By Bharat Jhunjhunwala
October 29, 2010
The world economy is showing some signs of revival. But this may be a false start. Globalisation has encouraged the developed countries to transfer their advanced technologies to the developing countries. They no longer have absolute control of these technologies.
As a result their erstwhile monopoly on advanced goods like computer servers, rockets and nuclear reactors has evaporated into thin air. They are getting some royalty payments from the export of these technologies. But these decline with time. It is necessary to continuously generate new technologies to maintain the stream of income from royalty payments. This does not seem to be happening. The low cost of labour provides a deep advantage to the developing countries. Developed countries will not be able to compete with hi-tech India.
This is inherent in the model of free trade on which the present model of globalisation is built. Globalisation has actually made things difficult for the developed countries. It has encouraged them to transfer advanced technologies to the developing countries. For example, American and French companies are excited about transferring advanced nuclear power reactors to India on the successful culmination of the nuclear agreement.
Globalisation removes the comparative advantage of advanced technologies enjoyed by the developed countries till recently. Say the cost of production of nuclear power is Rs 2 per unit against Rs 4 per unit for thermal power. The cost of nuclear energy in the US will be Rs 2.
On the other hand, India will have to produce thermal power at Rs 4 per unit if the US does not export the technology of nuclear reactors. Consequently the cost of production of goods in India will be more and the US can pay higher wages to its workers to that extent. But companies producing nuclear reactors will be deprived of profits from the export of their reactors. Corporations will supply advanced nuclear reactors to India, the cost of energy in India will also get reduced to Rs 2 per unit, and the US companies will not be able to compete with India. Cheaper production in India will make it impossible for the US companies to pay higher wages.
Free trade has added to the woes of developed countries in another way. The daily wage of an unskilled worker in India is about Rs 200 against Rs 5,000 in the US. It has become profitable for US companies to produce in India and export the manufactured goods to their home economy. Wal-Mart is procuring about 80 per cent of its goods from China. Production of garments, toys and footwear has practically come to an end in the US.
That has happened because China and India have got the winning combination of advanced technologies and cheap labour.
This is giving them a comparative advantage in a global marketplace.
Developed countries were protected against such competition previously.
Advanced technologies were closely guarded. For example, India virtually begged for cryogenic engines for its space missions and super computers for its meteorological applications. These were denied at that time. Such restrictions are now passé. Instead Western companies are engaged in a fierce competition as to who exports most advanced nuclear technologies first to India. Developed countries had previously insulated themselves from competition from China and India in two ways — exports of advanced technologies was prohibited and imports of goods were subject to larger import taxes. It was possible for American companies to pay higher wages to their workers behind this protective shield which has since been dismantled.
The US government made a huge $700 billion stimulus package to bailout US banks from the present crisis. It has indirectly bought these loans from crisis-ridden banks. This package was successful in lessening the immediate pain but it will wholly fail in solving the long-term crisis. The stimulus package has had the consequence of artificially maintaining high wages in the US. The cost of production of American companies continues to be more than that of Chinese companies.
The solution for developed countries will come from adopting a protectionist stance. Developed countries will be better off if they impose high import tariffs.
Such import taxes, when imposed on garments, for example, will lead to high cost of garments in the US and, accordingly, it will become possible for US companies to pay higher wages to the extent of import taxes. Import taxes will also put brakes on the penchant for exporting advanced technologies.
Presently American companies are transferring advanced technologies, in part, because they want to import the goods produced. Use of advanced technologies lowers the cost of production in China and enables cheaper import of goods into the US.
Higher import duties will lead to lesser imports and correspondingly lesser incentive for the export of advanced technologies. It is clear that present model of globalisation has reached its end because there is no solace here for workers of the developed countries.
Where did the model go wrong? My reckoning is that there was misplaced trust in continuous development of new technologies. The US left no stone unturned in having the TRIPS agreement included in the WTO. The underlying idea was that gains from exports of advanced technologies will be huge and more than compensate for loss of employment due to cheap imports. The gains were indeed huge but only as long as new technologies were being developed.
The model failed because new technologies failed to appear and the expected benefits from export of new technologies failed to materialise. The assumption that new technologies will continue to appear and provide a continuous stream of incomes to the developed countries has failed leading to the collapse of globalisation, as we know it.
bharatj@sancharnet.in
Saturday, October 30, 2010
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How Sri Lanka can cope with the Repercussions of the Global Recession, and resulting Unemployment in Developed Nations.
This article by Bharat Jhunjhunwala is insightful, and may be correctly predicting the response of Developed Nations to the current Global Recession and Employment Crisis in developed countries.
Many in the US bemoan the loss of manufacturing jobs to China and India, and beginning to voice the need to bring back those jobs to the USA.
The previous strategy of developed nations was to outsource low-value and environmentally polluting jobs to underdeveloped low-wage countries, while reserrving high-value high-technology, skilled services, and knowledge-based product development to themselves.
The advent of the Internet, and the easy transfer of information across the globe, has proved that strategy to be unworkable and intrinsically flawed.
After all, neither experimental science, nor large scale industrial manufacturing, has been the forte' of India's and China's students and workers in the past. On the contrary, the acquisition of mathematical and scientific knowledge through book learning has been their strength.
The reasons are historical. The educational systems of these two countries concentrated on book learning because instruments and laboratories were expensive. The students were forced to excel in those areas where they had the tools .. the books.
The advent of cheap computers have increased that access to knowledge over the internet, and the Indian and Chinese, students and workers alike, have taken to it like ducks to water.
The result has been a wholesale transfer of knowledge-based technologies to India and China, where good educated workers are currently available at low wages.
Right behind this transfer of knowledge came the transfer of advanced manufacturing technologies, largely through the efforts of expatriates from these countries. The students and workers of India and China, well versed in book knowledge, were now ready to bend their fertile minds to advanced manufacturing where there were jobs at even better wages.
This worked to reduce prices of these imported consumer goods for citizens of developed countries as long as they had the money to pay for it. The trickle of consumer goods sparingly purchased before, now turned into a veritable flood with the inexpensive goods being bought without much consideration of whether they were essential, because they were so cheap and affordable.
During this period, artificially increased house prices in developed countries, especially the United States, gave these consumers a ready source of tax-advantaged funds through on-call home equity loans, that could be tapped to purchase these imported products.
Vendors of local services and manufacturers of local products also relied on imported products to meet the demands of their well-heeled customers.
Those transactions kept everyone employed. However, once the housing bubble burst, and the demand for those local services and products based on cheap imported products dried up, there were mass layoffs.
The loss of those manufacturing jobs outsourced ealier began to be felt in every community where people were laid off. People underwater (i.e., mortgage greater than the reduced house value) lost their home equity lines of credit and were unable to make their mortgage payments. They began to cutback on spending, businesses shed employees, homes foreclosed and local government sales and property tax revenues plummeted .. leading them to shed local government employees. Nobody had cash to keep the roofs above their heads, much less buy anything!
How Sri Lanka can cope with the Repercussions of the Global Recession, and resulting Unemployment in Developed Nations.
......continued 1....
Now there is a palpable anger among the people against those who outsourced manufacturing jobs to other countries, stemming from their current predicament. There is also a growing realization that no country can afford to lose its manufacturing base; that buying everything from foreign countries is ultimately self-defeating because it destroys the diversity in the mix of productive activity that a nation needs to weather bad economic times.
This realization has now hit home, very hard. It could very well translate into a new trend of bringing the factories setup by companies, both large and small, in foreign countries back to the developed countries.
In fact, BMW is setting up factories in the US instead of in Asia because the workers wages in the US are half those in Germany, the infrastructure support-base is much better than in developing countries, and relocating to the US brings the plants closer to their future market in the US. Form Factor, a leader in manufacturing computer-based chip inspection equipment, recently closed its factories in Asia and is bringing them back to the US .. because lower wages in the US have fundamentally changed the underlying economics that motivated the earlier outsourcing.
Lower wages alone will not be enough to permanently arrest the loss of jobs from developed to developing countries, at least as long as wages in developing countries remain low enough to be attractive for manufacturing.
I see increased investment in automation and intelligent manufacturing in developed countries to become the second trend in the coming decade that will enable the return of developed countries to local manufacturing.
The Lesson for Sri Lanka
Given this paradigm shift that is now underway, Sri Lankan leaders should be asking themselves "how can we cope with the impending loss of our low-wage advantage in the global marketplace and meet our goal to propel Sri Lanka into the New Wonder of Asia"?
The answers to this question spring from the Production and Consumption sides of the problem.
First, Sri Lanka should attempt to become SELF-SUFFICIENT in those things that are ESSENTIAL TO LIVING, if trade with, and income from, foreign sources fail to meet our expectations. High among these things essential to life are food, shelter, clothing and energy.
Consumption of imported goods must be reduced by encouraging local manufacturing for the local market .. be it in farming for food production, renewable energy generation, manufacture of vehicles, tvs, radios, pots and pans, bricks and cement, shoes and garments, etc for local consumption. While subsidies and import tariffs can be used to protect local producers initially, ultimately they must be capable of competing with foreign producers without such advantages.
Second, certain local industries like tourism must be brought up to world standards, keeping in mind that as wages rise in Sri Lanka, tourists cannot be, indeed should not be, attracted on low cost alone. Our traditional export-oriented products, such as tea, that have global competitors, should be converted into value-added high-value branded products of high-value. We should avoid exporting these items as raw materials, for foreign companies to profit from adding value.
How Sri Lanka can cope with the Repercussions of the Global Recession, and resulting Unemployment in Developed Nations.
......continued 2....
Third, infrastructure facilities must be developed in several key areas, that would make Sri Lanka attractive to foreign investors and industrialists, not because the labor is cheap, but because it has all the required high quality supporting facilities and manpower available at a reasonable cost in a strategic location.
The necessary infrastructure include those for cheap and reliable energy production, high-capacity electricity transmission and distribution networks, superb ports and airports that exploit Sri Lanka's strategic location in the lanes of global commerce, high-speed highways and railways that enable convenient transport of goods across the country and to India, high-speed digital communication networks, and national laboratories that can develop standards for products, and provide certification services at low cost to businesses. Universities should be encouraged to develop R&D laboratories empowered to provide product development R&D support to businesses.
Fourth, the workforce must be trained in several key areas including high-technology, financial services, information technology, medical services, and management through omnipresent high quality schools and universities.
We must develop a DISCIPLINED and TRAINED workforce that instinctively looks to their own productivity and skills for improving their economic status, and less to government protection and handouts. While this work force training can be undertaken by both public and private institutions, testing and accreditation must be the preserve and responsibility of the National Government. Accerditation should be maintained to International Standards, in concert with international educational and research institutions.
Fifth, each and every Sri Lankan student must be taught the basics of Business Entrepreneurship at high school level. These skills should include how to evaluate business opportunities, how to meet the legal business incorporation and taxation requirements, how to develop buiness proposals and acquire funding, and how to efficiently manage a business and its workers.
The objective should be to TRANSFORM the MINDSET of young people early in their intellectual development to give them the option of becoming independent employers themselves at the earliest possible opportunity, before they acquire a permanent predisposition to being dependent employees.
Jesus Christ had reputedly said .. give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for life!
India, US ties enter new phase: PM
Minu Jain
October 30, 2010
ON BOARD AIR INDIA ONE: India and the US have entered a new phase of "cordiality and understanding", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here Friday after his meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and ahead of the visit of President Barack Obama.
Manmohan Singh, who met Clinton in Hanoi for about 45 minutes during a packed day in which he attended the India-Asean and the East Asia summits as well as held three bilateral meetings, said there was a common desire to bring about a qualitative change in the relationship.
"India-US relations have entered a new phase. There is cordiality, there is understanding. It is our common desire to bring about qualitative changes in our relationship," the prime minister told reporters on his way home.
"We have economic and strategic interactions. We are strategic partners."
He added that there were "many areas of interest which we must explore with the US if there are commonality of views".
In the run up to the Nov 6-9 Obama visit to Mumbai and New Delhi, the two sides are discussing the way to carry the civil nuclear relationship forward.
According to National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon: "One of the things we are working on is to carry the civil nuclear relationship forward. The DAE (Department of Atomic Energy) is talking to US firms… These are practical discussions."
Both sides were agreed that the Obama visit would be a "historic one, which would enable us to add content to our strategic partnership". This covered the gamut, be it exploring political areas, economy, trade and commerce and security.
"Both sides expressed satisfaction at the state of preparations," Menon said.
He added that while the main topic of discussion when Clinton called on the prime minister was the upcoming Obama visit beginning Nov 6, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the situation in the region were also talked about.
"She welcomed the work we are doing in Afghanistan," Menon said, adding the US asked India to continue the task of reconstruction.
The two spoke about sharing of information on counter terror cooperation.
According to the NSA, US arms to Pakistan not related to counter terrorism was certainly an issue.
"The US knows our views and they know what our concerns are," he said, adding he did not want to anticipate the outcome of the Obama-Manmohan talks.
Is this the INDIAN CONCEPT of a Nation?
A country in which Hindi-speaking "North Indians" are NOT WELCOME in Maharashtra?
Does Indian Federalism only loosely link people who treat each other as "unwelcome foreigners"?
Is it not possible for Indians from any region of India to move to and live in any other part of India?
If so, I would say Indian Federalism has FAILED to create and bind it's people into ONE NATION, and I don't want Sri Lanka to mimic India's FOLLY!
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Raj continues tirade against North Indians
October 30, 2010
THANE: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray continued his tirade against North Indians tonight saying that they should mend their ways or be prepared to face consequences.
"Those from North India should know that this is not Uttar Pradesh or Bihar but Maharashtra. They should mend their ways or would be dealt with firmly," Raj said during a rally in suburban Kalyan, ahead of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation polls on Sunday.
"The influx of Hindi speaking people is on the rise as are the problems associated with it. We had enough of it and should retaliate now," he said.
Raj also took a dig at the Shiv Sena saying that the party blamed the state government, despite being a failure as an opposition for the past decade.
"(Sena) should know that their representatives were members of the MMRDA. Why could they not get funds for the city," he questioned.
In my view, former Australian PM Howard is WRONG on both counts:
First, Age Demographics notwithstanding, India will not supercede China as an economic power, unless it eliminates terrorism, instills social discipline, and eradicates caste discrimination.
Second, China will become the pre-eminent economic and military power in the world, overshadowing the United States, within two to three decades, precisely because China has found a practical way to instill discipline among its people, and harness them to the goal of national development.
................
India will supersede 'ageing' China: Howard
October 31, 2010
SYDNEY: China is "rapidly ageing" because of its one-child policy and this will allow India, a younger country, to supersede it as the dominant nation in Asia before the end of the 21st century, former Australian prime minister John Howard has said.
"The problem China has is that she will grow old before she grows rich, she's got a terrible demographic problem because of the one-child policy. China is a rapidly ageing country, whereas a country like India is a younger country and I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the century India is a more powerful country," Howard was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Howard said changing power bases in Asia justified his government's decision to forge new regional alliances while strengthening Australia's ties to its traditional allies. He served as the prime minister from 1996 to 2007.
Howard, however, said China could never overtake the US as the world's military or financial superpower.
"I think China is a rising power but I do not share the view China will ever outstrip the US as an economic power or military power," he said.
"I think one of the problems China has is eventually she will have to decide whether she can maintain a position where the country is economically liberal and open and, politically, still closed and controlled."
The former prime minister was speaking at a luncheon held to promote his autobiography, "Lazarus Rising".
Jane's Defence Weekly
Jayawewa, Sri Lanka!
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Sri Lanka embarks on fighter aircraft procurement
By Jon Grevatt
Jane's Asia-Pacific Industry Reporter - Bangkok
October 28, 2010
Key Points
Sri Lanka is preparing to purchase additional fighter aircraft
The MiG-29 is considered a leading contender following a loan from Moscow
Sri Lanka is set to procure additional fighter aircraft despite the end of its long-running conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) more than one year ago, Jane's has learnt.
The procurement will augment six Russian-made MiG-29 'Fulcrum' fighters that are thought to have been ordered in 2008 and around six or seven older MiG-27M 'Flogger-J2s' that have been acquired during the past decade.
It is expected that the pending procurement programme will see Sri Lanka purchase an additional MiG-29 following a deal signed earlier this year in which Moscow agreed to loan Colombo USD300 million to procure Russian-made military equipment and technologies over the next decade. Another platform thought to be bidding is the Joint Fighter-17 (JF-17) Thunder developed by China and Pakistan.
Sri Lanka's intention to procure additional fighter aircraft was confirmed by Jayantha Wickramasinghe, the chief executive of Lanka Logistics and Technologies Limited (LLTL), a company created by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence in 2007 to procure equipment for the armed forces.
Speaking on 28 October, Wickramasinghe indicated that a number of platforms were being considered. "The Sri Lanka government is looking at all options to defend its national interests," he said. "So we are looking at not only MiG-29s but we are looking at all aircraft that will fulfil our requirements. There are so many aircraft that are in the market. We will study the performance of each aircraft."
