SundayObserver.lk
July 17, 2011
US congressman Heath Shuler in an open letter to his fellow colleagues in the House of Representatives has emphasized that the US future policy towards Sri Lanka should be focused on supporting the country’s reconciliation efforts and engagement with the US. 
The member for North Carolina and a member of the Steering and Policy Committee, Shuler, who visited Sri Lanka in May 2009, just days after the operations against the LTTE concluded, begins his letter:
Today, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International-USA are screening a controversial documentary about Sri Lanka.
There is a great deal of misinformation and debate about what occurred during the final days of Sri Lanka’s war.
Recounting his experience, in the backdrop of the screening of the controversial documentary, he has said "Sri Lanka is the only democracy to have defeated a terrorist organization in recent memory".
When I arrived in Sri Lanka, after the end of the war, the optimism and hope of the Sri Lankan people was palpable.
With the defeat of the Tigers for the first time in decades Sri Lankans felt safe from terror.
Even the Tamils I met in the recently constructed camps felt optimistic about the future of their country, knowing that security would bring much needed progress to everyone in the country.’’
I saw the toll that the 26-year-long terror campaign waged by the Tigers had on the nation.
Our own government designated the Tigers as one of the world’s worst terror groups.
Over the past quarter of a century, the Tigers reigned terror on the nation, including suicide bombings, summary executions, ethnic cleansing, recruitment of child soldiers, drug smuggling, piracy and international money laundering.
Reminding that Sri Lanka is a long time ally of the US, the member for North Carolina has pointed out that "US cannot discount the long standing and strategic relationship" with Sri Lanka which is an "enduring democracy".
Since my visit, I have been following the progress Sri Lanka has made. Since the end of the war, there has not been a single terrorist attack in Sri Lanka.
Based on news accounts and UN documents, almost all of the 300,000 displaced persons in Sri Lanka have returned to their homes, over 11,000 former LTTE fighters and child soldiers have been rehabilitated and re-integrated into society, and nearly 60% of the two million landmines have been cleared.
Shuler has also recognized that a ‘commission to investigate wrongdoings conducted by both sides during the conflict and to foster national healing and reconciliation’ is making progress.
In conclusion he has written "As we work together to develop our policy on Sri Lanka, I am happy to tell you about my experience there", adding that he was willing to discuss with any of his colleagues about the true situation in Sri Lanka as he had been closely watching the unfolding developments at the ground level - which was very much different to the picture portrayed in the public domain.
29 comments:
Bravo, Congressman Shuler!
Thank you, for rising above falsehoods, and politically orchestrated defamation and political payoffs, and telling the US Congress the TRUE STORY about Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka, one of the only two functioning democracies of South Asia, a long time ALLY of the United States, the only nation that eradicated terrorism through its own efforts, and is striving to become the New Economic Wonder of Asia within the next decade, deserves our unstinting support.
If the US which champions democracy around the world fails to support Sri Lanka, that has clung to parliamentary democracy and universal franchise despite all odds even in its darkest hours, then we will be EXPOSED as HYPOCRITES!
Let us put our money where our mouth is .. and support Sri Lanka ... an enduring beacon of democracy and individual freedom in the developing world!
The following is a report on Congressman Shuler's vist to Sri Lanka in May, 2009.
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In Sri Lanka: A U.S. Congressman Gets It
By Jim Luce
HuffingtonPOst.com
May 30, 2009
Colombo, Sri Lanka. At a press conference at the Colombo Hilton this morning, North Carolina Congressman Heath Shuler was flanked by the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Washington and the Sri Lanka Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The American Congressman stated boldly, "I would like to congratulate the government of Sri Lanka in their victory over terrorism. We are seeing peace today for the first time in 26 years"
I could not have been more elated. It was the first time I have heard an American elected official seem to understand what has transpired here in Sri Lanka. As the only American journalist in the room, I was unsure if those gathered grasped the significance of his statement.
Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya, whom I interviewed last week from New York, and Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona, looked as if they understood this was an important moment.
"The situation here on the ground in Sri Lanka is much different than has been reported in the U.S.," Congressman Shuler said.
"I have had open access to the government and the camps for internally displaced people, and commend the government for allowing me to come into this country and to see what I needed to see.
"At this point, Sri Lanka has such an incredible opportunity to move forward, economically, towards prosperity. Of overcoming the challenges of war, and now, embracing the possibilities of moving forward.
"I was able to go to the refugee camps, to move freely there, and to speak with the people staying there.
"I spoke to one 18 year-old Tamil woman who explained to me how she had been used for the last eight months as a human shield by the Tamil Tigers, and how she was looking forward to the opportunity to return to her home.
"I commend the Sri Lankan government, as well as the international community -- USAID, the United Nations, the International Red Cross -- for their efforts. There are serious challenges ahead, but these will be met by the government and people of Sri Lanka.
"The people of Sri Lanka, especially in the south, are sending and unprecedented amount of emergency supplies -- people to people -- and in addition to that support the government is opening schools, banks, and hospitals in the refugee camps.
In Sri Lanka: A U.S. Congressman Gets It
.....continued 1.....
"In order to take the large steps needed towards reconciliation, there is a need to get families returned home. There are challenges ahead, but the people of Sri Lanka must set aside differences for the sake of peace and prosperity.
