Monday, October 31, 2011
Australia Based LTTE Network Exposed
President’s maligner - top Tigress
By Bhakthi MENDIS and Mahinda ALUTHGEDERA
DailyNews.lk
November 03, 2011
Meena Krishnamoorthy - who was used in Australia to level baseless allegations against President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Security Forces - has been found to be a second rung commander of the LTTE’s ‘Malathi’ brigade.
The Army intelligence has uncovered that she had joined the LTTE international operations wing in December, 2003. She had subsequently traveled to a number of countries to promote LTTE activities. She at present acts as the chairperson of an LTTE supportive organization in Australia.
She had been trained in the ‘Malathi’ brigade for over five years and is also known as ‘Illanadi’ and ‘Thangani’ within the organization.
She is also believed to have had close links with LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
She had got married to another hardcore LTTE leader ‘Kubiran’ alias ‘Thaiparan’ and in 2008 she had got pregnant. Later due to her military activities the child had been stillborn.
Recently she has come up to level false allegations against the Security Forces on a number of fronts and has also compiled documents containing fabricated material to support her allegations.
Australian TV uses LTTE cadre to attack SL ahead of CHOGM
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
October 22, 2011
Sri Lankan intelligence services have exposed an operation by Australia’s ABC TV Channel aimed at embarrassing President Mahinda Rajapaksa ahead of the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Meeting (CHOGM 2011) in Perth, Western Australia.
In spite of the LTTE’s propaganda efforts and threat of protests, the president will participate at the biennial meeting of leaders of one-time British colonies.
He will leave for Perth early this week for the three-day summit scheduled to be opened by Queen Elizabeth II on Oct. 28.
The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) is believed to be planning protests during CHOGM 2011.
An authoritative official told The Sunday Island that the Australian Channel had telecast a documentary targeting Sri Lanka over accountability issues citing an eyewitness account of Meena Krishnamoorthy.
They said that the so-called eye witness was an LTTE cadre Krishnamoorthy Navarangi Meena aka Eelanadee, a Sri Lankan born Australian citizen.
Valvettiturai-born Meena had returned to the then LTTE-held area in 2004 on the invitation of the LTTE and had three years later married a hardcore LTTE cadre.
The person interviewed by the Australian TV Channel had received a six-month military training programme and served the LTTE’s Malathi ‘regiment’ until the conclusion of the conflict in May 2009, these sources said.
UK’s Channel 4 News partly based its unsubstantiated ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’ on comments attributed to Sri Lankan born UK passport holder Vani Kumar believed to be a colleague of Meena.
"We believe they were in the Vanni together at the end of the war," a senior official said. The 50-minute long Channel 4 News production was aired by Channel 4 last June with the backing of the UK government, the official alleged.
Since then the documentary had been shown in various parts of the world, including Oslo, USA, India, Australia and the EU parliament.
Sri Lanka’s war time Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told The Sunday Island on Friday that images of torture and the subsequent killing of Gaddafi now on the internet had exposed those seeking to avenge Prabhakaran’s killing citing LTTE propaganda propagated by a section of the international community and primarily three NGOs, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Crisis Group.
Military intelligence said that the international media and human rights watchdogs had stepped up using LTTE women in their propaganda offensive.
South Africa-based Vathsala Devi, an ex LTTE cadre (wife of LTTE leader Ramesh) recently moved the US judiciary against Sri Lanka. Another leading woman activist is Sampavi, former LTTE/TYO (Tamil Youth Organization) activist is presently playing an active role in Australian Tamil Congress (She represented ATC in the recent meeting with Green Party Australia)
Using Meena, a section of the Australia media had targeted President Rajapaksa, UN Ambassador Palitha Kohona, and Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe, Sri Lanka High Commissioner for Australia, intellingence sources said.
The military has also identified Meena’s husband, Irasarathnam Thayakaran,
Meena had been among a selected group of LTTE cadres sent to South Africa to follow a course in law and briefly coordinated LTTE activities in Malaysia.
Her husband, Thayakaran, had joined the LTTE in 1993 and served the Imran Pandiyan Special Regiment. He had been among those sent on a special mission to Johannesburg in Nov. 2003 and returned to country in December the same year.
LTTE rump Meena Krishnamoorthy lied to ICJA and to the Australian people
By K.T.Rajasingham
Asiantribune.com, Colombo
November 01, 2011
She has made baseless allegations, as people were 'massacred' in the final stages of the war against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and she is presently the LTTE‘s coordinator of the Tamil Youth Organization (TYO) in Australia.
She was recently interviewed by 'ABC’s 7.30 News Report' and she said that the reason why she came forward to tell her story was because, “I always believed in Justice.”
Though she tried to cover her real identity and come up with the concocted story, it has become clearly evidenced that she has told lies and half truths and misled the International Commission of Jurists, Australia (ICJA) with her distorted version about Sri Lanka on the last days of the battle between Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam –LTTE the ruthless terrorist organization that was responsible for the protracted 30 year long bloody ethnic conflict and the security forces of Sri Lanka.