Asked what operations the aircraft would undertake, given that the Sri Lankan government's 26-year conflict with the LTTE ended in May 2009, Wickramasinghe said: "We have to look at enhancing our security. The government has a commitment to safeguard its national interests so we [LLTL] are supporting that task."
Jane's estimates that six aircraft would be acquired. A purchase of MiG-29s would complete a squadron. Wickramasinghe would not confirm the number of aircraft to be procured, saying: "It all depends on the final decision of the government of Sri Lanka."
Earlier this month, Sri Lanka's Prime Minister D M Jayaratne submitted to Parliament a Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11) defence budget of LKR215.2 billion (USD1.7 billion). The proposed defence budget amounts to a 6.4 per cent increase over the LKR202 billion allocated in FY10 and around 3 per cent of GDP. It also equates to 20 per cent of total national expenditure.
Traditionally, the Sri Lankan Army receives about half of the defence budget while the navy and air force receive about 16 per cent each. The remainder is usually allocated to the police and other security services. Procurement spending amounts to about 10-15 per cent of each service's allocation.
Given the relatively small expenditure available to the Sri Lankan Air Force, Moscow's loan would present an attractive proposition.
Previous defence acquisition funds were boosted by aid from the US under its Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programme. This aid was halted in 2007, however, in view of what Washington called "human rights violations" in the war with the LTTE.
The JVP dons the white knight's shining armor to "help youth get jobs" while fomenting civil unrest everywhere including universities!
Are we surprised? No!
This is vintage JVP, this Sinhala Tiger has not changed its stripes!
What they did in the past, they are doing again .. riding on the backs of jobless youth to violently grab power!
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Sri Lanka youth union proposes setting up a National Job Creation Front
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 31, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) affiliated Socialist Youth Union (SYU) says the government needs to address the problem of unemployed youth in the country.
The SYU has said that the government has defined an individual as being employed if he works two of the seven days in the week. Therefore, official figures have shown unemployment to be 5.9 percent, while the youth of Sri Lanka, 15-29 years of age, experience an unemployment level of 15.8 percent.
SYU Head and former JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake has told the local media that the Union contradicts these figures because when accounting for all factors unemployment amongst the youth stands at a much higher 30 to 35 percent.
Ratnayake has said the government has failed to effectively counter the high unemployment rate in the country. He has further attacked the government's definition of employment saying that for an individual to be considered employed if he works only two days a week is unrealistic.
The SYU has proposed setting up of a National Job Creation Front to address the unemployment problem. The Front is to assist young people in starting up their own businesses.
TRUE, but only if safe well managed investment vehicles are available to both small and large investors to PROFIT from SAVING and keep ahead of inflation!
The GOSL should jump start the creation of well managed MUTUAL FUNDS that invest in Sri Lanka's economic sectors.
Mutual Funds spread the investment risk over many individual company stocks for a small management fee. Broad-based INDEX Funds and narrowly-focused industry SECTOR Funds should be setup.
GOSL/SEC oversight of these funds is MANDATORY to assure investor safety!
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Save for development, says Sri Lanka Central Bank Governor
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 31, Colombo: The governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Ajith Nivard Cabral today highlighted the need of increasing savings to reach the development goals.
The Central Bank Governor expressed these views addressing a ceremony held in the National Savings Bank headquarters to mark the World Thrift Day that falls on today.
Cabraal said that saving is the root of development and it is essential to increase investment. He said that a country could develop if the national savings are at a satisfactory level.
My Comment at The Economist:
Ananda-Sinha wrote:
Nov 1st 2010 2:35 GMT
["Extra judicial killings, human right violations, mass murder, genocide and tyranny" all these allegations are levelled against Srilankan government.]
Ah, yes! The Diaspora mafia of the AXE murderers of the LTTE are now preaching non-violence and democracy. When blasting over 100,000 people to bits, slicing and dicing entire villages of people to death, and killing all dissenters among their own people, failed to win a racist mono-ethnic Tamils-Only aparthied Eelam state, we now have the same people preaching the virtues of democracy and non-violence to us. Hah!
Democracy there was before all this violence was unleashed upon the people of Sri Lanka, and to democracy we have returned the entire island of Sri Lanka, with the war won convincingly in its entirety.
ONE Nation, ONE People, One Destiny, Equal Rights and Equal Responsibilities is the future of Sri Lanka as it marches on to become the New Wonder of Asia!
No Mono-ethnic Racist Aparthied Eelams WHATSOEVER in this Blessed Resplendent Isle!
I can say no worse than Konappu Bandara summarized in verse ..
"You can shout till your face turns blue,
Nobody will bother to listen to you!"
DEBENTURE ISSUE TO PARTLY FUND ‘PORT CITY’ PROJECT
By Azhar Razak
October 31, 2010
Following the example set out by the Urban Development Authority (UDA), Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) is likely to opt for a debenture issue to fund the much exaggerated ‘Port City’ project, which plans to change Sri Lanka’s map.
SLPA, which is in charge of building a new ‘port city’ adjacent to Colombo’s Galle Face Green, is expected to raise part of the required funding for the project through a debenture issue, of which the number are yet to be disclosed, a source close to the project said. The rest of the funds are expected to be raised through foreign borrowings, the source added.
UDA, another state run organisation successfully issued debentures to the Colombo Stock Exchange recently to raise Rs.5 billion to fund a housing project in the city of Colombo.
The proposed US $400 million ‘Port city’ project, which aims at expanding out to sea on reclaimed land with material dredged to build the Colombo South Harbour will add a further 300 acre land to the city’s western sea front.
“We are hoping that the project will kick off by at least the middle of next year and take around two to three years to complete,” SLPA Chief Engineer Planning and Development, Susantha Abeysiriwardena told The Bottom Line. He, however, declined to disclose anything material regarding the financial side of the project.
According to Abeysiriwardena, the sea is to be dredged up to one and a half kilo metre distance from the shore and would remain in parallel horizontally with the vertical length of the existing breakwater that is being built adjacent to the site, when complete.
“It has been projected that out of the 300-acre land that we can reclaim, around 200 acres will be utilised as useful area providing the basic infrastructure while the remaining 100 acres could be used to construct the high rise and low rise buildings for a commercial centre,” Abeysiriwardena said.
Sources said that Lanka Hydraulics Institute, providers of hydrographic and modelling services and the Moratuwa University are also involved in the planning.
Also envisaged is the extension of the Marine Drive (a road running parallel to the main Galle Road) from the Colpetty municipal ward into the land reclaimed from the sea, providing another approach road into the city.
Funds SUCH AS THIS REPORTED IN THE ARTICLE BELOW are setup and sold to large investors and organizations ONLY. They do not allow small individual investors to save, profit and contribute to the growth of their own country.
What Sri Lanka really needs are No-Sales-Load Mutual Funds selling shares directly to the public and redeemable on-demand without penalty.
Minimum investment amounts, and annual fees, should be kept small.
These Mutual Funds should be set up in Sri Lanka similar to the mutual fund families of Fidelity Investments, T. Rowe Price, and the Vanguard Group in the United States.
GOSL, Are you Listening?
Please give Ordinary Patriotic Sri Lankan Citizens a safe and reliable free-market vehicle to SAVE and CONTRIBUTE to the future GROWTH of Sri Lanka!
...........
Sri Lanka fund targets banking sector
Island.lk
October 30, 2010
Oct 30, 2010 - A new Sri Lankan investment fund that opened for subscription Friday is targeting the banking sector which is seen doing well given the need for funding to fuel an economic boom, officials said.
Deutsche Bank and Ceylon Asset Management (CAM) Company have set up the Ceylon Financial Sector Fund to invest in banking, finance and insurance companies which have outperformed the share market this year.
The sector is forecast to grow strongly given accelerating economic growth after the end of the island's 30-year ethnic war in May 2009, officials said.
Fund units are offered at 10 rupees each with a minimum investment of 10,000 rupees.
"The banking sector has outperformed the All Share Price Index," Dulindra Fernando, managing director of CAM told a news conference.
"We've created this fund that enables investors to capture part of this booming industry. It is an open-ended fund, fully tax exempt and money can be withdrawn anytime."
CAM Company is a joint venture between Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation which has a 25 percent stake and Ceylon Capital Trust which has 75 percent.
The fund will minimise risk by eliminating speculative trading and daily valuations and the fund's portfolio content will be disclosed on the company website daily.
The 10 companies the fund will initially invest in are Commercial Bank, Hatton National Bank, Lanka Orix Leasing Company, DFCC Bank, Sampath Bank, National Development Bank, Nations Trust Bank, Central Finance, Seylan Bank and Aviva NDB Insurance.
The fund's maximum exposure limit to one company is 15 percent.
"The sector is in very good shape particularly with non-performing loans in the range of five percent with the exception of Seylan Bank," Fernando said.
"In current economic scenario we see banking sector growth being driven by low interest rates,, excess liquidity in the financial sector and hopefully a VAT (value added tax) reduction for the financial sector in the next budget," he said.
"We expect many new projects to need financing in the fast growing sectors of the economy." (LBO)
Sri Lanka upgrades its border control system with UK funds
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 31, Colombo: Sri Lanka Immigration and Emigration Department has recently introduced several state-of-the-art technologies to upgrade the country's border control system, through a project funded by the United Kingdom Government.
The British High Commission in Colombo said the modifications made to the current system at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) to improve the border control procedures were made possible as part of a Border Management Project implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Under this project full page passport readers have been installed at the BIA. These readers can capture the full data-page image of the passport during passenger inspection at the time of entry and departure.
According to the High Commission the readers will provide an electronic confirmation as to authenticity of the passport, identify possible tampering and forgeries to the passport.
Further, the new system which is equipped with a state-of-the-art photo verification technology can match the holder's photo in the data-page to the photograph stored in the passport chip.
The Immigration and Emigration Department has also modified its electronic Passenger Alert List Referral Mechanism by introducing an integrated module to provide fast and secure referral mechanism, the High Commission highlighted.
Adding to the upgrade, the Department has also installed a CCTV monitoring system to monitor on-line the airport operations from its headquarters in real-time.
Thanking the UK Government and IOM for supporting Sri Lanka's border management program, Controller General of Immigration and Emigration Chulananda Perera has said that ability to address border management issues comprehensively and cooperatively is becoming a fundamental requirement for effective national governance and international relations as well as to achieving the country's development goals.
British High Commissioner, Dr Peter Hayes, reiterating his government's commitment to maintain a close working relationship with the Department of Immigration and Emigration has expressed hope to work even closer together in future to achieve joint objectives of UK and Sri Lanka.
Richard Danziger, Chief of Mission, IOM has noted that Sri Lanka Immigration has made considerable progress in the border control procedures and assured the IOM's continued engagement to assist Sri Lanka with the help of the UK and the international community.
Sri Lanka Air force New Acquisitions: An Update
The MiG-29SMT jets will be ordered next year, each will be equipped with a Phazotron JSC-built Zhuk-ME (N-019ME) Multi-Mode Fire Control Radar, which has a proven 85km target detection range, and the capability to track 10 and fire at 4 simultaneously.
It also has advanced air-to-surface modes that include Doppler-beam sharpening, synthetic aperture scanning (with 5-metre resolution) and moving target detection. It can track and target a truck sized target from 25km and motorboat at 120km.
It can simultaneously engage 2 ground targets at once. It has a new mission computer in the MVK-04, which is substantially more powerful than the TS100 on the MiG-29SMT.
The MiG-29SMT jets original IR Search and Track (IRST) sensor in front of the canopy, the 13S sensor on the MiG-29SMT is replaced with the Improved OPES-29 IRST unit. It has far greater range and far superior search limits in the azimuth and elevation.
It is able to search, detect and track targets against their thermal radiation at all altitudes, in the lookup and lookdown modes, day and night and in the jamming environment as well as provide air or ground target ranging by means of a laser range-finder.
In upgrading and integrating the optical electronic fire control & navigation systems, a new data display system is used in the MFD-54 multifunction colour display complex, with an additional weapons management control display system in the centre console.
Flight navigation and radio-communication is also added to the multifunctional computer, along with the GPS receiver and additional radio-stations. The aircraft also feature a new wide angle HUD.
Most importantly, the MiG-29SMT avionics are linked though a MIL STD 1553B data bus.
The armaments suite will include Vympel R-73E air combat missiles, R-27ER1 and R-27ET1 medium-range air combat missiles, as well as KAB-500Kr laser-guided bombs that would be guided to their targets by man portable ground-based LDR-3 laser target designators supplied by Pakistan’s Al technique Corp.
SLAF expected to get 12 MIG-29SMT jets.
Also to be delivered in this time frame there are 4 Mi-35M attack helicopters.
The Mi-35M helicopters for the SLAF will come fitted with a 9K113K all-weather weapons suite that includes an Urals Optical & Mechanical Plant-built OPS-24N 'Zarevo' optronic system, GOES-342 gyro-stabilized chin-mounted turret, IRTV-445MGII thermal imager with a 4km range, and the BREO-24 radio communications suite. The Mi-35M's cockpit displays are NVG-compatible.
The helicopters will have an all new main and X-shaped tail rotor fabricated from composite materials. While it’s main and tail rotor hubs and gearbox are the same as those developed for the Mi-28NE attack helicopter.
The original wings on the Mi-24 are replaced with new stronger, lighter weight stub wings on the Mi-35M, each equipped with twin APU-8/4U weapons pylons, each of which can carry four or eight supersonic anti-armor guided missiles (130mm 9K114 Shturm-S with 5km-range or 9M120 Ataka with 6km-range) depending on the weapons configuration.
The initial order does cover an unspecified number of 9K114M (HEAT) and 9K114F (Thermo baric) missiles.
While the SLAF will be responsible for first and second level maintenance of these new acquisitions, the Russian Air Force & Russian Aviation Ltd will provide flying training, technical type-training and depot-level maintenance support for them.
Russian Aviation Ltd is currently providing similar product support to the SLAF's existing Mi-17V-5s, and Mi-24V/35P HIND Attack Helicopters, and for the 7 MiG-27D jets and one MIG-23UB trainer.
In addition to these acquisitions from Russia, the Sri Lankan Air Force is also upgrading its Kfir jets, along with Mi-24V Attack Helicopters.
Sri Lanka Air force New Acquisitions: An Update
.......continued.....
The SLAF recently acquired 6 - advanced UAV's from Israel.
Anyway, along with this acquisition the SLAF also brokered a deal with the Israel for Elta to supply 4 x EL/M-2032 advanced Multimode Airborne Fire Control Radars to the SLAF. Crucially, the upgrade is to be carried out by Israeli Aeronautics Industries (IAI).
The EL/M-2032 has greatly enhanced Air-to-Air, Air-to-Ground and Air-to-Sea capabilities compared to the Elta EL/M 2001 on the existing SLAF Kfir jets.
In the Air-to-Air modes, the radar enables long-range target detection and tracking for weapon delivery or automatic target acquisition in close combat engagements.
In Air-to-Ground missions, the radar provides very high-resolution mapping (SAR), surface target detection and tracking over Real Beam Map (RBM), Doppler Beam Sharpening (DBS) and High resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) maps in addition to A/G ranging.
In Air-to-Sea missions the radar provides long range target detection and tracking, including target classification capabilities (Range Signature (RS), Inverse SAR (ISAR)).
The SLAF Kfir C.7 jets will be delivered to Israel later this year, followed by C.2 jets and TC.2 jets early in the next year.
The second major Project involving Russia is for upgrade existing SLAF Mi-24V helicopters into the Night Attack Role.
The new upgrade will include replacing the existing cockpit displays to accommodate the ANVIS/HUD-24 Night Vision system. A new composite main and tail rotor, along with a new main and tail rotor hub and gearbox inline with the Mi-35M upgrade.
The existing L-166V-1E Ispanka microwave pulse lamp 'Hot Brick' IR jammer is to be replaced with the more capable Ukrainian KT-01 AV Adros IR Jammer field tested to have successfully jammed the SA-18.
This Modernization & upgrade is planned to begin by the start of the next year.
USA supplying weapons to Sri Lanka
January 22, 2010
These revelations will demonstrate the depth of American support to Sri Lanka.
There are heavy presence of American Manufactured Air-to-surface missiles, Air-to-air missiles, Cluster bombs & Laser Guided Bombs used by SLAF Kfir jets.
(SLAF Kfir jets also Upgraded to Kfir C.10 : The most important change is the adaptation of the Elta EL/M-2032 radar. Other changes include HMD capability and two 127*177mm MFD's)
Americans have supplied the SLAF with a Withheld Numbers of Star SAFIRE II Surveillance Cameras.
These New UAV Cameras are generations ahead of the Surveillance Cameras already on SLAF Aircrafts. The quality in the images provided have given the SLAF a huge tactical advantage. The Camera s Zoom capability and Sensor quality have had a big impact on the quality of the intelligence provided.
