Former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa today denied allegations of any connection with the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) or the recent attacks aimed at Muslim owned shops.
In a facebook post, Rajapakse strongly condemned the false rumours linking his name with the BBS and Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe in connection with the atrocious burning of Muslim owned shops in the recent past.
By Kumar Sangakkara
This was a great victory for Sri Lanka and a much-needed one. It meant a lot to the Sri Lanka team to chase down that very stiff total and to do it with such ease will have been hugely satisfying.
Kusal Perera retired hurt 47. Sri Lanka need 43 runs in 36 balls. Gunaratne is the new batsman #CT17 #INDvSL #RoarLionsRoar –
via: facebook.com
srilankacricket
There is no doubt, Sri Lanka would have had a few worries coming into this game given recent form, injuries to key players, and the suspension in the last game of stand-in captain and in-form opener Upal Tharanga.
Tharanga’s suspension though created a great opportunity for Dhanuska Gunathilake. He had previously been left-out of the playing XI but remained in the squad with a point to prove. And what an inclusion he proved to be, as he led the Sri Lanka run-chase, ably joined by Kushal Mendis. The two youngsters are two stars for the future and they showed that they not only have youth and skill, but also the temperament.
The return of Angelo Mathews naturally strengthened the Sri Lanka side immensely. He was missed sorely against South Africa and he guided the Sri Lanka middle-order with just the innings that Sri Lanka needed. He knows how to play under pressure, he is the best batsman that Sri Lanka has, and he showed it again today with a masterful knock, guiding Sri Lanka to victory.
The government is attempting to delay the local government elections by using Galagodatte Gnanasara Thera to divert attention from the real issues, the joint opposition said today.
JO spokesman Gamini Lokuge told a news conference that the government was reluctant to hold the elections because it knew it would be defeated.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) Chief Vaiko (Vaiapuri Gopalswamy) was denied entry into Malaysia today due to his alleged links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), The Asian News international (ANI) reported.
The MDMK Chief was stopped at the Kuala Lumpur Airport and questioned for several hours on his alleged links with the Tamil rebel group and later denied permission to enter the country.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said that no one really expected Sri Lanka to win by beating India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 Group B encounter, Indian Media reported today.
Addressing the post- match conference held in London last night, Mathews has said he hoped that the victory may just bring back smiles in the faces of the countrymen after the tragic times in recent past where hundreds of people lost their lives due to a devastating flood.
@OfficialSLC
“It was very pleasing for us to give them a win because we had some terrible times in the recent past, especially with losing a lot of lives due to floods and we are very grateful that we could give them a reason to smile,” he said.
Sri Lanka staged a superb run chase to stun India and keep alive their Champions Trophy challenge as Kusal Mendis inspired a famous seven-wicket victory over the holders on Thursday.
Needing 322 to avoid a second successive Group B defeat, Sri Lanka powered to a memorable triumph at The Oval thanks to key contributions from Mendis (89), Danushka Gunathilaka (76) and captain Angelo Mathews (52).
@OfficialSLC
Mathews admitted earlier this week that many experts expected his underdogs to be thrashed by in-form India.
But Sri Lanka defied the odds to win with eight balls to spare and they can qualify for the semi-finals if they beat Pakistan in their final group match in Cardiff on June 12.
by
D.B.S.Jeyaraj
Versatile Film Director and Script Writer Vasantha Obeysekere breathed his last on 8 April. Vasantha, born on 29 December 1937, was 79 years of age when he passed away peacefully in Colombo.
In a creative career that spanned nearly five decades, Vasantha made 13 feature films and several documentaries. He won many accolades and awards at multiple levels for his films. Most of his creations were commercial successes too – satisfying both the connoisseur as well as the common rasika. More importantly, Vasantha was an intrepid and innovative director who went off the beaten track and ventured into new vistas of filmmaking. His films possessed distinctive hallmarks indicative of his unique directorial style.
The landmark movies made by Vasantha Obeysekere comprised a baker’s dozen. His films in chronological order are ‘Vesgaththo’ (Masked Men), ‘Valmathuwo’ (Lost Ones), ‘Diyamanthi’ (Diamonds), ‘Palangetiyo’ (Grass Hoppers), ‘Dadayama’ (The Hunt), ‘Kedapathaka Chaya’ (Reflections in a Mirror), ‘Maruthaya’ (The Storm), ‘Dorakda Marawa’ (Death at the Doorstep), ‘Theertha Yathra’ (Pilgrimage), ‘Salelu Warama’ (Web of Love), ‘Asani Warsha’ (Wrath & Rain), ‘Sewwandi’ (Chrysanthemum) and ‘Aganthukaya’ (The Outcast).
Continue reading ‘Vasantha Obeysekere, his House on Lauries Road and the Film “Dadayama”’ »
By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj
The Oxford English dictionary defines the word compromise as being “an agreement or settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions”. Sri Lanka witnesed a political compromise of sorts between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe when the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and United National Party(UNP)leaders displayed a show of unity in bringing about a mini re-shuffle of portfolios among members of their cabinet.
Officially it was a bi -lateral exercise between the president and prime minister who despite differences acted together in conformity with the constitution in effecting changes to the cabinet of ministers.Unofficially it was a trilateral exercise as former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga also played a constructive role in evolving a consensus and compromise in bringing about a cabinet re-shuffle. Due to the political compromise reached between President Sirisena and Prime minister Wickremesinghe with the endorsement of Ex-president Chandrika Kumaratunga, a minor re-shuffle of ministerial portfolios took place on Monday May 22nd.
Continue reading ‘“Operation Re-shuffle” Key Objective Was Removing Ravi Karunanayake as Finance Minister’ »
The Sri Lankan government, on Wednesday said the police were continuing search operations to hunt for a controversial Buddhist monk who was wanted for making alleged hate speeches and attacks against the minorities in the island country.
Cabinet Spokesperson, Rajitha Senaratne said according to information, the General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena, Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thero,was in the country but was still in hiding.
“I do not know why there is a delay but police are continuing to search for him,” Senaratne said.
He added that there was an arrest warrant against the monk.
by Zacki Jabbar
Health Minister and Co-Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senaratne says it is possible that one of his ministerial colleagues is hiding the Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary Galagodatte Gnanasara Thera, who had gone underground, after a court warrant was issued for his arrest recently.
By
Sandun A. Jayasekera
Cabinet Spokesman and Health Minister, Rajitha Senaratne said today a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Bodu Bala Sena leader Galagodatte Gnanasara Thera and CID detectives have been deployed to take him into custody over allegations of inciting religious and racial hatred.
Responding to a journalist at yesterday’s weekly news briefing, he said it would be a difficult task for the police to arrest him if he was being protected by a minister.
by Hemantha Randunu
Former Army Commander Lt Gen Daya Ratnayake was questioned by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry proving serious acts of fraud, corruption and abuse of power, state resources and privileges for more than three hours yesterday on dismantling of old machines at the former Cement Factory at Kankesanthurai and selling them as scrap iron.
Lt Gen Ratnayake told the commission that a group of persons in defiance of his orders as the Army Commander had dismantled the machines and sold them as scrap iron.
By
Vijitha Yapa
If asked who is the single individual in politics whose life affected me most, the choice with no hesitation would be Lalith Athulathmudali.I live in Claessen Place and he moved in to Paget Road as Minister of National Security and was my rear neighbour, once removed on the left. (Interestingly President Sirisena’s residence is now a rear neighbour, once removed, but on the right).
.During walks either in his home or the SSC grounds,the changing political scenario was the main topic with Lalith On the morning of the signing of the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord he told me he is boycotting the ceremony at President’s House and then added, “by midnight the Indian troops will be in Jaffna “.I went to the Sunday Times office and rushed Tyronne Devotta and photographer Pushpakumara Matugama to Jaffna and their exclusive reports and photos helped establish the Sunday Times.
Wondering how to turn disaster into truimph, the arrest of the 13 LTTE leaders by the Indians and his insistence to JR and the IPKF that they must be brought to Colombo was a turning point.
The suicides led to the LTTE blaming the IPKF and he was overjoyed when the IPKF were attacked and the LTTE began fighting the Indians. “All going according to plan,” he beamed .When columnist Suranimala (Lassnatha Wickramatunge) wrote that Sirisena Cooray had refused President Premadasa’s request to help him form the cabinet , Premadasa was furious saying I was trying to divide him from Sirisena and targeted me and attacked me publicly at Gangarama. On the night that Richard de Soyza was abducted, Lalith phoned me and said,”You are next on the list” and asked me to move into his Inner Flower residence. I chose instead to move into the Oberoi for a few hours through my friend the GM Ranil Bible until I could take the first flight to Singapore. A few hours later he phoned my wife and said, “They found Richard’s body. There is turmoil.You can ask Vijitha to come back”
These three episodes of many illustrate how Lalith worked with friends, specially in the media. When Professor Ravindra Fernando, who is the author of Murder in Ceylon (the famous Sathasivam Case) and Murder in the Vicarage ( the sensational double murder byFather Mathew Peiris) said he wants to write a book on the truth of the murder of Lalith,
I was one of the first to welcome it.
by Norman Palihawadane
Sri Lanka’s only female Olympic medalist, Susanthika Jayasinghe says that she has received offers from both Sri Lanka and abroad for her silver medal following recent media reports.
“They have offered as much as Rs 250 million. I too did not know the medal would be worth that much,” Jayasinghe told The Island yesterday.
The ace sprinter said that she regretted that the country’s Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera’s failure to give due recognition to an Olympic medal though the entire world knew of its value.
Jayasinghe said that she could earn a fortune by selling her medal and was willing to give a portion of her earnings to develop the country’s sports. “I could even sponsor Minister Jayasekera’s next election campaign if he likes,” she said.
By Ajith Alahakoon and Kushan Subasinghe
Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera told Parliament yesterday that the Sports Act would be amended to bar sportspersons from selling their medals won at international events.
While moving a motion in respect of the Sports Act for debate, the Minister said that the winners at international games had to be prevented from selling the medals they secure, representing the country.
Noting that some outdated provisions of the Act needed updating, the Minister said that radical changes had to be introduced to the Act to meet the present-day needs and a committee had been appointed for that purpose.
(Text of Speech made in Parliament by Jaffna District MP Mathiabaranam Abraham Sumanthiran During the Adjournment Motion Debate on June 6th 2017)
06.06.2017/ 4.48 – 5.03
[4.48 p.m.]
ගරු එම්.ඒ. සුමන්තිරන් මහතා
(மாண்புமிகு எம்.ஏ. சுமந்திரன்)
(The Hon. M.A. Sumanthiran)
Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member, for this opportunity to speak at this Adjournment Debate.
As I sat listening to speeches on both sides of the House, I thought the Debate was reaching heights of absurdity and hypocrisy. There has been a murder in broad daylight. Some people have informed the police of this murder. But the issue seems to be: “Who informed the police? Why did you inform the police?” That is what is being debated in this House today, not that there has been a murder. “Why did you go and tell the police?” One is pointing the finger at the other. “You are the one who told the police.” And from the other side another one is pointing the finger at this side and saying, “No! No! You are the one who told the police.” That is the sad state of affairs that this country has come to. No one is worried about the fact that there has been a murder.