Based on the lies nauseated by Meena Krishmamoorthy Mr. John Dowd, the President of the International Commission of Jurists, Australia (ICJA ) has prepared a report against Sri Lanka and handed over to the Australian Police chief to investigate and bring about charges against Sri Lanka President for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Even in an interview with ABC’s “7.30 Report” Mr. John Dowd has said "her story was credible". Now after the recent exposure about her, world is waiting for his response.
Already in our earlier news story Rump LTTE has their women operatives to spin stories to West NGO’s to satisfy their urge about ICJA and handing over the 500 page report on Sri Lanka to Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus, Asian Tribune pointed out that they have committed a serious breach of trust and confidence by taking on the face value of her account without cross checking the statement made by Meena Krishnamoorthy.
It all happened after Veerakulasingham Manivannan or better known as Castro was made the person in charge of the International LTTE operations. On 3rd December 2003. he organized the Tamil Youth Organization and its members were between the ages of 18 to 30 years.
For the 2004 conference of the TYO organized by Castro in Vanni, Meena Krishnamoorthy and many others from the United Kingdom, Canada and from other Western countries came to Vanni to participate in the conference.
But in her interview with Australia’s ABC News 7.30 she had stated that she went to Sri Lanka to work in the orphanages in Vanni, but now it has been proved beyond doubt that she visited Sri Lanka to participate in the TYO conference held in Vanni.
Meena Krishnamoorthy who came to Sri Lanka in 2004 stayed back in Vanni after the TYO conference. She joined the Malathi women regiment of the LTTE and initially underwent a three month basic arms training. She was given a name after her induction in the LTTE - 'Eelanadhi'.
Subsequently, she received the uniform meant for the LTTE women armed cadres, as well as the necklace with the cyanide capsule. As she has received them, she rightly became the LTTE armed cadre. She was also given further armed training.
Australia_4.jpg
Though she was registered with the Malathi regiment, she worked with Castro and was made a coordinator of TYO and on 2005 she was on a short visit to Europe.
In her interview with 'ABC 7.30 news', she has said that she met an accountant of the LTTE and married him.
But in fact she married one Kuberan alias Thayaparan who joined the LTTE militant wing in 1993 and in 1994 he joined the Castro group.
In Vanni, she was married to Kuberan in the beginning of 2008 after she conceived. It was suspected that she had extramarital relationship prior to her marriage with Kuberan and once she conceived, her marriage with Kuberan was arranged.
In October 2008, when she was into her 8th month of pregnancy and she complained that there was no moment of the baby and went to Dr.Ponnampalam’s Memorial Hospital which was run by LTTErs and was specially meant for the LTTE cadres. Asian Tribune reliably learnt that she was taken to the hospital by some LTTE armed cadres and not by her husband Kuberan and he was not seen anywhere when she went to the hospital and after.
At the Ponnampalam hospital, Asian Tribune learnt that Dr.V Shanmugarajah was channeled by the hospital authorities to check Meena Krishnamoorthy's condition.
Asian Tribune further learnt that Dr. Shanmugarajah, a gynecologist, who after examining the patient found that her child had died (infra uterine death) and put her on an observation for two weeks.
Asian Tribune also learnt that she wore jeans when she went to meet Dr. Shanmugarajah and she was told to come in a loose dress next time she visit the hospital.
After two weeks, Asian Tribune learnt that again she went to Dr. Ponnampalam memorial hospital to remove the dead baby. Agaiin it was Dr. Shanmugarajah who attended on her and inserted prostaglandins into her organ to induce pain and she delivered the dead baby virginally.
After the delivery, she was admitted in the hospital for two days and later discharged.
But she gave another version of the still born baby in her interview with 'ABC 7.30' as it was related to the last days of the war, with the view to create little bit of sympathy and to show the world that even the unborn babies were not safe during the last days of the battle.
It has become clear that the rump LTTE Meena Krishnamoorthy has clearly misled Mr. John Dowd, President of International Commission of Jurists, Australia (ICJA) with her distorted version.
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23 comments:
The Previous Claimant, the LTTE, to being the "Sole Representative of Tamils" practically destroyed the Tamil Community of Sri Lanka, enslaving them, terrorizing them, killing them, and pitting them against other communities of Sri Lanka.
He failed MISERABLY in that because he underestimated the LOVE of the people of Sri Lanka for their MOTHERLAND. Clearly, he should have been a better student of Sri Lankan history.
Now, the Tiger Nominated Agents of the TNA, previously the "LTTE's Political Mouthpiece in Colombo", wants to wrap itself in the mantle of the "Sole Representative of Tamils" and COMPLETE THE JOB of destroying the Tamil Community. It wants to continue the same RACIST APARTHEID SEPARATIST POLICIES they were trained in by the late unlamented LTTE Sun God Velupillai Prbhakaran.