The Star SAFIRE II Series has the following characteristics:
(A) -- Gen 3 Thermal Imager (3-5 m) with 29x Zoom ratio
(B) -- Gen 2 Thermal Imager (8-12 m) with 29x Zoom ratio
(C) -- Colour Zoom Camera with 18x Zoom ratio
(D) -- Laser Range Finder
(E) -- Laser Range Designator
Americans have supplied unknown numbers of Blue Horizon 2 UAV'S. The Blue Horizon 2 is produced by the E.M.I.T. Aviation Consult LTD.
Characteristic missions include:
-- Intelligence gathering.
-- Close support operations.
-- Target acquisition.
-- Weapon guidance.
-- Battle damage assessment.
Apart from its attractive price, the UAV offered the SLAF considerably longer endurance missions.
The performance specifications for the Blue Horizon 2:
-- Service altitude - 18000ft
-- Speed - 60-120kias (at 2000 ft altitude)
-- Flight endurance - 16 hrs (70kias, 5000ft altitude)
SLAF - Sri Lanka Air force
ON THE CONTRARY, the Sri Lanka Army ALONE needs at least 350,000 trained regular soldiers, excluding Navy and Air Force personnel.
We must remember that it is difficult to raise and train an Army after the fighting has begun.
The SECURITY THREATS to Sri Lanka are NOT OVER!
Cutting Costs on DEFENSE FORCES was the mistake Sri Lanka made in the past before SLA strength was increased under the current GOSL.
Closing the Barn Door after the Horse is Stolen AGAIN is NOT AN OPTION!
When not engaged in Training and Operations, soldiers should be put to work in NATION BUILDING activities to help EARN & OFFSET their support costs.
....................
Sri Lanka Army restricts recruitment
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 30, Colombo: Sri Lanka Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya says that the Army had limited new recruitments to its services.
The Army Commander told media today that the present cadre of 225,000 is sufficient for the national security. Of this total, 150,000 were recruited during the last phase of the war against Tamil Tiger rebels.
The Army will recruit only to fill vacancies of the retiring and de-listing officials, the Army Commander stated.
The Army is exploring opportunities to send more officials to United Nation peace keeping missions, Army sources say.
Nearly 20 percent of the expenditure in government's 2011 budget, estimated to be Rs 215.2 billion, is for the defence sector. A major portion of that contains the wages for the 500,000-strong security forces including the police.
How the war was won
Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict: How Eelam War IV was Won-Ashok Mehta
A good article on Eelam war
How the war was won
Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict: How Eelam War IV was Won-Ashok Mehta
Reviewed By
Dr SinhaRaja Tammita-Delgoda
Island.lk
October 30, 2010
Historian, art historian and writer, Dr. SinhaRaja Tammita-Delgoda is one of the few non combatants to have been allowed into the war zone during the final stages of the Eelam War. Some of his pieces were published by The Sunday Island (Sri Lanka), The News on Sunday (Pakistan) & The Independent (UK). His case study, "Sri Lanka. The Last Phase in Eelam War IV. From Chundikulam to Pudumattalan" has been published by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi, the infantry think tank for the Indian army. He is the only Sri Lankan to speak on the conflict at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst (RMAS), where in November 2009 he gave a presentation" Fighting the Tamil Tigers. A Last Phase in the Infantry War.
Introduction
Major General Ashok Mehta’s paper is the first complete account to be published on Sri Lanka’s last Eelam War. General Mehta provides a comprehensive overview of Eelam War IV, detailing the history of events from the outbreak of the conflict right up to its conclusion. His overview looks at the military and political factors involved and succeeds in being both narrative and analytical
One of the most valuable aspects of this paper lies in the author’s ability to bring together a wide range of information on different aspects and areas of the conflict. Using Sri Lankan and international sources, General Mehta has done his best to scrutinise everything within his reach, drawing on newspapers, magazine articles, media sources, personal interviews, conversations and field accounts. Despite the vast array of material which has emerged, General Mehta works his way through the different stages of the conflict step by step. His approach is ordered and methodical, and above all, it is extremely lucid. This is what makes his paper such a useful and informative introduction to the subject.
Given his vast experience and eminence in his field, it is disappointing that General Mehta has to rely so heavily on secondary evidence. At times, this serves to restrict his very considerable powers of analysis. How the rest of the world sees the Eelam War is well known and well documented. How Sri Lankans saw the conflict and how they fought it less known. What happened? What changed and how was it done? This is the story which General Mehta and other authorities should seek to understand and try to tell.
The first part of Mehta’s paper goes to some length to set the scene, outlining the political circumstances which led to the outbreak of hostilities. In tracing the history of these events, Mehta very rightly points out that it was the LTTE who closed the door to negotiations.
The LTTE’s attempts to assassinate the Army Commander and the Defence Secretary had a profound impact on the military and political leadership. Although he acknowledges that they helped precipitate the reorganisation of the army,3 General Mehta does not probe any further. In reality, there were crucial moments and their impact fundamental and formative.
The LTTE were well aware of the threat posed by General Sarath Fonseka. In their eyes, he was one of the few men left capable of destroying their organisation. In the short time since he become Army Commander, General Fonseka had already embarked on a far-reaching reorganisation of the army. However, due to the political situation at the time, he found himself working under tremendous constraints.
How the war was won
Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict: How Eelam War IV was Won-Ashok Mehta
........continued 1....
The LTTE suicide attack left Fonseka badly injured and he was lucky to escape with his life. This had a profound effect on the Army Commander, who was well known in army circles for his tenacious and unrelenting nature. Whereas previous commanders may have backed down, with Fonseka, the attempt to kill him merely hardened his determination, setting his resolve in stone. "They tried to kill me once. They will not get a second chance."4 In trying to kill Fonseka, the LTTE had created a driving, implacable enemy. This was the source of his motivation and unremitting personal commitment.
The attempt on General Fonseka also helped change attitudes within the establishment. The leadership realised that without Fonseka, they could not hope to fight (and defeat) the Tigers. The restraints which had held Fonseka back were lifted. He was allowed a free hand and given the resources he needed.
The attempt on the life of the Defence Secretary in December 2006 was another crucial moment. One of the most telling images of the conflict is the sight of President Mahinda Rajapakse embracing his brother after he had just escaped with his life. Captured on national television, the President’s face as he embraces his brother, makes an interesting study. Apart from the immense joy and relief, there is apprehension and sober realisation.
Sri Lanka’s political leadership had been renowned for its lack of commitment and its tendency to back down in the face of military reverses and international pressure. This had been one of the prevailing characteristics of the whole conflict. To many within the military, President Mahinda Rajapakse was no different. In Mehta’s own words, "puncturing the myth of the LTTE’s invincibility was an idea which even Mahinda Rajapakse did not believe possible."
General Mehta writes that in "November 2005, soon after he became president, he cranked up the war machinery." A populist and a shrewd tactician, a brief glance at Mahinda Rajapakse’s political career does not reveal a man with a set agenda or a particular cause. Very much a man of the moment, in many peoples’ eyes, he was the quintessential dealmaker. To see him as he has been portrayed, as a hardline Sinhala Buddhist nationalist, irretrievably committed to war, is far from the truth. The assassination attempt on his brother however, brought home the hard truth. It convinced the President and those nearest to him that they would never be safe while the LTTE remained in being. It convinced them that this was a struggle which had to be fought to the finish; only then could a lasting peace be achieved. This realisation was what added steel to the political will, generating a resolution and a tenacity which no Sri Lankan government had ever shown before.
In 1987, the government of JR Jayewawardene had given way in the face of Indian pressure. It called off the Vadamarachchi offensive when it was on the verge of success, signed the Indo-Lanka Accord and accepted the reality of Indian intervention in Sri Lanka. The administration of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaranatunge proved no different. After a series of military reverses and an attempt on her life in 1999, a visibly shaken Kumaranatunge lost her nerve. Calling off the war, she did everything she could to prevent a resumption of hostilities, remaining inactive even when her Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, was murdered in 2005.
How the war was won
Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict: How Eelam War IV was Won-Ashok Mehta
........continued 2....
The history of the Eelam War shows that the LTTE had consistently relied on assassinations to break the morale of the Sri Lankan government and undermine its willingness and ability to fight. This had been a tried and tested method and it had always worked before. What is extraordinary is that it did not work this time.
Instead, the very opposite of what the LTTE had intended occurred. It brought the military and the political leadership together and gave them a vested interest in fighting the war. Unlike previous regimes, this administration did not lose its nerve and back down. The Rajapakse government was not overwhelmed by the grim reality of what had been up till now an unwinnable war. Instead of being cowed, they embraced this reality and set about changing it – to make an unwinnable war winnable. It was a remarkable political transformation. Almost every commentator talks of political will as being a key factor in the final resolution of the last Eelam War. This was its secret.
The real clues to the outbreak of Eelam War IV lie in the thinking of Prabhakaran and the Tamil Tiger hierarchy. Why did the LTTE obstruct negotiations? Why did it refuse to compromise and why did it drive the Sri Lanka government to the point of war? These are some of the questions which come to mind.
The answer is simple. The LTTE went to war because it thought it could win. This was the other reality behind the conflict. The international community and the international media had trumpeted it around the world that the Tamil Tigers were invincible. General Mehta is absolutely right when he tells us that Prabhakaran and the LTTE misread Mahinda Rajapakse and that they underestimated the Sri Lankan army.9 As a result, the Tigers believed that this administration would set out to do what all Sri Lankan governments had tried to do in the past - to weaken the LTTE and force them to talk.
The Tigers themselves believed that the Sri Lankan government could not win and that the Sri Lanka army could not fight. It was what they told the civilians who followed them. In the words of an old woman fleeing the great camp at Pudumattalan, this was something which they had all believed.
They promised us Freedom. Freedom from the Sinhalese. They said that the Sinhalese army would never come here. They said that they were frightened and stupid. They will only come on the road. Where is our freedom now?
Judging from past history, the Tigers felt sure that even if the Sri Lankan government did go to war, it could not sustain the cost of a prolonged conflict. The Tigers believed the Rajapakse administration would never be able to stand up to international pressure. Despite everything which has been said and written about Mahinda Rajapakse’s hardline attitude, the fact remains that the LTTE themselves were convinced that Rajapakse was weak. In their eyes, he was an easier option than the better known and more seasoned Ranil Wickremasinghe.
How the war was won
Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict: How Eelam War IV was Won-Ashok Mehta
........continued 3....
This was an important strand in their thinking. It explains why they prevented voting in the areas under their control in the Presidential election. Had they not done so, the consensus is that the election would have gone Wickremasinghe’s way.
As the LTTE saw it, they had succeeded in bringing every Sri Lankan government to its knees. They were convinced that they would win and that this would be the final blow. The time had finally come.
Liberation of the East
After he has set the scene, General Mehta moves on to recount the liberation of the eastern province.12 Very much in command of his facts, he pieces together the various strands of information to record the progress of military operations with great clarity. Both tactically and strategically, he is able to assess the key decisions made and evaluate the turn of events.
The eastern province contained large tracts of primary jungle and it was ideal for guerilla fighting. The operations here were spearheaded by commandos and special forces, backed up by infantry. In its early stages, the campaign was directed by Brigadier Prasanna Silva. An infantryman with a special forces background, Brigadier Silva understood the nuances of using troops in small operations in this environment. In the recent past, the army had relied on establishing Forward Defence Lines (FDL). This time, they set Forward Operating Bases (FOB) and took on the Tamil Tigers in the jungles.
The jungle terrain restricted the use of heavy weapons and airpower; as a result, collateral damage was very limited. The guerillas were dependent on Tamil villages which were located nearby, in the vicinity of the jungle areas where they operated. It was here that they had their supply dumps and hid their stores of arms and ammunition. For many of the cadres, these villages were also their homes and they often would return to rest and have a hot meal. Probing into the forest in small units, the Sri Lankan army targeted these areas, launching detailed patrols and ambushing the enemy. These tactics upset the guerillas and disrupted their modus operandi.
Karuna’s defection was an important element in the success of the whole operation and General Mehta leaves us in no doubt of its significance. However the crucial fact is that the Sri Lankan army, especially the special forces and commandos, had operated in these jungles before and that they had been just as successful in the past.13 From 1991-2, the Sri Lankan army had proved so effective in the East that they had managed to establish government control across the province.14 As a result, the government was able to hold an election in 1993, where almost 70 percent of the population voted. For all his vaunted prowess, Karuna had been unable to halt the army’s progress and he was forced to flee to the north. However, in the following years, poor political and military thinking saw the eastern province lost once more. The areas which had been so painstakingly cleared were abandoned and the troops transferred to participate in Operation Riviresa in the north. It was only in 1995, after Riviresa had ended, that Karuna was able to return.
How the war was won
Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict: How Eelam War IV was Won-Ashok Mehta
........continued 4....
These were the real reasons for the rapid success of the eastern campaign. The Sri Lankan army was already familiar with the environment and they been just as effective in the past. Karuna’s defection certainly made their task easier. However, he and his cadres had been bested once before on their home ground.
One of the most extraordinary characteristics of the war in the eastern province was the chorus of derision and condemnation against which the whole operation was conducted. This chorus was led by the opposition United National Party, whose leaders went out of their way to belittle the army’s efforts. The army’s seizure of the LTTE’s great jungle stronghold of Thoppigala was ridiculed by no less a figure than the leader of the Opposition, Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe. Speaking on television at a public gathering at Galle on 17 July 2007 Wickremasinghe dismissed Thoppigala as an empty patch of jungle.15 Amidst roars of laughter from his own supporters, he asked, "So what is so special about Thoppigala? Its just a useless patch of empty jungle which is larger than whole district of Colombo."16
This onslaught continued for the greater part of the war and lasted till the capture of Kilinochchi. On 13 November 2008, at the height of the Vanni operation, UNP front-liner Ravi Karunanayake mocked the army’s advance in the Parliament.17 He accused the army of pretending to march towards "Alimankade" (Elephant Pass) when it was really only going towards Pamankade, a suburb of Colombo.18 Two weeks later, another political heavyweight Mangala Samaraweera, leader of the People`s Wing of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, personally attacked the army commander. "Sarath Fonseka," he said. "was not only unsuitable to lead the Sri Lanka army, he was not even fit to command the Salvation Army."19
It was an extraordinary set of circumstances, quite unparalleled in the history of recent conflicts. While the army was making unprecedented gains, it was being publicly ridiculed by a large section of the political elite. It is a factor which is not always appreciated and very few analysts have touched on it. One would have expected General Mehta to refer to this, especially in light of its impact on morale and motivation.
From the Falklands to the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan, no fighting force and its serving officers have had to endure this kind of ridicule during a campaign. A sobering lesson to any soldier, it is an unsavoury aspect of democracy at its very worst. Indeed, to search for parallels, one has to hark back to the ancient past, to the bitter party politics of Athens during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC).
The army was also attacked by a section of the press, and there were strong suspicions that military details were being leaked by leading English newspapers and individual columnists. It was also denounced by leading members of the English intelligentsia, several of whom spearheaded a far-reaching campaign against the army. These factors only served to heighten the level of international criticism, putting enormous pressure on the government, the armed forces and the conduct of military operations.
How the war was won
Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict: How Eelam War IV was Won-Ashok Mehta
........continued 5....
The remarkable fact is that this did not have a crippling effect on morale and motivation.
The reason for this can only lie in the spirit which had been fostered within the armed forces. General Mehta tells us that this was the result of government initiatives to foster public support and raise the profile of the average soldier.20 The Sinhala press and media were extensively deployed to portray the soldiers as national heroes and defenders of the motherland from terrorism.21 Honoured and respected in their own communities, the servicemen felt that the country was behind them.22 This was the first time that this had happened in the history of the Eelam War 23 It was a powerful motivating force and it made a huge difference.24
An internal momentum had been generated. The effect was that the ésprit de corps was so high that it could not be eroded from without; only from within.
The Northern Offensive
General Mehta’s account of the northern offensive is once again informative and clear cut.25 Beginning in July 2007 and ending in April 2009, this was a critical operation of immense complexity and enormous difficulty. Far more prolonged than the eastern campaign, it was also far more uncertain. What was so important about this theatre was that the Sri Lankan army was going into these areas for the very first time, after almost seventeen years. Unlike the East, they were operating in territory which was completely unfamiliar and totally hostile. However, General’s Mehta’s narrative is all too brief, at times sketchy and at others, almost skeletal. Most of his attention is focused on The Last Battle and the rest of the campaign occupies a relatively brief section; in fact, it takes up less than half the space devoted to the eastern campaign.
In his narrative of military operations, it would have been helpful if General Mehta had been able look more closely at the nature of the environment in each theatre. Each formation found itself operating under different conditions in different terrains. As the lay of the land changed, so did the way that the enemy used it. This meant that almost every division found itself fighting a different type of battle, sometimes several different battles, during the course of one campaign.