"I can go back to the U.S. now," the Congressman stated to the journalists and dignitaries assembled, "and report on what I have seen.
"It is so important to look at the lives of the people of Sri Lanka and to see how they are working together to settle their differences and move forward to obtain an eternal peace.
2009-05-29-Heath4.jpg
Speaking with Dr. Palitha Kohona, Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary.
"I want to go home and explain to my colleagues the political and humanitarian actions that the government of Sri Lankan has undertaken, and to assure them that Sri Lanka has access to the funding needed to rebuild.
One Sri Lankan journalist asked if the Congressman felt the Sri Lankan-American relationship had been diminished by the conflict.
"That is the reason I am here," he replied. "I have had full access to this country and its people, in the camps, on the streets.
"It is this openness and transparency for the international community to see the progress being made in the refugee camps.
"It is important for the world to see the Singhalese, Tamil, and Muslim Sri Lankans all living together in harmony, in peace, as part of the reconciliation process.
"It won't be easy. The war has just ended. The work we are seeing now has just begun in the camps. Water, sewage, communications - even banks. The land must be de-minded, and people must be returned to their home towns as quickly as possible.
"The 18 year-old Tamil woman that I spoke to commented how in less than a week the Sri Lankan government had created conditions much better than she had experienced living in the LTTE camps.
One European journalist asked a particularly pointed question about whether the U.S. Congressman was calling for an investigation of alleged atrocities by both sides during the conflict's resolution.
"I am not here to investigate," the Congressman stated bluntly. "This is now about reconciliation. To proceed, you cannot move forward looking in the rear-view mirror. The need now is to create a sustainable peace."
Another journalist asked about Hillary Clinton's comment before the conflict ended that perhaps now was not the best time for International Monetary Fund loans to Sri Lanka.
"This is not what I understood she said," he replied.
"The work that the Sri Lankan government is doing is very helpful in terms of temporary housing, water, schools.
"I will go back to the U.S. and share with my colleagues in the State Department how important the IMF loans are for Sri Lanka's economic development.
"From tourism to trade to agriculture, it is important that this nation begin moving forward immediately to sustain peace.
"It will happen. The efforts of the Sri Lankan community will make it happen.
With that, Heath Shuler, U.S. Congressman from North Carolina -- a thought leader and global citizen -- ended his strong remarks in favor of the Sri Lankan government's efforts to move forward into a future of diversity and prosperity.
I warmly congratulated him for having been the first American political leader I have heard that actually understood what had transpired -- and most importantly -- what needs to transpire, here in Sri Lanka.
Photos by Indika Bandera.
Post-war cooperation: US, Australia at C’bo security meet
India skips confab co-sponsored by SL and US
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
July 17, 2011
Having boycotted Sri Lanka’s Defence Symposium (Defeating Terrorism: the Sri Lanka Experience) late last May citing alleged accountability issues, the US and Australia last week participated in a five-day maritime security conference in Colombo.
Several countries, including the UK boycotted the three-day defence symposium over allegations of excesses by the Sri Lankan military during eelam war IV, a charge strongly denied by Sri Lanka. Of some 52 countries invited to the symposium, only 41 attended.
An authoritative military official told The Island that the South Asia Maritime Security Conference aka MARSEC co-hosted by Sri Lanka and the US had underscored the importance of greater collaboration among countries to tackle maritime security issues, particularly piracy. Participants acknowledged the need to enhance cooperation and explore ways and means of meeting the threat posed by pirates.
The Sri Lankan official emphasised that it would be of pivotal importance to take tangible action in the wake of attacks on merchant ships by armed gangs operating from Somalia.
However, India skipped the conference, though it attended the defence symposium previously.
Navy headquarters said that maritime security professionals from Bangladesh, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Australia and America had taken part in the conference held at Hotel Galadari from July 11. Navy headquarters said: "The conference provided an opportunity for regional participants to meet at an academic and non-binding venue to discuss maritime security issues. The five-day long deliberations paved the way for enhancement of mutual understanding of regional maritime security challenges in South Asia and initiation of actions for a multilateral approach to maritime security concerns."
Observers view the Galadari meet as an important event as it was the first US-sponsored security conference since Lt. Col. Lawrence Smith, the then US Defence attaché in Colombo attended the defence symposium as an observer.
Defence sources said that Australia had been working closely with Sri Lanka Navy to prevent Sri Lankan from migrating to Australia illegally.
Sources said that British Defence Secretary Dr. Liam Fox two days before the US-sponsored maritime security conference got underway emphasised the importance of maritime security. Delivering the Kadirgamar memorial lecture, in Colombo on July 9, Dr. Fox said: "We have to be responsible for the way in which we confront terrorism and be held to account for it.
The same is true in countering the scourge of piracy.
As an island nation, maritime security remains of fundamental importance for the United Kingdom, just as it is for Sri Lanka.
International action is gathering pace with multi-national forces already operating in the Gulf, off the Horn of Africa and elsewhere.
The UK has also applied to join the Regional Co-operation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against ships in Asia.
Sri Lanka is located in a pivotal position in the Indian Ocean with major international shipping routes between the Far East and the Gulf.
