Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Finally, a CONCRETE MOVE to REPEAL the 13th Amendment and PROTECT the Nation!
Sri Lanka Buddhist party reveals its constitutional amendment
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 22, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Sinhala Buddhist political party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Wednesday revealed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution proposed by them.
Legal adviser of JHU Udaya Gammanpila, Member of Western Provincial Council, briefed the content of the proposition today at a press conference held in Colombo.
JHU Gampaha district MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero said the party expects to bring in the proposal to the parliament as a private member's motion.
Full Text of the Amendment:
The proposition named as An Act to amend the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka aims primarily to repeal the 13th amendment to the constitution which paved way for the power devolving Provincial Council system in the island.
Full text of the draft constitutional amendment is as follows: Whereas the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was purportedly enacted, consequent to the Indo- Sri Lanka Accord being entered into between the President of Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister of India in 1987 under duress in defiance of the sovereignty of the people of Sri Lanka and,
Whereas the Supreme Court of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka did not approve the provisions of the 13th amendment Bill as being consistent with the Constitution in as much as only four judges of the Supreme Court out of nine held that the approval of the people at a referendum was not required to enact the 13th Amendment whilst five judges held that at least one or more of the provisions of the Bill was in violation of the Constitution and therefore required the approval of the people at a referendum and,
Whereas in terms of Article 80(2) of the Constitution "where the Supreme Court has determined that a Bill or any provision thereof requires the approval of the people at a referendum" such bill or such provision shall become law only upon the same being approved by the people at a referendum and the President certifies that the Bill or any Provision thereof has been so approved in the manner as set out in the said Article.
Whereas the majority of the Judges that constituted the bench of the Supreme Court had determined that the Bill or any one or more of the provisions thereof requires the approval of the people at a referendum, such Bill can become law only if complied with Article 80(2) upon being approved by the people at a referendum and therefore the purported certificate of the Speaker endorsed on the Bill purportedly under Articles 79 and 80(1) of the Constitution is invalid and unconstitutional and,
Whereas the Supreme Court has determined that any Bill or any Provision thereof requires the approval at a referendum the only cause of action available under the law is to comply with the process set out in Article 80(2) and the purported Amendment made to Clause 154G(2)(b) and 154G(3)(b) of the 13th Amendment Bill in Parliament without a further determination by the Supreme Court is unconstitutional and unlawful and,
Whereas the 13th Amendment in Article 154A(3) provides for the establishment of one administrative unit for two or more Provinces, to accommodate the unlawful undertaking given by the then President of Sri Lanka in the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord to establish one administrative unit for the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka on the erroneous and false basis that the Northern and Eastern Provinces form part of the homeland of one single ethnic and /or linguistic community as claimed by the separatist forces and,
Whereas the 13th Amendment has sought to abdicate the legislative power vested in Parliament and the Executive power vested in the President by the division of governmental power and restricted the Parliament and the President respectively exercising the legislative and executive power of the people and thereby offended the unitary character of the State, Whereas the 13th Amendment has vested inter alia police powers (including powers in relation to maintenance of public order) in Provincial Councils which was hitherto exercise by the Government of Sri Lanka, which will be a serious threat to national security concerns of the Republic in as much as, ,
(a) the 13th Amendment provides for the Chief Minister of a Province to directly control the Head of the Provincial Police Force and thereby all Police Officers of the said Force and even national police units operating in any province. (vide Item 11 of the Appendix of List 1 of the 9th Schedule) thereby effectively taking away the powers of the Inspector General of Police and the Government of Sri Lanka exercising any authority over such police force, ,
(b) the 13th Amendment entrusts the responsibility of prevention, detection, investigation of all offences (except the offences specified in the Schedule therein) and institution of prosecutions (subject to the powers of the Attorney General) to Provincial Councils and to enact any law on any such matter and further empower any Provincial Council to prevent any Police Officers of another Province entering such Province (vide the limitations contained in sub paragraph (k) of the 2nd item of List II of the 9th Schedule) and thereby jeopardizing the management of law and order and the national security of the Republic.
(c) the 13th Amendment even restricts police officers of the national police force from being in uniform compelling them to be in plain clothes even when performing the limited responsibilities allowed within a province such as when engaging in prevention, detection and investigation of a scheduled offence (vide Item 10:1 read with 12:1 of the relevant Appendix of the 9th Schedule).
Whereas the 13th Amendment, though based on the Constitutional structure of India, denies the Government of Sri Lanka to intervene in the event of a Province acting against the interests of the Republic, although the Central government of India is empowered to intervene in similar situations. (Vide Article 256 and 257 of the Constitution of India).
Whereas the power of the Government of Sri Lanka to give directions with regard to the manner of exercising executive power by a Province is restricted to a situation where the maintenance of essential supplies and services is threatened or that the security of Sri Lanka is threatened by war or external aggression or armed rebellion (vide Article 154J and 154K) no such limitation is placed under the Constitution on the Government of India and,
Whereas the 13th Amendment seeks to weaken the Government of Sri Lanka whilst strengthening the Provincial Councils and thereby destroying the unitary character of the State, territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and the sovereignty of its people and,
Whereas Sri Lanka is a Free, sovereign, independent and unitary State and it is the duty of the State to safeguard the independence, sovereignty, unity and the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and the provisions of the 13th Amendment are a threat to the independence, sovereignty, unity and the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.
BE it enacted by the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka as follows:- 1. This Act may be cited as the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution. 2. The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (hereinafter referred to as the "Constitution") is hereby amended by the repeal of ; ,
(a) Chapter XVIIA
(b) Article 155(3A)
(c) Ninth Schedule
3. Article 170 of the Constitution is hereby amended by the substitution, in the definition of "written law" for the words "and includes statutes made by Provincial Councils, orders" of the words "and include orders".
4. In the event of any inconsistency between the Sinhala and Tamil texts of this Act, the Sinhala text shall prevail.
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Justice DENIED: The KILLER NURSE ... Adele Balasingham .... Lives Luxuriously in Southern England!
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168 comments:
Bravo, Jathika Hela Urumaya!
While all other Pusillanimous PATRIOTS are STUCK IN THE MUD, debating the issue ad inifinitum, ad nauseam .... you have ACTED to protect the Motherland.
Jayawewa!
ARREST, PROSECUTE, CONVICT & PUNISH these UNREPENTANT SERIAL TRAITORS immediately!
FINE them in CASH, CONFISCATE their PROPERTY, take away their CIVIC RIGHTS including the right to VOTE & ENGAGE in POLITICS, IMPRISON them at HARD LABOR, and ENACT a THREE-STRIKES-AND-OUT law that mandates COMPULSORY LIFE IMPRISONMENT for REPEAT OFFENDERS.
Make the PUNISHMENT RETROACTIVE to PRIOR un-prosecuted TREASONOUS ACTIVITIES over the last 30 years!
The GOSL has the laws on the books against TREASON ... USE them .... for God's Sake! Laws UNENFORCED are Laws NON-EXISTENT and VIOLATED with IMPUNITY!
The US prosecutes ALL TREASONOUS activity by its citizens withoin the US and abroad. For example, the American Taliban who trained in Pakistan is now serving a Life Sentence in Maximum Security Prison. Why should Sri Lanka's Security be less Valuable? Why?
Failure to DISCOURAGE TREASON will guarantees the resurrection of Tamil separatist terrorism in the future!
HAVE WE LEARNED NOTHING from the SUPINE PASSIVITY of OUR RECENT PAST?
Do not APE Nero by playing the Harp AGAIN while Si Lanka BURNS!
ACT NOW before it is TOO LATE!
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>CID questions Sri Lanka Tamil parliamentarian over war victim commemoration
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 22, Colombo: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sri Lanka Police has interrogated the Vanni District Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian Sivasakthi Anandan yesterday in Colombo over his involvement in a function held last week to commemorate the Tamil victims of war.
The Tamil MP has organized the commemoration in Vavuniya Town Hall on May 18 and the CID has questioned him on why he organized the function.
Anandan has told the BBC Sandeshaya Service that he was also interrogated over four hours on a mobile phone conversation he had with the Tamil detainees in the Vavuniya Prison when the riots broke out in the prison last year.
He has told the CID that the fasting Tamil detainees called him to mediate a solution for their grievances with the prison authorities and the MP with another TNA MP Selvan Adaikalanathan visited the prison to resolve the issue.
Anandan was reportedly questioned on how he has developed mobile phone connections with the Tamil detainees and on the hunger strike staged last year by the prisoners which resulted in a riot at the prison.
Tamil MPs Suresh Premachandran and M.A. Sumanthiran have accompanied Anandan to the CID office in Colombo.
Mano Ganeshan, the leader of People's Democratic Front has meanwhile has said that ordering Sivasakthi Anandan to report to CID is a violation of public's right to commemorate the dead and the provisions in Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Committee (LLRC) report clearly indicates that the public must be provided with an opportunity to commemorate dead.
>Croydon man charged with smuggling Sri Lankan immigrants into UK
CroydonGuardian.co.uk
May 24 (CG) A 50-year-old man from Croydon has been charged with smuggling Sri Lankan immigrants into the UK. Chubramaniam Vignarajah of Aurelia Road, was one of 18 people arrested in a series of international raids by immigration and police ,which included addresses in London, Luton and Essex on Wednesday.
Mr Vignaraha has been charged with conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration along with two other men from Hayes and Northold. Two other suspects were charged with the same offence yesterday.
Six other people arrested during the raids have been bailed until July, pending further enquiries.
A spokesperson for the Home Office said the arrests were a culmination of a joint investigation into an alleged criminal network that is believed to assist Sri Lankan illegal immigrants trying to enter the UK.
The operation involved Home Office Immigration Enforcement investigators, Kent Police and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) as well as Europol and French and German law enforcement agencies.
As police raided address in the UK, raids were also carried out in France and Germany. Seven people were also arrested in France.
Sri Lanka coalition partner calls to mobilize public against 13th Amendment to Constitution
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 24, Colombo: The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a coalition party of Sri Lanka' ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), said it will take measures to mobilize the public to urge the government to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
JHU parliamentarian Ven. Athuraliye Ratana Thero said the public must be mobilized to urge the government to change its stance on the 13th Amendment.
The Thero's call to abolish the 13th Amendment came in response to the statement by Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa that the government would not abolish the 13th Amendment.
At the cabinet press briefing Thursday Minister Yapa said the government has no intention whatsoever to postpone the Northern Provincial Cunicl polls, repeal the 13th Amendment or introduce amendments to the Constitution to remove police and land powers to the provinces.
Ven. Ratana Thero has observed that the JHU's proposed motion to amend the Constitution to abolish the provincial council system in the country is to be presented to parliament next week.
The coalition party Wednesday revealed party's proposed 19th Amendment to the Constitution primarily to repeal the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which paved way for the power devolving Provincial Council system in the island.
The party says 13th Amendment to the Constitution was enacted consequent to the Indo- Sri Lanka Accord being entered into between the President of Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister of India in 1987 under duress in defiance of the sovereignty of the people of Sri Lanka,
The JHU is vehemently against the land and police powers given to the provinces under the 13th Amendment and calls for amending the Constitution to take away those powers from the provinces before holding the elections to the Northern Provincial Council scheduled for September.
Their call is supported by Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who says that he would never agree to granting police powers to provincial councils according to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The Defence Secretary is of the view that granting police powers to provincial councils in future could pose a serious threat to national security and lead to a dangerous situation.
Minister Yapa said if the government introduces the Constitution or amendments to the Constitution it would be through a consensus by all stakeholders.
The government would resort to a power devolution process or introduce constitutional changes only through an extensive political interaction with all political parties and other stakeholders and that is why the government took measures to constitute a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to discuss all these issues related to power devolution, police and land powers to PCs and security issues of the provinces, the Minister said.
The Opportunity to Revive the Sovereignty of Sri Lanka to its Full Resplendent Status is HERE!
RISE UP …. O Patriots of Mother Lanka …. and EXPUNGE the 13th Amendment from Sri Lanka’s Constitution!
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Sri Lanka coalition partner calls to mobilize public against 13th Amendment to Constitution
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 24, Colombo: The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a coalition party of Sri Lanka’ ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), said it will take measures to mobilize the public to urge the government to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
JHU parliamentarian Ven. Athuraliye Ratana Thero said the public must be mobilized to urge the government to change its stance on the 13th Amendment.
The Thero’s call to abolish the 13th Amendment came in response to the statement by Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa that the government would not abolish the 13th Amendment.
At the cabinet press briefing Thursday Minister Yapa said the government has no intention whatsoever to postpone the Northern Provincial Cunicl polls, repeal the 13th Amendment or introduce amendments to the Constitution to remove police and land powers to the provinces.
Ven. Ratana Thero has observed that the JHU’s proposed motion to amend the Constitution to abolish the provincial council system in the country is to be presented to parliament next week.
The coalition party Wednesday revealed party’s proposed 19th Amendment to the Constitution primarily to repeal the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which paved way for the power devolving Provincial Council system in the island.
The party says 13th Amendment to the Constitution was enacted consequent to the Indo- Sri Lanka Accord being entered into between the President of Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister of India in 1987 under duress in defiance of the sovereignty of the people of Sri Lanka,
The JHU is vehemently against the land and police powers given to the provinces under the 13th Amendment and calls for amending the Constitution to take away those powers from the provinces before holding the elections to the Northern Provincial Council scheduled for September.
Their call is supported by Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who says that he would never agree to granting police powers to provincial councils according to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The Defence Secretary is of the view that granting police powers to provincial councils in future could pose a serious threat to national security and lead to a dangerous situation.
Minister Yapa said if the government introduces the Constitution or amendments to the Constitution it would be through a consensus by all stakeholders.
The government would resort to a power devolution process or introduce constitutional changes only through an extensive political interaction with all political parties and other stakeholders and that is why the government took measures to constitute a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to discuss all these issues related to power devolution, police and land powers to PCs and security issues of the provinces, the Minister said.
Sri Lanka will RUE THE DAY when it dismantled its Army Camps in Jaffna.
Instead, these camps and HEAVY Army presence in Jaffna should be MADE PERMANENT and MAINTAINED INDEFINITELY where Tamil Separatism raised its UGLY MURDEROUS HEAD.
Let owners of the land be COMPENSATED by the GOSL, but the Army should not move out!
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Sri Lanka Army to remove camps in Jaffna and to establish an Army colony
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 25, Colombo: Sri Lanka Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya has said that the plans are afoot to set up a new Army colony in Jaffna peninsula.
The official told the Sunday Sinhala newspaper, The Divaina that only three camps would be kept in the peninsula and the rest of the camps would be withdrawn. The withdrawn camps are to be relocated in the Army colony.
The lands where the camps are presently established would be returned to the legal owners, the Army Commander said.
The new Army colony will be established in the Palaly area where the defense forces headquarters and the airport is situated. The Kankasanthurai naval harbor will also be established in the colony.
The government has decided to acquire 6,381 hectares of the land in Jaffna that is now being used as High Security Zones permanently and to pay compensation to the owners of the land. The government has allocated Rs. 400 million to pay the land owners.
According to the government, the lands in the High Security Zones of Weligamam North in the Palaly and Kankasanthurai (KKS) areas are to be acquired for the expansion of the Palaly airport and the KKS harbor.
The Army Commander further said that the maintenance of law and order in relation to civil administration of the areas released for civilian activity would be the sole responsibility of the police.
FULL POWER DEVOLUTION including Land and Police Powers to Murderous Tamil Separatists Defeated only Yesterday?
These demands arise because ALL TRAITORS & SEPARATISTS who brought Sri Lanka’s to its knees were NOT PUNISHED adequately. They are still posing as “Freedom Fighters” not Murderers Gone Beserk.
No other country that had defeated separatists in war (USA, Nigeria, Britain) has ever contemplated DEVOLVING POWER to the DEFEATED enemies of the Unified State. NEVER!
So why is this being allowed in Sri Lanka?
RISE UP …. O Patriots of Mother Lanka … and EXPUNGE the 13th Amendment, rammed down our throats by India at the point of the gun, from Sri Lanka’s Constitution … NOW!
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Sri Lanka Tamil party calls for full power devolution to provinces
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 25, Colombo: Sri Lanka’s major Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has insisted on complete power devolution to the provinces through the 13th Amendment to the Constitution since problems over the provincial councils are due to the incomplete devolution of power by successive governments.
TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran said yesterday that the respective governments had appointed committees that have made various proposals but the problems over the provincial councils in the country have not been resolved through the years.
Premachandran said the TNA expects nothing less than complete devolution of financial, police and land powers to the provinces through the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
Successive governments had come up with various proposals from time to time since the police and land powers have been devolved partly.
According to Premachandran, late President Ranasinghe Premadasa had appointed the Mangala Munasinghe Commission, and former President Chandrika Kumaratunga came up with another solution. The present government appointed the All Party Representative Committee (APRC), he noted.
Premachandran said that the governing party needed to resolve its stance on the devolution of power among its coalition partners since they are expressing differing views.
The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a coalition party of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), said it will take measures to mobilize the public to urge the government to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which devolve powers to the provinces.
The JHU is vehemently against the land and police powers given to the provinces under the 13th Amendment and calls for amending the Constitution to take away those powers from the provinces before holding the elections to the Northern Provincial Council scheduled for September.
Their call is supported by Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who says that he would never agree to granting police powers to provincial councils according to the 13th Amendment.
The Defence Secretary is of the view that granting police powers to provincial councils in future could pose a serious threat to national security and lead to a dangerous situation.
However, the Tamil MP said complete powers including land and police powers need to be devolved to the provinces for a sustainable solution.
Smuggling: four Sri Lankans held in Dominican Republic
DailyNews.lk
May 25, 2013
Dominican authorities arrested four men from Sri Lanka accused of smuggling at least 60 migrants from India and the Middle East into the US and Canada using fake passports.
Officials with the National Investigations Department say the alleged leader of the group is a Canadian citizen identified as 42-year-old Karunhanithy Nallathamby.
Director Fidel Calcagno said late Wednesday that Nallathamby was in charge of obtaining passports in Canada that would later be altered and given to migrants once they reached the Dominican Republic.
He said the majority of migrants had criminal backgrounds and would stay in Nallathamby’s house for up to two months before traveling to the US or Canada.
The TNA worshippers of the "ONE True SunGod" hope to win in PEACE through the 13th Amendment Backdoor the Tamils-only Apartheid Eelam that they failed to win by murderous WAR.
A little bit of Eelam today through Provincial Council Elections to get themselves in the saddle, then more and more later by using land and police powers to expel central government and Sinhala and Muslim people, and create facts on the ground, onwards steadily towards complete separation and a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
Expect to see the resurrection of now defunct Tiger cemeteries, building of Monuments to the Tamil Tiger War Dead, a resumption of the brainwashing of future generations of Tamils picking up where the defeat of the Tamil Tigers halted the process, unlimited immigration from Tamil Nadu to change the demographics of Sri Lanka permanently, and so on ad infinitum, ad nauseam ... all geared to secession from Sri Lanka.
In what way is this goal different from that of the late unlamented SunGod? His proxies in Colombo, the TNA, who cheered on his murder and mayhem only a few years go, are now masquerading as "democratic legislators" orchestrating the "human rights" approach to Eelam through subterfuge. The murderous wolves of yesteryear are now hiding under the sheepskins as perpetually wailing victims of discrimination.
Clearly, the GOSL, and Sri Lankans as a whole, have not exerted themselves enough, and devoted sufficient resources, to EXPOSE these SERIAL CON ARTISTES for who they really are: Criminal Terrorists who murdered 150,000 innocent citizens of in Sri Lanka with IMPUNITY with the covert and overt Aid from India and Western Countries.
Rise Up ..... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... and REPEAL the 13th Amendment from Sri Lanka's Constitution, and TOTALLY UPROOT Provincial Councils from Sri Lanka's System of Government.
JHU to mount "three pronged approach" to abolish 13th Amendment
By Franklin R. Satyapalan
Island.lk
May 25, 2013
The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), an important constituent party in the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, yesterday unveiled a "three pronged approach" to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
JHU spokespesman, Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe said the party would mobilize the public to urge the government to change its stand on the 13th Amendment by holding awareness rallies countrywide from the June 1, canvass the support of political parties in government and as well as the opposition and present a private member’s motion in Parliament after the conclusion of the Vesak celebrations.
JHU sources said that the decision to take to the streets and "go before the people" was made in the backdrop of the statement made by Cabinet spokesman, Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa that the government had no intention of abolishing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution or postpone the Northern PC polls scheduled for September this year.
"We are totally against the holding of the polls to the Northern PC as we believe the local and international political situation and pressures being brought to bear could have serious implications for the country", they said.
If the polls should be held in the North, then the Sinhala and Muslim people who were ethnically cleansed from the North should be resettled. There were about 20,000 Sinhalese living in the Jaffna district earlier. All of them should be resettled before the polls are conducted", the sources said.
When asked whether there was sufficient time before the scheduled elections in September to resettle these people, the sources replied "In that case, let the government postpone the polls until such time all Muslims and Sinhalese were resettled".
Warnasinghe said that there would be no problem as the majority of the displaced Tamils are being resettled. All the IDP camps had been closed down.
Asked about the implications the government would face from neighboring India and the international community if it abolished the 13th Amendment and went back on holding the Northern PC poll, Warnasinghe said that Sri Lanka, as a Sovereign country, need not give into pressures from any quarters, be it India or the international community.
My Dear Sonia,
Since the Tamil Separatists in Sri Lanka have your support, adore and worship these Maoists are "Freedom Fighters" too!
Oh, by the way, I recommend Full and Complete Devolution of Power to these Maoist Freedom Fighters so they can achieve their "Legitimate Aspirations" outside of India's control .... as you Indians prescribe to Sri Lanka.
When 800 million people of India are under the control of Maoists during the night in areas the Indian government claims to control by day, I would say that your saree is on fire!
Good Luck with swallowing that poison pill of Devolving Power to Terrorists claiming to be Freedom Fighters!
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Sonia Gandhi 'devastated' by India Chhattisgarh ambush
BBC
May 26, 2013
The president of India's Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi, has said she is "devastated" by Saturday's attack on party officials in Chhattisgarh state.
At least 24 people were killed, including Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nandkumar Patel, his son, and local leader Mahendra Karma, when suspected Maoist rebels ambushed their convoy.
Mrs Gandhi visited some of the wounded with PM Manmohan Singh on Sunday.
The prime minister said India would "never bow down" before the rebels.
He denounced the "barbaric attack" which he said should be an inspiration in the fight against extremism and violence.
Unconfirmed reports said they were unable to visit the scene of the attack because of security concerns.
'Firm action'
The convoy carrying state Congress leaders and party workers was ambushed at around 17:30 (10:00 GMT) on Saturday as it travelled through the Darba Ghati valley, in the Sukma area about 345km (215 miles) south of Raipur, following a campaign rally.
Police said the convoy was first forced to stop by felled trees on the road. At least one vehicle at the front of the convoy was then hit by a land-mine blast before as many as 200 suspected rebels opened fire, they added.
map
The main target of the attack is believed to have been Nandkumar Patel, who witnesses said jumped into a ditch with his son, Dinesh, to take shelter before they were abducted. Their bodies were later found nearby; the Congress chief was reportedly mutilated.
Mr Karma was found dead at the scene. A former home minister in Chhattisgarh, he founded the Salwa Judum, a local militia given the task of fighting the Maoists which has been accused of abuses.
Former federal minister Vidya Charan Shukla was among the 32 people wounded in the ambush, many of them seriously, police said.
He was taken to hospital outside Delhi where his condition was described as stable.
Sonia Gandhi 'devastated' by India Chhattisgarh ambush
.....Continued 1.......
Mrs Gandhi denounced the "dastardly attack" on India's democratic values, words reiterated by the prime minister as they visited Raipur.
Congress party leader Mahendra Karma with his bodyguards. File photo Mahendra Karma was instrumental in setting up a movement to fight the Maoists
"Those who have lost their lives in this barbaric attack are martyrs of democracy," Mr Singh tweeted from Raipur, where many of the wounded are being treated.
Maoist rebels, also known as "Naxalites", have been operating in central and eastern India for the past four decades. They demand land and jobs for the poor, and ultimately want to establish a "communist society" by overthrowing India's "semi-colonial, semi-feudal" form of rule.
After attending an emergency meeting in Delhi with the prime minister, Mrs Gandhi described the attack in Chhattisgarh as "shocking".
"Naturally, we are devastated," she told reporters. "It is despicable that ordinary people engaged in political activity were attacked."
The prime minister had also spoken by telephone to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and promised him all "necessary aid".
"Government will take firm action against the perpetrators of violence of any kind," he said in a statement.
In the above article on the Attack by Maoist Terrorists in Chattisgargh, India, note the following statement:
"However, Gill said the state government was incapable of devising a strategy to tackle the Maoist threat. "They don't have the political will and bureaucratic and police set-up to prevent such attacks," he said.
He said the state government had ignored the need for special forces to tackle the threat. "Most of the special forces in the state are being used for non-operational duties like guarding state politicians," he said."
Likewise, if LAND and POLICE powers are vested with a Tamil majority Provincial Council in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, they will not have the "political will, and the bureaucratic and police setup" ... to put it mildly .... "to prevent such attacks".
In fact, it will be the TNA-dominated Provincial Government that will initiate and orchestrate such attacks.
Only the central government can enforce the necessary action to maintain peace in the NATIONAL INTEREST which is not shared by the TNA separatists.
If the TNA gets control of the Northern Province, and land and police powers to boot, there will be INTERMINABLE CONFLICTS between the Central Government and the Provincial Government setting the stage for another Eelam War .... this time possibly with ACTIVE Tamil Nadu participation.
Why would ANY GOSL allow such a security threat to arise and threaten the lives and livelihoods of ALL of Sri Lanka's people .... all over AGAIN? But, such STUPIDITY is at the heart of the impending PC Elections in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Are we to gift to the Tamil Separatist Terrorists in PEACE what they failed to win in Murderous War? Have all of our brave soldiers, sailors, airmen, police and civilians DIED IN VAIN?
Rise Up .... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... and COMPEL the Government of Sri Lanka to REPEAL the 13th Amendment rammed down Sri Lanka's throat by India; an India that does not even know how to maintain its own territory free of terrorism!
Rise Up .... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... and GET RID OF the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Councils NOW before it is TOO LATE!
Lanka can't toe India line on 13th Amendment: Gotabaya
By P K Balachandran
NewIndianExpress.com
May 27, 2013
The influential Sri Lankan Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has said Sri Lanka should jettison the system of devolution contained in the India-inspired 13th Amendment of the country’s constitution, irrespective of India’s reaction.
“Just because India or some other country will get angry, we cannot stop doing what is good for our country,” Gotabaya told the Tamil daily Sudar Oli on Sunday.
He was asked if his statements against the devolution of power to the provinces would not irk India, which was responsible for the promulgation of the existing devolution system through the India-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987 and the 13th constitutional amendment which followed it. Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid had recently expressed displeasure over Lanka’s attempts to prune the 13th amendment to deny the provinces powers over land and police.
Gotabaya expressed the fear that if the Tamil majority Northern Province went into the hands of the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) following the September 2013 elections to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC), that province would demand power over land and police and jeopardize national integrity and security.
He recalled that the 13th amendment did not have the people’s support when it was enacted in 1987. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna had “set fire to the whole country,” and the LTTE leader Prabhakaran had rejected it, he pointed out.
“Why should we implement it merely because it meets India’s needs?” Gotabaya asked.
According to him some forces were trying to weaken Lanka’s Central Executive by divesting it of powers of land and the police; demanding independent commissions to make official appointments; and promoting an independent judiciary. Gotabaya, who is President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s sibling, suggested that Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims, should all “forget” about the 13th amendment and think about a “reasonable” solution to the ethnic question.
However, according to “The Sunday Times” President Rajapaksa had told the cabinet that the NPC elections should be held as scheduled in September, and under the existing constitutional arrangement. Perhaps, Rajapaksa does not want to ruffle feathers in India and the West ahead of the Commonwealth summit scheduled to be held in Colombo in November.
Bravo, Mr. Defense Secretary!
Indeed Sri Lanka cannot change its system of Governance to suit a Foreign Country; a Foreign Country that Rammed the 13th Amendment down Sri Lanka's throat while it was Militarily Occupying a large part of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is NOT BOUND BY AGREEMENTS FORCED UPON IT UNDER DURESS. Under International Law, no Country is bound to honor agreements entered into under blackmail.
Sri Lanka did what it had to agree to do then ... in order to survive ... just as a KIDNAPPED PERSON would sign over his property when a gun is held at his head. But, it is the duty of that victim to regain his freedom and to recover his assets and rights at the earliest possible opportunity.
There are many PRECEDENTS in International Law of NULLIFICATION OF AGREEMENTS ENTERED INTO UNDER DURESS. For example, Hitler forced Czechoslovakia to give up the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany under the threat of invasion by Nazi Germany, and abandonment by the Allied Powers. As soon as Nazi Germany was defeated, Czechoslovakia ABROGATED the Munich Agreement, and reconstituted itself in full regaining the Sudetenland.
The Rape of Sri Lanka by India, and the attempt to partition Sri Lanka by IMPOSING BY FORCE the 13th Amendment upon Sri Lanka, are CRIMES under International Law just as much as the Rape of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany was a CRIME.
It is the DUTY of ALL PATRIOTIC Sri Lankans to help FREE Sri Lanka of this CHAIN OF BONDAGE to India's internal and regional political needs.
Sri Lanka MUST NEVER FORGET this CRIME which our own ethnic relatives in India, and our collaborators in the struggle for independence from Western Colonialists, INFLICTED upon us.
Sri Lanka must ALWAYS be PREPARED to DEFEND and PROTECT Sri Lanka's TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY, Sri Lanka's unique CULTURE that has DEVELOPED INDEPENDENTLY over many millenia from its early Indian origins, and the FREEDOM to GROW and PROSPER in the FUTURE as we Sri Lankans see fit.
There is AMPLE EVIDENCE in the MISSTEPS India has taken since independence, in governance, foreign relations, maintenance of internal security, and the assurance of equity to all of its citizens, that India has little to offer Sri Lanka in the way of SOUND ADVICE. India is travelling on a fast path to disintegration; Sri Lanka would be well advised to avoid all self-serving advice given by India and to protect itself in every way from contamination by India's self-inflicted social diseases.
Rise Up .... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... to GET RID OF the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Council System designed to create a Patchwork Quilt of Racist Apartheid Bantustans in Sri Lanka.
Let Sri Lanka move CONFIDENTLY towards the goal of ONE Indivisible Nation, of ONE Inseparable People, sharing ONE Indomitable Destiny!
........................
Lanka can't toe India line on 13th Amendment: Gotabaya
By P K Balachandran
NewIndianExpress.com
May 27, 2013
The influential Sri Lankan Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has said Sri Lanka should jettison the system of devolution contained in the India-inspired 13th Amendment of the country’s constitution, irrespective of India’s reaction.
“Just because India or some other country will get angry, we cannot stop doing what is good for our country,” Gotabaya told the Tamil daily Sudar Oli on Sunday.
He was asked if his statements against the devolution of power to the provinces would not irk India, which was responsible for the promulgation of the existing devolution system through the India-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987 and the 13th constitutional amendment which followed it. Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid had recently expressed displeasure over Lanka’s attempts to prune the 13th amendment to deny the provinces powers over land and police.
Lanka can't toe India line on 13th Amendment: Gotabaya
.....Continued 1.....
Gotabaya expressed the fear that if the Tamil majority Northern Province went into the hands of the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) following the September 2013 elections to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC), that province would demand power over land and police and jeopardize national integrity and security.
He recalled that the 13th amendment did not have the people’s support when it was enacted in 1987. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna had “set fire to the whole country,” and the LTTE leader Prabhakaran had rejected it, he pointed out.
“Why should we implement it merely because it meets India’s needs?” Gotabaya asked.
According to him some forces were trying to weaken Lanka’s Central Executive by divesting it of powers of land and the police; demanding independent commissions to make official appointments; and promoting an independent judiciary. Gotabaya, who is President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s sibling, suggested that Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims, should all “forget” about the 13th amendment and think about a “reasonable” solution to the ethnic question.
However, according to “The Sunday Times” President Rajapaksa had told the cabinet that the NPC elections should be held as scheduled in September, and under the existing constitutional arrangement. Perhaps, Rajapaksa does not want to ruffle feathers in India and the West ahead of the Commonwealth summit scheduled to be held in Colombo in November.
Comment submitted to NewIndianExpress.com:
It is high time that India stopped INTERFERING in Sri Lanka's Internal Matters. The 13th Amendment was rammed down Sri Lanka's unwilling throat under the threat of permanent military occupation of Sri Lanka, to satisfy India's internal political, and regional hegemonic, needs.
Under International Law, as in Common Law, agreements entered into UNDER DURESS are not valid as in the ABROGATION of the agreement by Czechoslovakia to cede the Sudentenland to Nazi Germany.
The Rape of Sri Lanka by India in militarily invading Sri Lanka under the PRETEXT of PEACEKEEPING, and the de-facto partitioning of Sri Lanka by changing its Constitution, is no less a CRIME than the Rape of Czechoslovakia by the Nazis.
It is Sri Lanka's BOUNDEN DUTY to REPEAL this Foreign Chain IMPOSED upon us at the earliest possible opportunity.
India should stick to solving its own problems, such as the Naxalite menace that threatens the lives of 800 million of its citizens, and recently killed 24 of its citizens.
Sampanthan says Gotabaya is not govt.
DailyMirror.lk
May 27, 2013
“Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said police and land powers would not be given to the Northern Province. I am not ready to talk to him because he is not the government,” said ITAK leader R. Sampanthan at the Trincomalee District General Meeting of the ITAK yesterday.
The meeting was held at the New Silver Star Inn to appoint electoral agents, re-structuring party branches and to explain the current political situation.
“The problems of Tamils have reached the United Nations. UNHCR conducted discussions with regard to Sri Lankan Tamils. Therefore, we cannot give up our principles for the sake of a 2 km road,” he said speaking at the meeting.
“Except for the 50 acre-land acquired for the Sampur Electricity Scheme, all other lands will be released; that was the promise given to me by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, however, in spite of the promise the lands are still not released. Countries which helped to destroy LTTE, should place a solution before Tamils, be it the USA or India; we need a solution and they are duty-bound to provide it,” Mr. Sampanthan said.
He further said “We have shared Rs. 5 million received from our decentralised budget among eleven temples. Had we joined the government, we would have received even Rs.100 million for development, but we will not deviate from our principles.” (Singaravelu Sasikumar)
JHU to hand over private member’s motion on abolishing 13 A tomorrow
by Ranil Dharmasena
Island.lk
May 27, 2013
The Jathika Hela Urumaya would hand over a private member’s motion to the Secretary General of Parliament tomorrow, seeking to repeal the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which established the Provincial Councils, Western Provincial Council Minister Udaya Gamanpila said yesterday.
Gamanpila told The Island that the Sinhala and English versions of the proposed draft bill were ready and the Tamil translation too would be ready by today.
After handing over the bill, they would meet all political parties represented in Parliament, including the Tamil National Alliance, to apprise them of the importance of abolishing the 13th Amendment.
Jayawewa! A 3rd Expressway for Sri Lanka.
May the Noble Triple Gem Bless and Protect China ... the Stalwart Friend of Sri Lanka.
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China to fund construction of Northern Expressway in Sri Lanka
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 28, Beijing: China has pledged to provide further funding to develop Sri Lanka's transport sector that includes a number of expressways, road networks and railway lines.
During bilateral discussions held between Sri Lanka and China in Beijing Tuesday, the two countries signed an agreement for China to fund the construction of a new Northern Expressway from Colombo to Jaffna.
As a part of the proposed aid to develop Sri Lanka's transportation sector, the Chinese government will also aid developing a Colombo-Kandy-Kurunegala expressway and extending the southern expressway from Matara to Kataragama.
Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister Professor G.L. Peiris, speaking to Chinese investors and representatives of the corporate sector of China at an event in Beijing today presented main advantages Sri Lanka can offer as a destination for investment and trade.
The event "Sri Lanka: Promising Business Destination" was organized by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Beijing and the Export Development Board.
The programme emphasized on matching arrangements between Sri Lankan and Chinese companies for the purpose of increasing volumes of trade between the two countries.
China pledges to continue support to Sri Lanka's development
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 28, Beijing: Sri Lanka and China held bilateral talks Tuesday to discuss further strengthening the relations on number of areas when the visiting Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa met with his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan welcomed President Rajapaksa accompanied by the First lady of Lady Shiranthi Wikaramasinghe Rajapaksa at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing this afternoon.
The Sri Lankan President was received a 21-gun salute and inspected a Guard of Honor when he arrived at the Great Hall of the People.
The two countries pledged to work towards further strengthening relations in several areas including trade, tourism and investment.
President Rajapaksa thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for China's continued support to Sri Lanka in a number of spheres. He also congratulated President Jinping, who took over as China's new president in March of this year, and said his assumption to this high office is testament to the confidence that the Chinese people have in him.
He said that his many visits to the East Asian nation have helped him gain a deep and profound understanding of China's political, economic and social dynamics, and that he looks forward to working closely with the new administration.
President Jinping, recalling the long-standing ties between China and Sri Lanka, said that the fact that President Rajapaksa is visiting China for the seventh time is an indication of the strength of the relation between the two countries and said he looks forward to further strengthening bilateral ties during his tenure.
During the bilateral meeting, the two delegations also discussed trade and tourism. The two countries signed an agreement to establish two committees that would work towards a free trade agreement. This would give Sri Lankan products such as apparel, gems and jewelry, tea and rubber wider access in the Chinese market.
In the area of tourism, Sri Lanka and China agreed to work towards the goal of attracting 100,000 Chinese tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka by 2015.
China has also pledged support for a number of other projects: Water supply schemes in Attanagalla, Minuwangoda and Kurunegala, an international conference hall in Kandy, an arts theater in Anuradhapura and the development of the national hospitals in Colombo and Ragama.
China pledges to continue support to Sri Lanka's development
.....Continued 1.....
Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris, Monitoring MP for the Ministry of External Affairs Sajin de Vaas Gunawardena, Ministers Wimal Weerawansa and Douglas Devananda, Parliamentarians A.H.M. Azwer and Namal Rajapaksa, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Dr. P. B. Jayasundara, Chief-of-Staff Gamini Senarath and Sri Lanka's Ambassador in China Mr. Ranjith Uyangoda were among those present at the meeting.