In the north, both the 53 Division and the 55 Division had to fight in the arid, semi desert conditions of the Jaffna peninsula. Temperatures rose to 40 C, water was scarce and shade limited. After the breakthrough had been made, the 55 Division under General Prasanna Silva, found itself fighting along the sands, beaches and lagoons of the North Eastern shoreline.26
Along with the 58, the 53 Division under General Kamal Guneratne was then caught up in bitter semi-urban warfare in the areas around Dharmapuram and Pudukudirrippu. This was a relatively builtup area, closely settled with small towns and villages. The obstacles here were many and varied, the challenge far more complex and the fighting much more intense.27 One of the specific problems was that the buildings were smaller and the spaces between them were larger, which made the guerillas lines of observation clearer and it was easier for them to use artillery. They were also able to deploy their machines guns to maximum effect, creating areas where the advancing troops were channeled into killing zones.
A key part of the campaign was the role which was given to the 57 Division under General Jagath Dias. This formation spearheaded the crucial thrust which opened the route to Kilinochchi. The LTTE considered Kilinochchi to be their stronghold and they had surrounded it with a network of defences. It is significant that this task was entrusted to Jagath Dias. Dias was an immensely experienced infantry officer who had spent more time in the field than in staff commands. He had seen the war from the position of a platoon commander to general and understood the soldier’s mind, his needs and concerns.
How the war was won
Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict: How Eelam War IV was Won-Ashok Mehta
........continued 6....
However, instead of a launching a frontal assault, the army attacked through the Madhu jungles, outflanking the defences which the LTTE had prepared. This turned out to be one of the most difficult operations, a prolonged and painstaking effort, which inched its way through the forest. These were mostly secondary jungles, full of little trees and scrub with dense, tangled undergrowth. These small trees made it much more difficult to see and the thick undergrowth made the going very difficult. Interspersed with the stretches of jungle were paddy fields, patches of chena cultivation, marshy land and scrub. All of these different natural features posed their own challenges as the defenders had prepared each one to their own advantage. It was the transition from one to another which proved the most dangerous for the advancing troops.
The terrain was made even more difficult by the weather. The campaign was fought during the monsoon, often in pouring rain and oceans of mud. Constantly wet and never dry, colds, fever and foot rot played havoc with the advancing troops.28 Lieutenant Colonel Liyanage remembers that a lot of the time they had to walk without boots because their feet were rotting.29 When they finally reached Kilinochchi, it was the first time in months that he was able to sleep under a roof.30
The importance of this theatre has yet to be fully realised. By coming through the jungles, the army caught the guerillas by surprise.31 They had not expected the enemy to take this route so they had not mined these areas as heavily.32 It stretched the LTTE, forcing them to fight far from their base in Kilinochchi.33 They had to transport their troops, their supplies, their armament and their wounded long distances along narrow jungle tracks.34 Prabharakan was compelled to deploy many of his best troops here, using up many of his most experienced cadres and middle level leaders.35 Such was the level of attrition that by the time the 57 Division reached Kilinochchi, it was estimated that Prabharakan had lost 65 percent of his best cadres.36 The Madhu campaign so weakened the LTTE that it opened up many of the other fronts. Reaching Kilinochchi.was really the key; as such its treatment in the paper could have been far more substantial.
How the war was won
Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict: How Eelam War IV was Won-Ashok Mehta
........continued 7....
It was the success of the Madhu offensive which made the western route taken by Brigadier Shavendra de Silva possible. This spectacular campaign was conducted at great speed, with the aid of armour and mechanised forces. Turning the LTTE’s entire western defences, this operation eliminated the satellite camps in the vicinity of the Western coastline and cut off the logistics bases connecting the coast to the hinterland.
To the west of Giant’s Tank was the Mannar District. Described as the Rice Bowl of Sri Lanka, this was flat, open terrain, abounding in many small tanks and lush paddyfields. During the monsoon, it became waterlogged and marshy.37 To enable his infantry to approach the enemy lines, de Silva dug ditches and entrenchments across open plains.38 The rains flooded many of these entrenchments, causing severe loss of life. "The water level sometimes rose to six feet, while the average Sri Lankan soldier was five foot five or five foot six."39 Many of them were swept away and some even drowned. In these conditions, the armoured and mechanised forces found the going particularly difficult and de Silva’s progress was excruciatingly slow. General Mehta notes that in eight months, the troops barely advanced eight kilometres.40
Once the 58 Division had fought its way through the LTTE defences, it proceeded rapidly up the coast, overrunning the sea bases which had existed all along the western coast. This severed the links and the routes which the LTTE had cultivated with Tamil Nadu, depriving them of much needed supplies. It also deprived the Tigers of a vital casualty evacuation route, which they had used ever since the deployment of the IPKF.
Continued next week.
Thusitha,
Many thanks for the link to Ashok Mehta's book review by Dr. Tammita-Delgoda.
I thought it important to post the full review.
I have read Mehta's book; it was so interesting that I read it right through in one sitting!
Sri Lanka is 59th in Prosperity in 2010 in the Legatum Global Prosperity Index.
There remains MUCH Room For Improvement.
Let us March Forward Together to 30th place by 2015!
Jayawewa, Sri Lanka!
Additional Sri Lanka Facts from Legatum site.
...............
Legatum Work Prosperity Index Rankings
1 Norway
2 Denmark
3 Finland
4 Australia
5 New Zealand
6 Sweden
7 Canada
8 Switzerland
9 Netherlands
10 United States
11 Ireland
12 Iceland
13 United Kingdom
14 Austria
15 Germany
16 Belgium
17 Singapore
18 Japan
19 France
20 Hong Kong
21 Slovenia
22 Taiwan
23 Spain
24 Czech Republic
25 Italy
26 Portugal
27 South Korea
28 Uruguay
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30 United Arab Emirates
31 Kuwait
32 Chile
33 Costa Rica
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35 Estonia
36 Israel
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38 Croatia
39 Greece
40 Panama
41 Argentina
42 Lithuania
43 Malaysia
44 Trinidad and Tobago
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48 Tunisia
49 Saudi Arabia
50 Kazakhstan
51 Romania
52 Thailand
53 Mexico
54 Belarus
55 Jamaica
56 Belize
57 Botswana
58 China
59 Sri Lanka
60 Mongolia
61 Vietnam
62 Morocco
63 Russia
64 Philippines
65 Colombia
66 South Africa
67 Paraguay
68 Dominican Republic
69 Ukraine
70 Indonesia
71 Namibia
72 Macedonia
73 Peru
74 Jordan
75 Venezuela
76 Uzbekistan
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79 Algeria
80 Turkey
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88 India
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98 Rwanda
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100 Sudan
101 Zambia
102 Cameroon
103 Mozambique
104 Kenya
105 Yemen
106 Nigeria
107 Ethiopia
108 Central African Republic
109 Pakistan
110 Zimbabwe
In France they apparently wish to honor terrorists who have murdered Sri Lankans.
Therefore, let Sri Lanka return the favor and erect a monument in Colombo to honor the martyrs of "Action Directe"!
Action Directe (AD) was a French revolutionary group which committed a series of assassinations and violent attacks in France between 1979 and 1987. Members of Action Directe considered themselves libertarian communists who had formed an "urban guerrilla organization". The French government banned the group.
In short, we should "Do unto others as others do unto us!"
Maybe then, the realization that those who live in glasshouses should not throw stones at others will hit the French in a blinding flash of divine wisdom!
...............
Lanka protests statue of LTTE leader in France
P K Balachandran
November 02, 2010
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has lodged a protest with France over the decision of a Parisian suburb to erect a statue of S P Tamilselvan, the head of the political wing of the LTTE till his death in an air raid on November 2, 2007 during Eelam War IV.
Immediately after the word was out that the municipality of La Courneuve, a suburb of north-eastern Paris with a large population of Lankan Tamils, had decided to erect the statute of the dead rebel leader, the Lankan Embassy in Paris lodged a formal protest with the French government. The French Ambassador in Colombo was also told about Lanka’s displeasure, an official from the Ministry of External Affairs told Express here on Monday.
Colombo pointed out that Tamilselvan was a top leader of a terrorist organization, which was banned in both France and Lanka.
Lanka hopes that the laws governing municipalities in France will allow the Central government in Paris to decisively intervene in a case like this — where there may be a clash of interest between the Centre and the local authorities.
The ever-smiling Suppiah Paramu Tamilselvan (born in 1967) was close both to the Tiger chieftain, V Prabhakaran, and the ruthless intelligence chief, Pottu Amman. He was one of the main plotters against Eastern commander, Karuna Amman, who was forced to defect to the government side in 2004, along with his followers. This was the second major dent in the LTTE after the alienation of Mahattaya, who was Prabhakaran’s deputy in the early 1990s.
Tamilselvan was in the military wing of the LTTE since 1985, but was wounded in the leg in one of the battles in the 1990s. Later, he excelled as the public face of the LTTE and its official spokesman. He was killed during a precision bombing at his headquarters in Kilinochchi.
Upon Tamilselvan’s death, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi wrote a dirge, which raised a controversy in India, but was published approvingly in the Lankan Tamil media the world over.
Defending the poem published in the DMK’s organ, Murasoli, Karunandhi said, “The one who was killed in Sri Lanka was a Tamil. And it is Tamil blood that courses through my veins. That is why I expressed my condolence.”
“Expressing condolence at somebody’s death is an established humanitarian practice in any culture, even if they were adversaries,” he added.
IT'S A TSUNAMI in the US Elections!
Landslide Republican Victory!
Anger at Widespread Unemployment, and Bank Bailouts that did not help Homeowners keep their homes, washout the Democrats, sweeping in Republicans to Power in the House of Representatives.
Even though the Economic Debacle was created by the previous two-term Republican-Bush administration, public's anger was directed at the Democrats .. in most states except California.
Hopefully this will constrain Billary Clinton's actions against Sri Lanka!
The Election Lottery Numbers are ...
House:
Democrats - 184
Republicans - 240
Undecided as yet - 11
Senate:
Democrats - 51
Republicans - 46
Undecided as yet - 3
Governors:
Democrats - 16
Republicans - 29
Independents - 1
Undecided as yet - 4
................
In defeat, Obama may follow Bill Clinton
By Arun Kumar
November 2, 2010
WASHINGTON: Days ahead of a visit to India, US President Barack Obama faces the prospects of a radically altered political landscape with a widely predicted rout for his Democratic party in Tuesday's mid-term elections.
Obama himself is not up for re-election until 2012, but polls and pundits alike suggest opposition Republicans are poised to gain control of the 435-member House, which goes to the polls every two years, and make substantial gains in the Senate where 37 of 100 seats are up for grabs.
Latest polls suggest that Democrats would lose 40 to 55 of their 255 seats in the current House where Republicans need 39 seats to take control of the House. But in the Senate, where Democrats have 59 seats, they may just fall short of the 10 needed to get the majority.
The last polls, in Alaska and Hawaii, won't close until midnight Washington time (9:30 a.m. IST Wednesday), but it should be clear earlier in the evening whether the trumpeted Republican tidal wave has arrived, or whether Democrats have weathered the storm.
In either scenario, in the American scheme of things, Obama may lose steam, but not the power as in the parliamentary system followed in India. In fact, the loss of majority may prove a blessing in disguise for the embattled president.
As analysts have suggested he could well follow the model of former president Bill Clinton, who lost majority in both chambers in his first midterm elections in 1994, two years after entering the White House.
Like Obama's planned ten-day trip to India and three other Asian nations, Clinton too left for a whirlwind trip to Indonesia after defeat. But on return, he adopted a blow hot and blow cold policy, sometimes compromising with Republicans and at others daring the opposition as he did during the government shutdown of 1995.
Some of the issues Obama has said he wants to pursue next year, such as deficit reduction and education initiatives, resemble the kinds of narrow and achievable priorities Clinton embraced immediately after both houses changed hands in 1994, according to the Washington Post.
But complicating the post-election scene would be Republicans from the populist, conservative/libertarian Tea Party movement that emerged in 2009, who would be little mood for compromise or bipartisan legislation on any major issues in the House, observers say.
In defeat, Obama may follow Bill Clinton
......continued.....
The movement has no central leadership but is a loose affiliation of smaller local groups. Taking a leaf from the 1773 Boston Tea Party, when colonists destroyed British tea to protest taxes, they stand for cutting back the size of government, lowering taxes and reducing wasteful spending, reducing the national debt and federal budget deficit among other things.
While Republican minority leader John Boehner, who would be the next speaker should Republicans regain control of the House, plans reforms that he says will make the chamber work better, he's already signalled he's not planning to negotiate with the White House or congressional Democrats on his party's top priorities.
In the Senate, experts say Republican gains won't improve prospects of bipartisan cooperation. The animosity and distrust between the two parties is already thick, and likely to get worse as the 2012 presidential campaign gets underway.
The Shape of Gridlock to come!
................
Republicans promise limited government
By CALVIN WOODWARD, Associated Press
November 03, 2010
WASHINGTON – Emboldened by a commanding House majority and Senate gains, Republican leaders vowed Wednesday to roll back the size of government and, in time, the nation's sweeping health care law. President Barack Obama, reflective after his party's drubbing, accepted blame for failing to deliver the economic security Americans demand while saying of his health overhaul: "This was the right thing to do."
He called the election a "shellacking."
After two years with fellow Democrats leading Congress, Obama now must deal for the rest of his term with the jarring reality of Republican control of the House, a diminished Democratic majority in the Senate and a new flock of lawmakers sworn to downsize government at every chance.
"I've got to do a better job," he said, "like everybody else in Washington." And he took responsibility for not doing enough to alter the ways of the capital, whether its hyper-partisanship or back-room dealing. "We were in such a hurry to get things done that we didn't change how things were done."
Republicans sounded less conciliatory in the first blush of their victories from the midterm elections Tuesday.
"Change course we will," said Ohio Rep. John Boehner, the speaker-in-waiting, describing the outcome as a clear mandate to shrink the government. That echoed the unrelenting demand of tea party activists whose energy and votes helped to fuel the largest turnover in the House in more than 70 years.
The capital awoke — if it ever slept — to a new political order. With their lopsided win, Republicans are ushering in a new era of divided government and dethroning Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a prime target of their campaign.
Repealing the health care law, with its mandates and subsidies to extend health insurance to nearly all Americans, has been a Republican rallying cry for months but Obama, with his veto power, and the Democrats still in control of the Senate stand in the way. Several Republicans indicated their challenge to the law won't happen overnight when they take power.
"I think it is important for us to lay the groundwork before we begin to repeal this monstrosity," Boehner said. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who survived a tea party challenge in Nevada, said "I'm ready for some tweaking" on the health care law but would fight its repeal. Obama, too, indicated he was open to changes, saying Republicans who complain about the burden on small businesses might have a point. But he was not about to see his signature achievement unravel at its core.
In the heady election aftermath, some Republicans cautioned their own that they have work to do in building public trust when many Americans are fed up with both parties.
"We've been given a second chance and a golden opportunity," said Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, No. 2 Republican in the House. But, he added, "People want to see results."
Sizing up the power shift, Reid said he wants to preserve Obama's health care law and let taxes rise on upper income Americans, but "I'm not bullheaded."
"If we need to work something out with the people who are really rich, I'll have to look at that," he said. "If there's some tweaking we need to do with the health care bill, I'm ready for some tweaking. But I'm not going to in any way denigrate the great work we did as a country, and saving America from bankruptcy because of the insurance industry bankrupting us."
Republicans promise limited government
....continued.....
The Republican Senate leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, sounded anything but humble in declaring "we are indeed humbled and ready to listen." At a news conference with Boehner, McConnell said Republicans will cooperate with the other side to the extent Democrats "pivot in a different direction." He predicted enough Democrats may support the GOP on spending and debt matters to achieve action on that front.
Obama called Boehner to congratulate him late Tuesday. He also spoke with McConnell and top Democrats in a series of conversations that reflected the shifting balance of power. Boehner said Pelosi called and "left me a very nice voice mail" when she missed him, and they will speak later.
Incomplete returns showed the GOP picked up at least 60 House seats and led for four more, far in excess of what was needed for a majority. About two dozen races remained too close to call.
Republicans gained at least six Senate seats, and tea party favorites Rand Paul in Kentucky, Mike Lee in Utah and Marco Rubio in Florida were among their winners. Their comeback was aided by independents, who backed GOP candidates for the first time since 1998.
Not all the tea party insurgents won. Christine O'Donnell lost badly in Delaware, for a seat that Republican strategists once calculated would be theirs with ease until her stunning upset victory in the primary.
In Nevada, Reid dispatched Sharron Angle in an especially costly and contentious campaign in a year filled with them.
The GOP also wrested 11 governorships from the Democrats, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maine among them, and gave two back, California and Hawaii.
___
AP writers Thomas J. Sheeran in Cleveland, Rasha Madkour in Miami, Wayne Parry in Bayville, N.J., Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, N.J., Mike Glover in Des Moines, Iowa, Thomas J. Sheeran in Parma Heights, Ohio, Jeff Baenen in Minneapolis, Deepti Hajela in New York and Mark S. Smith in Washington contributed to this report.
Cardinal walks naked, strips seen
Keheliya has done few words worth volumes.