STUPIDITY is defined as doing the same thing that has failed repeatedly, and expecting a different result.
When will they LEARN that the People of Sri Lanka will NEVER ALLOW THEM TO SUCCEED in this goal, and that they are digging their own graves ... AGAIN?
STUPIDITY, it seems, is INCURABLE!
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Minister Samarasinghe tells UN: ‘Do not consider TNA as sole rep of Tamil public’
By Chamikara WEERASINGHE
DailyNews.lk
November 1, 2011
Sri Lanka’s Special Envoy on Human Rights, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe has asked United Nations Under Secretary for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe and UN Secretary General’s Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar, not to consider the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as the sole representative of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Dr. N Maheshwari
Minister Samarasinghe who attended the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, told the Daily News that he made it known to Nambiar and Pascoe that TNA is not the only representative of the Tamil people.
Samarasinghe said he told Nambiar and Pascoe that they should be careful in dealing with the TNA for there are other political parties that represent the voice of Tamil people whose ideas and political views are quite contrary to that of the TNA.
The minister said he briefed Nambiar and Pascoe on the political situation in Sri Lanka and the progress of the government’s reconciliation process and North and East development during meetings held on the sidelines of the Third Committee meeting of the UN assembly.
“I pointed out to them that there are Tamil political parties in the South where majority of Tamil people live, and they too want to discuss with the UN officials about their ideas and the UN will have to invite them too,” said Samarasinghe.
”I told them that in this case they will not have time for anything other than discussing Sri Lankan politics with the leaders of the Tamil political parties in Sri Lanka,” he said.
‘I pointed out to them the statistics of the 2010 general elections and showed them that in the Vanni district the TNA only polled 38.96 percent whereas the UPFA polled 35 percent of the votes. In the Trincomalee district , TNA could only get 23.81 percent of the votes, whereas the UPFA secured 42.78 percent, he said.
Asked if he had met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on these occasions , he said he met Moon with Nambiar once and briefed them on the elections that were held in the country after the war, its de-mining success, resettlement of IDPs, rehabilitation of ex-combatants and also about the progress of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).
Is there a closer link between US authorities and Lanka-e-News that makes the US run to protect it? Is Lanka-e-News a US tool in the destabilization of Sri Lanka?
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U.S. expresses concern over Sri Lankan news site blockade
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 01, Colombo: The United States today expressed concerns over the continued blockade of internet news site in Sri Lanka and called on the authorities to stop such activities.
In a press release the United States Embassy in Colombo said it is deeply concerned that the Internet news site Lanka-e-News has been blocked in Sri Lanka.
"While the Embassy does not endorse the views of any particular media outlet, the United States believes that a free and independent media is vital to ensuring the health and continuation of any democracy," the statement said.
"Freedom of expression, including unfettered access to Internet news websites, is a basic right which must be respected. We therefore call on the Sri Lankan authorities and the managements of Sri Lankan telecommunications firms to stop activities aimed at blocking free access in Sri Lanka to all legitimate media websites, including Lanka-e-News," the statement said further.
The Lanka-e-News website critical of the government says it has been blocked to the viewers in Sri Lanka. However, the authorities have not officially admitted that the website has been blocked.
The Secretary of Sri Lanka Ministry of Media and Information recently said that the government is seeking consultation from the Attorney General's Department regarding the actions to be initiated against websites that propagate false news and views against the country and the President.
CHOGM 2011 was a Lankan diplomacy triumph: Peiris
ZeeNews.India.com
November 01, 2011
CHOGM 2011 was a Lankan diplomacy triumph: Peiris Colombo: Sri Lanka Foreign Minister GL Peiris on Tuesday claimed here that the outcome of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Australia last week was "a singular (Lankan) triumph in three different respects".
Peiris said the decision to confirm Sri Lanka's hosting of the 2013 summit was the foremost of them.
There was some uncertainty over Sri Lanka becoming the venue after war crimes allegations raised in a special UN panel report on Sri Lanka came to be the subject of calls for an independent investigation.
"Secondly the immediate rejection -it was dead before it began -the rejection of the Canada's attempt to raise Sri Lanka's domestic issues as part of the proceedings at CHOGM," Peiris said.
During the closing stages of the foreign ministers' deliberations, the Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird attempted to criticize Sri Lanka's rights accountability and Peiris objected to it.
The third triumph Peiris said was "the rejection by the relevant Australian authorities the vexatious attempt to embarrass President Rajapaksa through a totally futile litigation without any grounds whatsoever."
A Sri Lankan born Australian Tamil filed court action against Rajapaksa in Melbourne accusing him of committing war crimes against the Tamil minority during the final stages of the military campaign against the LTTE which ended in May 2009.
Peiris said it was an intimidating tactic used by the LTTE sympathizers and well orchestrated campaign in the Australian media.
Peiris stressed that Lanka's voice was heard and respected and the outcome at CHOGM was "an unparalleled achievement of Sri Lanka's foreign policy and diplomacy."