That is the gist of the Debate between the so-called Joint Opposition and the Government today. The Government is bending backwards trying to say, “We are not going to allow anybody to be punished.” The Joint Opposition says, “You are trying to punish.” Nobody is talking about the crime. No one is talking about the victims. No one is talking about what is right and what is wrong. Both are competing with each other, trying to excel each other in claiming that they are better at covering up. One says, “We covered up well. You have now revealed it.” And the Government says, “No! No! You are the one who exposed it. Now we are covering up.” Shameless conduct both by the movers of the Resolution and those who are replying on behalf of the Government! Why cannot you face reality? Why can you not be truthful? Why can you not act with honour and tell the people of this country the reality. Why do you have to beat around the bush? That is why I call it hypocrisy.
There were references made to 1988/89 period, a comparison between that and 2008/09 period. Why do we even have to go there? Is not a wrong a wrong to whoever it happens? Have we descended to a point when the Representatives of the Tamil people have to ask the question “If it happens to Sinhala youth, you will do and if it happens to Tamil youth, you will not?” Do we even have to raise that as a question in this House?
(Text of Speech made in Parliament by Leader of the Opposition and Trincomalee District MP Rajavarothayam Sampanthan During the UNHRC Resolution Debate on June th 2017)
06.06.2017/3.47
ගරු රාජවරෝදියම් සම්පන්දන් මහතා (විරුද්ධ පාර්ශ්වයේ නායකතුමා)
(மாண்புமிகு ராஜவரோதயம் சம்பந்தன் – எதிர்க்கட்சி முதல்வர்)
(The Hon. Rajavarothiam Sampanthan – Leader of the Opposition)
Mr. Presiding Member, this Resolution has been moved by the Joint Opposition.
The objective of the Resolution is the attempted repudiation of the Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and also the Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council.
Unfortunately, I do not think such steps are within the competence of this honourable House and I might, perhaps, safely say that it is not the will of the present House.
I might say very clearly that the Sri Lankan State is bound by the Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council and that it is the bounden duty of the Sri Lankan State to implement that Resolution. We should really work towards how that can be achieved without any harm being done to this country. That should be our objective.
I do not want to approach this matter in a spirit of confrontation. I want to approach it from the perspective of what would be in the best interests of the country and all its people while ensuring truth and justice.
The causes and events that led to this situation, to this Resolution being adopted, occurred during the tenure of the former Government. The present Government took over when conclusions, decisions, had been arrived at by the UN Human Rights Council. Not having been able to contain the situation despite being given every opportunity from 2012, the former Government could not have contained the situation when decisions had been arrived at in 2015 by the UN Human Rights Council.
By
Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka
“It’s just a kiss away Kiss away, kiss away” – ‘Gimme Shelter’, The Rolling Stones
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera kisses his successor Ravi Karunanayake as the former assumed office as new Finance Minister in Colombo on May 25 following a cabinet reshuffle earlier in the week PHOTO BY – ISHARA S.KODIKARA – courtesy: The Island.lk
As in the fairy tale, a dramatic transformation occurred when Minister Mangala Samaraweera planted a smooch, on his successor Ravi Karunanayaka’s cheek. Except that the transformation occurred in the kisser, Mr. Samaraweera.
A transformed Mr. Samaraweera seemed to see himself in the mirror as the President of Sri Lanka. In his first official event as Finance Minister at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce late last month, he outlined sweeping changes which constituted a perspective for a drastic change of Sri Lanka. It was a macro change that no one has been mandated to implement and certainly has not been articulated by Sri Lanka’s elected President.
Samaraweera delivered the keynote speech at the inauguration of the “Sri Lanka Investment & Business Conclave 2017: Growth through Partnerships”, organized by the CCC. (‘Mangala Maps Way Forward’, Daily FT)
While he has been removed from the Foreign Ministry for the second time (the first being by President Sirisena’s predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa), Mangala thinks that what he has been appointed to do is to extend that which he did as Foreign Minister. As the Daily FT reported, he made his first speech as Finance Minister while “keeping a foot in his previous portfolio as Foreign Minister…”
The (patronizing) message issued from Ottawa on May 18 by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to mark the 8th anniversary of the end of Sri Lanka’s war, revealed exactly what Mangala did as Foreign Minister:
By
Kelum Bandara
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, prior to his departure to Japan, spoke to Daily Mirror about the current situation of the country in the aftermath of the Cabinet reshuffle and his plans for future politics. He shared the following:
Question:
How do you look at the current political climate in the context of the Cabinet reshuffle?
It was not a reshuffle as such. It was just a change of a few heads. The one, dubbed as the best Finance Minister in the world, was assigned with a different portfolio. Instead, the Finance Ministry was assigned to Mangala Samaraweera. There was a change in the Port and Shipping Ministry. That was actually to facilitate the selling off of the Ports. Arjuna Ranatunga, who held he was stripped of it because he was opposed to the concept. We cannot call it a reshuffle. If the government intended to do so, it should have been done with a purpose. It was a just a change of ministerial posts to execute the same policy line. This would not serve any purpose.
It is in speculation that some institutions such as the Development Lotteries Board, Sri Lankan Airlines and Mahapola Scholarship Fund are going to be placed under the purview of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. This is a joke.
Q:
You mentioned that Minister Ranatunga was removed because he voiced against some projects. Why do you say so?
Arjuna voiced against the sale of national assets in the Cabinet. That should have been the reason. The President has control over everything. I must say that. Yet, the UNP portfolios have been shuffled among its members and the SLFP ones. Some young MPs waited in earnest to get posts. Today, they are a desperate lot.
Q
From your point of view, what would the end result be?
That is the fear we harbour. We fear that this would lead to a situation similar to Greece where the economy collapsed. Be that as it may, there is no option for this government. It has to go borrowing or find money through selling off the assets.
Text of Nobel Lecture Recorded on June 4th 2017 by Bob Dylan who was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature)
When I first received this Nobel Prize for Literature, I got to wondering exactly how my songs related to literature. I wanted to reflect on it and see where the connection was. I’m going to try to articulate that to you. And most likely it will go in a roundabout way, but I hope what I say will be worthwhile and purposeful.
facebook.com/
pg/
nobelprize
If I was to go back to the dawning of it all, I guess I’d have to start with Buddy Holly. Buddy died when I was about eighteen and he was twenty-two. From the moment I first heard him, I felt akin. I felt related, like he was an older brother. I even thought I resembled him. Buddy played the music that I loved – the music I grew up on: country western, rock ‘n’ roll, and rhythm and blues. Three separate strands of music that he intertwined and infused into one genre. One brand. And Buddy wrote songs – songs that had beautiful melodies and imaginative verses. And he sang great – sang in more than a few voices. He was the archetype. Everything I wasn’t and wanted to be. I saw him only but once, and that was a few days before he was gone. I had to travel a hundred miles to get to see him play, and I wasn’t disappointed.
He was powerful and electrifying and had a commanding presence. I was only six feet away. He was mesmerizing. I watched his face, his hands, the way he tapped his foot, his big black glasses, the eyes behind the glasses, the way he held his guitar, the way he stood, his neat suit. Everything about him. He looked older than twenty-two. Something about him seemed permanent, and he filled me with conviction. Then, out of the blue, the most uncanny thing happened. He looked me right straight dead in the eye, and he transmitted something. Something I didn’t know what. And it gave me the chills.
Continue reading ‘“Unlike Literature Songs are Meant to be Sung not Read” – Bob Dylan in Nobel Speech.’ »
By
Yoshitha Perera
The Colombo High Court today served indictments on UPFA MP Namal Rajapaksa and two other directors, Sujani Bogollagama and Senani Samaranayake of Gowers Corporate Services (Pvt) Limited on charges of money laundering involving a sum of Rs.30 million transacted through the company.
The Colombo High Court later released them on the previous bail conditions imposed by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court.
By
Ranga Jayasuriya
Last week, I argued why a fringe ethno-religious extremism articulated by the Bodu Bala Sena should be tackled forthwith with intensity and pro-actively. Now the lead monk of the BBS, Galabodaatte Gnanasarathera, who has been absconding has admitted himself to a hospital, his lawyers informed Court.
The BBS is a malign force. However though its rhetoric is disturbing and repugnant, its involvement in ‘actual violence’ is marginal. Its real danger is as an agent of radicalization and reviving of old prejudices of some segments of conservative Sinhala Buddhists.
In ideal conditions, such rhetoric should either be rebuffed as rubbish or tolerated as a matter of freedom of expression. But, the world we are living in is not an ideal place, and countries like ours which are multi-cultural and multi-ethnic and suffer multiple, economic, social, cultural and ethnic fault lines, cannot afford such differences to be exploited under the guise of pluralism of ideas. (Or we could well turn a blind eye, until reality sinks hard as Theresa May the British Prime Minister admitted early this week (after the third terrorist attack in two months) that there was far too much tolerance for extremism in Britain).
South Korean Actress Lee Young-ae, popularly known as ‘Changumi’ in Sri Lanka has donated around US $ 50,000 (Roughly Rs.7.6 million) to support flood relief efforts in Sri Lanka, a statement said.
She has become a household name in Sri Lanka because of her role as ‘Changumi’ in the tele-drama ‘Sujatha Diyani’ serialized in Sri Lanka.
The Chairman of the Korea Foundation for Persons with Disabilities Lee Seong-gyu formally handed over Actress Lee Young-ae’s contribution to the Charge d’ Affaires of Sri Lanka in the Republic of Korea Sasanga Nikapitiya on Monday (5) at the Sri Lanka Embassy in Seoul.
By Maheesha Mudugamuwa
The Joint Opposition (JO) yesterday said the government’s unpreparedness and slow response had aggravated the situation during the recent natural disasters which caused widespread destruction in eleven districts.
Declaring the recent flooding as the worst that hit the country after the boxing day tsunami of 2004, leader of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) and JO parliamentary group leader Dinesh Gunawardena stressed that the disasters had exposed lack of preparedness on the part of the government machinery to manage disasters.
He alleged that the government had remained clueless about the state of affairs in the affected areas in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.
“It is true that a natural disaster can’t be stopped but their impact can mitigated if there is a proper mechanism in place to meet such emergencies,” Gunawardena added.
By A.J.A. Abeynayake
Additional District Judge Colombo Chamath Madanayake on Friday, rejecting the position taken by the Attorney General that Namal Rajapaksa MP had no provision under the statutes to seek compensation from the officers of the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID), allowed the petition filed by Rajapaksa seeking Rs. 200 million compensation from the OIC of the FCID and two of its officers to proceed with the case and fixed the date of hearing for July 12.
Rajapaksa has, in his petition, said that it was unlawful for the FCID to take him into custody without conducting investigations and keep him in remand custody on a false charge.
By Chathuri Dissanayake
Launching a fresh line of defence against the criticism levelled at his ministry for its delayed response, Minister of Disaster Management Anura Priyadharshana Yapa came out strongly saying that had his officials not responded in time the death toll would have been much higher.
Highlighting the need to bring in new laws to manage evacuations during disaster situations, the Minister claimed disregard for weather warnings was the reason for the high death toll.
“We did our best, there is a system in place,” Yapa said.
Adventure-seekers and intrepid globetrotters looking to blaze new trails in Southeast Asia will want to consider adding Sri Lanka to their travel bucket list, after the country claimed the title of leading destination and leading adventure tourism destination for Asia over the weekend.
