Japan's Abe says North Korea threat demands 'altogether different response'

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe addresses the 71st United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan, New York, U.S. September 21, 2016.REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Thu Sep 22, 2016

The threat posed by North Korea after its multiple missile and nuclear tests this year is substantially different than it was in the past and demands an "altogether different response," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday.

In an address to the annual United Nations General Assembly, Abe said the world needed to thwart North Korea's plans and it was time for the U.N. Security Council to "indicate an unmistakable attitude to this threat of a new dimension."

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Indigenous Australians most ancient civilisation on Earth, DNA study confirms

Clues left in genes of modern populations in Australian and Papua New Guinea enable scientists to trace remarkable journey made by first human explorers

A new population analysis of Indigenous Australians and Papuans shows they can trace their origins back to the very first arrivals on the continent about 50,000 years ago. Photograph: Matt Turner/Getty Images

Hannah Devlin Science correspondent-Wednesday 21 September 2016

Claims that Indigenous Australians are the most ancient continuous civilisation on Earth have been backed by the first extensive study of their DNA, which dates their origins to more than 50,000 years ago.

Scientists were able to trace the remarkable journey made by intrepid ancient humans by sifting through clues left in the DNA of modern populations in Australia and Papua New Guinea. The analysis shows that their ancestors were probably the first humans to cross an ocean, and reveals evidence of prehistoric liaisons with an unknown hominin cousin.

Prof Eske Willerslev, an evolutionary geneticist who led the work at the University of Copenhagen, said: 

“This story has been missing for a long time in science. Now we know their relatives are the guys who were the first real human explorers. Our ancestors were sitting being kind of scared of the world while they set out on this exceptional journey across Asia and across the sea.”

The findings appear in one of four major human origins papers published in Nature this week, which together give an unprecedented insight into how humans first migrated out of the African continent, splintered into distinct populations and spread across the globe.

Willerslev’s findings, based on a new population analysis of 83 Indigenous Australians and 25 Papuans, shows that these groups can trace their origins back to the very first arrivals on the continent about 50,000 years ago and that they remained almost entirely isolated until around 4,000 years ago. “They are probably the oldest group in the world that you can link to one particular place,” said Willerslev.

En route to Australia, early humans would have encountered a motley assortment of other roving hominin species, including an unknown human relative who has now been shown to have contributed around 4% to the Indigenous Australian genome. Previously, scientists have discovered that prehistoric couplings have left all non-Africans today carrying 1-6% of Neanderthal DNA.

Willerslev said the latest findings added to the view that Neanderthals and other now extinct hominins, traditionally portrayed as low-browed prehistoric thugs, were “in reality not particularly different” from our own ancestors.

Adding to this picture, a second study found that the advent of modern human behaviours around 100,000 years ago, indicated by cave art and more sophisticated tools, does not appear to have been accompanied by any notable genetic mutations.

“Your genome contains the history of every ancestor you ever had,” said Swapan Mallick, a geneticist at Havard Medical School who led the analysis of the genomes of people from 142 distinct populations.

The study also suggests that the KhoeSan (bushmen) and Mbuti (central African pygmies) populations appear to have split of from other early humans sooner than this, again suggesting that there was no intrinsic biological change that suddenly triggered human culture.

“There is no evidence for a magic mutation that made us human,” said Willerslev.

Chris Stringer, head of human origins at the Natural History Museum in London, said the findings would be controversial in the field, adding: “It either means that the behaviours were developed earlier, they developed these behaviours independently, they acquired them through exchanges of ideas with other groups, or the estimated split times are too old.”

Willerslev’s study also resolves the apparent discrepancy between genetic findings implying that Indigenous populations have been in Australia for tens of thousands of years and the fact that the languages spoken by these populations are only around 4,000 years old. “You see a movement of people spreading across the continent and leaving signatures across the continent,” said Willerslev. “That is the time that this new language has spread. It’s a tiny genetic signature. It’s almost like two guys entering a village and saying ‘guys, now we have to speak another language and use another stone tool and they have a little bit of sex in that village and then they disappear again.”

