By Col R. Hariharan

Two recent incidents of crime using revolvers in quick succession in and around Chennai show gun culture is making headway in Tamil Nadu. The significance of real estate business connections in these incidents cannot be ignored at a time when ‘land grabbing’ cases is hogging the headlines.

People are shocked because they are brought up on the myth that Tamil Nadu is an amaithy poonga (garden of peace) unlike North Indian states like the UP or Bihar known for their gun culture.
Continue reading ‘Is “Thuppakki” Replacing Deadly “Veecharuvaal” in growing culture of violence in Tamil Nadu?’ »

By K.S. Sivakumaran

As we all know there are different kinds of dialects in some languages. Even in English, there are different kinds of English and there are Literatures in English apart from English, American, Canadian or Australian Literature. So it is in Tamil Language and Literature.

There are Indian, European, Canadian, Sri Lankan, Malaysian, Singaporean and Australian Tamil Literature.
Continue reading ‘“Arabu Thamil Engal Anbuth Thamil” Book by AMA Azeez Reprinted and Launched’ »

By Premalal Ratnayake

Uva Chief Minister, Shashindra Rajapaksa, yesterday urged President Mahinda Rajapaksa to give up the Ministry of Defence as the war has been over for more than three years.

Addressing a meeting at Welimada, the Chief Minister said he requested this of the President at this essential hour of need. He also requested the President to take over the Ministries of Education and Higher Education.
Continue reading ‘Uva Chief Minister and Mahinda’s nephew Shashindra Rajapaksa Urges president to give up Defence, Highways and Ports portfolios and take over Education and Higher Education’ »

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

On 19 September, the government officially announced the closure of Menik Farm, a camp for the war-displaced and set a deadline of concluding the process of return by 25 September, just six days after the announcement.

At that point, within the camp lived 367 displaced families and 110 of them were from Keppapilavu in the Mullaitivu District. For them, resettlement was not a current option, yet, they continued to hope that after three years in a displaced facility, it would finally be possible to return home.
Continue reading ‘528 Acres of Residential and 684 Acres of Agricultural Lands in Keppapilavu Occupied by Military Without Paying Compensation to Displaced Owners’ »

By: Rajasingham Jayadevan

A painful homage to our dear ones

INTRODUCTION:

Twenty five long years have gone by since the Indo- Sri Lanka agreement was signed by the late Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India and the late J.R.Jayawardene, the then President of Sri Lanka on 29th July’1987.

The intense involvement of India in Sri Lanka, which commenced after the calamitous and inhuman July’1983 anti-Tamil riots, reached its zenith on this day.
Continue reading ‘The 25th Anniversary of a National Tragedy, its aftermath and Lessons for The Future’ »

Erik Solheim, former Norwegian Minister and the Chief Negotiator between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Government played important roles in bringing both sides to the negotiating table to work out a political solution.

Recently, in an interview with the BBC Tamil Service Osai, in London, he made an open statement about the failure to prevent the loss of lives during the battle between the LTTE and the government forces, especially during the final phase of the war. According to Solheim, the Co- chair countries, with the support of the UN, had worked out a plan to protect innocent civilians, and the LTTE cadres who wanted to surrender.

Solheim was questioned by both the BBC Tamil Osai and the Sinhala services about the background and the failure of the process, he had spoken about to safeguard the civilians in the war-torn Vanni areas

Excerpts of the interview
Continue reading ‘Erik Solheim Reveals How LTTE Leadership Rejected Plan to Save Lives of Cadres and Civilians in Final phase of War’ »

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

Amidst allegations of international cricket umpires being involved in match fixing during the recently concluded T20 World Cup Series, Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage refutes the involvement of Sri Lankan umpires or cricketers in any match fixing.

In an interview with Ceylon Today, Minister Aluthgamage said the International Cricket Council (ICC) was looking into the allegations raised last week about the T20 Finals and pledged to take stringent action against anyone, if found guilty. However, he lashed out at the cricket authorities for overspending on the cricketers and underspending on the advancement of the game.
Continue reading ‘Sports Minister Aluthgamage Denies Involvement of Sri Lankan Cricketers or Umpires in Match Fixing’ »

by Risidra Mendis

The destruction of large areas of mangroves to make way for prawn farms and salt pans has come under severe criticism by environmentalists who say speedy measures need to be taken to protect the remaining mangroves.

It is learnt that vast areas are being cleared in many parts of the country destroying mangroves to make room for development activities.
Continue reading ‘80% of Mangroves in Lanka Destroyed due to Prawn farms, Salterns, Hotels and Human expansion’ »

The areas are Dehiwala – Mount Lavinia, Ganga Ihala Korale and the Kandy Four Gravets and Gangawata Korale, Matale, Lankapura and Welikanda in Polonnarwua, Ratnapura, Balangoda, Mawanella, Kekirawa, Vavuniya South and Dehiattakandiya.

The President has made the order under the constitutional provisions that enable him to declare that both languages be used for administrative purposes in any area taking into consideration the linguistic make up of these areas.
Continue reading ‘Sinhala and Tamil to be Languages of Administration in 12 more Divisional Secretariat Areas’ »

BY Tisaranee Gunasekara

“Terrorist – one who favours or uses terror-inspiring methods of governing or of coercing government or community.” – The Oxford Dictionary

The attack on the Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is an act of terrorism.

Lawyers protest attack on JSC secretary ~ Oct 8, 2012 – pic courtesy: VikalpaSL

Not all terrorists lurk in the shadows, hiding from the authorities. Some terrorists are the authorities.
Continue reading ‘Attack on Secretary of Judicial Service Commission was act of Exemplary Terrorism’ »

by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene

The attack on the Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) last Sunday, which some have read justifiably as an attempted abduction, is certainly quite unprecedented in the history of this country.

We may have had tensions between the judiciary and the executive before. But the level of impunity with which this attack was carried out is both shocking and shameless in its audacity. Public confidence that due and proper investigations into the attack and the punishing of the perpetrators is abysmally low.
Continue reading ‘The President and Sri Lanka’s judiciary’ »

by Shamindra Ferdinando

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday called for the abolition of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution without further delay.

The ongoing efforts by a political grouping led by one-time LTTE mouthpiece, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to hinder the passage of the Divineguma Bill in parliament meant that in spite of Sri Lanka’s battlefield victory over terrorism separatist sentiments were strong, Rajapaksa told The Sunday Island yesterday.
Continue reading ‘Gotabhaya Rajapaksa Wants 13th Constitutional Amendment Abolished Without Delay’ »

Text and Pix by Arthur Wamanan in Jaffna

Three years down the line, Jaffna is on the way to become one of the sought after tourism spots in the country.

Once cut off from the rest of the country, and probably the world, Jaffna has indeed come quite a long way, since the end of the war, attracting tourists from near and far.
Continue reading ‘Jaffna on the way to Become Sought After Tourist Spot in the Country’ »

The team of trainers and teachers of IHB showcasing their presentations in Dehiwala

Merely a year after being formed, the Institute of Hairdressers and Beauticians (IHB) has secured a steady footing in the Hair and Beauty sector of the country with their constant and unparalleled contribution in streamlining the standard of hairdressing and beauty therapy in Sri Lanka.

IHB is accredited to the World Federation of Hairdressers (OMC) and functions as an independent and professional institution that conducts hairdressing and beauty therapy examinations that are recognized both locally and internationally.
Continue reading ‘Hair Dresser and Beautician Courses and Exams in English,Sinhala and Tamil’ »

The world of food has never been more open than it has now, being popularized by media through programmes such as Master Chef or through celebrity personalities such as Gordon Ramsey or Heston Blumenthal.