At first sight, we would agree with the UNP that this is an UNWARRANTED grab of private assets by the GOSL, but the specifics of this Govt take-over should be examined more carefully.
There two categories of assets, (a) former Govt assets privatized by Govt, and (b) Private assets that have received Govt tax benefits, considered for take over.
While the first category seems to have a stronger case for being RE-ACQUIRED by the Govt, the second category is PRIVATE PROPERTY at most owing taxes to the Govt.
We really hope that this is not a BOONDOGGLE by powerful politicians to STEAL ASSETS belonging to others just because they have the POWER, but neither the RIGHT, nor DUE CAUSE.
PRIVATE PROPERTY should remain SACROSANCT. If ACQUIRED through the exercise of Govt PUBLIC DOMAIN powers for the PUBLIC BENEFIT, such property should remain in the hands of the Government and not not immediately RE-PRIVATIZED for the benefit of any Govt Supporters.
MISHANDLING and ABUSING Govt POWER in such things will ultimately DESTROY the CREDIBILITY of the Govt and LOVE of PATRIOTIC Sri Lankans who have SUPPORTED this Govt through THICK and THIN!
BEWARE, GoSL ... Do not abuse our TRUST!
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Sri Lanka main opposition objects government's rush move to reacquire underperforming and underutilized assets
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 01, Colombo: Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) has expressed concerns over the government's proposed bill on re-acquiring under performing and underutilized assets and has urged that the bill be reconsidered in its entirety.
Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga in writing to Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa expressed the party's objections to the government's move to rush through with the legislation in the House as an urgent bill.
The government is due to present the bill titled "Revival of Underperforming Enterprises and Underutilized Assets" in parliament next Tuesday (8).
"We strongly object to the manner in which the Government is seeking to rush through with this legislation which in addition is violation of the fundamental rights of a citizen to engage in lawful occupation, profession, trade, business or enterprise," Amaratunga has stated.
The UNP has also noted that three out of the many underutilized assets earmarked by the government could not be classified in such a manner.
The three institutions are Pelwatte Sugar Industries Limited, Sevanagala Sugar Industries Limited and Ceylinco Leisure Properties Limited.
Interestingly, Sevanagala Sugar Industries Limited is owned by key UNP financier and businessman Daya Gamage.
Amaratunga has stated that Pelwatte Sugar Industries Limited is an on-going fully operational and profitable enterprise and is a public quoted company.
Sevanagala Sugar Industries Limited though privately owned is also a fully operational on-going, profitable venture.
Ceylinco Leisure Properties Limited under the Ceylinco Group of Companies is bound to be included in any compensation scheme that the courts finally draw up to pay back the Ceylinco depositors.
Sri Lanka main opposition objects government's rush move to reacquire underperforming and underutilized assets
.....continued......
According to the bill, "Underutilized Assets are (a) land, that was owned by the Government or a Government Agency and alienated within a period of twenty years prior to the date of the coming into operation of this Act, to any person by transferring freehold or leasehold rights or through a divestiture on the basis that the related operations proposed to be carried out on such land will result in generating employment, foreign exchange earnings or savings or economic activities, beneficial to the public, but where such benefits as aforesaid have not accrued, being prejudicial to the national economic and public interest;
(b) land owned by a person that had been granted within a period of twenty years prior to the date of the coming into operation of this Act, either, any tax incentives under any law relating to the imposition an recovery of any tax, incentives under the Board of Investment Law or regulations framed there under, or any Government Guarantee, on the basis that the related operations proposed to be carried out connected thereto will result in generating employment, foreign exchange earnings or savings or economic activities, beneficial to the public but where such benefits as aforesaid have not accrued, being prejudicial to the national economy and public interest."
Meanwhile, Underperforming Enterprises according to the bill are "a company or other authority, institution or body established by or under any written law for the time being in force, in which the Government owns shares and where the Government has paid contingent liabilities of such enterprise and the Government is engaged in protracted litigation with regard to such enterprise which is prejudicial to the national economy and public interest."
Bravo, Minister Peiris!
JAYAWEWA, Sri Lanka!
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Minister Peiris on Cameron statement:
No country can dictate terms to SL
* Country no longer a colony
* No change of policies to satisfy others
By Chaminda PERERA
External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris yesterday said that the government, mandated by the majority of people, is not prepared to implement or change policies to satisfy other countries.
Referring to a recent statement by British Prime Minister David Cameron that Sri Lanka should make progress in terms of human rights before the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of State Meeting in Colombo, Minister Prof Peiris said that Sri Lanka is no longer a colony of a foreign nation and no country has any right to dictate terms to Sri lanka. He said that Sri Lanka is implementing policies to achieve the aspirations of people of the country.
The External Affairs Minister stressed that no country had reservations over the venue of the next CHOGM. He said that all countries unanimously agreed to hold the summit in Colombo. “The venue of 2013 CHOGM was decided in Trinidad in 2009 and that decision was never revisited. Not a single country raised the issue at the CHOGM in Perth,” Minister Prof Peiris added.