Aubrey Lynch, an Indigenous elder from the Goldfields area, said: “This study confirms our beliefs that we have ancient connections to our lands and have been here far longer than anyone else.”

This is why Donald Trump’s tax returns haven’t been leaked

Donald Trump in Philadelphia on Sept. 7. (Evan Vucci/AP

By Justin Wm. Moyer and Lisa Rein September 21 at 6:00 AM

Donald Trump has maintained for seven months that he cannot release his tax returns because he is being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, making him the first major-party nominee for president since Gerald Ford to withhold such records from the public.

Last week, his son Donald Trump Jr. gave a different excuse for not releasing the documents, saying the returns would be “distracting.”

[Donald Trump Jr. just told everyone the real reason his dad isn’t releasing his tax returns]

With so much speculation surrounding them, the GOP nominee and wealthy businessman’s tax filings may just be the most wanted information of the 2016 campaign.

Trump says that voters “don’t care” about his returns, but journalists, Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton and many voters insist the public wants to see them. New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet and Washington Post Associate Editor Bob Woodward said at a Harvard University forum this month that they would love to publish Trump’s returns if someone leaked them, even if it meant serving jail time. Some Americans have wondered whether Trump actually paid any taxes during some years — and whether he is as rich as he says he is.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton attacked Republican nominee Donald Trump for not releasing his tax returns during a question-and-answer session on her campaign plane on Sept. 6. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

Donald Trump's stance on presidential candidates has changed significantly over the years. Here's how. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

This is why Donald Trump’s tax returns haven’t been leaked.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

2,000 hate messages for De Lima after number exposed in Philippine Senate

Philippine Senator Leila de Lima. Pic: AP.

21st September 2016 

SOME 2,000 threatening messages and calls were made to Senator Leila de Lima’s mobile phone on Tuesday after her number was revealed during a public broadcast of the ongoing Senate hearing.

Local news reports said De Lima, who was the day earlier ousted from the Senate’s justice committee, railed against her comrades in the House for allowing public exposure of her private details.

“I have been bombarded by text messages, numbering almost 2000, and phone calls from unknown persons, threatening me, harassing me, calling me the vilest of names,” she was quoted saying in GMA Network.

“[I have] No adequate words to express my utter dismay about the lack of foresight and/or utter lack of sheer humanity displayed today during what I can only describe as a blatant exercise in harassment and persecution that is the so-called House of Representatives ‘inquiry’.

“They have basically destroyed my right to privacy and security in my communications and in my abode. I am now literally a persecuted person displaced from my home. Worse, they have turned people into weapons of destruction,” the furious De Lima added.

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The House is currently investigating the spate of extrajudicial killings that took place in the months since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took office.

De Lima, a fierce critic of the Duterte administration who has been pushing hard for accountability in the president’s war on drugs, was the chairman of the justice committee that had been leading the probe.

On Monday, however, a vote taken by senators forced her and eight members of the committee to vacate their posts. The vote was called after De Lima was accused of bias in her presentation of a witness last week who accused Duterte of masterminding some 1,000 murders in Davao City during his time as mayor.

SEE ALSO: Philippines: Duterte’s fiercest critic booted from committee investigating killings

De Lima is also facing accusations of complicity in the drug trade behind the walls of the notorious New Bilibid Prison when she was justice secretary.

According to Rappler, during Tuesday’s hearing, witnesses – convicts and inmates – alleged that De Lima had used a mobile number issued by the justice department to communicate with drug criminals inside the prison.

GMA Network’s report said convict Herbet Colangco was asked during the inquiry for the cellphone number that he had called in 2014 to discuss payoffs with De Lima. Colangco reportedly gave the number and several members of the House confirmed that it was De Lima’s.

The hearing was aired both on national television and streamed on numerous news sites.