In Trincomalee, Sri Lanka has a formidable strategic asset in this struggle that is yet to be fully realised.
There is significant potential, for Sri Lanka to play a greater role, for example in counter piracy."
Wrong move by the GOSL!
This sets the precedent for future hunger strikes in the belief that the GOSL can be blackmailed into capitulation.
Now we will see hunger strikes without end!
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Sri Lanka Tamil detainees in Vavuniya prison end hunger strike
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 19, Colombo: The detained Tamil Tiger rebel suspects who had started a hunger strike in Vavuniya prison demanding their legal procedures quickened, suspended their action yesterday evening, reports from northern Sri Lanka said.
The protesting inmates have called for their immediate release or for the authorities to charge them and prosecute them.
They ended their protest as the Vavuniya District Judge M. Rahuman, Prisons Commissioner General Major General V.R. de Silva, Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Vanni range Keerthi de Silva and other officials discussed held discussions with the inmates and promised to grant their demands.
Thirty eight detainees held under Prevention of Terrorism Act engaged in the hunger strike and one of them was later admitted to the hospital.
Bravo!
Let the Iranamadu airport be used as a SLAF base for national defense!
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Former rebel runway becomes a state airport in Sri Lanka
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 19, Kilinochchi: The Sri Lanka Air Force today declared open a state airport reconstructed from an airstrip used by the Tamil Tiger terrorists in the former rebel stronghold Kilinochchi.
According to the Air Force Media Unit, the captured Iranamadu airstrip is located 7km north from the A-9 road and 1km from the Kilinochchi Defense Service Headquarters.
Opening the airport, Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force, Air Marshal Harsha Abeywickrama observed the ceremonial landing of an Air Force Y-12 transport plane as the first state aircraft.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) built the airstrip to launch their home-built aircraft of the rebel air wing to launch air attacks on vital targets in Colombo and other areas in the south. The strip at Iranamadu near an irrigation reservoir was the main site for their tiny air wing.
During the two and half years of military operations in the North, Sri Lanka Army has captured seven air strips used by the LTTE.
What is good for the US goose is even better for the Sri Lankan gander!
Sri Lanka should NEVER GIVE ANY FOREIGN BODY authority that supercedes its own sovereign rights.
Sri Lanka should NEVER become a signatory to the ICC!
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‘ICC cannot act against US, Israel and Sri Lanka’
Island.lk
July 18, 2011
Head of the International Criminal Court Sang-Hyun Song has said that his court has no jurisdiction to act on matters from non-signatory States such as Sri Lanka, Israel and the US, a report in The Australian said.
Song, who runs a tribunal that sits above national legal systems, says his court complements national systems of criminal justice. But some critics — particularly in the US — have described the ICC as a threat to national sovereignty. The report added: "All the concerns about national sovereignty, according to President Song, are based on a misunderstanding of the court’s role."
The ICC is a court of last resort. Its jurisdiction is limited to ending impunity for war crimes and a small number of similar "heinous" offences.
The Australian report said it can generally deal only with matters from countries that have endorsed the Rome Statute. And even then, it can only step in if national legal systems are unwilling or unable to act.
"The ICC, under any circumstances, will not and cannot and should not just jump over the national boundary of sovereign states and stir around the normally functioning judicial system of a sovereign state," President Song said.
"It is basically your job and we remain outside the operation of the national legal system, just waiting to step in in the case of inability or unwillingness." However, at the height of last year’s furore over the prosecution of Australian troops, Australian academics pointed out that it was the ICC that decided whether countries were unwilling or unable to prosecute.
"President Song, who is a distinguished South Korean jurist and former judge-advocate of the Korean army, was speaking to The Australian this week during a break in the commonwealth law ministers’ meeting in Sydney. While officially an observer, he and the ICC had a direct interest in its proceedings.
After a year of discussions between the two organisations, the Commonwealth law ministers on Wednesday endorsed a memorandum of understanding with the ICC and signed off on a model law.
The judge believes these initiatives should strengthen those legal systems that might struggle to deal with crimes against humanity, war crimes and other matters that could fall within the ICC’s jurisdiction.
And that, he believes, will reduce the need for the ICC to intervene.
‘ICC cannot act against US, Israel and Sri Lanka’
......continued......
"The International Criminal Court operates on the basis of the complementarity principle; that it is primarily the responsibility of the national legal systems of sovereign states to conduct generally investigations and prosecutions of heinous ICC crimes," he said.
"If, however, the national legal systems of sovereign states are not able to do the job for the reason of the paralysis of the system . . . if the national legal system is unwilling to do the job for political reasons or some other reasons, only then can the ICC step in."
His assessment about the impact of this week’s agreement is in line with that of Akbar Khan, director of legal and constitutional affairs at the commonwealth secretariat in London.
Mr Khan, who is a British diplomat and former London barrister, said the agreement with the ICC would have the effect of helping member states be more effective in investigating and prosecuting crimes covered by the Rome Statute.
"The ICC is a court of last resort," Mr Khan said. "The problem is that cases are getting to the ICC that should, properly in my view, remain at the domestic level.
"And one of the reasons cases find their way to the International Criminal Court is that, at the domestic level, they don’t have the legislation."
"Until some years ago we were worried about our own survival," Song said.