At the World Travel Awards Asia and Australasia 2017, which were held in Shanghai, Sri Lanka claimed the title of leading destination for the region, an award that reflects a country’s range of tourism products and services.
The country was also named the leading adventure tourism destination.
Winners are based on an online voting process cast by industry leaders and travel professionals.
By
Darshana Sanjeewa
Following President Maithripala Sirisena’s intervention, Olympic medalist Susanthika Jayasinghe has decided to put on hold her decision to auction the silver medal she won in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
She told Daily Mirror that an officer from presidential secretariat had informed her over the phone that the President would look into the matter.
(Text of Editorial appearing in “The Island” of June 5th 2017 Under the Heading “A crying shame!)
The yahapalana government has not only stooped so low as to sell the family silver, unable to keep the economy afloat otherwise, but also driven a world famous athlete to consider selling her Olympic Silver medal. Susanthika Jayasinghe has announced her decision to auction her treasured possession, which has done the country proud, because she, a mother of two, is in dire straits without any help from the state.
The government’s callous disregard for Susanthika’s plight is sickening, to say the least. Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera has faulted his predecessor, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, for paying Susanthika Rs. 80,000 a month from the Sports Fund ‘without following proper procedure’. He says he presented a Cabinet paper proposing that Susanthika be paid Rs. 75,000 and a vehicle allowance monthly. The Cabinet has reduced the proposed amount to Rs. 60,000, he says. One is intrigued.
Sri Lanka’s only female Olympic medalist, Susanthika Jayasinghe, says that she will have to auction her silver medal as she is without funds to look after her two children.
Jayasinghe said the incumbent government had stopped paying her salary for working as an adviser to the Sports Ministry. She had been an advisor at the Sports Ministry for selecting and training competitors for international athletic events.
Blaming the government for not giving her recognition, Jayasinghe said she was left with no alternative but to sell the her Olympic medal to ensure the survival of her family.
By Sapumal Jayasena
The world famous Fa-Hsien rock cave at Pahiyangala in Kalutara district is under threat of facing a landslide in the future.
Fa-Hsien is a massive rock cave in which about 3,000 people had lived. It is considered the biggest rock cave in Sri Lanka. It was a human habitat in prehistoric era also and a fossilized ancient human skeleton and other evidence of ancient civilization were found there.
Prof. Kenneth Kennedy of Cornell University of the United States said the human skeleton discovered in the Pahiyangala cave was the oldest discovered so far. It is a complete skeleton which is 58,000 years old. A number of human skulls older than 30,000 years were also discovered there. In addition, a large number of stone tools were also discovered.
By
Lasanda Kurukulasuriya
While the government was swift to release money for relief and compensation for those affected by the recent floods, the tendency of politicians and bureaucrats has been to blame the victims for the disaster. Officials have attributed it to illegal constructions along river-bank reservation areas, and people’s refusal to comply with directives to evacuate danger-prone areas.“Those who build illegal constructions obstructing waterways should know they are building their own graves,” said a statement from Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Champika Ranawaka, who also ordered the demolition of illegal structures. Minister of Disaster Management Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said government was considering bringing in laws to forcibly evacuate people in situations where disaster was imminent.
While there is no denying that those living in danger prone areas are putting themselves at risk, doesn’t the government have a responsibility to prevent such needless loss of life? As the daily TV updates illustrated graphically, most of those who were struck down were poor.
Though politicians have chosen not to talk about the causes of the severity of the flooding in seven districts, environmentalists have repeatedly drawn attention to factors relating to flash floods which could be mitigated through better planning. They say landfills that destroy wetlands, that would normally accumulate run-off, have been a major contributory factor, along with haphazard building and poor drainage. Similarly scientists link the extensive landslides, which caused most of the deaths this time, to the quarrying of massive amounts of rock for an increasing number of mega development projects, that have created instability in the ground structure.
Regulating these matters clearly comes within the purview of government authorities. By focusing on the illegality of the squatters the government deflects attention away from its own lapses.
By
Gagani Weerakoon
Disaster Management Minister, Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, who was criticized and trolled on social media for his continued failure to make an appearance during the severe stage of natural disaster came for the weekly Cabinet media briefing and had to face a host of questions from journalists.
Denying allegations that his Ministry was ill equipped to handle calamities, despite public outcry that the ministry was unprepared to face such a disaster, the minister instead took a dig at the general public.
By
Kishali Pinto Jayawardene
The very idea that more law is needed to effectively operate relief to affected persons hit by natural disasters in Sri Lanka, as put forward by some bright ministerial sparks in recent days, is an asininity which needs to be peremptorily dismissed.
Have we lost all propriety?
Let us be very clear. The issue is not the law. It is the sheer woeful incompetence of the political leadership and more specifically the imbeciles in charge of disaster management even though many government officials rendered yeoman service in helping the afflicted in recent weeks.
It is only in nations as unfortunate as ours that the Minister in charge of the subject can dawdle overseas in some international conference or the other in some luxurious resort or the other while the country staggers under the worst floods in a decade or more. True, no member of the human species (politicians included with some perceptible reluctance) could be blamed for being overseas when disaster strikes. But the fundamental principle surely is that returning home must be at the earliest opportunity. Have we lost all basic notions of propriety in the first instance, let alone more grandiose calls to proper governance?
Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake has accused “black sheep in the United National Party (UNP)” of ousting him from the Finance portfolio and charged “they have not even come through the popular vote.”
He said he had raised the matter with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and declared that his good performance to revive the economy had irritated his detractors in the party. Even President Maithripala Sirisena had said a month ago that the economy was doing very well.
Karunanayake answered questions posed to him at an interview at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was interrupted by the continued ringing of his mobile phone. He was forced to respond.
The new Foreign Minister exclaimed “How wonderful. Very good, Very good!! That is superb. How long will you take to come here (the Foreign Ministry). I asked why all the excitement. He replied that a second in command to his Ministry has been appointed. That was Wasantha Senanayake, a UNP parliamentarian from the Polonnaruwa District.
Here is Karunanayake’s response to the questions posed to him:
Question: You may perhaps feel disappointed or even let down upon being removed as Finance Minister. What do you think were the reasons?
Answer: I won’t say I am disappointed. At least it is an elevation if one looks at political stature. Yet, it was rather surprising that such changes did take place. I think when you look at it no post is permanently yours. However, it was the manner in which it was done, that was both surprising and mysterious.
The National Building Research Organization (NBRO) yesterday extended its landslide warnings in seven districts affected by the adverse weather, as the death toll increased to 224 with 78 missing.
A 24-hour landslide warning was issued last afternoon for the Divisional Secretariats of Ratnapura, Kegalle, Galle, Kalutara, Matara, Hambantota and Nuwara Eliya. NBRO officials said the warnings could be further extended later today, if the rains continue.
Flood-waters in many parts of the worst affected Districts had receded by yesterday.
By
Meera Srinivasan
Tamil poet Abdul Rahman, who passed away on Friday, had a huge fan following in Sri Lanka, where he maintained close links with contemporary poets and scholars over the last 40 years.
“I first met him in 1975 in Colombo, when he came for a Kaviyarangu (poets’ meet) organised by Radio Ceylon,” said senior academic M.A. Nuhman, who is also a poet and literary critic. After that ‘Kavikko’, as Abdul Rahman was widely known, visited Sri Lanka several times and made many friends among writers here.
By
Gananath Obeyesekere
In an earlier article written in 2007 I wrote a protest regarding the huge allocation of land in Uva-Vellassa to a foreign company Booker Tate, lands that should have been given to residents of the area for cultivation purposes.
Owing to public protests this land allocation project had to be abandoned. I now gather a cabinet paper will hand over 62,500 acres to Gazelle Ventures of Singapore, to be ceremonially presented by the President, Maitripala Sirisena himself on June 5th — ignoring earlier public protests.
Ironically this is also World Environmental Day! I have here repeated some of the criticisms of a similar project in 2006-7. It is sad that this misguided venture of distributing lands belonging to the citizens of Uva-Vellassa should be reinstated this year.
Often when I tell friends and acquaintances in Colombo that I am conducting field research in this region, they want to know “where is Vellassa,” which only goes to illustrate that the city of Colombo is today another world, separate culturally from the rest of the nation. Uva-Vellassa is a vast area and by today’s reckoning consists of the districts of Badulla, Monaragala and Amparai.
It was the area that heralded the famous rebellion of 1817-1818. It was also this vast region that was systematically and completely destroyed by the British in what I have called the “rape of Uva-Vellassa.”
In my view, the present hasty and ill-considered allocation of a vast area of land to a foreign company by the government constitutes the “second rape of Uva-Vellassa.”
In the first part of this paper I shall deal briefly with the historic role of this region during the rebellion and in the second part present the government proposals for the “development” of this region alongside my criticisms of the project.
By Namini Wijedasa and Sandun Jayawardena
Last week’s disasters in several districts of the country highlighted just how unprepared Sri Lanka still is to handle such situations.
The local authorities found themselves with little or no resources–no power generators, no communications equipment, no boats, lifejackets or other equipment essential to deal with flash floods and landslides.
If any village-level disaster management or preparedness systems were in place, they mostly crumbled under the weight of the natural catastrophes that befell multiple settlements.
By Chrishanthi Christopher
The Government plan to launch a sugar company in Bibile has drawn protests from environmentalists who say that, the cultivation of sugarcane will use up the ground water, depriving people of their source of legitimate drinking water. A Cabinet paper has reportedly been passed for the project due to commence in early December. Under the project, plans are under way to distribute 62,500 acres of land to 10,000 farmers in the Uva-Wellassa region, to cultivate sugarcane in the area.
Under the scheme, each farmer will get 2.5 hectares of land to cultivate sugarcane. It is claimed the project will eliminate poverty among farmers in the area. The Centre for Environment and Nature Studies claimed the Govt has given a human face to the project, following massive protests encountered in the past. Convener Raveendra Kariyawasam said an earlier attempt in 2006, by the then Govt to hand over the sugarcane project to Britain’s Booker Tate, was foiled by protesting people.
The farmers are expected to cultivate the land and sell the produce to the company. The land will be leased to the farmers, while farmers opting to withdraw from the project will have to return the land to the Govt. The company will be given only 149 acres of land on which to operate. Environmentalists fear that the cultivation of sugarcane will use up the ground water used by the area residents for drinking, as they claim that, sugarcane cultivation needs plenty of water hence, depleting the Uva-Wellessa water table.
by Nirmala Kannangara
The Brigadier who has allegedly ordered the contingent of army personnel to fire live bullets to disperse the Rathupaswela peaceful demonstrators had been sent to the Sri Lankan mission in Turkey two months after the incident, as a reward for his ‘bravery’ in aiding and abetting the then administrators, it has been revealed.
Brigadier Suriya Arachchige Don Anura Deshapriya Gunawardena alias Deshapriya Gunawardena was sent to Turkey in October 2013 for two years in order to ‘protect’ him from the Rathupaswela shooting incident which killed three civilians including two school boys and caused grave injuries to more than fifteen including one retired army officer.