SEE ALSO: Duterte: Drug ‘matrix’ will show De Lima’s involvement

“This is the country that we live in today. We shame ourselves before our countrymen and the world that we dare compare ourselves to Singapore in terms of making people feel safe.

“What the people have to realize is that this is not just an offense against me, but against everyone,” De Lima was quoted saying.

The senator also lamented that she was being made an example of what would happen to those who dared to criticize the government, adding that after this episode, not many would dare speak out.

“The real victim here is the people, the oppressed. God save us all,” she said.

 Using Clove Oil and Fluoride to Whiten Your Teeth

by Shamila Naleer

We all know that clove oil and fluoride are miracle workers when it comes to dental hygiene. These two elements play an important role when caring for your teeth and gums as they help get rid of cavities and toothaches as well as strengthen and protect your mouth from harmful bacteria. They deodorize your breath and greatly contribute to all-round oral care.

Well, another brilliant benefit of clove oil and fluoride is that they help you get those marvelous pearly whites you’ve always wanted.

But first things first; why do your teeth get yellow? Genetics do play a part in this plight. Some people are simply more inclined to getting yellow teeth than others because it’s hereditary. Another reason behind the discoloration of your teeth is the food and drinks you consume. Certain food can break down the enamel on your teeth, thus revealing the yellow coloring underneath. Moreover, some drinks, like dark sodas, can have a consequential impact on the color of your teeth. Smoking and use of other tobacco can also severely stain your teeth, and medications like antihistamines, antipsychotics, high blood pressure drugs as well as tetracycline and other antibiotics are known to cause tooth discoloration.

Just like cloves are used in many dental medicines as a pain killer and for oral treatments, they are great natural teeth whiteners. Even if your teeth are sensitive or if you have a toothache of any sort, you can tend to those dental issues while fighting your teeth discoloration problems.

When looking for toothpastes, one of the most vital ingredients we look for is fluoride. This is because it has been instrumental in the dramatic decline of tooth decay and cavity occurrence. As well as fighting dental deterioration, the good bacterium also helps battle discoloration. As mentioned earlier, when the enamel on our teeth gets eroded, the yellow beneath the broken down enamel makes an appearance. Since both clove oil and fluoride combat tooth decay, it in turn helps prevent dental discoloration as well.

UN agrees to fight 'the biggest threat to modern medicine': antibiotic resistance

All 193 UN member states are set to sign a declaration to fight drug-resistant superbugs that are estimated to kill more than 700,000 people each year

A microbiologist works with tubes of bacteria samples in a US antimicrobial resistance and characterization lab. Photograph: David Goldman/AP

Amanda Holpuch in New York-Wednesday 21 September 2016

All 193 United Nations member states are set to sign a declaration agreeing to combat “the biggest threat to modern medicine” in Wednesday’s high-level meeting on antibiotic resistance.

The agreement was reached just before the general assembly convened to discuss the threat of antibiotic resistance, which is only the fourth health issue to trigger a general assembly meeting.

“It’s ironic that such a small thing is causing such an enormous public threat,” said Jeffrey LeJeune, a professor and head of the food animal research program at Ohio State University. “But it is a global health threat that needs a global response.”

The declaration routes the global response to superbugs along a similar path as the one used to combat climate change. In two years, groups including UN agencies will provide an update on the superbug fight to the UN secretary general.

It is estimated that more than 700,000 people die each year due to drug-resistant infections, though it could be much higher because there is no global system to monitor these deaths. And there has been trouble tracking those deaths in places where they are monitored, like in the US, where tens of thousands of deaths have not been attributed to superbugs, according to a Reuters investigation.

Scientists warned about the threat of antibiotic resistancedecades ago, when pharmaceutical companies began the industrial production of medicine. The inventor of penicillin, Alexander Fleming, cautioned of the impending crisis while accepting his Nobel prize in 1945: “There is the danger that the ignorant man may easily underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug make them resistant”.