This October, Sri Lanka and Jetwing Lagoon are proud to present a chef known as the Spice Queen – Chef Devagi Sanmugam, who will cook up a storm Singaporean style at the Jetwing Lagoon.
Continue reading ‘‘Spice Queen’ of Singapore – Chef Devagi Sanmugan’ »

by P.K.Balachandran

10 October 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of the start of fighting between the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which engulfed the North and East Sri Lanka between October 1987 and March 1990.

The two and a half year Indian campaign had military and political successes to show, in as much as the separatist LTTE was put to flight from Jaffna, forced into pockets in the jungles of the Wanni, and made to sue for peace with the Lankan Government to save itself from the marauding IPKF.

Continue reading ‘25th Anniversary of War Erupting Between the Indian Army and LTTE’ »

By Jagath Gunawardana

The Black-capped Kingfisher is one of the most brightly coloured migrants that come to Sri Lanka but is not seen by many due to being present in and around water bodies.

It is rather late to arrive, usually reaching Sri Lanka in November. There is a possibility that it is one of the three birds that could be reaching Sri Lanka through the Andaman Islands.
Continue reading ‘Black-capped Kingfisher is a Brightly coloured Visitor to Lanka in November’ »

Mali’s abode of 35 years. Courtesy PETA

by Aditha Dissanayake

“Dear All,

Please do your best to help me. I am Mali from Sri Lanka currently living in a South East Asian country.

When they killed my mother even as I was sucking at her breast, I thought this is surely the worst thing that could ever happen to me. Little did I know my future would hold even darker moments.
Continue reading ‘The case of ‘Mali’ the Sri Lankan elephant and the Sanctuary vs Zoo Debate’ »

by Dharisha Bastians

On Saturday (6) evening at Temple Trees, President Mahinda Rajapaksa made a strange proclamation to a few foreign correspondents he was hosting to dinner.

Asked if he was going to watch the much-anticipated ICC World T20 Final between Sri Lanka and the West Indies, President Rajapaksa quipped that on two occasions he had gone to the finals and on both occasions, the Sri Lankan team had failed. “Now I prefer to watch cricket on TV,” he explained.
Continue reading ‘President Rajapaksa Chides Rauf Hakeem for Issuing Statement Condemning Attack on JSC Secretary Tillekaratne’ »

by Jayantha Dhanapala and Professor Savitri Goonesekere

(This statement was written by Jayantha Dhanapala and Savitri Goonesekere on behalf of the Friday Forum)

The Friday Forum is a group of citizens committed to the advancement of democracy, social justice and pluralism in Sri Lanka. The Forum has regularly issued public statements on issues of common concern in the spirit of democratic engagement with a view to stimulating public debate and encouraging action from state authorities and other relevant parties.
Continue reading ‘There can be no Defence for Interference with Judicial Independence by either the Executive or Legislature’ »

by K S Sivakumaran

I think it is pertinent to include my personal connection with the Eastern Province before I write in brief about the Festival. Please bear with me as it helps to understand the literary activities in that part of the world.

What is known in Sinhala as Thirukunamalae and Thiru Koana Malai in Tamil and Trincomalee in English anglicized by the British) is the natural harbour town in the north of the longest Eastern Province.
Continue reading ‘Thiru Koana Malai Literary Festival 2012: Effort to Build Bridges Among Different Communities Via Literature’ »

The Government yesterday lifted a travel advisory against South India after assurances by the Indian authorities that they would provide security to all arrivals, a statement from the External Affairs said.

The travel advisory was issued last month after 184 Sri Lankan pilgrims were attacked in Tamil Nadu and had to be brought back on a special flight chartered by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The removal of the travel advisory comes after Rajapaksa’s visit to India that included talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which were reported to be positive.
Continue reading ‘Entreaties by New Delhi Makes Sri Lanka lift Travel Ban on South India’ »

By Ben Saul

The focus on offshore processing has overshadowed a quieter humanitarian crisis in Australia’s immigration detention centres. More than 50 refugees have been languishing in detention for between two and three years, after being refused visas on security grounds.

All were recognized by Australia as refugees, most after fleeing from the Sri Lankan Government – which indiscriminately butchered Tamil civilians during the civil war.
Continue reading ‘Over 50 Refugees who Fled from Sri Lanka are Languishing in Detention for 2-3 Years Because Australian Govt Refuses Visas on Security Grounds’ »

By Ifham Nizam

With Sri Lanka having an extensive biodiversity, primarily due to the country’s geographic positioning, conservation has become a major focus. It is the need of the hour to have planned management of Sri Lanka’s natural resources, to prevent exploitation, destruction or neglect.

According to senior naturalist and author, Jayantha Jayewardene, says there has to be conservation of the different species, conservation of their habitats and conservation of genetic diversity.
Continue reading ‘Sustained Conservation of Sri Lanka’s Bio-Diversity Through Systematic Management is Essential’ »

By Kath Noble

Something has gone to Mahinda Rajapaksa’s head, and I’m guessing it’s power. Because that seems to be the only thing that interests him these days – how to bolster his own position and how to undermine everybody else’s.

Hence his first priority after the end of the war was to get himself another term as president. The presidential election was called early, and it was followed within a couple of months by a parliamentary election, enabling him to strengthen his grip on the legislature too.
Continue reading ‘Something has Gone to Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Head and I’m Guessing it’s Power’ »

By Priya.M.Menon

CHENNAI: The flower market of Tamil Nadu’s Madurai is a crowded, busy place. It is the place the perfumer creator of French fashion house Christian Dior, Francois Demachy, visits every year to imbibe the fragrances that help him create the floral perfumes that Dior is renowned for.

Dior uses extracts of jasmine sambac and tuberose sourced from Tamil Nadu, along with other raw materials, for J’adore, one of the top selling fragrances in the world. “Jasmine sambac is used in all J’adore fragrances due to its olfactory qualities,” says Demachy, who was in Madurai recently. “For me, it is a very strong and unique ingredient, and I link its uniqueness to Indian soils.”
Continue reading ‘Madurai ‘Mallihaippoo’ Flowers of Tamil Nadu Used Extensively by Christian Dior for J’adore Perfumes’ »

By Farook Thajudeen

The work on High Court, District Courts and the Magistrate Courts throughout the island came to a standstill yesterday due to the protest carried out by the judges against the assault carried out on Judicial Service Commission Secretary Manjula Tilakaratn by unidentified persons at Mount Lavinia on Sunday.

Lawyers protest attack on JSC secretary – pic: courtesy of: VikalpaSL

Lawyers throughout the country kept away from courts and took to the streets against the assault on Judicial Service Commission Secretary Manjula Tilakaratne.
Continue reading ‘Widespread Demonstrations in Protest Over Vicious Attack on JSC Secretary’ »

by Col R Hariharan (Retd)

India’s National Security Advisor Mr Shivshankar Menon, while delivering the Cariappa Memorial Lecture last October summarised the changing Indian security environment as: “If Asia is our theatre, South Asia is our home.”

Asian theatre is vast – after all it is the world’s largest and most populous continent covering 30 percent of the world’s land space and hosting 60 percent of global population. India’s growth into an important economic power in this vast region must encompass a vision which stretches territorially in extent from the Bosphorous to Western Pacific. In keeping with this, India’s strategic vision has to expand from local to regional to Asian theatre keeping pace with its complexities.
Continue reading ‘China with Newly Built 58,000 KM of Roads and 9 Airfields on India’s Northern Borders has Capacity to Mobilise 34 Troop Divisions’ »

by S.P.Udayakumar Ph D

A group of fisherfolk staging “jal satyagraha” in the sea, against the Kudankulam nuclear power project at Veerapandianpattinam coast in Tuticorin district on Sep 14, 2012. Photo : N.Rajesh ~ via courtesy: The Hindu
Continue reading ‘The ‘Koodankulam Conflict’ Map’ »

By Somapala Gunadheera

Divineguma is perhaps the hottest topic of discussion today. It came into prominence after the Supreme Court ruled that the connected Bill could not go through Parliament without the concurrence of the Provincial Councils.

