bomb vests executed children, was retaliation for a military offensive carried out by the Pakistani army. They accuse the military of carrying out extrajudicial killings.

The accusation is not new. Many courts have heard cases where men disappeared from the custody of security services. Some bodies have been found later, hands bound behind the back and shot in the head, or dismembered and stuffed into sacks.

Some security officials say privately the courts are so corrupt and afraid, it is almost impossible to convict militants.

"You risk your life to catch terrorists and the courts always release them," said one official. "If you kill them then they don't come back."

The country is so inured to violence that the discovery of such bodies barely rates a paragraph in a local newspaper. Despite this, the school attack shocked a nation where traditionally, women and children are protected, even in war.

Six Pakistani Taliban interviewed by Reuters confirmed the mastermind was Mansoor. Four of them said he is close to Mullah Fazlullah, the embattled leader of the fractious group who ordered assassins to kill schoolgirl activist Malala Yousafzai.

"He strictly follows the principles of jihad," one said. "He is strict in principles, but very kind to his juniors. He is popular among the juniors because of his bravery and boldness."

Mansoor got a high school education in the capital, Islamabad, two Taliban members said, and later studied in a madrassa, a religious school.

"Umar Mansoor had a tough mind from a very young age, he was always in fights with other boys," said one Taliban member.

Mansoor has two brothers and spent some time working in the city of Karachi as a labourer before joining the Taliban soon after it was formed, in late 2007, said one commander.

His nickname is "nary," a word in the Pashto language meaning "slim", and he is the father of two daughters and a son, said another commanders.

"(Mansoor) likes to play volleyball," said one of the Taliban members. "He is a good volleyball player. Wherever he shifts his office, he puts a volleyball net up."

The Taliban video describes him as the "amir", or leader, of Peshawar and nearby Darra Adam Khel. Mansoor deeply opposes talks with the government, the commanders said.

"He was very strict from the start when he joined," a commander said. "He left many commanders behind if they had a soft corner (of their heart) for the government."

(Additional reporting by Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar and Katharine Houreld in Islamabad; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Maria Golovnina and Robert Birsel)

Eight children killed in Australia mass stabbing

FRIDAY 19 DECEMBER 2014

Eight children from the same family, aged 18 months to 15-years-old, are found murdered in their home in Cairns. A woman who was mother to seven of them has been taken to hospital with stab wounds.

The 20-year-old brother of the eight children reportedly returned home near midday on Friday, local time, to discover his dead brothers and sisters.

Neighbours heard screaming and loud noises from the house at about 10am, according to local media.

Emergency services were called at 11.20am local time after reports a woman was seriously injured.

This is an unspeakable crimeAustralian Prime Minister Tony Abott

The 34-year-old mother of the seven of the children is being treated for her injuries in hospital, and is helping police with their inquiries.

Queensland police have not named any suspects but urged calm, saying there was "no need for the public to be concerned about this, other than it is a tragic, tragic event".

'Trying days'

The mother's cousin, Lisa Thaiday, told AAP the man who arrived home to discover his dead siblings was now with relatives.

Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar told reporters: "The situation is well controlled at the moment and there shouldn't be any concerns for anyone else."

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott called the events in Cairns "heartbreaking", and said these were "trying days" for Australia, with the family stabbing coming just days after a 16-hour siege in Sydney carried out by a lone gunman, in which two hostages were killed .

"All parents would feel a gut-wrenching sadness at what has happened," Mr Abbott said, reflecting on the Cairns stabbing.

"This is an unspeakable crime. Tonight, there will be tears and prayers across our country for these children."

The scene has been closed off as forensic investigators inspect the scene.

Australian media reports said the children had been stabbed and suffocated inside the house.

The junior police officers who first attended the scene were reportedly so shaken by the discovery that they are now receiving counselling.

Australian media said the neighbourhood was predominantly inhabited by indigenous Aboriginal Australians, and was known by locals to have a high crime rate.