But in the last few years, studies have dramatically increased awareness about antibiotic resistance. There has also been considerable advocacy by health officials, like Sally Davies, chief medical officer of the UK.

“Drug-resistant infections are firmly on the global agenda but now the real work begins,” Davies said in a statement. “We need governments, the pharmaceutical industry, health professionals and the agricultural sector to follow through on their commitments to save modern medicine.”

Signatories to the UN declaration committed to encouraging innovation in antibiotic development, increasing public awareness of the threat and developing surveillance and regulatory systems on the use and sales of antimicrobial medicine for humans and animals.

Only three other health issues have been the subject of general assembly high-level meetings: HIV/Aids, non-communicable diseases and Ebola.

Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, said he was encouraged that unlike with HIV/Aids and Ebola, the UN is addressing this health crisis before it has spun out of control.

“It’s very serious indeed – it’s killing people around the world at the rate of hundreds of thousands of year and we all expect it to get worse if something isn’t done now,” Woolhouse said. “But the UN is coming in at just the right time, in a sense.”

WAITING FOR JUSTICE: DISAPPEARANCES & ATTACKS ON MEDIA IN SRI LANKA- FREDDY GAMAGE

20/09/2016

( Freddy Gamage and Sandya Ekneligoda at a side event on 20 Sep 2016 at UNHRC ©s.deshapriya)

Dear solidarity friends, you all have helped us in many ways to make some positive changes in Sri Lanka.

Please do constructively engage with the Government of Sri Lanka, to consolidate and to bring more needed reforms. It is very important, since most of the governments come up with reforms just to please the international community not really to address the issue. This is the challenge.

We have already heard some of the experience of struggles in searching the loved ones who were disappeared. Let me share one more story – the story of Subramaniam Ramachandran, a journalist from Jaffna.

He has been missing since 2007. Few weeks before his disappearance, Ramachandran had written an article on illegal sand mining and transportation which was taking place with the involvement of businessmen and military officers.

His colleagues believe that his abductors were persons angered by this article.

Year 2009, few months after the civil war ended, Ramachandran’s sister Kamalashini was visited by six persons from the police and the Military. They requested her for all Ramachandran’s personal documents including his educational certificate.

When his father handed over the documents at the Point Pedro police station, he was told that these documents were requested to give Ramachandran a job.

Few days after the incident, Ramachandran’s father had made a complaint to the Point Pedro Police station, but there had been no responses from the Police to date.


The side event was organised by IMADR. Forum Asia and few other NGOs)

Ramachandran’s case is one of the few cases where there are compelling evidences and eyewitness accounts to unravel what happened to him after his disappearance.

This includes reports of him being seen at a specific Army camp in 2013, 6 years after he had disappeared. However, the family has not been informed of any attempts to obtain information from the authorities.

Ramachandran’s family has been waiting for nine years in the hope that he would return one day.
Will Ramachandran ever return home?

Ramachandran’s mother said she has not eaten rice after his son’s disappearance……

Two WGIFD participated in the panel discussion

Now we have at least a place to complain. We need more constructive engagements. We demand the Government to do consultation with the family members of the disappeared in every possible moves.

We salute for the tireless efforts of Sandya finally brought the culprits to the court, and also the effort of Vathana and thousands of mothers and wives in Sri Lanka.

As you hear the story of Subramanium, it also has lot of evidence/chances of questioning the officers and related institution and need to bring the culprits. We need your support, solidarity and guidance

Subramaniam’s case is one out of 44 cases related to journalists and media workers who were murdered or disappeared under the hands of previous regime.

Last human rights day in 2015, we submitted the list to the prime minister. He said families of the murdered journalists should be given compensation.

Yes its important, but more important issue is justice. Yet the Government is always reluctant to address  it.

July 2016 , when 54 Northern journalists met with President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at the parliament.