Commenting on the Canadian Prime Minister’s Stephen Harper that he would not participate in the next CHOGM that is scheduled to be held in Colombo, the External Affairs Minister said that Canadian Prime Minister did not raise objection for holding the CHOGM in Sri Lanka. “Whether the Canadian Prime Minister is participating in the summit or not is a decision of that country.
The government yesterday said that it has every confidence that the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of State meeting in Colombo will be a great success.
No Matter what GIFTS these NORWEGIAN VIPERS offer, DO NOT LET THEM SET FOOT IN Sri Lanka ... AGAIN .... particularly to fiddle again among their former Tamil Separatist disciples.
These SNAKES conspired to SPLIT Sri Lanka in TWO ... providing International Support, Funds, and Military Assets to the LTTE. They helped to setup the LTTE Globally as an EQUAL to the legitimate Government of Sri Lanka, and STILL HOST LTTE networks in Norway.
They are also HEAVILY FUNDING CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALIST MISSIONARY CONVERSIONS in Sri Lanka.
We have our own religious leaders of ALL DENOMINATIONS to attend to the religious needs of our people, we don't need any foreigners to EXPLOIT and CONVERT OUR POOR with their BLOOD MONEY, and create their FIFTH COLUMN political movements within Sri Lanka.
PLEASE do not open Sri Lanka's door AGAIN for these RATTLESNAKES to SLITHER IN!
We can DO WITHOUT their POISON PILLS!
KICK THEM OUT for GOOD, and SLAM THE DOOR SHUT in their face!
Will we EVER LEARN from OUR PAST MISTAKES?
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Norway assists reintegration of Sri Lanka's former rebel combatants
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 02, Colombo: The Royal Norwegian Government has provided assistance to the International Organization for Migration to contribute to the Sri Lankan government's efforts to rehabilitate and reintegrate former Tamil Tiger rebel soldiers.
The Norwegian Embassy in Colombo said today that it has contributed NOK 3 million (approximately Rs. 57 million) to support the IOM programme that is assisting reintegration and reconciliation of former LTTE cadres into their own society.
Norwegian Ambassador Hilde Haraldstad and IOM Chief of Mission Mr. Richard Danziger signed the grant agreement Wednesday (02) at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Colombo, an Embassy press release said.
The Norwegian Ambassador Ms. Haraldstad, while emphasizing the importance of social and economic reintegration of ex-cadres of LTTE remarked that it is important to assist the former fighters to return home and to start a new life.
Ms. Haraldstad said the "IOM programme is geared to meet their urgent needs and will provide the ex-cadres with a foundation from which they can start a livelihood and rebuild their lives."
The IOM programme for reintegration of former cadres of LTTE has been implemented since 2009. It is designed to support longer term peace and human security needs both at the individual and community level by supporting the reintegration of former cadres both economically and socially. IOM has already provided direct assistance to more than 3000 former LTTE cadres, enabling them to start new livelihoods, by providing training, tools, small grants and job placement.
Norway continuously supports rebuilding of the conflict-ridden areas in the North and East of Sri Lanka covering a wide range of activities which address humanitarian needs, recovery and development, the Embassy said. The support promotes humanitarian demining, shelter, rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure, livelihood, food security, education and training.
The GOSL should investigate the CAUSES of this FAILURE to continue decreasing the Gender Gap in Sri Lanka, and take whatever steps are necessary to ELIMINATE IT.
Our women ... Our Mothers, Wives, Sisters, Daughters, Aunts etc ... deserve, and MUST HAVE, the SAME OPPORTUNITIES as men.
That is the Sri Lankan way!
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Gender gap increases in Sri Lanka in 2011
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 02, Colombo: Sri Lanka's gender gap increased over the last year and gender equality ranking declined from a 16 in 2010 to a 31 this year, a report released by the World Economic Forum showed.
The World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2011 showed that Sri Lanka has slipped several places from its privileged position in the top 20 over the last five years. Sri Lanka fell from closing 74.6 percent of the gender gap in 2010 to 72.1 percent this year.
The report measures the gap between men and women in four key areas: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and survival, and Political empowerment.
The report noted that while Sri Lanka shows a higher-than-average performance in health and political empowerment, the gap between women and men's estimated earned income widened and new data on tertiary education showed a large gender gap among those enrolled in tertiary education.
In labor force participation Sri Lanka ranked at the 119th position out of 135 reviewed countries with only 34.5 percent women working. The Estimated Earned Income for women was 36 percent of men's' income placing the country at 120th position.
The gender gap widened in the category of Women in Parliament placing Sri Lanka among the Arabic countries at the 122nd position.
Despite the high literacy rate and the almost equal participation in primary and secondary education, enrollment of women in tertiary education in higher education institutes ranked at 120th place with only half the women received tertiary education when compared with the number of men.
In Health and Survival Sri Lanka remained at the top position over the years among the developed nations.