Earlier in the day, Chairman and President of the Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank), Li Ruogu, called on President Rajapaksa at the China World Hotel.
Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga and Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Dr. P. B. Jayasundara also participated in the meeting.
During the discussions, President Rajapaksa, who is currently on a four-day state visit to China, expressed gratitude for the assistance rendered by the Bank for several development projects in Sri Lanka and pointed out that through those projects, improved infrastructure facilities in the country have enhanced the living standards of the people.
The President expressed hope that the Exim Bank will continue to support Sri Lanka's future development initiatives as the main priority of the government now is economic and social development following the end of the armed conflict in 2009.
President Rajapaksa pointed out to the Exim Bank Chairman that Sri Lanka has deviated from the city-centered development strategy and embarked on the development of rural areas by enhancing infrastructure facilities.
"We have completely changed the development pattern inherited from Colonial rule, and our people are reaping the benefits of it," the President said.
Exim Bank Chairman said he is satisfied with the progress made in the development cooperation with Sri Lanka and assured the Bank's continued support, particularly in the areas of road development, the construction of highways and water supply projects.
The state-owned China Exim Bank provides overseas development funds to promote international economic and trade cooperation.
The Bank has provided financial assistance to 37 development projects in Sri Lanka during the past seven years, including the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, Hambantota Port and the Southern Expressway.
The President has invited the chairman of the Exim Bank to visit Sri Lanka.
(Photos by Sudath Silva)
Lorenzo,
I COMPLETELY disagree. We need DEFENCE, DIPLOMATIC and ECONOMIC help from the China which is superbly CAPABLE & WILLING to do ALL of these for Sri Lanka.
Strength in these two areas COMPLEMENT each other, and one cannot be sustained without the other. No one will want a perpetually poverty stricken country, incapable of either defending itself or fending for itself economically as a long-term ally. If Sri Lanka becomes ECONOMICALLY strong many of our current critics will abandon their current self-serving criticisms because the ECONOMIC & TRADE benefits they get from Sri Lanka are GREATER.
China has ALREADY helped Sri Lanka in BOTH areas at CRITICAL TIMES. They provided the bulk of the Weapons we needed to defeat the LTTE, shielded Sri Lanka from UNFAIR criticism and calls to halt the offensive at the UN ... as they still do ... and gave Sri Lanka large loans and grants amounting to billions of US dollars that allowed the offensive to keep going to its successful end.
China has been the largest donor of development funds to Sri Lanka for many years now. Most of the major infrastructure projects completed in Sri Lanka, the Southern and Katunayake Expressways and other roads, the Hambantota Shipping port and Mattala International Airport, many Electric Power plants, many Bridges, Hospitals and Schools ... come immediately to mind. The building of a new Northern Colombo-Anuradhaoura-Jaffna Expressway, and a Colombo-Kurunegala-Kandy Expressway are also scheduled to be built with Chinese loans.
Infrastructure spending is the BEST form of government spending bar-none, because it is an INVESTMENT in the country's future growth, unlike CONSUMPTION spending which is gone once the money is spent. These INVESTMENTS are dragging Sri Lanka by the scruff of its neck into achieving our goal of joining the developed world as the New Wonder of Asia just as Singapore and South Korea did.
Which other nation would give Sri Lanka such assistance? USA? Heck NO!
The ONLY Superpower ... that vociferously champions a global anti-terrorism agenda and human rights against others ... but demonized Sri Lanka at the UN and gave Sri Lanka less than $25 million in aid last year ... almost all of it to NGOs for activities designed to undermine the Sri Lankan State. Instead of giving BIG loans at favorable rates, the US frequently erects barriers to Sri Lanka getting IMF loans and denies most favorable trading partner benefits to Sri Lankan exports to the USA.
I recall that two other countries that FINANCIALLY assisted Sri Lanka during the throes of the Eelam conflict were Iran ($ 2 billion loan and favorable oil prices) and Gaddafi's Libya ($ 2 billion loan).
Those who say Sri Lanka is getting too much in debt to China forget that NO ONE ELSE helps Sri Lanka in such a big way. India spends most of its aid helping the formerly Separatist Tamils in the war-torn North, to primarily to build homes ... not for INFRASTRUCTURE development that would help us COMPETE against India in South Asia.
We HAVE TO INVEST HEAVILY in DEVELOPMENT and EDUCATION/SKILLS TRAINING facilities, or Sri Lanka will forever remain mired in the third world. Therefore, WE HAVE TO GET the funds for it from somewhere.
Funds from China, the TRIED, TESTED and TRUE friend-in-need of Sri Lanka, is the best MOST RELIABLE money we can get for this purpose.
Sri Lanka is a priority country for development aid from China Development Bank
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 29, Beijing: For China's largest state-owned lender, China Development Bank (CDB), Sri Lanka is a priority country when providing development aid, CDB Chairman Hu Huaibang told Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa when he met the President today at the China World Hotel in Beijing.
The Chairman, recalling that CDB is a partner in many of the agreements signed between the two countries Tuesday (May 28) including the planned construction of the new Colombo-Jaffna expressway, said he is looking forward to further enhancing of Sri Lanka's close cooperation with the Bank in the future.
Expressing his appreciation for the Bank's assistance in many infrastructure development projects in Sri Lanka,President Rajapaksa, who is on a four-day official visit to China, hoped that CDB would continue to assist the country in future initiatives, including the completion of the Moragahakanda Reservoir Project, which was initiated with financial assistance from the Bank.
Mr. Huaibang said the Bank will give highest priority to Sri Lanka's requests for development assistance.
Sri Lanka's cabinet recently approved obtaining a US$ 580 million loan from China this year for the development projects in the country.
The President invited the CDB chairman to visit Sri Lanka. He also agreed to a proposal by the Bank to establish a separate institute to better manage development aid.
Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Dr. P. B. Jayasundara and Sri Lanka's Ambassador in China Ranjith Uyangoda joined the discussion.
The UNP document says nothing specifically about the existing Amendments to the Constitution.
In particular, it says NOTHING about the REPEAL of the 13th Amendment and DISMANTLING of the Provincial Council System.
The statement that:
b. the right of persons belonging to a religious or ethnic community to enjoy their culture, practices and their religions and use their language,
raises my fears that the TNA demand for an autonomous North and East with police and land powers would be GIVEN by this proposed Constitution of the UNP.
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Sri Lanka's main opposition releases draft Constitution, promises to abolish Executive Presidency
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 29, Colombo: Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) today released its draft Constitution for the country, which includes an assurance to abolish the Executive Presidential system.
The UNP stated that within 6 months after the formation of a government by the party, the draft constitution will be submitted for the approval of the people at a referendum.
According to the UNP, this would be the first Constitution to be adopted by the people of this country.
Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe presided over the event to release the draft Constitution held in a Committee room of the Parliament.
.....Continued 1 .....
Following is the full text of the document released by the UNP:
The Second Republican Constitution was adopted in 1978 to provide for the economic, political and social development of the country. It achieved the expected objectives including the socio-economic transformation of the country, to a great extent.
During the last several years under Mahinda Rajapaksa's regime, the office of Executive President has been completely desecrated, by destroying all the checks and balances that were built into the system. The dignity and the integrity of that office has been reduced to a despicable state as a result of the blatant abuse of power and the creation of an authoritarian regime marked with extreme nepotism and corruption, with gross disregard for democratic values and fundamental human rights.
There is now an urgent need to restore the dignity and sovereign rights to the People which were forcibly taken away by the present regime, and to adopt a new Constitution for: -the establishment of a just and equitable society, creating an environment for all people to live in peace and harmony while enjoying their fundamental rights, irrespective of any difference of creed, religion, language or political opinion;
-the establishment of a vibrant and prosperous economy, (which has been completely destroyed in the recent past), including the creation of opportunities to generate income for the people; -the restoration of the independence of the judiciary, law and order, which has been critically and unprecedentedly debilitated during the recent past;
-the restoration of the pristine glory previously enjoyed by Sri Lankans in the International arena.
Main features of the Constitution proposed to be adopted by the United National Party Government
Sovereignty is in the people and is inalienable.
Sovereignty is exercised directly through universal suffrage, and includes the following fundamental rights:
a. Universal access to education,
b. the right of persons belonging to a religious or ethnic community to enjoy their culture, practices and their religions and use their language,
c. Right to good administration.
The Sovereignty of the People requires that Parliament and the Government are accountable to the people.
....Continued 2......
01. Restoration of the People's Sovereignty
i. The Constitutional framework will enshrine the Rule of Law within a democratic framework. Not only the ruled but the rulers are also subject to the Rule of Law.
ii. Buddhism will be given the foremost place while assuring the rights of all other religions in compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
iii. Fundamental human rights shall be guaranteed and secured for each and every person irrespective of any race, religion, language, caste, sex, political opinions or any other differences.
iv. The Directive Principles of State Policy imposes the duty and the responsibility upon the State to provide necessary facilities for good health, opportunities for employment, access to education, protection of family rights, children and women's rights, rights of senior citizens and disabled persons.
v. The Constitution will guarantee the freedom of expression and will be strengthened to include the right to information.
02. Legislature
i. Parliament shall consist of 225 members elected on a mixed system where each constituency will elect its representative and the final result (seats in Parliament) will reflect the Party's true strength (i.e. total votes polled) at elections. This system will give value for every vote cast.
ii. The system of preference votes will be abolished.
iii. The tenure of the Parliament and the Provincial Council is fixed at five years.
iv. Elections for the Parliament and all Provincial Councils shall be conducted on one and the same day, and in the event the Head of State is also to be elected, that election will also be held on the same day.
v. Any Member of Parliament or a Member of any Provincial Council or a Member of any Local Government Institution who loses the party membership from whichever Party he/she is elected/appointed to that institution shall cease to be a Member of that institution forthwith.
vi. If any Member of Parliament, or a Member of any Provincial Council or a Member of any Local Government Institution fails to submit Annual Declaration of Assets and Liabilities within the stipulated time period, he/she shall cease to be a Member of that body. Ministers and Deputy Ministers shall also be required to submit their Annual Declaration of Assets and Liabilities to the Speaker instead of the Executive as it is done now.
vii. If any Member of Parliament, or a Member of any Provincial Council or a Member of any Local Government Institution is convicted for a crime irrespective of whether he/she serves a jail sentence or not, he/she shall cease to be a Member of that body.
.....Continued 3....
03. Executive
i. Presidency will be abolished.
ii. Instead of the Presidency, a Head of State will be substituted. The current powers conferred on the Presidency will be divided among the Head of State, the Prime Minister, and the Speaker's Council.
Option 1 : A Prime Minister elected by the people at an election to govern with the Cabinet. The Prime Minister and his Cabinet are responsible to Parliament.
Option 2 : As a novel system the executive powers will be exercised on apolitical basis and to be subject to checks and balances.
2.1 : To ensure direct exercise of the People's Sovereignty, the Head of State will be directly elected by the people.
2.2 : The Head of State will be the Head of the Council of State (which will consist of the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, the Leaders of the political parties represented in the Parliament and the Chief Ministers of the Provinces), and will act on the advice of the Council of State.
2.3 The Council of State shall decide on all political directions and national priorities. The Cabinet of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister and the Provincial Boards of Ministers shall be responsible for implementation of the decisions of the Council of State.
2.4 The decisions of the Council of State shall be by consensus. In the event there being no consensus the majority decision will prevail. This will pave the way to practice Lord Buddha's preachings on governance � peaceful assembly, peaceful dialogue and peaceful dispersion.
Option 3 : To adopt a system similar to that of the Westminster system.
iii. The Cabinet of Ministers will be restricted to 25 including the Prime Minister.
iv. There shall be a Speaker's Councils consisting of the Speaker, the Prime Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition and representatives of all political parties represented in Parliament. The Speaker shall be the Chairman.
v. On recommendations of the Council of State, the Head of the State shall appoint members to Independent Commissions, Justices to the Constitutional Court and Superior Courts. Heads of State Institutions shall be appointed by the Head of State with the approval of the Speaker's Council.
....Continued 4.....
04. Devolution of Powers
i. While Sri Lanka remains a Unitary State, powers will be genuinely devolved to Provincial Units taking into consideration:
a. The Joint Communiqu� between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Secretary-General of United Nations in May 2009;
b. Resolutions on Sri Lanka at United Nations Human Rights Council;
c. Tissa Vitharana Report and the connected documents including papers exchanged at the talks between the SLFP and the TNA;
d. Recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission;
e. President Mahinda Rajapaksa's speech in Parliament in May 2009.
ii. The Office of the Governors of the Provinces will be abolished and their powers and functions shall be performed by the Head of State.
iii. The Member who commands the majority of a Provincial Council shall be appointed as the Chief Minister and the Leader of the political party which has secured the next highest number of seats shall be appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister.
iv. The Boards of Ministers of the Provincial Councils will be appointed proportionately to the votes polled by the respective political parties in such Council.
....Continued 5....
05. Judiciary
i. There shall be an independent and separate Constitutional Court which shall be solely responsible for inter-alia the interpretation of the Constitution and the examination of the constitutionality of Bills and its decisions are final and conclusive. The Executive and the Legislature are bound to follow the decisions of the Constitutional Court.
ii. The tenure, salaries, allowances and privileges of all the judicial officers shall be guaranteed. In the event of any impeachment against Justices of Superior Courts, the Constitutional Court is empowered to investigate into the charges leveled against such Justices, in compliance with the Commonwealth principles (Latimer House Declaration).
iii. The Constitutional Court shall be empowered to hear and determine Parliamentary Election Petitions and there shall be a fixed time period within which the cases are to be concluded.
06. Good Governance
i. Independent Election Commission, Independent Police Commission, Independent Public Service Commission, Independent Judicial Service Commission and Independent Anti-Corruption Agency would be set-up as a matter of utmost priority.
ii. All elections shall be conducted by the Independent Election Commission which shall have the powers to issue directions to all agencies involved in the election process including both State and Private media.
iii. The State will promote and strengthen measures to prevent and combat corruption efficiently and effectively. The institutions of government will promote integrity, accountability and proper management of public affairs, public property and public resources.
iv. A new anti-corruption law will be enacted to give effect to the United Nations Convention on Corruption.
v. There shall be codes of ethics for Parliamentarians, Members of the Council of State, Justices of the Constitutional Courts, Superior Courts, Members of the Judiciary and all other elected Members of the Provincial Councils and Local bodies in accordance with international criteria.
vi. Anti-Corruption Agency law shall include Bribery and Corruptions in the private sector and shall apply retrospectively.
vii. Parliamentary Oversight Committees such as Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) would be strengthened and Parliament shall take steps to ensure that their recommendations when approved by Parliament are implemented.
viii. There shall be an independent secretariat with a data bank to facilitate investigations by COPE and PAC and they shall be empowered to examine the estimates of annual budgetary allocations before annual budgets are presented.
ix. Any project or investment or contract exceeding the value of Rupees One Billion shall be examined by a specially constituted Select Committee of Parliament.
07. Participatory Democracy
Women's Rights:
i. There shall be an allocation of 25% for women's participation in Provincial Councils and Local Government Institutions.
ii. There shall be a Women's Chamber representing all strata of women from all over the country to deal with the diverse women's interests. The Women's Chamber shall be an instrument of deliberative democracy to uphold and enforce women's rights. The Chamber will also exercise other powers vested by Parliament.
Community Council:
iii. With a view to establishing participatory democracy and building national reconciliation, there shall be community based Councils in each Grama Sevaka Division which are obliged to perform and function on apolitical basis.
Yes, Indeed ... Let the 13th Amendment be VOTED UP or DOWN in a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM by ALL of THE CITIZENS of Sri Lanka.
NO other options should be offered in the NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM, except the following:
Q. Whereas the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, and the division of the governance of Sri Lanka into Provincial Councils, are a threat to the continued survival of an undivided unitary sovereign Sri Lankan nation, should the 13th Amendment be REPEALED and the Provincial Council System be DISSOLVED?
VOTE: Yes OR No.
The REFERENDUM should be carried out NATIONWIDE, without enumeration of the vote by electoral divisions or provinces. This is a NATIONAL QUESTION to be decided by the entire population of the country, not a question to be decided on any other SUB-NATIONAL regional level.
If the LEADERS of the UPFA Government are AFRAID of foreign repercussions upon themselves personally of REPEALING the 13th Amendment, and CANNOT EFFECTIVELY ARTICULATE THE LEGALLY VALID REASONS we have CLEARLY and OFTEN identified here at LankaWEb.com, then let the People of Sri Lanka DECIDE THE MATTER and give these Craven Politicians a FIG-LEAF to hide behind!
Even as we speak, the Politicians of Sri Lanka are dividing into two camps: PATRIOTS and TRAITORS.
A few days ago, the LSSP (Lanka Sama Samaja Party) and the CP (Communist Party) came out against REPEALING the 13th Amendment.
Today, the SLMC (Sri Lanka Muslim Congress), hoping to carve out a Muslim Eelam of their own in the future, proclaimed its opposition to ABOLISHING the 13th Amendment. Finally, Rauf Hakeem's separatist cat is out of the UPFA bag, and is shivering naked for all to see his hidden agenda.
The bulk of the UNP, under the Arch-TRAITOR Ranil Wickramasinghe, is of course FIRMLY AGAINST REPEALING the 13th Amendment, although a substantial number of UNP stalwarts, such as Rohan Senanayake, CLEARLY will not join Ranil in this Anti-National decision. To control such rebels, and future crossovers from the UNP to the UPFA in parliament, the UNP recently issued their own proposal for a NEW CONSTITUTION which mandates the EXPULSION from Parliament of any MP who defects from the party with which he was affliiated with at the time of the MP's election to Parliament.
Now we see most of the TRAITORS who are aligned with the TNA in the Eelam Project.
Our MEMORIES of TREACHERY NEVER FADE; we will NEVER FORGET who joined the TRAITORS CAMP! NEVER!
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Sri Lanka Muslim Congress not to support abolition of 13th Amendment to the Constitution
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 30, Colombo: Ally of Sri Lanka's governing party, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) says the party would not support the abolition of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
SLMC Leader and Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem has said that the SLMC would not take any action to support the abolition of the 13th Amendment.
He said the party's stance was that the 13th Amendment should not be revised in any way and there should not be any change in the land and police powers vested with the provinces under the 13th Amendment.
According to Hakeem, the SLMC would only support any change to the 13th Amendment if the change mooted would bring about a reinforcement of the conditions put forth by the Amendment.
And the TNA TRAITORS howl for INDIA to INTERVENE in Sri Lanka’s affairs AGAIN!
ONE more TREASONOUS Act by the TNA …. inviting foreign powers to intervene against the will of the People of Sri Lanka … for which they MUST be ARRESTED, PROSECUTED, CONVICTED and severely PUNISHED!
ONE more item for the EVIDENCE LIST!
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Sri Lanka Tamil party accuses government of backing the move to abolish 13th Amendment to Constitution
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 30, Colombo: Sri Lanka’s major Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) says that the government was covertly backing the move to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
TNA parliamentarian, Attorney at Law, M. A. Sumanthiran said the move by the nationalist party Jathika Hela Urumaya to propose the abolition of the provincial council system under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is backed by the government since the JHU is a constituent member of the governing party with a member in the Cabinet.
Explaining that the JHU is a constituent party in the government with a member in the cabinet and therefore is bound by collective responsibility, Sumanthiran said the government is “obviously behind this move, but does not have the courage to do it directly.”
He noted that the JHU has participated in the provincial council system and have a minister too in the Western Provincial Council while the JVP too has participated in this system when Minister Wimal Weerawansa was a member of the JVP.
“It is therefore hypocritical for both to now object to the provincial council system only to deny the Tamil People of the North the opportunity to participate in it,” he pointed out.
“There must be a power-sharing arrangement agreed upon that enables the Tamil People of this country to live as equal citizens with dignity and self-respect, handling their own affairs in their own areas,” the Tamil legislator said.
However, Sumanthiran noted that this government’s track record on finding a lasting solution to the ethnic issue will not infuse any degree of confidence.
He added that India has a moral responsibility to ensure that the 13th Amendment is fully implemented and also to ensure that Sri Lanka goes beyond that.
There you GO! ARREST, PROSECUTE, CONVICT and PUNISH ALL of these MURDERERS!
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Two ex-Tamil Tiger cadres indicted in Sri Lanka for shooting down a military plane
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 30, Colombo: Two former cadres of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in sri Lanka were indicted today before the Anuradhapura Provincial High Court over charges of shooting down a military aircraft.
The two Tiger cadres are accused of shooting down an Antanov-32 plane firing missiles from Wilpattu Wildlife Park killing 32 military personnel on or around March 30, 2000.
Sri Lanka Air Force at the time submitted a report that the plane crash was due to a technical issue.
However, police Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) arrested two ethnic Tamils few years back under suspicion of shooting down the aircraft using missiles.
The suspects have been in detention for more than four years.
The TNA has now clearly enunciated its goal: destruction of the UNITARY state of SRi Lanka.
What more needs to be said before the GOSL REPEALS the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Council System? What?
Are we going to accept TREASONOUS TNA leaders as Members of Parliament?
ARREST, PROSECUTE, CONVICT and PUNISH these TRAITORS!
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Sri Lanka Tamil party not in favor of a unitary state to solve national question
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 31, Colombo: The major Tamil political party in Sri Lanka, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) says that a power sharing arrangement under a unitary state would not solve national question.
TNA parliamentarian Mavai Senathirajah has said that power sharing under a unitary system is questionable in today's context of domination by Buddhist extremists.
He said at a meeting in Jaffna that the party is yet to discuss and decide its stance on the draft Constitution presented by the United National Party (UNP).
"The TNA will meet shortly and announce its official stance with regard to the UNP's proposed draft constitution," Senathirajah said.
He added that the TNA had handed a proposal regarding a power sharing arrangement to the government about a year ago but up to now they have had no response from the government.
The MP rejected the government's claim that all the displaced people have been resettled in the North.
"The government is telling the international community that the war displaced people have been fully resettled. I reject this statement. More than 100,000 people are living with relatives, friends or in welfare camps and are still to be resettled," Senathirajah said.
The TNA, a five-party coalition, brought together by the Tamil Tiger terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), acted as the proxy party of the LTTE which fought a three decade long war for a separate state in Sri Lanka.
The JVP does not have a CLUE what needs to be done, yet presumes to have the authority to CRITICIZE the GOSL that is dragging Sri Lanka towards our National Goal of becoming the New Wonder of Asia.
EVERY DAY in EVERY WAY I see RAPID PROGRESS towards that GOAL!
If the JVP has any CONSTRUCTIVE IDEAS for INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, they should OFFER them.
Otherwise, the JVP should SHUT UP and slink back into their destructive rebels-without-a-cause hole!
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Sri Lankan government does not have a proper list of priorities for development - Marxist party
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Jun 01, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) says the government is carrying out development projects funded by foreign loans without a proper priority list.
JVP politburo member, K.D. Lalkantha says the government has failed to invest monies in development projects that would bring returns to the country and the economy.
"If a person takes a loan of Rs. 100,000 from a bank and build a wall and place a gate around a one acre land, he can show the world that he had built something with the money borrowed, but he would not get any return out of the investment. However, if he had put up a cheap fence around the land with a bamboo gate and planted coconut trees in the land along with another side crop and rear a few cows, he could earn a return on his investment," Lalkantha explained.
Comparing the government's current development plan similar to building the wall without any returns, the JVP member said people are now aware of this situation.
What TREACHERY is this?
GOSL to ONLY "amend several powers" including requiring NOT ALL but ONLY A MAJORITY of Provincial Councils to approve national bills! Removal of Land and Police powers is not NOT INCLUDED in these amendments!
The GOSL would be well advised to REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVE Provincial Councils altogether, lest the Patritic People of Sri Lanka kick this government also out from Office.
GOSL, Ask not For Whom the Bell Tolls, It Tools for Thee!
Rise Up! .... O Patriotic Sons and Daughters of Sri Lanka .... REPEAL this Poison Pill 13th Amendment and DEMOLISH the Provincial Councils, lest our sovereign Motherland is reduced to "appealing" to separatist Provincial Councils for its very existence, as is mentioned in the article below!
These Craven Cowards should put this issue to the PEOPLE in a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM. If they can't decide, let the PEOPLE decide for them!
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Sri Lanka government to submit a proposal to amend powers of Provincial Councils
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Jun 03, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government plan to submit a proposal to the cabinet this week regarding the amendment of several powers of the Provincial Councils, government sources say.
The amendment will withdraw the provisions that enable the Provincial Councils to merge.
It will also withdraw the provisions that the nationally important bills needed to be passed in all Provincial Councils. Instead, the amendments will be brought so that such a bill will be sufficient to be passed in majority of Provincial Councils.
However, the proposals of certain government coalition parties to take back the land and police powers of the Provincial Councils have not been included in the government's proposals, government sources said.
Sources further said that the government has planned to appeal for a definition of the land powers from the Provincial Councils.
Tamil alliance of Sri Lanka accuses government of attempting to reduce Tamil votes
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Jun 02, Colombo: The major Tamil party of Sri Lanka Tamil National Alliance (TNA) accuses the government of attempting to reduce the number of Tamil votes in the Province before the elections to Northern provincial Council scheduled for September this year.
TNA parliamentarian Mavai Senathirajah has said that the government is establishing new villages in the province and settling Sinhala and Muslim people while eliminating the voting rights of 180,000 Tamil people who are still not being resettled and living in other areas with relatives or in camps.
At a central committee meeting of the TNA's main party Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) held in Kilinochchi recently the MP told BBC that about 100,000 displaced Tamils are living with the relatives and another 80,000 are living in India and those Tamils will not have the opportunity to vote at the elections.
Sri Lanka's Justice Minister recently received approval from the cabinet to bring in draft legislation to amend the Election law to allow displaced people from the Northern Province now temporarily residing in other parts of Sri Lanka to get them registered as voters on submission of satisfactory proof.
The central committee has decided to discuss this issue with the governments of Sri Lanka and India and the Election Commissioner before the elections, the MP further told BBC.
The party has postponed taking a decision on nominating a candidate for the chief minister post and how to make the nomination until the elections are announced for the Province.
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress to protest any attempt to weaken power devolution
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Jun 03, Colombo: The Muslim ally of the Sri Lankan government, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) has registered strong protest against any attempts to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which was brought to devolve power.
SLMC Supreme Council met yesterday to discuss the issue. SLMC national organizer Rafeek Rajabdeen said that the party would not extend any support to the government to weaken the power devolution.
He said that the SLMC would again discuss if the government would bring an 18th amendment to the constitution.
He also highlighted that the SLMC was a powerful party in the Eastern Province and a coalition party in the central government and the Eastern Provincial Council.
Jathika Hela Urumaya, a government coalition party has brought a proposal in the parliament to amend the Constitution so that the powers devolve under 13th Amendment to the Constitution be taken back to the center.
Sri Lanka tells HR Council session: Make INGOs accountable
DailyNews.lk
June 3, 2013
* Some NGOs feeding terrorism and conflict
* LTTE fronts posed as legitimate organisations
Sri Lanka emphasised that regulation, transparency and accountability of funding to NGOs and NPOs is a pre-requisite in the interest of national security and counter-terrorism as recognised by states, and that obligation placed on states to adhere to the regulatory framework in compliance with 40 Recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, makes it mandatory to monitor fund transfers of all financial institutions inclusive of NPOs and INGOs (associations) and other financial institutions, in countering financing of terrorism, money laundering or other related trans-national crimes.
Intervening during an Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Maina Kiai, at the ongoing 23rd Session of the Human Rights Council on Thursday, Sri Lanka’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Manisha Gunasekera said “while Sri Lanka agrees that access to resources is important for the vibrant functioning of civil society, we observe that Kiai does not seem to adequately take into account “the negative impact of lack of or insufficient regulation of funding of associations on national security and counter-terrorism”.
Cautioning that “some NGOs and associations can also play a fundamental role in feeding terrorism and conflict.”
Gunasekera recalled challenges faced by Sri Lanka where “front organisations of the LTTE posing as legitimate civil society organisations and charities based overseas formed part of a complex international terrorist network which through various means injected the funding and resources needed to nurture the 30-year terrorist conflict in Sri Lanka.
These are actual situations and experiences which the Rapporteur should take cognizance of to provide a balanced and pragmatic assessment on the subject of funding of associations and counter-terrorism, she said.
The statement: “We note the reference made by the Special Rapporteur to the desirability of permitting the flow of unhindered funds to associations. Kiai refers to the transparency and accountability argument being often used by governments to place limitations on funding of NGOs.
“While we agree that access to resources is important for the vibrant functioning of civil society, we observe that Kiai does not seem to adequately take into account the negative impact of lack of or insufficient regulation of funding of associations on national security and counter-terrorism. While Kiai expresses the view that civil society organisations play a significant role in combatting terrorism, it has been Sri Lanka’s experience as a country that defeated one of the most ruthless terrorist organisations in the world, that certain NGOs and associations can also play a fundamental role in feeding terrorism and conflict.
“For example, front organisations of the LTTE posing as legitimate civil society organisations and charities based overseas formed part of a complex international terrorist network which through various means injected the funding and resources needed to nurture the 30 -year terrorist conflict in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka tells HR Council session: Make INGOs accountable
.....Continued 1......
These are actual situations and experiences which the Rapporteur should take cognisance of in order to provide a balanced and pragmatic assessment on the subject of funding of associations and counter-terrorism. “Sri Lanka therefore notes that in actuality, regulation, transparency and accountability of funding to NGOs and NPOs is a pre-requisite in the interest of national security and counter-terrorism as recognized by states. In this regard, we highlight the obligation placed on states to adhere to the regulatory framework all countries are expected to put in place in compliance with 40 Recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, which makes it mandatory to monitor fund transfers of all financial institutions inclusive of NPOs and INGOs (associations) and other financial institutions, in countering financing of terrorism, money laundering or other related trans-national crimes.
“We agree with the Special Rapporteur that the ability to hold peaceful assemblies is a fundamental and integral component of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.
In this context we note that the enjoyment of rights pertaining to the freedom of expression, of peaceful assembly and of association, are fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution to all citizens of Sri Lanka, subject only to strictly defined restrictions set out in the Constitution which the Supreme Court has vigorously applied.
“While peaceful assembly including demonstrations is permitted under the law, law enforcement authorities retain the right to disperse such assembly in the event it ceases to be peaceful and impinges on the rights of others, particularly in instances where such demonstrations lead to disturbance of public tranquility.
“Any person who alleges violation of these rights is entitled to seek redress through the highest court of Sri Lanka or to seek relief through the National Human Rights Commission. Sri Lanka further notes that with regard to the content of the Special Rapporteur’s report (A/HRC/22/39/Add.2) titled ‘Observations on communications transmitted to Governments and replies received’ our letter dated February 15, 2013 in response to a joint urgent appeal by four special procedures mandate holders including Kiai pointed to the erroneous nature of the information contained in the appeal which therefore did not warrant an urgent appeal under any circumstances, as per resolution 5/2 on the Code of Conduct for Special Procedures mandate holders of the Council. In conclusion, Mr. President, we thank Kiai for his work and continued engagement.”
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE of how sub-national local governments in Sri Lanka, in the CONTROL of SEPARATIST Groups can UNDERMINE the AUTHORITY OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT in entering into agreements with Foreign Governments and Entities.
In this way, the Role of the National Government, having the RESPONSIBILITY to DEFEND and PROTECT the Nation accorded to it by the citizens of the country, is slowly eroded away.
This kind of Anti-National Activity would greatly increase if Provincial Councils are handed over to SEPARATIST GROUPS in the Future. Little by little, they will establish irreversible direct relationships with Foreign Powers to cement and ease their way towards their DECLARED GOAL of an Eelam OUTSIDE the current Unitary State of Sri Lanka.
OPEN YOUR EYES and Rise Up!.... O Patriots of Mother Lanka.... to DEFEND the Nation from ENCROACHING SEPARATISM!
REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DEMOLISH the Provincial Council System at its ROOT.
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Trincomalee Urban Council in Sri Lanka suspends MoU with US Embassy - report
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Jun 02, Colombo: The Trincomalee Urban Council in Sri Lanka's Eastern Province has decided to suspend the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) it signed recently with the US Embassy in Colombo to establish a public information and activity center known as a American Corner in Trincomalee, a local newspaper reported.
The Sri Lankan Government expressed concern over the signing of the MoU between the US Embassy and the Trincomalee Urban Council on May 22 to jointly establish the American Corner without the knowledge of the External Affairs Ministry.
A local government entering into an agreement with a foreign mission without the approval of the External Affairs Ministry is a clear breach of protocol, according to the Ministry.
According to a report in the local English weekly Sunday Leader, the Secretary of the Urban Council Abdul Latif Mohammad Nafeel has said that the External Affairs Ministry had informed the Council that the deal was unacceptable and the Council needs to obtain clearance to continue with the MOU.
The US Embassy has said that it had signed similar agreements when it opened American corners in Kandy and Jaffna.
However, the Secretary of the External Affairs Ministry Karunatilaka Amunugama said that a special investigation has been launched into the MOU and the investigation will also cover the American corners opened in Kandy and Jaffna.
"The Ministry will seek information from the local Council about the deals they had signed with the US Embassy. We have not sought information from the US Embassy as yet," Amunugama was quoted as saying.
The Secretary has said that an official from the Ministry has been appointed to investigate the MOU signed with the local councils and a report will be submitted on the findings.
US embassy spokesman and Director of Press Cultural and Educational Affairs Christopher Teal has said that the purpose of setting up of the information center is to provide vital information to the people particularly, the student population in the East.
Rise UP! .... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... NEVER let the TNA raise its Ugly Head to purrsue its Eelam in Sri Lanka.
REPEAL the 13th Amendment and UPROOT the Provincial Council SYSTEM COMPLETELY.
If the Craven Cowards in the GOSL WILL NOT ACT, then let the Patriotic People of Sri Lanka VOTE IN A NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM to Protect the Nation!
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'TNA victory will lead to separatism'
By P K Balachandran - COLOMBO
June 2, 2013
Sri Lanka’s powerful defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has warned that a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) victory in the proposed elections to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) under the 13th Amendment of the Constitution, will rekindle the movement for an independent Tamil Eelam.
The Island daily of Friday quoted Gotabaya as saying: ‘If a political party with a separatist agenda like the TNA were to take control of the provincial administration vested with powers over land and the police as envisaged by the 13th Amendment, the security of the country would be gravely threatened.’ He feared that the country might get back to war.
Gotabaya, said, if the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had accepted the Indo-Lanka Accord under which the 13th Amendment was enacted, Eelam could have been created long ago.
As an official, he could only warn Lanka’s political establishment of the security threat inherent in holding elections to the NPC with land and police powers devolved to the province, Gotabaya said.
On Thursday, the President’s other sibling, economic development minister Basil Rajapaksa, told Express that no “serious discussions” had taken place in the Cabinet on pruning the 13th Amendment. Cabinet spokesman, Anura Priydarshana Yapa, said any decision on constitutional changes could be made only on the recommendation of the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee.
Is this EMERGENCY BILL, intended to give the ETHNICALLY CLEANSED Sinhala & Muslims citizens the right to VOTE in the NORTH & EAST?
Nevertheless, this does not solve the problem of EELAMIST DOMINATED Provincial Councils emerging in the North & East.
Rise Up! .....O Patriotic Sons & Daughters of Sri Lanka .... REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVE the Provincial Council System NOW!
Don't let the PC Elections to be held in September, 2013 to EMBED an India IMPOSED Foreigner's Law designed to DIVIDE Sri Lanka into a Patchwork Quilt of Separatist Apartheid Bantustans!
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Urgent bill in Sri Lanka parliament tomorrow on Northern Provincial Council election
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Jun 04, Colombo: Chief Government Whip of Sri Lanka Dinesh Gunawardena announced today that an urgent bill will be tabled in parliament for approval tomorrow regarding the the Northern Provincial Council election.
He said the opposition has also been made aware of the bill and the time is allocated for the bill.
The Minister said the bill is related to the registration of voters and the time will be allocated for the debate.
The bill is to amend the election law to allow displaced people from the Northern Province now temporarily residing in other parts of Sri Lanka to register as voters on submission of satisfactory proof.
The Press Council (Amendment) Act is also to be debated in the parliament tomorrow. The registration fees of the newspapers are to be increased under this act.
Bloody Hell! LTTE bombers of the Train in Dehiwala let off with only 10 year sentence (inaddition to 17 years they were held to date).
Not ENOUGH PUNISHMENT, I say! These murderers should really have been put against a wall and SHOT DEAD! At least they should have received LIFE SENTENCES!
I cry in anguish that Sri Lankan LIVES are VALUED at BARGAIN BASEMENT Prices, by our own Justice System!
Many Friends and some Relatives of mine who were BLOWN TO BITS in that attack, on the alter of Tamil Eelam, must be TURNING IN THEIR GRAVES today!
What a SHAME!
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Suspects of LTTE bomb attack in Sri Lanka train 17 years ago get prison sentences
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Jun 04, Colombo: A Sri Lankan court today sentenced three cadres of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suspected of blowing up a train in Sri Lanka 17 years ago killing 66 people.
When the case was heard today the Colombo High Court Judge Kumudini Wickremasinghe sentenced two of the suspects - Saverimuttu Loganathan and Robert Maxillan to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment while the female suspect, Siththirasenam Thirumagal alias Ramani to five years of rigorous imprisonment.
The suspects were accused of placing two bombs in two carriages of a highly crowded train and detonating it while stopped at the Dehiwala station on July 24, 1996. The attack killed 66 people and injured over 400 people.
The accused have pleaded guilty to the charges of conspiring, aiding and abetting to cause the loss of life and irreparable damage to the Sri Lanka Railway by blasting a bomb.
Since the suspects have been in remand for nearly 17 years, the counsels for the accused have asked the court for a lenient sentence. The prosecution has not objected to the request.
Two more suspects Sinnappu Suharajah and Suppiah Sudarshanan have pleaded not guilty to the charges and the judge has fixed their trial for September 11.
MORE INDECISIVE FIDDLING while Sri Lanka is HEADED for the CHOPPING BLOCK!
My God ... if only the Rajapaksa Clan can get their ACT TOGETHER on this ... as they did to Win the Eelam War DECISIVELY!