During the Rajapaksa regime, it became a trend to post those who helped the regime to suppress the parties that rose against them to Sri Lankan foreign missions abroad. To name a few, Warrant Officer 1, Premananda Udalagama from the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) who was accused in Lasantha Wickrematunge’s murder was posted to the Sri Lankan Mission in Germany while army intelligence operative Major Bandara Bulathwatte was posted to the Sri Lankan mission in Bangkok in 2010 but was later withdrawn. Former IGP Mahinda Balsooriya who was accused in Katunayake Free Trade Zone shooting incident which killed Roshen Chanaka was posted to Brazil soon after the incident.
by Tissa Vitarana
When celebrating the 112th Birth Anniversary on June 6 of Dr.N.M. Perera, one of the few great visionary statesmen produced by our country, one can only marvel at his commitment and his many predictions that have come to pass.
DR. N. M. Perera (6 June 1905 – 14 August 1979
When the “Pancha Maha Balawegaya” approached him to be their leader and become the PM, he refused stating that their Sinhala only policy would lead to racial conflict, bloodshed and division of the country.
The 30-year LTTE war was the sad outcome, and it could have been prevented if Tamil was as also made an official language in 1956 as Dr. NM and the LSSP demanded.
He also criticized the 1978 Constitution stating that the artificial grafting of the executive presidency would lead to perpetual conflict between the President and Parliament, headed by the Prime Minister, and the outcome would be worse if the two were from different political parties. Governance in Sri Lanka has broken down today under the UNP/SLFP Government as a result.
Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka says Jaffna will be a semi-desert within the next 50 years owing to global warming.
Addressing the media at his ministry yesterday, Minister Ranawaka said: “The Northern and Eastern provinces will face a severe drought situation in the coming years. At this rate due to global warming Jaffna could become a semi-desert within the next 50 years. We call upon those who clamour for a traditional homeland to divert those energies to save their lands first by protecting the environment.
Continue reading ‘Jaffna Could Become a Semi-desert in the next 50 years due to Global Warming Warns Cabinet Minister Champika Ranawaka.’ »
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) questioned former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa for over three hours over the abduction of journalist Keith Noyahr yesterday.
The former Defence Secretary was questioned whether he was aware of the abduction of the senior journalist as he was in charge of the security apparatus at the time of the incident.
The CID also questioned Rajapaksa over claims that he intervened in ensuring the release of Noyahr in the wee hours of May 23,2008.
By S.S.Selvanayagam
The Court of Appeal this week granted time till 30 June for the intervenient petitioner as well as the respondents in the Jaffna university student murder case to file objections. Sinnathurai Vijayakumar, the father of one of the deceased students, was granted a little over a month to file objections with regard to the appeal filed by the five police officers that were arrested in connection with theshooting incident where two Jaffna University students were allegedly gunned down.
The matter came up before Justice S.Thurairaja.
The suspected police officers are seeking the Court to transfer their case out of the Northern and Eastern provinces.
They are also seeking the Court to issue an interim order restraining the continuation of their case before Jaffna Magistrate’s Court until the final determination of their application.
By
T.Ramakrishnan
Tamil poet S. Abdul Rahman, popularly known as ‘Kavikko,’ passed away in Chennai in the early hours of Friday after a brief illness. He was 79. He is survived by a son and a daughter. The funeral will take place tomorrow, according a family member.
Born in Madurai on November 9, 1937, Abdul Rahman obtained his post-graduate degree in Tamil before joining the Islamiah College in Vaniyambadi, Vellore district, as a teacher.
He subsequently became the Head of the Tamil Department in the college and held the post for nearly 20 years. Later, he took to writing on a full time basis.
When he got the Sahitya Akademi award in 1999 for his collection of poems, Aalapanai, it was a “poetic irony.” He was, till then, known as a bitter critic of the Akademi for not giving Tamil poets their due.
UNESCO has informed the government of Sri Lanka that it would be compelled to remove several archeological sites in Sri Lanka from the world heritage list as they have not been maintained properly,
Golden Temple of Dambulla-© OUR PLACE The World Heritage Collection
by: Amos Chapple-UNESCO
Old Town of Galle and its Fortifications-© UNESCO-
by: Giovanni Boccardi
Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said UNESCO has recently warned that Dambulla cave temple and Galle Fort would have to be removed from the World Heritage Site list considering the deterioration of their conditions.
Minister Kariyawasam, under whose purview the Department of Archeology comes, told a media briefing that UNESCO had informed him that it would have to remove sites such as Dambulla and Galle Fort from the world heritage list as they were not maintained properly.
Sri Lanka’s navy and local residents rescued a pod of about 20 stranded pilot whales off the island’s northeastern coast on Wednesday, an official said.
Navy spokesman Lt Commander Chaminda Walakuluge said sailors with the help of residents pushed the whales back in to deeper waters after they washed up on the Sampoor coast near the port of Trincomalee.
“It was a delicate task to push them back without hurting them,” Walakuluge told AFP. “But there was a happy ending when all of them could be sent back to deeper waters.”He said it was not clear why the mammals got stranded in the area, but noted that the sea was rough due to the effects of Cyclone Mora in the Bay of Bengal and which hit Bangladesh on Tuesday.
By A.H.M. Azwer
(Former MP / Minister)
Deaf, dumb and blind – this is the slumbering mood of the present government towards the anti-Muslim attacks unleashed throughout the island. It is sweeping the landscape like a Tornado. Aghast!
That inflammatory and vitriolic speeches now going viral on the social network internationally delivered by that Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera, had literally providing a handle to rabble-rousers, hooligans and looters who are causing damage, destruction in Muslim villages everywhere today.
The citizenry are almost daily awake to hear the heart breaking news of attacks on mosques, madrasas, and boutiques. The apathy of the Yahapalanaya Rajaya is not only a mystery but utterly bewildering. Shame!
Pious promises given by the government to get rid of such gangsterism and hooliganism against the Muslim community – and even other minorities – to woo their votes at the last presidential and general elections – have been cast away into the now proverbial “Meethotamulla garbage mountain.” Nauseating!
Bodu Bala Sena
If the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) and its associates are not banned (the ministers are asking for it), it would very clearly expose the hypocrisy of the Yahapalana Government that proclaims peace, but really harbours an inimical, hidden agenda towards destruction and death, diametrically opposed to the vision of transforming this island into the Wonder of Asia!
The Heads of Mission of the European Union, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa and Switzerland, on Thursday strongly condemned incidents of hate crimes in Sri Lanka and called for prompt action to be taken against the perpetrators.
In a statement released by the European Union in Colombo, it said that the Heads of Mission together with other diplomatic representatives in the island country on Thursday visited a Muslim Mosque to meet leaders of the minority Muslim community.
The visit followed in the wake of attacks on mosques and businesses owned by people in the community.
The ambassadors expressed their solidarity and welcomed the clear condemnation for these hate crimes from Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka yesterday called upon the IGP, Attorney General and the government to take immediate action to arrest the increasing trend of attacks against racial and religious minorities.
“The state must decisively act against all parties who advocate hatred that constitute incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence, BASL said in a press release signed by its President UR de Silva and its secretary Amal A Randeniya.
Full text of the Statement is as follows -:
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka unequivocally condemns all incidents of hate speech & incitement of violence against, racial and religious communities in Sri Lanka. Incidents of this nature are unacceptable in a democratic society based on the rule of law.
by Maheesha Mudugamuwa
The total death toll from last week’s disasters is thought to be around 300 with the government deciding to consider 95 persons who have gone missing also as dead, State Minister of Public Enterprise Development Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene says.
Minister Abeywardene was addressing the SLFP weekly media briefing at party headquarters in Colombo.
Rescue workers had combed through mud and rubble left by devastating floods and landslides, looking for survivors till yesterday, but in vain, the minister said.
Minister Abeywardena from Matara, one of the worst affected districts, said about his own experience, “The whole area was flooded within 20 minutes and we were helpless. I can’t even imagine how the others faced the situation. We were all stranded for hours.
Wednesday’s shuffle of portfolios at the junior ministers’ level, and the earlier shuffle at the cabinet level, have together placed Sri Lanka’s economic and foreign policies firmly in the hands of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
On Wednesday, financial expert and Wickremesinghe loyalist Eran Wickramaratne was made State Minister of Finance to assist the new Cabinet Minister of Finance, Mangala Samaraweera, who is not a finance man.
Wickramaratne is not only politically close to Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, but he also thinks along the same lines on economic matters. Eran Wickremaratne will also be an ideal foil for the new Cabinet Minister of Finance, Mangala Samaraweera, because they operate on the same wavelength. Both share with Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, an eagerness to make Sri Lanka a part of the global manufacturing chain, increase exports, and attract FDI.
Continue reading ‘Re-shuffling of Portfolios at Minister, State Minister and Deputy Minister Levels Strengthen Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Control Over Economic and Foreign Policies.’ »
By
Lakmal Sooriyagoda
Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagoda Atte Gnanasara Thera was not present in Court today regarding a Contempt of Court action filed against him for allegedly behaving offensively inside the Homagama Magistrate’s Court.
President’s Counsel Manohara de Silva appearing on behalf of Gnanasara thera tendered a medical certificate to Court informing that Gnanasara Thera is receiving treatment at a hospital for an illness.
The Court of Appeal Justice Kumuduni Wickremesinghe observed that the Court wanted the accused to be present in Court on June 12.
By Pradeep Ramanayake
While participating in last week’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) forum in Beijing, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe walked a tight rope: seeking economic and other benefits from China while maintaining close relations with its rivals, the US and India.
The forum was held amid heightening tensions between China and the US, together with Washington’s major South Asian ally, India. The US and several European powers decided to send only second-tier delegations to the forum while India boycotted it.
The gathering was attended by the heads of 29 states and 1,500 delegates representing 130 nations, NGOs, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The OBOR project, initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, is a development strategy, focussed on a land-based “Silk Road Economic Belt” and an oceanic “Maritime Silk Road” between China and Europe.
China’s ambitious scheme is also part of a strategic response to counter the aggressive encirclement pursued by the US and its allies, while opening up further trade and investment opportunities for Chinese capitalism.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has on Wednesday May 31st 2017 appointed and re-appointed four new State Ministers and four new Deputy Ministers into his government. All of whom took their oaths before the President
facebook.com
maithripalas/
The Four State Ministers are –
1. Eran Wickramaratne – State Minister of Finance.
2. Wasantha Senanayake – State Minister of Foreign Affairs.
3. Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena – State Minister of Public Enterprise Development
4. Palitha Range Bandara – State Minister of Irrigation
The Four Deputy – ministers are –
1. Harsha De Silva – Deputy Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs.
2. Ranjan Ramanayake – Deputy Minister of Social Empowerment, Welfare and Kandyan Heritage.
3. Karunaratne Paranavitana – Deputy Minister of Skills Development.
4. Lasantha Alagiyawanna – Deputy Minister for Finance and Mass Media.
The death toll by Sri Lanka’s devastating floods and landslides reached 202 by Wednesday morning while 96 people are still missing, the Disaster Management Center said.63 people are injured and seeking treatment in state hospitals while over 600,000 people have been affected.
Severe rains and strong winds which lashed out across Sri Lanka since Friday have caused major floods and landslides in many areas of the island with the worst affected being the southern district.
As water levels are now receding, tri forces along with rescue teams have now launched a massive clean up operation in order to restore normalcy in the affected areas.
At least 83,200 people are seeking shelter in safe locations and many are unable to return to their homes due to fully damaged or partially damaged houses.