But with the Court’s position assured, it is now confronted with a different problem — criticism that only some of the world’s war crimes and crimes against humanity are being dealt with by the court.
One of the most glaring omissions is the Court’s inability to deal with acts of international terrorism by non-state parties.
The court covers just four areas: genocide, war crimes, aggression and crimes against humanity. There had been an attempt to include terrorism but it had not yet succeeded, President Song said.
When asked if he would like to see terrorism brought within the court’s reach, he declined to express a view because he said it was a matter for "the assembly of state parties", not the court.
On the final days of the Sri Lankan civil war, he said that country — along with Israel and the US — had not acceded to the Rome Statute.
So without a reference to the court by the UN Security Council, the ICC was unable to act.
"Whenever certain atrocities are committed in the corners of the world, everybody seems to refer to the ICC as an ultimate place to send that situation to," he said.
"We are very glad to notice all this growing recognition of the court. On the other hand we have to play by the rules that are specified in the Rome Statute."
Therefore the court was unable to act on matters from non-signatory states such as Sri Lanka, like Israel and the US.
Anti-national Foreign NGOs, and their local lackeys making a living off them, are the BANE of Sri Lanka.
GET RID OF the Foreign NGOs and end the stream of funds to their Local Lackeys, and MUCH OF the Civil Discord and INSTABILITY in Sri Lanka will DISAPPEAR OVERNIGHT!
Tar them, Feather them and Boot them OUT!
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People living off NGOs ruining Sri Lanka – President
By Dharma Sri Abeyratne
DailyNews.lk
July 19, 2011
*Everyone experiencing peace, freedom
*Country marching forward with determination
“Certain people who made money through NGOs are trying to tarnish the image of the country by spreading false propaganda”, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said. President Rajapaksa was addressing a mammoth rally in Tamil at Velanei, Kayts in Jaffna yesterday in support of the UPFA candidates contesting the forthcoming local government elections.
The President was accorded a rousing welcome on arrival at Velanei by thousands of cheering people.
President Rajapaksa said that certain people are making money while misleading the people of the North. The President further said that every person in the country is now experiencing freedom. “Jaffna is no exception. Everyone throughout the country is enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. People were badly affected by the war for over 30 years. But the country is now free from the clutches of terrorism and freedom and democracy is being enjoyed everywhere,” the President noted.
“The government rendered yeoman service to solve the problem which hampered the country’s progress for 30 years. Accordingly, the government united this country, achieving a victory over terrorism that had its global echoes. The country is now marching forward with determination, strength and courage to raise our motherland to a position of greatness in the world” President Rajapaksa said.
“The government will bring this nation to a position of greatness in this world, implementing the policy of Mahinda Chinthana: Vision for the future. The government will establish a better future for you and your children.
Therefore, this country will be driven forward with more courage, strength and confidence,” he said.
The President said certain people are spreading false rumours since they cannot bear the successes and achievements of the government. Most of these people who spread rumours are living abroad and their children are also schooling abroad. But they talk about the North.
The President requested these short-sighted people not to betray the country by trying to hamper its progress.
“Today the country is governed by a President of the UPFA which has significant power. The country can be driven forward by only this government”, the President noted.
“Rural areas that were ignored from the days of imperial rule are being developed and the nation’s doors are open for new employment, industry, business opportunity and massive development,” he said.
The President asserted that he would provide these areas with better facilities including infrastructure development, technological advancements, educational facilities, health facilities and much more.
“When development spreads and the revolution of roadways expands we will have several cities that are not second in any way to Colombo. This will inevitably lead to a completely different image of Sri Lanka that the world will see tomorrow,” President Rajapaksa said.
“We have carried out development work in the North and East as never before in the history of these regions,” the President said.
The President told the people that your friends and relatives abroad can come to Jaffna at any time without any obstruction on the A9 road.
Sri Lanka President pledges to rebuild everything lost in North
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 19, Kopai: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is touring the conflict-affected Northern Province pledged to rebuild everything the public in the North lost during the three-decade long war with the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.
Addressing a public rally held this morning at Kopai Navalar Tamil Maha Vidyalaya grounds today (19) to declare open a new two-story building at the school, the President said he is ready to serve for everyone in the country as their President without any discrimination. The government has focused its prime attention towards the development the North and East, he said.
Reiterating his commitment to not let any room to divide the country again, the President requested the people of the north to support building of the country after developing the village.
The Uva Provincial Council and the people in the Uva Province have provided the financial assistance for the school building project while the 511 Brigade of the Army completed its constructions within eight months.
Addressing the gathering the Principal of the school Mrs. S. Vakeesan said President Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit to Northern Province is a great respect for the people in the North. She praised the President for his efforts to enhance friendship between Sinhala and Tamil communities. Students of the school performed many cultural items at this function.
Chief Minister of Uva Province Shashendra Rajapaksa, Prime Minister, D.M. Jayaratne, Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprises, Douglas Devananda, Minister of Technology and Research Mrs. Pavitra Devi Wanniarachchi, Minister of Child Development and Women's Affairs Tissa Karalliyadda Minister of Agrarian Services and Wild Life, S.M. Chandrasena and the Deputy Minister of Ports and Highways, Rohitha Abeygunawardena and many others were present at the occasion.