Such Opportunities to Carve Your Name in GOLD in the Annals of Sri Lanka's Hallowed History are Gifted by the Hatarawaran Deviyo only once in a Millenium to a Select Few!
Carpe' Diem .... Seize the Day! ... this is not the time for Pusillanimous Politicians!
Rise Up! ... O Patriots of Mother Lanka ... REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DEMOLISH the Provincial Council System by Leaf, Branch, Trunk and Rott, NOW!
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Sri Lanka nationalist party to meet other political parties about motion to abolish PC system
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Jun 04, Colombo: Ally of Sri Lanka's governing party, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) will meet government and opposition political parties within this week to discuss a private member's motion presented by the party to parliament on abolishing the provincial council system in the country.
JHU Spokesperson Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe said that the JHU had informed the President in writing about the bill and the party now intends to meet every party in the coalition and discuss the issues cited in the Bill.
"Then we plan to meet the representatives of the main opposition party the UNP and the Tamil and Muslim parties within the next week. We have informed all these parties regarding our desire to hold discussions and have also sent them copies of the Bill for them to go through it," Warnasinghe said.
The JHU motion aims primarily to repeal the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which paved way for the power devolving Provincial Council system in the island.
Warnasinghe added that the JHU also intends to hold discussions with the chief prelates of the country, and other religious leaders as well regarding the bill presented by the JHU.
The party is also hopeful of holding discussions on the motion with the business sectors and Chambers.
What is this INDIAN delegation doing in Sri Lanka interfering in Sri Lanka's internal matters?
First India seeds and fertilizes Tamil terrorism in Sri Lanka, then invades to partition Sri Lanka in favor of its porteges, then fights its Tamil surrogates when they threaten India's own integrity, then they declare victory and flee back to India with their tail between their legs leaving us with a greatly enhanced separatist problem, and now HERE THEY ARE AGAIN ... turning up like the Proverbial Bad Pennies on our doorstep ... collaborating with the Separatists to Divide Sri Lanka AGAIN attempting to solve India's problems on our heads.
The GOSL MUST STOP this SLOW UNDERMINING of Sri Lanka's SOVEREIGNTY, NOW!
To get the POINT ACROSS, Sri Lanka should send delegations to India on FACT FINDING MISSIONS TO INDIA to talk to all INDIAN SEPARATIST GROUPS (Kashmiri and Assamese terrorists come to mind).
Why stop there, talk to the Naxalites and Dalit groups protesting caste discrimination, as well!
ISSUE INTERNATIONAL REPORTS recommending DEVOLUTION OF MORE POWER to EACH of these groups, in the interest of "human rights" and "greater democracy", of course.
Let us see how the INDIANS will like their own bitter medicine!
NOTHING will CONVINCE these BUGGERS to CEASE & DESISTS until WE DO UNTO THEM AS THEY DO UNTO US! Nothing!
Get these BUSYBODIES OUT of Sri Lanka, PERMANENTLY!
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India's opposition party delegation arrives in Sri Lanka to discuss 13th Amendment
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Jun 05, Colombo: A six-member Indian delegation led by the deputy leader of Indian opposition Bharatha Janatha Party (BJP) in the Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday for a five-day visit.
During the visit organized by the New Delhi-based India Foundation and Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies in Colombo, the delegation will hold discussions with the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on power devolution.
The delegates intend to discuss the issue of granting police and land powers to the provinces under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and Northern Provincial Council election with the President and Defense Secretary.
The Indian delegates will also meet senior leaders of other political parties in Sri Lanka.
In addition to the leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, Indian delegation will include Shiv Sena leader Suresh Prabhu, senior Indian journalist Swapan Dasgupta, retired IFS officer Vivek Katju, RSS representative Ram Madhav and human right activist Monika Arora.
The delegation today left for Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka to hold discussions with the leaders of Tamil parties including the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). They will also meet the Governor of the Northern Province to discuss the Northern Provincial Council elections planned o be held in September.
The delegation includes Suresh Prabhu (Shiv Sena), Ram Madhav (RSS), journalist and political commentator Swapan Dasgupta, former IFS officer Vivek Katju and human rights activist Monika Arora.
According to The Hindu the delegation's visit, although not government sponsored, is being watched keenly by the Indian government since the opposition-led team will be meeting all the top leaders of Sri Lanka.
This is the first discussion BJP will have with the Sri Lankan government prior to India's general election in 2014.
Dear Fran Diaz,
As we both know, the TNA wanting "Devolution in Full" to "Prevent Further Violence" swearing its undying "Commitment to a United Sri Lanka" is a lot of UNVARNISHED BULL!
Only yesterday, the TNA proclaimed its "OPPOSITION to a UNITARY Sri Lanka."
Today, the TNA is strangely "COMMITTED to a UNITED Sri Lanka."
While noting that there is a HUGE LEGAL DIFFERENCE between UNITARY and UNITED, who believes the TNA, the Political Proxy of the LTTE, THEN and NOW, and TRUSTS their WORDS? Who?
I have a Suspension Bridge in New York (aka the Verazzano Narrows Bridge) for sale to those who trust the UNREPENTANT SEPARATISTS of the TNA who still mourn the DEMISE of their military arm, the LTTE! Didn't this very same TNA, newly "Committed to a United Sri Lanka" COMMEMORATE the Death of the late unlamented SunGod, Velupillai Prabhakaran and his Murderous Followers on May 19, 2013?
These are the VERY SAME TRAITORS who are STILL plotting and scheming with ALL OF Sri Lanka's enemies ... within and outside Sri Lanka .... to convert their now VIRTUAL EELAM into a REAL EELAM!
Nah! We Patriots of Mother Lanka neither BELIEVE, nor TRUST, the TNA ... not ONE IOTA!
We will not ENTRUST Sri Lanka's SURVIVAL into their BLOODSTAINED TREACHEROUS hands, EVER!
INSTEAD, the TNA leaders should be SENTENCED TO HARD LABOR in prison, BREAKING ROCKS for the RECONSTRUCTION of Sri Lanka. That is the BEST & ONLY CONTRIBUTION they are QUALIFIED to MAKE.
Jayawewa! .... Patriotic Forces of Mother Lanka WILL NOT ALLOW
Provincial Councils with Land and Police Powers to be Elected!
If the GOVERNMENT WILL NOT ACT to PROTECT the Nation ... Let the PEOPLE of Sri Lanka ACT, and ACT NOW!
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Nationalist organizations in Sri Lanka protest Northern PC election without amending land and police powers
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Jun 06, Colombo: Sinhala Buddhist organizations in Sri Lanka today protested against the government for planning to hold election for Northern Provincial Council without removing the land and police powers from the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
At a press conference held today in Colombo, the secretary of the National Sangha Conference warned to mobilize the Buddhist monks of the entire country against the government and prevent holding the election for the Northern Provincial Council.
Meanwhile, the Patriotic National Movement that held a press conference separately protested the amendments proposed by the government. The Convener of the Patriotic National Movement Gunadasa Amarasekera said the amendments without the removal of police and land powers may have been proposed by the RAW agents in the cabinet.
The National Freedom Front led by Minister Wimal Weerawansa is meanwhile collecting signatures to a petition against holding the Northern Provincial Council election without amending the land and police powers.
Sri Lanka still wary of possible LTTE revival: Report
Niticentral.com
June 6, 2013
Four years after successfully defeating the LTTE in a bloody civil war, Sri Lanka is still wary of the banned terror outfit’s international network, and has voiced concern over the possible re-emergence of pro-LTTE sympathisers, US State Department’s report has said.
According to the US State Department’s 2012 counter terrorism country report, “The Sri Lankan Government claimed that it continued to uncover abandoned weapons and explosives in areas of the country formerly controlled by the LTTE.”
Although there were no known LTTE activities in Sri Lanka in 2012, the Government asserted that peaceful protests at Jaffna University in November were organised by students trained by overseas LTTE supporters and made several arrests, the reports said.
Sri Lankan Police in late November clashed with the Jaffna university students who were trying to commemorate the LTTE’s hero’s day which coincided with the birth anniversary of the late LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran.
At least four students were arrested and later released by the President Mahinda Rajapaksa on parental intervention.
The report said the Government of Sri Lanka remained concerned that the LTTE’s international network of financial support was still functioning; many counter-terrorism activities undertaken by the Government targeting alleged LTTE finances.
Counter-terrorism legislation in Sri Lanka has focused on eliminating the remnants of the LTTE and enforcing general security throughout the island.
The Sri Lankan Army defeated the LTTE in 2009 after a bitter fight which left nearly 300,000 people displaced.
The Sri Lankan Government continued to implement the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1978, which was made a permanent law in 1982 and remains in force, the report said.
The 13th AMENDMENT contains Many POISON PILLS that THREATEN the INTEGRITY of Sri Lanka and the SAFETY of its PEOPLE.
Among them:
1. Devolution of Land and Police Powers that will enable SEPARATIST Tamils to EXCLUDE other communities from the North and East, to BUILD UP their SEPARATIST forces ONCE AGAIN beyond the view and control of the National Government, and to import an unending STREAM OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS from Tamil Nadu.
2. The de-facto VETO power of Provincial Councils over NATIONAL BILLS which requires UNANIMOUS CONSENT of ALL PCs for passage of National Bills. Under this law, the GOSL would be UNABLE to act against SEPARATIST Provincial Councils in any way.
3. The Provision for the MERGER of the Northern and Eastern Provincial Councils, that would resurrect the long held dream of Eelamists to impose their majority in the Northern Province on the Eastern Province, and capture it as well. What the SunGod sought to Win by MURDEROUS WAR would be gifted to the TNA in ABJECT PEACE!
It would be an ABSOLUTE FOLLY to hand over the North and East to UNREPENTANT SEPARATISTS ENABLING them to SECEDE and join Tamil Nadu!
The LIVES of UNTOLD GENERATIONS OF Sri Lankan Citizens would be placed at RISK by opening this DOOR TO HELL!
Ask Not For Whom the Bell Tolls; it Tolls for Thee!
Rise Up! .... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... REPEAL the 13th Amendment, DEMOLISH the Provincial Council System, and HALT the upcoming Provincial Council Elections, DEMAND a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM to END the 13th Amendment!
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Sri Lanka cabinet approval sought for amendments on power devolution
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Jun 06, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government will submit a proposal to the cabinet of ministers today seeking approval to re-amend the 13th Amendment to the Constitution , government sources said.
The proposed amendment reportedly aims to remove the provisions provided for a merger of the adjoining provincial councils which allows bills and acts to get passed by all provincial councils before they are passed in parliament.
The draft bill in this regard has been approved by the party leaders of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) that met on June 04 evening under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Sri Lanka government sources say that more amendments to the Provincial Council system are to come in the future.
Meanwhile Minister Wimal Weerawansa said that the President promised to seek a definition from the Supreme Court regarding the police and land powers of the provincial councils.
Minister's party, National Freedom Front is campaigning against giving police and land powers of the Provincial Councils.
SEPARATISTS and TRAITORS joining together in FAVOR of the 13th Amendment.
Rise Up ... . O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... REPEAL the 13th Amendment COMPLETELY, DEMOLISH the Provincial Council System, and HALT the Provincial Council Elections, DEMAND a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM to REPEAL the 13th Amendment!
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Sri Lanka Tamil party opposes amending the 13th Amendment to the Constitution
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Jun 06, Colombo: Sri Lanka's major Tamil political party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has opposed the government's move to amend the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The government's move is seen as a measure to limit the powers accorded to provinces under the 13th Amendment before the government holds elections to the Northern Province Council planned for September.
TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran said the 13th Amendment which was aimed at solving the national issue and the government must consult the TNA as a representative of the Tamil people prior to any move to amend the 13th Amendment since it would affect the people of the North and East.
However, Premachandran noted that the government has not yet made any official comment on its stance on the 13th Amendment.
According to Premachandran, the TNA would have to decide whether to contest the Northern Provincial Council polls in the event the government decides to dilute or amend the 13th Amendment as it stands.
The 13th Amendment introduced under influence from India in 1987 paved way for power devolution to the Provinces despite displeasure of the majority Sinhala community.
There is a growing momentum within the ruling party and the country to abolish the 13th Amendment. The opponents of the 13th Amendment believe holding the elections in the Northern Province without amending it will be a serious threat to the national security and territorial integrity.
Members of the ruling party have met on Tuesday to discuss the changes to the 13th Amendment and the party leaders have agreed to amend it, a senior party leader has told the AFP.
The government has proposed removing the provisions provided for a merger of the adjoining provincial councils which allows bills and acts to get passed by all provincial councils before they are passed in parliament.
Further, the attention is focused on the provision of granting land and police powers to the provinces under the 13th amendment.
Sri Lanka's Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa recently said that he would never agree to granting police powers to provincial councils as it would be a serious challenge and a danger to the security services.
He said if the provincial councils were vested with police powers, a serious situation would arise with regard to the maintenance of law and order, and the security services would become ineffective.
However, some coalition partners of the government are not in favor of the move to revise the 13th Amendment and curtailing police and land powers.
Ally of the governing party, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) said the party would not support the changes to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The party said 13th Amendment should not be revised in any way and there should not be any change in the land and police powers vested with the provinces under the 13th Amendment.
The government is however, to submit a proposal to the cabinet of ministers today seeking approval to re-amend the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
SEPARATISTS and TRAITORS joining together in FAVOR of the 13th Amendment.
Rise Up ... . O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... REPEAL the 13th Amendment COMPLETELY, DEMOLISH the Provincial Council System, HALT the Provincial Council Elections, and DEMAND a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM to REPEAL the 13th Amendment!
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Sri Lanka Tamil party opposes amending the 13th Amendment to the Constitution
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Jun 06, Colombo: Sri Lanka's major Tamil political party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has opposed the government's move to amend the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The government's move is seen as a measure to limit the powers accorded to provinces under the 13th Amendment before the government holds elections to the Northern Province Council planned for September.
TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran said the 13th Amendment which was aimed at solving the national issue and the government must consult the TNA as a representative of the Tamil people prior to any move to amend the 13th Amendment since it would affect the people of the North and East.
However, Premachandran noted that the government has not yet made any official comment on its stance on the 13th Amendment.
According to Premachandran, the TNA would have to decide whether to contest the Northern Provincial Council polls in the event the government decides to dilute or amend the 13th Amendment as it stands.
The 13th Amendment introduced under influence from India in 1987 paved way for power devolution to the Provinces despite displeasure of the majority Sinhala community.
There is a growing momentum within the ruling party and the country to abolish the 13th Amendment. The opponents of the 13th Amendment believe holding the elections in the Northern Province without amending it will be a serious threat to the national security and territorial integrity.
Members of the ruling party have met on Tuesday to discuss the changes to the 13th Amendment and the party leaders have agreed to amend it, a senior party leader has told the AFP.
The government has proposed removing the provisions provided for a merger of the adjoining provincial councils which allows bills and acts to get passed by all provincial councils before they are passed in parliament.
Further, the attention is focused on the provision of granting land and police powers to the provinces under the 13th amendment.
Sri Lanka's Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa recently said that he would never agree to granting police powers to provincial councils as it would be a serious challenge and a danger to the security services.
He said if the provincial councils were vested with police powers, a serious situation would arise with regard to the maintenance of law and order, and the security services would become ineffective.
However, some coalition partners of the government are not in favor of the move to revise the 13th Amendment and curtailing police and land powers.
Ally of the governing party, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) said the party would not support the changes to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The party said 13th Amendment should not be revised in any way and there should not be any change in the land and police powers vested with the provinces under the 13th Amendment.
The government is however, to submit a proposal to the cabinet of ministers today seeking approval to re-amend the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
GODDAMIT!
Don't FINE TUNE the 13th Amendment POISON PILL, REPEAL IT COMPLETELY and DEMOLISH the Provincial Council System by Leaf, Branch, Trunk and Root!
If the GOSL is RUNNING SCARED, Let the PEOPLE of Sri Lanka REPEAL it in a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM!
Rise Up ... O Patriots of Mother Lanka ... and DEMOLISH this Indian IRON CHAIN that BINDS the HANDS & FEET of OUR Motherland!
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President’s right to merge provinces to be repealed
Stripping of provinical land, police powers not discussed – Keheliya
by Zacki Jabbar
June 6, 2013
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal to repeal the President’s right to merge Provinces, which has been provided for under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella addressing a news conference in Colombo yesterday, said that constituent members of the ruling UPFA had been given time to study the Bill to amend the Provincial Councils Act.
The proposed two amendments pertained to the President’s right to merge provinces and the requirement that the approval of all provincial councils were required to amend the Constitution, he noted.
Asked if the government was also trying to strip the provinces of land and police powers, the Minister said that it had not been discussed.
Rambukwella said that the UPFA had only taken up the proposals to repeal the President’s right to merge Provinces and the consent of all provincial councils to enact legislation.
At yesterday’s Cabinet meeting the SLMC leader and Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem had asked for more time to study the proposed amendments and it had been granted.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has proposed that the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSSC) on the National Question be reconvened with or without the participation of the Tamil National Alliance.
Informed sources said that the President was of the view that if the TNA refused to attend the PSC process, the PSC should continue with the participation of Tamils in the government and Opposition.
I can't believe what I'm hearing .... are the BJP Politicians FINALLY getting it ... that they can't get Sri Lankan Tamils an Eelam without ALIENATING and making an ENEMY of Sri Lanka, that would rather BEFRIEND India, if they BUTT OUT of our Internal Politics?
And here I was PROPOSING that Sri Lanka undertake a FACT FINDING MISSION to India to INVESTIGATE why the "legitimate aspirations" of the multivarious SEPARATIST and TERRORIST groups in India are being suppressed and denied their FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS to inflict MURDER & MAYHEM upon other law-abiding citizens of India.
If this degree of RATIONAL COMPREHENSION of India's CULPABILITY for Sri Lanka's PAIN & WOUNDS persists, I may have to SHELVE my PROPOSALS.
Well, let us wait and see ... after all Indian Politicians suffer from Advanced Alzheimer's Disease, and do tend to forget what they said yesterday, especially after the Indian elections are over.
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India can't solve Lanka's political issues: BJP team
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 07 (NIE) A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led team, which is currently on a tour in Sri Lanka, has told the war-ravaged Lankan Tamils that India is ready to provide the healing touch but it cannot be expected to solve their political problems.
Interacting with a wide cross section of political parties and civil society in Jaffna on Wednesday, the leader of the six member team, Rajya Sabha member Ravi Shankar Prasad, said that India was aware that the Tamils of the Northern provinces needed a healing touch and assured them that India was with them.
However, he made it clear that Lankan Tamils should not expect India to solve their political problems. These would have to be solved by the people themselves through participation in the domestic political processes, he said.
India did not have a magic wand to solve their problems, he said.
Prasad also made it clear that India saw Sri Lanka as a friendly country and would never de-stabilize it.
The six member Indian team, which has a representative of the Shiv Sena (Suresh Prabhu), an RSS official (Ram Madhav), a political commentator (Swapan Dasgupta) and a human rights activist cum advocate (Monika Arora), was presented a kaleidoscopic view of opinions in Lanka's Tamil-speaking Northern Province. The team met pro-government and anti-government groups separately, besides top civil and military officials.
Members of the team showed keen interest in the issues the Tamils were facing and asked probing questions. On Thursday, the team met MPs from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) at Hilton Hotel in Colombo.
The TNA fondly ASSUMES that the GOSL has to hold the Provincial Council Elections because of the UPCOMING CHOGM and UN Human Rights Council meetings.
Let the GOSL CONFOUND THE TNA by holding a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM to REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVE ALL Provincial Councils and them use that as the DEMOCRATICALLY EXPRESSED WILL of ALL PEOPLE of Sri Lanka to NOT Hold Provincial Council Elections at ALL.
Let NO COMMUNITY have separate powers defined by Communal Attributes of Race, REligion, Language, Caste or Sex. To do so would be to pit these communities against each other FOREVER for SPECIAL RIGHTS as in India. India has been destroyed beyond repair by allowing Communal Special Rights sanctioned by law to reign; PLEASE DO NOT make the same mistake in Mother Lanka.
Furthermore,
NEVER devolve LAND and POLICE powers to UNREPENTANT SEPARATISTS.
NEVER devolve VETO rights over National Legislation to UNREPENTANT SEPARATISTS.
NEVER devolve TAXATION rights to UNREPENTANT RACISTS; Only the National Government should levy tax and then remit a portion to local governments .... as appropriate.
EVERY DAY we see the TNA showing its TRUE SEPARATIST COLORS demanding powers that only SEPARATISTS would demand.
Rise Up .... O Patriots of Mother Lanka ...REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVE the PROVINCIAL COUNCILS.
Rise Up ... O Patriots of Mother Lanka ... DEMAND a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM to REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVE the Provincial Councils.
Our Craven Politicians cower in fear of foreigners; You must take up this challenge to PROTECT & DEFEND Mother Lanka NOW!
O Patriots of Mother Lanka ... Ask Not For Whom the Bell Tolls for It Tolls for Thee!
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Sri Lanka Tamil party sees no use of holding Northern PC poll after reducing powers to provinces
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 09, Colombo: Sri Lanka's major Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) says it would be useless to hold elections to the Northern Provincial Council after amending the 13th Amendment and reducing powers vested with the provinces.
TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran says the government however is compelled to hold the Northern Provincial Council elections.
"The current President and the government are going against this (implementing the 13th Amendment and going beyond)," he said.
"We want to go beyond the 13th Amendment. Provincial Councils need more powers on land, police and taxation. There are also issues in relation to the Governor. It is important to go beyond the current system. Only then can people in each province look after themselves. We are not satisfied with the current system and we must go beyond," he added.
According to Premachandran, he does not have faith in the government to hold the Northern Provincial Council election, but understands that the government is compelled to hold the election because of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and the resolution adopted at the UN Human Rights Council.
"The government has to therefore show the world that it is democratic and holds elections. The government has to face accountability issues before the international community and there is a lot of pressure, so they would have to hold elections in the North. It is not that the government wants to hold elections, but it is compelled to do so," he has said.
On May 19th, 2009 the Patriotic Forces of Sri Lanka completed the FIRST STEP of regaining its Sovereign Crown.
Let the SECOND STEP of that Heroic Struggle to Wrest our Crown Free of Foreign Domination be completed in 2013 by REPEALING the 13th Amendment and UPROOTING the Provincial Council System COMPLETELY from the Hallowed Soil of our Resplendent Motherland.
In UNITY lies our strength; UNITED we can MOVE MOUNTAINS! Hold Fast .... and FORGE AHEAD with CONFIDENCE in the NOBILITY of OUR PURPOSE ... to build a peaceful and secure future for ALL Sri Lankans, irrespective of community. To this end, REJECT the creation of a Patchwork Quilt of Racist Aparthied Bantustans in Sri Lanka under the 13th Amendment!
Rise Up .... O Patriots of Mother Lanka ... Rise Up as ONE PEOPLE, and Cry out in ONE VOICE that we WILL NOT TOLERATE ANYMORE the Foreign Chains that Yoke our Motherland to a Foreign Agenda designed to DIVIDE and WEAKEN our Motherland FOREVER!
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Sinhala Buddhist organizations rally to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 09, Colombo: A number of Sinhala Buddhist organizations in Sri Lanka have rallied to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
Accordingly, a general assembly has been planned to be held in Colombo with the participation of a wide range of political movements.
The rally will be held in Colombo Hyde Park on June 28.
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), National Buddhist Monks' Federation, Sinhala Ravaya National Organization, Bodu Bala Sena, All Lanka Buddhist Federation, All Lanka Buddhist Women's Federation, Dharmavijaya Foundation, Swarna Hansa Foundation, Sinhala Weera Vidahana, Chinthana Parshadaya and Jayagrahanaya are the movements that have joined to hold the rally.
National Freedom Front led by Minister Wimal Weerawansa and other Sinhala nationalist parties that are with the government except the monk party JHU have not yet confirmed the participation in the rally.
It is VERY SAD, but the Catholic Bishops of Sri Lanka have joined the SEPARATISTS of the TNA, the would-be Future Separatists of the SLMC, the Communist Party (CP), the foreign-funded NGOs and other assorted Anti-National Elements to OPPOSE REPEAL of the 13th Amendment.
So what is new? The THESE ARE THE VERY SAME PEOPLE who covertly and overtly supported the LTTE led by its SunGod, are now fighting the same battle on a different stage to DIVIDE and GIFT the LIMBS of Mother Sri Lanka to SEPARATISTS.
The Nation is dividing into TWO CAMPS on this issue: TRAITORS and PATRIOTS. We must NEVER FORGET who the TRAITORS were!
Rise Up .... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... in your TENS of MILLIONS to SECURE PEACE & SECURITY for yourselves and UNTOLD FUTURE GENERATIONS by REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DEMOLISHING the Provincial Councils! DEMAND a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM to REPEAL these FOREIGN SHACKLES that BIND and ENSLAVE Mother Lanka to Communal Discord! Your NOBLE PURPOSE is to DEMOLISH FOREVER all SPECIAL PRIVILEGES to Communal Groups .... assigned on the basis of Race, Religion, Language, Caste and Sex.
Rise Up ... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... Your Country Needs you NOW!
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Catholic bishops ask Sri Lankan government not to change 13th Amendment to Constitution
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 10, Colombo: The Catholic bishops of Sri Lanka have requested the government not to proceed with amending the 13th Amendment to the Constitution although the amendment may not be perfect.
In a statement the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka today requested the government not to proceed with amending the 13th Amendment or totally repeal it but to discuss with all relevant parties on drawing up a totally new Constitution which is fair by all communities.
"The 13thAmendment of the National Constitution is a system that by large allows the greater participation of the people in the matter of governance," the statement signed by the Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith on behalf of the organization said.
It said that although the 13th Amendment may not be perfect, pondering on this constitutional provision may lead to over centralization of authority and to international meddling in the internal affairs of this country at a time when Sri Lanka is striving to make permanent the hard won peace.
Stating that the problem in the North is a national question, for which the solution is to be found by the local political leadership of both Sinhala and Tamil communities, the bishops advised the government not to proceed with the proposed revision to the 13th Amendment or to its total repeal.
The bishops advised the government to discuss the 13th Amendment through a Parliamentary Select Committee and consider a totally new Constitution which would guarantee "justice, peace and prosperity for all citizens of the country regardless of their ethnic, religious or social differences."
Birds of a Feather .... Flock Together: TNA, SLMC, Communist Party (CP), and Catholic Bishops.
Without a DOUBT, the UNP, under Ranil Wickremasinghe's treacherous "Leadership" will join them too.
But, not to worry: Despite these PARASITES, The VAST MAJORITY of the People of Sri Lanka are PATRIOTS!
Rise Up …. O Patriots of Mother Lanka …. in your TENS of MILLIONS to SECURE PEACE & SECURITY for yourselves and UNTOLD FUTURE GENERATIONS!
REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DEMOLISH the Provincial Councils! DEMAND a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM to REPEAL these FOREIGN SHACKLES that will BIND and YOKE Mother Lanka to Communal Discord in Perpetuity!
Your NOBLE PURPOSE is to DEMOLISH FOREVER all SPECIAL PRIVILEGES given to Communal Groups …. assigned on the basis of Race, Religion, Language, Caste and Sex.
Rise Up … O Patriots of Mother Lanka …. Your Country Needs you NOW!
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Sri Lanka Muslim party decides to oppose any changes to 13th Amendment
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 11, Colombo: The Parliamentary Group of Sri Lanka's major Muslim party, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) unanimously resolved yesterday to express opposition to any moves to make changes to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The SLMC parliamentary group met at the Colombo residence of party leader and Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem on Monday June 10th 2013 and all eight MPs of the party came to the decision unanimously to oppose any moves that curtail the powers allocated to the Provincial councils.
SLMC General Secretary Hasan Ali said the party will officially write to the President Mahinda Rajapaksa informing the SLMC decision before the next cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday June 13th.
The decision will be conveyed to the Cabinet of Ministers by party leader Rauf Hakeem on that day.
In addition to the SLMC leader Chairman of the party Minister of Productivity Promotion Basheer Segu Dawood, Trincomalee district MP M.S. Thowfeek, Ampara district MPs H.M.M. Harees and Faizal Cassim, Wanni district MP M.B. Farook and National list MPs M.T. Hasan Ali and Mohamed Aslam participated in the SLMC meeting.
Chanaka Bandarage,
I agree with you whole-heartedly.
Indeed, a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM to REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVE the Provincial Councils is COMPLETELY FREE of the 2/3 vote barrier that the Legislature and the President must overcome.
Furthermore, such a REFERENDUM will reflect the FREE WILL of the ENTIRE POPULATION of SRi Lanka .... and represents a true measure of Democracy that would help protect the current GOSL from foreign criticism.
I agree with you that MODIFICATIONS to the 13th Amendment, such as eliminating the devolution of Police, Land and, perhaps, Taxation powers, the VETO power that Provincial Councils currently have on the passage of National Laws, and the power of a future President to MERGE the Northern and Eastern Provinces, ARE NOT ENOUGH to DEFEND and PROTECT Sri Lanka against Separatist Forces, and to REDUCE the UNWIELDY, CUMBERSOME and COSTLY Provincial Council BUREAUCRACY that BURDENS the people, and HINDERS the Economic growth of the Nation.
The ONLY defenders of the 13th Amendment are the SEPARATIST and ANTI-NATIONAL Forces, and Provincial Council Bureaucrats who want to PRESERVE their lucrative jobs feeding-off the People of Sri Lana.
This huge Provincial Government Bureaucracy .... that Wimal Weerawansa once called the "Bamunu Kulaya" in government ... is a rapidly growing parasite whose thirst cannot be quenched. Has our golden HERO forgotten that now, at this CRITICAL TIME when the Nation STRUGGLES to FREE ITSELF from ENSLAVEMENT to Foreigners, and become ONE INDIVISIBLE Nation, of ONE INSEPARABLE People, sharing ONE GLORIOUS Destiny, or WITHER AWAY without a WHIMPER into a Patchwork Quilt of Racist Aparthied Bantustans perpetually at WAR with one another?
Rise Up …. O Patriots of Mother Lanka …. in your TENS of MILLIONS from EVERY CORNER of Sri Lanka ... to SECURE PEACE & SECURITY for yourselves and UNTOLD FUTURE GENERATIONS!
REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DEMOLISH the Provincial Councils! DEMAND a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM to REPEAL these FOREIGN SHACKLES that will BIND and YOKE Mother Lanka to Communal Discord in Perpetuity!
Your NOBLE PURPOSE is to DEMOLISH FOREVER all SPECIAL PRIVILEGES given to Communal Groups …. assigned on the basis of Race, Religion, Language, Caste and Sex. Citizenship ALONE must be the only qualification for an equal share of Sri Lanka's bounty.
WAKE UP … O Patriots of Mother Lanka …. and ACT NOW! EARN the RIGHT to recount to your CHILDREN that you ANSWERED THE CALL when Mother Lanka SUMMONED YOU TO ARMS in her DEFENCE!
Pusillanimous Politicians FIDDLE while SEPARATISTS and Anti_National Forces PREPARE to DIVIDE UP Sri Lanka!
INDECISIVE, INEFFECTIVE, UNCARING, DISGUSTING!
The VAST MAJORITY of the People of Sri Lanka ELECTED you and PLACED their lives in your hands ... to ACT in the NATIONAL INTEREST! DO SO NOW!
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13A: President tells EPDP, JHU to speak their minds
by Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
June 10, 2013
President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday assured EPDP leader and Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Minister Douglas Devananda that the Government would not interfere in his ongoing protest campaigns against proposed changes to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
President Rajapaksa told Minister Devananda that he could freely voice his position as regards the issue in Parliament.
The EPDP and SLMC have strongly opposed far-reaching proposals to do away with the rights of two provinces or more to merge in accordance with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. And, the second contentious issue has been the government proposal to repeal the Constitutional requirement that the consent of all provincial councils was necessary for the enactment of legislation in parliament that infringe on their powers.
Senior Government sources told The Island last night that President Rajapaksa had held a separate meeting with and JHU General Secretary and Technology, Research and Atomic Energy Minister Patali Chamipka Ranawaka to discuss the ongoing JHU campaign calling for the abolition of the 13th amendment.
Sources said that President Rajapaksa also told the JHU delegation led by Minister Ranawaka that the party could continue with its campaign and the government would not interfere with it.
The JHU was also told that it could freely voice its position in Parliament.
Asked whether the President had called National Freedom Front leader Minister Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities Minister Wimal Weerawansa for a meeting, the sources said that the NFF leader was not among those invited for talks at Temple Trees yesterday.
Sources said that the President decided to meet the EPDP and JHU in the wake of a sharp division in the SLFP-led ruling coalition over the first Northern Provincial council election to be held under the current constitution.
There could be further meetings among UPFA partners within the next few days to iron out differences, government sources added.
Shenali is correct ... AGAIN!
There is INDEED a "Bamunu Kulaya" (Wimal Weerawansa's terminology) hidden deep within Sri Lankan Bureaucracies and in Sri Lankan Society at large, feathering their own nests, but slowly undermining the Patriotic Forces and the Mahinda Chintanaya, and lying in wait hidden low in the grass for the best opportunity to rear up and overturn the Patriotic Forces of Sri Lanka.
A GOOD EXAMPLE is found in the spectrum of people and organizations now FORCED to COME OUT of the WOODWORK where they have been hiding, JOINING the TNA and expressing their opposition to REPEALING the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVING the Provincial Councils: SLMC, CP, Catholic Bishops, a hitherto unknown group "the Royal Forum" ad infinitum, ad nauseam.
The official UNP party, led by that Serial TRAITOR Ranil Wickremasinghe, will soon abandon its discussions with the JHU ... through which they hope to secure an end to the Presidential System and topple Mahinda Rajapaksa, and propel ITSELF into power. "Who the hell cares how we get there, we get there somehow" .... EVEN by SELLING OUT the Motherland ... that has always been Ranil's theme song.
Will the JHU be able to get UNP's support to REPEAL the 13th Amendment WITHOUT paying a stiff UNACCEPTABLE PRICE to overturn the Patriotic Forces of Sri Lanka? There is NO HOPE WHATEVER of that happening with Ranil Wickemasinghe .... who is even now trying to embed a requirement in a new Constitution that would expel MPs who defect from their party from Parliament.
On the other hand, there are MANY MPs and other members of the UNP, wedded to UNP's "other principles" who are still PATRIOTS, and WILL SUPPORT the REPEALING of the 13th Amendment; they will DEFY Ranil and VOTE FOR REPEALING at the correct time.
Rise Up .... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... Rise Up in your TENS OF MILLIONS ... to DEFEND and PROTECT your Mother Land NOW .... as you did to CRUSH the Murderous Tamil Tiger Terrorists during the last WAR of National Liberation.
You will be VICTORIOUS in this NOBLE PURPOSE of preventing the creation of a Patchwork Quilt of Racist Apartheid Bantustans, FOREVER AT WAR with one another, in Sri Lanka. REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVE the Provincial Councils NOW!
Rise Up ....O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... Rise Up to Create ONE Indivisible Nation, of ONE Inseparable People, sharing ONE Indomitable National Destiny!
As in the PAST, the Udayan Newspaper is fomenting civil discord, by publishing UNTRUTHS and HALF TRUTHS designed to EXPEL the Army from the Northern Province.
This is not "news reporting" but "news fabrication" and "news distortion". We saw how this kind of sustained propaganda created a support base for the Eelamist terrorism in the past. It is STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN. It must not be allowed to continue with IMPUNITY because the CONSEQUENCES are HUGE!
The GOSL should INVESTIGATE to collect EVIDENCE, PROSECUTE, CONVICT and SEVERELY PUNISH those who engage in this kind of activity, to demonize and expel the Armed Forces from their theater of operations, only recently cleared of Armed Separatist Terrorists.
PUNISHMENT should include IMPRISONMENT at HARD LABOR, CONFISCATION of PERSONAL & CORPORATE ASSETS, and the LOSS of CIVIC RIGHTS such as the right to vote, the right to engage in politics, or in any form of employment that requires the public's trust (eg. publishing, government, education, medicine, legal, notary public, engineering, banking, etc).
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Army committed to protect Hindu places of worship
By Anushika Ranadewa and Rakshana Sriyantha
DailyNews.lk
June 11, 2013
Recently the Udayan newspaper stated that the Army was responsible for looting Hindu Kovils in the Batticaloa District.
The Udayan paper also stated that the Army was bent on vandalizing and destroying Hindu places of worship.
Eastern Province Security Forces Commander Major General Lal Perera stated that the Sri Lankan Army is committed to protect religious places and not to destroy them.
"Even during the war, the Army protected Kovils," the Major General added. He said the Sri Lanka Army not only protects but also rebuilds the destroyed temples and Kovils. "Therefore the allegations had no basis".
"What has the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) done to preserve Hindu Kovils?" questioned Major General Perera. "investigations have revealed the identity of those responsible and the suspects have been arrested in this connection," the Major General said.
Investigations revealed that a burglary took place on June 1 at Pillaiyaar Kovil in Vellaveli and it was carried out by burglars from the area.
one suspect was arrested and the other suspect had fled the village.
Batticaloa Police are conducting further investigations, he said.
The Major General stated that the TNA and some media sympathetic to it are trying to place the blame on the Army for incidents which are totally baseless and far from the truth.
"The main intention of such allegations are to dislodge the Sri Lankan Army from the North and East".
The Major General said all communities in the North and East, the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims live together and work in harmony and unity irrespective of caste, creed, religion or ethnicity. "This is such a headache for certain people," the Major General said.
Major Tamil party of Sri Lanka to visit India to discuss 13th Amendment and other issues
Thu, Jun 13, 2013, 11:52 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
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Fran Diaz,
Yes, indeed, not only should the 13th Amendment be REPEALED forthwith, but TREASON laws should be ENFORCED to PROTECT the nation by prosecuting these traitors. The TNA delegates meeting with Indian Government Officials would be considered a TREASONOUS ACT and SEVERELY PROSECUTED in the USA. Why not in Sri Lanka?
The TNA continues with IMPUNITY to flout the TREASON laws of Sri Lanka, plotting and scheming with FOREIGN COUNTRIES to undermine the INTEGRITY and GOVERNANCE of their motherland, inviting interference, including MILITARY INVASION, by other countries in the INTERNAL AFFAIRS of their Sovereign Nation.
If this is not HIGH TREASON, what is?