All but the Northern Provincial Council have approved the Bill by now, which is a foregone conclusion under the grip that the Central Government has over them. Whether the Governor of the Northern Province who is the agent of the President could grant a valid approval to his Principal on behalf of the non-existent NPC is a moot point in law on which the Judiciary has been called upon to rule.
Continue reading ‘Even Pro-Govt politicians in Provincial Councils Would Have Resisted Divineguma Bill if They Could do against Those in Power’ »

by Charitha Ratwatte

When the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics were awarded to London, opinion on the probable success was divided.

The pessimists expressed concerns that London’s worldly cynics, sophisticates and marginalised urban poor, will not be moved by the international sporting event and that the city will end up in gridlock due to the huge numbers of visitors expected
Continue reading ‘In Sri Lanka Even Team Selections are Done by Politicians Sometimes at The Highest Level’ »

by N Sathiya Moorthy

The current impasse in the peace process in Sri Lanka should worry friends of the nation, including India. Starting haltingly in the post-war months, the negotiations between the Government and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has been deadlocked, so to say, with neither side wanting to go the other’s way as far as the process are concerned.

The problems and solutions would have to wait. The fact however is that the deadlocked processes, if they have to be still known that way, is dangerously drifting towards nowhere. Such a drift in the past had pushed what was essentially a political issue with a possible political solution to other means.
Continue reading ‘TNA is Pushing Itself to a Corner, Without any External Help or Initiative Other Than Sections of the Tamil Diaspora’ »

by Shalini Singh

In February, as rumours of the ambitions of Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law swirled amidst the heat and dust of the election campaign in Uttar Pradesh, her daughter Priyanka moved to scotch speculation about Robert Vadra’s possible political future.

“He’s a successful businessman,” the younger Ms. Gandhi said of her husband, “who is not interested in changing his occupation.”
Continue reading ‘Meteoric Rise of Robert Vadra’s Business Ventures Within Short Span of Time’ »

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

Pix by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai

The day starts slowly for the people in the sleepy village of Periyathampanai in the Vavuniya District. To the visitor’s eye, it is a peaceful location that belies its recent violent history with acres and acres of paddy fields and vegetable plots greeting you. Today, it bears all tell tale signs of a prosperous and peaceful village.

During the height of the war however, Periyathampanai regularly grabbed news headlines and was often described as an ‘LTTE stronghold’ where ‘mines were recovered’, ‘LTTE cadres were killed’ and ‘arms were recovered’. Three years after the war’s conclusion, Periyathampanai is almost a model of post-war recovery with several successful resettlement initiatives having already completed. Few tend to recall the village’s previous identity as a hot bed of violence.
Continue reading ‘Returning IDP’s Want Their Displaced Gods and Goddesses Resettled in their Original Abodes’ »

by MA Sumanthiran M.P

Your home is your castle. By this abiding legal tradition, many ‘castles’ in Sri Lanka are under siege. During the War many non-combatants in the North and East were driven from their homes. Even after the War was officially pronounced over, most Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) were prevented from returning to their homes.

In May of 2009 the Centre for Policy Alternatives filed a fundamental rights petition on behalf of 282,000 such IDPs who were being held against their will at Menik Farm in Vavyuina.

Continue reading ‘Soldiers Occupying Homes of Displaced Prevents Resettlement of IDP’s’ »

by Hirunika Premachandra

Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra was killed a year ago. We have seen a year of Investigations, court procedures, allegations, cover-ups and such. His murderers are still very much at large. This is how that fateful day is remembered by his loving daughter, Hirunika.

There was nothing special about the 8th of October, 2011. As usual, I was the last to wake up. I had a dance class to attend at 10. It was already 8.45. I rushed to the bathroom and found that Thaththi was inside. I was annoyed because I knew him well. ‘He won’t be out for another hour!’ I told myself.
Continue reading ‘Recalling the Death of my Father Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra One year Later’ »

A starving Biafran child, pictured in 1968. Photograph: Partington/Getty Images

by Chinua Achebe

Almost 30 years before Rwanda, before Darfur, more than 2 million people – mothers, children, babies, civilians – lost their lives as a result of the blatantly callous and unnecessary policies enacted by the leaders of the federal government of Nigeria.

As a writer I believe that it is fundamentally important, indeed essential to our humanity, to ask the hard questions, in order to better understand ourselves and our neighbours. Where there is justification for further investigation, justice should be served.
Continue reading ‘The Igbos have Not And Continue Not to Be Reintegrated into Nigeria After the Biafran war of Independence’ »

by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene

These are cataclysmic times marked by complete public cynicism regarding the value of the law, when the Judicial Service Commission has been unrelentingly attacked by the state media and its Secretary complains publicly that there are fears for the security of even ‘the person holding the highest position in the judicial system’ (see Daily Mirror of September 29th 2012).
Continue reading ‘Serious push for change needs to be demonstrated through a common front that will challenge this Govt’ »

by Gamini Weerakoon

‘Development’ is the name of the game. The country is going through rapid development, our government leaders tell us. Roads, harbours, airports, towns, etc. are being built at rapid pace – and cricket stadiums are sprouting up faster than the ‘sixes’ being pulled by Mahela Jayawardene, Dilshan , Kumar Sangakkara – by our leading politicians and statisticians of the Central Bank.

Continue reading ‘Sell the Veddhas and the Elephants!If Buddhism can be Sold to Tourists, Why not the Rest?’ »

By Tisaranee Gunasekara

“…when the plague begins, it’s easy for people to see the first blackbird as a harbinger. But when it lands on the climbing fence it’s just one bird”. – Salman Rushdie (Joseph Anton: A Memoir)

The constitutional path to tyranny is a well-worn one; its many previous travellers include a former corporal named Adolf Hitler.

Sri Lanka took a giant leap along this path with the 18th Amendment. The Divineguma Bill, prepared in equal secrecy and propelled with similar unseemly haste, constitutes the second gigantic leap.
Continue reading ‘Divineguma Bill Tells the Tamils that the Regime is Hell-bent on Obliterating Devolution’ »

by Tisaranee Gunasekara

“Time will say nothing but I told you so”…
Auden (But I can’t)

Last week, Sri Lanka experienced an outrage unprecedented in its annals. A group of uniform-wearing students, led, aided and abetted by a mob of parents, launched a violent attack on the incoming principal in a Galle school. Even police protection was of no avail; in the end the principal had to flee, to save himself.
Continue reading ‘Ordinary People See Law of the Rulers Replacing Rule of Law Everyday in Sri Lanka’ »

By Saman Indrajith

UNP Gampaha District MP Karu Jayasuriya is among the key leaders invited and determined to attend a meeting organized by the United Bhikkhu Front to be held on Oct 18 at Hyde Park as a common platform for the abolition of the executive presidency and several other issues such as restoring good governance and freedom of speech.

“It is not for the formation of a political alliance or a party but only a get-together of like-minded people against the executive presidency and for the restoring the law and order to save the country, which is heading towards a despotic regime,” Jayasuriya told an interview with The Island held at his residence at No 2, Amarasekera Mawatha, Colombo 5.
Continue reading ‘Oct 18th Meeting at Hyde Park is a Common Platform for Abolishing the Executive Presidency not for Launching a new Political Alliance – Karu Jayasuriya’ »

by Dr. Himantha Atukorale

It is sometimes funny yet sad to see errors in menus of certain food outlets.