The President who is on campaign trail to consolidate the success of Jaffna District ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidates in the forthcoming local government elections also addressed a rally held at the Chavakachcheri Municipal Grounds today.
Parliamentarian Malinie Fonseka, Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiyutheen and Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Minister Dilan Perera were also present at the meeting.
Prosecute Thamilini to the FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, Convict her as the Goebbels of the LTTE, put her in prison, and throw away the keys!
ENFORCE the laws of the land, DETER future terrorism, and deliver JUSTICE to the VICTIMS of the LTTE!
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Women leader of Tamil rebel organization produced in court and further detained
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 18, Colombo: Sri Lanka police Criminal Investigation Department informed the Colombo Magistrate Court today that the investigations regarding the leader of the women's political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are still underway.
The Criminal Investigation Department requested more time for investigations and the Colombo Chief Magistrate Rashmi Singappuli directed to produce the suspect in court again on August 01.
Subramaniam Shivathai alias Thamilini, the leader of the women's political wing of the LTTE, surrendered to the security forces in May 2009 following the annihilation of the Tamil rebel movement.
MASSIVE Uranium deposit discovered in India, already flush with Thorium deposits
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India: 'Massive' uranium find in Andhra Pradesh
Uranium mine at Tummalapale Exploration work is underway in Tummalapalle
BBC.co.uk
July 19, 2011
India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh may have one of the largest reserves of uranium in the world, the country's chief nuclear officer says.
Studies show Tummalapalle in Kadapa district could have reserves of 150,000 tonnes of the mineral, Atomic Energy Commission chief S Banerjee said.
India has estimated reserves of about 175,000 tonnes of uranium.
Analysts say the new reserves would still not be sufficient to meet India's growing nuclear energy needs.
Mr Banerjee said that studies at Tummalapalle have shown that the area "had a confirmed reserve of 49,000 tonnes and recent surveys indicate that this figure could go up even threefold" and become one of the world's largest uranium reserves.
The uranium deposits in the area appeared to be spread over 35km (21 miles), he said, adding that exploration work was going on in the area.
Mr Banerjee said the new findings were a "major development", but India's own uranium reserves would still fall short of meeting its nuclear energy needs.
"The new findings would only augment the indigenous supply of uranium. There would still be a significant gap. We would still have to import," he was quoted as saying by The Hindu newspaper.
India is planning to set up some 30 reactors over as many years and get a quarter of its electricity from nuclear energy by 2050.
Attached is the Utube link for the protest against Chanell 4 in London on Sunday 17 Jyly 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uecX4HBDrz8
The Tiger Nominated Agents of the TNA now declare they are for a "united and undivided" Sri Lanka, and fulfillment of the "legitimate aspirations" of the Tamil people ... which is a sea change for them, but what does this statement really say, and/or leave out saying?
A "united and undivided" Sri Lanka is good, but what the Vast Majority of Sri Lankans Want is more precisely a "united and unitary" Sri Lanka. The latter excludes a federal state and states with autonomous regions, or any regions within which governmental power of a nation-state is devolved to sub-national territories.
Furthermore, what the Vast Majority of Sri Lankans DON'T WANT is a nation in which political power (including police and land powers) is devolved to sub-national entities of any size on the basis of communal attributes such as ethnicity, language, religion, sex, caste or wealth. Such a demand was the racist basis of Tamil Eelam of the past.
What the Vast Majority of Sri Lankans Want is ONE NATION of ONE PEOPLE sharing ONE NATIONAL DESTINY. They don't want any racist aparthied Bantustans in Sri Lanka.
What the Vast Majority of Sri Lankans Want are equal rights based on universal franchise for all adults, and equal responsibility to love, protect and defend their motherland, that THEY CURRENTLY ENJOY, not separate and different rights for people community by community, region by regioV.
What the Vast Majority of Sri Lankans Want is the right to settle and live wherever they please in Sri Lanka without communal barriers raised against them to prevent the exercise of that right.
What the Vast Majority of Sri Lankans Want is a Shared National Aspiration to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. They do not and will not recognize SEPARATE ASPIRATIONS for SEPARATE COMMUNITIES in Sri Lanka, whether they are Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Moslem, Christian, Female or Male, High or Low Caste, Rich or Poor.
IN PARTICULAR, we do not recognize "Tamil Aspirations" that are distinct and separate from an EQUAL and SHARED ASPIRATIONS common to to ALL Sri Lankans.
The identification of "Tamil Aspirations" that are different and distinct from "Sri Lankan Aspirations" is the RACIST ROOT of all discord in Sri Lanka.
The Goverbnment of Sri Lanka DOES NOT, WILL NOT, and CAN NOT focus on separate "Tamil Aspirations"
Give up these RACIST demands, TNA!
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Sri Lanka major Tamil party seeks a political solution within the framework of united and undivided country
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 20, Colombo: Sri Lanka's major Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) says the party is working at building a political solution within the framework of a united and undivided country.
According to the TNA, such a political solution would enable Tamil people to live in security and dignity, fulfilling their legitimate political, economic, social and cultural aspirations.
Issuing a statement, the TNA has said that the party's campaign for the local government elections is focused on three main issues.
The three issues are the resettlement and rehabilitation of all displaced Tamil families in the North and East; call for action by the government on lands possessed by Tamil people being used for military purposes, for purported development purposes and a political solution within the framework of a united and undivided country.