I have REPEATEDLY pointed out at LankaWeb that the FAILURE of the GOSL to INVESTIGATE, gather EVIDENCE, PROSECUTE, CONVICT and PUNISH these SERIAL TRAITORS is having SEVERE IMPACT on the security of Sri Lanka and the safety of its citizens.
Sri Lanka needs to ENFORCE its EXISTING TREASON laws and STRENGTHEN those laws further by CLOSING LOOPHOLES and prescribing mandatory MINIMUM sentences up to and including DEATH.
These sentences should include LIFE IMPRISONMENT at HARD LABOR, CONFISCATION of funds and real assets, and the denial of CIVIC RIGHTS such as voting, political activity and employment in positions that require a high-level of public trust (eg. publishing, governance, police, armed forces, legal, engineering, education, banking, notarial, etc).
NO OTHER COUNTRY that permits OPEN TREACHERY by its citizens and elected officials, as Sri Lanka does. IGNORING the situation only ENCOURAGES further TREACHERY. Sri Lanka should ACT FIRMLY NOW or it will forever be beset by FOREIGN INTERFERENCE in collusion with Local Quislings!
Tens of thousands of Sri Lanka's honored sons and daughters have given their lives, in their last full measure of devotion to their motherland, to defend and protect Sri Lanka.
I call upon the PRESENT LEADERS of Sri Lanka ACT to PROTECT and PRESERVE what those heroes achieved through their ultimate sacrifice.
"With his many deficiencies Ranil Wickremasinghe with stout integrity stands out in the forefront in a party of many mediocrities and still lesser minions except for a few exceptions among the younger set and appointed MPs that make an occasional credible sound."
NONSENSE! "Stout Integrity" is not something I would assiciate with Ranil Wickremasinghe in my wildest dreams.
This guy has sold out his motherland many times over to Sri Lanka's internal and external enemies. He is RESPONSIBLE for much of Sri Lanka's PAIN and the FAILURE to defeat the LTTE in a TIMELY WAY.
His SOLE OBJECTIVE is to PROPEL himself at the head of the UNP into power, so he can CONTINUE to PROTECT and FOSTER the Anti-National Elements who support him.
Ranil's agenda has NOTHING to do with PROTECTING ALL of the People of Sri Lanka and their Motherland.
The grand old party of my long-dead honored father .... the UNP .... will begin to regain the People's trust, and resurrect itself as the party that fought for Sri Lanka's independence and led it into a new era as a Sovereign Nation in 1948 .... ONLY when it DITCHES Ranil Wickremasinghe and works as a PATRIOTIC Party again by rejecting the Anti-National elements who currently control its political agenda.
I say to all PATRIOTIC UNP-ers .... join with the UPFA Government to REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVE the Provincial Councils.
Rise Up ... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... Your Motherland Needs you NOW to get rid of this FOREIGN BALL & CHAIN that SHACKLES Mother Lanka into a subservient vassal of India!
Jayawewa! FINALLY ... it is HERE as we had OFTEN DEMANDED .... CONTROL & OVERSIGHT of NGOs!
Now, let us see whether the Law is ENFORCED!
Laws UNFORCED are Laws NON-EXISTENT!
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Sri Lankan government clamps down on errant NGOs
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 13, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government has taken a series of measures to clamp down on the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) engaged in activities that threaten the peace and security in the country.
Accordingly, the government has appointed a special Board of intellectuals to probe charges and allegations being made against NGOs and their operations and has made it compulsory for all NGOs operating in the country to register themselves with the Office for the Registration of Non-Governmental Organizations.
The Government Information Department said the measures were taken to "thwart certain NGOs from hatching conspiracies to effect regime change by engaging in politics in the guise of doing social work in the country."
The Director General of Media Centre for National Security Lakshman Hulugalle told media that strict legal action will be taken against NGOs failing to comply with this registration rule and evict such NGOs.
The Registration of NGOs has been brought under the purview of the Defence Ministry with effect from 2010. The registration process of NGOs is implemented under the supervision of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
According to Hulugalle, there are nearly 100 NGOs operating in the country currently, and a large number of them have been identified to be surreptitiously engaging in activities inimical to the state by hatching various conspiracies through opposition politicians.
Some of the NGOs found to have evaded the registration with the Defence Ministry and instead have registered as non-profit organizations at the Department for the Registrar of Companies, the spokesman said.
Hulugalle said that legislation has been enacted making every NGO to comply with regulations and conditions stipulated in the amended gazette notification published in 2006 after registering it with the Office for the Registration of NGOs on February 26,1999.
Accordingly, NGOs should submit a report to the government listing its role, staff and funding and donations received from abroad, their manner of expenditure and their proposals and plans, he said. Their assets should also be registered with the relevant unit of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Let me put it BLUNTLY: Holding NPC elections and devolving power to the Provincial Councils will lead to an UPRISING AGAINST the Government and its TOPPLING in Sri Lanka by Patriotic Forces OPPOSED to Devolution of Power to UNREPENTANT SEPARATISTS.
The current UPFA Government was returned to Power in the last General Elections in a LANDSLIDE VICTORY because it REUNIFIED Sri Lanka and SECURED the safety of its ALL of its citizens. The UPFA Government CONTINUES to enjoy that support even today based on that ACCOMPLISHMENT, and the VISION of transforming Sri Lanka into the New Wonder of Asia as ably articulated by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
However, that LOYALTY is given to by PATRIOTS only to PATRIOTIC LEADERS who continue to Defend and Protect the Nation … not to those who fail to do so because they fear PERSONAL CONSEQUENCES and DODGE their DUTY to PROTECT.
Ultimately, it is NOT THE SURVIVAL of the LEADERS that is at stake here; it is the SURVIVAL of the NATION and its PEOPLE.
The GOSL should HEED THE WARNING in the Cries of the Patriots: that if it Devolves Power to SEPARATISTS, it will FALL from Power just as RAPIDLY as it ROSE to Power on the Adulation of the Vast Majority of citizens of Sri Lanka.
There is NO ISSUE of GREATER IMPORTANCE to Sri Lanka’s SURVIVAL than REPEALING the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVING the Provincial Councils, PERMANENTLY RIDDING Sri Lanka of this FOREIGN IMPOSED BALL & CHAIN that threatens to sow Civil Discord and Communal Divisions in Perpetuity!
Instead of DISINTEGRATING the Country into a Patchwork Quilt of Racist Apartheid Fiefdoms, INTEGRATE the country into ONE Indivisible Nation, of ONE Inseparable People, sharing ONE Indomitable Destiny, based on EQUAL RIGHTS for ALL of Sri Lanka’s people, under ONE system of National Laws, irrespective of Communal Considerations!
Sow the Wind with any other seed, and we will Reap the Whirlwind!
HERE is ANOTHER ADDLE-PATED FOOL OF A MINISTER in the GOSL Cabinet currying favor from Western Neocolonialists parroting their demands!
He should RESIGN NOW without delay .... he does not belong in a PATRIOTIC Government committed to defending the Nation. Perhaps the Tiger Nominated Agents (TNA) can offer him a Portfolio in their Northern Provincial Council Eelam after the PC elections!
Let us REMEMBER this man when the Eelamists take over the Northern PC and Unilaterally Proclaim a Separate State ... calling for Foreign Intervention ... and WAR begins ANEW in Sri Lanka!
Begone FOOL!
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Sri Lanka Minister ready to resign to safeguard provincial councils
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 14, Colombo: Sri Lanka Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Rajitha Senaratne said that he was ready to sacrifice his cabinet portfolio to stop further reducing the powers devolved to the provinces through the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
Addressing a press briefing held in Colombo today, the Minister said that he would not change his position on the 13th Amendment.
He further said that the government would be defeated before the international forces unless it fails to stop the moves to further curtail the powers of the provincial councils.
The Minister also rejected the proposals for a referendum on the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The Cabinet of ministers yesterday decided to ask the government to appoint a parliamentary select committee to study the issues regarding the amendment of the 13th Amendment since there was opposition from some cabinet ministers to diluting powers vested to PCs in the 13th Amendment.
Constituent parties of the ruling alliance had expressed divergent views on the changes to the 13th Amendment but all were in agreement that the 13the Amendment which was formulated by India and trusted on Sri Lanka should be changed to fit to current situation after the end of the war.
Jayawewa!
Hopefully, Prabhakaran is raging in his grave at the news that "his airfield" at Iranamadu is now serving a United Unitary Sovereign Sri Lanka!
Sweet Revenge, Patriots!
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Reconstructed A9 highway and former rebel runway in Northern Sri Lanka to be opened tomorrow
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 14, Colombo: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa will officially open the improved main A-9 highway and the reconstructed former rebel airstrip at Iranamadu in Kilinochchi tomorrow (June 15), government sources said.
The 320- km A-9 road that connects Jaffna peninsula in the North to the central city of Kandy was reconstructed by the local contractors in two stages under the supervision of the Ministry of Ports and Highways. The state funded the reconstruction at a cost of Rs. 19.125 billion.
The road was fully opened in mid-2009 after the end of the war. However, the once busy highway was in a dilapidated condition. Reconstruction commenced in 2011 under the guidance of the President.
The President will also declare open the runway at Iranamadu in Kilinochchi tomorrow.
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) carried out the complete reconstruction of the former rebel runway. It has been widened to 25 meters and extended to 1,500 meters in length.
The new runway has been built to accommodate the landing of the biggest SLAF plane, a C-130.
The runway, once used by the Tamil Tiger rebels that held power in the area before the end of the war to launch air attacks on the South, had been destroyed by the terrorists when the military captured the area, according to military sources.
The government expects the runway to be developed as a domestic airport to boost the tourism and passenger transportation.
Indeed, as Neville Laduahetty says, "Thus the interests of the People are at variance with the interests of the Councilors. "
But, we must ALSO ask "Which People"? ALL of the citizens of the whole of Sri Lanka, or ONLY the residents of ONE OR MORE Provinces?
Therein lies the DANGER. If for example, "the People" of a particular Province, for whatever reason, want to secede from union with Sri Lanka, then will they have the Legal Power to do it? Even if there is no difference in opinion between "the People" of that Province and "the Provincial Councillors" of that province, it could well happen that the People of the Other Provinces, and/or their Provincial Councillors, may disagree with the steps contemplated by the Province in question.
That is why Sri Lanka should NEVER RECOGNIZE of ANY SUB-NATIONAL GROUP of Sri Lankans, defined on ANY BASIS such as regional, ethnic, religious, or whatever, as having Sovereignty, or the Power to decide on whether to remain a part of Sri Lanka, or to act independently of the Sri Lankan Nation State.
ONLY the ENTIRE PEOPLE of Sri Lanka, speaking through NATIONWIDE ELECTIONS and REFERENDA should be recognized as being SOVEREIGN, and be RECOGNIZED as having the Legal Power to decide on such matters.
That is why Land and Police Powers are so critical; without Land Powers the Nation State has no control over its territory; without Police Powers it will have no authority or the means to enforce the Land Powers, which more generally can be taken to include immigration/emigration as well.
Recall that during the period of March 15, 1815 and February 4, 1948 MILLIONS of Indian laborers were imported into Sri Lanka by the British, ignoring the protests of the native people of Sri Lanka, affecting their RIGHTS and DISPOSSESSING them. That is the PRICE Sri Lankans paid for having lost our Sovereignty and Control over our country for 150 years. We should LEARN that LESSON well.
There is a PRECEDENT for a National Government successfully claiming and enforcing its authority even over semi-autonomous states: The United States of America in the US Civil War:
The Southern (Confederate) States argued that since they had joined the American Union voluntarily, and since they had reserved States Rights to themselves under the US Constitution, they had every right to secede from the Union if they so choose, WITHOUT REGARD to what THE PEOPLE OF THE NATION AS A WHOLE thought of it.
Not so, argued President Abraham Lincoln and the Union (Federal) States. They maintained that ONLY the ALL of PEOPLE of the Nation were Sovereign, not the States, nor the People of ONE or MORE States. The argument was that ALL OF THE PEOPLE of THE United States had ACQUIRED AN ACCRUED RIGHT TO ENJOY THE BOUNTY of the ENTIRE TERRITORY OF THE UNITED STATES during the Previous 100 Years of Union as ONE NATION STATE. ALL of the People of the US had invested in their efforts, treasure and their hopes in building that Union of States, argued the Unionists, and no ONE or MORE States had the right ANYMORE to DENY them those ACCUMULATED EARNED RIGHTS.
Well, Sri Lanka has certainly existed as a well recognized Sovereign Nation State for several thousand years, with brief interruptions due to invasions, and ALL OF ITS PEOPLE have invested their efforts, treasure and hopes in a an Undivided Sovereign Sri Lanka. That is a RIGHT EARNED over several millenia which TRUMPS the RIGHT of EARNED by ALL of the citizens of the United States, over a mere 100 years from the American Revolution to the American Civil War, to an undivided Nation.
....Continued from above ...
This EXAMPLE of the People being Sovereign, and that that Sovereignty is EARNED RIGHT BY ALL OF THE PEOPLE to ALL OF THE TERRITORY OF A NATION is IMPORTANT for TWO REASONS:
1. It FORMS the BASIS for asserting that the WILL OF ALL CITIZENS OF Sri Lanka TRUMPS the WILL OF ANY SEPARATIST GROUP of People in Sri Lanka. Therefore, any National Question, such as that of the 13th Amendment and the DISSOLUTION of the Provincial Councils, must be decided in a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM that queries the wishes of ALL PEOPLE of Sri Lanka.
2. This Legal Principle is well established in the United States, one of the foremost critics of Sri Lanka that demands Devolution of Power to active separatists, forming as it had the very legal basis on which the Civil War against the Separatist Confederates, was fought, won and the writ of the Union Government consolidated over the ENTIRE United States, and subsequently, in territories that joined, or were annexed, into the United States.
Therefore, this Principle can be USED to FEND off ALL of the Foreign Critics of Sri Lanka who demand that autonomous power be devolved to former and continuing separatists .... who even oppose the unitary status of Sri Lanka ... by pointing out the HYPOCRISY and DOUBLE STANDARDS underlying their position.
What is GOOD for the American GOOSE, we must INSIST, is GOOD for the Sri Lankan GANDER as well!
Indeed, as Neville Laduahetty says, “Thus the interests of the People are at variance with the interests of the Councillors. ”
But, we must ALSO ask “Which People”? ALL of the citizens of the whole of Sri Lanka, or ONLY the residents of ONE OR MORE Provinces?
Therein lies the DANGER. If for example, “the People” of a particular Province, for whatever reason, want to secede from union with Sri Lanka, then will they have, or can they acquire, the Legal Power to do it using the powers devolved under the 13th Amendment? Even if there is no difference in opinion between “the People” of that province and “the Provincial Councillors” of that province, it could very well happen that the People of the Other Provinces, and/or their Provincial Councillors, may disagree with the steps contemplated by the Province in question.
That is why Sri Lanka should NEVER RECOGNIZE of ANY SUB-NATIONAL GROUP of Sri Lankans, defined on ANY BASIS such as regional, ethnic, religious, or whatever, as having Sovereignty, or the Power to decide on whether to remain a part of Sri Lanka, or to act independently of the Sri Lankan Nation State.
ONLY the ENTIRE PEOPLE of Sri Lanka, expressing their views through NATIONWIDE ELECTIONS and REFERENDA, should be recognized as being SOVEREIGN, and be RECOGNIZED as having the Legal Power to decide on such matters.
That is why Land and Police Powers are so critica to maintaining the Sovereignty of ALL PEOPLE of Sri Lankal. Without Land Powers the Nation State has no control over its territory, and without Police Powers it will have no authority or the means to enforce the Land Powers, which more generally can be taken to include immigration/emigration as well.
Recall that during the period from March 15, 1815 to February 4, 1948, MILLIONS of Indian laborers were imported into Sri Lanka by the British, ignoring the protests of the native people of Sri Lanka, PERMANENTLY AFFECTING their RIGHTS and DISPOSSESSING them. That is the PRICE Sri Lankans paid for having lost our Sovereignty and Control over our country for 150 years. We should LEARN well that LESSON of the CONSEQUENCES of losing Land and Police Powers to foreign powers or internal groups, who have agendas inimical to the continued existence and sovereignty of our nation.
....Continued 1 from above....
FORTUNATELY, there is an Internationally Recognized LEGAL PRINCIPLE and a CLEAR LEGAL PRECEDENT for a National Government to claim the Sovereignty of ALL PEOPLE of a country over ALL of its territory, and enforce its authority even over sub-groups of states and people residing in those territories: The United States of America in the US Civil War:
The Southern (Confederate) States of the USA argued that since they had joined the American Union voluntarily, and since they had reserved States Rights to themselves under the US Constitution at that time, they had every right to SECEDE from the Union if they so decided, WITHOUT REGARD to wishes of THE PEOPLE OF THE NATION AS A WHOLE.
Not so, argued President Abraham Lincoln and the Union (Federal) States. They maintained that ONLY the ALL of PEOPLE of the Nation were Sovereign, not the States, not the People of a SUB-GROUP of those States.
The argument was that ALL OF THE PEOPLE of THE United States had ACQUIRED A RIGHT TO ENJOY THE BOUNTY of the ENTIRE TERRITORY OF THE UNITED STATES ACCUMULATED during the Previous 100 Years of Union as ONE NATION STATE. ALL of the People of the US had invested their efforts, their treasure, and their hopes in building that Union of States, argued the Unionists, and no SUB-GROUP of States had the right ANYMORE to DENY them those ACCUMULATED EARNED RIGHTS, which are now INALIENABLE.
Well, Sri Lanka has certainly existed as a well-recognized Sovereign Nation-State for several thousand years, with brief interruptions due to invasions, and ALL OF ITS PEOPLE, from then until now, have invested their efforts, their treasure, and their hopes in an Undivided Sovereign Sri Lanka. That is a RIGHT EARNED and PASSED ONTO to subsequent generations of Sri Lankan Citizens over several millenia, which TRUMPS the RIGHT EARNED by ALL of the citizens of the United States, over a mere 100 years of existence as one nation from the American Revolution to the American Civil War, to CONTINUED EXISTENCE as a ONE undivided Nation.
This EXAMPLE of ONLY ALL OFF THE PEOPLE of a Nation State being Sovereign, and that this Sovereignty is EARNED RIGHT BY ALL OF THE PEOPLE to ALL OF THE TERRITORY OF A NATION, is IMPORTANT to Sri Lanka for TWO reasons:
1. It FORMS a BASIS for asserting that the WILL OF ALL CITIZENS OF Sri Lanka has PRIORITY/PRECEDENCE over the WILL OF ANY SEPARATIST SUB-GROUP of People in Sri Lanka. Therefore, any National Question, such as REPEALING the 13th Amendment and the DISSOLUTION of the Provincial Councils, must be decided in a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM that queries the wishes of ALL PEOPLE of Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the WILL of ALL of Sri Lanka, thus expressed, is PARAMOUNT, and has precedence over the WILL of its Representatives elected to ANY and ALL branches (the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary) of Government.
2. This Legal Principle is well established in the United States, forming as it did the very legal basis on which the Civil War against the Separatist Confederates, was fought and won, and the writ of the Union Government was consolidated over the ENTIRE United States, and subsequently extended to new territories that joined, or were annexed, into the United States. Yet, the United States is one of the foremost critics of Sri Lanka that demands Devolution of Power to ACTIVE separatists, who threaten its very existence as a Sovereign Nation, and refuse to abide by its unitary status. That is CLEARLY CONTRARY to the Principles the United States used in the past, and uses today, to assure its own existence as a United Sovereign Nation.
...Continued 2 from above....
Therefore, this Principle can be USED to FEND off ALL of the Foreign Critics of Sri Lanka who demand that autonomous power be devolved to former and continuing separatists by pointing out the HYPOCRISY, DOUBLE STANDARDS, ILLEGALITY under their own laws, of their positions on this issue. We can INVOKE the same principle they used to defend and protect thier own countries, to defend and protect Sri Lanka's Sovereignty over ALL of its territory, and ALL of its people.
What is GOOD for the American GOOSE, we must INSIST, is GOOD for the Sri Lankan GANDER as well!
>Gotabaya worried over Jaya’s stand on Lanka
By P K Balachandran
NewIndianExpress.com
June 15, 2013
“Given the recent activities of LTTE-linked organisations outside Sri Lanka, particularly in Tamil Nadu, this is very much a current threat", said Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s firm stand on Sri Lanka has upset the island nation’s government with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa saying her point of view poses a threat to his country’s security and sovereignty.
Speaking at the Kotelawala Defence University here, Gotabaya said: “India, in particular, is very sensitive to what is going on in Sri Lanka because of the large Tamil population in its influential southern State of Tamil Nadu. Especially during election cycle, Sri Lanka figures large in its power politics. In the recent past, we have seen even the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu attempting to pressurise the Central government into opposing Lanka internationally. This is a serious threat to Sri Lanka’s security and perhaps even to its sovereignty.”
The Defence Secretary said there were some Tamils in Lanka who identified themselves more with Tamils in Tamil Nadu than with fellow Lankans and that it was being encouraged by “some parties overseas” who wished to promote the idea of a “greater Tamil nation”.
On the possibility of arms smuggling across the seas, he said: “Given the recent activities of LTTE-linked organisations outside Sri Lanka, particularly in Tamil Nadu, this is very much a current threat.”
Stressing the need to prevent Tamil Nadu fishermen from entering Lankan waters, he said: “The fishing boats that enter Lankan waters illegally have also been known to engage in criminal activities including drug smuggling.”
India-China conflict
Gotabaya saw the India-China conflict as a threat to Lanka. “With the rise of China as a world economic leader, there is widespread belief that India feels insecure and is seeking to align itself with other powers that seem similarly threatened by China’s ascendency. The likelihood of the US showing more interest in the region and aligning more with India is a factor that might affect Lanka. Its establishment of a base in the Maldives is also changing the complexion of the region,” he said.
Gotabhaya's Comment is RIGHT ON THE MONEY: India's INTERFERENCE continues to FOMENT internal communal conflicts in Sri Lanka, generate external threats from Tamil Nadu, and Western Neocolonialist powers plying their own agendas, and exacerbate the threat from the Sri Lankan Eelamist Tamil Diaspora.
I ONLY WISH Gota was able to convince his brother, the President, to SCRAP the 13th Amendment, for the 13A will trigger another civil conflict in Sri Lanka in the not-too-distant future.
It is THe HEIGHT OF HYPOCRISY for India, which INITIATED & ORCHESTRATED the Tamil separatist murder and mayhem in Sri Lanka, to CLAIM it is doing ANYTHING to help Sri Lanka when it FORCES the 13A down Sri Lanka's unwilling throat. OUR CLOSEST COUSINS are now OUR WORST ENEMIES, as they PERSIST in undermining and destabilizing Sri Lanka!
My warning to Indians: "You live in a Glass House, it is Dangerous to Throw Stones at Neighbors!"
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Gotabaya worried over Jaya’s stand on Lanka
By P K Balachandran
NewIndianExpress.com
June 15, 2013
“Given the recent activities of LTTE-linked organisations outside Sri Lanka, particularly in Tamil Nadu, this is very much a current threat", said Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s firm stand on Sri Lanka has upset the island nation’s government with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa saying her point of view poses a threat to his country’s security and sovereignty.
Speaking at the Kotelawala Defence University here, Gotabaya said: “India, in particular, is very sensitive to what is going on in Sri Lanka because of the large Tamil population in its influential southern State of Tamil Nadu. Especially during election cycle, Sri Lanka figures large in its power politics. In the recent past, we have seen even the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu attempting to pressurise the Central government into opposing Lanka internationally. This is a serious threat to Sri Lanka’s security and perhaps even to its sovereignty.”
The Defence Secretary said there were some Tamils in Lanka who identified themselves more with Tamils in Tamil Nadu than with fellow Lankans and that it was being encouraged by “some parties overseas” who wished to promote the idea of a “greater Tamil nation”.
On the possibility of arms smuggling across the seas, he said: “Given the recent activities of LTTE-linked organisations outside Sri Lanka, particularly in Tamil Nadu, this is very much a current threat.”
Stressing the need to prevent Tamil Nadu fishermen from entering Lankan waters, he said: “The fishing boats that enter Lankan waters illegally have also been known to engage in criminal activities including drug smuggling.”
India-China conflict
Gotabaya saw the India-China conflict as a threat to Lanka. “With the rise of China as a world economic leader, there is widespread belief that India feels insecure and is seeking to align itself with other powers that seem similarly threatened by China’s ascendency. The likelihood of the US showing more interest in the region and aligning more with India is a factor that might affect Lanka. Its establishment of a base in the Maldives is also changing the complexion of the region,” he said.
Patriots are caught between the DEVIL and the DEEP BLUE SEA:
1. The DEVIL: If the JHU stays in the GOSL .... NPC elections may go ahead without the 13A being REPEALED or SIGNIFICANTLY modified to protect the Nation.
2. THE DEEP BLUE SEA: If the JHU withdraws from the GOSL, the SLMC and other Anti-National Elements now straddling the fence within the UPFA may withdraw too, if that would BRING DOWN the UPFA GOSL. That would be disastrous and lead to the UNP cheered on by its Anti-National allies taking over the GOSL, and IMMEDIATELY GIFTING the Northern and Eastern Provinces to the Eelamists!
I am PUZZLED why our Patriotic President has STILL NOT DONE THE RIGHT THING and called for a simple UP or DOWN vote in a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM to REPEAL the 13th Amendment. That seems to be the most OBVIOUS & SAFEST route to take.
Does he have DEMOGRAPHIC DATA that shows beyond reasonable doubt that such a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM to REPEAL the 13th Amendment may LOSE? I VERY MUCH DOUBT THAT WOULD HAPPEN!
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Coalition party of Sri Lankan government warns of outcome of Northern PC election
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 17, Colombo: The Sinhala Buddhist coalition party of the Sri Lankan government Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) today warned of a possible outcome detrimental to the country's unity from the Northern Provincial Council election.
Layman leader of JHU, Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said that all who were loyal to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution would be answerable to the situation that might arise in case the Northern Provincial Council election is held without amending the Constitution.
Addressing a press conference, he said that the Tamil separatists might use this election as a referendum for their cause.
Ranawaka focused his argument on police and land powers vested in the Provincial Councils.
However, he declined to comment the actions the JHU would take if the Northern Provincial Council election is held without amending the Constitution.
When a journalist inquired if the JHU would withdraw the support to the government, Minister Ranawaka said in a subdued tone that political context could change at any moment.
Meanwhile, the Western Provincial Council JHU Minister Udaya Gammanpila challenged Minister Rajitha Senaratne for a debate in regard of the police and land powers of Provincial Councils. He said that he would prove the danger of granting land and police powers to the Provincial Councils.
A Petition to STRIP LAND & POLICE POWERS from the PCS is GOOD, but a Petition to STRIP the 13th Amendment from Sri Lanka's Constitution is ESSENTIAL & MUCH BETTER!
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Petition with million signatures to strip land and police powers to PCs handed over to Sri Lankan President
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 18, Colombo: A petition with signatures of million people against holding the Northern Provincial Council election without amending the land and police powers was handed over to the Sri Lankan President today.
The National Freedom Front led by Minister Wimal Weerawansa earlier this month launched an island wide campaign to collect million signatures against vesting land and police powers to the provincial councils under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The campaign began in Anuradhapura on June 6th and traversed the country collecting signatures.
Minister Wimal Weerawansa, Deputy Minister Weerakumara Dissanayake, Politburo Member Piyasiri Wijenayake and other members of the NFF were present at the occasion.
(Photos by Sudath Silva)
PATRIOTS! .... HERE it is .....JHU's PETITION to REPEAL the 13th Amendment!
Jayawewa!
Ratna Deepa, Janma Bhumi
Lanka Deepa, Vijaya Bhumi
Mey Apey, Udaarawu
Maathru Bhumi-yayi
Maathru Bhumi-yayi .......
Aadi Sinhaley Aey Weera Meemathun Layin
Saarawu, Udaarawu
Maathru Bhumi-yayi
Maathru Bhumi-yayi .......
................................
Sri Lanka Buddhist party reveals its constitutional amendment
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 22, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Sinhala Buddhist political party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Wednesday revealed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution proposed by them.
Legal adviser of JHU Udaya Gammanpila, Member of Western Provincial Council, briefed the content of the proposition today at a press conference held in Colombo.
JHU Gampaha district MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero said the party expects to bring in the proposal to the parliament as a private member's motion.
Full Text of the Amendment:
The proposition named as An Act to amend the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka aims primarily to repeal the 13th amendment to the constitution which paved way for the power devolving Provincial Council system in the island.
....Continued 1.....
Full text of the draft constitutional amendment is as follows:
Whereas the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was purportedly enacted, consequent to the Indo- Sri Lanka Accord being entered into between the President of Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister of India in 1987 under duress in defiance of the sovereignty of the people of Sri Lanka and,
Whereas the Supreme Court of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka did not approve the provisions of the 13th amendment Bill as being consistent with the Constitution in as much as only four judges of the Supreme Court out of nine held that the approval of the people at a referendum was not required to enact the 13th Amendment whilst five judges held that at least one or more of the provisions of the Bill was in violation of the Constitution and therefore required the approval of the people at a referendum and,
Whereas in terms of Article 80(2) of the Constitution "where the Supreme Court has determined that a Bill or any provision thereof requires the approval of the people at a referendum" such bill or such provision shall become law only upon the same being approved by the people at a referendum and the President certifies that the Bill or any Provision thereof has been so approved in the manner as set out in the said Article.
Whereas the majority of the Judges that constituted the bench of the Supreme Court had determined that the Bill or any one or more of the provisions thereof requires the approval of the people at a referendum, such Bill can become law only if complied with Article 80(2) upon being approved by the people at a referendum and therefore the purported certificate of the Speaker endorsed on the Bill purportedly under Articles 79 and 80(1) of the Constitution is invalid and unconstitutional and,
Whereas the Supreme Court has determined that any Bill or any Provision thereof requires the approval at a referendum the only cause of action available under the law is to comply with the process set out in Article 80(2) and the purported Amendment made to Clause 154G(2)(b) and 154G(3)(b) of the 13th Amendment Bill in Parliament without a further determination by the Supreme Court is unconstitutional and unlawful and,
Whereas the 13th Amendment in Article 154A(3) provides for the establishment of one administrative unit for two or more Provinces, to accommodate the unlawful undertaking given by the then President of Sri Lanka in the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord to establish one administrative unit for the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka on the erroneous and false basis that the Northern and Eastern Provinces form part of the homeland of one single ethnic and /or linguistic community as claimed by the separatist forces and,
Whereas the 13th Amendment has sought to abdicate the legislative power vested in Parliament and the Executive power vested in the President by the division of governmental power and restricted the Parliament and the President respectively exercising the legislative and executive power of the people and thereby offended the unitary character of the State, Whereas the 13th Amendment has vested inter alia police powers (including powers in relation to maintenance of public order) in Provincial Councils which was hitherto exercise by the Government of Sri Lanka, which will be a serious threat to national security concerns of the Republic in as much as,
....Continued 2 .....
(a) the 13th Amendment provides for the Chief Minister of a Province to directly control the Head of the Provincial Police Force and thereby all Police Officers of the said Force and even national police units operating in any province. (vide Item 11 of the Appendix of List 1 of the 9th Schedule) thereby effectively taking away the powers of the Inspector General of Police and the Government of Sri Lanka exercising any authority over such police force, ,
(b) the 13th Amendment entrusts the responsibility of prevention, detection, investigation of all offences (except the offences specified in the Schedule therein) and institution of prosecutions (subject to the powers of the Attorney General) to Provincial Councils and to enact any law on any such matter and further empower any Provincial Council to prevent any Police Officers of another Province entering such Province (vide the limitations contained in sub paragraph (k) of the 2nd item of List II of the 9th Schedule) and thereby jeopardizing the management of law and order and the national security of the Republic.
(c) the 13th Amendment even restricts police officers of the national police force from being in uniform compelling them to be in plain clothes even when performing the limited responsibilities allowed within a province such as when engaging in prevention, detection and investigation of a scheduled offence (vide Item 10:1 read with 12:1 of the relevant Appendix of the 9th Schedule).
Whereas the 13th Amendment, though based on the Constitutional structure of India, denies the Government of Sri Lanka to intervene in the event of a Province acting against the interests of the Republic, although the Central government of India is empowered to intervene in similar situations. (Vide Article 256 and 257 of the Constitution of India).
Whereas the power of the Government of Sri Lanka to give directions with regard to the manner of exercising executive power by a Province is restricted to a situation where the maintenance of essential supplies and services is threatened or that the security of Sri Lanka is threatened by war or external aggression or armed rebellion (vide Article 154J and 154K) no such limitation is placed under the Constitution on the Government of India and,
Whereas the 13th Amendment seeks to weaken the Government of Sri Lanka whilst strengthening the Provincial Councils and thereby destroying the unitary character of the State, territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and the sovereignty of its people and,
Whereas Sri Lanka is a Free, sovereign, independent and unitary State and it is the duty of the State to safeguard the independence, sovereignty, unity and the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and the provisions of the 13th Amendment are a threat to the independence, sovereignty, unity and the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.
BE it enacted by the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka as follows:- 1. This Act may be cited as the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution. 2. The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (hereinafter referred to as the "Constitution") is hereby amended by the repeal of ; ,
(a) Chapter XVIIA
(b) Article 155(3A)
(c) Ninth Schedule
3. Article 170 of the Constitution is hereby amended by the substitution, in the definition of "written law" for the words "and includes statutes made by Provincial Councils, orders" of the words "and include orders".
4. In the event of any inconsistency between the Sinhala and Tamil texts of this Act, the Sinhala text shall prevail.
PM frowns on land and police powers to pcs
DailyNews.lk
June 18, 2013
The 13th Amendment to the Constitution has opened up a dialogue in the media and the public space. It is a characteristic of democracy. Some say the 13th Amendment is needed; some say it is not required. However, Police powers and Land powers referenced in the Amendment are not required at this juncture, Prime Minister and Buddhasasana and Religious Affairs Minister D.M. Jayaratne said.
The Prime Minister made these comments at a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday. He said giving Police and Land powers will create needless issues in a small country like Sri Lanka. “This would lead to many problems in the future. The 30-year war in Sri Lanka was brought to an end under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Efforts are being made by certain groups to create political uncertainty in the country with the backing of with international forces whose objective is to paralyze the country’s development pace,” Prime Minister Jayaratne said. “Equity is the main feature of a society. When creating an equal society, the differences among nationalities, races, castes and religions should be eliminated,” he said.
The Prime Minister said all religions are the same and this concept was misunderstood by some religious groups.
He said the basic concept of any religion is to develop people spiritually.
“However, there are many differences in the practice and use of religions. All religious leaders have preached on the virtues of social justice,” the Prime Minister said.
He said the media exists not to create problems, but to solve them. “As a government we believe in media freedom. However, there are instances where the media act in an irresponsible manner. The media render a great service to society.
However, a small section of the media are trying to create problems for the country. Media freedom should be utilised wisely and it is the responsibility of the media to reveal corruption and fraud of politicians,” the Prime Minister said.
President Rajapaksa responds positively to media revelations. In some instances, the President demands immediate action in response to media reports. Media is the bridge that links Sri Lanka with the outside world, he said.
Additional Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office Dr. I.H.K. Mahanama, Additional Secretary of the Buddhasasana and Religious Affairs Minister J.A.A.N. Kannangara, Commissioner General of Buddhist Affairs Chandraprema Gamage and officials also participated.
Shenali,
Thank you for researching and identifying the abuses and crimes committed by individual Provincial Council officials in recent years.
That is the TIP OF THE VAST ICEBERG of waste, abuse, corruption and criminality that extends deep below the surface. They are INDICATIVE of the CULTURE OF IMPUNITY that has taken hold of the Provincial Councils and the CONTEMPT that they have for their CAPTIVE PEOPLE they are supposed to CARE FOR and PROTECT.
The MOST IMPORTANT reasons for DISSOLVING the Provincials Councils are:
1. They represent an UNNECESSARY LAYER OF GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY that burdens the people with BUREAUCRATIC red tape and ECONOMIC costs. They create ADDITIONAL bureaucratic barriers to common people trying to get the simplest things done, and increase costs by levying nuisance fees that are used to sustain the bureaucracy. The unending GREED of the PC staff requires ever increasing taxes to be imposed, and ever increasing bribes to be paid. They SIPHON-OFF funds from the National Government allocated to providing services and improving infrastructure to maintain that bloated staff. IN EFFECT, the Provincial Councils now represent a pack of WOLVES legally sanctioned to live off the hapless citizen SHEEP. We need LESS of this type of government; not MORE.
2. The Provincial Councils create centers of power supported by communities who can be manipulated into supporting anti-national activities. It DILUTES the power of the National Government and creates BARRIERS to ACTION by the National Government to DEFEND and PROTECT the Nation and its People.
An EXAMPLE of this is the FAILURE of State governments in India to protect the people from Naxalite terrorist attacks. Partly it happens because they lack the RESOURCES, partly it is because the terrorists come from safe haven in adjoining states over which the targeted states have NO JURISDICTION, and in part because the State Government Officials are in the pay of the Naxalites and COLLABORATE with the terrorists instead of protecting the innocent citizens.
IN yet another recent EXAMPLE, the governments of the Indian States adjoining BanglaDesh scuttled a new National Agreement between India and BanglaDesh to repatriate up to 20 million illegal Bangladeshi immigrants living in India ... on purely communal considerations. If Sri Lanka wanted to repatriate illegal immigrants from Tamil Nadu, it will have to seek permission and cooperation of the Northern Provincial Council, dominated, presumably, by the TNA! Without Police Powers in the Northern Province, how will the National Government investigate, arrest and deport these illegal immigrants, or halt new terrorist activity fomented by the Tiger Nominated Agents of the TNA?
....Continued 1.....
3. The Provincial Councils create sub-national centers of power that create barriers to the IMPLEMENTATION of National Infrastructure Projects, such as Roads, and Irrigation Systems, and even Education facilities and programs, that cut across Provincial Boundaries. For EXAMPLE, the Mahaveli river cuts across several Provinces, each of whom has a valid claim to its waters. Currently, the National Government of Sri Lanka is empowered to make the decision after evaluating the environmental and economic impacts, but when PCs are fully empowered it will lack the power to do so. Provincial councils can then veto ANY project depending on the narrow interests of its residents, and more dangerously, the prejudices of its own councilors. Mavil Aru was a precursor of this kind of resources sharing problem that could arise in the future. This has also become a HUGE PROBLEM in India, especially with regard to sharing river waters between states, holding up not only water projects but also the construction of power plants.