By
Sharmini Serasinghe
When it comes to applying the rules of democracy in a country like ours, there ought to be a caveat included for the likes of Mr. Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara, viz. freedom of speech!
pic courtesy of: BBC SInhala
I refuse to dignify this man with revered titles such as ‘Thera’ or ‘Reverend’, since as a Buddhist, I don’t regard him as a Buddhist monk, but find him utterly and completely reprehensible, offensive, an acute source of embarrassment and irritation. Furthermore, he has singlehandedly denigrated the status of the entire Buddhist clergy in this country.
Shaving one’s head and donning a saffron robe does not make one a Buddhist monk, one’s actions do. This man is nothing but a charlatan in robes and a social menace to all; Buddhists included!
By Uditha Jayasinghe
Newly appointed Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday sought a conciliatory and supportive relationship with the private sector pledging to work on their behalf and negotiate trade agreements with focus on Sri Lankan interests.
pic via: @MangalaLK
Attending his first official event as Finance Minister, Samaraweera delivered the keynote at the inauguration of the “Sri Lanka Investment & Business Conclave 2017: Growth through Partnerships”, organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) yesterday. Keeping a foot in his previous portfolio as Foreign Minister Samaraweera insisted that reconciliation and economic growth could not be separated from each other.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has left the island for medical treatment in the United States, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said.
by Maheesha Mudugamuwa
The death toll rose further yesterday after recovery crews began reaching remote corners cut off during the last several days when heavy rains followed by landslides and deadly floods overwhelmed many areas of the country’s southwest in the worst disaster in more than a decade.
At least 193 people had died in seven districts while 94 people were still missing, Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne told the media in Colombo.
The overall death toll was not clear as the rescue/recovery operations were still continuing in all affected areas, however the missing 94 were feared dead. Authorities expect the number of deaths to rise accordingly. Most deaths occurred in Ratnapura, Matara and Kalutara, according to Disaster Management Centre (DMC).
Newly-appointed Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe yesterday said negotiations for a Public Private Partnership to salvage the debt-ridden Hambantota Port will resume this week under his leadership.
“I will take control of negotiations. It’s under my subject, I will not allow anyone else to discuss the deal,” he said speaking to media yesterday.
According to the Minister, progress on the negotiations stalled as too many individuals were involved in the process.
“Too many cooks spoilt the soup,” he said.
Prior to the Cabinet reshuffle, Development Strategies Minister Malik Samarawickrama and Special Assignments Minister Sarath Amunugama led the negotiations, prompting former Port Minister Arjuna Ranatunga to speak out about being sidelined in negotiations.
By
Priyanka Sharma
Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards have introduced a category, titled ‘Internationally Acclaimed Actress Award’, and its first recipient is fresh global star Priyanka Chopra.
Priyanka’s name doesn’t come as a surprise as the actor has been creating waves internationally ever since her maiden American TV series Quantico premiered in 2015. Recently her Hollywood debut Baywatch released, and even though the film was largely panned by critics, Priyanka’s performance was noticed and praised in particular.
Priyanka Chopra
“Priyanka has made the country proud and hence, is the right choice for the award. It’s not yet confirmed if Priyanka will be present at the ceremony to collect her award. The event is on June 1 and the actor hasn’t returned to India yet. She has given her consent but whether or not she will be present, is not known,” Dharmendra Mehra, General Secretary of Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards told indianexpress.com.
Continue reading ‘Priyanka Chopra will be First Recipient of the Newly Created “Internationally Acclaimed Actress Award” From Dada Saheb Phalke Academy’ »
By
Ranga Jayasuriya
Until the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, Sri Lankans used to take solace, rather erroneously, that we were safe from the worst of natural calamities. Since then tables have turned; now if not a deadly landslide or a flood, at least a rubbish dump would wreak disaster a few times a year. Last week torrential rains left a trail of destruction. The death toll stands at over 160 with more than 100 missing and hundreds of thousands displaced.
It is not easy to avoid nature’s wrath, but better preparation would have mitigated the cost. Early evacuation from landslide-prone areas in Ratnapura and Kalutara would have saved lives. But, implementing such efforts is not always easy and could well have ended up with officials being beaten up and chased away by the villagers. Such measures require much more than advanced notice of weather patterns. They need lots of logistics, which Sri Lanka’s reactive, rather than pro-active policy framework is ill afford to provide.
Disaster management is not an exception. The Disaster Management Centre which was set up after the Tsunami to formulate government policy on disaster management and early prevention tends to coordinate emergency recovery, rescue and relief assistance after the disaster, instead of pro-actively engaging and formulating a national level disaster management plan, as it was envisaged under the Sri Lanka Disaster Management Act of 2005. Thus it is normal for successive governments to wake up from a long slumber when disaster strikes and to order the removal of unauthorized structures that obstruct waterways, evacuate communities living right under mountains prone to landslides and the President giving blank cheques to expedite disaster relief.
By
A Cricket Follower from Moratuwa
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) boasts of a pompous slogan which reads: “One nation, one team”. Are we to believe that, very soon, this will be made to read: “One nation, one team, one religion? Early this week, Sri Lanka Cricket President, Thilanga Sumathipala, dabbled in a subject, that not only raised hairs and eyebrows, but also raised concerns on whether some of the country’s cricketers, if they cannot defend their religious faith or conviction, are made to go against their conscience, as they sported pure white attire and visited the sacred Buddhist Temple of the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy, not on a sightseeing tour but, to worship.
In the forefront was Captain Angelo Mathews, a sworn Catholic, whose photograph was all over the newspapers, carrying a tray of flowers and walking into the Dalada Maligawa to worship and, according to Sumathipala, seeking blessings to do well at the upcoming Champions Trophy.
Not only Buddhists, but also everyone else, will be wanting to know how the cricketers, if they cannot bat well, bowl well and field well, are going to win the Champions Trophy by taking their case to a religious founder whose teachings had nothing to do with winning in sport.
Cabinet has decided to stop all vehicle imports for ministers and ministries for this year due to the disaster situation, Minister of Ports and Shipping Mahinda Samarasinghe said today.
Addressing media Samarasinghe said the President had directed that funds allocated to purchase the vehicles be used to provide relief for those affected by the disaster. Ministers have been asked to use the vehicles they already have, he said.
While institutions under his purview were grappling feebly with the rising death and destruction from floods and landslides, Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa was in Mexico–talking about how Sri Lanka has put in place a programme to “minimise casualties, damage to infrastructure, and economic losses” in natural calamities.
“The Ministry of Disaster Management has seriously considered the increasing trend of disasters and has collaborated with all ministries to implement medium and long-term disaster risk reduction programmes in line with the Sendai priorities, to minimise casualties, damage to infrastructure, and economic losses,” Mr Yapa said, attending the ’2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction’ in Cancun, Mexico.
The conference was from May 22-26. The Minister spoke on May 24 and even posted a photo from the event on his Facebook page.
By Chandani Kirinde
To say it is ironic would be an understatement, that, on a day the country is faced with a huge natural disaster, the Govt appeals for international assistance to deal with it, while presenting to Parliament a Supplementary Estimate for a hefty Rs 369 million, of which, a large component will be for vehicles for lawmakers and to renovate their official residences.
And that is exactly what happened on Friday, when Parliament met for a few hours, adjourning early, so that, “MPs can assist in rescue operations and distribution of relief to victims of the floods and landslides,” but, not before the Supplementary Estimate was presented to the House.
This would put at a total, the amount allocated this year to buy vehicles, mainly for ministers, deputy ministers and senior public officials, at over Rs 1,200 million, a luxury which a debt-ridden and natural-disaster-hit country can ill afford.
The Chennai police has invoked the draconian Goondas Act on a group of activists who recently took out a rally at Marina Beach to commemorate the civilian victims of the Eelam war. While such protests violating prohibitory orders are treated as a civil issue, city police commissioner A K Viswanathan on Monday issued orders to detain the four activists under the law that is meant to prevent habitual criminals from securing bail.
G Thirumurugan Gandhi, who is the founder of the pro-Eelam May 17 organisation, and three other members were arrested on May 21 evening when around 300 people took out a flash rally defying prohibitory orders of the city police.
The organisation had called for a candle light vigil at Marina beach to mark the anniversary of the Mullivaikal genocide in northern Sri Lanka during the final phase of the Eelam war between Sri Lankan army and LTTE.
Thousands of troops battled Monday to get relief supplies to nearly half a million people displaced by the island’s worst flooding for 14 years, which has killed 180 people.
The military said a lull in torrential monsoon rains allowed it to deploy aircraft, boats and ground troops to evacuate people from flooded areas, deliver essentials and recover bodies.
Some half a million people have had to abandon their homes due to the heavy rains, which have brought flooding and landslides to large parts of the island.
Sri Lanka is regularly hit by flooding at the start of the annual monsoon. But carpenter J. H. Siripala, who lives in one of the areas worst hit, said he had never seen it this bad.
“I have lived in this area for 27 years and we have gone through floods, but never experienced this much water,” the 62-year told AFP in Kalutara district on the southwest coast as a navy boat carried him to safety.
“I thought it was my end,” he said as he recalled how the water level suddenly rose on Sunday, covering his head, before he was pulled to safety
By P.K.Balachandran
India’s swift delivery of relief supplies and personnel to flood and landslide-hit Sri Lanka has re-affirmed its position as Sri Lanka’s most relevant neighbor, and also its primacy as a power in the South Asian region.
IndianNavy saving precious lives making sure no one is left behind #FloodSL @narendramodi @MEAIndia @SushmaSwaraj @DrSJaishankar @indiannavy pic.twitter.com/hnGJXFzOvz
— India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) May 29, 2017
via: @IndiainSL
No other country in the region, Pakistan and China included, can act with such speed, and deliver men and material in such high volumes at short notice when natural or man-made disasters strike Sri Lanka. Pakistan is yet to respond materially and China announced late on Sunday ,that it will send US$ 2.2 million worth of relief goods.
Pakistan, India’s rival in Sri Lanka and the South Asian region, woke up to the need to respond to Sri Lanka’s global call for help, a tad too late. Awakened by the media blitz on the arrival of the Indian naval vessel INS Kirch with relief material and workers, the Acting Pakistan High Commissioner, Dr.Sarfraz Ahmd Khan Sipra, issued a press release in the afternoon saying that Pakistan is discussing with the Sri Lankan authorities the kind of relief they want, and these will be delivered soon. He made it a point to recall that only recently, when Sri Lanka was facing a drought, Pakistan sent 10,000 mt of rice.
But Pakistan’s response paled into insignificance in the light of what the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India’s new High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, did within 24 hours of Sri Lanka’s global appeal. More than a 100 had died and over 200,000 had been displaced in 14 districts in the floods and landslides caused by a particularly virulent South West Monsoon.
Continue reading ‘India Demonstrates Its Relevance and Importance by Responding First and Fast To Sri Lanka’s Appeal After Floods Tragedy.’ »
BY
Dr. DAYAN JAYATILLEKA
[This is a revised version of the Introduction to the book HOLDING OUT. The Prologue is by Asoka Handagama.]