Sri Lanka major Tamil party seeks a political solution within the framework of united and undivided country
.......continued..........
The TNA has said that although the party has not confronted the Government on these issues, it has endeavoured to work in a spirit of cooperation with the Government to alleviate the sufferings and concerns of the Tamil people and to bring about a real and meaningful change in the future of the Tamil people.
However, the party has further stated that the government in its current election campaign does not focus on the above issues, which are the real issues the Tamil people have to face.
"This is for the reason that the Government itself is aware that its performance on these issues is severely wanting, despite the best efforts of the TNA. The government has not even kept its several commitments to the TNA on the release of Tamil detainees, and thousands of Tamil families continue to suffer as a result of the breadwinner in the family not being available. These families are not even able to ascertain whether the breadwinner in their family is living or not", the TNA has stated.
According to the Tamil political party, it is in this background that the government is making every endeavour to somehow distort the electoral verdict of Tamil voter.
Buddha Geete- Chalo utho ye bauddho
A beautiful song from hindi Buddha geete album called Angulimala.
Behold! Our Shared Cultural Heritage!
More Hindi Buddhist songs:
Buddha Geete- Ye Buddha ki Dharti [No war, Only Peace]
Buddha Geete- Buddha Gautama Ka Sandesh
Buddha Geete- Pratham Namo Gautama
Buddha Geete- Buddha ke updesh [Mahabodhi Temple]
Buddha Geete- Kalchakra ke age [Dragon Palace]
Buddha Geete- Mai mohe Gautam
Angulimala- Ghabraye jab mann anmol [Angulimal accepts Buddhism]
And to cap it all ... Mohideen Baig's original version in Sinhala!:
angulimala damanaya, (song Mohedeen baig)
Buddha Geete- Mere Prano Ki Veena [Shanti Stupa]
Buddha Geet- He Shantidoot Vandana (Bodh Gaya)
Buddha Geete- He Karuna ke Sagar
Dhamma Kuta- Sri Lanka [Islands of Dhamma]
Dr. Ambedkar fought the same battle as the Lord Buddha!
Dr. Ambedkar now bigger than Mahatma Gandhi...
Mass conversion Dalits shift faith.
Sri Lanka has eradicated caste divisions like this in Chennai, but devolution of power on communal ethnic bases may create similar ethnic divisions in Sri Lanka.
Let governance be blind to divisions on ANY COMMUNAL BASIS!
Law college fight- 3 Students beaten up for castiesm.
The Maitreya Project in Kushinagar, India:
8th Wonder of World- World's Biggest Peace Statue
Nirvana: The Attainment of Enlightenment by the Lord Buddha
7 Wonders of India: Mahabodhi Temple
First Sermon of the Lord Buddha: The Dharma Chakra (Wheel of Life) Sutra including core of the Buddhist faith: the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eight Fold Path to attaining Nirvana.
7 Wonders of India: Sarnath
Pari-Nirvana: The passing away of Lord Buddha ending the cycle of birth, death and rebirth through eternity.
7 Wonders of India: Kushinagar
The first Buddhist Stupa built by Emperor Ashoka who unified India into one nation in the 3rd century BC.
7 Wonders of India: Sanchi Stupa
Ashokan Pillar near Delhi
7 Wonders of India: Ashoka's Pillar
Nalanda University of Greco-Buddhist learning built by Emperor Ashoka and other Indian monarchs. The Lord Buddha himself lived and preached here.
7 Wonders of India: Nalanda University
The Ajanta Ellora Caves of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain art and architecture span over 1000 years. The Buddhist Art in the Ajanta Caves are magnificent. One painting depicts the arrival of King Vijaya of the "Simhala" to Sri Lanka.
7 Wonders of India: Ajanta Ellora Caves
Hindu and Jain temples with Erotic Tantric Art: The Karma Sutra at its best!
7 Wonders of India: Khajuraho
Massive Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu built by Chola King Rajaraja I.
7 Wonders of India: Thanjavur Chola Temple
A monument to love: the mausoleum built by the Moghul Emperor Shajahan in memory of his favorite wife Mumtaz
7 Wonders of India: Taj Mahal
Capital city of Moghul Emperor Akbar .. later abandoned due to lack of water supplies
7 Wonders of India: Fatehpur Sikri
Sri Lanka Air Force to launch civilian flights to former rebel capital
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 21, Colombo: Sri Lanka Air Force spokesman Wing Commander Andrew Wijesuriya announced that the Air Force would commence civil aviation between Colombo and the newly opened Kilinochchi air base.
The first civilian flight is to take off from Ratmalana airport in the outskirts of Colombo city on July 28.
The flights will be landed in the newly reconstructed Kilinochchi airstrip.
Air Force will run a light aircraft such as a Chinese built Y-12 transport plane for civilians every Thursday from next week, the Air Force says.
Clinton calls for India to be model for Sri Lankan reconciliation, multicultural democracy
Hilary Clinton is talking ABSOLUTE NONSENSE!
If she thinks India can in any way serve as a good role model for Sri Lanka, then she has NO CLUE about the ENDEMIC social discord and communal violence in "multicultural India"! !