4. Finally, of course, there is the 13A requirement of National Bills having to be approved unanimously by all Provincial Councils for passage in Parliament. This has security, economic, legal and political ramifications on every level that SUBJUGATES the Will of the Majority of the Citizens of Sri Lanka to the Will of the much Smaller Minorities living in the Provinces, and their Provincial Councillors. That is not "Democracy" reflecting the will of the many, but "Anarchy" imposing the will of the few! It will only require the capture of just ONE Provincial Council by Anti-National Elements to NEGATE the NATIONAL WILL!
These are among the DANGERS of not REPEALING the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVING the Provincial Council System ... especially when CONFRONTED by UNREPENTANT SEPARATISTS and Foreign Powers plying their own agendas to undermine and destabilize Sri Lanka. JUST SCRAP the 13th Amendment COMPLETELY!
Creating and Devolving POWER to POLITICAL ENTITIES dominated by UNREPENTANT SEPARATISTS who were PROXIES of the MURDEROUS SEPARATISTS DEFEATED ONLY 4 YEARS AGO is an IRRESPONSIBLE FOLLY of MONUMENTAL PROPORTIONS! It BOGGLES my mind that such STUPIDITIES are even being SERIOUSLY CONTEMPLATED!
Construction expedited on the new railway line from Kurunegala to Habarana in Sri Lanka
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 18, Colombo: Sri Lanka Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa has ordered the officials to accelerate the preparatory work to build the railway line from Kurunegala to Habarana.
The proposed 81-km railway line will run across the commercial towns of Dambulla and Sigiriya in the North Central Province. Both places are tourist hot spots too where world heritage sites are situated.
According to Sri Lanka Railways, a track with a design speed of 120km/h will be constructed and the feasibility study has been completed. The project envisages the feasibility of the proposed railway trace in terms of engineering, economy, environmental and social aspects.
The Minister at a meeting in the Ibbagamuwa Pradeshiya Sabha instructed the officials to accelerate the development plans.
The Minister urged the officials to complete the surveys regarding the railway line by September this year and finish at least half of the constructions by the end of the year.
The railway line is expected to bypass the present diversion of the Eastern railway to Trincomalee and Batticaloa at Maho junction and cut short the journey.
Following is an Article that appeared in April, 2013 by M.N. Buch, a "Learned Indian civil servant". With Indian attitudes like this towards Sri Lanka, no wonder we CONTINUE to have problems with India!
My comments in response are also given below:
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What arrogant HOGWASH! Sri Lanka NEVER was, and NEVER will be, a part of India .... strategically or otherwise. This kind of attitude among Indians is what we Sri Lankans fear, although we are cousins of the people of India, and what drives us fopr protection towards China.. Let me see: India first plants terrorism in Sri Lanka, and when the country is aflame intervenes to provide "humanitarian assistance" to its terrorist surrogates, proclaining itself a high and mighty White Knight!. Bah! Absolute self serving Double Talk! We Sri Lankans have fended off foreigners for over 3000 years and preserved our independence. We will do so again and again as long as one of us stands. With it communal policies and weak federal governmenyt, India will disintegrate well before Sri Lanka does. No Federalism for Sri Lanka ... period!
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The terrorism India spawned in Sri Lanka spanned half (30 years) of Sri Lanka's years of existence (65 years) as a sovereign nation, consuming the lives of 150,000 of Sri Lankans of every community: It brought Sri Lanka's economic development to a dead halt. Therefore, India's "reconstruction aid" is really "war reparations" .due Sri Lanka under International Law; it is not "charitable giving". India's surrogate, the LTTE, shot, bombed, hanged and tortured people of all communities. They executed 1,000 captured policemen en masse, sliced and diced entire villages of sleeping innocents in the dead of the night to spread terror and ethnically cleanse the North and East of Sinhalese and Muslims. Karunanidhi voices outrage at Sri Lanka today, forgetting the poems he penned praising the SunGod. Vaiko delivered motivational speeches to Black Tiger suicide bombers in the Vanni jungles. They are but a small sample of the criminal Tamil Nadu politicians who must pay for their crimes NOW!
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Mr. Buch's article reflects many Indian misconceptions about Sri Lanka. which is not a mere appendage to be dealt with at will to suit India's external agenda and internal politics. We are an independent sovereign nation severely abused by India in the last 30 years, The majority (80%) Sinhala people in particular, tied to India by ancient bonds of blood, religion, language, and culture, are naturally inclined to LOVE, RESPECT and PROTECT India. But, instead of reciprocating, India implants terrorists, interferes in our internal politics exacerbating divisions, attempts to partition our country, and collaborates with neocolonialist Western powers to undermine Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is the only neighboring nation of India that wants to have close relations and to work towards our mutual defense and economic growth. Instead of fostering this historical friendship, India is DRIVING Sri Lanka AWAY towards India's enemies. So, we Sri Lankans now want to DISSOLVE this abusive MARRIAGE!
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India’s policy towards Sri Lanka
By M N Buch
NewIndianExpress.com
01st April 2013 07:20 AM
The United States brought a resolution before the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC). India voted for the resolution in which Sri Lanka was called upon to make a credible and independent probe into the killings and human rights violations in that country in the context of the war against terrorism. Under pressure from DMK India was in favour of a stronger resolution, but ultimately we accepted the United States’ draft. As a direct reaction to this, the Sri Lankan government has decided to seize part of the Indian public sector-run oil depot in Trincomalee. This despite the fact that the Indian Oil Corporation has recently spent $17 million on refurbishing the depot. All this seems to be a part of the pro-China shift in Sri Lankan foreign policy under the stewardship of President Mahinda Rajapakse. China voted against the resolution as did Pakistan. Part of the shift is because of India’s tardy response to the Sri Lankan call for assistance. For example, the Sri Lankans wanted our help in developing the port of Hembantota in south Sri Lanka. It is only when India failed to respond favourably and quickly that Sri Lanka turned to China, whose rapid response was in sharp contrast to our tardiness.
Sri Lanka faced two major threats to its existence. The first was through the extreme left-wing JVP, a Sinhala outfit which waged war with the Sri Lankan government. At the invitation of that government we sent in units of CRPF which helped in restoring order in Colombo, but a much greater threat came from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), created by and composed of the Jaffna Tamils who had migrated to Sri Lanka centuries ago. Even the Sri Lankans recognised them as citizens of the country. The problem did not end there because when rubber and tea were introduced by the British to Sri Lanka as plantation crops, large numbers of Tamils were brought in as indentured labour. They were not treated as citizens by the Sri Lankans and it needed firm intervention by India to sort out their citizenship status. Even the Jaffna Tamils treat them as a different people. In 1956 the Sri Lankan government removed Tamil as one of the State languages of Sri Lanka and replaced it wholly by Sinhalese.
This was reversed in 1978 and Tamil was reintroduced as state language. The middle and higher ranks of the civil services and the armed forces were manned by a large number of Tamils and this parochial move of the Sri Lanka government severely jeopardised their position in government service. Resistance against this move started to polarise. In 1978 LTTE was born. When Indira Gandhi was the prime minister large numbers of LTTE cadres were trained in India and much of the armament of LTTE came from weapons surrendered by Pakistan to us in 1971 and subsequently passed on by us to LTTE. In 1983 there was a general massacre of Tamils by the Sinhalese, especially in and around Colombo. This hardened attitudes and LTTE not only came out with an open declaration of independence but it virtually declared war on Sri Lanka. Sinhala Tamils living outside the country started sending funds and purchasing weapons for LTTE and soon that organisation became the deadliest guerilla outfit in the world.The Sri Lankan Army also responded with great violence. Ultimately India stepped in with humanitarian aid for the Tamils, a pact was signed between Rajiv Gandhi and J.R. Jayawardene, the Indian Army sent a peace keeping force. LTTE attacked it and soon we were involved in a full-fledged war with LTTE.
........Continued 2.....
The Indian Army established complete control over North and North East Sri Lanka and a semblance of civil administration was re-established. At this stage Premadasa became President of Sri Lanka. He was upto playing his own games and entered into a secret pact with LTTE. The Indian Army was forced to withdraw, leaving its work not fully done. LTTE reneged on its agreement and in sixteen police stations of the North more than 450 policemen were murdered. The uneasy peace ended. Ultimately Mahenda Rajapakse became President, a re-energised Sri Lankan Army declared all out war and the LTTE was crushed. It was a murderous organisation and perhaps there were cases where the Sri Lankan Army caused civilian casualties and there were a few cases of atrocities. That happens in a war and India was ill-advised to immediately adopt an anti-Sri Lanka government stance.
This has annoyed Sri Lanka, brought no relief to the Tamils, moved Sri Lanka towards China and the loser in all this is India. What we forget is that LTTE caused about 1,500 deaths of our soldiers and another 5,000 or so were wounded. Masters of ambush, of improvised explosive devices, expert in defensive warfare, so highly motivated that the LTTE cadres preferred suicide by the cyanide pill rather than surrender, there is no way in which LTTE could be handled with kid gloves. An enemy who fights to the last bullet and then commits suicide cannot be defeated; he has to be annihilated. A guerilla fighter mingles with civilians and killing him may hurt civilians. To judge the Sri Lankan Army harshly on this account is unfair.
How should we deal with Sri Lanka? Geographically, ethnically, religiously and strategically it is part of India, though a separate nation. It has to remain in the Indian fold. We should generously open our markets to Sri Lankan tea, gems and other products. We should make heavy investment in infrastructure, including rebuilding the ravaged North and North East and Indian businessmen must help Sri Lankan industry to grow. We should gift one IIM and an IIT level institution and we should provide about 500 offshore fishing vessels to Sri Lanka to build a prosperous fishing industry.
At the same time we must insist that within a given time-frame Sri Lanka, though a unitary country, introduces strong elements of federalism and devolves power to the provinces in terms of the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution. We should strongly counter Chinese influence and make it clear that if Sri Lanka fails to rehabilitate the Tamils, implement a scheme of devolution and ensure that all sections of society become part of the Sri Lanka mainstream India may be forced to intervene. We have proven capacity in this behalf. At the same time let us evolve our own foreign policy towards Sri Lanka without being dictated to by domestic compulsions of what the DMK wants.
M N Buch, a former civil servant, is chairman, National Centre for Human Settlements and Environment, Bhopal.
E-mail: buchnchse@yahoo.com
Tiger Nominated Agents of the TNA whisper lies in the ears of the President of India, making him believe that Sri Lankan Tamils are denied equal rights, and provoking him to jump to conclusions that Tamils are being discriminated against in Sri Lanka.
NOTHING is further from the TRUTH, Dr. Singh! ... Tamils are a PRIVILEGED GROUP in Sri Lanka EVEN TODAY enjoying exclusive Land Rights in Jaffna under Thesavalamai Laws that prohibits sale of LAND to other communities, and enjoying FAR MORE social equity in Srii Lanka than Indian citizens do in Tamil Nadu in India.
FURTHERMORE, Eelamist Tamils of the TNA, Political PROXIES representing the SEPARATIST LTTE TERRORISTS DEFEATED only 4 years ago, are demanding SPECIAL RIGHTS in the Northern Province unavailable to other communities of Sri Lanka. No Can Do, Dr. Singh, in Sri Lanka citizens have ONLY EQUAL RIGHTS, NOTHING MORE!
The COMPLETE & TOTAL SOLUTION to ALL of these MACHIAVELLIAN STRATEGIES, and TREASONOUS ACTIVITIES, of these Tiger Nominated Agents seeking to WIN IN PEACE what they FAILED TO WIN IN WAR, is to REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVE ALL PROVINCIAL COUNCILS in one fell swoop!
RISE UP ..... O Patriotic Sons and Daughters of Mother Lanka .... RISE UP to DEFEND & PROTECT your Motherland and your PEOPLE from those internal and external enemies plotting to create a Patchwork Quilt of Walled-off Racist Apartheid Bantustans in Sri Lanka, FOREVER at WAR with ONE ANOTHER!
RISE UP ... Patriots ... EELAM WAR V is HERE! Your Motherland needs your VOICE and your SWORD arm NOW!
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Indian PM dismayed over Sri Lanka's plans to dilute 13th Amendment
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 19, Colombo: The Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is "dismayed" over the Sri Lankan government's plans to dilute certain key provisions of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, India's External Affairs Ministry said Tuesday.
The Indian External Affairs Ministry said a six-member delegation of Sri Lanka's major Tamil party, Tamil Alliance, is visiting India from June 16-19 and they have met the Indian PM Tuesday to hold discussions on a political solution and especially the 13th Amendment.
The Ministry spokesman said that the Prime Minister conveyed to the TNA delegation that he was dismayed by reports suggesting that the Sri Lankan government is planning to dilute certain key provisions of the 13th Amendment ahead of the Northern Provincial Council elections.
"The proposed changes raised doubts about the commitments made by the Sri Lankan government to India and the international community, including the United Nations, on a political settlement in Sri Lanka that would go beyond the 13th Amendment," the Prime Minister has said.
The changes would also be incompatible with the recommendation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), set up by the Sri Lankan government, calling for a political settlement based on the devolution of power to the provinces, the PM has noted.
The Prime Minister has also said that he was deeply concerned about the welfare and wellbeing of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka.
"He stressed on the expectation that the Sri Lankan Tamil community would lead a life of dignity, as equal citizens, and reiterated that India would make every effort to ensure the achievement of a future for the community marked by equality, justice and self-respect," the Ministry spokesperson said.
The delegation led by TNA leader R. Sampanthan, consists of parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah, Suresh Premachandran, P. Selvarajah, Selvam Adaikalanathan and M.A. Sumanthiran. They had earlier called on the External Affairs Minister and the National Security Adviser. A TNA delegation had also visited India in October 2012.
Tamils to vote in Provincial Council polls
By P K Balachandran - COLOMBO
NewIndianExpress.com
June 19, 2013
The Sri Lankan Parliament on Tuesday passed a Bill enabling people who were displaced from the Tamil-speaking Northern Province by the war to register for voting in the forthcoming elections to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC).
With a certificate from the Grama Sevaka, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) can now cast their votes in the area in which they had lived prior to displacement. However, no person who is already registered as a voter in another place, can go back and vote in his original constituency in the North. The facility does not cover people who had left the country.
Though the measure is seen as a just and democratic one, Tamil leaders say the revision of the electoral rolls, which will be necessitated by the Act, can be used to stall polls to the NPC to be held in September this year.
“Anyone can go to court and stall the Northern elections,” said V Anandasangaree, President of the Tamil United Liberation Front. The National Freedom Front (NFF) and other Sinhalese political parties are campai-
gning against the NPC elections, as they fear that power may go into the hands of the “pro-LTTE” Tamil National Alliance (TNA).
Envoy Arrives in SL
Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha, the new High Commissioner of India to SL, arrived in Colombo on Tuesday.
Better known as Y K Sinha, the envoy had previously handled several important assignments at the Ministry of External Affairs, and in Indian missions in the Middle East, Europe, South America and the Permanent Mission of India at the UN.
Tamils to vote in Provincial Council polls
By P K Balachandran - COLOMBO
NewIndianExpress.com
June 19, 2013
The Sri Lankan Parliament on Tuesday passed a Bill enabling people who were displaced from the Tamil-speaking Northern Province by the war to register for voting in the forthcoming elections to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC).
With a certificate from the Grama Sevaka, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) can now cast their votes in the area in which they had lived prior to displacement. However, no person who is already registered as a voter in another place, can go back and vote in his original constituency in the North. The facility does not cover people who had left the country.
Though the measure is seen as a just and democratic one, Tamil leaders say the revision of the electoral rolls, which will be necessitated by the Act, can be used to stall polls to the NPC to be held in September this year.
“Anyone can go to court and stall the Northern elections,” said V Anandasangaree, President of the Tamil United Liberation Front. The National Freedom Front (NFF) and other Sinhalese political parties are campai-
gning against the NPC elections, as they fear that power may go into the hands of the “pro-LTTE” Tamil National Alliance (TNA).
Envoy Arrives in SL
Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha, the new High Commissioner of India to SL, arrived in Colombo on Tuesday.
Better known as Y K Sinha, the envoy had previously handled several important assignments at the Ministry of External Affairs, and in Indian missions in the Middle East, Europe, South America and the Permanent Mission of India at the UN.
And these are the buggers we should jump into bed with?
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600 pro-Tamil outfit workers arrested in Ooty
By PTI - UDHAGAMANDALAM
NewIndianExpress.com
18th June 2013 02:53 PM
Some 600 activists belonging to pro-Tamil Eelam outfits were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly attempting to march to the Defence Services Staff College at Wellington, 15 km from here, where two Sri Lankan defence personnel are undergoing training.
Protesting against the training, the activists demanded resignation of Defence Minister A K Antony for giving "false" assurance that no Sri Lankan military personnel would be given training on Tamil Nadu soil.
The activists shouted slogans against the central government, which, they alleged, was taking an anti-Tamil stand.
They also burnt the effigies of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa besides the Sri Lankan national flag.
Police said the activists were stopped some three km from the college and arrested.
Talking to reporters, K Ramakrishnan, General Secretary, Thanthai Periyar Dravida Kazhakam (TPDK), said like-minded parties and organisations have decided to stage demonstrations in front of Congress Offices in Tamil Nadu and also against Central Ministers from the state, dates for which would be announced later.
Besides TPDK, workers from Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, MDMK, Vanigar Sangham and Federation of Tamil National Students, participated in the demonstration, police said.
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently, chief minister Jayalalithaa had slammed the Centre for being "insensitive" on the issue of training Sri Lankan defence personnel and asked it not to train them until Colombo takes satisfactory and credible action to end human rights violations against Tamils.
She had said two Lankan officers--Wing Commander MS Bandara Dassanayke and Major CS Harishchandra Hettiarachchige--were undergoing training at Wellington, which, she said, was a matter of "grave import that greatly offends the sensitivities and sentiments of people of Tamil Nadu."
My comments on the above article at NewIndianExpress.com:
Tamils Feelings are sooo tender NOW that they have conveniently forgotten the terrorists they trained in Tamil Nadu and that the Indian RAW injected into Sri Lanka ultimately killing 150,000 Sri Lankan citizens. How about the gun running and the close support they gave the LTTE to inflict 1,000 Mumbai attacks on Sri Lanka?
Forget Tamil feelings, consider instead the Feelings of the Sri Lankans who endured 30 years of being shot, bombed, hanged and tortured, and sliced and diced by the hundreds in the dead of the night by your darling murderous followers of the Eelamist SunGod.
I agree on ONE thing: Sri Lanka should stop sending our defence personnel to India for training … send them to China INSTEAD, now that our CLOSEST COUSINS have become our WORST ENEMIES!
Ananda-USA Says:
June 19th, 2013 at 3:01 pm
Another Comment on the above article at NewIndianExpress.com:
Oh, by the way, was it not this same Jayalalitha who was under a Death Sentence from the LTTE and pleaded for security from Karunanidhi, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu?
Dear old “Nidhi” revelled in the opportunity to deny it of course … how could he prevent his hero … the late unlamented SunGod Velupillai Prabhakaran, to whom he wrote laudatory poems … ANYTHING … including the lady actresses’s head on a platter?
Now that the militants of LTTE have been eradicated by Leaf, Branch, Trunk and Root from Sri Lanka, Jayalalitha finds it politically convenient …. and SAFE … to espouse the Eelamist cause … to increase her grip on her job as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
No wonder caste discrimination and abject poverty of the People of Tamil Nadu CANNOT be SOLVED with demagogues like this holding onto power!!
But, Jayalalitha, don’t look behind you …. BOO … the LTTE is resurrecting itself … in Tamil Nadu! Think you can handle them???
The Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa says:
1. During the height of Eelam War IV, the three-member delegation to India comprising the Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, then Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa, and the Defence Secretary told India, represented by National Security Advisor M. K. Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, that POLICE POWERS WILL NOT BE DEVOLVED under the 13th Amendment and Narayanan had FULLY AGREED with it.
2. When President Rajapaksa had assured India as well as other countries that his government would offer 13th Amendment plus, the President had meant was that he would give a better solution acceptable to all communities. It was misinterpreting the President’s assurance to propagate the falsehood that the government was ready to implement the 13th Amendment, which was forced on the then President JR Jayawardenene.
THERE YOU HAVE IT .... Straight talk from the Defence Secretary, that India was made aware that the 13th Amendment would be modified to EXCLUDE Police Powers even during the Eelam War, and that the 13th Amendment Plus would not be the same as what was forced down Sri Lanka's THROAT by India, but was one that would serve ALL of Sri Lanka's citizens better.
Agreements made UNDER DURESS are ILLEGAL under ANY LAW. They can be, should be, and will be ABROGATED as soon as the VICTIM OF CRIMINAL COMPULSION regains its free will. IN FACT, it is the DUTY of the VICTIM to DO SO!
It is PREPOSTEROUS to claim that Sri Lanka is DUTY-BOUND in any way to retain the 13th Amendment forced down its throat by India to satisfy her need for regional hegemony and to placate Indian Racists pursuing a Greater Tamil Nadu agenda!
Sri Lanka must be governed to serve Sri Lanka's National Interest, not to serve India's interests!
RISE UP .... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... RISE UP, in your TENS of MILLIONS, to REPEAL this Indian BALL & CHAIN shackling Mother Lanka's limbs, NOW!
..........................
PCs won’t have police powers, Govt. has told India
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
June 19, 2013, 10:06 pm
India had been informed of Sri Lanka’s decision not to devolve police powers to provinces at the height of the conflict, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said yesterday.
The Defence Secretary said that both, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and he, had emphasised during deliberations with senior Indian officials that devolution of police powers would be inimical to the national interest as well as political stability. "We made our position clear during talks involving top level delegations from Sri Lanka and India", he told The Island.
The three-member delegation comprised Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, then Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa and the Defence Secretary. The troika functioned as an informal group on behalf of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to inform and interact with all those who matter, within and outside the country, in general and on events unfolding in Sri Lanka from time to time and visited New Delhi several times during the war.
India was represented by National Security Advisor M. K. Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Defence Secretary Vijay Singh.
PCs won’t have police powers, Govt. has told India
...Continued 1 .....
The Defence Secretary was responding to Indian media reports of Indian Premier Manmohan Singh expressing concern over President Rajapaksa’s decision to amend the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The Defence Secretary said vesting provinces with police powers would be inimical to the interests of minorities. Recollecting a discussion they had in New Delhi, Rajapaksa said that when Narayanan queried from Singh what he thought of Rajapaksa’s opposition to police powers being devolved to provinces, the Indian Defence Secretary had agreed fully with him.
When it was pointed out that President Rajapaksa had assured India as well as other countries that his government would offer 13th Amendment plus, the Defence Secretary said that what the President had meant was that he would give a better solution acceptable to all communities. It would be nothing but foolish to misinterpret the President’s assurance to propagate the falsehood that the government was ready to implement the 13th Amendment, which was forced on the then President JRJ.
Responding to allegations that Sri Lanka had gone back on its promise to implement the 13th Amendment after the conclusion of the conflict, the Defence Secretary alleged that it was the government of India that voted for the US-led resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) after having promised to throw its weight behind Sri Lanka. "India let us down in Geneva, very badly," the Defence Secretary said.
Commenting on the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to study the national issue and make recommendations, the Defence Secretary said that the tangible actions would have to be taken to ensure the 13th Amendment wouldn’t be the cause for further chaos. If implemented fully as it is it could create a volatile situation not only in the Northern Province but other regions as well, the Defence Secretary said.
Sri Lanka introduces technology stream to the school curriculum
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 20, Colombo: With the intention of preparing the youth to suit the modern high-tech employment market, Sri Lanka has taken measures to enrich the school curriculum with a new subject stream that focuses on advance technologies.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse today at a ceremony held in Temple Trees introduced the new Technology stream to the G. C. E. (Advanced Level) curriculum.
The Technology stream is introduced in addition to the current subject streams, Arts, Science, Mathematics and Commerce.
The initiative aims to transform Sri Lanka into a center of knowledge under the Mahinda Chintana programme.
Speaking at the occasion the President said introducing technology as a subject in schools will be a turning point of education in Sri Lanka and the measures needed for opening new opportunities for the nation's children have been taken.
He requested the parents also to deviate from traditional thinking and have attitudinal changes regarding the education of their children to fit the modern day needs.
The minimum qualifications to pursue the technology stream in GCE Advanced Level will be credit passes in science and mathematics at the GCE Ordinary Level examination. Candidates without credit passes in these subjects are still able to follow the technology course if they have credit passes in three other subjects.
The President registered Chalani Premachandra of Devi Balika Vidyalaya in Colombo as the first student via satellite technology to follow the technology subject stream.
President Rajapaksa donated his salary for the month of June and initiated the Mahindodaya Scholarship Fund for school students.
He also handed over the technology curriculum to principals of nine schools representing the nine provinces in the country.
Minister Bandula Gunawardena at the occasion said that three subjects for the technology stream will be introduced shortly. Along with the introduction of new technology subject stream at the Advanced Level, the number of courses that can be followed at the universities has been increased in 2013.
Ministers S. B. Dissanayake, Duminda Dissanayake and Dullas Alahapperuma, MP Mohan Lal Grero, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga and Secretary to the Education Ministry Gotabhaya Jayaratne were also present.
(Photos by Sudath Silva)
The statement by M.A.Sumanthiran of the TNA (Tiger Nominated Agents), to wit:
“ India should take “measures” to ensure that the Sri Lankan government does not succeed in robbing provincial councils of certain powers under the 13th amendment and that they, hope that India will take measures to arrest the trend and reverse the process and hold Sri Lanka to its word (of going beyond the 13th amendment)”
is a CLEAR CASE of HIGH TREASON by a Sri Lankan citizen, in that it INVITES INTERVENTION by a FOREIGN POWER in the INTERNAL AFFAIRS of Sri Lanka.
In the US, such a statement by a US Citizen would be rewarded by ARREST, CONVICTION and IMPRISONMENT on the charge of HIGH TREASON. Many US citizens, including the "American Taliban" have found out to their great dismay that TREASON does not pay. Consequently, the number of such cases are VERY FEW; that is what RIGOROUS ENFORCEMENT to the FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW yields: DETERRENCE of others from fllowing the path of TREASON against one's own country.
That DETERRENCE OF TREASON is what is ABSENT in Sri Lanka today. This is NOT THE FIRST TIME that TNA leaders have committed TREASON. It started LONG AGO while their NOT-SO-ILLUSTRIOUS LEADER, the late unlamented self-styled SunGod, Velupillai Prabhakaran, who commanded their slavish obedience to TREACHERY, was waging terrorist WAR against their country.
The GOSL MUST enforce the TREASON Laws already on the books, and STRENGTHEN THESE LAWS as the Organization of Professional Associations (OPA) of Sri Lanka, under Dr. Nath Amerakone's leadership, has DEMANDED.
The GOSL will RUE THE DAY when they FAILED TO ENFORCE the TREASON Laws, when Separatist Traitors connive, plot and orchestrate the disintegration of Sri Lanka with Foreign Powers, with IMPUNITY and FREE OF ANY FEAR OF PUNISHMENT!
Rise Up ... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... Rise Up to DEFEND and PROTECT your Nation and your People. REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DEMOLISH the Provincial Council System COMPLETELY without delay!
Comment at LankaWeb.com:
Lorenzo,
Aloy was mostly right, and you were mostly wrong on why Hitler decided too go around Switzerland, instead of going through it to attack the Allies in France.
Hitler demanded (in secret) access to the French frontier through Switzerland. Switzerland, which has traditionally stayed out of big-power wars in Europe, except to provide mercenary soldiers for hire to whoever could pay, refused. When Britain and France declared War on the Axis Powers because of treaty obligations to Poland invaded by Germany (and the Soviet Union), Switzerland was the First European Country to mobilize its 2 million man citizen Army. They had prepared their "peoples strategy" of national defence soon after Switzerland became a nation; it is adopted today by many small nations confronting much more populous enemies, such as Israel and Taiwan. The Swiss had NO HOPE of winning a sustained conflict, but they could make the PRICE of such an invasion TOO HIGH for the INVADER. That is called DETERRENCE!
Hitler threatened to invade Switzerland and crush its forces; the Swiss retorted that each of their soldiers would fire one shot killing a German soldier, before succumbing to the superior mechanized forces of the Wehrmacht. Hitler backed down, not wanting the cream of his force to be bloodied on a secondary front, giving the Allies warning and sufficient time to reposition their forces to counter his invasion strategy, designed to avoid a repeat of the static trench warfare of WW I, in which he fought as a corporal. Instead, Hitler assaulted the weakly defended part of the Maginot line in the Ardenne forest which the French, who had assumed a mechanized thrust through this heavily forested region to be impossible, had not manned in depth. German paratroopers dropped behind the lines surrounded and cutoff the strong points along the Maginot line, while the bulk of the German forces circumvented the strong points and thrusting through the Ardenne forests moved in behind the French and British forces. They then turned right to move into the rear of the Allied Armies concentrated along the lowlands of Belgian Frontier on which another Geman Army had made a fake assault to tie down the forces there. Hitler wanted very much to avoid a repeat of the trench warfare of WW I, knowing that his material resources were much more limited than those of the Allies. The rest is HISTORY.
My BASIC POINT is: Just like the Swiss, the reconstituted Sri Lanka Armed Forces of today, with a National Militia comprising EVERY ABLE BODIED man and woman able to serve in a National Guard, can bloody ANY INVADING Army to inflict unacceptable costs. After that initial resistene from prepared positions, the strategy must be NOT TO CONFRONT a SUPERIOR ENEMY in CONVENTIONAL BATTLE, but to resort to extended guerilla warfare, just as the LTTE did against the Indian Army, the Taliban is doing in Afghanistan right now, and our ancestors did against European Colonial Powers many hundreds of years ago, to make continued occupation IMPOSSIBLE.
Like the French and US in Vietnam, the British, the Soviets and the US in Afghanistan, the FOREIGNERS MUST ULTIMATELY GO HOME to ESCAPE UNACCEPTABLE loss of blood and treasure to themselves. The WILL & DETERMINATION of the indigenous PATRIOTIC FORCES of a country, fighting for their hearth and home, suitably organized and marshalled as an entire nation resisting occupation, CANNOT BE DEFEATED by foreigners! They can be defeated ONLY by themselves IF the FOREIGNERS succeed in dividing the Patriotic Forces and make them fight each other.
.....Continued......
It is this COMBINED strategy that our ANCESTORS used for 400 years to hold at bay the Portuguese, the Dutch and initially the British forces. The British finally triumphed to hold Sri Lanka in bondage for 150 years, only because the Sinhala chiefs turned on their Tamil King. The Patriots lost because of division among themselves!
There is NO COMPARABLE RECORD of SUSTAINED RESISTANCE by Indigenous Forces to Western Colonialists in the Historical Record .... anywhere in the world.
In fact, there exists an Official Document written by the Governor of the Portuguese Colonies in Asia to the King of Portugal in National Archives in Lisbon, Portugal. It recommends, and requests permission to ABANDON Sri Lanka, and evacuate all Portuguese personnel from Sri Lanka, because WARFARE against the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka was costing the Portuguese more in treasure and soldiers lives than all of the rest of the Portuguese Colonial Possessions in Asia. That is the TRUE MEASURE of How Successfully Our Ancestors Fought to Preserve their Liberty and their Heritage.
Can we DO ANY LESS?
My Comment at LankaWeb.com:
Aloy,
Every country crafts its foreign policy to serve its own National Interest. We Sri Lankans, as the citizens of a very small country, must understand the National Interests of each country we deal with, and not rely on any ONE of them to the extent that we are IRRETRIEVABLY WEDDED to them. By understanding their National Interests, we can avoid demanding of them MORE SUPPORT THAN they can deliver to us. We should make sure that the NET BENEFIT to them of supporting Sri Lanka is NOT NEGATIVE!
For example, China's economy primarily depends on its exports to Western countries (EU and US). Therefore, while China is politically opposed to them, and is rapidly arming to defend itself against a repeat of their past interactions with Colonial Western Powers, they are not keen to destroy their export markets. Given the current technological edge that Western countries have, it will take several decades before China can be technologically independent of the West. China will not abandon its National Interest to help Sri Lanka, and it is up to Sri Lanka to understand how far the Chinese can, and are willing to, go in helping us.
As you point out, the development loans we are getting from China, are not free and are quite expensive. The Chinese workers who work in Sri Lanka take many jobs that Sri Lankans could do, but the development projects are tied to giving them those jobs. So, these projects are very profitable for the Chinese. But, no other country is willing to risk giving Sri Lanka such loans, and the technical assistance we need at any price. Historically, China has always been very supportive of Sri Lanka, going back to the time of the Rubber-Rice Pact in the wwake of the Nationalization of the Oil Companies in Sri Lanka. As the world's richest banker, China is a very good friend to have on our side.
On the other hand, Western countries are NOT INTERESTED in TRANSFERRING TECHNOLOGY to Sri Lanka so Sri Lanka can COMPETE WITH THEM in the future. For example, when Britain had a Colonial Empire, they discouraged various indigenous industries and only promoted those things that could serve as raw materials for their factories in Britain. They discouraged rice production in Sri Lanka, letting the ancient irrigation systems go to rack and ruin, but encouraged rice production in Burma which they shipped to Sri Lanka and sold at a high price. They encouraged cotton and jute production in Egypt and India which they shipped to British weaving mills and sold them at very high prices back to the populations of those countries. Perhaps the worst thing they did was to grow opium in ndia and Burma and sell it to the Chinese, militarily threatening and extracting the right to do so from Imperial China.
...Continued from Above....
Furthermore, if we get a billion dollar loan from the US, we will have to agree to selling our mother, our first born, and our sovereignty over to the US, giving the US full authority over our security, our economy, our religion, our politics, and our form of government. Unending streams of Evangelical Missionaries will pile into Sri Lanka to harvest sous for religions that their own Americans will not buy at any price! Do you see any US Aid Grants for big infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka? Do you see a major Hospital, Freeway, Bridge, University, Computer Technology Center, Power Plant, Harbor, Airport, Steel or Aluminum Production mill, granted by this immensely rich only Super Power. No, you will not see that. What we get is a measly $25 million dollars per year for "human rights" and "democracy development" given directly to their favorite NGOs who assist them to undermine and destabilize Sri Lanka. On the basis of this pittance in "underground aid" to Sri Lanka, the US deems itself qualified and entitled to speak AUTHORITATIVELY and PUNITIVELY on all Sri Lankan issues: It is ALL STICK and NO CARROT! All that we really get from the US is a market for our products and scholarships directly from American Universities for some of our best and brightest students, who are increasingly returning to serve the Motherland.
I love the USA, and have done all I can to foster friendship between Sri Lanka and the US, and still do; but I have to realistically say that this is how things have turned out in US-Sri Lanka relations. Sad, but TRUE!
Finally, I must DISAGREE with your assessment of the quality of Chinese goods. In my own alternative energy and military robotics engineering R&D business, I primarily use Chinese equipment and products, which are of good quality at an affordable price. It is up to the buyer to examine and assess the quality of the product before buying more than one. Even if I were to buy from an American company, it would be manufactured in China. 95% of products Americans buy are now manufactured in China. The only significant exception is food and agricultural products, which is in high demand in China. The situation is quite similar to the Japanese goods we bought after the end of WW II. Initially the quality was quite bad; then they improved. Today "Made in Japan" is a much sought after symbol of the HIGHEST QUALITY. China has completed its passage through that first stage of junk production, and is now producing goods of quite good quality. Even copies of the latest Apple products, the originals of which are also made in China, are amazingly good. I just bought a high-end digital oscilloscope from a Chinese manufacturer at a small fraction of one from a US manufacturer... and I am amazed at its high quality and features! 95% of the world's Photovoltaic Panels are made in China. Most of them are of excellent quality and reliability. As always, the watchword is .... Caveat Emptor!
Lorenzo said,
"Endia can use their weapons of choice against us and we stand ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE.
Our air force is PRIMITIVE. Endia has a WORLD CALSS air force.
Our navy is PRIMITIVE. Endia has a WORLD CLASS navy.
Our missiles are PRIMITIVE and do NOT reach Endia!!!! Endian missiles can reach ANY part of SL."
I DISAGREE. These are SIMILAR to the arguments of the past that the LTTE was INVINCIBLE, and we should GIVE UP!
India has a WORLD CLASS air force and navy; so did the US in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, but the US was forced to abandon the fight in the end.
Indian missiles can reach any part of Sri Lanka which does not have missiles that can return the favor; so did the US in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, but the US was forced to abandon the fight in the end.
Even today the US uses drones to kill Taliban leaders (and scores of innocents as "collateral damage", but it is UNABLE to change the situation on the ground. The Taliban survives and the US is bending over backwards to get a peace agreement with the Taliban, while Karzai angrily protests at being left out of the process, and wants the US to BUTT OUT! No, in the end .... the Taliban will resume control over Afghanistan, just as North Vietnam and the VietCong reunified Vietnam despite a HUGE EXPENDITURE of blood and treasure by the USA.
I DISAGREE that these very substantial but costly advantages enjoyed by India will yield them a victory over Sri Lanka practicing ASSYMMETRIC WARFARE. These weapons systems are very costly to purchase and maintain; profligate defence expenditures on such advanced weapons were an important factor that brought the US economy to its knees in the Bush Administration. The US is STILL trying to recover.
Surrounded by Powerful ENEMIES along ALL of their LAND BORDERS, India cannot afford to engage in a SUSTAINED ASYMMETRIC war on Sri Lanka that will drain its military hardware and its national budgets. They HAVE TO SAVE their most advanced weapons for use against their PRINCIPAL ENEMIES: China and Pakistan. Even now there is an ongoing anxious debate in India about the severe deficiencies of India's military vis-a-vis China, and their INABILITY to cope with the RAPID GROWTH of China's military capabilities. No, India is not going to waste their resources on fighting Sri Lanka if Sri Lanka DEPLOYS and DEMONSTRATES sufficient DETERRENCE.
The POINT is: The division of Sri Lanka into Communal Fiefdoms under the 13th Amendment will setup autonomous sub-national fifth columns within Sri Lanka that will ultimately DESTROY Sri Lanka. We cannot allow this to CONTINUE; Sri Lanka's LONG TERM SURVIVAL is at stake. Better to bite the bullet and fight for Sri Lanka's National Future NOW, rather permit and Eelam to GROW and then let the Nation die without a whimper later.