This is because of many reasons, including lack of knowledge of correct terms, inability to translate the names of culinary delights from foreign countries and thirdly due to pure ignorance.
Continue reading ‘Have You Eaten Pride Rice, Chopsy, “Pissa” and the Devil in many forms in Lanka?’ »

by Hasan Suroor

The excitement over the robust growth of the Indian news media needs to be tempered with a hard look at some of its seamier aspects, N. Ram, former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu has said warning against “romanticising” the “buoyant growth story.”

The Hindu File photo of N. Ram, former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu

Delivering the prestigious James Cameron Memorial Lecture 2012 at City London University on Wednesday, he acknowledged that this buoyancy was uplifting when viewed against the decline of newspapers in the west but pointed out that there was another, less flattering, side to the story which needed to be highlighted.
Continue reading ‘Don’t romanticise Indian media’s ‘buoyant growth’ story: N. Ram’ »

By Izeth Hussain

I believe that a very plausible case can be made out to show that the major contemporary problem in the world is that of minorities, – ethnic, religious, linguistic and other minorities.

Their maltreatment at the hands of majorities- perceived or misperceived – leads to restiveness and sometimes outright violent rebellion. Sometimes, even without any maltreatment minorities can want to establish a separate state, as seems to be the case with the Scots.
Continue reading ‘Unwillingness to Recognize Minority Problems will not make them go away’ »

by Gotabaya Rajapaksa

(Full Text of Speech made by Secretary Defence and Urban Development at the opening ceremony of the 6th Annual Sessions of the Institute of Environmental Professionals Sri Lanka)

It gives me great pleasure to address you at the inauguration of the 6th Annual Sessions of the Institute of Environmental Professionals, Sri Lanka.
Continue reading ‘Metro Colombo Urban Development Project will Address Many Issues Troubling Colombo for a Long time’ »

by Ian Cobain in London and Clar Ni Chonghaile in Nairobi

The lawyer for three elderly Kenyans who were tortured during the Mau Mau uprising hails the ruling on Friday that allows them to sue the British government

Mau Mau veterans Jane Muthoni Mara, Wambuga Wa Nyingi and Paulo Muoka Nzili celebrate in Nairobi, Kenya. Photograph: Ben Curtis/AP

Three elderly Kenyans have won an historic legal victory over the British government after the high court gave them permission to claim damages for the grave abuses they suffered when imprisoned during the Mau Mau rebellion.
Continue reading ‘Elderly Kenyans win ruling against UK for Being Tortured During Mau Mau Freedom Struggle’ »

by A Special Correspondent

Training its guns squarely at the Congress’ first family, India Against Corruption (IAC) on Friday asked how companies promoted by Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, came to acquire properties worth hundreds of crores of rupees in the Congress-ruled States of Haryana and Delhi over the past four years with a total share capital of only Rs. 50 lakh.

Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi, her daughter Priyanka Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi, and husband of Priyanka, Robert Vadra (3L) walk during a memorial ceremony for slain former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 18th death anniversary in New Delhi. – pic courtesy: AFP – via HindustanTimes

Seeking a probe into these acquisitions, IAC members Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the companies owned by Mr. Vadra and his mother had no income from any known legitimate business activity, except by way of interest on an unsecured and interest-free loan obtained from the DLF construction company.
Continue reading ‘Corruption Charges Levelled Against Sonia Gandhi’s Son in Law Robert Vadra’ »

by Vishnuguptha

Assessment of performance of any officer/official or employee is of great significance not only to the body or company, corporation, department or ministry that employs the officer/official; it carries even greater weight and consequence for the officer whose performance is assessed.

One of the main components of the assessment is the periodical intervals at which performance is assessed or reviewed. This same tenet applies to any political party or any other organization whose main aim is to derive the maximum output from its employees or workers.
Continue reading ‘Assessing 18 Year Long UNP Leadership Record of Ranil Wickremesinghe’ »

When Mahela Jayawardene laughed, his whole face lightened and his shoulders heaved up and down – PIC: Getty Images

by Wright Thompson

Three years ago, the Sri Lankan cricket team rode through the streets of Lahore, Pakistan, on the third day of a Test match. Captain Mahela Jayawardene, who is to his country what Derek Jeter is to the city of New York, rode near the back of the bus.

The convoy, with a police escort, rolled through the streets outside the stadium. Mahela, known as MJ, took out his phone to call his wife, and that’s when they all heard what sounded like fireworks.
Continue reading ‘Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara:Faces and Voices of the Sri Lankan Nation’s Brighter Future’ »

by Ben Doherty

A Sri Lankan newspaper editor – threatened by a senior government official and brother to the President that she would be killed – has had an asylum claim to resettle in Australia rejected.

Death threats | Frederica Jansz whose application to resettle in Australia has been turned down. Photo: Abeetha Sandesh Pathirana

Frederica Jansz was last month sacked as editor of The Sunday Leader by the newspaper’s new owner, whom she described as an ally of the Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, allegedly because she refused to stop publishing articles critical of the Sri Lankan government, and, in particular, the President.
Continue reading ‘Australia Rejects Asylum Claim by Ex-Editor Frederica Jansz Saying Death Threats do not Constitute Persecution’ »

Gen. Sarath Fonseka

By Saman Indrajith

Gen. Sarath Fonseka describes himself as a key man of a new alliance of political forces – for which the name has not yet been decided yet —to be launched on Oct. 18. He makes no bones about the fact that the avowed goal of this alliance being forged is to overthrow the government.

In an interview with The Island in his office at Etul Kotte, Gen. Fonseka challenged President Mahinda Rajapaksa to restore his civic rights fully.

“If he (the President) thinks he has won by a million votes and can face me, I challenge him to give back my freedom,what has been taken away from me by using various unacceptable measures and face me again.”

Excerpts:
Continue reading ‘Gen. Sarath Fonseka will Launch new Political Alliance on Oct 18th with Aim of Overthrowing Rajapaksa Regime’ »

By S.S. Selvanayagam

The Court of Appeal yesterday ( Oct 4) submitted to the Supreme Court a reference for its interpretation/determination on the question relating to the interpretation of the Constitution whether the expression of the views of the Provincial Council includes the expression of the view of the Governor when a Provincial Council is dissolved.

President of the Court of Appeal S. Sriskandarajah also seeking the determination of the Supreme Court whether a question determining the above fact will fall under Article 124 of the Constitution.
Continue reading ‘Supreme Court to Rule Whether Governor Chandrasiri Can Represent Northern Provincial Council Opinion on Issues like Divineguma Bill’ »

WHEN the prisons department recently advertised for hangmen, several shortlisted hopefuls asked an unexpected question of its board of interviewers: What, pray, would they be expected to do? Currently, 369 convicts are on death row, and a further 471 have appealed against their sentences.

Yet though capital punishment remains on the statute books, it has long been suspended. Sri Lanka has not hanged a man in over three decades.
Continue reading ‘No Hanging for years yet Sri Lanka needs Two Hangmen – Economist’ »

War-torn, third-world hellhole? Not Colombo – pic courtesy of: AFP

by Wright Thomson in Colombo

An American talking cricket with Pakistan fans in Sri Lanka. Plus, a garden party Sri Lankan high-society style

Last night, already in a haze from jet lag, cheap beer and the seething energy on the eve of a Pakistan-India match, I stood in a living room and listened to friends explain the Green Bay Packers to the head coach of Pakistan’s cricket team.
Continue reading ‘What Does Winning a World Cup in Cricket Mean for a Country?’ »

by Raashid Riza

The last few months have seen a rapid increase in anti-Muslim sentiment amongst sections of the political class in Sri Lankan society. The situation has yet to deteriorate to the extent that the default image of a Sri Lankan Muslim is one represented by an anti- Sri Lankan or anti-Buddhist element. But the trend that is developing is truly alarming and surely points towards such an inaccurate mental image.
Continue reading ‘Rise of Buddhist Extremism in Sri Lanka and Response of Sri Lankan Muslims’ »

by Dharisha Bastians

The battle between the Judiciary and the Government looks set to intensify with the Tamil National Alliance yesterday firing another salvo at the controversial Divi Neguma Bill proposed by the Government by seeking to prohibit the Northern Province Governor G.A. Chandrasiri from approving the bill in the absence of a provincial council in the North.

in Kilinochchi, Sep 25, 2012

The case filed by TNA General Secretary and Jaffna District MP Mavai Senathirajah seeks to prohibit the Governor from deciding on the Divi Neguma Bill and to make ineffective any decisions made by him in that regard.
Continue reading ‘Key Factor in Govt – Judiciary Crisis is the Divi Neguma Bill Controversy’ »

by Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha M.P.