They clearly said  that no investigations to the cases of Tamil journalists is in progress, journalists urged at least to start the cases of some prominent Tamil journalists .They mentioned cases like Sivaram, Taraki and Nimalarajan. Yet, no positive reply from the Government was given .

On 2nd June 2016, I had gone to cover a meeting of the Negombo Municipal Council and was returning to my car, parked within the premises of the Municipal Council.

I had noticed two suspicious men wearing full face helmet and jackets, looking in my direction and had turned to look at them. One of the men had then attacked me on the head with a strong pole from a tree. I had tried to dodge it, but it had hit on the side of my head, then I run back into the Municipal Council building. From there, I was told by eyewitnesses that the assailants had fled on a motorbike which had no number plates.  Then I was hospitalized for several days.

In my statement to the police I clearly stated this attack is due to the exposes of the mafia business of one political family in our city. They have earned a huge amount of back money during the previous regime .

On 16th of May 2016, one family member, the Deputy Mayor of Negombo city threatened me over the phone. He said that I should not write bad things on them, but only good things. Then the attack came 2 weeks after.

There were 16 phone calls between the attacker and the Vice Mayor just within 5 hours on the day of my attack.

Due to the pressure in many ways, the incident finally led to the arrest of attackers within 48 hours .

Yet even after 3 months of the attack, the mastermind of this attack, the Vice Mayor in Negombo, is still not yet arrested.

Despite the evidence of the 16 phone calls between the attacker and the Vice Mayor, the police has failed to arrest him. This the litmus test to the good governance and police. We are waiting for further progress in good governance and justice system.

-Speech by journalist Freddy Gamage at a side event during the 33rd session of UNHRC, Geneva on 20th Sep 2016;

Freddy Gamage is a web journalist who runs several city based web sites in the country.He is also the convener of Professional Web Journalists Association and the convener of Action Committee for Media Freedom .Recently he was attacked since he exposed the corruption of a strong political family in his town. He also works on the issue of disappeared journalists.

Tricks Or Treat? Transitional Justice For Postwar Sri Lanka 

By Sanja De Silva Jayatilleka –September 20, 2016

Sanja De Silva Jayatilleka

It must surely be thought odd that I am even undertaking an effort to intervene here on a subject that requires comment by lawyers or political scientists. But as a concerned citizen-observer I have some worries and since I have not seen any debate whatsoever in the media, I want to raise some questions and hopefully contribute to an informed public discussion.

When and who decided that what Sri Lanka needed in the post-war period was ‘Transitional Justice’? Where and on what basis did they decide that?

My curiosity about this was aroused after a conversation with an overseas visitor to our home, representing a major UN related agency, who admitted that the concept of Transitional Justice (TJ) derived from a Latin American context, the criteria for its applicability had not been fully developed, and that even at the UN it had been used inappropriately and indiscriminately, and in quite a few cases to little benefit.

My other conversations with staff working for INGOs revealed that the overseas funding was earmarked and plentiful for projects that involved Transitional Justice in Sri Lanka, which does not make for the most conducive atmosphere for awkward questions of local applicability.

It became a serious issue when the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recommended Transitional Justice mechanisms for Sri Lanka and our Ambassador in Geneva thanked the international community for their assistance with Transitional Justice at the ongoing (September) 33rd session of the UNHRC.

My concern is that, from what I can gather from the literature, Transitional Justice is applied either when military dictatorships or totalitarian regimes are overthrown by people fighting for freedom and democracy or when civil wars draw to a negotiated end after a “hurting stalemate”. In the latter case, the full package of Transitional Justice is not invoked. Transitional Justice seems to apply mainly in times of radical political transformation from a non-democratic or authoritarian political system to a democratic political order, and not merely a more liberal political culture or style of governance.

Examples given in an Oxford University Press book on Transitional Justice leaves no ambiguity as to what exactly this means: “Transition from communist rule in East and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union” and “…repressive military rule in Latin America and Africa.” (‘Transitional Justice’ by Ruti G. Teitel). It also says: “The problem of Transitional Justice arises within the distinctive context of transition- a shift in political orders.” In short, Transitional Justice is relevant to a qualitative or systemic discontinuity; a macro change.