HOLDING OUT: Memoirs of a Political Prisoner in Sri Lanka 1986-1988 is, at its simplest, the story of a woman political prisoner from the South of Sri Lanka. The AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 1987 said of her arrest: “By the end of 1986 over 400 Sinhalese were estimated to be detained under the PTA and Emergency Regulations, among them Pulsara Liyanage, a lecturer at Kelaniya University arrested on 1st November.” (pp. 264-269)
The events described here took place before the writer had turned 30. It is an exemplary story of young educated Sri Lankan woman academic and activist who was among those few who walked the talk in a dark time in Sri Lanka’s contemporary history, engaged in a dramatic political experiment and was trapped in an extreme situation.
The story is of her experience in that extreme or ‘limit’ situation in which existential choices are made, which in turn reveal character. This story was written three decades after the events. The retrospective account is exemplary for its humanist perspective and tone of wry humor.
But that’s only at its simplest, most basic level. What this book is really about is a period, a project and a person or a personal experience. More precisely it is about the intersection of a period, a project and a person.
By
Manjula Fernando
Threatening to expose the ‘notorious creatures’ that have taken over the Central Bank, the new Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake said he will look into enhancing commercial diplomacy to usher the country towards economic prosperity, moving away from the present Human Rights centric foreign policy of Sri Lanka.
“I don’t think the government’s foreign policy needs a re-invention of the wheel. It needs to have rectification in certain areas where we have been missing.
There are policy changes to be done, they will not be unilateral changes. We will adopt a policy that is meaningful and ensures a win-win situation for the country,” Minister Karunanayake said, complementing his predecessor Minister Mangala Samaraweera for the outstanding work on the human rights front.
Question;
. This is the first time you have been entrusted with the Foreign Affairs portfolio, one of the key positions in the Cabinet. Are you happy to move on to a completely new subject from Finance? What will be your initial priorities?
Answer:
. As a politician we must be prepared to take on any challenge posed on us and make it a success. Our main focus would be, as expressed by the President and the Prime Minister to put Sri Lanka back on the map.
Make it a vibrant place in the Indian Ocean. We will profess the ‘ friends with all and enemies with none’ policy. We need not be tied to the aspects of Human Rights. It is time to move towards commercial diplomacy, towards a globalised world where borders have shrunk.
By
Don Manu
It was, probably, the shortest sathyakriya – the assertion of truth – ever undertaken by any man in search of martyrdom. But when injustice protests its innocence and demands its continuance in the outer precincts of the Sri Dalada, it’s no wonder the flaky timbre of resolve to wantonly assert the potency of truth soon disintegrates and turns unto dust.
Last Sunday the Bodu Bala Sena tribal chieftain jauntily strode into the Sri Dalada Maligawa to pay worship to the sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha. Gnanasara Thera who led his tribe was granted, after waiting an hour, a short audience thereafter with the Chief Monk of the Malwatte Chapter and then directed to meet the Anunayaka the Ven. Dr. Niyangoda Vijithsiri Thera. After the audience was over he emerged from the chamber to state that, “henceforth I will not obey the laws of the land and I will not recognise the jurisdiction of the courts”.
He then proceeded to occupy a bench outside the premises of the Sacred Dalada Maligawa and declared that he will stage a sathyakriya against plans to arrest him. But it was apparent the guardian monks of the Temple of the Tooth were not prepared to let Gnanasara’s sathyakriya stunt take place on the doorstep of Lanka’s most hallowed temple. Two hours later the Anunayaka of the Malwatte chapter emerged from his avasa to warn the rebel monk the consequences that would follow if he did not give up his sathyakriya and vacate the premises forthwith.
BY PANCHAMEE HEWAVISSENTI
In an interview with Ceylon Today, Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara said several recent incidents have compelled him to live in hiding as there is an attempt to assassinate him after arrest. The Thera further said he had to keep changing his hideouts for the protection of his life as he has hardly any faith in the government to protect his life. “Several unidentified people were loitering around my temple in Rajagiriya a couple of days ago. On inquiry, they replied that they were on a mission to apprehend narcotic dealers who were passing by the temple. I have been surreptitiously observing them for over an hour, but they did not seem to stop any vehicle passing along the road. I observed them looking around the neighbourhood of the temple,” he said. He further said he could sense danger in the manner they behaved and he immediately left the temple and is in hiding at present.
Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara
Commenting on the destruction of Buddhist archaeological sites by Muslim settlers in areas which were widely spoken about in Parliament this week, he said Muslims hardly possess any cultural or archaeological values and they attempt to deprive other communities of their lofty traditions out of malice. The Thera also mentioned that Buddhists and Hindus are being converted to Islam by offering financial support, marriage and various other material benefits. He reiterated during the interview that BBS has no malice against Hindus. “Buddhists and Hindus are culturally interrelated and both religions share similar values. When Hindus face injustice, BBS is prepared to speak for them,” he said. The Thera added that BBS has no animosity towards Muslims who moderately practice their religion and those people are in fact not harmful to the coexistence at all. “We are against Muslim extremists who spread Wahabism which is the greatest threat to the existence of non-Islam believers,” the Thera said.
Excerpts:
Question;
Your presence was not felt until recently after the change of government. What made you make a sudden comeback?
Answer:
This is not an abrupt comeback. I have been engaging in various endeavours overseas such as in Japan and Korea. I spent a limited time in Sri Lanka and that may be why my presence was not felt in a strong manner as today. Although we remained active and continued to reveal the injustice faced by the majority ethnic community, some media organizations did not support us merely out of malice. When an arrest warrant was issued, they exaggerated the news. They also continue to condemn the BBS in a malignant manner as in the past.
We met President Maithripala Sirisena on several occasions. We discussed in details the destruction of archaeological sites, deforestation at Wilpattu and setting up of illicit Muslim territories, drug and the human trafficking taking place via the settlements in Wilpattu.
The nationwide despair over the deadly deluge grew yesterday as the death toll from the monsoonal floods and landslides topped the 150 mark, making it the worst natural disaster in the country since the 2004 tsunami.
Officials last night put the number of dead at 151 with 111 missing or unaccounted for following torrential rain which led to earth slips in 15 districts covering mainly three provinces. Over 90 people were hospitalised.
The number of displaced was nearly half a million as the Government sought global support to manage the relief effort.
Ratnapura suffered the most casualties with 71 dead followed by Kalutara’s 43 while in terms of people affected Galle saw over 140,000 people displaced followed by Matara.
Continue reading ‘Dangerous Monsoon Deluge Brings Death, Destruction, Displacement and Despair.’ »
By Duruthu Edirimunni Chandrasekera
Newly appointed Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake’s demand to bring institutions such as the Development Lotteries Board, National Lotteries Board, Mahapola Scholarship Fund, SriLankan Airlines, Hingurana Sugar and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under his purview has come under fire by three donor agencies, government sources revealed.
The World Bank, International Mandatory Fund and Asian Development Bank are learnt to have raised the issue with the Government saying this is something that hasn’t been seen anywhere else in the world, the sources said.
By
Kishali Pinto Jayawardene
Caught between the grinning devil of Rajapaksa racism and the incompetent (if not corrupt) deep blue sea of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe unity alliance, Sri Lankans are increasingly being left helpless.
Is this not obscene conduct?
With the passing of each day, examples abound of this odious dilemma. It is the height of callousness for example, that the Government could have justified asking for millions for luxury vehicles for ministers at the very same time that the country is facing a financial crisis.
Now to compound that idiocy, we are being told that a supplementary estimate had been presented in Parliament this week to purchase vehicles for members and officers of the steering committee of the Constituent Assembly. Jokes are being cracked as to what or who exactly will this Assembly steer, except themselves and that too, into a corner by all accounts. But this news, coming on top of hundred deaths, another hundred reported missing and scores left homeless following major floods during the past few days begs an important question. Is this not obscene behaviour, in the very basic meaning of that term, taken in the context of conduct deeply offending morality?
By Norman Palihawadana
Bodies of 111 persons believed to have died in floods last week haven’t been found yet, senior police and military officers said yesterday.
By yesterday evening, authorities reported the recovery of 151 bodies in flood affected areas in the South, Kalutara and Ratnapura.
About 50 people had been injured and about a half a million affected by floods and earthslips, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said.
The South-West monsoons unleashed torrential rains, which ravaged fourteen districts in the western and southern parts of the country on Friday and Thursday.
The Government has come under fire from civil society groups and Muslims for its failure to act fast in checking attacks on mosques and shops owned by Muslims in recent weeks. This was also debated in parliament on Tuesday, with Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayake blaming police sluggishness for the state of affairs, when JVP Parliamentarian Bimal Ratnayake charged that, without state sponsorship, these acts could not take place. “There is somebody from the government backing the people who are doing these,” he said.
Also blaming the Government was Colombo District parliamentarian S.M. Marikkar. His speech in Parliament came as Muslims expressed anger at Muslim ministers, who, they said, had not done enough to protect them, and also at the Government, which they say would not have come to office if the Muslims and other minorities had not voted it in, at the 2015 elections.
BY S VENKAT NARAYAN
NEW DELHI, May 27: The Hindu, a leading conservative newspaper, today carried an investigative report that exposes the shady deals the late Jayaram Jayalalitha’s confidante VK Sasikala and a host of her relatives have been involved in to enrich themselves during the former’s longish reign as Tamil Nadu chief minister.
The expose clearly shows why Sasikala was in such a hurry to grab power after Jayalalitha’s death last December.
According to the daily, in a quiet tree-lined lane in Chennai’s T. Nagar, a nondescript white apartment block sports the word GYAN prominently on its face. It is an unremarkable building, except for one reason. Or perhaps, two.
A couple of the flats — numbered 12 and 16 — are the registered addresses for at least 15 companies linked to V.K. Sasikala, general secretary of the AIADMK (Amma) and her sister-in-law Ilavarasi Jayaraman.
The two house a large number of shell companies that are inter-related in a complex maze. They sport unfamiliar names such as Sri Jaya Finance and Investments, Fancy Steels, Aviry Properties, Curio Auto Mark, Cottage Field Resorts and so on.
About the only company which is somewhat publicly known is Jazz Cinemas (earlier Hot Wheels Engineering), which raised eyebrows for the manner in which it acquired a Chennai cinema multiplex in 2015.
Almost all these companies have an auditor called K. Soundarvelan, who is registered as having an office in flat no. 16 of Gyan Apartments. The residents of this flat refused to speak to the daily’s reporter, but others — neighbours, for instance — swear there is no one by that name who lives in the apartment block.
As for flat no. 12, it has been locked for years. “Every month, someone comes to pay the maintenance to the security person and then leaves,” said a neighbour who did not wish to be identified. “We do not know who the owners are and the flat is locked. Nobody stays there and there is no company either.”
Company filings show that another mysterious firm by the name of Idhayam Homes and Builders has given a written letter consenting that the firms mentioned above may have their offices at the Gyan Apartment address.
All these companies were formed after 1996, most of them around or just after 2001, when former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa came to power for the second time.
The Disaster Management Ministry exposed its unpreparedness to deal with a disaster situation, admitting it lacks stocks of basic items such as blankets, life jackets, umbrellas, torches or even boxes of matches to distribute in such situations. In response to this week’s flood havoc that crippled the nation, the Ministry of Disaster Management was in shortage of basic humanitarian needs for an immediate response.