Uniquely as far as the developing world goes, and pretty much as far as the whole world too, Sri Lanka does not in theory permit private education. There are a few official exceptions that we all know about, namely a few private schools that are immensely popular.

Then there are official exceptions in the form of paid postgraduate and diploma programmes which the universities run, and which continue to function with input from separately paid FUTA members even while the strike for undergraduate courses continues.
Continue reading ‘FUTA’s Trade Union Action and the Politicization of Education’ »

By Bhavani Fonseka, Luwie Ganeshathasan and Mirak Raheem

Since its establishment in May 2010, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) has generated significant national and international interest, especially following the presentation of its final report to President Mahinda Rajapaksa in November 2011and the subsequent tabling of the report in Parliament in December 2011.

The LLRC was brought back into focus in March 2012 when the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed a resolution at its 19th Session, which called on the government to implement the LLRC recommendations.
Continue reading ‘Action Plan for Implementing LLRC Report:Constructive Criticism and Suggestions’ »

by Jagath Gunawardana

The Forest Wagtail is a regular and common winter visitor that usually arrives in Sri Lanka during September and October.

It has already arrived in time in Sri Lanka for this season, and hence, can be seen now in shady areas of forests, parks and even in home gardens, wandering about at a slow, leisurely pace. Like other wagtails, it has a long, slim body that is kept in a horizontal stance.
Continue reading ‘Forest Wagtail Bird Wags Tail from Side to Side Instead of Up and Down’ »

by Karu Jayasuriya M.P

We witness that the Government is behaving dictatorially at present without paying heed to public opinion or democratic principles. When it becomes a daily occurrence, we are unable to remain silent any longer. The way the government behaves forebodes threat to the democracy in the country.
Continue reading ‘We Condemn the Character Assassination of the Judicial Services Commission Secretary Through State Media’ »

by Mehdi Hassan

Dear Muslim protester,

Where do I begin?

Having watched you shout and scream in front of the world’s television cameras, throw petrol bombs and smash windows, I reluctantly decided to write this open letter to you.
Continue reading ‘Prophet Muhammad will Survive a YouTube Clip-An Open Letter to Muslim Protesters’ »

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to New Delhi last week has helped clear some of the air on India-Sri Lanka relations.

Since India’s vote for a resolution pulling up Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva in March this year, Colombo has nursed a sense of betrayal.

Competitive politics in Tamil Nadu, which has seen leaders of the Dravidian parties aggressively stake out positions against the Sri Lankan government, has only added to the island nation’s insecurities vis-à-vis India.
Continue reading ‘Urgency of Finalising a Roadmap Towards a Political resolution of Tamil Aspirations -The Hindu’ »

by Jayadeva Uyangoda

The demand made by the FUTA for increased allocation of annual government expenditure on education has now emerged as a national policy slogan, with many sectors of society adopting it as their own demand. This is a key achievement made by the FUTA in its three-month long struggle.

‘Save State Education’ | Protest march in Colombo, Sep 28, 2012 ~ pic courtesy of: VikalpaSL

Some, even those in the government, are now asking how this 6% of GDP allocation should be spent. Understandably, government ministers in charge of the subject of education and even some Vice-Chancellors seem to be rather confused about how such an allocation could conceivably be spent.
Continue reading ‘How the Envisaged GDP 6% Allocation for Education Could be Utilized Concretely’ »

by Kath Noble

As university teachers were marching from Galle to Colombo to press their now well known case for the education sector, an equally impressive mobilisation was taking place just a few hundred miles away in Tamil Nadu.

The villagers of Kudankulam were burying themselves up to their necks in sand in a last ditch attempt to prevent a nuclear reactor from being commissioned, having spent a couple of days standing in the ocean and several weeks picketing on the beaches.
Continue reading ‘The Scale of the Crackdown in Kudankulam is Almost as Extraordinary as the Scale of the Protests’ »

by Arunadale Wijeratne and Shalika Wimalasena

Minister of Higher Education, S.B. Dissanayake has emerged the rather bumptious villain in the continuing saga of the university academics, their demands and their strike action, which is now in its third month.

The minister has maintained the dons’ issue is a conspiracy cooked up by some alien forces and has termed both their demands and the strike action unfair, unreasonable and unwarranted.

Here, in a hard hitting interview with Dissanayake, Arunadale Wijeyratne and Shalika Wimalasena ask some tough questions about the academics’ demands and the government claims.

Below are the excerpts of the interview.
Continue reading ‘‘Under my Tenure Students were Disciplined and Vice-Chancellors got back Their Power’- SB Dissanayake’ »

By Salma Yusuf

The recently released film which ridicules Islam and depicts the Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him) as a fraud, a madman and a sexual deviant, has resulted in an international outcry.

Every moderate in any part of the world would condemn such anti – religious propaganda. At the same time, the violence that was expressed in response to the release of the film was equally reprehensible, and must be condemned with equal vigour.
Continue reading ‘Moderates From All Faiths Must Speak out Against Extremism and Marginalize Extremists’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj

Today October 1st is the 84th birthday of Sivaji Ganesan one of the brightest stars among the Tamil Film firmament. V.C. Ganesan known as Sivaji Ganesan was widely regarded as the greatest Thespian of Post –Independence Tamil Cinema. This doyen among Tamil actors was one of my favourites. An updated version of an article written by me earlier is being posted now to commemorate his birthday.

Sivaji spoke Tamil on screen the way it should be spoken.It is no exaggeration to say that he was the role model for many in pronouncing Tamil dialogue in dramas.
Continue reading ‘Sivaji Ganesan: Greatest Thespian of Post-Independence Tamil Cinema’ »

By Krishantha Prasad Cooray

The profound sense of loss I was to feel upon news of his death was not simply because Uncle Evans was a relative. He was so much more than my uncle, Evans Cooray; he was my friend. I pen these lines, therefore, not merely as his nephew, but because of the profound privilege I had to call this remarkable man a friend.

Loyal press scretary and President seated aboard plane

When my uncle Evans told me he was going to write a book about his relationship with President Ranasinghe Premadasa, under whom he served as press secretary through his premiership and presidency, I made one request. I asked that the account be truthful about the late President and narrate his strengths and weaknesses in equal measure.
Continue reading ‘My Uncle Evans Cooray: Extraordinary Personality with Unwavering Loyalty’ »

by Charitha Ratwatte

Harvey and Bather in their seminal publication on the British Constitution, begin the Chapter on the Separation of Powers (19) with an extract from a poem by the Nobel Laureate poet, Rudyard Kipling, who lived for decades in India and understood the South Asian temperament intimately. The poem is ‘My Father’s Chair’:

‘When your time comes to sit in my Chair, Remember your Father’s habits and rules. Sit on all four legs, fair and square, And never be tempted by one legged stools!’
Continue reading ‘Unprecedented Statement by Judicial Services Commission Secretary is a Cataclysmic Event in our Chequered History’ »

Karel Roberts

by Chelvatamby Maniccavasagar

Karel Roberts whose sudden death a few months ago came as shock to her colleagues and associates. Though cruel death has snatched her from our midst her name and fame as an excellent writer and veteran journalist will be remembered for many more years.