---------------------
Prerogative on land is with Govt. – Keheliya
Not a single square inch of Sri Lanka belongs to any particular religion, caste or race, Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said at a press briefing today. The Minister said this in reply to a question posed by a journalist regarding the statement made by the Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith at the LLRC yesterday.
BBC earlier reported that Cardinal Ranjith had made a statement to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission that attempts were being made to change the demographic make-up of northern and eastern Sri Lanka, which currently have an ethnic Tamil majority.
“This could be a dangerous trend if it is not arrested; unless people are allowed to move in and move out in a proper way without any colonisation as such, with or without government approval.
“Because what can happen is that there can be a kind of psychosis of fear about a cultural invasion of villages and areas of the country considered to be predominantly of one group or the other. This can cause friction and unnecessary clashes.” BBC states.
Replying to this statement Minister Rambukwella said that the land of the country belongs to everyone regardless of cast or creed. How that land should be used is the prerogative of the democratically elected government. This government does not follow the policy that there should be a certain demographic makeup in different parts of the island. We don’t believe that certain parts of the country should be excluded to certain races or religions, He added.
He added that it is because of this strong policy that this government launched the war to liberate the whole island.
Sujeewa,
Rambukwella's words "Not a single square inch of Sri Lanka belongs to any particular religion, caste or race, Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said at a press briefing today." summarizes what we have been advocating as the ONLY SOUND & DEFENSIBLE POSITION for the GOSL to take.
We Patriots have to keep at it, like Cato the Elder of ancient Rome who ended his speeches on any subject with the words "Carthago Est Delenda" ... and finally Carthage .. the implacable enemy of Rome .. was indeed destroyed.
Embedded communal divisions are the implacable ENDURING hidden enemy of the Sri Lankan Nation and its People.
We must eradicate communalism from our land by leaf, branch, trunk and root if Lanka is to survive.
There is no better way to do that than by free and voluntary settlement of people to achieve a UNIFORM ETHNIC DISTRIBUTION throughout the land under a government POLICY OF ETHNIC INTEGRATION.
That is the ONLY PERMANENT NON-DISCRIMINATORY SOLUTION.
ONE NATION, ONE PEOPLE, ONE DESTINY with Equal RIGHTS for ALL Citizens, and Equal RESPONSIBILITY to Love, Protect and Defend the Motherland should be, MUST BE, Our Goal.
It is not without reason the TGTE is called the Transexual Government of Tamil Eelam .. they have resorted to these "approaches" for years!
"Hugely respected" ... my bloody foot!
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Murdered UK-based transsexual immigration solicitor represented LTTE
Appeared for ‘Kittu’ during LTTE-Premadasa ‘honeymoon’
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
November 03, 2010
David Burgess, a top immigration solicitor, who was pushed under a train by a person identified as Nina Kanagasingham on Oct. 25 at the King’s Cross tube station, had represented the LTTE for many years. He is believed to be one of the first British lawyers, approached by the LTTE.
The British press described Burgess aka ‘Sonia’, as a transsexual. At the time of his death he was dressed as a woman.
Interestingly, suspect ‘Nina’ had turned out to be a woman, though initially the suspect was identified as a man. Nina Kanagasingham, of Cricklewood, was remanded in custody for a plea and case management hearing on February 3 next year. No bail application was made.
The court was told that Kanagasingham was in the process of undergoing a sex change which had not been completed, and wished to be referred to as ‘Nina.’
UK based sources told The Island that Burgess had even represented one-time LTTE Jaffna Commander Sathasivam Krishnakumar aka ‘Kittu’ responsible for many killings, including the massacre of the TELO cadre. He had been moved to London to take over the international secretariat of the LTTE, at that time located at 54 Tavistock Place, London WC1 under an agreement between the LTTE and President Ranasinghe Premadasa.
Sources said that Burgess had also represented the Tamil Information Centre and other Tamil Diaspora. Inquiries revealed that Burgess had been one of the lawyers hired by those seeking to exploit British immigration laws.
Sources said that the LTTE had hired Burgess to defend ‘Kittu’ following hundreds of UK-based Tamils accusing him of extorting money amidst an attempt by the LTTE to secure political asylum for Kittu.
According to the British press, Miss Burgess, known professionally by her birth name of David, was a father of three and was hugely respected in the legal profession, with more than 40 years’ experience as an immigration solicitor.
At Luqmani Thompson and Partners, he was described as a "trailblazer" for work on ground-breaking legal cases helping asylum seekers and torture victims, including a legal victory which has meant asylum seekers cannot be deported to their home country if they are in danger of being tortured there.
The British press quoted an eyewitness (Emma Collett) as saying that the victim and the suspect, a woman, were "hyper" and talking animatedly before the tragedy on the westbound Piccadilly Line platform at the King’s Cross Station.
Sri Lanka to construct 4,000 kilometers of highways by next year
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 04, Colombo: Sri Lanka plans to build around 4,000 kilometers of major highways in the country by the end of next year.
The Secretary of the Ministry of Highways Admiral (retd.) Wasantha Karannagoda, has said that the government is to invest over one billion dollars in projects to construct major road networks under President Mahinda Rajapaksa's development plan.
Addressing media yesterday in Colombo, Karannagoda has said that Sri Lanka's road network is to undergo a tremendous facelift.
"Over $1billion worth projects are under way within two years up to the end of 2011 and top priority has been given to the road projects." Reuters quoted the Highways Secretary.
According to Karannagoda the funds for these road projects will come from the Japanese Bank for International Corporation, the Asia Development Bank, the World Bank, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and China.
The Cabinet in May approved a project to develop 90 kilometers of Ambepussa - Dambulla Road, and 43 kilometers of Kantale - Trincomalee Road with US $ 100 million World Bank assistance provided under the Road Rehabilitation and Development Programme.
Rehabilitation of 38 kilometers from Mankulam to Wellankulam road and 25.3 kilometers of Paranthan-Pooneryn road with assistance provided by the Asian Development Bank under Conflict Affected Road Expansion (CARE) project has also been approved by the Cabinet.
Construction work has commenced last year to build an Outer Circular Highway, a beltway around Sri Lanka's capital Colombo to ease traffic congestion on main roads.
The proposed 29-kilometer highway will start from Kerawalapitiya along the Colombo - Katunayake Expressway to link Southern Expressway crossing A-4 highway at Kottawa and the main A-1 Colombo-Kandy highway at Kadawatha. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is funding the project.
After Decades of War, Sri Lanka Bounces Back Billions in foreign money, especially from China, are pouring in
By Frederik Balfour
BusinessWeek.com
November 04, 2010
SPECIAL REPORT
Emerging Markets
As recently as a year and a half ago, life in Colombo was tense. Residents were under constant threat of suicide bombs, and armed guards at checkpoints made crossing the city a hassle. "You went out every day not knowing what would happen," recalls Richard Vokes, Asian Development Bank (ADB) country director. Since Sri Lankan government forces defeated the Tamil Tigers rebel group in May 2009, though, the sandbags and checkpoints are mostly gone, tourists stroll the palm-fringed seaside promenade, and locals fly kites in front of the majestic colonial-era Galle Face Hotel. Living in Colombo is now "a very pleasant experience," Vokes says.
The ADB expects Sri Lanka's economy to grow as much as 8 percent this year and next. Colombo's stock market is the world's second-best performer (after Mongolia) in 2010, more than doubling in value even as many investors wait to see whether the stability holds. Visits from foreigners have increased 40 percent so far this year and are expected to top 600,000 for 2010. The government hopes that number will hit 2.5 million by 2016 as word spreads about the white sand beaches, rainforests teeming with wildlife, and ancient temples nestled in the lush hillsides of the newly peaceful island nation. "Sri Lanka has been a closed shop for 30 years," says Joseph Michael Suresh Brito, chief executive officer of Colombo-based Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings, which is working with a Thai company on a $40 million community of luxury villas on the south coast. "People will come with no fear."
Tourism is one of three sectors the government is counting on to help reduce Sri Lanka's reliance on the garment trade and low-end manufacturing. At least a half-dozen resorts and hotels are in the works, including a $150 million property that Hong Kong-based Shangri-La is planning for Colombo's waterfront. IT outsourcing, another preferred sector, already employs 60,000 and is on track to bring in revenues of $350 million this year. By 2015 the government hopes outsourcing revenues will hit $1 billion. Agricultural exports, the government's third priority, grew 21 percent in the first eight months of the year, as farms that lay fallow during the conflict now yield rich crops of rice, lentils, and beans.
After decades of neglect and sabotage, Sri Lanka's roads, railways, and ports are ill-prepared for the growth. The government is planning billions of dollars in investment to upgrade dilapidated infrastructure, with much of the work going to multinationals. Korea's Hyundai Engineering and Construction is building a four-mile breakwater for a new container port in Colombo. Indian utility NTPC (NTPC) is close to a deal to build a $900 million coal-fired power plant on the east coast. And Swiss cement maker Holcim's Sri Lankan business is up 22 percent this year. "Being here at this moment is fantastic," says Stefan Huber, Sri Lanka CEO for Holcim. As in many other developing countries, China's influence is growing. A $455 million loan from China Eximbank paid for a 300-megawatt power plant scheduled to open next year, and an additional $560 million in loans from China will go toward new roads, including a 20-mile expressway to Colombo's airport. In the south, Chinese workers are wrapping up the first phase of a $1.4 billion port in the town of Hambantota. Nearby, a Chinese construction company is building Sri Lanka's second international airport at a cost of $210 million.
After Decades of War, Sri Lanka Bounces Back Billions in foreign money, especially from China, are pouring in
.....continued....
Many foreigners, though, have been slow to put their money on the line. In the first six months of 2010, Sri Lanka saw $208 million in foreign direct investment, down from $253 million in the first half last year. "There is a lot of renewed interest, but most of it is yet to be realized," says Nick Nicolaou, Sri Lanka chief for London-based bank HSBC (HBC). Some investors grouse that the Board of Investment, a government agency that must approve foreign-funded projects, makes it difficult to do business in the country. Says the board's chairman, Jayampathi Bandaranayake: "It's fair to say we could improve our services." He argues that as the board focuses on priority sectors, it will simplify the approval process and offer incentives to investors. "There's an expectation of big investments in tailor-made areas," says Bandaranayake.
One big worry is red tape and graft. Watchdog group Transparency International on Oct. 26 ranked Sri Lanka 91st out of 178 countries in terms of corruption. (No. 1 Denmark is the least corrupt country.) That put Sri Lanka one spot behind India, though well ahead of Vietnam (ranked 116). In July the European Union rescinded Sri Lanka's preferential trade access because of the country's human rights record.
Foreigners and Sri Lankans grumble privately about the growing power of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. After Rajapaksa was elected to a second term in January and his party swept parliamentary elections in April, Parliament lifted a two-term limit for the presidency. Three of Rajapaksa's brothers hold top government posts, and his 24-year-old son is in Parliament. "We haven't seen evidence of it yet, but if the family's power is used in the wrong way, then we have a big problem," says Mark Mobius, who has invested in Sri Lankan stocks and bonds as part of the $33 billion he manages for Franklin Templeton Investments.
Government officials say human rights issues are a top priority that Parliament is addressing. While they acknowledge that corruption is a problem, they insist it's no worse than in neighboring countries. The government, says presidential spokesman Lucien Rajakarunanayake, has "a commitment to minimize" corruption. Officials acknowledge that corruption is a problem, but businesspeople say it's no worse than in neighboring countries. And Rajapaksa's family, many people in business and government say, provides the stable leadership needed in the recovering country. "The Rajapaksa brothers seem powerful, but this issue didn't happen overnight," says Nirupama Rajapaksa, the president's cousin and a member of Parliament. "Our family has been in politics since 1931."
The bottom line: Sri Lanka is poised for rapid growth as its economy bounces back from decades of civil war.
My Comment at BusinessWeek:
Ananda-USA Nov 5, 2010 3:25 AM
GMT
Firmly eradicating the terrorist shackles that bound its feet, Sri Lanka has RESUMED its march toward the ECONOMIC & DEVELOPMENT goals that beckoned it at the dawn of independence in 1948.
ALL of the social gains Sri Lanka has made since independence, such as near universal (95%) literacy engendered by compulsory free education, a highly educated disciplined workforce, enlightened labor laws, free market economic policies, elimination of sex, caste, religious, and ethnic discrimination, equitable land ownership, free basic healthcare, accessible public transportation, electricity in most homes, are now joined by complete security free of terrorism, STABILITY in GOVERNANCE, and a government committed to rapid economic development in a free market environment.
Even as she fought to end terrorism, Sri Lanka doubled its per capita income, and is now poised to double it again by 2015.
If political stability can be maintained, I fully expect Sri Lanka to achieve its goal of becoming the New Wonder of Asia by 2015, and to emerge from developing status as an economically developed nation by 2020!
......
Ratna Deepa, Janma Bhumi,
Lanka Deepa, Vijaya Bhumi,
Mey Apey Udara Wu,
Mathru Bhumiyayi!
Mathru Bhumiyayi!
My Comment #2 at BusinessWeek
Ananda-USA Nov 5, 2010 3:42 AM GMT
President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family are the true Saviours of Sri Lanka.
They are our guarantee of Political Stability while we work to attain our long suppressed dreams and aspirations.
Only the jealous enemies of Sri Lanka wish them ill, and denigrate their accomplishments.
Semper Fidelis, Patriots of Lanka
By Ananda-USA
Our Motherland, resplendent Sri Lanka,
Hallowed be thy name!
Thy children flock today to vote,
To preserve thy immortal flame!
The Lion Flag flutters proudly aloft,
To remind us this freedom's day!
Our duty to keep thee, safe and strong,
As our forefathers did yesterday!
A Mahinda Rajapaksa by deed and word,
Strode forth boldly to eternal fame!
To lead his people to a safer world,
When all others retreated in shame!
Much More remains to be done .. to make Sri Lanka Business Friendly.
While we rush to do that, let us remember to AVOID doing things that will compromise the FUTURE SAFETY of SRI LANKANS.
No amount of Economic Progress is Worth LOSING ONE'S COUNTRY!
For example, the Objective is to BENEFIT Sri Lankans .. not to convert them to landless renters in their own country.
So, restrict land ownership in Sri Lanka to CITIZENS only!
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Ease of Doing Business 2011...Sri Lanka does not improve ranking
Island.lk
November 03, 2010
More than a year has lapsed since the end of the 30 year conflict but Sri Lanka’s Ease of Doing Business ranking has remained unchanged from a year ago at 102nd out of 183 other economies. The World Bank and its private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, released the Doing Business 2011 report yesterday where Sri Lanka’s ranking remained unchanged from the 2010 edition with no reforms during the year and lags behind Pakistan and the Maldives in South Asia.
Doing Business 2011 is the eighth in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe—and over time.
Regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business are covered: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, closing a business, getting electricity and employing workers. The getting electricity and employing workers data are not included in the ranking on the ease of doing business in Doing Business 2011.
The highest ranked country in South Asia is Pakistan at 83rd place followed by the Maldives 85, Sri Lanka 102, Bangladesh 107, Nepal 116, India 134, Bhutan 142 and Afghanistan 167.
While Sri Lanka is not reported for any reforms during the year, Pakistan improved its electronic communication links between the Karachi Port and private terminals which reduced the time required for exporting. The terminals also boosted productivity by introducing new equipment, Doing Business 2011pointed out.
Bangladesh made it easier for companies to start up businesses by eliminating the requirement to buy adhesive stamps and further enhancing the online registration system. It also made transferring property easier, by reducing the property tax to 6.7 percent of the property value.
India eased business start up establishing an online system for value added tax registration. It also improved an electronic tax payment system.
Sri Lanka ranks worst in dealing with construction permits at 169th place where 22 procedures and 214 days are required costing 1,335.2% of income per capita. It is ranked 166th in paying taxes which consumes 256 days and requires a number of 62 payments a year where rates could reach 64.7 percent of profits.
In the area of registering property, Sri Lanka ranks 155th with eight procedures, 83 days and costing 5.1 percent of the property value. In enforcing contracts it is ranked 137 with 40 procedures, 1,318 days and costing 22.8 percent of the claim.
Access to credit and trading across borders have an equal ranking of 72 while closing a business is relatively easy (ranked 43) and starting a business is even easier (ranked 34).
Another LTTE terrorist BITES THE DUST ... in Germany!
Yahoo!
...........
LTTE member arrested in Germany
IANS
November 04, 2010
BERLIN: Germany has arrested an alleged member of the former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an armed Sri Lanka group, on terrorism charges, prosecutors said in Karlsruhe.
The German national, 35, was arrested the previous day at Dusseldorf Airport when he arrived by plane from Madagascar, which had deported him. His name has been withheld under German media and privacy laws.
Prosecutors say he was active with the German branch of the LTTE from 2005 to 2009. LTTE, which was defeated by the Colombo government last year, is defined by the European Union as a foreign terrorist organisation.
Membership in the group is a crime under German law. Some of the Tamil community in Germany actively supported the LTTE with donations. The man is alleged to have helped organise the activists and to have sent supplies for LTTE rebels in Sri Lanka.