She is just SUCKING UP TO India, making admiring comments, just to gain India's collaboration for the geo-political, economic and anti-terrorism US agendas, but she has NO CLUE about what is really going on within Indian society.
Has Hilary Clinton not heard of Maoist/Naxalite terrorism affecting 850 million people across a broad swathe of Indian territory stretching from Maharashtra in the Southwest to the North East Frontier Province? Is that a shining example of the of law abiding society with multicultural amity India has achieved?
Has Hilary Clinton not heard of the struggles of Dalits in India to overcome caste-based discrimination? India has largely hidden its face in the sand like an ostrich, not addressing and eradicating wide spread caste discrimination as Sri Lanka has. Is that an example of the multicultural Indian role model that Sri Lanka should follow? Go BACKWARDS in time, in effect?
Has Hilary Clinton ever heard of the struggle of Muslims of Kashmir against Indian Government forces, and their claims of discrimination and marginalization? Is that an example for Sri Lanka to follow?
Has Hilary Clinton heard of low caste people being beaten up at Dr. Ambedkar University in Chennai, in Tamil Nadu and denied entry to the University while the police looked on approvingly? Is that how Sri Lanka should establish communal amity?
Has Hilary Clinton ever heard of the dishing out of government benefits by caste and community in India, pitting communities against each other to jockey for government handouts? Should we pit the citizens of Sri Lanka against each other by awarding benefits on communal bases, instead of poverty and need irrespective of community as we have done since independence in Sri Lanka? Is that a lesson Sri Lanka should learn from the vaunted "multicultural India" as well?
Has Hilary Clinton heard of Hindus attacking Christian Churches and killing Christians, while foreign Christian NGOs run amok in India converting Hindus with financial inducements, and iducing them to behave as "privileged Indians" with special rights? Should Sri Lanka follow that example of socially destructive Indian policy as well?
Has Hilary Clinton ever heard of the tit-for-tat religious riots and mass murders, as in Gujerat, that often ignite spontaneously between Hindus and Moslems in India? Would she urge Sri Lanka to follow that Indian model as well?
I can go on ad infnitum, ad nauseam, about India's horrendous mistakes, flawed policies, and failure to act to preserve social justice, that has prevented the emergence of an equitable society, and mired the vast majority of its people in abject poverty.
Don't get me wrong: we Sri Lankans LOVE India as the land of our origin, our religions and our cultures, and love them as our near and dear cousins, but it would be SHEER FOLLY to follow India in national policy and governance, and REVERSE THE PROGRESS we have made in Sri Lanka since independence.
Sri Lanka is FAR AHEAD of India in assuring SOCIAL EQUITY for her people.
For Goodness Sake, Hilary Clinton, stop pontificating on things you know NOTHING ABOUT purely for geopolitical purposes!
It is India that should LEARN from Sri Lanka how to eradicate caste divisions, how to educate her people, how to provide universal healthcare, how to electrify the homes of her vast village population, provide affordable transportation, equity in the workplace for her female citizens, far and equitable labor laws and so on.
Clinton calls for India to be model for Sri Lankan reconciliation, multicultural democracy
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Pandering to Tamil Nadu politicians, and to the Tamil Diaspora pursuing a racist separatist state in Sri Lanka, to further geo-political objectives unrelated to Sri Lanka is NOT THE WAY to help either India or Sri Lanka.
Hilary Clinton is just a pyromaniac trying to set South Asia on FIRE with her IGNORANT statements!
India may be a BIG country in which the US has an ACUTE interest, but India is HARDLY A ROLE MODEL for Sri Lanka to EMULATE! QUITE THE REVERSE!
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Clinton calls for India to be model for Sri Lankan reconciliation, multicultural democracy
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 20 (AP) CHENNAI, India U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says India's example of multicultural democracy should serve as a model for neighboring Sri Lanka.
The Sinhalese-dominated government there won a bloody civil war against ethnic minority Tamil separatists two years ago. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has yet to fulfill his promise to push for national reconciliation.
Clinton said in the southern Indian city of Chennai it could be seen how much society can achieve when all citizens fully join their country's political and economic life.
As USUAL, Minister Nimal Weerawansa hit the nail dead on its head!
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Sri Lankan Minister accuses US of planning to intensify the crisis in Sri Lanka
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 21, Colombo: Sri Lanka Minister of Construction, Engineering Services and Housing Wimal Weerawansa said today that the visit of United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to Tamil Nadu and talks with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jeyaram Jeyalalithaa aimed at intensifying the crisis in Sri Lanka.
Weerawansa further charged that the US was planning to manipulate India to weaken China.
He said that earlier such officials met only the representatives of the central government but this time they met the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister with those plans in mind.
Weerawansa expressed these views at a press conference summoned by his party in Colombo today to comment on Clinton's visit.
Clinton on Wednesday voiced concern over the plight of internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka and said United States was looking at some innovative and creative ideas to break the impasse over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.
Jayawewa ... Sri Lanka!
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Sri Lanka to develop six domestic airports
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 21, Colombo: Sri Lanka Ministry of Civil Aviation announced that six domestic airports will be developed in the island to facilitate air travel, especially targeting tourism.