BTW, I am APPALLED by your strategy: "We should also have a plan to DISTRIBUTE millions of guns, claymore mines, grenades, landmines to willing patriots to “take care of” “existing Endian invaders” in SL. The army cannot do these things officially." That is not only MORALLY REPUGNANT, but it will DESTROY sovereign Sri Lanka and create an Eelam QUICKER than anything else. It will bring the whole world down upon Sri Lanka's head, as they did upon Serbia during the Bosnian war.
We AGREE, dear Mr. President, let the PEOPLE of Sri Lanka decide whether to REPEAL or KEEP the 13th Amendmment in a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM ..... But do it NOW, IMMEDIATELY without Further DELAY before the Nation is torn apart by this issue.
If it is REPEALED in the REFERENDUM, we can SAVE the funds spent on USELESS PC Elections. If not, you can modify the 13th Amendment appropriately, in ANOTHER REFERENDUM, before the PC Elections.
Unfettered National Elections to ELECT Representatives to the National Parliament is ENOUGH FRANCHISE for ANY Law-Abiding Sri Lankan citizen. Only Separatists seeking Communal Fiefdoms, and Power Hungry Bureaucrats wanting to live off their captive people want to PERPETUATE the Provincial Councils. We have TOO MUCH BUREAUCRACY in Sri Lanka .... ENOUGH is ENOUGH!
Yes, Indeed .... Cushy jobs given relatives and political stooges in the PC Bureaucracy is the FIRST of the FOUR Reasons for why the PC System should be DEMOLISHED that I had identified in a previous comment.
Therefore, it is also the FIRST of the FOUR BARRIERS that PREVENTS dismantling of the Provincial Councils, because each of them is supported by some group of current and future beneficiaries.
The GOSL secures its support partly from the giving of these patronage jobs, and therefore, maybe UNWILLING to move EXPEDITIOUSLY on this .... in the National Interest.
The only HOPE is that PATRIOTISM and GOOD SENSE of the Leaders at the VERY TOP will PREVAIL over GREED.
The GOOD SENSE is important, because the current EATING of all the HOGS at the Provincial Council TROUGH will come to an end if the Nation DISINTEGRATES into a Patchwork of Warring Communal Fiefdoms. NO ONE will be safe enough to be able to enjoy the swill.
REPEALING of the 13th Amendment, and DISSOLVING the Provincial Council System NOW is really the last phase of the Eelam War: EELAM WAR V. Lose this, and we will Unravel & lose ALL THE GAINS MADE at HUGE COST in BLOOD & TREASURE by defeating the LTTE militarily in Eelam War IV.
The Leaders of Sri Lanka will be HELD RESPONSIBLE by the Long-Suffering Patriotic People of Sri Lanka if they fail to do their DUTY TO PROTECT the Nation and its People.
RISE UP .... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... RISE UP in your TENS OF MILLIONS ... to SWEEP AWAY this FOREIGN BALL & CHAIN holding Mother Lanka HOSTAGE to eventual DESTRUCTION.
Artificial island to come up near H’tota Port
By Shirajiv Sirimane in Hambantota
DailyNews.lk
June 22, 2013
For the first time an artificial island would be created near the Hambantota Port to be used for leisure activities.The historic project would be undertaken by Sri Lankan Engineers attached to the Ports Authority of Sri Lanka. “The feasibility studies in this regard has been done and we are awaiting the final clearance from the government,” an official from the SLPA said. “We are looking at creating a minimum five acre island,” he said. The second phase of the Hambantota port project is scheduled to commence soon with dredging on the last stretch currently in progress.
The project is funded by the China Exim Bank and the contractor is China Harbour Engineering Company. “Around 40,000 cubic meters has to be dredged and the earth from this would be used to fill this proposed island.” He said that when completed this land would be leased out to local and international companies to start up leisure sector ventures.The SLPA was expected to call for international tenders after the completion of the island. In addition the SLPA is also planning to build a similar Port city near the Colombo harbour. Meanwhile 98% of the construction of the Southern Province's tallest building, the 14 storeyed SLPA administrative complex have been completed. This complex will facilitate the administrative and engineering divisions of the Hambantota Port. Overlooking the Hambantota coastline, the building is situated inside the port premises, within 500 meters from the docks.
Designed by Tanya & Suren Wickramasinghe Architects, the building would also offer apartments for top executives and others. “The seventh eighth, ninth and tenth floors would be rented out for this purpose.”
The second investment round of the Request for Proposals (RFP) of the Hambantota port has attracted an investment of one billion US dollars from eleven export oriented manufacturing and processing industries and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority was awaiting the Cabinet approval to finalize the proposed deals.
The bunkering facilities at the Port were ready for commercial operations. “The bunkering facilities at the Hambantota sea port, set up at a cost of US$ 76.5 million, are ready and the tank farm has commenced operations.” Construction of the tank farm and bunkering facilities were started in October 2009 and completed last year.
Han Quin Engineering Construction Company of China was the contractor for the tank farm. “This would bring additional revenue to the Hambantota Port.
JAYAWEWA! This is something I had STRONGLY advocated in the past to PROTECT the native people of Sri Lanka from foreign predators.
Given the huge DISPARITY IN WEALTH between Sri Lankan citizens and those in developed countries, there is a DISTINCT POSSIBILITY that Sri Lankans would be converted from landowners into renters ... in their own Motherland ... just like the Hawaiins today.
Citizenship is MEANINGLESS if the land belongs to foreigners!
Today they would be owner-investors, tomorrow they will DEMAND citizenship as well, creating another route to citizenship dispossessing the native people!
................
Sri Lanka bans sale of state or private lands to foreigners
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 22, Colombo: the Sri Lankan government will prepare legislation banning the further sale of state or private land to non-citizens.
Sri Lanka President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning has forwarded a proposal to the Cabinet of Ministers seeking approval to instruct the Legal Draftsman to draft legislation to impose restrictions on transfer of lands to foreigners.
Accordion to the President's proposal, transfer of state or private land by way of a sale, donation, gift, or by any other disposition to a person who is not a citizen of Sri Lanka will be prohibited.
Further a sale cannot be sold or transferred to a company incorporated in Sri Lanka where any foreign shareholding of such Company is 50 % or above to a Foreign Company, unless exemption is granted in terms of the proposed Act.
Under the proposed act, the state or private lands could be leased out subject to stipulations to non-citizens for a maximum period of 99 years, instead of outright sale.
The Cabinet has given its approval to the proposed legislation.
WONDERFUL! The British Tamil Forum is one of the main Eelamist Tamil Diaspora organizations. If they don't want Power Devolved under the 13th Amendment, then the GOSL will NEVER satisfy the Eelamist Tamil DEMANDS with it, because it is the Eelamist Tamil Diaspora that is driving the pressure brought to bear on Sri Lanka by Western countries to do devolve power.
It is JUST AS WE HAVE SAID ALL ALONG: No reasonable accommodation can be achieved with the Eelamists; they want outright secession, just as the late unlamented Velupillai Prabhakaran wanted all along. He fought when he felt powerful, and talked when he was on the ropes, but NEVER BUDGED from his goal of an INDEPENDENT EELAM STATE. So it is with the Eelamists of today.
Therefore, AT LEAST NOW, dear Mr. President, TAKE A STAND and set an EARLY DATE for a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM to REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVE the Provincial Council System, and LET THE SOVEREIGN PEOPLE OF Sri Lanka DECIDE the ISSUE!
The RIGHT TO ELECT one's candidates to the National Parliament is FRANCHISE ENOUGH for any Law Abiding Citizen. Only SEPARATISTS and Provincial Council Bureaucrats with CUSHY JOBS paid by the Sri Lankan Taxpayer want Provincial Councils. GET RID OF THEM, they are a source of ABUSE & WASTE, and are a RAVE THREAT to the INTEGRITY OF THE COUNTRY. Tiny Sri Lana DOES NOT NEED another layer of EXPENSIVE & UNNECESSARY BUREAUCRACY .... it makes Sri Lanka NON_COMPETITIVE in the Global Marketplace!
NEVER .... NEVER ..... NEVER let the UNREPENTANT SEPARATISTS Control Provincial Councils, or we will have COMMUNAL WARFARE AGAIN in Sri Lanka!
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British Tamils Forum Rejects Any Political Solution Based On The 13th Amendment
ColomboTelegraph.com
June 16, 2013
“Tamils reject any political solution based on the 13th amendment – it neither addresses the root cause of the conflict nor safeguards the Tamil national interest on the island.” says the British Tamils Forum.
Issuing a statement the British Tamils Forum says it insists that any political solution to the Tamil National Question has to be conducted through an internationally mediated referendum – only this can lay the foundation for a lasting peace and satisfy the socio-political and economic aspirations of the Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka.
British Tamils Forum Rejects Any Political Solution Based On The 13th Amendment
.....Continued 1.....
We publish below the statement in full;
Tamils reject any political solution based on the 13th amendment – it neither addresses the root cause of the conflict nor safeguards the Tamil national interest on the island.
The 13th Amendment to the constitution, entrenched in the unitary state-centric model, cannot address the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka.
This amendment to the constitution is not in any way a starting point, an interim or a final solution to the conflict and it prevents any lasting negotiated settlement, reached with the support of the International Community. The British Tamils Forum strongly denounces any efforts to impose this unsupported and failed political response, which was reached for the benefit and interest of two countries – India and Sri Lanka – without consulting the Tamil Nation.
The 13th Amendment has several flaws: executive power will be exercised by a Provincial Governor appointed by the President; public services in the province will be controlled by the Governor; the President has the power to dissolve the Provincial Council; the Governor is not duty bound to the advice or instructions of the Chief Minister; the executive power of the Governor is subject to the control of the President; the Provincial Council cannot access the Provincial Fund without the sanction of the Governor; power over the police and public order is retained by the President; and the Disposition of State Land is also in the hands of the President; among many others.
Due to these flaws and inadequate provisions, it has been consistently rejected by the Tamil people and political leadership at several democratic stages, in the past and at present, ever since this bilateral agreement was signed between India and Sri Lanka.
The genocidal actions – pogroms, massacres, colonisation, land dispossession – committed by the Sri Lankan state in the Tamil homelands even under the current provincial council system foreshadow the realities of life following the 13th amendment.
All those who seek a genuine solution to the Tamil question must remain vigilant against falling into the traps that have been set by the Sri Lankan state and certain external forces to impose the 13th Amendment or a watered-down version of 13th Amendment upon the Tamils.
The Sri Lankan state, through its hard-line allies and ultra nationalist forces, has initiated a political campaign encouraging hard-line views and xenophobic sentiments on the 13th Amendment, with a view to diluting the amendment even further to its interest, before thrusting it upon the Tamils. This is clearly visible to observers of contemporary southern politics.
In the contrast, certain external actors who aspire to play the role of ‘saviour’ in the Tamil-Sinhalese political arena are pushing for implementation of the 13th Amendment in its entirety, in the pretext of rescuing the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
On these grounds, the British Tamils Forum stands in solidarity with our people in our Tamil Homeland and state that any political initiatives grounded in the 13th Amendment cannot be feasible and will not create an enduring peace in Sri Lanka.
The British Tamils Forum insists that any political solution to the Tamil National Question has to be conducted through an internationally mediated referendum – only this can lay the foundation for a lasting peace and satisfy the socio-political and economic aspirations of the Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka.
President Rajapaksa is duty bound to act on the wishes of the PREPONDERANT MAJORITY of his People; that is how a Democracy works. He can’t do what other countries have forced down Sri Lanka’s unwilling throat at gunpoint, against the WILL of the People of his country.
The British Tamil Forum has REJECTED Devolution under the 13th Amendment; SECESSION is what they need … RIGHT AWAY!
The British Tamil Forum is one of the main Eelamist Tamil Diaspora organizations. If they don’t want Power Devolved under the 13th Amendment, then the GOSL will NEVER satisfy the Eelamist Tamil DEMANDS with it, because it is the Eelamist Tamil Diaspora that is driving the pressure brought to bear on Sri Lanka by Western countries to devolve power.
It is JUST AS WE HAVE SAID ALL ALONG: No reasonable accommodation can be achieved with the Eelamists that does not give them a base and the power to proceed towards Eelam. Even now they want what amounts to outright secession, just as the late unlamented Velupillai Prabhakaran wanted all along. He fought when he felt powerful and ready, and talked when he was on the ropes, but NEVER BUDGED from his goal of an INDEPENDENT EELAM STATE. So it is with the Eelamists of today.
Therefore, AT LEAST NOW, dear Mr. President, TAKE A STAND and set an EARLY DATE for a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM (NOT a REFERENDUM in the Northern and/or Eastern Provinces only) to REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DISSOLVE the Provincial Council System, and LET ALL OF THE SOVEREIGN PEOPLE OF Sri Lanka DECIDE the ISSUE!
The RIGHT TO ELECT one’s candidates to the National Parliament is FRANCHISE ENOUGH for any Law-Abiding Citizen. Only SEPARATISTS and Provincial Council BUREAUCRATS trying to hang on to their CUSHY JOBS paid captive Sri Lankan Taxpayers want Provincial Council Fiefdoms.
GET RID OF ALL Provincial Councils; they are a source of ABUSE & WASTE, and are a GRAVE THREAT to the INTEGRITY OF THE COUNTRY. Tiny Sri Lanka DOES NOT NEED another layer of EXPENSIVE & UNNECESSARY BUREAUCRACY to harass its people …. it makes Sri Lanka NON-COMPETITIVE in the Global Marketplace!
NEVER …. NEVER ….. NEVER let UNREPENTANT SEPARATISTS Control Provincial Councils transforming Sri Lanka into a Patchwork Quilt of Communal Bantustans, or we will have COMMUNAL WARFARE AGAIN in Sri Lanka!
Adele Balasingham, War Crimes And Hypocrisy
By S. V. Kirubaharan
ColomboTelegraph.com
June 19, 2013
My Comment:
...................
In the second video, a jaundiced "journalist" says that the GOSL is "sharing" the language of the US war on terror .... implying that it is without justification.
I would say to this blind and deaf self-styled "journalist" that in the last 30 years no other country has been subjected to more terrorism than Sri Lanka.
When the US World Trade Center was attacked and 3,000 odd innocents are killed ... that was held up as the ultimate act of terror ... and the US launched a Global War on Terror in response, fabricating a FAKE WMD accusation to invade and kill over 1.5 million people (British "Lancet" report)in Iraq. Forgotten in this rhetoric is that the First World Trade Center bombing took place in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The truck bombing of the ATF HQ in Oklahoma was preceded by the truck bombing of the Bank of Ceylon building in Colombo. The train and bus bombings in London were preceded by the murder of hundreds of Sri Lankans in trains (e.g., Dehiwala) and in buses and bus stops all over Sri Lanka.
In a population of over 300 million, US citizens suffered just over 3,000 dead, whereas in a population of approximately 21 million, Sri Lankan citizens suffered over 150,000 dead and countless injured and orphaned.
With the possible exception of Iraq, Sri Lanka has a much greater claim to sympathy and support in its war against terror, than any other country I know.
Whisper to me softly, dear blind and deaf "journalist" offering fig leaves to hide the nakedness of Eelamist terrorists, if my lips do not speak the truth!
My Riposte to a Comment on Shenali Waduge's article entitled "Buddhism Bashing Columnists" at ColomboTelegraph.com:
I am afraid neither “Panchaseela” nor “Love & Compassion” will protect and defend the lives of the citizens of Sri Lanka. They didn’t for 30 long years in Sri Lanka, until a few brave leaders summoned the will and the determination to defeat the murderous terrorist separatists of Sri Lanka by Leaf, Branch, Trunk and Root.
“Panchaseela” is a great ideal that should reign where the environment permits, but in an imperfect world, which spawns diabolical monsters like Hitler, Pol Pot and the late unlamented SunGod, Velupillai Prabhakaran, “Panchaseela” will not work. Passive acquiescence is a prescription for EXTINCTION of the Sri Lankan People.
Jesus Christ also preached Love and Kindness. Yet, the Christian “civilized” countries of Europe have waged the most awful wars in history, and committed mass slaughter of humans in concentration camps. Would “Panchaseela” have worked there?
No, “Panchaseela” will not protect us, it is only a laudable Buddhist ideal to guide us. In this world we must struggle with our brawn and our brains to survive and hold onto our humanity the best we can. Our ancestors had to, we will too, and so will the untold generations of our descendents who will follow us. It is up to us to do what we can to leave Sri Lanka as a economically and militarily strong unified Nation for them. That is "Panchaseela".
ONE Indivisible Nation, of ONE Inseparable People, sharing ONE Indomitable Destiny backed up with the strength and the power to enable “Panchaseela” to reign.
The most PREPOSTEROUS thing is, that Sri Lanka is STILL paying heed to India, which initiated, trained, funded, and orchestrated Tamil Separatist Terrorism in Sri Lanka, allowing India even to modify our Nation's Constitution.
The 13th Amendment was rammed down Sri Lanka's throat at GUNPOINT; it is Sri Lanka's PATRIOTIC duty to get rid of this FOREIGN IMPOSED BALL & CHAIN shackling Mother Lanka.
It is designed to divide Sri Lanka into a Patchwork Quilt of Racist Apartheid Communal Fiefdoms to placate Tamil Nadu politicians create a Greater Tamil Nadu, and allow India to continue its INTERFERENCE in the internal affairs of our Sovereign Motherland.
When India has DEVOLVED Autonomy to Muslim Kashmir Separatists, please let us know! Until then, BUTT OUT of our country!
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Amendment of 13A: Menon to meet Rajapaksa in July
By P K Balachandran - COLOMBO
NewIndianExpress.com
June 21, 2013
India’s National Security Advisor (NSA) Shivshankar Menon is expected to meet Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa here in July and convey New Delhi’s grave misgivings over moves to dilute, or even to do away with, the India-inspired 13th Amendment (13A) of the country’s constitution which devolves powers to the Provincial Councils.
Menon had revealed this to the six-member delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which met him in New Delhi earlier this week, Selvam Adaikalanathan, a member of the delegation, told Express. Adaikalanathan said that Menon would be here in mid-July.
Official Version
Indian official sources said that Menon would be in Colombo to participate in the trilateral talks on maritime security between India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives and that it was customary for visiting Indian NSAs to meet Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and other top leaders of the government and the opposition. According to Adaikalanathan, Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid had also said that he would visit Lanka, though at a later date.
‘Broke Promise’
Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa had told The Island daily that it was India, and not Sri Lanka, which had failed to keep a promise. “India had promised to throw its weight behind Sri Lanka on the US-sponsored resolution at the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva, but it went back on its word. India let us down in Geneva very badly,” he said.
NPC Polls
The ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party said on Wednesday that elections to the Northern Provincial Council would be held as promised in September this year, whether the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee on pruning the 13A completes its work or not. The PSC is yet to be appointed because the opposition parties have asked for time to consider the matter, said SLFP spokesman, Nimal Sripala de Silva. He, however, said the government would form a PSC with political parties willing to take part.
My Comment at LankaWeb.com:
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Mr. Bernard Wijeyasingha,
While I applaud the rest of your comment, I disagree with the following: "not to convert Buddhists to their faith but allows Buddhists to convert others to Buddhism."
I STRONGLY agree with BANNING FOREIGN MISSIONARIES from entering Sri Lanka and funding religious conversions in Sri Lanka. We have ENOUGH of OUR OWN priests and religious activists to fill a CONTINENT; we do not need rich foreigners exploiting our needy and attempting to remake our people, and our society at large, in their own image. So, OUT with the Evangelical Christian and Wahhabi Muslim Missionaries: Foreign Missionaries do not qualify for the RIGHTS of Sri Lankan citizens.
However, religion is a PERSONAL CHOICE, and RELIGIOUS FREEDOM is an INALIENABLE RIGHT. Therefore, we must allow that choice to be made freely by individuals without compulsion or undue exploitative external input of any kind.
Accordingly, a Buddhist must have the RIGHT to join another religion, and a non-Buddhist must have EXACTLY THE SAME RIGHT to become a Buddhist, voluntarily, without compulsion or inducements/benefit of any kind.
To me, this is a CORE ASPECT of the exercise of EQUAL RIGHTS that are guaranteed by the Constitution, and indeed by Buddhism itelf.
We are trying to build a Sri Lanka without Special Privileges, resting on race, religion, language or caste, for ANYONE. We cannot decry the caste discrimination among Hindu Tamils while erecting a ONE-WAY barrier to religious conversion of Buddhists.
The basic precept should be: What is GOOD for the GOOSE, should be GOOD for the GANDER as well.
The GOSL should IMMEDIATELY arrange to send these Officers for TRAINING in China!
DO IT NOW … Let the MESSAGE be CLEAR!
………………………..
Sri Lanka defense officers leave Tamil Nadu due to pressure from state
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 24, Colombo: Two Sri Lankan defense officers receiving training at the Defence Service Staff College (DSSC) in Wellington in the Tamil Nadu state of India have left the state today due to protests from Pro-Eelam Tamil outfits and Tamil Nadu Government.
Indian media reported that Sri Lankan officers Wing Commander M. S. Bandara Dissanayaka and Major C. S. Harischandra Hettiarachchige, who were undergoing a one-year training course in the DSSC from May 27, have left with their families amid heavy security.
Military personnel in 10 military trucks, with armed guards had taken the officers to Coimbatore City Airport. The officers will leave to Mumbai from there, Indian media reported.
In the wake of protests involving pro-LTTE Tamil parties, including the MDMK, outside the Defence Services Staff College demanding the center government to send back the Sri Lankan officers, India has proposed to move them to the Military Institute of Technology in Pune.
However, Sri Lanka’s Secretary of Defense Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has objected to the move saying that the Sri Lankan government wouldn’t accept the transfer of military officers, The Island newspaper reported.
The Defense Secretary has stressed that Sri Lanka will not agree to the proposed transfer of officers to another institute. He has said that Sri Lanka would probably recall the officers if they cannot receive training from the DSSC in wellington.
Protests by the pro-Eelam supporters reached a peak yesterday when over 200 people of Naam Tamilzhar Katchi stormed onto the campus of Madras Regiment Centre, housing the College and raised slogans against the Government and Sri Lanka and tore Congress and Lankan Flags.
The Tamil Nadu government vehemently opposes providing training to Sri Lankan officers in the state and the Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has written to the Indian Prime Minister several times asking the PM not to provide training.
In the wake of the opposition from Tamil Nadu government of India to the training of Sri Lankan defence personnel in India, Pakistan and China have stepped in to provide the military training to Sri Lankan defense personnel.
Daya Master DOES NOT SAY "The Tamil People should not be concerned with curtailing the powers of the provincial councils; in fact they should DEMAND REPEAL of the 13th Amendment, without alienating themselves from other Sri Lankans by supporting the 13th Amendment and PERPETUATING the Racial Politics that has isolated them in Sri Lanka".
He should be saying: Tamil people should DEMAND the REPEAL of the 13th Amendment, and COMMIT THEMSELVES to living as EQUAL CITIZENS without asking for Special Privileges. That is the way to REINTEGRATE themselves into the fabric of the larger Sri Lankan society. Demanding exclusive rights unavailable to other citizens would guarantee their identification and isolation as a FIFTH Column INIMICAL to the survival of Sri Lanka as a Unitary Sovereign Nation of ONE Inseparable People.
Unfortunately, I know of no Tamil Politicians who are WISE & COMPASSIONATE ENOUGH towards their own people willing to lead them in that direction. ABSOLUTELY NONE!
What BOGGLES my mind is that India is AHEAD of Sri Lanka. India ... beset by active insurgencies affecting 850 million of its people ... with ENDEMIC INSTITUTIONALIZED caste and religious discrimination ... should be FAR FAR BELOW Sri Lanka. Such is the FREE RIDE goven by the jaundiced West to the "favorite democracy" India.
It is like endowing Barack Obama with the Nobel Peace Prize to co-opt him into the "huma rights" camp well before he has ACCOMPLISHED ANYTHING to deserve that Nobel Peace Prize! Bloody Hypocrites!
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Sri Lanka slightly declines in Failed States Index this year
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 24, Colombo: Sri Lanka has shown slow and steady improvement in state building this year according to the 2013 Failed States Index (FSI), a globally accepted ranking of the world's countries based on the pressures they experience.
The 9th Failed States Index for 2013 prepared by Washington, D.C.-based think tank, Fund for Peace, ranks Sri Lanka, out of 178 countries, at the 28th place in the 'warning' category with a total score of 92.9.
Sri Lanka scored 92.2 points last year and was placed at the 29th position while in 2011 Sri Lanka totaled 93.1 points and ranked at 29th after improving from the 25th position in 2010.
The Fund for Peace obtains data on countries from various sources and tabulates them based on 12 major indicators which are given a score from 0-10 adding up to a total of 120. The countries are ranked according to the total score they receive with the highest score being the most failed state.
The four categories in the Social Indicators include Mounting Demographic Pressures, Massive Movement of Refugees or Internally Displaced Persons, Legacy of Vengeance-Seeking Group Grievance or Group Paranoia and Chronic and Sustained Human Flight.
In the Economic Indicators category a country's performance is measured in Uneven Economic Development along Group Lines and Sharp and/or Severe Economic Decline.
Political and Military Indicators include Criminalization and/or Delegitimization of the State, Progressive Deterioration of Public Services, Suspension or Arbitrary Application of the Rule of Law and Widespread Human Rights Abuse, Security Apparatus Operates as a "State Within a State", Rise of Factionalized Elites, and Intervention of Other States or External Political Actors.
Sri Lanka's scored 9.0 out of 10 for violation of Human rights and rule of law and Vengeance-Seeking Group Grievance indicator was the highest with a score of 9.5 out of 10.
This year Somalia is the most failed state and the top 10 and the least failed state is Finland.
Among Sri Lanka's South Asian neighbors only Pakistan fared worse than Sri Lanka at the 13th place while Bangladesh followed Sri Lanka one notch down and Nepal at 30th place. India was ranked at the 79th place with a total score of 77.5 and Maldives ranked at the 88th place. Since 2005, the index has been published annually by the Fund for Peace and the magazine Foreign Policy.
The list has been cited by journalists and academics in making broad comparative points about countries or region.
My Comment at LankaWeb.com:
Fran Diaz,
Please KEEP ASKING these questions, they are important.
In response to Kanthar Balanathan's recent article citing demographic statistics, I also asked a question on the number of Sri Lankan Tamils in the recent 2012 census, which is DOUBLE what I expected with up to 1.5 million Sri Lankan Tamils having fled abroad as fake refugees!
Lorenzo, thank you for the response, but your answer is FRIGHTENING, because it says while the LTTE EXPORTED Sri Lankan Tamils as FAKE REFUGEES to Western countries to form a CAPTIVE TAX BASE for their Eelam war, they MORE THAN REPLACED THEM with ILLEGAL Indian Tamil IMMIGRANTS, who are ow being treated as Sri Lankan citizens in the census!
Furthermore, there are at least another 50,000 PRESUMABLY Sri Lankan Tamils in Indian refugee camps, possibly with Tamil Nadu spouses, and children sired by them, waiting to be drop shipped to Sri Lanka!
This HIGHLIGHTS what would happen to the DEMOGRAPHICS of Sri Lanka if the TNA takes CONTROL of the Northern PC with Land & Police Powers:
1. They will CONTINUE TO IMPORT illegal Indian Tamils from Tamil Nadu, as they did while the LTTE controlled those areas, and will hide them by falsifying registration records, and birth and death records.
2. As Sri Lankan citizens, they will now have the right to infiltrate into any part of Sri LLanka and settle there. So, there will be an unending stream of ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS into Sri Lanka, changing the DEMOGRAPHICS off Sri Lanka.
We can SAY GOODBYE to the Sinhala Majority that is the FOUNDATION for our VISION of a Sovereign Sri Lanka if this is allowed to continue.
An Eelamist Tamil Majority led by the Tiger Nominated Agents (TNA) won't be as forgiving of the Sinhalese, as we were of them, as the murder and mayhem the LTTE unleashed on the Sinhalese in the recent past demonstrates.
The current situation in the US with an unending stream of illegal Mexicans coming into the US, finding safe haven and cover among the Hispanic American Population in the US, and increasingly demanding rights reserved only to US citizens, is an example of what could happen in Sri Lanka.
Hispanics in the US have now grown in numbers to become a powerful unassimilated community voting block, pushing both the Democrats and the Republicans to abandon US Laws against illegal immigration and to give AMNESTY and CITIZENSHIP to nearly 20 million illegals who have entered the country since the last amnesty which naturalized nearly 6 million illegals. All of this, while legal applicants for immigration to the US languish in the IMMIGRATION QUEUE for decades!
In effect, illegal immigration has changed the demographics of the US to the point that there is no longer any political will to enforce border security or to deport illegal immigrants, from politicians who want to get re-elected despite the obvious harm ignoring the Law will do to the future of the United States.
One outcome of this is that there is now an increasing cry for Spanish to be adopted as an official language in border states. Will the cry for secession of the Hispanic majority states be far behind, and will the Government of the USA be able to summon the will, the determination and the popular support to fight another Civil War to hold the country together as President Abraham Lincoln did? The cry for a separate "Republica De Norte" has already been raised; please do a Google search for your own edification for example at en.wikipedia.org.
.....Continued 1 from above ....
At the ROOT of all of this the the FAILURE of the Federal Government of the USA to enforce border control, and enforce its Immigration Laws over many decades., and to admit immigrants legally in numbers that can be assimilated and integrated into the American mindset as ONE Inseparable People.
This SAME scenario awaits Sri Lanka if we FAIL to SECURE and MAINTAIN CONTROL over the entire coastline, and PREVENT SEPARATISTS from acquiring control of Provincial Councils.
I thank Lorenzo for his QUICK response to my query, and URGE ALL OTHER PATRIOTS to INVESTIGATE THIS THREAT and RAISE ALARM in the hearts of PATRIOTS and the GOSL!
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Ananda-USA Says:
June 23rd, 2013 at 6:11 pm
Something is NOT RIGHT in the 2012 census figures quoted above.
After 1.0 to 1.5 million Sri Lankan Tamils fled abroad as FAKE REFUGEES, how come there are STILL 2,270,924 (11.21%) Sri Lankan Tamils left in Sri Lanka?
I was expecting there would be only about HALF of that Number, about 1.1 million or 6% of the population oof Sri Lanka. Is the census including the Sri Lankan Tamils in the Diaspora abroad as well?
Sri Lankan Tamils abroad WILL NEVER RETURN to Sri Lanka …. so it is about time we started to address the issue of CITIZENSHIP of ALL Diaspora Sri Lankans, and enforcing a periodic visit requirement to maintain Sri Lankan citizenship, and give DUAL-CITIZENSHIP on a case-by-case basis only to those who have not acted against Sri Lanka.
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Lorenzo Says:
June 23rd, 2013 at 6:29 pm
Ananda,
Those numbers are CORRECT.
The reasons are,
1 Many Indian Tamils became SL Tamils
2 VERY LARGE illegal migration from Tamil Madu to SL during LTTE rule of Vanni
3 VERY HIGH Tamil population growth comapred to Sinhalese
4 DUAL CITIZENSHIP
Had Tamils not left SL in millions, there would be 3,270,924 SL Tamils or APPROX 15.4% of the population which is 2.5% higher than 1981 which was only 12.8%!!!!
Thank G~d they LEFT SL and that is what should be encouraged.
LESS population means LESS election power and LESS TNA power.
A big-money LTTE supporter bites the dust: Raj Rajaratnam imprisoned until 2021, but the PENALTY is miniscule in comparison to his assets!
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NY court upholds ex-billionaire's conviction
AP/ June 24, 2013, 1:38 PM
NEW YORK The conviction of a onetime Sri Lankan billionaire on insider-trading charges was upheld Monday by a federal appeals court that concluded the government did not cheat to obtain permission to make its most extensive use of wiretaps ever in such a case.
Lawyers for 56-year-old Raj Rajaratnam had argued on appeal that the government improperly persuaded a judge in 2008 to permit a wiretap to be placed on Rajaratnam's cell phone. The wiretap was used to record 2,200 private conversations by Rajaratnam, the founder of the Galleon Group of 14 hedge funds. Several dozen of those conversations were played for the jury that convicted him in 2011 of multiple counts of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
"Rajaratnam's arguments are not persuasive," the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in a unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel in Manhattan.
The court said the wiretaps were properly obtained, despite a lower-court judge's finding that information about a probe of Rajaratnam by the Securities and Exchange Commission was "clearly critical" and that the government acted with "reckless disregard for the truth" in omitting certain information about the investigation in its requests for wiretaps.
The appeals court said it could not conclude that the government acted recklessly in its wiretap requests when fully disclosing the details of the SEC investigation would only have strengthened its argument for wiretaps.
Chronologies of the SEC's probe strongly suggested that Rajaratnam had been careful to exchange nearly all of his inside information by telephone, the appeals court noted. And it recounted statements by a government lawyer and an FBI agent who said they never thought about including information about the SEC probe in its wiretap application. The appeals panel said the lower-court judge had erred in failing to consider the states of mind of the wiretap applicants.
The Sri Lanka-born Rajaratnam, arrested in 2009, is serving an 11-year prison sentence at a Massachusetts prison after the government said he made $75 million illegally. He did not appeal the legality of his sentence, which was substantially less than the 19 1/2 to 24 1/2 years prison term sought by the government.
He is scheduled to be released in 2021. In his criminal case, he was fined $10 million and was ordered to forfeit $53.8 million. He also was ordered to pay a record $92.8 million civil penalty to the SEC.
Prosecutors obtained more than two dozen convictions in a case they once called the biggest insider-trading prosecution in history.
His lawyers declined to comment Monday.
Dear Dr. Manmohan Singh,
I recommend FULL DEVOLUTION OF POWER to the Muslim Kashmiri Militants to exercise their "INALIENABLE" "Democratic Right" to SECEDE from India and join Pakistan, just as you recommend for Sri Lanka to do with the Eelamist Sri Lankan Tamils agitating for a Separate State in the North of Sri Lanka.
Tamil Nadu/India plays the same role on the Eelam issue, as Pakistan does on the Jammu/Kashmir issue .... undermining and fomenting separatism in India. How does it feel ... now that India is holding the short end of the stick?
Butt what does it matter, eh? Principles are Principles ... the SAME Principles apply to the Indian GOOSE as they do to the Sri Lankan GANDER, do they not?
Or, is India going to come to a SUDDEN REALIZATION that the DOUBLE STANDARDS it applies to Sri Lanka are coming home to Roost in KASHMIR, and India should CEASE & DESIST? We Sri Lankans who suffer mightily at India's hands, FERVENTLY HOPE SO!
Countries that Live in Glasshouses SHOULD NOT Throw Stones at Neighbors!
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Indian PM on rare Kashmir trip after deadly attack
By Parvaiz Bukhari (AFP) – 8 hours ago
June 24, 2013
SRINAGAR, India — Prime Minister Manmohan Singh faced protests as he arrived for a rare visit to Indian Kashmir on Tuesday, a day after militants killed eight soldiers in the deadliest attack in the region for five years.
Singh said India was united in the fight against terrorism after landing in the southern town of Kishtwar as part of the two-day trip, his first to the region for three years.
"India is firmly united against terrorism. (We) Won't let them succeed in their nefarious designs," the premier told Indian media in Kishtwar, where he laid a foundation stone for a hydro-power plant.
Singh stressed in a speech that violence "had shown a sharp decline and was the lowest in last two decades," the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
Singh was accompanied by Sonia Gandhi, the president of the ruling Congress party, for the visit in which he will inspect major infrastructure projects and inaugurate part of a railway line to connect north and south Kashmir.
It is the first time the premier has visited the Indian-controlled part of the divided Himalayan territory -- which has been the scene of two wars with Pakistan -- since June 2010 and comes less than a year before India goes to the polls.
Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in strength across the region for the visit, including in the main city of Srinagar where the premier is expected later Tuesday.
Shops and other businesses, along with schools, banks and offices were closed throughout the city after the three main separatist groups called a strike to protest Singh's visit.
Government forces were enforcing curfew-like restrictions in the volatile and congested old town in Srinagar.
"We are confined to our homes whenever a politician from Delhi visits our Kashmir," a resident of the area said by phone, adding that he was not able to leave his neighbourhood for work.
Despite the high security, a group of militants staged an attack on Monday on a troop convoy on the outskirts of Srinagar, killing eight soldiers and wounding 13 others.
Indian PM on rare Kashmir trip after deadly attack
....Continued ......
Hizbul Mujahideen, a local pro-Pakistan militant, group claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest on Indian security forces since July 2008 when a landmine killed nine soldiers on a bus on the outskirts of Srinagar.
More than a dozen armed rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces since 1989 for the region's independence or its merger with Pakistan and tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians have died in the fighting.
Armed violence had been declining steadily since the early 2000s but the region has been tense following the execution in February of a local man over a deadly 2001 attack on the national parliament in New Delhi.
Mohammed Afzal Guru's execution, carried out in a New Delhi prison without first informing his family, triggered widespread protests in Kashmir where many doubted his guilt.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was among those who condemned Monday's attack, saying it was "aimed at restoring the shattered morale of the militants".
Abdullah is an ally of Singh but has criticised the Delhi government for showing what he regards as a lack of political will to resolve the underlying tensions in what is India's only Muslim-majority state.
"The Kashmir issue needs to be addressed politically. Economic packages are not a solution to the issue nor can it be found on the point of a gun," Abdullah said recently.
The CONSEQUENCES of the relatively new concept of "Devolution of Power" to sub-national regions, in a changing political environment in which the National Will of the powers that held them together are being slowly but surely undermined and eroded by their own false rhetoric, are EMERGING, but has not yet come to FULL BLOOM, for all to see the FOLLY of the underlying Rhetoric.
Let me cite a few examples:
1.Yugoslavia, held together by the Post WWII prestige of Marshal Tito who had imprisoned the evils of the Balkan witches brew in a Pandora's Box, has DISINTEGRATED into its ethno-religious constituencies with the connivance of its old enemies (eg. Germany) and old allies turned into new enemies (eg. USA, UK). Yugoslavia is DEAD & GONE.
2. THe UK has devolved power to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland is considering secession, and Wales is demanding its own Parliament as a precursor to following in Scotland's wake. Only Northern Ireland, facing the IRA threat and forced union with the Republic of Ireland, hangs on desperately to the UK for protection.