Prosecutors did not say how long he had been in Madagascar. He appeared Thursday before a judge and was remanded into custody.
Kamala Harris is an exceptionally able attorney and politician.
I am glad she won this close race!
...............
Kamala wins California Attorney General polls
November 03, 2010
WASHINGTON: Endorsed by the US President Barack Obama, Indian-American Kamala Harris today won the election for attorney general of California, soon after Indian origin Nikki Haley of Republican party scripted history by winning the governorship of South Carolina.
Harris will be the first woman to hold the office of attorney general in California, elections for which were held yesterday.
Daughter of an Indian mother and African-American father, Harris is currently the San Francisco attorney general. She would replace Democratic Jerry Brown who won the election for governor of California on Tuesday.
Harris, who was the only Indian-American candidate to be publicly endorsed by Obama, defeated Steve Cooley of the Republican party in a tough fight.
"Kamala has done a remarkable job in San Francisco. Now it's time to send her to Sacramento so she can get those same results for all Californians — but she needs our help if she's going to win this race," Obama had said in his endorsement message last month.
The US President had also attended a fund raiser for Harris in California last month.
In key mid-term polls in which President Obama's Democrats were routed, 38-year-old-Haley, born of Sikh parents who migrated from Punjab, became only the second Indian-American to be a governor of a US State after Bobby Jindal of Louisiana; and also the first Indian-origin woman governor.
Haley received 52% of votes as against her Democratic rival Vincent Sheehan who polled 46%.
She has served three-terms in the South Carolina house of representatives where she represented Lexington County and was also the first Indian-American to hold office in that state.
Born and raised in the East Bay, Kamala was elected as the first woman district attorney in San Francisco's history in December 2003, and as the first African-American woman and South Asian American woman in California to hold the office.
She was overwhelmingly re-elected to a second term in November 2007.
Kamala is the daughter of Dr Shyamala Gopalan, a Tamilian breast cancer specialist who traveled to the US from Chennai, to pursue her graduate studies at UC Berkeley.
After attending public schools, her strong commitment to justice and public service led her to Howard University, America's oldest historically Black university, and then to the University of California and Hastings College of the Law.
Kamala wins California Attorney General polls
........continued.....
She is the recipient of numerous awards.
California's largest legal newspaper, The Daily Journal, designated Kamala as one of the top 75 women litigators in California 'the only elected official to receive that honour' as well as one of the top 100 lawyers in the state.
She was recognised as a 'Woman of Power' by the National Urban League and received the Thurgood Marshall Award from the National Black Prosecutors Association. She has been featured on the Oprah Show and in Newsweek as one of "America's 20 Most Powerful Women."
She was selected as one of 24 elected leaders from throughout the country to serve as a Rodel Fellow with the Aspen Institute.
Additionally, Kamala was elected to the board of directors of the California District Attorneys Association and is a vice president of the National District Attorney's Association.
Six other Indian-origin candidates failed to enter the house of representatives in the poll where the Democrats have suffered heavily.
Five of them were Democrats, Manan Trivedi from Pennsylvania, Ami Bera from California, Raj Goyle from Kansas, Ravi Sangisetty from Louisiana and Surya Yalamanchili from Ohio.
Ashvin Lad from Illinois is the only Republican Indian American in fray.
So far only two Indian-Americans have made it to the house of representatives, Dalip Singh Saund and Bobby Piyush Jindal.
In Pennsylvania, Trivedi, a Iraq war veteran, who was ahead in the initial counting of votes lost to Republican Jim Gerlach. While Trivedi had received 99,517 votes, Gerlach had received 131,715 of the total votes polled.
Spot On, Minister Rambukwella!
ONE Nation, ONE People, ONE Destiny, with Equal RIGHTS and EQUAL Responsibilities for ALL Citizens!
No Separate Regions in Sri Lanka for Different Communities!
NOT ONE INCH, ANYWHERE!
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Minister warns of new insurgency
By Nadira GUNATILLEKE
DailyNews.lk
November 05, 2010
Sri Lankan intelligence services are aware of another insurgency to be launched soon using university students. The intelligence services are gathering information on this, Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said.
Addressing the weekly Cabinet press briefing held at the Government Information Department Auditorium yesterday, Minister Rambukwella said that the university students can practice their democratic rights within the framework of the law.
"Action will be taken if they violate the law. Sri Lanka does not need university students who assault their lecturers. They should obey the law and be disciplined.
"Sri Lanka experienced three insurgencies,one in 1971 another in 1989 and the LTTE terrorism which dragged the country into a 30 year long war.
"There will be no room for another insurgence or terrorism, the Minister said.
According to Minister Rambukwella there is no possibility what so ever to create another insurgence or uprising of terrorism on Sri Lankan soil once again. Every inch of the country belongs to every Sri Lankan citizen no matter what their religion or ethnicity. The whole country belongs to all. It is the policy of the Sri Lankan Government. A certain area of the country does not belong to a certain ethnicity. Any person can live and travel anywhere in Sri Lanka. The Minister expressed these views commenting on the evidence given by Colombo Archbishop Most Rev Malcolm Ranjith before the LLRC.
Do I detect here that Australian Authorities are increasingly unwilling to put up with NONSENSE from these BOGUS REFUGEES?
ENFORCE Your Laws, Australia!
................
Australian court finds Sri Lankan asylum seekers guilty of rioting
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 05, Perth: An Australian court Thursday found three Sri Lankan asylum seekers guilty of inciting riots at a detention center in Christmas Island last year.
Five Sri Lankans have been charged for possession of weapons and inciting violence during a fight with Afghan refugees at the Christmas Island detention center in November 2009.
Magistrate Stephen Malley of the Perth Magistrates Court convicted two Sri Lankans for rioting and weapons possession and a third for possessing a weapon. The court acquitted two others.
The rioters had reportedly been armed with broom handles, tree branches, pool cues, chairs, and parts of soccer goal posts that were dismantled during the violence.
On the charges of rioting and possessing weapons the court sentenced Pranavan Sivasubramaniyam and Anburajan Anton for six-month jail time suspended for six months. Those two and the third suspect Gnararajah Jesurajah were put on good behaviour bonds of US$ 500 on the weapons possession charges, the Australian media reported.
Anantharajeevan Thangarasha and Kokilakumar Subramanian have been acquitted of the charges against them.
The Magistrate has also criticized the Australian Immigration Department saying that it sabotaged the police investigation into the riots by sending a group of 40 detainees to the mainland, many of whom were involved in the riots.
The five Sri Lankans, who were kept in detention in Perth during the trial, had been granted refugee status and will be released soon.
Sri Lanka WINS!
2nd ODI: Australia v Sri Lanka at Sydney, Nov 5, 2010
Sri Lanka 213/3 (41.1/45 ov)
Australia 210/10 (37.4/38 ov)
Sri Lanka won by 29 runs (D/L method)
Jayawewa!
HYDROELECTRICITY: The Upper Kothmale Hydropower Station is the last Large Hydropower resource (150MW) available in Sri Lanka.
With large hydropower sites now fully exploited, we should concentrate on Solar Thermal, Solar Photovoltaic, Wind, and Ocean Wave Renewable Energies, in addition to building Nuclear Power Plants for meeting base-load on-demand power needs.
No more Fossil (Oil, LNG, Coal) Thermal Power Plants should be built in Sri Lanka, because they require COSTLY IMPORTED FUELS degrading the national balance of payments, and are excessively POLLUTING.
HYDROGEN gas produced by ELECTROLYSIS of SEA water can be used to STORE EXCESS fluctuating renewable energies, and Nuclear Power during off-peak periods. Electricity can be recovered from this stored Hydrogen by using it as fuel in Electrochemical Fuel cells rather than in Thermal Power Plants. Fuel Cells are much more efficient (as much as 80%) compared to the best Steam Power Plants (45%). This is because Fuel Cells directly convert from chemical energy to electrical energy avoiding an intermediate Thermal Energy form. Thus, fuel cells are not subject to the Carnot Heat Engine Efficiency limit stemming from the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
Precious metals recovered as a byproduct from the SEA WATER during electrolysis to produce Hydrogen, can more than pay for the cost of electrolysis.
...............
Ability to take bold decisions leads to sustainable development, Sri Lanka President says
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 04, Colombo: The Ability to take bold decisions paves the way for sustainable development, and Upper Kothmale hydropower station is an example Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa said today.
President Rajapaksa made these remarks during an inspection tour of the Upper Kothmale hydropower tunnel that was constructed to channel water from the Kothmale stream to the hydropower station.
The hydropower station is a solution to the future demands for electricity of the country, the President said, adding that the whole country will have electricity by 2012.
The public is allowed to view the 12.9 km length and 5.2 meters wide tunnel, considered to be the longest tunnel in the country for the next three days.
The authorities said the public will be provided with transport and security to view the tunnel with limited access to prevent congestion.
Upper Kothmale hydropower plant which had been in the planning stage for nearly four decades due to political wrangling was finally commenced construction in March 2006.
The Upper Kothmale Hydropower Project is the final, large scale hydropower project to be built in Sri Lanka.
The project at a cost of US$ 350 million is mainly funded by the Government of Japan under a loan agreement through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
When completed, the project implemented by the Ceylon Electricity Board, is expected to provide 409 GWh annually to the national grid with an installed capacity of 150MW.
Ministers Patali Champika Ranawaka, Arumugan Thondaman, C.B. Ratnayake, Deputy Ministers Muttu Sivalingam, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Premalal Jayasekara, Governor of Central Province Tikkiri Kobbekaduwa, Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayaka, and Japanese Ambassador Kunio Takahashi also participated.
Ananda-USA said...
Sri Lanka WINS!
2nd ODI: Australia v Sri Lanka at Sydney, Nov 5, 2010
Sri Lanka 213/3 (41.1/45 ov)
Australia 210/10 (37.4/38 ov)
Sri Lanka won by 29 runs (D/L method)
Jayawewa!
------------------------------
Went to the match. 80% of the crowd were Sri Lankans. Amazing atmosphere, the bands were playing non stop, even when the match has stopped due to the rain. I think there were lot of confused Aussies wondering why every one is singing and dancing around bands without stopping. In the end quite a few Australians join in as well. Had a ball.
Hope we will win tomorrow as well.
read my article at lankaweb - cardinal sins. click here. pls leave a comment if you have time. thanks.
Moshe Dyan said...
read my article at lankaweb - cardinal sins. click here. pls leave a comment if you have time. thanks.
----------------------------
It is about time this guy is put in to the Jathiye Pahara ballo list, including Catholic Churche's LTEE Cardinal Henchmen. Nothing against Christian religion, but Church to me is a Colonization mechanism.
Sad to say, but Catholic religion and Terrorism goes Hand in Hand. Destabilization and ensuing poverty is the only way to convert people from one Religion to another. Churches are pretty good at it.
Hi Ananda-usa,
Could you post a running list of developments taking place( or happened,like ports, roads,plants etc. etc.) in Sri Lanka going back 3-4 years and update once in a while.Thanks.
ONE Nation, ONE People, ONE Destiny!
ONE Law from Point Dondra to Point Pedro to ENSURE that VISION!
Jayawewa, Sri Lanka Matha!
..............
One law for entire country from Dondra Head to Point Pedro, Sri Lanka President says
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 06, Tangalle: The entire country from Dondra Head to Point Pedro is now ruled under one single law and no force can influence the independence of the judiciary, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.
Addressing the participants at the opening ceremony of newly built High Court complex in Tangalle the President said his sole aim is to establish rule of law in the country where peace and harmony have taken roots following the defeat of terrorism and assured that he will be committed to safeguard the independence of the judiciary.
The President opened the Tangalle High Court Complex, newly constructed at a cost of 358 million rupees, today.
Speaking at the occasion Minister of Justice Athauda Senevirathne said the present government has played a vital role to create a peaceful and law abiding society in the country.
Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, Acting Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, Deputy Ministers Reginald Cooray, Mahinda Amaraweera, parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa, Secretary to the Ministry of Justice Suhada Gamlath, members of the Tangalle Bar Association, judgers of the Southern Province, Magistrate of Tangalle and other distinguish invitees were present at the occasion.
Later in the day President Rajapaksa participated in the opening of the Desamanya N.U Jayawardena Mawata in Tangalle City. Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, Deputy Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, former minister Milinda Moragoda and Mayor of Tangalle Anil Sellahennadi also participated.
But WHY is the Pakistani BOI a good Role Model for Sri Lanka's BOI?
Is it a ROARING SUCCESS in a corruption-free country that we should copy? FAR FROM IT!
Certainly Sri Lanka's BOI needs improvement, particularly in the area of IMPARTIALITY towards ALL entrepreneurs who contact the BOI for assistance.
BUT, how will including ALREADY OVERLOADED High-Profile POLITICIANS, IMPROVE that situation?
Curious!
.............
Lanka to organise its BOI on Pakistani model
HindustanTimes.com
Colombo, November 06, 2010
Sri Lanka plans to re-organise its Board of Investment, the nation's main investment regulatory agency, based on the high-profile Pakistani model, which has the Prime Minister on its board. The government has proposed drastically changing the way the BoI operates, but no details have been disclosed.
The privately-run Lanka News Website, however, reported on Saturday that the Sri Lankan government expected to follow the Pakistan experience.
Unlike the Sri Lankan model, the Pakistani BoI is high profile and includes no less than the Pakistani Prime Minister, the Ministers of Finance, Economic and Industries, among others.
The BoI is the single and main statutory body that promotes foreign investments to Sri Lanka.
BoI has the powers to grant considerable tax breaks to international investors coming to Sri Lanka. 65% of exports and 86% of industrial exports come from BoI companies.
A Pakistan delegation is expected in Sri Lankan shortly to advise Colombo on re-organising the BOI, the report said adding it would essentially mean greater political involvement in guiding the BOI after the November 22 budget will be unveiled by President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also the finance minister.
EXCELLENT!
The GOSL should provide the Digital INFRASTRUCTURE for HIGH-BANDWIDTH Internet Connectivity, by laying a network of Optical Data Cables and Central Operations Centers.
The Last Mile Connections and Customer Interactions should be left to Private Industry, under GOSL Oversight, to Ensure Universal Connectivity to ALL People IRRESPECTIVE of WEALTH.
Also, the Post Offices should provide High-Bandwidth Computer Internet Connections for Free, or for a Nominal Connection Fee, to the PUBLIC at large.
................
Lanka eyes 75 per cent e-literacy by 2016
Island.lk
November 5, 2010
The government has set its sights on raising the ICT literacy of its citizenry to 75 per cent by 2016, Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the President said.
Addressing the Future Gov Forum held in Colombo last week (Oct 28), Weeratunga said ICT literacy in the country has grown from five per cent in 2004 to 30 per cent today, as a result of a series of initiatives spearheaded by a Presidential taskforce to bring ICT to ordinary Sri Lankans, particularly in rural areas, where 77 per cent of the population lives.
Weeratunga said that bridging the rural-urban divide was one of four priority areas where ICT is being deployed to spur growth and propel socio-economic development.
"The peace that has dawned in our motherland has enabled us to think of innovations that would improve the quality of life of those living in rural areas, hitherto not much noticed by policymakers," he said.
The Rural Telecentre Network, known as Nenasala, and a network of PC labs in schools, were lauded as a key government project to narrow the digital divide in rural areas.
ICT "is a passport for employment opportunities", and so it is "the duty" of government to ensure rural communities are made ICT literate, said Weeratunga.
The other three priority areas were making government robust and efficient, using ICT to involve citizens as "partners of governance", and the commitment of top leadership for boosting national competitiveness.
Driving these priorities is the e-Sri Lanka project, launched in 2005 by the Information & Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) with assistance from the World Bank.
"The cornerstones of e-Sri Lanka – peace, equity and growth – remain valid today," said Weeratunga.
But Sri Lanka’s most senior civil servant cautioned that the government’s ambitions faced tough challenges.
"Creating ICT infrastructure that will have a positive impact on the economic development of a country is no easy task," he said.
"It is a conceptual process that has little or no relation to technology. People must be placed at the centre of everything and it is from their lens that processes need to be looked at."
The government of Sri Lanka’s modernisation efforts received three awards at the Future Gov Awards earlier last month, a tally equalled only by the government of South Korea.
Sorth said ...
"Could you post a running list of developments taking place( or happened,like ports, roads,plants etc. etc.) in Sri Lanka going back 3-4 years and update once in a while."
Welcome to the SLDF blog!
Excellent idea, .. I will do that. Thanks for the suggestion!
Thusitha said ...
"Went to the match. 80% of the crowd were Sri Lankans. Amazing atmosphere, the bands were playing non stop, even when the match has stopped due to the rain. I think there were lot of confused Aussies wondering why every one is singing and dancing around bands without stopping. In the end quite a few Australians join in as well. Had a ball."
WoW! I wish I was there to join you in the FUN!
I will be glued to the computer today for the 3rd ODI .. I hope Sri Lanka steamrolls the Aussies again .. on its way to a World Cup victory! That is the REAL PRIZE!