In the Asia and the Pacific region, New Zealand, the Philippines, Australia and Sri Lanka were ranked highest.
Nordic countries - Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden - continued to hold top spots, having closed over 80% of their gender gaps. The United States ranked at the 17 position in between United Kingdom and Canada.
The Global Gender Gap Index, introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006, is a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress.
Chinese assistance to develop Sri Lanka technical institute
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 03, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government has sought Chinese financial assistance to relocate and develop the Institute of Technology currently located in the campus of the Moratuwa University.
The Cabinet has given its approval to a proposal brought forward by the Minister of Higher Education S.B. Dissanayake to move the Institute of Technology to a new premise at Diyagama, Homagama and to develop with the financial assistance from the Government of China.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Higher Education will enter into a commercial contract amounting to US $89.55 million with the China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation for the implementation of the project.
The project has been identified as an important priority project on the basis of the recommendations made by the Procurement Committee appointed by the Cabinet.
The Institute offers the National Diploma in Technology (NDT), a three-year full time course comprising two years of academic work in the University and one year of industrial training.
The Cabinet has already granted approval to purchase the land for the relocation.
Sri Lanka gives new deal to CATIC after hotel plan killed
COLOMBO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka awarded China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) an $89.6 million contract, barely a week after annulling a $500 million hotel deal with the state-run Chinese conglomerate.
The hotel deal was among the largest foreign investments since Sri Lanka won a quarter-century civil war in 2009, and its cancellation was a rare victory for the main opposition United National Party (UNP), which questioned it in a parliament dominated by President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling party.
Cabinet spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the new contract, to relocate a university, was not a quid pro quo or compensation for the hotel deal's collapse.
"That's a different deal and they must have come with the full funding when the tenders were called," for the university project, he told a press briefing.
The new project is to relocate the University of Moratuwa's Institute of Technology to new campus and the $89.6 million cost will be funded by the Chinese government, Rambukwella said.
Sri Lanka is borrowing heavily to fund a $6 billion plan to develop infrastructure neglected during the war. China was the Indian Ocean nation's largest lender in 2009 and 2010, giving a combined $2 billion during those two years.
UNP legislator Harsha de Silva, the main critic of the CATIC project, said the university deal was yet another Chinese project that would cost Sri Lanka's economy dearly.
"This is a typical economic hitman story. When we can't do things, China is asking for flesh. I think either the government doesn't see this or some people are benefiting from these kind of deals," de Silva told Reuters.
The CATIC hotel deal's cancellation was a rare case where China, a major ally, appeared not to get its way in Sri Lanka.
Officially, Rajapaksa questioned why the land for the hotel on the colonial-era Galle Face seafront was being sold instead of given on a long-term lease. CATIC balked at the change in terms, having already paid $54.5 million.
The government says it is negotiating to give CATIC another property, and is in talks to lease the Galle Face land to another party, which it declined to name, to build a hotel.
CATIC is primarily a weapons manufacturer, but has other interests including in hotels.
What remains unclear is why the government has not also changed the terms of a similar $500 million hotel, shopping and apartment project with Shangri-La Asia Ltd , which paid $125 million to buy 10 acres next to the 6 acres CATIC wanted.
(Additional reporting by Shihar Aneez; Writing by Bryson Hull; Editing by David Holmes)
Gazprom to send technical team to explore Sri Lanka's Mannar basin for gas drilling
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 02, Colombo: One of the world's leading oil companies, Russia's oil giant Gazprom will send a a group of technical specialists to Sri Lanka to explore gas drilling in the off the northwest coast of the country, government media reported.
Gazprom has expressed its intention to join the gas drilling in the Mannar Basin earlier this year. The company held discussions with the Sri Lankan government in August on sending a technical team to the country.
Sri Lanka's Petroleum Industries Ministry has said that a group of technical specialists will reach Sri Lanka shortly for further activities, the state-run television ITN reported.
Sri Lankan Minister of Petroleum Industries Susil Premajayantha who participated at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Moscow last week had bilateral discussions with the Gazprom Company representatives.
Gazprom has also agreed to offer scholarships to Sri Lankan students who have passed the G.C.E Advanced Level and join Sri Lankan graduates in oil drilling activities and support Sri Lanka�s Tourism Industry to achieve their targets.
Cairn Lanka, the wholly owned subsidiary of Cairn India, which began oil drilling operations in the Mannar basin in August, after having found gas deposits in its first well CLPL-Dorado-91H/1z, has started on a second well in the block.
Mannar basin has eight oil and gas exploration blocks and two of them have been granted to China and India. Gazprom and Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, PetroVietnam have expressed interest in oil exploration in the Mannar Basin.
Criticism of Sri Lanka ignores Tiger threat
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 04 (Australian) THE criticism of Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa, when he visited Australia for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, left the key Sri Lankan villain out of the story. The criticism was that the Sri Lankan government engaged in serious human rights abuses, shelling areas where civilians were present, at the end of its civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in May last year.