The Minister of Civil Aviation Priyankara Jayaratna has said that the tourists will be able to purchase their air ticket to the local destination and travel by air from Katunayake airport to the closest airport town of their destination.
Sri Lanka already has a number of domestic airports at Ratmalana, Palali, Weerawila, Koggala, Hingurakkgoda, Anuradhapura, Kalutara and Ampara which are primarily used for military purposes.
Palali airport, which is currently under the Ministry of Defense and used mostly as a military airport, is to be taken over by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Ratmalana in the outskirts of Colombo city, Koggala close to Galle, Weerawila in Hambanthota district and Anuradhapura in the North Central Province are the other airports to be developed.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's national carrier, SriLankan Airlines announced that it plans to expand the Air Taxi service to meet growth in the tourism industry.
The airline currently operates commercial flights to Bentota, Koggala, Nuwara Eliya, Kandy and Dikwella and plans to expand to destinations in the North and East to include Pasikudah and Arugam Bay.
If dear old Hilary Clinton had been more interested in the TRUTH and FACT, rather than pursuing geopolitical interests at Sri Lanka's expense, she would have recognized Sri Lanka's success in rehabilitating IDPs long ago.
Sri Lanka is not a run of the mill violator of human rights as she would like to portray, but a nation solidly grounded in ethical Buddhist practices that has led to a high level of SOCIAL EQUITY.
Sri Lanka has NO INTEREST in treating its Tamil citizens any differently than its other citizens.
But, neither is Sri Lanka willing to dissolve itself into ethnic Bantustans to placate either the Eelamists in the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora, or Western powers trying to heat their irons in our Sri Lankan fires.
Instead of preaching to the Sri Lankan choir, Hilary Clinton should put her efforts into extracting the US out of Afghanistan without depopulating that country, assuring lon term security for the US against Afghan terrorists, and leaving the citizens of Afghanistan with a modicum of security and economic resources to resurrect their destroyed lives.
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US says Sri Lankan government's record on resettling IDPs good
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 21, Colombo: The United States said on Wednesday noting that Sri Lanka has resettled almost all of the 300,000 people displaced at the end of the war in May 2009 with only about 10,000 Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are remaining to be resettled, said the Sri Lankan government's record on resettlement "has been good".
A senior State Department official at a background briefing on India in Chennai on Wednesday said one of the issues the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would discuss with the Tamil Nadu officials during her visit to India would be the reconciliation process of Sri Lanka.
The official said the 70 million Tamils in Tamil Nadu are all very concerned about the situation in Sri Lanka.
"One of the concerns here in Tamil Nadu is always about the IDPs," the official said adding that there are 70,000 Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka that are still in Tamil Nadu although some of them have started to "slowly trickle back to Sri Lanka" as the situation is improving in the island.
The official said the United States along with India is pushing for reconciliation in Sri Lanka.
"Where we and the Indians are pushing for progress is on this whole process of reconciliation, where � which is � includes a wide variety of different issues," the official told reporters.
Among some of the steps the US is expecting for the Sri Lankan government to make progress are, the establishment of a local leadership in the former rebel-controlled North, completion of the resettlement process, resolution of land disputes and disarming paramilitary groups.
"They need to organize provincial council elections up in the north so that there will be, for the first time, an indigenous leadership in that area that was ruled by the LTTE for 30 years. They need to complete the resettlement process. They need to set up a process of providing for land dispute resolution, because again, many people have claims to various parts of those lands," the official said.
"They need to stop the activities of paramilitaries that continue to operate in that part of the country," he added.
Secretary Clinton following a meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jeyaram Jeyalalithaa on Wednesday said the US is looking at some innovative and creative ideas to enable the Sri Lankan Tamils in camps to get back to their own homes.
No one said a TRUER word!
International groups have the same mindset as the LTTE.
In their eyes, anything short of allowing a RACIST APARTHEID Bantustan exclusively for Tamils, is discrimination and not "reconciliation". LoL!
By that flawed standard, "reconciliation" should have led to a separate nation in the Confederate States of the United States after the US Civil War!
Sri Lanka has its own vision of a united and unitary nation, whose people have equal rights without regard to communal considerations.
No sub-national administrative entities recognizing communal attributes of race, language, religion, caste, sex or wealth will be allowed to exist in Sri Lanka. All of the power necessary to keep the nation whole will remain vested in the national government.
ONE NATION, of ONE PEOPLE, sharing ONE NATIONAL DESTINY is our PERMANENT vision for Sri Lanka.
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International groups look at the country from LTTE mindset - Senior Sri Lankan Minister
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
July 21, Colombo: A senior Sri Lankan minister says that international groups looked at the situation in the country from the viewpoint of the separatist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Senior Minister of Human Resources D.E.W. Gunasekera has said that since the international groups view the situation in Sri Lanka like the LTTE, their viewpoints would be different from the real situation.
The Minister has made this comment in response to the allegation leveled against the country by the International Crisis Group saying Sri Lanka was not close to reconciliation.
Gunasekera has said the opinions of the international groups on the country's situation and the truth will always be irreconcilable.
He has explained that the government has carried out de-mining, rehabilitated many ex-combatants and helped them to sit for national level examinations and holding local government elections.
According to Gunasekera, the Tamil people living in the country are happy and the reconciliation process is progressing.
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