As a leading journalist and writer she had shone in her profession with the inherent humility, wit and charm that were hers. She was courageous, trustworthy and passionately concerned with the rights of human beings.
Continue reading ‘Karel Roberts: Versatile Writer Who Loved the Arts and Literature’ »

by N Sathiya Moorthy

The India visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in September, to be followed by a TNA delegation in the first half of October, “at the invitation of India” are both the first of their kind after the US-sponsored UNHRC vote at Geneva in March and the otherwise scheduled Universal Periodic Review (UPR) later in the year.

India voted in favour of the US-sponsored ‘anti-Sri Lanka’ resolution and is one of the three nations chosen by draw of lots to ‘assess’ (read: assist) the UPR process on Sri Lanka.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan Govt has not Clarified why it Dumped bi-lateral Talks with TNA Overnight in preference of the PSC’ »

by Dilrukshi Handunnetti

At the entrance to Zone 0 or what is referred to as the Kadirkaamam Village, stands the usual sentry point.

Puppies at Kathirkaamar zone of Menik Farm in Chettikkulam ~ pic by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai ~ via twitter.com/DushiYanthini

There is barren land, piles of roofing sheets, the occasional UN Co-op vehicle transporting whatever that remains within the camp, once considered the world’s largest facility for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Inside the rusted barbed-wire fence, cattle graze and dogs roam.
Continue reading ‘Cattle and Dogs Roam Inside 700 Hectare Precincts of Closed Menik Farm IDP Camp’ »

By M. S. Shah Jahan

“This is what Islam is like: Islam of killing, Islam of terrorism,Islam of setting things on fire. We are stating the truth and showing the path of redemption. I wish you would be civil and be reasonable and respond to what is said against Islam with calm reason. They are proving that Islam is terrorism to the whole world”.

Zakaria Botros Henein, 77, a bearded controversial Egyptian Coptic Christian preacher, wearing a large cross and a black robe, who is called Islam’s “Public Enemy No. 1”, teaches that Muhammad was a homosexual, a pedophile and, he dissected multiple scenes from the movie trailer, defending each negative depiction of Muhammad and Muslims by pointing to the Koran and other Islamic teachings.
Continue reading ‘The Mischievous Guru Behind the ‘Innocence of Muslims’ Film’ »

By M.A.Sumanthiran M.P.

Teachers and students across the island have succeeded in securing space in national discourse for Sri Lanka’s degenerate education system. They have raised fundamental concerns about the quality of education being provided and the quality of student being produced.

pic courtesy of: VikalpaSL

For three months, nearly 5,000 university professors have been on strike forgoing their own pay, and all State universities in the country have been closed indefinitely.
Continue reading ‘Solution to Education Crisis Lies in Encouraging Democratic Discourse, Dialoguing with FUTA and Realigning the Budget to Reflect Constituent Values’ »

by Asif Fuard

Sri Lanka’s endeavours to strengthen diplomatic ties in the region hit a snag, with the country becoming entangled in what is being viewed as the latest spy scandal to rock the South Asian diplomatic arena.

The scandal comes in the wake of Indian intelligence reports implicating Pakistan of recruiting Sri Lankan nationals to conduct covert espionage operations in the Southern Indian State of Tamil Nadu.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Gets Entangled in Espionage Controversy Between India and Pakistan’ »

by Dilrukshi Handunnetti

Removed from Sri Lanka’s onetime largest facility for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), the Menik Farm, on Monday (24) and relocated to Seeniyamottai in the Mullaitivu District, these 346 IDPs have little hope of resettling in their place of origin.

Closest Access This is the closest access ~ From top of the lane which leads to the temporary relocation in Seeniyamottai ~ Photo by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapthipillai via VikalpaSL

Dilrukshi Handunnetti visited the displaced community in Seenimottai, collectively demanding the restitution of their homes, lands and their right to expeditious resettlement in the places of their origin

In one’s own country, it is possible to become the inquisitive intruder, if information is sought on crucial matters of policy and practice that the authorities may consider ‘unnecessary for journalists.’
Continue reading ‘Journalists Denied Permission To See Situation of Rapidly Relocated IDP’s From Menik Farm at Seeniyamottai’ »

by Arthur Wamanan

‘Suththam Sugam tharum’ (Cleanliness gives good health) is an age old Tamil adage that underscores the importance of a healthy life.

Cleanliness is an important aspect for a healthy environment. Healthcare in Jaffna has gone through several phases during the war and after.Healthcare system in the North is still finding its feet after a gruesome war. People have demanded maximum healthcare facilities as a direct and indirect result of the war.
Continue reading ‘Jaffna seeks wealth through health: Peninsula’s post war concerns regarding Healthcare’ »

by Lasanda Kurukulasuriya

The controversial Divineguma Bill appears to be yet another move by the Government that points to a pattern of rushing legislation through without due regard for the need for, and the right to, debate and discussion on matters of public importance.

It was not so long ago that the 18th Amendment was steamrollered through parliament, followed by the infamous Expropriation Bill.
Continue reading ‘Divineguma Concentrates Power in the Hands of Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa’ »

by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s indignant retort to newspaper editors this week that he did not attempt to interfere with the independence of Sri Lanka’s judiciary has all the hallmarks of the classic ‘swing and swerve’ tactics adopted by his administration.

In other words, this refers to its now entrenched policy of swinging out at an individual or institution and then adroitly swerving sideways to avoid consequences while engaging in the most palpable if not absurd falsehoods to serve its purpose.
Continue reading ‘President Rajapaksa’s ‘Swing and Swerve’ tactics with the Independence of the Judiciary’ »

“the real tyrant is a man who sacrifices a whole nation to his ideal or his ambition”. – Camus (Caligula)

By Tisaranee Gunasekara

Separation of powers and power-devolution are alien to Rajapaksa thinking and inimical to the Dynastic Project.

History’s watershed moments are generally identifiable only with hindsight. Sri Lanka might be experiencing an exception to this rule, as a government scheming to ‘overstep its proper powers’ is being resisted by a Judiciary trying to retain its constitutional role and democratic relevance.
Continue reading ‘Can The Judiciary Resist The Rajapaksa-tide?’ »

Niromi de Soyza

by Pulsara Liyanage

It is well known that a man named Samuel Clemens wrote as Mark Twain, those wonderful adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn and many more, in the 19th century.

In the 21st, we still refer to the author as Mark Twain. His assumed name was a term which he had borrowed from navigating on the Mississippi in his day which in no way reflected adversely on his writing.
Continue reading ‘‘Tamil Tigress’ by Niromi de Soyza is a book that Must BeTranslated into Sinhala and Tamil and Read in Sri Lanka’ »

by Tisaranee Gunasekara

“A situation has arisen where there is a danger to the security of all of us and our families, beginning from the person holding the highest position in the judicial system”. – Manjula Tilakaratne, Secretary, Judicial Services Commission (Daily Mirror – 29.9.2010)

The main budgetary allocations for 2012 are out; and the winner, by a very wide margin, is the military. Rather the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, to give the money-guzzling Behemoth its full title. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s fiefdom is to get Rs.290 billion out of a total estimated government expenditure of Rs.2520 billion – i.e. 11.5%.

Health and Education will not get even half as much.
Continue reading ‘Occupation of Sri Lanka by Despotism will be Complete the Day Judiciary Becomes Subservient to the Ruling Family’ »

by Nirmala Kannangara

The Sunday Leader journalist and the photographer who were in Mullathivu last Wednesday and Thursday were stopped from entering the Suriyapuram camp in Nanthikadal by the army officers on guard.