Gahapang machang, boundary, boundary!
Been There, Done That! 30 Years Ago .. before the War!
Beautiful Place INDEED!
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Sri Lanka: Riding high on waves to recovery
Metro.co.uk
November 04, 2010
It may be a sleepy village but Arugam Bay in Sri Lanka is a great place to get some winter sun and hit the surf.
Untouched coastline: Surfers stroll along the beach in southern Sri Lanka Untouched coastline: Surfers stroll along the beach in southern Sri Lanka
‘You must move, it will charge,’ shouts a tuk-tuk driver as the elephant goes out of view to my right. Besides the threat of stampeding wild elephants, there’s a lot to take in on the A4 to Arugam Bay on Sri Lanka’s war-torn, tsunami-battered east coast. The road itself is being rebuilt and a hangover from 25 years of the civil war, which ended last May, means every road in the country is peppered with military outposts, roadblocks and army personnel.
But Arugam Bay is shining a light for better things to come on the country’s untouched east coast. The colourful jumble of guest houses, cabanas and shops have been built and rebuilt. The slogans on some T-shirts state ‘The Birth Of A Surfing Nation’ but any Aussie surfer will tell you this point break has been a boarder mecca for years.
According to locals such as German bar owner Manfred, 2010 is the first year Arugam Bay is on the backpacker trail. ‘Up until now, it was surfers and NGOs; now I think everything will change,’ he says, telling me the area was largely ignored after the tsunami.
Arugam Bay is a sleepy village of ramshackle restaurants and fruit stalls with a handful of locals and sun-seekers waiting for something big to happen. Anyone looking for the chaos and buckets of whisky that define Ko Pha Ngan will be disappointed.
A fisherman at Arugam Bay casts his net A fisherman at Arugam Bay casts his net into the sea
Lining the beach, a beautiful palm-rimmed strip dotted with boats donated mostly from a Flemish rotary club, are 700-rupee (£4) cabanas and local restaurants getting to grips with Western fare such as pizza. The excellent, traditional Sri Lankan rice and curry (a six or seven-dish feast) is still the staple, though, and orders require at least two hours’ notice.
‘You need to paddle harder to get on the wave, mate,’ advises a young Australian surfer sitting in the crystal-clear Indian Ocean next to me. Noticing that I know nothing about surfing, he comes over and gives my board a push, allowing me to catch a wave. Seeing him swigging on Sri Lanka’s native beer, Lion, in a bar later that evening, I find out he is a pro. This place is devoid of the water-bound cat fighting that takes place at many good surf spots and travellers mingle together with seasoned boarders, swapping tales about one of tourism’s newest frontiers.
‘This is a world-class surfing spot and it is tranquil and unspoilt, which is a rarity these days,’ says Ben Pollard, a 24-year-old Londoner who has travelled alone to Arugam Bay to surf the breaks. ‘I hope the onset of tourism doesn’t ruin it.’
Sri Lanka: Riding high on waves to recovery
....continued....
The quiet, laid-back vibe of Arugam Bay’s main street is only briefly interrupted by the staccato drum beat of the kottu-maker’s blades. James, one of three Welsh surfers earning their keep in a beach bar, says the surf competition is the busiest he has seen Arugam Bay in the month he’s been there. Monkeys scurry around while snakes and scorpions sometimes mill about the golden sand around the bar – but it’s easy to relax in this working fishing village.
Whiskey Point (sadly there’s no hard liquor on sale) is one of a number of surf spots in the area a three-wheeler will whizz you to for a couple of pounds and is probably the best for beginners like me. Sometimes there are six surfers and some bored-looking soldiers but you usually get the waves to yourself. Surfboards can be rented in all shapes and sizes for around 600 rupees (£3.50) and each surf area suits different levels.
Arguably the best place to surf is the tricky but reliable Main Point, a reef break on the southernmost tip of Arugam Bay. A tiny beach bar straddles the point and top surfers chat with tourists under the palms, sheltering from the 40C heat.
Terry McKenna, general manager of the International Bodyboard Association, is at Arugam Bay for the first time. He later tells me over a beach breakfast the tsunami has robbed people of everything. ‘The ocean has taken a lot from these people, now it is giving something back,’ says McKenna.
There are few sunsets I have seen as perfect as those that engulf Arugam Bay at the end of every day, a blanket of gold shimmering off the water as the last surfers try their luck in the waves. One thing is for certain: in a few years all the guest houses will be busy. Most agree this will be a blessing for the area; until then, though, get a hammock while you can.
Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/lifestyle/846182-sri-lanka-riding-high-on-waves-to-recovery#ixzz14XZbFhFP
Prosecute them without delay, Sentence them to HARD LABOR in PRISON!
Let us not give them a free vacation prison at tax payer expense; let them CONTRIBUTE to National Development for their keep!
That should send a CORRECTIVE MESSAGE to all who contemplate drug trafficking as a VOCATION!
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Over 11,000 arrested within 20 days in Sri Lanka for drug offences
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 06, Colombo: Sri Lanka Inspector General of Police Mahinda Balasuriya announced today that the police has arrested 11,139 persons in the 20-day operation launched to curb the drug menace.
Addressing a press briefing held in Colombo today, the police chief said that the majority of arrests were made in the Western Province, the major province of the country.
The police chief also said that the government that eliminated terrorism has now focused to eliminate the drug menace. He also said that the police did not bow to any influence regarding the operations against drug menace.
Offering CARROTS is Good, But we need the STICK as well, to implement this step ESSENTIAL to Ethnic Integration!
If we can't TALK to each other,
We can't UNDERSTAND each other!
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Incentives for public sector employees of Sri Lanka to learn an additional local language
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 06, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government has decided to give an incentive to state sector employees to learn an additional local language.
Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne has said that the government expects the Sinhalese speaking public sector employees to learn Tamil and vice versa.
Jayaratne has been quoted in the local media saying that most of the problems faced by the country today could have been solved if everyone knew an additional language.
He has noted that the government employees knowing an additional language will make the government service more efficient as an important part of the current development process.
According to Jayaratne, since taking over office, President Mahinda Rajapaksa had provided the state sector employees with necessary facilities and the employees therefore are working closely with the state.
France says "Unable to Remove Statue erected in honor of LTTE Political Wing head Thamilselvan because of Devolution of Power to Local Bodies"!
This is an EXAMPLE OF WHAT CAN HAPPEN in Sri Lanka if POLITICAL POWER is DEVOLVED to Local Bodies: The National Interest cannot be Protected if the "Local Bodies" disagree because of Constitutional reasons!
Therefore, Sri Lanka MUST NEVER DEVOLVE Political Power to Large Regional Bodies, especially those created on Communal Bases!
Better still, NEVER CREATE REGIONAL BODIES on COMMUNAL BASES!
FRANCE cannot Enforce its National Laws to Even to Protect its National Interest because some LTTE Diaspora mafia members have the "Local Body" in its pocket!
These Western Mutts who stab themselves in their own groins with these foolish "political solutions", turn around and advise Sri Lanka to do the same!
MISERY LOVES COMPANY .. it seems!
IGNORE their stupid ADVICE!
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Unable to act on LTTE leader’s statue: France
November 07, 2010
COLOMBO: The French government has obliquely expressed its inability to act on the controversial issue of the installation of a bust of S P Tamilselvan, slain head of the LTTE’s political wing, in La Courneuve, a suburb of Paris, earlier this week.
To the annoyance of Colombo, some elected members of the Municipal Council of La Courneuve had participated in the event held in front of the art gallery, Le Sens de l’Art, on November 1.
Following strong protests by the Lankan Ministry of External Affairs and the country’s ambassador in France, the French embassy in Colombo issued a statement on November 4 saying while the LTTE was banned in France, and the people of the country had to abide by the law of the land, the French Central government had no authority to interfere in the affairs of a municipality because of the devolution of power to local bodies.
“The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), of which Suppayya Paramu Tamilselvan was a cadre, is a movement listed as a terrorist organisation since 2006 by the European Union. Any person, group or organisation on the French territory has to respect French law,” it said.
But, this was nullified by the assertion that “the Constitution of France establishes a decentralised state, in which the Government does not have the authority to intervene in the domains devolved to the local institutions and cannot oppose the activities of elected local representatives, as long as these are in accordance with the law. Moreover, the Constitution of France protects the freedom of expression and the Rights of Association.”
Nediyavan Wing of the LTTE mafia network fails to raise funds from the Tamil Diaspora.
The claim that the Sun God escaped with 2000 followers and is raising an Army of 12,000 abroad has fallen on DEAF EARS!
Nediyavan Wing reduced to raising funds SOLELY from CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES!
Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish, I say!
Sri Lanka Muthu Katayata Hatharawaran Devi Pihitai!
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‘Prabhakaran alive’ myth fails to elicit funds
P K Balachandran
November 07, 2010
COLOMBO: A radical faction of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), headed by Norway-based Perinpanayagam Sivaparan alias Nediyavan, has failed miserably to get voluntary contributions from the Tamil diaspora by promoting the myth that Velupillai Prabhakaran is alive and planning a comeback, LTTE watchers say.
“There is virtually no collection now,” said Dr Rohan Gunaratna, head of Singapore-based International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research.
“The failure to get voluntary contributions has led to the LTTE rump making money in illegal ways. Nediyavan has got into credit card and bank cheque frauds, human smuggling, investing in various kinds of businesses, and selling or transferring LTTE assets to new investments. Sale and transfer of assets have been taking place on a big scale in the UK,” Gunaratna told Express on Saturday.
Canada-based Lankan journalist D B S Jeyaraj wrote in Daily Mirror on Saturday that Nediyavan had been telling the diaspora that Prabhakaran had escaped from the war zone by boat with 2,000 cadre, and that he was training an army of 12,000 Tamils somewhere overseas.
But this had not led to a cash flow, Jeyaraj said.
The financial contribution to the LTTE from the diaspora had dropped to about 10-15 per cent of what it was a few years ago and the LTTE’s media institutions were closing down for want of sponsors, he added.
Throughout the West, governments had turned the heat on the LTTE’s fund-raising drives through front organisations for fake humanitarian programmes in the Lankan North and East, Jeyaraj said.
According to Gunaratna, a majority of the Tamil diaspora is angry with Nediyavan for not doing anything for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Lanka.
CRIMINAL SYNDICATES
Jason Kenney, Canada’s Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, had said in a recent interview to The Globe and Mail that Canada and Australia had found out that LTTE arms smugglers/criminals had turned into human smugglers and that they were now making the Tamil refugees pay them back by working for them.
An average Tamil refugee paid upfront only 10 per cent of the $50,000 charged by the smuggler, and the rest was paid by working for the smuggler’s criminal syndicate, the Canadian minister said.
50 injured in jail riots in Colombo
November 07, 2010
COLOMBO: At least 50 policemen and guards were injured in an attack by inmates of a prison in Sri Lanka's capital Sunday during a search for drugs, a senior police official said.
More than 500 policemen deployed in the search at Colombo's Welikada prison in Colombo were resisted by inmates wielding clubs and stones, Superintendent of Police Prashantha Jayakody said.
The policemen were outnumbered inside the jail of more than 4,000 inmates.
"The situation has been brought under control and we are trying to identify those involved in the attacks," Jayakody said.
Similar searches were conducted in eight other smaller prisons throughout the island nation Sunday without incident.
The raids were carried out following information that narcotics including heroin was being used by inmates.
The government has also launched raids nationwide during the past month, arresting more than 11,000 people for possession of heroin, cannabis and other illegal drugs.
Yesterday I suggested that the GOSL should create a High-Bandwidth Fiber Optic Data Network in Sri Lanka as an ESSENTIAL Infrastructure Investment!
Well, HERE IT IS!
Wow! That was FAST! :):)
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SLT to make proposals for Southern Highway fibre optic cable network
November 06, 2010
Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), majority owned by the government, will be invited to make technical and financial proposals to install a fibre optic cable network along the 126 km long southern expressway, the government announced last week.
Cabinet approved a recommendation to this effect made by the President in his capacity as Highways Minister. Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters that the fibre optic cable network will facilitate a toll collection system.
SLT is the country’s dominant fixed line telecommunication operator and one of the biggest in mobile telephony too. Netherlands based Global Telecommunication Holdings NV, controlled by Malaysia’s Maxis Group is the second biggest equity holder of SLT with 44.98% of this quoted company.
The government owns 49.5% of the company in which 15,000 members of the public also hold shares.
The southern expressway, the country’s biggest highway project, is designed as what has been described as an "access controlled toll expressway" extending from Konawa to Godagama linking South Sri Lanka to the capital.
There will be just 11 interchanges located at Konawa, Kahatuduwa, Gelanigama, Dodangoda, Welipanne, Kurundugahahethakma, Nayapamula, Pinnaduwa, Deegoda, Kokmaduwa and Godagama to ensure trouble free operation and maintenance of the expressway.
The ADB and Japan are the dominant funders of this project.
Forces did not shoot white flag carrying civilians
DailyNews.lk
November 06, 2010
Photo: Jaffna GA, Imelda Sukumar
Jaffna Government Agent (GA) Imelda Sukumar giving evidence before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) Thursday vehemently rejected claims that said Security Forces shot civilians who came with white flags during the war.
She was replying to a question posed by Commission Chairman former Attorney-General C R de Silva whether allegation of Security Forces shooting civilians carrying white flags were true.
Sukumar replying said that she was the Government Agent for Mullaitivu from 2002 till January 2010 and she would have definitely known if such an incident took place. No such report was given by anybody, she added.
She maintained that the LTTE was using civilians in the No-war zones declared by the Government as human shields and did not allow them to enter government held territory.
Security Forces treated those civilians who came to a territory held by them in a humane manner, as it was reported to her by many people, she said.
Sukumar said that the Security Forces ensured adequate supplies of food and medicine to civilians in the war zone though some of it was appropriated by the LTTE. The Security Forces had maintained constant contact with her, giving her information and instructions which helped to save many lives, she said.
Courtesy : Daily news
President's assistance requested to overcome Nepal political crisis
November 02, 2010
Nepal President Ram Baran Yadav requested President Mahinda Rajapaksa to channel his political and diplomatic goodwill and skill in the region in sustaining positive momentum in the current political process underway in Nepal.
The Nepal President made this request during the bilateral discussion between the two leaders in Shanghai, China yesterday (31).
The Nepal President elaborated on the current peace process in progress in Nepal and the efforts taken in the drafting of the Constitution.
President Rajapaksa spoke of the need to establish a high level political mechanism as a positive step to help the political parties reach a consensus and said he will do his utmost in mustering the necessary impetus to strengthen the current discussions.
The President of Nepal felicitated President Rajapaksa for leading the country to rid itself of terrorism and praised President Rajapaksa's foresight for the country in embarking on the course of political stabilization and accelerated economic development.
Recalling the warm and friendly relations between the two countries, the two leaders discussed many areas in which bilateral cooperation could be strengthened.
The Nepalese side requested for SriLankan Airlines flights to commence to Kathmandu at the earliest and indicated that putting in place a network of air travel connectivity would generate facilities for promoting Buddhist circuit tourism in the region. The two sides agreed to explore possibilities of having joint packages as an impetus to promoting the President's vision for 'Visit Sri Lanka 2011'.
Speaking with regard to the inauguration of the Sri Lanka Monastery Complex in Lumbini, President Rajapaksa pledged to fast track the remaining work of t he Complex including the Pagoda. He reiterated the desire to jointly promote Lumbini as a Centre for Peace.
President Rajapaksa invited the Nepalese side to develop the tertiary education sector by using Sri Lankan expertise in IT and skills development, agriculture and Ayurveda medicine field. He explained that due to the progressive steps taken in rural village education and rural sector development, the village level IT literacy has increased from 5% five years back to 32%.
In further improving the economic well-being of the country, both sides pledged to accelerate the process of establishing the Sri Lanka- Nepal Joint Commission in Colombo.
Courtesy: PRIU
UK Parliamentarians hail remarkable post-conflict progress in SL
October 26, 2010
A cross party delegation from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) - UK Branch, said that the progress made by the Government on the resettlement of the internally displaced people in the North and the East was "remarkable".
The delegation which was in Sri Lanka on the invitation of the Parliament of Sri Lanka met the Minister of External Affairs Prof. G. L. Peiris on October 22.
Rt. Hon Paul Murphy, MP (Labour), leader of delegation, on behalf of the delegation expressed appreciation for the opportunity afforded by the Government of Sri Lanka for them to visit the country and to observe first-hand the post -conflict progress made in Sri Lanka. He recalled his previous visit to Sri Lanka in 2006, under very different circumstances and stated that this time, following the delegation's visit to the North and the East, it was clear that peace had been restored in all parts of the country.
The delegation was also appreciative of the opportunity afforded by the Government to visit the few remaining IDP sites and to meet with a cross-section of the people, civil society representatives as well as civilians. The delegation had witnessed that remarkable progress was underway in the country, particularly with the resettlement of IDP's, reconstruction of infrastructure as well as restoration of security. The Delegation stressed the need for replicating the progress made in the East, particularly in the areas of infrastructure development and economic empowerment, in the North as well.