Does a democratically held general election at which the (combined) opposition won a majority and formed a coalition government with a dissident section of the former democratically elected government, qualify? Where’s the shift in “political order”? It is the same essentially democratic multiparty political order, before and after.

There have been multiple changes of style of government and/or political culture at the general elections over the decades. There have been issues of Law and Order under each of those administrations. All those changes took place under essentially the same political order. So it was, most recently as well. There’s a new experiment in governance, a temporary coalition government with a different set of ideas and ideology, but that is hardly a change in political order or a radical political transformation.

Is it a “shift” of the political order in which we found ourselves, after the elected government of the day militarily defeated a terrorist force engaging in warfare to establish a separate state? After its victory, the democratically elected government proceeded to hold elections in the areas formerly under terrorist control and also hold general elections at which it got re-elected under the same political order as before the victory. That government was eventually voted out of office under the same political order, without any preceding rupture in it or dissolution or overthrow of it. So that doesn’t seem to qualify.

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People of Valikamam North want to resettle in their own lands

BY Mirudhula Thambiah-2016-09-20

Valikamam North Resettlement Society President Arunasalam Gunapalasingham said the people of Valikamam North have always been hoping to resettle in their own lands. Therefore, the Government cannot close down the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) welfare centres in the Valikamam North region.

"Our people are looking forward to resettle in their native places and everyone has their own lands. All must understand reality. Currently, the government and the Ministry of Resettlement are attempting to shut down the IDP camps. They have also proposed to provide alternative land for those who don't have land in Valikamam North. I would like to point out there isn't anyone without land," he said.

Following are excerpts of the interview:

?: The government has announced that it would provide alternative lands for those who don't have land in Valikamam North. What is your position on this announcement?

A: Currently the government and the Ministry of Resettlement are attempting to shut down the IDP camps. They have also proposed providing alternative lands for those who don't have lands in Valikamam North. I would like to point out there isn't anyone without land.

Only the children don't have land, but the mothers and fathers have their own lands. Since it has been a very long time, they have been unable to divide the portions of land to their children. If the remaining lands are released, parents will do the needful and divide the lands among their children who are adults.

Instead, if the authorities collect details of those who don't have land, they will have to record names of a large number. Therefore, if the government takes steps to release the lands the land owners will divide their lands according to the land deeds.
You may be aware that the government introduced a form system a month back, with options in three different types of forms. According to that they assured they would to compensate those who do not have lands in Valikamam North.
But, in most welfare centres, these forms were distributed and the people were forced to fill up the forms by force. Divisional Secretariats strictly said that the people must fill up the form and should be prepared to settle down in areas wherever houses are given.

According to the government authorities there are 971 families in 31 camps in and around Valikamam North. Initially, there were 1,500 families, as the lands were released the number of families in the welfare centres reduced. Therefore, the authorities also calculated that among the 971 families, only 341 had land deeds in Valikamam North. They also came to a conclusion that the rest do not have land deeds.

The authorities must understand that now it is 30 years and three generations from Valikamam North are living in IDP camps and other alternative areas. Therefore, the children of the initial lot who were displaced from Valikamam North 30 years ago, due to the war, don't have land. The initial residents, who are their parents and grandparents, do have lands in Palaly, Thaiyiddy, Urani and Myliddy. If these lands are released, parents will divide the lands according to the method in Jaffna, either under the dowry system for daughters or directly for their sons.

However, in the current context, the children were unaware of the real situation that they had land and instead they registered with the Divisional Secretaries.

I told these people that resettlement is only when we all return to our own lands, not to alternative lands.
Therefore, the President will resettle 100 families in Maviddapuram from the Konapuram welfare camp on 2 October. But, yet again, 100 families will settle in camps. Although the government has built 100 houses, resettlement will take place only if we return to our native lands.