This was the camp where the last batch of IDPs from the Manik Farm was brought to although the government claimed they were re-settled in their villages.
Continue reading ‘The Sunday Leader journalist and Photographer threatened in Mullaitheevu by Army Personnel’ »

Marimuttu Periyasamy, Desperate for a better place to live with her little children-pic: Thusith Kumara

By Nirmala Kannangara

from Pudukudiyiiruppu and Nanthikadal in Mullaitheevu District

The government last week announced moves to resettle the last batch of IDPs who were in the Kadiragamar and Ananda Kumaraswamy relief villages at Menik Farm for the past three years.

However, many of the remaining IDPs hailing from Kepapilaw Grama Niladhari Division and Manduwil area who have been re-settled in their respective villages, are still in small tents at the Suriyapuram camp.
Continue reading ‘Journalists Not Allowed to Enter Suriyapuram Where IDP’s from Menik Farm Camp Have Been Brought’ »

by Ben Doherty

AUSTRALIA – the tiny slice he saw of it, the Cocos Islands and the immigration detention centre at Christmas Island – was heaven, Anthony Sujith says. ”They were very nice to us, the food was very good, warm showers, and good houses to live in.

Returned home: Anthony Sujith at home in Thoduwawa. Photo: Ben Doherty

We could play sport and take English lessons, it was like a heaven,” he tells The Saturday Age, sitting outside his concrete bungalow in Thoduwawa, a Catholic fishing village on Sri Lanka’s west coast.
Nauru sounded like hell.
Continue reading ‘Asylum Seekers Promised 3,300 Dollar Re-integration Packages to Return Willingly to Sri Lanka’ »

by Shabna Cader

When in need of a short but quick vacation, it’s best to choose to go to a country that is situated close by.

On this week’s Travel Guide, we give you a tour of a city in the southern region of India known as Chennai.

The city is certainly full of life, hustle and bustle as well as those quiet poignant moments.
Continue reading ‘Chennai City is Apt Destination for a Short, Quick Vacation’ »

By Dilanthi Jayamanne

The Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration yesterday said that it had issued instructions to the Police to take legal action against bus operators who failed to display the destination boards in Sinhala and Tamil.

Media Secretary to the Minister, Mahendra Harishchandra, said that the Ministry had repeatedly instructed the Private Bus Operators’ Association, Passenger Transport Authority and the Sri Lanka Transport Board to instruct all bus operators including the SLTB to use both languages to indicate the starting point of the journey and the destinations in the two languages.
Continue reading ‘Jail term for Operators of Buses Without Destination Boards in Sinhala and Tamil’ »

by Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka

On September 28th, 2012, the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Paris held “ Sri Lanka in Bloom”, an international photographic exhibition arranged by Mr. Sudath Silva, Media Director to H.E. the President of Sri Lanka.

The exhibition depicted Sri Lanka ’s experience in combating terrorism, as well as the ongoing development activities in the North and East and the beauty of the island.
Continue reading ‘There Can Be No Permanent Peace Without Justice, Dialogue, Equality of Rights, Freedom for all and the Support of our Friends’ »

by N Sathiya Moorthy

Three episodic developments in as many weeks, and suddenly there is an ‘air of permissiveness’ in southern Tamil Nadu, as never before at least over the past decades.

In this September 19, 2012 photo, MDMK leader Vaiko and his party workers stage a protest at Badhchicholi village in Madhya Pradesh near the Maharashtra border-pic courtesy: PTI via The Hindu

Independent of one another, street-protests over the post-war revival of the ‘Sri Lankan ethnic issue’, the re-launched ‘Koodamkulam anti-nuclear demonstrations’ and the Islamic/Islamist revival over the controversial movie, ‘Innocence of Muslims’ have all taken a violent turn, refusing to die down as fast as they had erupted.
Continue reading ‘Pan -Tamil Politics of Tamil Nadu Enters New Phase by Going Beyond State Borders to Protest Against Rajapaksa Visit’ »

by Gibson Bateman

As the 21st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (HRC) ends on 28 September 2012, ongoing human rights developments in Sri Lanka will undoubtedly linger in the minds of many.

Observers will look forward to the country’s upcoming Universal Periodic Review, which will take place this November, and to the National Report the Sri Lankan government has submitted for consideration. Yet it is next year’s HRC session that is particularly intriguing.
Continue reading ‘Independent International Mechanism to Investigate Wartime Atrocities in Sri Lanka is not a Viable Option as Long as President Rajapaksa is in Power’ »

By Vishnuguptha

However much the Opposition in general or the United National Party in particular, tries to dislodge the present incumbent regiment, they will not succeed unless and until they find a game-changing issue.

If an issue is found that has the potential for changing the game, the issue itself will find a leader to lead the followers towards the change that is so desired. On the one hand, President Mahinda Rajapaksa presently sits pretty on one game-changing issue – the war victory.
Continue reading ‘Abolition of Executive Presidency is a Game Changing Single Issue Campaign that can Unite all Anti-Rajapaksa Forces’ »

Hector Abhayavardhana ~ (5 January 1919 – 22 September 2012)

by Vinod Moonesinghe

Hector Abhayavardhana, the last of the early leadership of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), passed away last Saturday (September 22).

He was the principal theoretician of the party and was responsible for the formulation which enabled it to join the coalition government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike in 1964.
Continue reading ‘Hector Abhayavardhana: Freedom fighter and Theoretician’ »

by Jagath Gunawardana

The Layard’s Flycatcher, also known as the Brown-breasted Flycatcher, is a common winter migrant that arrives in Sri Lanka every year around early October and keeps itself unnoticed and unidentified with its drab colouration and silent and quiet demeanor.

pic by: Francesco Veronesi

It also closely resembles the Asian Brown Flycatcher. However, it is a bird with a fascinating past and also some unusual and interesting habits. It was described by E.L. Layard in 1854 as Muscicapa muttui from a specimen procured from Point Pedro in Jaffna, the northernmost point in Sri Lanka. This bird was thought to have been an endemic till the end of the 19th Century.

Continue reading ‘The Brown-breasted Flycatcher was Scientifically Named by Layard After ‘Muttu’ of Point Pedro’ »

Theirs has been a successful on-field partnership as captain and deputy, and Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara’s rock-solid bonding has helped them become successful business partners too.

pic: facebook.com/MINISTRYOFCRAB

The Sri Lankan skipper and his deputy have jointly invested along with the country’s most well-known Master Chef, Darshan Munidasa, to run a restaurant called ‘Ministry of Crabs’, which serves the most mouth-watering preparations of lagoon crabs — supposed to be best in the world.
Continue reading ‘Cricket and Crabs: Mahela and Sangha run “Ministry of Crab” Restaurant Specialising in Lagoon Crab Dishes’ »

Anula, the rhino mother who lost her cub recently

by Dhaneshi Yatawara

The National Zoological Garden in Dehiwala has been a favourite spot for both local and foreign visitors. It carries memories of everyone’s childhood and each one of us will be sure to have a story to tell of some incident during a visit.

It is such an attractive place that a school trip to Colombo is not complete without the visit to the zoo and later becomes a famous topic for the school essay.
Continue reading ‘Congestion at Dehiwela Zoo Places Lives of Animals at Risk’ »

by Dharisha Bastians

The academics are marching. The students are marching. The Muslims are marching.

Every day hundreds images of throngs of people shouting slogans and demonstrating blare across television screens, newspapers and of course, the internet.

Electricity Projects Opening at Kilinochchi ~ Sep 24, 2012

SMS news alerts about road closures and barricades abound as popular discontent rises to the surface through trade union agitation and ethno-religious outrage. In fact, with the opposition largely impotent, public discontent is being channelled into people’s movements that are taking arms against unpopular Government policy and rampant corruption.
Continue reading ‘Locked horns, pitched battles and marches of discontent’ »

by Camelia Nathaniel

The Kilinochchi grid substation was opened by President Mahinda Rajapaksa last morning (25), connecting the Northern Peninsula to the national grid, after a lapse of 25 years.