Lord Sheikh, Conservative MP stated that as a Muslim parliamentarian, he was personally impressed by the progress he had witnessed in the Eastern Province where the contribution and participation of Muslims was prominent.
Minister Peiris briefed the delegation on the current developments including with regard to the resettlement of the displaced, provision of livelihood for the people and the ongoing focus on infrastructure development. He said that the numbers of IDP's in the sites were down to around 18,000 from the initial 280,000. As soon as the demining was completed in the areas of original residence of these remaining IDP's, the objective of the Government was to close down all IDP sites expeditiously. The Government is pleased that the private sector has come forward to provide employment opportunities for the resettled families. In addition to demining and livelihood, other priority areas for the Government are provision of shelter and housing and infrastructural development.
UK Parliamentarians hail remarkable post-conflict progress in SL
.......continued.....
Minister Pieris reiterated the intention of the Government that the progress made in rehabilitation and economic progress needs to be complemented by a parallel political process. Electoral processes which had been suppressed by the LTTE had been revived in the North and the East allowing for Tamil leadership to emerge from these areas through democratic means, while the conduct of free and fair elections at the Provincial and Local Government levels had already taken place. President Mahinda Rajapaksa remains resolved in bringing a lasting solution to address the concerns of all parties. To this end, discussions between the Government and the Tamil National Alliance will resume soon.
Elaborating on the measures taken by the Government to have a constructive dialogue with the Tamil Diaspora, the Minister said that the Diaspora has an important role to play for the benefit of the people of the North.
In the area of reconciliation and confidence building, the Minister explained the work being done by the Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Commission
The delegation comprised Rt. Hon Paul Murphy, MP (Labour - Leader of Delegation), Mr. Stephen Hammond, MP (Conservative- Deputy Leader of Delegation), Mr. David Amess, MP (Conservative), Mr. Aidan Burley, MP (Conservative), Lord Dholakia OBE DL (Liberal democrat), Mrs. Helen Grant, MP (Conservative) , Rt. Hon. Lord Grocott (Labour), Ms. Fiona O'Donnel, MP (Labour), Lord Sheikh (Conservative), Mr. Andrew Tuggey (Secretary CPA UK Branch) and Miss Hatty Cooper, Secretary to the Delegation.
Courtesy: President Media Unit
To prove we won a just war
By Gomin Dayasri
November 03, 2010
1. The war was waged against an organization that was deemed to be a terrorist organization that had bans imposed against them and recognized by the UN as utilizing child soldiers. It was never termed a part of a liberation struggle.
2. It was terrorist outfit that spilt beyond territorial boundaries in the matter of the killing of the Indian prime minister and the attempted assassination of the Pakistan High Commissioner. In the international realm there was money laundering, terrorist funding especially through networks such as the TRO, illegal shipping activity, narcotics trade that enabled them to buy/ bring arms to the country.
3. It was a battle Mahinda Rajapakse government had to engage after all attempts at peace talks failed. At the first round of talks LTTE were not interested of a peaceful solution but only to disable the breakaway Karuna group. At the second round in Oslo they refused to talk at the table. When they realized at the third round in Geneva that the government was not going to open A9 they left the dialogue process. It was only after the government realized there was no purpose in continuing peace talks and when it was clear that the CFA was being violated beyond the limits of tolerance that the government decided to embark on a war to rid of terrorism.
4. Features of the war that makes it a just war were
(a) It commenced after exhausting the peace process to its end and after LTTE re- launched several attacks after violating on many occasions the terms in the CFA and when the terrorist started depriving civilians of water resources available that the government decided to undertake the war
(b) The fact the war was completed successfully within a short period ending terrorism and ushered a period of genuine and lasting peace. The people held captive were restored their democratic rights with political plurality and the right to exercise the franchise together with the right to dissent. The fact that a party opposed to government won a majority of the votes in the North and East is a matter of significance as it shows that political plurality was established.
(c) The fact that a stable and peaceful society has emerged after the end of terrorism shows that it was a just war. A just war was the only possible the avenue to a lasting peace and a society where law and order prevailed and there was end to the carnage of 30 years.
(d) The fact that during the military campaign (until the final stages) there were no complaints of harm to civilians (except of a few stray and vague complaints) and that the majority of the complaints were during the last few days of the war establishes that the military exercise was carried out with the intent of minimizing civilian casualties and it was successful. You can never have zero casualties but this reveals that the principles of proportionality leading to excesses did not feature. If so, civilian casualties should have being a uniform complaint throughout the military campaign. Even the complaints made by the US State Department covers a period that coincides with the period that the terrorist were holding civilians as human shields for their protection during the last days of the war when the theatre was in a restricted area.
(e) The fact that all times when the civilians desired to make the crossing to government areas and when ever they got the opportunity did make the crossing and never desired to go back to the terrorist controlled areas.
(h) Rehabilitation of cadres, returning child soldiers to parents, no prisoners of war except in cases where crimes have been committed- the characteristics of a just war.
To prove we won a just war
.....continued.....
(i) Principle of jus ad bellum-can be justified since the military operation commenced with the intent to provide water to a multi ethnic community where water sources were deprived by the terrorists; which is needed for consumption and livelihood so that it originated with the intent to restore lost basic human needs. Throughout the military campaign the purpose was to end brutal terrorism that terrorized the entire country and deprived a sector of people their democratic fundamental and human rights. The fact of success within a limited time frame shows it was an achievable goal realistically undertaken that contribute to eventual greater good. This was indeed achieved. The accusation of excesses came in only during the last phase of the war when there was near hand- to- hand fighting and civilians were held in captivity as a human shield. If the war had been not completed within a short time frame there would have been serious international ramifications that would have prevented the end to the war. If Millebands and Kouchners were let loose to sun bathe on the beaches in Nandikadal we would not have been enjoying the luxury of peace!
(j) Principle of jus in bello has been satisfied because the targets taken were of a military nature. It was proved beyond doubt the Senencholai that was the celebrated case showed beyond doubt that it was military training camp where children were taken against their will. There were no complaints during the Eastern campaign or till the last days of the Wanni campaign that there were civilian targets zeroed. In that narrow stretch of land between the lagoon and the sea where the terrorist established every inch of land as a protective shield it was a live military camp where the terrorist leadership quartered holding the civilians against their will. That whole stretch of land was a military target required to complete the war against terrorism as it was the final headquarters of those mastering the terrorist war.
Two factors stand out-
(i) With the backbone of the terrorist leadership being decimated, terrorism came to an abrupt end. This would not have been possible to achieve unless terrorist military installations was over run. You cannot take the prime military installation without civilian casualties when they kept civilians as the last defense line till the attempted final break out by the leadership took place with their families. (ii) The fact that hordes of civilians crossed the line during the last 48 hours when the LTTE began to loosen their iron grip over them displayed that they lived in captivity searching for the first opportunity to escape. If the Forces did not carry softening up operations those civilians would not have obtained escape avenues. It was an imperative military exercise. All attacks were made within limits of token collateral damage to civilians. The military objectivity of ending terrorism and the achievement of greater good within a limited time frame was successfully achieved. It fits perfectly with additional protocol No 1 of 1977 on the principle of an advantage achieved in defeating terrorism, in terms of a just war in the absence of excessive collateral damage. Democratic and human rights were obtained. This battle brought to a conclusion a 30 years of terrorism. The extent of collateral damage is minimal compared to Horoshima and Nagasaki, which ended the war against Japan? There was minimizing of collateral damage to the possible minimal by resorting to No Fire Zones, Precision bombing, use age of small arms, intelligence obtained from surveillance drones on civilian presence as the methods to lower human casualties.
Humanitarian aspects of the military undertaking has already been presented by other witnesses and therefore will not dwell.
To prove we won a just war
.....continued 2.....
There are seven principles to establish a just war coming down from the time of Hugo Grotius
1. there is a just cause-to end terrorism and restore democracy
2. there is right authority-undertaken by a sovereign state to regain land/people taken to perpetrate terrorism
3. right intention-to attack the terrorists while providing humanitarian assistance to the people under the control of the terrorist and to safeguard civilians from collateral damage
4. resort to force being proportionate to the object- the safeguards taken to protect civilians, the attacks directed at military targets
5. last resort-after efforts at peace talks collapsed and at the stage the terrorists deprived people of facilities to water to maintain life and agriculture
6. peace is the goal-the results show permanent peace was obtained
7. hope of success-success achieved comprehensively within a short time frame for the greater good.
What was at stake was the self - defenses of a sovereign state where the sovereignty is vested in the People by the Constitution which was under a attack by a terrorist organization which did not adhere to the principles of democracy or the norms of human rights. We are the only country in modern history to reach this achievement in the democratic world. The last country to achieve it was Malaysia where they overcame terrorism 60 years ago and more recently Peru decimated a tiny terrorist group called the Shinning Path. But both the Malaysians and Peruvians were small time terrorists and were never a major threat like the LTTE or Al Queda. That makes our victory more memorable.
Looks like the FOX is Guarding the HEN House!
Are the Prison Guards engaged in drug business with the Inmates?
If PROVEN, they should also join the Inmates behind BARS!
Many MORE events like this will happen as the GOSL attempts to ERADICATE illegal drugs from Sri Lanka.
Nevertheless, this WAR AGAINST ILLEGAL DRUGS is a MUST if the nation's future is to be SECURED!
Sri Lanka must not become another Mexico overrun by drug lords!
FAILURE is NOT AN OPTION, for widespread illegal drug use will INCREASE CORRUPTION, and UNDERMINE SECURITY, HEALTHCARE and MORALS!
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Prison workers behind attack on police?
By Norman Palihawadane
Island.lk
November 7, 2010
SP among 44 injured
A section of the Welikada prison staff is alleged to have instigated the inmates who set upon a special police squad during a search carried out at the ‘Chapel Ward’ yesterday morning.
Officials say convicts had pounced on the unarmed officers shortly after they entered the complex.
Police headquarters spokesman SP Prishantha Jayakody told The Island that among the personnel wounded in the incident were SP Ravindra Karavita of the Special Crimes Operations Unit, five Inspectors, six Sergeants, five Sub Inspectors and 28 constables.
The wounded officers are now receiving treatment at the National Hospital, Colombo. Several prison officers were also hit by stones during yesterday’s riot.
SP Jayakody said that the CID had been called in to investigate the incident. He dismissed reports of the elite STF being involved in the police operation. According to him, 70 police personnel had been assigned to carry out the search.
The police said that the convicts had been prepared to resist the police operation. An officer said that the attackers had a large stock of stones and targeted officers, most of whom received head injuries. Responding to a query by The Island, another official said that the search had been launched to recover drugs and mobile phones.
The police had obtained a court order to search the prison.
Earlier a similar raid was carried out in the women’s section, where many mobile phones and a large stock of cannabis were seized.
Several prisoners, too, received injuries, when some police officers retaliated.
Deputy Minister of Prisons Reforms Vijithamuni Soysa told The Island that the police should be ‘extra careful’ when carrying out searches in prisons. MP Soysa said that those behind bars didn’t like police carrying out search operations.
He said that the police had been compelled to intervene due to failure on the part of the prisons administration and the staff to take charge of the situation in prisons.
The Police headquarters said that officers and men from several police stations, including Kelaniya, Peliyagoda and Mount Lavinia had been involved in Sunday’s operation.
Prisons Reforms Minister Dew Ginasekera told The Island that a comprehensive inquiry would be carried out to ascertain the circumstances leading to the clash.
Commissioner General of Prisons Major General Silva told The Island that during yesterday’s clashes there hadn’t been any threat on the cell, where former Army Commander Gen. Sarth Fonseka was held.
President of Pakistan, Sri Lanka's Staunchest Friend in Times Good and Bad, visits Sri Lanka with Trade Delegation!
Welcome to Sri Lanka, President Zardari!
Zindabad Pakistan!
...................
Asif Ali Zardari to reach Colombo as SM Krishna flies out late November
By Sutirtho Patranobis
HindustanTimes.com
November 08, 2010
Sri Lanka is looking forward to firming up diplomatic and business ties with Pakistan when President Asif Ali Zardari comes for his maiden visit to the island nation later this month. Zardari is expected on a three-day visit to Sri Lanka beginning November 28. He will lead a delegation of more than 30 people including foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, and some of Pakistan’s influential businessmen.
Interestingly, Zardari’s arrival in Colombo could coincide with the departure of the India’s external affairs minister, SM Krishna, from the Sri Lankan capital city.
Though diplomatic sources at the High Commission of India did not confirm the dates of his visit, the tentative date of Krishna’s arrival is known to be November 25. His October visit was postponed because of New Delhi’s busy diplomatic schedule.
New Delhi is expected to urge Colombo to expedite the resettlement and rehabilitation of the Tamil displaced in the north and push for a speedy political settlement of the ethnic issue during Krishna’s visit.
But Colombo expects purely business and diplomatic exchanges with Islamabad during Zaradari’s visit as Pakistan has never been keen to raise Sri Lanka’s ethnic issues.
Pakistan was a strong supporter of Sri Lanka during the decades-long conflict providing arms and training to latter's security forces and remained a key supplier of small arms and ammunition.
During his visit, Zardari and his delegation are scheduled to participate in bilateral talks to boost trade and security cooperation between the two countries. According to reports, the businessmen are expected to hold talks on possible investment opportunities in Sri Lanka.
Pakistan is also the second largest trading partner of Sri Lanka in South Asia after India and Pakistani produce like basmati rice are widely available in the country. Sri Lanka in fact was the first country to sign a free trade agreement with Pakistan.
Both countries had deftly tackled the fall-out of the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team on March 3, 2009, in Lahore.
Sri Lanka needs its own Refinery to process CRUDE oil bought from friendly nations at discount, rather than purchase expensive refined petroleum products at much greater cost abroad.
This is a PERMANENT need that will remain even if Sri Lanka shifts over MOST but NOT ALL of its energy consumption to renewables and nuclear power in the future.
Having our own refinery gives Sri Lanka much more flexibility in meeting this need at low overall cost.
.................
Sapugaskanda oil refinery expansion project: Agreement with Iran likely soon.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
November 7, 2010
In the wake of Iran extending an unprecedented $ 1 billion on four-month interest free credit facility to help Sri Lanka purchase Iranian crude oil, the two countries are moving closer to an agreement on the expansion and modernisation of the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery.
Authoritative sources told The Island that according to a feasibility study carried out by the UK-based KBC Advanced Technologies PLC, the cost of the project could come down to $ 1.3 billion from the original estimate of $ 1.4 billion on the basis of current market price of crude oil. However, the company has suggested a series of other infrastructure improvements, which hadn’t been planned at the time the project was first discussed. Sources said that the new additions would increase the total cost by about $ 750 million. If that increase are taken into consideration, the total cost of the project will be around $ 2.1 billion.
Sources said that the government had wanted a second opinion, though Iran produced a positive feasibility study, which asserted that Sri Lanka could cover the cost of the project in less than ten years.
According to a Cabinet Memorandum (41/2009) forwarded by the then Petroleum Resources Development Minister A. H. M. Fowzie, the feasibility by the UK firm would cost Euro 1,265,000.
The project envisaged upgrading Sri Lanka’s capacity from 50,000 barrels per day to 100,000 barrels per day. Sources pointed out that the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) had carried out the original feasibility study at no cost to Sri Lanka. Responding to a query by The Island, sources said that the Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI) was to provide 80 per cent of the funding and the remaining 20 per cent by Sri Lanka.
Subsequently, Sri Lanka’s share has been raised to 30 per cent of the total cost.
Although KBC Advanced Technology has handed over two crucial documents – the Market Overview and Refinery Configuration on the project proposing a 100% upgrade, bringing it up to regional standards, the final report is yet to be submitted.
When the Sapugaskanda expansion project was mooted, a barrel of crude oil price had shot up to an all-time-high US$ 147.27 (as at July 11, 2008), while refined products hovered around $ 40 more than crude oil. However, at present, the price of crude oil stands at US$ 69.94 a barrel, while the prices of a barrel of petrol and diesel were at $ 70 and $ 80.40, respectively as at May 25, 2010.
Sources said that due to financial constraints experienced by Sri Lanka, Iran had agreed to accept Sri Lanka providing its share in one down payment and 16 installments.
Meanwhile, Fowzie’s successor, Susil Premjayantha last week revealed a plan to meet a part of Sri Lanka’s oil requirement from Oman. The Colombo District MP expressed confidence in having an agreement beneficial to Sri Lanka, though sources told The Island that whichever the source of supply the sales would be in line with OPEC prices.
Good Article
http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2010/11/09/%E2%80%9Cdefeating-terrorism-and-winning-peace-sri-lanka%E2%80%9D
Patriots,
I have posted Dr. Palitha Kohona's Article in full as a new post.
Please shift over to that article.
Blogger DownFall ... many thanks for bringing it to my attention. :)
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