Both sides committed atrocities in this war, but the defeat of the Tamil Tigers was a decisive defeat of perhaps the bloodiest and most murderous terrorist group the world has seen.
Alexander Downer, Australia's foreign minister for 11 years of the war, tells me: "I know the Sri Lankan government played very hard ball and committed some human rights abuses, but it's a wonderful thing the Sri Lankan government won that war. I have always regarded the Tamil Tigers as absolutely a terrorist organisation."
It is easy to forget how bloody the Tamil Tigers were. In their 2 1/2-decade campaign, perhaps 70,000 people died. The Tamil Tigers pioneered the suicide bomber, conducting hundreds of such attacks and using a woman with a suicide vest to murder India's prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. They also murdered a Sri Lankan president. Rohan Gunaratna, an authority on terrorism based in Singapore, tells me the Tamil Tigers also pioneered suicide attacks at sea. The sinking of the USS Cole was an imitation of a Tiger operation.
The Tigers were authoritarian under the leadership of Vellupillai Prabakaran. They murdered Tamil and Sinhalese civilians, within the areas they controlled and within Sri Lanka generally. They used civilians as human shields, engaged in forced recruitment, routinely bombed civilian targets, used child soldiers and refused to let civilians leave the combat zone. They also engaged in sectarian attacks against Muslims.
President at Visakha Vidyalaya Prize Day: ‘Worthy citizens don’t run down their country abroad’
By Sandasen MARASINGHE
DailyNews.lk
November 5, 2011
President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday that to make statements condemning one’s own motherland abroad, was not a feature of a worthy citizen.
He made this observation speaking as the chief guest at the prize giving 2010 of Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo. President Rajapaksa said that the younger generation should act responsibly when they grow, preserving the country’s good name.
He added that the nation should also hold morals in esteem along with education.
The President added that most Western countries have neglected this fact and added that this was clear by the statements made by their leaders.
He said Sri Lanka is among the top most countries that enable women to secure a good position in the society, according to international research.
He added that most developed countries are far behind Sri Lanka in this regard.
President Rajapaksa said that Sri Lankan women make a significant contribution to the national economy and they are equally doing well even in tertiary education. He added that women should also be well equipped to shoulder the responsibilities of society.
He said that all parents wish their daughters to grow up with good morals and character. The President said that like a father, he requests the daughters to grow up in line with the advice of the Buddha. Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena, Visakha Vidyalaya Principal Sandamali Aviruppola, former Principals, and Zonal Education directors were also present on the occasion.
Private Anti-Piracy Security British Company is operating from Galle, Sri Lanka!
What are the diplomatic implications for Sri Lanka of providing base-facilities for this on Sri Lankan territory?
Also, would setting up such Sri Lanka companies for Marine Security ... perhaps under Sri Lanka Govt oversight ... be an appropriate an employment opportunity for ex-Sri Lankan military personnel?
Government oversight would be needed because Sri Lanka based Private Military outfits can also pose a threat to the National Security of Sri Lanka, if their leadership falls into the wrong hands.
But, allowing foreign companies to dominate and monopolize the field ... without any control, participation, or direct awareness of activities by the Government .... may also pose foreign and locally inspired threats to Sri Lanka's National Security.
It is VERY EASY to DIVERT Private Military Outfits to illegal international REGIME CHANGE activities.
Today's Anti-Piracy capabilities could be deployed for tomorrow's Anti-National activities.
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Cardiff security company Sea Marshals takes on pirates
By Gavin Thomas
BBC.co.uk
November 07, 2011
Sea Marshals armed security on board a ship The company says 90% of its security guards are British and are either former Navy or special forces.
Taking on the threat of Somali pirates is proving to be good business for a company based in Cardiff Bay.
Sea Marshals employs 50 armed security officers but says it could probably double in size.
It provides protection teams for vessels in the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean and the Malacca Straits.
Last month Prime Minister David Cameron backed the use of armed guards on British-registered ships passing through dangerous waters.
"Recently, six pirate skiffs attacked a vessel with our security team onboard. It's a tough job for one security team to fight off six skiffs when they're attacking - but it worked” Thomas Chief of operations, Sea Marshals
The company's Cardiff control room has a bank of screens tracking vessels thousands of miles away.
The security officers , many of them former special forces troops, on client ships are armed with automatic weapons like AK-47's, sniper rifles and handguns.
Sister company, Naval Guards, has a fleet of six fast patrol craft and a former minesweeper bought from the Swedish navy.
Cardiff security company Sea Marshals takes on pirates
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They operate out of the ports of Djibouti and Galle, Sri Lanka and are developing new bases in Oman and Durban, South Africa.
Figures from the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) show 489 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against shipping in 2010, up more than 20% on the previous year.
The IMO is now introducing guidelines on the use of armed security and interim recommendations were published in September.
'Warning shots'
No ship carrying armed security is thought to have been hijacked in modern times.