Constructed at a cost of Rs. 3200 million, the project was funded through a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) grant, at concessionary interest rates.
Continue reading ‘Increased Power Supply Empowers Jaffna Further as Electrification Goes up from 40% to 95%’ »

Pix by Divanka Randula

by Risidra Mendis

The discovery of a new tree snake in the Kalutara District has caused confusion among researchers, with two herpetologists claiming its discovery.

The new species, presently named the New Bronzeback discretion (Dendrelaphisspp), was reportedly discovered by researcher and herpetologist, V. Vijaya Anand recently. However, another researcher and herpetologist, Mendis Wickramasinghe, has claimed to have discovered the same species way back in 2002.
Continue reading ‘Competing Claims for Credit in Discovering New Bronzeback Tree Snake in Kalutara District’ »

by International Crisis Group

With the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) meeting again this month in Geneva, Crisis Group took the opportunity to write to council members with an update on the Sri Lankan government’s continued failure to address its grave human rights problems.

Opening of 21st Session of Human Rights Council, 10 September 2012. Photo: UN Photo

Six month’s after the HRC’s important resolution on Sri Lanka, the government still has taken no concrete action to address the host of issues noted by the council. The following briefing, shared with HRC member states, analyses serious weaknesses in the Sri Lankan government’s recent “National Action Plan” to implement the recommendations of its own “Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission”.

Continue reading ‘Two Actions Amounting to Minimum Demonstrations of Good Faith Required from Sri Lankan Govt’ »

By Alan Keenan

Masters of prevarication, the Sri Lankan Government is once again stalling the UN’s attempt to ensure an open assessment of the brutal final stages of the country’s civil war.

The regime is probably hoping interest will fade, but every day it refuses a fair examination of some 40,000 civilian deaths is another small step away from reconciliation between the Sinhalese-dominated state and Tamils, and toward the next ethnic conflict.
Continue reading ‘International Community Must Demand Action not Action Plans from Sri Lanka’ »

by Rajavarothayam Sampanthan M.P.

(Text of the statement issued by Rajavarothayam Sampanthan the President of Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi after the Working Committee meeting of the ITAK held in Vavuniyaa on September 22nd 2012)

The Working Committee of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi (I.T.A.K.) met at Vavuniya on 22 nd September 2012.

The Elections to the Eastern provincial Council held on 8th September 2012 and its’ results were carefully analysed.
Continue reading ‘ITAK Strongly Condemns SLMC for Betraying and Undermining the Democratic Verdict of Eastern Voters’ »

by N Sathiya Moorthy

It is heartening to note that after a series of incidents where visiting Sri Lankans were at the receiving end of mob attacks, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has promised that her Government would ensure the safety and security of the common man from the island-nation in the south Indian State.
Continue reading ‘Conduct of Tamil Nadu is Reflection of lack of Seriousness and sincerity to the larger ‘Tamil Cause’ in Sri Lanka’ »

By Kapila Punchimanna

The battle between the government and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is likely to intensify, in the wake of certain decisions taken at an emergency meeting President Mahinda Rajapaksa had with several ministers and presidential advisors on Monday (24)

According to highly placed government sources, one of the recommendations made at the meeting was for the President to take stern action against certain JSC officials, using the powers vested in him constitutionally.
Continue reading ‘President Rajapaksa Holds Emergency Meeting to Prepare for ‘war’ Against the Judicial Services Commission’ »

by Prof.Kopan Mahadeva

(Rasiah Parthiban alias Thileepan Fasted unto Death 25 Years ago in Nallur)

He passed away in full view of
a hundred thousand or more
pairs of tear-filled eyes,
Fasting in steadfast defiance
of violence of seventy thousand
misguided gun-toting guys,
Consuming not even water
for eleven whole days, not just his rice,
Bettering the Gandhian device
to recapture human liberty
through self-sacrifice.
Continue reading ‘Thileepan Fasting in Defiance’ »

by Adele Balasingham

Thileepan, the young Tiger leader of Jaffna, took the podium on the 14th September at the Nallur Kandasamy temple to commence his fast- unto-death as a protest against India’s failure to fulfill her pledges, and to mobilise the frustrated sentiments of the Tamils into a national mass upsurgence.

Thileepan’s non-violent struggle was unique and extraordinary for its commitment. Although an armed guerrilla fighter, he chose the spiritual mode of ‘ahimsa’ as enunciated by the great Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi to impress upon India the plight and predicament of the people of Tamil Eelam.
Continue reading ‘Thileepan’s Fast Touched the Spirit of the Tamil Nation and Mobilised Masses in Unprecedented Solidarity’ »

by An Old Soldier

A thrill starved, gullible Colombo population was once again titillated by the violent behaviour of two vicious sons of politicians.

This time the victim of their behaviour was an army major who was pistol whipped in the car park/foyer of the Hilton Colombo Residence two weeks ago. He looked a sorry sight with two big gashes on either side of his face and one on his head. The alleged assailants looked what they were, wild, addicted and pitiless purveyors of evil.
Continue reading ‘Silva and Wijeratne:Violent Behaviour of two Vicious sons of Politicians’ »

President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the final phase of resettling IDPs in Wellamulliwaikal-pic courtesy: twitter.com/bundeljayse

Secretary Defence and Urban Development Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa accompanied H.E. the President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a visit to Mullaitivu today (25th September).

The President was there to attend to a series of functions organized to coincide with the final resettlement of the remaining IDPs in the Mullaitivu district.
Continue reading ‘President Rajapaksa Visits Mullaitheevu to Reviews Northern Resettlement’ »

Jaffna, the northern town with a unique flavor of Sri Lanka, has many features that only she can boast of. Thousands flock to this town just to get the feel of the culture, the people, and her exquisite cuisine

The taste has just got better with the addition of its very own ice cream flavors, under the brand name Rio. No. This has nothing to do with the international conference on climate change. But it does help you chill amidst all the heat of the outside world.
Continue reading ‘‘Rio’ Ice cream with Unique Flavours Going Strong in Jaffna for 40 years’ »

by Pushpa Iyengar

Quiet, Pragmatic

-Secrecy: They say Freemasons are more open than Chettiars, highlighting their secretiveness

-Practical: Since the decline of Chettiars in business, many are taking up salaried jobs

M. Thiagarajan, MD, Paramount (L) & A.V. Meiyyappan, Founder, AVM (R)

-Traditional: Are educated, keep a low profile, have a quiet elegance. Families meet in their huge village mansions for family functions.

-Land all-important: Traumatised by their forefathers’ loss of huge land holdings abroad, they now own lots of land and plantations in India

-Women out: Chettiar women rarely join family businesses but focus on the families’ cultural and philanthropic initiatives

V. Nagappan, director of the Madras Stock Exchange, recounts how his father Vellaippan Chettiar, a trader, reacted when he asked him for Rs 25,000—this was in the 1980s—for enrolling in an MBA course.
Continue reading ‘Economic Fall and Rise of the Tamil Nadu Chettiyar Community’ »

Ms. Hadia Tajik

by Vaiju Naravane

In what can be described as a fitting response to Anders Breivik’s brutal assault on Norwegian multiculturalism, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg appointed a 29-year-old Muslim woman of Pakistani origin the new Culture Minister.

Hadia Tajik is the first Muslim and youngest Minister ever in Norwegian political history. Ms. Tajik, who has degrees in law and journalism and has been a career politician in Norway’s Labour Party, was appointed in a Cabinet reshuffle.
Continue reading ‘Woman of Pakistani origin is new Norwegian Culture Minister’ »