However, now our people are vigilant and the form system is done away with. We managed to settle the confusion. They cannot close down any welfare centre. Our people are looking forward to resettle in their native places and everyone has their own land. All must understand reality.

The resettlement system is very confusing they are releasing land in small portions. Therefore, people are not in a situation to resettle in their own lands as they wish.

?: So you say that these 100 families, that will be settled in Maviddapuram near the Kankesanthurai Cement Factory, will face difficulties?

A: Currently the 100 families who have agreed to settle in Maviddapuram are now confused. Their parents have land in Palaly, Myliddy and Thaiyiddy. Now, even if they do not want to settle in these 100 houses, they are being forced to do so by the authorities.
These 100 families are disappointed that they will have to face great difficulties after settling in that area. They will not be able to even involve in agriculture near the cement factory, it is an area of quarries. How can they plant crops?
They will have livelihood problems.

?: The Army is currently building houses for those who were displaced from Valikamam North. How do you view this scenario?

A: These houses are built under the Indian Housing Scheme Project and the United Nations Project. The Army had assured they would build 100 houses without labour charges. Some Rs 800,000 is provided to the families to build houses on their released land. But, only Rs 784,000 is given to build the houses due the imposition of taxes. However, people are in need of Rs 1.2 million to completely build a house. Currently, people are also burdened with pawning their jewels to build houses.
Rs 784,000 is not given to the families in total but in instalments. Also these instalments are paid only after each step of house building work is completed from foundation to the roof. We kindly request the organizations to pay the instalments and then expect the people to build each step.

It should be noted that most of these houses are not built by the Army but people are building it on their own. Around 140 houses have been built in Palaly only on the effort of people.

?: Jaffna Commander recently said that the people from Myliddy are unaware of traditional fishing methods. What have you got to say?

A: Since historical times, people from Myliddy contributed 1/3 of the fish production in Sri Lanka. Therefore, a fisheries harbour was built in Myliddy after the Galle fisheries Harbour. From days gone by, two ships were operating from the Myliddy Fisheries Cooperation one called, 'Myliddy' and the other 'Galle'. How can he say that we are unaware of traditional fishing methods?
I wrote back to him saying to stop the Indian trawlers before commenting on Myliddy and its fishermen. I clearly told him to settle us in Myliddy and then challenge if we know how to fish or not.
The Jaffna Commander had been positive about releasing Myliddy. Anyways I'm unsure after his comments about Myliddy fishermen.

It is quite sad and pathetic to say how Myliddy doesn't have any of our valuable houses, temples or churches. All buildings are damaged and our people feel sad to see the situation. I could only recognize the water tank in my house in Myliddy.

?: You said you have spoken to the Jaffna Commander several times with regard to the releasing of lands. What has been his response?

A: He was positive! He said Myliddy will be released from the habour to the entire area, but there will be small Army camps in every place. We agreed to it. We told him, we always lived with the Army, if the war did not occur we will be living with them.
He later said, these camps can be gradually removed. I said it is not problem at all, but to immediately resettle us. He also requested us to show him the places where we are expecting to settle. We took him to our areas to show our places.
However, there are opinions that there will be issues if we settle among the Army. But practically we will be more in population if we resettle in Myliddy, when we crowd in our native place they will become a minority. Around 4,000 families are hoping to settle down in Myliddy. We initially want to resettle in our own land; we will decide the rest later.

?: What is the situation of the Palaly Airport and its extension up to the Myliddy Harbour area?

A: The Palaly Airport will not extend to the Myliddy Sea area, but will extend to small areas towards the agrarian lands. Only a small agrarian area will be taken for the airport.
However we are now negotiating on even rescuing that small piece of land. We cannot always be fractious but we will be fractious when we should.
Palaly airport was built in 1942 during the British rule, in the Second World War. If they really want to extend the runway, they can extend through a fly over not through our lands. We will object!
Email: che.myhero@gmail.com