A document, prepared on Friday by the ministry to share with UN and other international donors, seeking their assistance indicated that there are no stocks of drinking water (bottles of five liters or above), blankets, life jackets, mobile toilets, umbrellas, torches and boxes of matches .
The document titled “National Disaster Relief Services Centre Requests for Relief”, dated Friday detailed the current needs that were calculated based on demographic and historic data from previous disaster situations. Some 23 urgent humanitarian needs were included with details of the amounts needed, availability and the extent of the shortage.
Flood waters were receding Saturday with only few showers in the worst affected areas where a military-led relief operation reached all marooned villagers as the monsoon death toll hit 113.
The authorities stepped up sending cooked food and other essentials to tens of thousands of people who were forced out of their flooded homes in seven districts. Kalutara and Ratnapura reported the highest deaths, almost all of them caused by the collapse of mountain sides on homes.
Neighbouring India was the first to rush aid. New Delhi sent Indian navy vessel INS Kirch with inflatable boats, medical supplies and doctors.
Pakistan said it was in talks with Sri Lankan authorities to identify its needs. It reminded that only a few weeks ago it had donated 10,000 tonnes of rice as drought relief to Sri Lanka.
by D.B.S.Jeyaraj
Vesak festivity in Sri Lanka acquired an international dimension this year with the Island nation hosting the United Nations International Vesak day. The icing on this Vesak event cake was the participation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as chief guest in the celebrations. Even though President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe basked in the glow of Narendra Modi’s brief trip described officially as a “religious visit”, the political highlight of the Indian premier’s stay in Sri Lanka was the nocturnal rendezvous with former Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The meeting between Modi and Rajapaksa was held late at night on Thursday May 11th 2017. The meeting came as a surprise to many because it was not part of the original itinerary devised for Prime Minister Modi in Sri Lanka. Moreover the possibility of such a meeting seemed very remote as the political group headed by Mahinda Rajapaksa known as the “Joint Opposition” had been harshly critical of Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka. In fact one of the opposition leaders had called for the hoisting of black flags to protest against Modi in the presence of Mahinda Rajapaksa at a May Day rally. It was politically unlikely that the avowed leader of the Joint Opposition would have a “friendly”meeting with a Foreign leader who was being critically targeted by his loyalists.
Continue reading ‘Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Nocturnal Rendezvous With Narendra Modi’ »
By
Prof. Maithree Wickramasinghe
(Text of Speech by Professor Maithree Wickramasinghe at the Launch of an anthology of short stories “Testimonies of Silent Pain” in the Sinhala and Tamil Languages by “the Social Architects” on May 21st 2017)
It gives me great pleasure to join you – young women and men writers – as you launch your work in the anthology ‘Testimonies of Silent Pain’.
I will be speaking in English. As Professor in the Department of English, I am a firm believer in the potential of Sri Lankan English as a link language that could build bridges among the different speech communities in the country.
Allow me to begin my speech by thanking ‘The Social Architects’, for inviting me to be present on the occasion. It is, indeed, a privilege to be here. I have had the opportunity to skim read a couple of personal stories – though only inSinhala, I grant, but I believe that these powerful pieces have the capacity to provide an interface – for the meeting of diverse minds, and hearts and spirits.I would like to congratulate TSA for this initiative as well as their other work in the field of ethnic and religious reconciliation.
A couple of days ago we marked eight years since the end of the war.
It is often claimed that time is a great healer. But I would like to question whether this is so for everyone?
By P.K.Balachandran
India has deployed, with amazing swiftness, three naval vessels to bring relief material to flood and landslide-hit Sri Lanka.
INS Kirch, a Kora Class Corvette, arrived in Colombo early on Saturday. Two more naval vessels, INS Shardul and INS Jalashwa, the former a tank carrier, and the latter a landing craft, are expected on Sunday and Monday respectively.
Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayke, at his own initiative, came to the harbor early Saturday morning to receive INS Kirch. The off-loaded relief material were formally handed over to Karunnayake by the Indian High Commissioner, Taranjit Singh Sandhu.
Recounting the sequence of events, High Commissioner Sandhu said that following a request for help from the Sri Lankan government on May 26, the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi (who was in Guwahati in Eastern India on tour) was contacted. The Prime Minister immediately directed the Indian navy to rush aid to the disaster struck neighbor.
“In less than 24 hours, relief materials were assembled, the vessel INS Kirch was diverted from its deployment, loaded with the assembled material, and bought to Colombo,” Sandhu said underlining the swiftness of India’s response.
BY PANCHAMEE HEWAVISSENTI
The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission against the warrant issued for the arrest of its Chief, Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera.
The BBS warns that Gnanasara Thera could be assassinated in a manner……similar to that of the underworld bigwig Samayan, who was killed by a group clad in Police uniforms.
BY PANCHAMEE HEWAVISSENTI
An arrest warrant has been issued to apprehend General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera on allegations of obstructing the Police in the exercise of their duties in addition to making hate speeches in several places and thereby creating conditions for a potentially violent communal backlash.
Police said the Aluthkade Magistrate’s Court has also barred the controversial……monk from leaving the country. This was on a specific request made by Police. Police spokesman DIG Priyantha Jayakody said General Secretary of Bodu Bala Sena has been summoned to the Organized Crime Division to record a statement from him by way of a response to complaints received against him.
DIG Jayakody said, the monk had failed to answer summons to call at the Division. He said, as many as four police teams have been deployed to arrest the monk.
While the Sri Lankan Police officially announced that an Island – wide manhunt has been launched to apprehend ” Venerable” Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero the political grapevine hummed that the Ethno Religious Fascist Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary was being housed in a secret location with the support of a top cabinet minister.
Bodu Bala Sena, or Buddhist Strength Force- pic via BBC
Police headquarters in a statement said several units were deployed to track down the monk who leads the Bodu Bala Seaana (BBS) after the Colombo magistrate ordered the impounding of his passport.
“He is wanted in connection with the obstruction of police officers, hate speech and several other cases,” the police statement said.
The statement came as the BBS held a press conference at a temple in Rajagiriya and announced that the monk had gone into hiding fearing that he could be assassinated after being arrested by the police.
By
INDRANIL MUKHERJEE
Jude Ratnam is worried how his film might go down with his fellow Sri Lankan Tamils. And he has a point.
Jude Ratnam
“Demons in Paradise”, which is premiering at the Cannes film festival, tells of the bloodbath that drove some Tamils to take up arms in the three decade-long insurgency that tore the island apart.
But the documentary also shatters a taboo by insisting that some of most horrific violence the minority endured was at the hands of their supposed defenders, the Tamil Tigers.
by Maheesha Mudugamuwa
The government last evening placed the number of people dead and missing due to raging floods and earthships caused by heavy rains in several parts of the country on Thursday and Friday at 91 and 110, respectively.
Deaths were reported from Ratnapura, Kegalle, Kalutara, Gampaha and Matara Districts.
The government deployed armed forces in affected areas to evacuate people while the SLAF sent in choppers for rescue missions. They rescued four persons marooned at Ayagama, two at Neluwa, nine at Pahiyangala, one at Upper Neluwa and five in Kahawatte by 3 pm yesterday.
Two persons were killed in Biyagama in Gampaha while 30 went missing at Morawaka in Matara. Nine persons were killed in an earth-slip at Bulathsinhala in Kalutara. Earthslips in Ratnapura killed ten, according to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC).
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday instructed his government and rescue officials to provide immediate relief to the people affected by devastating floods and landslides as the death toll reached 55.
pic courtesy of: Isuru Mudiyanse
Tri forces along with rescue teams were continuing emergency evacuations and rescue missions as people remained trapped in their homes due to rising water levels.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Death Toll Exceeds 55 Due to Floods and Landslides; over 500,000 People Affected. Many Persons Missing’ »
By S.S. Selvanayagam
The Court of Appeal yesterday (24) ordered Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Galagoda Atte Gnanasara Thero to be produced in Court on the next date with a medical certificate as he was not present in Court and his counsel informed Court that he was ailing.
When the Contempt of Court case against Gnanasara Thero came up before a bench comprising Justices Rohini Walgama (CA President) and S. Thurairaja, the court directed Junior Counsel Anusha Perusinghe, who appeared for Gnanasara Thero, to produce him on the next date with a medical certificate.
The Court nominated a new bench comprising Justices L.T.B. Dehidenilya and P. Padman Surasena for the inquiry and fixed the matter for 31 May.
The Court on 28 February overruled the preliminary objection of respondent Gnanasara Thero with the contempt matter against him and charge sheet read in Open Court.
By
Panos Mourdoukoutas
When it comes to Sri Lanka, China has an ambitious agenda. It wants to turn the island nation into a trading and military outpost in the Indian Ocean. And it has a good plan in advancing that agenda, including the shoring up of Sri Lanka’s major ports.
That’s something Sri Lanka and other Indian Ocean countries desperately need, as trade flowing throughout the region has multiplied in recent years.
And it is also a development closely followed by international investors, as they place their bets in the financial markets in the region.
By
Shamindra Ferdinando
Brigadier Anura Deshapriya Gunawardene was arrested yesterday for allegedly ordering troops in 2013 to open fire on a group of people protesting against the contamination of their wells at Rathupaswela.
The infantryman was produced before Gampaha Chief Magistrate D.A. Ruwanpathirana and remanded til May 31.
Despite a clear cut directive being by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena that the General – Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena be taken into custody for inciting communal hatred and instigationg anti-Muslim violence, the Police force headed by Inspector -General of Police Pujith Jayasundara is unable to arrest and detain the “Venerable”Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero because the self-styled saviour of the Sinhala Buddhists has gone into hiding to save himself.
It is reliably learnt that when Police went in search of the political Bhikku fomenting ethno religious fascism to several places of worship and religious institutions linked to the Bodu Bala Sena, the controversial communalist monk spouting spoting venomous hatred was not to be found in those places. The inmates told Police that Gnanasara Thero had not been there recently and that they too were concerned about his absence.
Meanwhile the Bodu Bala Sena’s hief executive officer Dilantha Jayamanna has sent an urgent letter to the IGP Pujith Jayasundara stated that an armed gang of criminals is targeting the Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary with the diabolical motive of assassinating Gnanasara Thero. As a result of this death threat the BBS Gen secy has been compelled to go underground Jayamanna has said. The BBS Chief executive officer has urged the IGP to provide full security to Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero and safeguard his life.
President Maithripala Sirisena
The General- Secretsry of the Ethno -Religious Fascist organization known as the “Bodu Bala Sena” (Buddhist Power Force) Ven Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero is to be arrested and charged for instigating and conducting a systematic campaign of attacks against Islamic places of worship and Muslim owned business establishments in Sri Lanka.
Ven Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero
The decision to take immediate action against the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Secretary- General was taken at the first meeting of the newly constituted cabinet headed by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe held in the morning of May 23rd 2017.
President Sirisena gave an explicit directive to Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayake to instruct the Police to take immediate action against the BBS leader Gnanasara Thero. President Sirisena’s directive was endorsed by Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and also Sanctioned unanimously be the cabinet.
It is learnt reliably that a special team of Police personnel along with units of Police Special Task Force(STF) will be deployed to take Gnanasara Thero into custody. Steps will also be taken simultaneously to prevent Bodu Bala Sena activists from engaging in violence against persons of the Islamic faith if and when Gnanasara Thero is arrested.