3. Canada dodged the secession of the French-speaking Province of Quebec only barely in the last referendum; next time, the growing voting trend indicates that they will win.
4. India, governed by its Federal System, and implementing Communal Policies that pit its citizens against each other, is beset by secessionist threats all along its national borders: In the West, the East, the North, and of course the South controlled by the incurably racist Tamils damning all Aryans to perdition. They had supported the Tamil National Army (TNA) from the very dawn of independence.
5. Last, but not the least, comes the USA which is Blind and Deaf to the GATHERING STORM in the Hispanic dominated Southwest, granting citizenship to illegal immigrants in the tens of millions under the threat of blackmail, putting vote bank politics ahead of its National DUTY to SECURE & CONTROL its Borders, and ENFORCE its National Immigration Laws.
US leaders believe their own rhetoric on the "unique ability" of the "American Democracy" to accommodate immigrants from diverse cultures in unlimited numbers, even when they violate the laws of they country they seek to enter, without anti-national attitudes taking hold in unassimilated immigrant communities.
They forget two very important instances when the "American Democracy" failed to hold the country and its people together in common cause: The War of Independence, when a significant fraction of its population, both white and black, emigrated to British Canada after the loss of their side in the war. and the Civil War in which the 11 Southern slave States fought the 22 free and 5 border slave states of the Union in a bitter and costly war of secession for four long years. Will the US be able to summon the Will to defeat the LOOMING RECONQUESTA in the Southwest? I very much doubt it.
By DECIDING NOT TO REPEAL the 13th Amendment COMPLETELY, the UPFA "Ruling Party" FORCES Sri Lanka to REMAIN a COLONY of India, NOT a Sovereign Nation, and SOWS the SEEDS of ANOTHER Communal WAR in the Future! SHAME!
WHERE IS the PATRIOTIC Government that FREED the Nation from Eelamist Tamil Terrorism AGAINST ALL ODDS?
In a BLUE FUNK, with its TAIL BETWEEN its LEGS?
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Main constituent of Sri Lanka ruling alliance supports changes to 13th Amendment
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 26, Colombo: The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main coalition party of Sri Lanka ruling alliance has decided to support the 13th Amendment to the Constitution with the introduction of suitable revisions to the provincial council system established under the Amendment.
Following a meeting of the SLFP parliamentary group held at the Temple Trees today under the patronage of the party leader President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Treasurer of the party Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said that it is the stance of the party to revise the 13th Amendment to address the irregularities in the legislature to further strengthen the unitary status of the country.
Speaking to the state-run radio SLBC, Minister Alahapperuma explained that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was introduced in an irregular manner under an emergency situation.
The Minister said the SLFP parliamentary group has agreed to introduce the amendment to prevent the merger of several provincial councils.
The party however, will take the most correct approach after considering all the ideas to address other important issues including the devolution of police and land powers to the provincial councils which has become a major topic.
Minister Alahapperuma said the SLFP parliamentary group has decided to wait for the decision of the parliamentary select committee (PSC) appointed to discuss the revisions to the 13th Amendment.
Several members of the party have opposed any changes to 13th Amendment calling for full implementation of the amendment.
The party has also decided that it is necessary to hold elections for the Northern Provincial Council as scheduled.
Mahela,
Your problem is that you want to remove the Principal Barrier, the UPFA GOSL led by the Rajapaksa clan, to domination of Sri Lanka by anti-national elements working in collusion with Eelamist Separatists, and Foreign Powers plying their hegomonistic national agendas.
In that quest, you blow up every molehill into a mountain and try to exacerbate divisions in Sri Lanka, and demonize the GOSL in the eyes of the world. That is what people like you have done for the last 30 years against Sri Lanka.
It will NOT WORK. The PATRIOTS of Sri Lanka, the VAST MAJORITY of its Sovereign People, have WOKEN UP and will not go back to SLEEP AGAIN!
People like you can WAIL & WEEP FOREVER in a wild hinterland as Sri Lanka marches into a NEW AGE and transforms itself into the New Wonder of Asia.
You underestimate the Will & Determination of the PATRIOTS of our Motherland.
Ratna Deepa, Janma Bhumi
Lanka Deepa, Vijaya Bhumi
Mey Apey, Udaaru Wu
Maathru Bhumi-yayi
Maathru Bhumi-yayi....
Thamilini should have been PROSECUTED, CONVICTED and EXECUTED for her role in training, brainwashing and orchestrating the yoking of women and children to a murderous cause.
She collaborated with that other criminal Adele Balasingham lolling in the lap of luxury in jolly old England.
When we release LEADING CRIMINALS of the LTTE like this without ANY PUNISHMENT, it encourages FUTURE criminals to take up arms against the people of Sri Lanka, without fear of RETRIBUTION!?
NO DETERRENCE folks, none whatever!
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Sri Lanka releases former LTTE Women's Wing leader Thamalini
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 26, Colombo: Sri Lankan authorities today released the former female political wing leader of the terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Subramaniam Sivathai alias Thamalini after undergoing a one-year rehabilitation program.
The Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Brigadier Dharshana Hettiarachchi said that Thamalini was handed over to her parents today at the Poonthottam Rehabilitation Centre in Vavuniya.
Thamalini, a resident of Kilinochchi joined LTTE in 1991 and became the head of LTTE Women's Wing. She was arrested by Lankan army in May 2009 at an Army welfare center for refugees and taken to Colombo for investigations.
She was charged with training LTTE cadres and establishing connections with LTTE members overseas.
After being detained at the Welikada prison for many months she consented to be rehabilitated and was transferred to the Vavuniya Rehabilitation center to undergo the rehabilitation programme in order to re-integrate her into the society.
According to the rehabilitation officials, Thamalini received vocational training at the camp and had followed a training course in bridal dressing.
MORE TREASONOUS Birds of a Feather, Flocking Together!
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Sri Lanka Tamil party to meet leftist coalition parties to discuss 13th Amendment
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 26, Colombo: Sri Lanka's major Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) plans to meet leftist coalition partners of the ruling alliance to discuss the proposed revisions to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
TNA parliamentarian Mavai Senathirajah has told local media that the leftist parties have requested a meeting with the Tamil party and the alliance is considering the request.
The party is planning to schedule a date for the meeting, the Tamil MP said.
The leftist parties of the government coalition strongly oppose the government's proposal to make constitutional changes to the Amendment and say they will vote against any move to dilute it.
The MORE the UPFA government demonstrates INDECISION on the 13th Amendment, the MORE the Anti-National elements within and without the ranks of the UPFA are ENCOURAGED to work against the Government and the Nation.
Rise Up .... O Patriots of Mother Lanka ......Rise Up the REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DEMOLISH the Provincial Councils .... Your Motherland and Your People need you NOW!
Now that is a START, on KEEPING OUT these Communal Agitators AWAY from Sri Lanka!
MUCH MORE NEEDS to be done to get these Foreign Agents OUT OF Sri Lanka. They come here to ORCHESTRATE communal divisions in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan Defence Officers were HOUNDED OUT from Tamil Nadu; Let us RETURN THAT FAVOR ... Big TIME!
INVESTIGATE ALL EMPLOYEES of Communal Activist NGOs. If they are FOREIGN .... deport them irrespective of Visa status! MANTAIN a blacklist of such INDIVIDUALS ... NEVER let them set foot in Sri Lanka AGAIN.
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No tourist visas for NGO activists; South Indian activist deported
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
June 26, 2013, 9:46 pm
A Non-Governmental Organization headquartered in Colombo, is under investigation for inviting South Indian women activists for projects in the northern and eastern districts as well as Puttalam.
Security sources told The Island yesterday that on the invitation of an NGO called Viluthu, several activists, including Sharifa Khanam and Ester Devakumari had conducted programmes here in the recent past. Responding to a query, a senior official said that Devakumari had been deported as she had been engaged with an NGO after having arrived here on a tourist visa.
The official said: "Devakumari arrived here on June 19. She conducted a workshop for a group of northern widows at the Nedunkerni Divisional Secretariat on June 23. Having arrested her at the Omanthai police checkpoint, Devakumari was brought to Colombo and deported the following day. She was sent back to Chennai."
Viluthu focuses its activities in Trincomalee, Jaffna, Puttalam and Batticaloa.
Sources said that a group of Viluthu activists was believed to have visited Tamil Nadu in December 2011.
The official said that NGO activists wouldn’t be allowed to use tourist visas.
Sources said that Viluthu had received funding from several Western and American donors and was one of the most active organizations in the post-war era.
The same DENIAL of TRADE PREFERENCES wielded by the US against Sri Lanka, is now swung against Ecuador ... in this case WITH DUE CAUSE for Ecuador is assisting a US Citizen sought by the US Law Enforcement for the CRIME of DISCLOSING Classified Secret Data belonging to the National Security Administration.
What gives the Ecuadorian Government such STRENGTH & CONFIDENCE to confront the US on a such small peripheral issue as asylum for US citizen Edward Snowden, when Sri Lanka TREMBLES IN FEAR when the US threatens its very survival by pressuring for Devolution of Power to Defeated Separatists and Political Proxies of the Murderous LTTE?
What gives Ecuador SUCH COURAGE?
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Ecuador breaks US trade pact to thwart 'blackmail' over Snowden asylum
Government renounces Andean Trade Preference Act even as Snowden's prospects of reaching Ecuador from Moscow dimmed
BY Rory Carroll in Quito
guardian.co.uk
June 27, 2013
Ecuador's Foreign Minister Patino talks to reporters before a function at a hotel in Singapore
Ecuador's foreign minister Ricardo Patino (center left). Snowden's asylum request has yet to be processed. Photograph: Edgar Su/Reuters
Ecuador has ramped up its defiance of the US over Edward Snowden by waiving preferential trade rights with Washington even as the whistleblower's prospect of reaching Quito dimmed.
President Rafael Correa's government said on Thursday it was renouncing the Andean Trade Preference Act to thwart US "blackmail" of Ecuador in the former NSA contractor's asylum request.
Officials, speaking at an early morning press conference, also offered a $23m donation for human rights training in the US, a brash riposte to recent US criticism of Ecuador's own human rights record.
Betty Tola, the minister of political coordination, said the asylum request had not been processed because Snowden, who is believed to be at Moscow airport, was neither in Ecuador nor at an Ecuadorean embassy or consulate. "The petitioner is not in Ecuadorean territory as the law requires."
Tola also said Ecuador had not supplied any travel document or diplomatic letter to Snowden, who is reportedly marooned in Moscow airport's transit lounge because his US passport has been invalidated.
A document leaked to Univision on Wednesday showed that someone at Ecuador's consulate in London did issue a safe conduct pass for the fugitive on June 22, as he prepared to leave Hong Kong. The name of the consul general, Fidel Narvaez, was printed but not signed.
Tola said it was unauthorised: "Any document of this type has no validity and is the exclusive responsibility of the person who issued it."
The renunciation underlined divisions within Ecuador's government between leftists who have embraced Snowden as an anti-imperialist symbol and centrists who fear diplomatic and economic damage.
Some in the government are believed to be annoyed that Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who has sheltered at Ecuador's London embassy to avoid extradition, has seized the limelight in the Snowden saga. Assange caught Quito by surprise last week when he announced Snowden had been given a safe conduct pass. Quito replaced its ambassador to London earlier this month in hope of better managing its famous guest.
The waiving of preferential trade rights followed threats from members of the US congress to drop the ATPA in July, when it is due for renewal, unless Ecuador toed the line on Snowden.
"Ecuador does not accept pressure or threats from anyone, nor does it trade with principles or submit them to mercantile interests, however important those may be," said Fernando Alvarado, the communications secretary.
"Ecuador gives up, unilaterally and irrevocably, the said customs benefits."
The announcement will enhance President Correa's reputation as a bold leader unafraid to defy the US, just like the late Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez.
Ecuador breaks US trade pact to thwart 'blackmail' over Snowden asylum
.......Continued...........
Tactical calculation lay behind the decision. Even before the Snowden affair Quito feared losing the trade preferences, largely because of Republican antipathy to Ecuador's outspoken socialist leader.
"The Ecuadorans got word that renewal of ATPDEA was a long shot in any case, so instead of waiting for rejection, they took the initiative and the high road," said Michael Shifter, of the Inter-American Dialogue.
Correa loved a fight and was responding to perceived US hypocrisy and heavy-handedness, said Shifter. But the president had showed caution in refraining, so far, from granting Snowden asylum. "He appears to be weighing the political and public relations benefits against the real consequences for Ecuador's economy, should he grant the asylum request."
Juan Carlos Calderon, the editorial of Vanguardia, a weekly which has had its offices raided and staff threatened in disputes with the president, said Correa's firebrand image masked shrewd, pragmatic calculation.
Even before the Snowden affair the president tried to soothe Ecuadoreans that losing the trade preferences, which exclude thousands of products such as roses, tuna and broccoli from export duty, would have a small impact.
Not all are convinced. "This will have serious consequence for Ecuadorean producers," said Ramiro Crespo, director general of Analytica Investments, a Quito-based consultancy.
"These products which are exported to the United States have become major industries in Ecuador. If commerce is restricted there's going to be unemployment … This does not penalise the government, it penalises the people."
JAYAWEWA! But, thousands of Buddhist Monks Rallying against the 13th Amendment is NOT ENOUGH!
Where are the TENS of MILLIONS of Sri Lankan PATRIOTS!
I URGE THE PATRIOTS to gather 10 MILLION SIGNATURES on a Petition DEMANDING the REPEAL of the 13th Amendment and DISSOLUTION of ALL Provincial Councils!
Wimal Weerawansa gathered 1 MILLION SIGNATURES in support of his Petition against the Devolution of Land & Police Powers under the 13th Amendment.
GOOD ... BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH! Stop FIDDLING and THINK BIG! THINK VICTORY!
Wimal ... get together with the SLFP, the JHU, the MEP and ALL other PATRIOTS and DELIVER a PETITION with 10 MILLION SIGNATURES.
Rise Up ....... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... Rise Up to WAGE EELAM WAR V confronting us, NOW! REPEAL the 13th Amendment, DEMOLISH the Provincial Council System, and RESTORE to Sri Lanka, our sceptered Isle, her hallowed Sovereign CROWN!
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Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka to rally against the 13th Amendment on July 2nd
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 27, Colombo: Thousands of Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka will hold a rally in Colombo on July 2nd calling for the abolition of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The rally, organized by the National Movement for the Abolition of Provincial Councils (NMAPC), will be held in Maharagama.
The NMAPC has stated that 3,000-4,000 monks from all over the country would participate in the rally.
A member of the organizing committee Ven. Rajawatte Vappa Thera has openly invited the Chief Prelate of the Asgiriya Chapter of the Siam Nikaya and members of the Maha Sangha to take to the streets on July 2nd.
Ven. Vappa Thero has said the 13th Amendment should be abolished before the Northern Provincial Council election.
He has observed that it was the actions of the bhikkus that have saved the country whenever there was any disaster and the politicians.
According to Ven. Vappa Thero, some elements were trying to use the 13th Amendment to separate the country.
CAPCS demands abolishing of PCs ahead of Northern poll
By Thushari Kalubowila
Island.lk
June 26, 2013
Picture Caption: General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena Ven Galagodatte Gnanasara thera addressing yesterday’s press conference. Also in the picture are Ven Hadigalle Wimalasara Thera, Ven Rajawatte Vappa Thera, Jagath Sumathipala of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress, Prof Pandula Andagama of Hela Deya Wadanno organization, Bandula Chandrasekera of the National Intellectuals’ Council and representatives of other member organizations of the Collective for the Abolition of the Provincial Councils System.
Pic by Nimal Dayaratne
The Collective for the Abolition of the Provincial Councils System (CAPCS) is demanding that the provincial councils system be done away with prior to the proposed election to the Northern Provincial Council.
"What is needed is the devolution of administrative powers and not the devolution of political power. The provincial council system has failed to address this issue and as a result the entire country has been made to pay for this," Ven Galagodatte Gnanasara, General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena, a member organization of the CAPCS, told a media briefing at the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress conference hall yesterday.
Gnanasara Thera said although it had been four years since the LTTE was militarily defeated the country had failed to win the trust of the Tamil people.
"The Tamil people are least bothered about the provincial council system and only want to live happily in their areas," the monk claimed.
Gnanasara Thera said that the 13A and the provincial councils entered the country’s statutes in 1987 as part of the Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord, which had been forced upon Sri Lanka by India.
"If the government cannot repeal the 13th Amendment to the Constitution at this juncture, then it should take urgent action to amend five clauses in the Constitution which gives undue powers to the Provincial councils. We demand that the government either repeal the 13th Amendment or amend clauses that gives police powers, land powers, powers of provincial councils to merge and the so-called concurrent list.
The government should amend the Article 154A (3) – that allowed the merger of the provinces, which could lead to the North merging with the East to create a new state, ‘North-Eastern Sri Lanka’ – encompassing 1/3 of Sri Lanka’s land mass and 2/3 of the coast, he said.
It was imperative that the Article 154G (3) be done away with. The Article reads that any Bill in regard to matters in the Provincial Council List shall become law only if they are passed by every Provincial Council.
The removal of the Land and Police powers from the concurrent list (9th Schedule) would eliminate the threat to the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Gnanasara thera said.
The Thera also said that the CAPCS would hold a national rally in Maharagama on July 02 demanding the abolition of the 13th Amendment.
Ven. Rajawatte Vappa thera of the National Sangha Council, Prof Pandula Andagama of Hela Deya Wadanno organization, Jagath Sumathipala of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress, Bandula Chandrasekera of the National Intellectuals’ Council and representatives of other member organizations of the CAPCS attended the media conference.
My Comment at ColomboTelegraph.com on "To Be Or Not To Be: Strategic Control Of The Northern Province"
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J.Muthu,
I echo Sach in querying: Where were you when the Evil Murderers of the LTTE sliced and diced entire villages of people, shot, bombed, hanged, tortured, and brainwashed men, women and children in their hundreds of thousands? Where were you? Cheering from the sidelines, collecting funds to support the Murderous terrorists of the LTTE, levelling fake charges of discrimination at Sri Lanka to acquire a refugee visa, and fasting on McDonalds Hamburgers in front of the Parliament in London, UK ... perhaps? Anything rings a bell? Anything?
We will NEVER ALLOW UNREPENTANT SEPARATISTS and Political Proxies of the Late Unlamented Murderous SunGod to hold sway in the Northern Province levelling yet another a dagger at the heart of our Motherland and its People! 150,000 dead Sri Lankans are ENOUGH Dead!
ONE Indivisible Nation, of ONE Inseparable People, sharing ONE Indomitable Destiny, with Equal Rights for ALL is our VISION of Sri Lanka's future, not a Patchwork Quilt of Racist Apartheid Communal Bantustans PERPETUALLY at WAR with one another.
ONE person, ONE vote to elect a representative to the National Parliament is FRANCHISE ENOUGH for any Law-Abiding citizen. Only incurable Separatists weeping Crocodile Tears at their Failure to Dismantle Sri Lanka, and PC Bureaucracts anxious to hold onto their Tax-Payer supported jobs doing NOTHING but harassing citizens, want want Provincial Councils.
NEVER AGAIN! Watch Closely and Find Out what the PATRIOTS of our Motherland will Accomplish THIS YEAR!
No TNA, No NGOs, No Foreign Powers plying hegemonistic agendas, No Eelamist Tamil Diaspora, will be able to FRUSTRATE the PATRIOTS of Mother Lanka, in their TENS OF MILIIONS!
Here is YET ANOTHER Outstanding Accomplishment reflecting the Humanity and Compassion of the "Evil" Sinhala Buddhists of Sri Lanka ... for the Incurably Unhappy Eelamists to ponder as they wallow in their cups plotting their strategy to Dismantle Sri Lanka!
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Lanka has only tiny proportion of ‘out of school’ children – UNICEF report
DailyNews.lk
June 27, 2013
Sri Lanka has an excellent record of admissions of children aged five to 14 years to schools, following seven decades of universal free primary and secondary school education, says the ‘Country Study: Out of School Children in Sri Lanka’ report.
This ‘Out of School Children Study in Sri Lanka’ is part of the Global Initiative on Out of School Children launched by UNICEF and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics in 2010.
Its objectives are to explore currently available statistical information
on out of schoolchildren (OOSC), identify factors that contribute to exclusion from schooling, and examine existing policies effective in enhancing participation as well as the gaps in policy and in the implementation of policies and programmes.
The three main data sources used were the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) 2006/07, the Annual School Census 2010 and the Child Activity Survey 2008/09.
According to the DHS, 2006/07, it was concluded that Sri Lanka has a relatively small proportion of out of schoolchildren -1.5 percent ofthe primary school age children and 2.0 percent of the lower secondary school age (Department of Census and Statistics, 2006), the report said.
The more recent and representative survey of Household Income and Expenditure, 2009/10 (Department of Census and Statistics, 2011) reported that 98.2 percent of boys and girls in the five to 14 age group (primary and lower secondary levels) were in school-98.6 percent in the urban sector, 98.3 percent in the rural sector and 95.6 percent in the estate sector, the report added. Those who never attended school were 1.0 percent of the age group and those who dropped out were 0.8 percent, the highest percentages were 2.0 percent and 2.3 percent in the estate sector.
Gender disparities in education have largely been eliminated in Sri Lanka as a result of the long-standing policy of free education. In fact, girls have higher retention rates than boys. By the end of the 1960s, there were more girls than boys in upper secondary grades as boys tended to dropout early to join the labour force and girls continued in schools in the context of the provision of free education.
In 2009, 57.5 percent of those enrolled in Grades 12 and 13 were girls (MOE, 2009a).
Clearly, the preponderance of coeducational schools (96.6 percent) has accelerated progress towards gender parity.
Sri Lanka has achieved the third Millennium Development Goal of eliminating disparities in enrollment in education in primary, secondary and tertiary education as a consequence of the positive social policies implemented over many decades, the report adds.
Lorenzo,
“If we leave it only to Buddhist monks, they GET THE BLAME for us (people). That is not good. We ALL have to HAMMER THIS HOME.”
Agree 100%.
We can’t leave a few Patriots to Immolate themselves while the rest hide under their beds and benefit from the their sacrifices. FAIL to show up now, and you will lose it ALL …. those are the stakes now for ALL Sri Lankans.
Therefore, COME OUT from UNDER YOUR BEDS onto the STREETS NOW to FIGHT Eelam War V for yourselves, your descendents and your Motherland, or FOREVER REGRET that you failed to HEED the CRY FOR HELP of Your People and Your Country!
UVA Provincial Council votes to REPEAL 13-A articles
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‘Repeal 13 A articles’
By CHAMIKARA WEERASINGHE
DailyNews.lk
June 28, 2013
A motion to prevent the merger of two or more Provincial Councils and to enable Parliament to formulate Bills in respect of subjects pertaining to Provincial Councils by obtaining the approval of the majority of Provincial Councils, was adopted by the Uva Provincial Council yesterday.
The motion to repeal two articles in the 13th Amendment, article 154 A (3) to merge two or more Provincial Councils, and to change article 154 (G) that “No Bill in respect of any matter set out in the Provincial Council Lists shall become law” unless approval of every Provincial Council is obtained, with the provision to approve such legislation with the approval of a majority of Provincial Councils, was adopted by a majority vote at the monthly meeting of the Uva Provincial Council, said Uva Provincial Council Governor C. Nanda Mathew. He said the UNP councillors of Uva Province were not present when the motion was discussed at the Council.
“The only JVP councillor of the Uva Provincial Council, Sudath Balagalla abstained from voting,” Governor Mathew said.
The motion was approved with a majority of 19 votes by UPFA councillors.
“Uva Province Youth Affairs and State Infrastructure Minister Senthil Thondaman of the Ceylon Workers Congress did not participate as he is abroad. Councillor Aravinda Kumar of Kandurata Permuna was not present,” the Governor said.
The motion was moved by Uva Provincial Councillor Wimal Galagamaarachchi.
Uva Province Agriculture Minister Anura Vidanagamage, Chamara Samapath Dassanayaka (UPFA), Sudath Balagalla (JVP) and Acting Uvwa Provice Chief Minister M Buddhadasa expressed their views at the Council.
Central Province Provincial Council Votes to Amend 13-A
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Central province wants 13 A amended
DailyMirrror.lk
June 28, 2013
The Central Provincial Council today voted in favour of the proposed amendments to the 13th amendment by a majority of 30 votes inclusive of 2 UNPers and an SLMCer.
The other opposition councilors abstained from voting.
JAYAWEWA! MEP joins the EFFORT to REPEAL the 13th Amendment!
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Mahajana Eksath Peramuna to support changes to Sri Lanka Constitution
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 27, Colombo: Leader of the government coalition party Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), Minister of Water Supply and Drainage Dinesh Gunawardena said his party will support the government to bring changes to existing provincial council system.
Addressing a press briefing held in Colombo today, the Minister said the he and his party will unite with other forces to struggle against the 13th Amendment to the Constitution both within the parliament and out of it.
The Chief Government Whip said the 13th amendment of the constitution had become a threat to the defense, integrity and existence of the nation. He added that the Provincial Councils are a waste of public money and had become a total failure.
"The 13th Amendment was approved illegally during its time and that the speaker of parliament who signed it had immediately requested the Supreme Court to abolish it," Minister Gunawardena said. However, the Supreme Court rejected the Speaker's request at that time, he recalled.
The provincial council system has created problems in implementing programs in free education, free health and other areas, he noted.
The Minister further stated that even 25 years after the implementation of the Provincial Councils, the base of development of the country is still the district.
He pointed out that the development programs in the country will not be impacted by abolishing the provincial councils since the programs are usually implemented through parliamentarians representing Districts and Government Agents and not by the Provincial Councils.
Minister Gunawardena suggested adopting a method to provide more powers to the local government institutions of the lower level.
The Minister said his party will extend support to the government measures to remove certain clauses in the Constitution regarding the provincial councils. He said it is the expectation of the Sri Lankan people to see a change in the system.
Meanwhile .... the Quislings of the TREACHEROUS UNP and the JVP still GROPING OTHERS for support to KEEP the 13th Amendment alive .... while the Tiger Nominated Agents of the TNA rub their hands in glee and salivate at the prospect of WINNING by BLACKMAILING in PEACE the Racist Eelam they FAILED to WIN by Murderous War!
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Sri Lankan movement expresses concern over issues faced by the Tamil people in the North
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 28, Colombo: People's Wall of Comradeship (PWC), a movement backed by Sri Lanka's Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), says that issues faced by the Tamil people in the North have not been solved.
Co-convener of PWC, Sunil Handunnetti said that while many are discussing about the 13th Amendment, little or nothing has been done to solve the long standing issues faced by the Tamil people in the North.
He observed that some people are demanding for more powers under the 13th Amendment while the others are opposing it, and those who support the Police and Land powers issue in the 13th Amendment only want to control northern people just as the rest without solving their problems.
"There are more serious problems in the North that need to be addressed rather than the 13th Amendment," Handunnetti said.
He accused the government of constructing military camps in the Northern Province and focusing on militarization instead of establishing democracy in the region.
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Sri Lankan movement expresses concern over issues faced by the Tamil people in the North
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 28, Colombo: People's Wall of Comradeship (PWC), a movement backed by Sri Lanka's Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), says that issues faced by the Tamil people in the North have not been solved.
Co-convener of PWC, Sunil Handunnetti said that while many are discussing about the 13th Amendment, little or nothing has been done to solve the long standing issues faced by the Tamil people in the North.
He observed that some people are demanding for more powers under the 13th Amendment while the others are opposing it, and those who support the Police and Land powers issue in the 13th Amendment only want to control northern people just as the rest without solving their problems.
"There are more serious problems in the North that need to be addressed rather than the 13th Amendment," Handunnetti said.
He accused the government of constructing military camps in the Northern Province and focusing on militarization instead of establishing democracy in the region.
India FALLS FAR BEHIND Sri Lanka in child welfare and mortality rate.
This is why India .... with its "Federal System" and "Largest Democracy" ..... PRAISED TO HIGH HEAVEN by Western Neo-Colonialists plying their own agendas, has NO Moral Authority or Experience in developing an EQUITABLE SOCIETY to PREACH Governance to Sri Lanka.
Why should Sri Lanka INFECT itself with the SAME COMMUNAL DISEASES afflicting India? Why?
NO 13th Amendment & NO Provincial Councils designed to convert Sri Lanka into a Patchwork Nation of Racist Communal Bantustans beyond the CONTROL of the National Government, so EVERY Foreign & Local Anti-National entity can RESUME its WATUSI dance.
Do Not INFLICT MORE BUREAUCRACY upon Sri Lanka. INTEGRATE Sri Lanka instead of DISINTEGRATING Sri Lanka.
Rise Up .... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... Rise Up to REPEAL this Foreign BALL & CHAIN Shackling Mother Lanka, and RESTORE its SOVEREIGN CROWN to our hallowed sceptered resplendent Isle!
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'India lags in reducing infant mortality rate'
By Express News Service - CHENNAI
June 29, 2013
The likes of Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have overtaken India in reducing the rate of mortality among children under the age of five (U5MR), according to a report released by UNICEF in Chennai on Friday. The ‘State of the World’s Children 2013’ ranks India at 49th place out of 195 countries in U5MR, which is a crucial indicator of health and well-being of children.
This year’s report, which is based on data from 2011, puts U5MR in India at 61 deaths out of 1,000 live births.
The U5MR for boys was 59 per 1,000 while the corresponding figure for girls was 64. The infant mortality rate, which measures mortality among children below 1 year was 47 per 1,000 live births.
The report also assessed other issues including education and marriage among children.
In terms of education among youth (15-24 years), the report points out that 88 per cent young men and 74 per cent of young women are literate.
Interestingly, net attendance ratio in secondary schools in India was as low as 59 per cent in males and 49 per cent in females in 2007-11.
At primary school level, net attendance ratio was significantly higher at 85 per cent in males and 81 in females, thus pointing at increasing school absenteeism and dropout rates at secondary level.
As per data from 2002-2011, about 12 per cent of children in India are child labourers while 18 per cent are married by the age of 15. By the age of 18, 47 per cent of India’s youth are married.
Five per cent of adolescents (aged 10-19) males and 30 per cent of adolescent females are married or in union. Out of this, 57 percentage of adolescent males justified wife beating.
Meanwhile, birth registration in India was as low as 41 per cent in 2005-11. This accounts to 59 percentage of registration in urban areas and 35 percent in rural areas.
The SLMC EMBRACES the Tiger Nominated Agents of the TNA, the MURDERERS of Muslims in the RECENT PAST!
The Greed for Personal Power in a Provincial Council Fiefdom in the Eastern Province drives these Communal SLMC Politicians to FORGET who killed Muslims by entire Villages in the dead of the night, slicing and dicing men, women and children in their beds, while the Defence Forces of Sri Lanka died by the thousands defending them.
The SLMC MIMICS Jayalalitha in Tamil Nadu, FORGETTING the LTTE Death Sentence against her and EMBRACING the Tamil Eelamist cause, now that the hard work eradicating the LTTE has been done by the Sri Lanka Defence Forces.
Let us MARK THEM with an INDELIBLE LABEL OF TRAITORS on their FOREHEADS and NEVER FORGET where they stood on defending and protecting our Resplendent Motherland! NEVER FORGET!
Let the GOSL recognize that this kind of Anti-National activity will INCREASE A HUNDREDFOLD if Power is Devolved to Provincial Councils under the 13th Amendment ... just as India wants to advance her own hegemony
Rise Up …. O Patriots of Mother Lanka …. Rise Up to REPEAL this Foreign BALL & CHAIN Shackling Mother Lanka, and RESTORE its SOVEREIGN CROWN to our hallowed sceptered resplendent Isle!
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TNA, SLMC map counter measures, As govt moves to curtail powers of PCs
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
June 28, 2013
UPFA constituent, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) are in the process of building a common front to thwart government move to curtail the powers of the provincial councils ahead of the first northern provincial council election scheduled for September.
SLMC General Secretary Hassen Ali (National List MP) and TNA National List MP M. A. Sumanthiran said that their objective was to build a coalition against those bent on diluting the 13th Amendment. They were speaking to The Island after having bilateral talks at SLMC headquarters, ‘Darussalam’ on Thursday night to decide on counter-measures.
MP Sumanthiran emphasised that the government couldn’t go back on its pledge to fully implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. "Since the conclusion of the conflict in May 2009, the government had promised to implement the 13th Amendment on several occasions. In fact, the government promised not only to fully implement the 13th Amendment but go beyond the provisions to pave the way for meaningful devolution."
TNA, SLMC map counter measures, As govt moves to curtail powers of PCs
......Continued.........
The TNA would speak to the likeminded political parties, civil society organisations as well as individuals to explore ways and means of countering the government move, he said.
MP Hassen Ali urged the government not to alienate minorities, but take tangible measures to win the confidence of people of all ethnicities. An irate Ali alleged that doing away with key provisions in the 13th Amendment meant that they could no longer expect the legislation to meet the aspirations of the minorities.
Asked whether the SLMC would also take up the issue with UPFA constituent, the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), MP Ali said that EPDP leader Douglas Devananda, too, was strongly opposed to doing away with the 13th Amendment. The SLMC was confident of forming broadest possible front against the anti-devolution forces, the MP said, adding that the high command of the party would meet on Saturday to discuss current political developments. "We are really concerned about the rapidly deteriorating situation. The government is not sensitive to concerns of the minorities."
MP Ali said that before meeting a TNA delegation led by R. Sampanthan, the SLMC had held talks with a UNP delegation to discuss recently unveiled UNP’s draft Constitution.
Meanwhile, recent visit by a high level South African delegation fueled speculation that the SA administration was seeking a mediatory role to facilitate a dialogue between the government and the TNA.
Deputy SA Minister of International Relations and Co operation Ibrahim Ibrahim recently called on External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris to discuss current developments and preparations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which will be held in Colombo in November.
The delegation also paid a courtesy call on Secretary Defence and Urban Development Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The Deputy Minister was accompanied by Roelf Meyer, Professor Ivor Jenkins, and Ahmed Seedat.
Well informed sources speculated that the SA was believed to be interested in helping the Sri Lankan government and the TNA to reach a consensus on post-war national reconciliation process. Sources pointed out that the TNA and the UK-based Global Tamil Forum (GTF) had visited SA several months back to seek assistance to kick start talks with the government.
Jayantha Says:
June 29th, 2013 at 1:01 pm
The Christians in general and Catholics in particular have no love for Sri Lanka. From the time the Portugese, the Dutch and the British invaded Sri Lanka their churches gradually ate into the Sri Lanka (land and people) converting the people gradually but surely to Christianity.
One could say the Catholics loved the LTTE because they could ride behind the LTTE and take the cream of the pie by being able to carve out a Christian country out of Sri Lanka – a third of the land mass and two thirds of the coastline. The Catholics particularly would never allow any changes to 13th Amendment because any loss of power to the LTTE backed tamils would mean a set back to Catholics. The Christian West would love the 13th Amendment because it serves their purpose of eventually converting Sri Lanka to a Christian dominated country. The West would also want India to be able to dictate terms to Sri Lanka instead of China or Russia because the West can easily manipulate India. India on the other hand gets the shits when Chinese get too close. Hence Sri Lanka has to pay the ultimate price and become the punching bag for India as well for the West.
Conducting independent investigations into supposed War Crimes, giving Tamils the opportunity to live in dignity are make believe reasons coined to blackmail Sri Lanka.
I am yet to meet a catholic in Sri Lanka who think of Sri Lanka first. Their first allegiance is to Vatican and to the Pope.
JP / USA
Sri Lanka may ban July 1st issue of Time magazine
Sat, Jun 29, 2013, 10:03 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 29, Colombo: Sri Lanka Customs has held a consignment of copies of the July 1st issue of the Time magazine at Colombo International Airport at Katunayake.
Customs spokesman Lesley Gamini said that a report has been submitted to the Director General of Customs in regarding the hold. He said that the batch of magazines would be released to the owner only after the Director General grants permission.
Political sources say that the Sri Lankan Government is likely to ban the latest edition of the Time magazine for its cover story on rising Buddhist militancy although the story is focused on Myanmar.
The cover story on the July 1 issue of Time Magazine entitled "The Face of Buddhist Terror" features Myanmar's extremist monk Wirathu, who has taken the title "the Burmese bin Laden and leads the 969 Buddhist Nationalist movement against the Muslims.
The Sri Lankan government has become concerned over the rising Buddhist extremism in the island.
The MORE the GOSL Vacillates & Oscillates on REPEEALING the 13th Amendment, the MORE CONFIDENT & ARROGANT the SEPARATISTS become. We saw that in Velupillai Prabhakaran, we are seeing that NOW in the TNA.
If the TNA, the JVP and possibly the UNP won't attend the PSC, go ahead with it, but let the PSC DECIDE to call a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM to REPEAL the 13th Amendment, NOW!
That is the kind of DECISIVE ACTION we need to PROTECT THE NATION from these Anti-National TRAITORS!
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Sri Lanka's Tamil alliance decides to boycott parliamentary select committee on ethnic problem
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 29, Colombo: Sri Lanka's major Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA), has decided not to participate in the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to find solutions to the national issue.
The TNA took this decision when the Representatives of the party met in Colombo today (29) to discuss their participation in the PSC proposed by the government.
Representatives of the main constituent political parties of the TNA, Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) attended the meeting.
The Speaker of parliament appointed 19 members to the PSC chaired by the Leader of the House, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva.
Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has also decided not to participate in the PSC and the main opposition United National Party is awaiting the response from the President to a letter sent by the party leader setting party's conditions.
Not only Sri Lanka is being SPIED UPON, Gota's Phone is tapped, he says!
Can we GUESS which "Group/Country" is doing the tapping? Stay tuned to this!
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Foreign spy agency tapping Gota’s phone
SundayTimes.lk
June 30, 2013
Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has complained to his mobile phone service provider that his phone is being tapped by an organised team with the intention of gathering national security secrets, according to a newspaper report.
A special investigation that looked into this complaint has revealed that those behind it were linked to a foreign mission in Colombo as well as a powerful foreign spy agency, our sister newspaper Irida Lankadeepa reports today in its lead story.
The report adds:
In addition to tapping the phone of the Defence Secretary, the phones of several other VIPs were being tapped by the same group, which possesses sophisticated phone-tapping equipment, the investigations have revealed.