By
Roisin O’Connor
James Bond actor Sir Roger Moore has died aged 89, his family has confirmed.
In a statement posted on the actor’s official social media accounts it was revealed that Moore had passed away in Switzerland after a “short but brave battle with cancer”.
Moore was the third actor to play British secret agent James Bond, in seven feature films released between 1973 and 1985 that were based on the books by Ian Fleming.
Continue reading ‘Refined British Actor Sir Roger Moore of James Bond Fame Dies At The Age Of 89’ »
By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj
Nine Cabinet Ministers and one state minister were re-allocated fresh ministerial portfolios in the morning of Monday May 22nd what was the first major re-shuffle since the formation of the current coalition Government headed by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe took office in August 2015.
President Sirisena himself was the first to make the announcement that nine cabinet minister and a State minister had taken oaths before him after accepting their new portfolios.
President Sirisena like the US President Donald Trump took to Twitter and tweeted “Nine Cabinet Ministers and a State Minister took oaths in their new portfolios a while ago”.
The “new” re-shuffled and re-appointed nine Cabinet Ministers and one State minister are –
1. Mangala Samaraweera – Minister of Finance and Mass Media.
2. S.B.Dissanayake – Minister of Social Empowerment, Welfare and Kandyan heritage.
3. W.D.J Seneviratne – Minister of Labour, Trade Union relations and Sabaragamuwa Development.
4. Ravi Karunanayake – Minister of Foreign Affairs
Continue reading ‘Nine Cabinet and One State Minister Sworn In By President Sirisena: Changed Portfolios for Mangala, SB, Ravi and Arjuna etc | Tilak Marapana Back in Cabinet; Mahinda Amaraweera – State Minister’ »
Contrary to speculative reports in sections of the media that President Sirisena is acting on his own withoit consulting Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in the envisaged cabinet re-shuffle scheduled for Monday May 22nd 2017, it is learnt reliably that the important decision to bring about changes in the allocation of certain portfolios as well as re- designation of some departments coming under purview of particular ministries was not taken by the President alone.
Instead of being a unilateral decision of the President, the mini cabinet re-shuffle decision is a trilateral one taken together by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in conjunction with former President Chandrika Kumaratuga stated well-informed sources.
The sources also stated authoritatively that President Sirisena and Prime minister Wickremesinghe arrived at a joint decision after much discussion on re-allocating ministeria portfolios and departments which was endorsed by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga. There was no question of President Sirisena going ahead with the reshuffle against the wishes of Prime Minister Wickremesinghe or taking a decision without consulting him reiterated the sources Continue reading ‘Decision to Re-Shuffle Ministers Was Jointly Taken by President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe’ »
An operation was launched yesterday to apprehend those responsible for firing at a Police vehicle in Pallai, a senior police officer said.
Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) Eastern Province and Acting SDIG Northern Province (NP), Sumith Edirisinghe said officers investigating Friday’s shooting at police officers in Pallai, Kilinochchi, have uncovered several vital clues, which they hope will lead to the speedy arrest of those responsible.
“Several pieces of evidence, including a pair of gloves allegedly used by the shooter, were located during the search. The authorities had also been given the number of a suspicious vehicle seen in the vicinity, prior to the attack,” he said.
By
Kelum Bandara
The United National Party (UNP), the key party of the government, has finally consented to the proposed Cabinet reshuffle to be scheduled for Monday.
Initially, the UNP had opposed any changes to the portfolios assigned to its members.
However, the party leadership had given the green light for a change in the portfolios after a meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday.
By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj
Well-known Sri Lankan Journalist – activist Poddala Jayantha was in the news last week when he sent a letter to the Director-General of Information Dr. Ranga Kalansuriya who is also the Secretary to the Cabinet Sub Committee on granting measures of relief to media persons who were subjected to various types of harassment and oppression during the period 2005 – 2015. Media reports said that copies of the letter had also been sent to the respective cabinet ministers serving in the cabinet sub – committee.
Upon seeing the media reports, I contacted Poddala Jayantha now living in the USA to verify the contents of media reports and ascertain whether they were accurate. Jayantha affirmed that they were correct and confirmed that he had indeed sent the letter to the cabinet subcommittee. He was not very hopeful whether his missive would produce the desired results but was of the opinion that an attempt has to be made any way.
Continue reading ‘The White-Vanning Ordeal Of Journalist-Activist Poddala Jayantha’ »
By Manekshaw
On 27July 1975 the news of the assassination of former Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiappah had spread in the Peninsula like wildfire forecasting a darker era to unfold with untold misery.
Late Alfred Duraiappah who gave Jaffna a facelift with new infrastructure facilities remained a popular Mayor despite him being considered a ‘traitor’ in the Tamil political scene.
Although a Christian Duraiappah, who had married a niece of another political stalwart and legal luminary late G.G. Ponnampalam, a Hindu, had tremendous faith in Hinduism.
So it was on 27 July 1975 while he was coming out after worshipping the deity at the Varatharajaperumal Temple in Ponnalai, a hamlet which is in the Karainagar region, he was gunned down at point blank range by Veluppillai Prabhakaran who was a teenager at that time and known in his circle as ‘Thambi’ (brother).
BY S VENKAT NARAYAN
Is Tamil superstar Rajinikanth toying with the idea of entering politics to fill the vacuum in Tamil Nadu politics caused by actress-turned-politician Jayaram Jayalalithaa’s death six months ago?
Last Sunday (May 14), Rajinikanth met his fans after a gap of eight years. The biggest Tamil movie star since M G Ramachandran (MGR), the 66-year-old also utilised the event to speak about his entry into politics.
This is a subject that has been constantly discussed in the southern Indian state since 1996, when he extended his support to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) alliance. The combined promptly swept the assembly elections and dislodged Jayaram Jayalalithaa as chief minister.
Rajinikanth’s recent meeting with his fans, organised through the actor’s rasigar mandrams (fan clubs), promises to be an ongoing one, with more being scheduled in the next few days. This has predictably led to speculation that the ageing superstar may actually be thinking of plunging into politics in the near future.
The Chief Minister of Sri Lanka’s Tamil-majority Northern Province, C.V.Wigneswaran, has said that his administration would not like industries coming up in the province to use locally available resources and would want them to deploy resources procured or purchased from outside the province.
“In working out our industries we would prefer not to use our natural resources internally available, if alternatives from elsewhere could be procured or purchased,” he said speaking at a meeting on the economic development of Jaffna District in Jaffna on Friday.
Wignswaran said this in the presence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. .
Presumably , the Chief Minister said this with a view to preserving the Northern province’s natural resources .But one wonders whether other provinces would allow their resources to be depleted to preserve the resources of the Northern Province!
By
Meera Srinivasan
After 20 years in India, wearing a “refugee” tag that led her from one camp to another, it was only in December 2016 that Edward Selyn, 55, returned home. Until a few days ago, she was among a group of people seated under a tent in Mullikulam village in Mannar, in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, protesting in the scorching heat for a month, demanding that the Sri Lankan Navy release her land.
She was displaced in 1996 with her entire family, after the civil war broke out. Now, eight years after the war ended and months after her return, Ms. Selyn has not stopped feeling displaced. “I had all my documents and deeds, but still could not get back to the land where my home was. I did not think we would come back to such a situation,” she says.
Several thousand acres of formerly civilian-owned or occupied land across the conflict-affected Northern and Eastern Provinces remained with the Sri Lankan armed forces after the war ended in 2009, severely hampering post-war resettlement in Sri Lanka.
In an effort to boost the development drive in the North, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday called upon all local politicians and civil society activists to join the efforts of the Government to bring in investment to the Northern Province.
“We would like to start infrastructure development now. Rebuilding, resettlement and reconciliation is going on. Now let us look at growth oriented, job creating development in Jaffna. We must all get together to resolve the issues in the province because the lowest economic growth is coming from the Northern Province. We have to make a massive effort, and get big investments to Jaffna,” he said, adding that although some apparel sector factories have been established, no major investments have been made in the province.
In order to halt the growing unemployment numbers, the Premier promised 1,000 jobs to unemployed graduates in the two provinces in a bid to address the worsening employment issues there.
“Today, looking at the issue of unemployed graduates in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, we have decided to find vacancies for 1,000 graduates in development and teaching services in the two provinces,” he said.
The Prime Minister, who met with political leaders and civil society activists in the Jaffna Peninsula to discuss development issues and challenges, said that the former conflict zones needs special focus to drive economic development.
By
Meera Srinivasan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally on May 12 with Sri Lanka’s hill-country Tamils, on the second day of his two-day visit to the country, was a success, if you went by conventional markers such as the crowd he drew or the cheers that arose from it. But its real outcome is rather limited compared to the wide-ranging needs of the historically neglected community.
That an estimated 35,000 people from in and around the central highlands converged on the small town of Norwood – many walking over 5 km since buses clogged the narrow roads — partly reflects the affinity the Tamils feel for India, from where their ancestors moved to Sri Lanka about 200 years ago. Moreover, hill-country politicians put in their might to mobilise workers, campaigning widely across the tea estates that employ a fourth of the over one million-strong community.
Mr. Modi’s visit to the region, the first by an Indian Prime Minister, was a strong affirmation of the community’s economic and political significance. In Sri Lanka’s key 2015 presidential elections, hill-country or Malayaha Tamils decisively voted for the President Maithripala Sirisena-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe opposition combine that ousted the authoritarian Mahinda Rajapaksa regime.
By
“Sunday Times” Political Editor
President Maithripala Sirisena, gave mixed signals, not unusually, when he vetoed his own demarche not to chair Cabinet meetings until he carries out a re-shuffle of Ministers. Last Monday morning, he directed the Cabinet Secretariat to summon the weekly ministerial meeting the next day, Tuesday. Officials hurriedly telephoned ministers to tell them the meeting which was indefinitely postponed, would take place at 10 a.m. at the Presidential Secretariat. It was just the week before that Sirisena refrained from formally choosing the date and time for the next meeting.
It came after he hinted to Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) ministers that no Cabinet meetings would take place until the reshuffle was made. He pointed out that he had already pledged that such changes would be made before Vesak Poya, which has now come and gone. This was on the basis that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had agreed to such a reshuffle.
Since their meeting on May 9, the Cabinet Secretariat distributed to ministers different memoranda approved by the President, a prelude to these being discussed at Cabinet meetings. Though they were titled “AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MEETING OF THE CABINET OF MINISTERS,” in the preamble, the document made clear that “The Date, Time and Venue for the Next Meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers will be notified by the Secretary to the Cabinet in due course.”
On other occasions, the date, time and the venue form the preamble of the Agenda. For example, for the Cabinet meeting on May 9, it said “agenda for the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers to be held on 9th May, 2017 at 9.30 a.m. at the Presidential Secretariat.” Thus, the spate of telephone calls went out on Monday morning for the Tuesday meeting. That in itself was to give rise to speculation among ministers — would a reshuffle take place ahead of the meeting or would there be a statement of some sort. They were proved wrong.
By
Kelum Bandara
Amid speculation of a Cabinet reshuffle, UNP sources said yesterday party leader and Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe had informed President Maithripala Sirisena and former president Chandrika Kumaratunga that the portfolios assigned to the UNP should not be changed.
In such a scenario, any reshuffle, will only apply to portfolios held by Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) members.