The mobile-telecom service provider has also begun a probe to ascertain if national security was being compromised and if there is an attempt to tamper with the telecommunication system of the country by those engaged in wiretapping.
We PATRIOTS of Sri Lanka AGREE that the 13th Amendment should be ABOLISHED … NOW Mr. Ravi Karunanayake, but NOT for YOUR REASONS!
Your MOTIVATION is to SOMEWAY, SOMEHOW BRING DOWN the Patriotic UPFA Government that stands between Sri Lanka and her ENEMIES INTENT on DESTROYING her. We are well AWARE that you have consulted, collaborated and plotted with ALL Anti-National Elements in Sri Lanka to that end.
If you are so CONCERNED about Sri Lanka’s Security …. why don’t you marshal together and offer the UNP’s FULL SUPPORT for ABOLISHING the 13th Amendment to the UPFA Government. Country should COME FIRST before Political Party or Personal Self!
BUT, NO! You will stand on the sidelines ACTIVELY PLOTTING with Sri Lanka’s ENEMIES to deliver her to her ENEMIES, BOUND HAND & FOOT with the 13th Amendment!
BEGONE FOOL!
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UNP challenges Govt. to abolish 13-A using two thirds majority
Don’t let tense situation develop into a catastrophe
by Zacki Jabbar
Island.lk
June 29, 2013
The UNP yesterday challenged the government to use its two thirds majority in parliament and amend or abolish the 13th Amendment without threatening to do it while allowing the tense situation to develop into a catastrophe.
Senior UNPer Ravi Karunanayake said that if the Rajapaksa regime was convinced that the 13th Amendment was redundant in the post war era, the required two thirds majority was available, even though obtained against the peoples will and in the most unethical manner, to rectify what it has termed as an historical injustice.
“If, the government is really committed as it says to diluting or scrapping devolution, do it now without looking for scapegoats and adopting time wasting exercises such as Parliamentary Select Committees. The ethnic conflict has been discussed for decades and all the issues and solutions have been identified,’’ he said.
“The only thing left to do is implementation which is not forthcoming obviously due to the lack of guts in matching words with action.’’
Karunanayake said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa, by allowing the extremist forces within his ranks to run wild, had allowed a dangerous situation to develop which could lead to a tragic loss of life and property.Having pledged 13-A Plus to India, Rajapaksa had taken Sri Lankans for a ride, by saying that the Provincial Councils would be stripped of most of their key features including the right to merge with other PCs and land and police powers, he noted.
“All we are saying is go ahead and do what you believe in, without continuing the circus until the Northern Provincial Council Election is over”, Karunanayake said. He warned that such a course of action could lead to disastrous consequences.
He noted that while contradictory statements emanated from senior ministers on a daily basis, the minority and left parties in the ruling UPFA were up in arms over the proposed amendments which had shaken the very foundation of the ruling alliance.
As for the UNP, the MP said that a new constitutional formulation pledging meaningful devolution had been unveiled. This means they opposed the dilution of the 13th Amendment.
There NO ISSUE that is MORE IMPORTANT for Sri Lanka's SECURITY & SURVIVAL as a Sovereign Nation than the REPEAL of the 13th Amendent and ABOLISHING the Provincial Council System.
If Vasudeva Nanayakkara CANNOT SUPPORT REPEALING 13-A ... LET HIM RESIGN NOW!
ALL HIDDEN TRAITORS should LEAVE NOW. Let the People of Sri Lanka KNOW WHO THEY ARE!
BEGONE, SNAKE!
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Sri Lankan Minister will quit government if provincial councils abolished
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 01, Colombo: Sri Lanka's veteran leftist Minister of State Languages and National Integration Vasudeva Nanayakkara announced today that he would leave the government if it takes steps to abolish the powers of the provincial council system.
He said that he could agree to the abolition of powers of the provincial councils to merge, but the proposed amendment to make the nationally important laws approved only by the general majority of the councils needed to be taken up at the parliamentary select committee to amend the Constitution, he said.
Addressing a press briefing held in Colombo today, MP Nanayakkara slammed the idea circulated by some other members of the government that provincial councils are a "white elephant".
He argued that the cabinet of 95 ministers was more a white elephant than provincial councils.
He said that mere 7% of the cost of provincial councils is spent for maintaining them. The majority of the expenses of the provincial councils are for sectors like education and health which the government will have to bear in case the provincial councils are abolished.
THe SLMC is ANOTHER COMMUNAL PARTY .... Separatists in Waiting....who WILL NOT support REPEALING the 13th Amendment and ABOISHING the Provincial Councils. The SLMC too is GRREDY to carve out the Eastern Province as its own Ethno-Reigious Fiefdom.
Let the SLMC too RESIGN from the UPFA Government NOW ... Let Sri Lankan's SEE WHO THE TRAITORS ARE!
BEGONE, SNAKES!
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NPC polls: SLMC to go it alone
By Cyril Wimalasurendre
Island.lk
June 30, 2013
KANDY – Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) will contest the forthcoming Northern Provincial Council (NPC) election on its own.
SLMC Leader and Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem said in Kandy yesterday (30) that his party intended to go it alone at the NCP polls scheduled for September.
Minister Hakeem was responding to a question by the media, while addressing a meeting of the SLMC political activists in Kandy at the party branch office at Katugastota Road.
Minister Hakeem said that there was no need to be excited about the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on the national question as several political groups including the TNA, the UNP and the JVP had already announced that they would not participate in it.
In the address to the SLMC gathering, Hakeem said that during the on-going debate over the 13th Amendment, sinister attempts were being made by some groups and individuals to pull the SLMC out of the government.
But, the SLMC was not prepared to destablise the government, the SLMC leader said."Whatever the critics of the 13th Amendment may say I strongly believe that President Mahinda Rajapaksa, with his experience of 40 years, will make a reasonable decision on the matter, Hakeem said, adding that the SLMC made independent decisions and acted accordingly.
Actually ... it is TOO LATE for "correcting" India's Policy.
India should BUTT OUT, and STAY OUT, of ALL of Sri Lanka's Internal Matters .... NOW!
And Sri Lanka should ROLL BACK the WELCOME Carpet for India .... in Sri Lanka's National Interest!Get these BUGGERS OUT from UNDER Our Sarong!
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It is time India corrects its Sri Lanka policy
By M.R. Narayan Swamy | IANS India
June 1, 2013
It is impossible to believe that the forced withdrawal of two Sri Lankan army officers from the Defence Service Staff College in Wellington in Tamil Nadu will not affect ties between New Delhi and Colombo.
No self respecting nation likes it when its military officers sent for routine training are told to go home - due to the host country's domestic politics. Knowing the animosity in Tamil Nadu to the Sri Lankan military, New Delhi should have either not invited the two officers to Wellington or, having done so, should have stood by them until the training got over.
Yes, in a federal set up, the central government should listen to even conflicting issues from states. But no government can endlessly allow itself to be blackmailed into submission just because Tamil Nadu politicians who failed to drive sense into the LTTE when it was alive and kicking have now decided to avenge its defeat with a sweeping I-hate-Sri-Lanka policy.
The anti-Colombo sentiments in Tamil Nadu, fuelled by both the ruling and opposition parties, have led to attacks on innocent Sri Lankans who cannot be blamed for that country's military or foreign policy. This has fuelled anti-India feelings in Sri Lanka. If the situation continues without check, the time is not far when Indian interests in Sri Lanka could seriously get hurt.
The only winner in such an ugly situation will be the pro-LTTE political forces in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere who still cannot get over the fact that a militant group they thought could never lose has been vanquished.
It is time India corrects its Sri Lanka policy
.......Continued .........
There is no doubt that innumerable innocent Tamils got killed in the final stages of the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. But the LTTE was primarily to blame for forcing thousands of Tamil civilians to move into the battle zone - in the hope that their presence would prevent its own doom.
Having crushed the LTTE in 2009, the Sri Lankan leadership must have gracefully admitted to the death of innocents and announced a generous compensation and rehabilitation policy. But having claimed that no innocents were targeted, Colombo has got caged in a situation from where there is no easy escape, leading to repeated unpleasant international censures.
But that is only one aspect of a larger - and complex - story.
On their part, Tamil Nadu leaders, who otherwise preside over the destiny of millions, made no effort to inject sense into the LTTE leadership to call off the war when there was time. In any case, the LTTE didn't care two hoots for Tamil Nadu politicians - except if they contributed to its war efforts. Forget sound advice, some in Tamil Nadu urged Velupillai Prabhakaran to fight on till the Congress gets ousted by the BJP in the 2009 Lok Sabha election. That didn't happen, and the LTTE crashed.
While the war was on, India turned down Sri Lankan requests to build the Palaly air base in Jaffna (by attaching conditions Colombo couldn't meet) and a port at Hambantota because the Congress-led government was wary of rubbing Tamil Nadu the wrong way. Now Sri Lankan military officers invited to Wellington have been told to leave - and not just once.
It is time Prime Minister Manmohan Singh takes a re-look at India's Sri Lanka policy. India can't have the cake and eat it too. If India wants to advice Sri Lanka on its ethnic policy, then basic courtesies will have to be extended to Colombo. India cannot view Sri Lanka solely from the Tamil Nadu prism.
If attacking innocent Sri Lankans or asking their military officers to go home is right because of what happened in the war, then India should be ready to face similar music when its military officers go abroad. After all, have there been no rights violations in places like Kashmir?
(M.R. Narayan Swamy is a long time Sri Lankan watcher. The views expressed here are personal. He can be contacted at narayan.swamy@ians.in)
Kevin Rudd, Australia's ex-Prime MInister, has replaced Julia Gillard as Labor Party Leader, and therefore, returned as Australia's Prime Minister.
As the architect of Australia's STRONG POSITION against fake illegal refugees, in particular Sri Lankan Tamils, he has IMPROVED RELATIONS with Sri Lanka's UPFA government by working to PREVENT illegal immigration by boat people.
How will his return as Australia's Prime Minister affect relations with Sri Lanka in the future? Will they CONTINUE TO IMPROVE or will he fall under the witches spell of Australian Eelamists?
The GOSL should REACH OUT MORE to Kevin Rudd and the Government and People of Australia, and PROTECT Sri Lanka's National Interests by doing so!
"Modern international relations are marred by the self-interest of states and their struggle for power. We feel that the very colonialism that we had fought and freed ourselves from a few decades ago is making a comeback in a different from in today's global scenario". ABSOLUTELY, Mr. President! Despite the Fig Leaves of "Human Rights, "Democracy" and "Global Terror" covering their NAKEDNESS ... the ENEMY REMAINS the SAME as in the PAST ... COLONIALISM! .... in an INCREASINGLY RESOURCE LIMITED world.
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Sri Lankan President emphasizes Asia-Africa cooperation against threat of colonialism
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 01, Victoria, Seychelles: Small nations like Sri Lanka and Seychelles which fought of colonialism years ago are under threat from emerging power blocks and the cooperation between Asia and Africa to prevent attempts by interested parties intervening in the internal affairs of developing nations is needed more than ever, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.
"Modern international relations are marred by the self-interest of states and their struggle for power. We feel that the very colonialism that we had fought and freed ourselves from a few decades ago is making a comeback in a different from in today's global scenario," the President said addressing the Seychelles' National Assembly at an Extraordinary Sitting on June 30th.
President Rajapaksa, who is on a two day state visit to Seychelles, noted that the threats to small nations from the intervention of powerful states are harmful for the development and those countries need to get together to fight the challenges.
"I emphasize the need for cooperation between Asia and Africa to prevent attempts by interested parties to intervene the internal affairs of developing nations," the President said.
Speaking of Sri Lanka's development after the end of the war, the President said Sri Lanka has embarked upon massive infrastructure development projects that would give the people of Sri Lanka the dividends of peace amid obstacles from outside forces.
"While we are trying to bring about national reconciliation and economic development, we are not without post-conflict challenges. Interested parties endeavor to undermine our victory over terrorism and humiliate us in the international scene," he noted.
Sri Lanka counts on the valuable and continued support and understanding of friendly nations like the Seychelles, the Sri Lankan President said.
He said the best assistance that the international community could afford Sri Lanka at this point of time in its reconciliation process is to provide the required time, space and encouragement to the government.
Reiterating Sri Lankan government's strong commitment to greater cooperation between the two countries, the President said Seychelles and Sri Lanka, both island nations in the Indian Ocean, could work together to promote regional economic integration and connectivity and to evolve an open, balanced and rule-based architecture.
Daya Master is STILL SPOUTING Eelamist rhetoric, and the GOSL is trying to field him as an SLFP CAndidate in the PC Elections.
To be PALATABLE to Northern PC residents .... he has to support Eelamist goals (See my last post on Daya Master).
To be PALATABLE to the SLFP .... he has to WEAR an SLFP sheepskin.
If he gets elected, which man will emerge? Another Douglas Devananda? The Eelamist or the SLFP-er? These are FUNDAMENTALLY INCOMPATIBLE positions.
This UNDERSCORES AGAIN the FLAWS and DANGERS posed by the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Council System to survival of Sri Lanka as a UNITARY Sovereign Nation.
If there were no PCs, the SLFP would not have to compromise its PRINCIPLES to field a PC candidate palatable to EELAMISTS! What IDIOCY is this? I am afraid, there is NO CURE FOR STUPIDITY!
Rise Up .... O Patriots of Mother Lanka .... Rise Up to Defend & Protect your Motherland ... the Barbarians are AGAIN at the Gates!
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Former LTTE spokesperson to prepare Sri Lanka ruling party manifesto for Northern PC poll
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 02, Colombo: The former LTTE Spokesperson Velayutham Dayanthi alias Daya Master will prepare Sri Lanka governing party's manifesto for the Northern Provincial Council election.
Dayanithi plans to contest under the governing United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) for the Northern Provincial Council election.
He has told the media that candidates who are to contest under the UPFA including him have identified the issues faced by the Tamil people and the solutions to these issues would be included in the party's election manifesto.
According to Dayanithi, Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) Leader, Minister Douglas Devananda and other governing party members representing all communities are in the process of preparing the manifesto along with him.
NOW the Broader Strategy is REVEALED: Thamilini was released from Custody to run in the PC Elections as an SLFP Candidate!
ONCE MORE, this UNDERSCORES the FLAWS and DANGERS posed by the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Council System to survival of Sri Lanka as a UNITARY Sovereign Nation. We are creating problems for ourselves in the future .... a Tiger's stripes can NEVER be wiped away!
If there were no PCs, the SLFP would not have to compromise its PRINCIPLES to field a PC candidate palatable to EELAMISTS! What IDIOCY is this? I am afraid, there is NO CURE FOR STUPIDITY!
Rise Up …. O Patriots of Mother Lanka …. Rise Up to Defend & Protect your Motherland … the Barbarians are AGAIN at the Gates!
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Former LTTE Women's Political Wing leader to get membership in Sri Lanka Freedom Party
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 02, Colombo: The former Women's Political Wing leader of the terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Subramaniam Shivathavi alias Thamalini is to get the membership in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), political sources say.
Sources also say that Thamalini will contest as a candidate of the SLFP to the upcoming Northern Provincial Council election.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is the leader of the SLFP is expected to approve Thamilini's membership after his return to country.
Thamalini was arrested by state military when she was with the civilians in a refugee camp following the defeat of the LTTE. She was detained for a long time and released recently after a rehabilitation programme in Poonthottam Rehabilitation Camp in Vavuniya.
This UNDERSCORES Gota’s security concerns: Why did this LTTE intelligence Leader in custody, fail to disclose this buried bomb until now? Why?
Hoping to put it to good use in the future if the Eelam violence is resurrected by the Tiger Nominated Agents of the TNA?
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LTTE intelligence leader divulged about one ton bomb buried in Avissawella
By Siranjani Kumari
DailyNews.lk
July 2, 2013
The Colombo Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) yesterday informed the Court that an LTTE intelligence leader divulged that a high explosive bomb weighing one ton that had been brought by the LTTE to blast Colombo is still buried in Avissawella.
A resident of Vavunia Rajendra Kumar has revealed that this high explosive was brought under the instructions of LTTE inteligence head Pottu Amman and hidden. Magistrate Nirosha Fernando ordered the Commissioner General of Prisons to handover the suspect to the TID Colombo for three days. It is also revealed that nineteen firearms, 3,500 T-56 ammunition, three LMG weapons, Rs 10 million in cash and chocolates worth of Rs 8 million were hidden with the one ton bomb. The suspect is in remand custody in connection with four cases being heard before the Gampaha and Attanagalla courts.
The suspect was an active LTTE intelligence leader. He voluntarily revealed the information. Following a complaint made by the prison authorities to the TID Colombo, investigations had commenced. The suspect had later been taken to the TID on last 6th and the TID informed Court that the investigation could not be completed. The TID requested court to allow the suspect to be retained for a period of another three or four days.
The Magistrate ordered that the LTTE suspects Rajendra Kumar and Yogarajah Niroshan be handed over to the TID. The court also allowed the suspects to be taken to Avissawella under prison protection.
Is this not RATHER PRECIPITOUS action by the Tiger Nominated Agents (TNA)?
After all, they did threaten to BOYCOTT the PC elections if the 13th Amendment is modified to EXCLUDE Land and Police Powers!
OK, here is the $64,000 question: What does the TNA know that we don't?... ANYONE care to prognosticate?
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Sri Lanka Tamil party names chief ministerial candidate for Northern Provincial Council
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 02, Colombo: The Jaffna Branch of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK), the main constituent party of Tamil National Alliance (TNA), has unanimously nominated Jaffna District Parliamentarian and the general secretary of ITAK Mavai Senathirajah as the Chief Ministerial candidate to the Northern Province.
Local media reported that former Jaffna Municipal Councilor, C.V.K. Sivagnanam, had announced that Mavai Senathiraja's name for the candidature at a press briefing held in Jaffna yesterday.
However, the final decision on the nomination will be taken in consultation with all the constituent parties in the alliance, TNA sources have said,
That is RIDICULOUS! How is it POSSIBLE that we can RUN OUT OF Ministerships?
Ministers are so OMNIPRESENT that people are ALREADY saying "Amathithuma ... Meheta Waren"!
Let us Create MORE Portfolios ... until EVERY MP is a GODDAMN MINISTER!
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Three MPs of Sri Lanka opposition wish to join the government - Minister
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 03, Colombo: Three opposition parliamentarians have expressed desire to join the government, according to the Minister of Media and Information Keheliya Rambukwella.
Minister Rambukwella has told The Divaina newspaper that a decision has not been taken yet since there was no position in the government to offer them although their joining was essential for the government.
The Minister has added that although the MPs have not joined the government, their support could be obtained for the government at any moment.
A large number of MPs elected from major opposition United National Party (UNP) have already joined the government. The government offered the early joined MPs ministerial positions but lacked positions for the late comers.
INDEED, Sri Lanka should NOT LISTEN to India on the 13th-A!
Since WHEN are VICTIMS of ABUSE required to HEED the ABUSERS after escaping their clutches?
HERE is the HYPOCRISY of Indians.:
First they initiate, train, support and fund Tamil terrorism in Sri Lanka to serve their interests,
then Threaten, Invade and Occupy Sri Lanka under the guise of "Peacekeepers" when that terrorism is in FULL SWING, preventing Sri Lanka from defending itself against their terrorist surrogates,
then they CHANGE OUR CONSTITUTION and IMPOSE the 13th Amendment upon Sri Lanka at GUNPOINT to solve their own problems presumably to ensure "ethnic harmony" in Sri Lanka that they themselves disrupted,
then they allow that terrorism to GROW beyond their ability to control it,
then they declare victory and advance to the REAR back to India leaving Sri Lanka with their terrorist baby to feed,
and now, after the Tamil Separatist Monster they impregnated Sri Lanka with had been eradicated at great cost in blood and treasure, they come along demanding that Sri Lanka implement their Flawed Solution to the problem they embedded in Sri Lanka, having abandoned their own responsibility to restore the Sovereignty of Sri Lanka by disarming the LTTE!
They CREATED the"problem".
They IMPOSED an ILLEGAL "Solution".
They FAILED to do their part of their "solution".
And NOW, they are demanding that Sri Lanka implements SRi Lanka's part of their FAILED ILLEGAL "solution" that they imposed at GUNPOINT, and FAILED to HONOR themselves!
There is no other word for it, but RAPE! Under which Internationally accepted LAW is Sri Lanka compelled to deliver a RAPISTS baby?
Is there a GREATER CRIME than the STUPIDITY of OUR LEADERS who are STILL arguing this issue and TREATING India as ANYTHING MORE than a ABUSIVE NEIGHBOR who should be kicked in the behind and locked out of the house?
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We should not listen to India on 13 A - Gotabaya
DailyMirror.lk
July 2, 2013
Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said today that Sri Lanka should not listen to India with regard to the implementation of the 13th Amendment as the national problem was inherently one that should be solved by Sri Lankans.
“We should not listen to India on this; this doesn’t meant that we lose the relationship we have with India. But if there is a problem it should only be solved by Sri Lankans and not India,” he said.
He said the national question should have a homegrown solution -- and the debate about 13th Amendment should not affect the relations between the two countries.
“India is our friend and we need to continue the good relations. This should not be an issue to strain our relationship, and I’m of the view that India understands that. They should understand that this is inherently a Sri Lankan issue and we have to address it with a solution that we devise” he said,
Rajapaksa said the “alienation of provinces based on ethnicity” was not the solution to the ethnic issue.
“This is not the solution; and it has failed. There are Tamils living in all parts of the country and Muslims too -- so what about them? How does the Provincial Council system solve their problems? I believe in the decentralisation of administration; but I don’t believe that areas should be demarcated according to ethnicity, religion, caste or creed. This country belongs to all Sri Lankans and we have to think in those terms,” he said. (Hafeel Farisz)
The LACK OF RESOLVE of the GOSL in moving to REPEAL the 13th Amendment DECISIVELY, ENCOURAGES even Foreign NGOs to MEDDLE in Sri Lanka's INTERNAL POLITICS!
WHAT CHANCE has Sri Lanka for long term SECURITY when its DEFENDERS DITHER wringing their TREMBLING hands?
Oh, How Low the Mighty Heroes of our Hela Diva have Fallen today! Give me leaders who have NOTHING TO PROTECT but their Motherland!
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Expelled German NGO in talks with TNA, TNPF, GTF
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
July 2, 2013
A German NGO expelled from Sri Lanka, at the height of the Vanni offensive, is pushing the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) as well as the most influential Diaspora grouping - the UK headquartered Global Tamil Forum (GTF) to adopt a common strategy on the national issue.
The TNPF headed by former MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam is a breakaway faction of the TNA. The TNA split in the wake of the LTTE battlefield defeat in May 2009 leading to the formation of the TNPF, which contested Jaffna and Trincomalee electoral districts at the April 2010 parliamentary election, on its own. The TNPF is not represented in parliament.
Authoritative sources told The Island that the TNA, TNPF and the GTF had recently met in Berlin under the auspices of the Berghof Foundation to discuss an entire range of issues, particularly the proposed first Northern Provincial Council election.
The NGO is funded by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Sources said that a two-day conference took place on June 22 and 23 with the participation of Suresh Premachandran (Jaffna District MP), M. A. Sumanthiran (National List MP) and Selvam Adaikalanathan (TELO leader and Vanni District MP) representing the TNA, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and S. Kajendran from the TNPF and GTF leader Rev. Father S.J Emmanuel and its spokesperson Suren Surendiran.
The British Tamil Forum (BTF) too, is believed to have participated in the discussions.
The Berghof Foundation suspended its operations in Sri Lanka late April 2008 subsequent to government decision to rescind a work permit issued to the then Country Director Dr. Nobert Ropers. The Berghof Foundation launched its project here in July 2001 on the invitation of the then government.
The TNA’s recent announcement that it would boycott the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to recommend ways and means of settling the national problem should be examined taking into consideration the deliberations made in Berlin, sources said. Responding to a query, an official said that the TNA and the TNPF were believed to be divided over their strategy in case the government called for northern provincial council elections even under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
Sources speculated that TNPF was likely to boycott the elections widely expected to be held in September.
Sources said that Berghof Foundation sponsored two meetings for the same purpose in Singapore (April 2011) and Berlin (January 2013). Sources asserted that the project was aimed at agreeing on a roadmap to achieve their objectives, which remained the same in spite of eradication of the LTTE’s conventional military power.
At the inauguration of the TNPF, the party pledged it was committed to the concept of Tamil nationalism, homeland, Tamil nationhood, Tamil sovereignty and Tamils’ Right to self-determination. The All Ceylon Tamil Congress was the main constituent of the TNPF, they said.
Former TNA MP Pathmini Sithamparanathan had been an original member of the TNPF, sources said, adding that the majority of those who threw their weight behind the new party were close to the LTTE, particularly its top leadership.
Talking about Emperors Without Clothes, here comes SArath Gonseka, without a stitch to cover his NAKEDNESS.
Instead of crawling into a Black Hole to hide his head in SHAME at his INGRATITUDE & TREACHERY against his Motherland, his Colleagues and his Superiors in Government, this UNPRINCIPLED MAN DARES TO SHOW HIS FACE in the Political Arena AGAIN!
This time he goes ONE STEP FURTHER in his TREACHERY ... he supports the 13th Amendment to EMPOWER those very same terrorists who attempted to blow him to bits, and against whom he fought at the HEAD of Sri Lanka's Patriotic Army.
Does this man know NO SHAME!
He was rescued from the threshold of retirement and given the opportunity he begged for to lead the Sri Lanka Army by Gotabhaya & Mahinda Rajapaksa. He used that position to aggrandize himself, and to arrogate to himself ALL ACCOMPLISHMENTS of ALL OTHER Heroic Officers ... his comrades in arms against the LTTE ... who bore the brunt of that Heroic War of National Liberation.
Driven by UNBOUNDED AMBITION & GREED, he REPAID the GENEROSITY of the Rajapaksa's, who raised him up to receive the adulation of Sri Lankan Patriots, by accusing them of a war crime.
Even today, Sri Lanka is STILL trying to Dispel that charge, and overcome its international repercussions, against its Heroic Armed Forces.
Sarath Gonseka, do us PATRIOTS OF LANKA a FAVOR and PLEASE SHUT UP & GO AWAY! We would like to FORGET ABOUT YOU, just as every American Patriot wants to erase the memory of the traitor Gen. Benedict Arnold of the Continental Army in the War of Independence.
To Sarath Gonseka, a hollow man bereft of virtue, that immortal cry "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" is without resonance, of no meaning at all!
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Changing 13th Amendment would disrupt ethnic harmony, Sri Lanka's former Army Commander says
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 03, Colombo: Former Army Commander of Sri Lanka and Leader of the Democratic Party, Sarath Fonseka says amending the 13th Amendment to the Constitution at this juncture would disrupt the ethnic harmony in the country.
Explaining that the solution to the current issues could only be brought about by a new Constitution and not by amending the existing Constitution, Fonseka says the Northern Provincial Council election should be held without revising the 13th Amendment.
He said that he does not agree with the proposed draft constitution put forward by the main opposition United National Party (UNP), especially on the formation of an executive council.
According to Fonseka, his party would contest at the Northern Provincial Council election and would also field a powerful chief ministerial candidate at the North Western Provincial Council election.
Indo-Lanka Accord is not a valid document - JHU
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 03, Colombo: An Ally of Sri Lanka's governing party, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) says that the Indo-Lanka Accord is an invalid document since India had failed to honor its pledge.
JHU General Secretary, Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said that the Indo-Lanka Accord and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution are both invalid.
Addressing a rally in Colombo yesterday, the Minister noted that India had failed to disarm the LTTE as agreed in the Indo-Lanka Accord.
He explained that India had pledged to disarm the LTTE in 72 hours after entering into the agreement but had failed to do.
Therefore, he notes that the Sri Lankan government should realize that the agreement is invalid.
According to Ranawaka, it is a misconception to believe that power could be won in the country by holding the Tamil vote bank in one hand and the Muslim votes in the other.
Jayawewa! Another Eelamist terrorist BITES THE DUST! I hope he gets the MAXIMUM sentence of 25 years without PAROLE!
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Canadian Tamil Tiger extradited to US pleads guilty for abetting LTTE
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 04, Colombo: A Canadian Tamil Tiger operative extradited to the United States to face charges of supporting the banned terrorist organization, Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), has pleaded guilty Tuesday in Brooklyn, New York, to the charges against him.
The suspect, Suresh Sriskandarajah, 32, could face up to 25 years in prison after admitting that he provided material support including sophisticated military technology to the LTTE.
According to court filings, Sriskandarajah and several co-conspirators have assisted a principal LTTE procurement officer to research and acquire aviation equipment, submarine and warship design software, and communications equipment.
Sriskandarajah has used students as couriers to smuggle prohibited items into LTTE-controlled Wanni region in Sri Lanka. He has also helped the LTTE launder its proceeds in the United States and elsewhere.
Sriskandarajah and another suspect Piratheepan Nadarajah, 36, alleged operatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), were extradited from Canada and arraigned on December 27, 2012 in the United State federal court in Brooklyn, New York.
Both men were arrested in Toronto following a joint RCMP-FBI investigation called Project O-Needle in 2006. They have been fighting extradition in Canada since then and in December last year lost the battle when the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed the orders to extradite them to the U.S. to face charges against them.
Basil is the WRONG MAN for telling India what it does not want to hear!
Should send ALL THREE .... Gota, Basil and Lalith Weeratunga ... who had kept India informed during the Eelam War.
Gota will provide the necessary BACKBONE to SAY WHAT MUST BE SAID! Basil alone may backtrack!
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Sri Lankan Minister leaves for India to discuss changes to13th Amendment
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 04, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Economic Development Minister and Senior Adviser to the President Basil Rajapaksa left for India Thursday to apprise high ranking officials of the Indian government on the Sri Lankan government's stance on13th Amendment to the Constitution.
Minister Basil Rajapaksa is expected to inform the Indian officials of the government's stance on police and land powers and the reasons behind that stance.
He will meet Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Kurshid and National Security Advisor Shivsankar Menan during his two day stay in India.
Cabinet Spokesman and Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella at the cabinet press briefing held in Colombo today said the Sri Lankan government has informed India at diplomatic level on the proposed revisions to the 13th Amendment.
The Sri Lankan government is required to officially inform the Indian government of the intended changes to the 13th Amendment since India is also a partner of the agreement, according to Minister Rambukwella.
The 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution, which created the provincial council system in the island under the Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987 as a solution to devolve power, is found to be problematic under the current political situation.
Minister Rambukwella said although land and police powers were vested with the provincial councils by the 13th Amendment these powers have not been practically used by the provincial councils for over past 25 years. The Minister added that the government is considering to dilute those powers vested in the provincial councils.
HDLM,
The People of Sri Lanka, in whom Sovereignty is Vested, have the right to REPEAL the 13th Amendment ANYTIME regardless of whether it was LEGALLY or ILLEGALLY imposed without the CONSENT of the People, if the 13th Amendment in THEIR OWN considered judgment, NO LONGER SERVES THEIR NATION's BEST INTEREST.
The ILLEGALITY of the 13th Amendment, in as much that it was IMPOSED under DURESS upon Sri Lanka against the WILL of its Sovereign People, only STRENGTHENS the RIGHT & the WISDOM of REPEALING it.
The People of Sri Lanka are SOVEREIGN; they can REPEAL the 13th Amendment through a NATIONWIDE REFERENDUM ANYTIME they WANT to, for WHATEVER REASON. That is what Sovereignty MEANS, and they WANT TO EXERCISE that right.
Historic mansion used as prison in Sri Lanka to be evacuated and handed over to the President
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 04, Colombo: Sri Lanka Ministry of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms will hand over 'Ehelepola Walawwa' mansion, which has been used as Bogambara High Security Prison for nearly 195 years, to the President on 13th July.
Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Chandrasiri Gajadeera yesterday paid an observation tour to the Ehelepola Walawwa mansion prior to the handing over.
In 1825, Ehelepola Maha Nilame, a Sinhala elite class official, who was supporting the British colonial rule after the capture of the Sinhala Kingdom, was exiled to Mauritius Island. He died there on April 5, 1829 at the age of 56.
The historic mansion is expected to be restored and used in a commercially viable project.
The government has taken steps to remove the prisons from the city centers and a new prison complex has been constructed in Pallekele to house the prisoners evacuated from Bogambara.
Prisoners from the overcrowded maximum-security prison, which is situated on a 13-acre land in the center of the busy city, will be moved to the new prison complex built in Pallekele at a cost of 1.93 billion rupees.
We Agree: Holding PC Elections WITHOUT REMOVING Police & Land Powers is a Prescription for SUICIDE for Sri Lanka!
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Sri Lankan movement demands government to postpone Northern Provincial Council election
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 05, Colombo: A Sri Lankan nationalist movement, Joint Association of Patriotic Movements (JAPM) has called on the government to postpone the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) election.
The movement has demanded that the election be postponed until police and land powers are removed from Provincial Councils.
JAPM member Ven. Thrikunamale Ananda Thera has said the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to introduce amendments to the 13th Amendment needs to support the government by repealing the provision to assign police and land powers to PCs.
He has noted that separatist forces urged the government to hold the Northern Provincial Council election before introducing constitutional amendment in order to set up a Tamil Eelam.
According to Ven. Ananda Thero, these forces were trying to use the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) platform to win their demand.
He has added that people needed to come together to defeat international interference.
ALL PATRIOTIC CITIZENS of Sri Lanka should FLY A BLACK FLAG on the day of the upcoming Provincial Council Elections.
This is a day of MOURNING comparable to that DAY OF INFAMY .... March 4, 1815 .... when Sri Lanka LOST ITS SOVEREIGNTY and its Hallowed Crown to the British Invaders.
DECLARE Provincial Council Election Day, a DAY OF SORROW & MOURNING, and FLY A BLACK FLAG!
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India emphasizes full implementation of the 13th Amendment in Sri Lanka
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 05, Colombo: India has stressed the need for Sri Lanka to fully implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution including the devolution of police and land powers to the provinces.
During a meeting with Sri Lanka's Economic Development Minister and President's senior adviser Basil Rajapaksa in New Delhi, India's External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has emphasized that the 13th Amendment should not be diluted and Sri Lanka should go beyond the amendment to ensure meaningful devolution of powers.
Minister Rajapaksa is visiting New Delhi to inform the Indian officials of President's decision to hold elections to Northern Provincial Council and convey the Sri Lankan government's stance on the proposed changes to the 13th Amendment to the Indian leaders, mainly as a formality since the amendment was introduced under the Indo-Lanka agreement of 1987.
Minister Khurshid welcomed the proclamation made by the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa President Friday (July 05) to hold the elections to the Northern Provincial Council.
President Rajapaksa today directed the Elections Commissioner to hold the elections to the Northern PC and according to the Elections Commissioner elections will be held in the latter half of September.
The government expects to amend the legislation giving land and police powers to provinces before the provincial council elections are held.
Khurshid has stressed the importance of all political parties in Sri Lanka being represented in the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), which has appointed to resolve the issues relating to constitutional reform, and expressed hope that all parties would join the process.
The Indian Minister has commended the government's efforts in reconstruction, resettlement, and infrastructure development as well as the steps taken to improve the livelihoods of the people in the Northern Province including rapid strides made in the agriculture sector.
Earlier Khurshid has conveyed Indian government's view on the 13th Amendment to his Sri Lankan counterpart Minister G.L. Peiris stressing the need to keep the amendment unchanged.
Minister Rajapaksa has also held meetings with the National Security Advisor shiv Shankar Menon and the Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai.
jayasiri,
I DISAGREE! The PC elections in September PRECEDES the CHOGM meeting held in November. After the PC Elections, the Tiger Nominated Agents of the TNA will be in CONTROL of the Northern PC, with the Full Blessing and Support of India, Tamil Nadu, Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora, and the Western Neo-Colonialist Powers. Ousting the TNA Separatists from that Position of Power will be MUCH MORE DIFFICULT, if not IMPOSSIBLE, than preventing them getting there in the first place!
The CHOGM meeting is a mere Bagetelle compared to the Loss of Sovereignty due to the empowerment of UNREPENTENT SEPARATISTS in the PC Election.
It is a STUPENDOUS FOLLY to allow the Northern PC Elections to take place under the UNMODIFIED 13-A! It is an ACT which will cause INCALCULABLE harm to Sovereign Sri Lanka.
The STANCE of India (See article below on what Basil was told in India) confirms India's ENDURING COMMITTMENT to the EVENTUAL DISINTEGRATION of Sri Lanka.
The GOSL should RECOGNIZE that this struggle to REPEAL the 13th Amendment and RESTORE Sri Lanka's Sovereign CROWN to her is Eelam War V !
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India emphasizes full implementation of the 13th Amendment in Sri Lanka
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 05, Colombo: India has stressed the need for Sri Lanka to fully implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution including the devolution of police and land powers to the provinces.
During a meeting with Sri Lanka's Economic Development Minister and President's senior adviser Basil Rajapaksa in New Delhi, India's External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has emphasized that the 13th Amendment should not be diluted and Sri Lanka should go beyond the amendment to ensure meaningful devolution of powers.
Minister Rajapaksa is visiting New Delhi to inform the Indian officials of President's decision to hold elections to Northern Provincial Council and convey the Sri Lankan government's stance on the proposed changes to the 13th Amendment to the Indian leaders, mainly as a formality since the amendment was introduced under the Indo-Lanka agreement of 1987.
Minister Khurshid welcomed the proclamation made by the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa President Friday (July 05) to hold the elections to the Northern Provincial Council.
President Rajapaksa today directed the Elections Commissioner to hold the elections to the Northern PC and according to the Elections Commissioner elections will be held in the latter half of September.
The government expects to amend the legislation giving land and police powers to provinces before the provincial council elections are held.
Khurshid has stressed the importance of all political parties in Sri Lanka being represented in the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), which has appointed to resolve the issues relating to constitutional reform, and expressed hope that all parties would join the process.
The Indian Minister has commended the government's efforts in reconstruction, resettlement, and infrastructure development as well as the steps taken to improve the livelihoods of the people in the Northern Province including rapid strides made in the agriculture sector.
Earlier Khurshid has conveyed Indian government's view on the 13th Amendment to his Sri Lankan counterpart Minister G.L. Peiris stressing the need to keep the amendment unchanged.
Minister Rajapaksa has also held meetings with the National Security Advisor shiv Shankar Menon and the Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai.
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