"Just showing our weapons is usually enough," said chief of operations Thomas, who uses only his first name for security reasons.
"Normally, when we show our weapons, or when we shoot warning shots at them, 99% of the time that will solve the situation and the pirates will look for an easier target."
Armed man on coast of Somalia with MV Filitsa, seized by pirates, in distance - 26 January 2010 Piracy has flourished in lawless Somalia
According to Thomas, nearly all of the company's security guards are British and are either former Royal Navy or special forces personnel.
The company says it is fully licensed to carry firearms in the areas it operates.
The chief of operations said the pirates select their targets with care.
"It may seem mad for them to come out in small skiffs, in bad waters but they're not completely mad - they don't want to die. They are there to make money. They want to grab a ship, take it back to Somalia and ask for a couple of million dollars in ransom," said Thomas.
'Desperate'
"The problem is a lot worse than ever before but they haven't been that successful this year in actually taking vessels. That's due to the fact that more ship owners are employing armed guards - which removes the threat from the pirates".
"The pirates are getting more desperate and are trying new things," he added.
Armed security vessel, Gulf of Aden The company has bought six vessels from the Swedish Navy to use in the pirate zone
"Recently, six pirate skiffs attacked a vessel with our security team onboard. It's a tough job for one security team to fight off six skiffs when they're attacking - but it worked," said Thomas.
The security teams stay in contact with the headquarters using satellite phones. Kelly, the operations administrator, spent 10 years serving in the Royal Navy before returning to her native south Wales, and she admits she finds the work addictive.
"We start with a client coming to us, asking for a team for their vessel. Organising a three, four, five man team, deciding what weapons we can carry on there. Ammunition. We've got to do everything from scratch".
Flag states
Kelly said she was now quite used to taking telephone calls "at three, even four o'clock in the morning".
"We have to advise our agents in the different ports. We're obviously in contact with our guys all the time. This is where you're going, that's what's required. They're all very well-trained and all qualified," said Kelly.
Cardiff security company Sea Marshals takes on pirates
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Although armed security now has backing from many flag states, including Britain, there have been a few critical voices.
A fence and barbed wire surround a ship's handrail to deter pirates Merchant ships deter pirates from boarding using barbed wire and other basic defences
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB), a maritime business body, has warned that pirates could respond with greater violence.
Naval forces from EU states have been protecting shipping off the Horn of Africa since 2008 in a mission known as EU NAVFOR, which follows UN Security Council resolutions.
But Sea Marshals claim the naval task forces is limited by its area of operation.
"You can compare it to putting 10 police cars in the whole of Europe that can do a maximum of 20 miles per hour and then trying to police the continent," said Thomas.
"Armed security on the ships is the only real solution," he added.
The company is recruiting more staff for its Cardiff HQ and is looking for larger office space in the city.
It is also planning to expand to west Africa as the threat of piracy grows in waters off Nigeria and Benin.
The toll rates seem very reasonable.
However, will the Expressway have METERED entrance and exit ramps at various points along the way for easy payment of the toll fees?
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Toll fees decided for Sri Lanka's first expressway
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 07, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Road Development Authority has set the toll fees for the country's first expressway running from Colombo to Galle.
According to an official, the cars have to pay a minimum of 100 rupees and a maximum of 400 rupees for the whole distance on the expressway, scheduled to be opened later this month.
The toll rates are to be announced officially soon, Lanka Business Online reported.
The Southern Expressway, linking Colombo with the town of Galle in the Southern Province in the initial stage, is to be declared open on November 27, 2011 by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The second stage of the expressway from Galle to Matara is now being constructed.
Minister nails canard regarding proposed law
By Ishara Mudugamuwa
DailyNews.lk
November 08, 2011
The government has no plan whatsoever to take over private sector enterprises or businesses of foreign investors. It only wants to take over state land obtained illegally at undervalued prices due to private or political connections and unutilized state land given to the private sector through bank loans, said Higher Education Minister S B Dissanayake.
He said at present rumours are spreading that the government is planning to take over all non-profitable institutions. But no one should fear this since the government never intended any such move. ”Some people who obtained state land, factories and enterprises at very low prices completely destroyed them.
‘Some let go of them after exploiting all their resources without even paying the EPF. Some produced illegal alcohol in the guise of producing sugar. Hingurana Sugar Factory, Tyre factory and Steel Corporation are some of the examples.
‘The government’s sole intention is to protect resources and use them in the proper manner,” said the minister.
Appropriation of Underperforming Companies by the GOSL continues to UNFOLD with WILD ALLEGATIONS against the TRUE INTENT of the Govt.
The FAILURE by the Govt to CLEARLY EXPLAIN & DEFEND the MOVE has given opportunity to Anti-National elements to strike at the heart of Sri Lanka's Economic Development.
This could have SEVERE RAMIFICATIONS for Sri Lanka's Future Growth.
The GOSL should do two things:
1. DECLARE that PRIVATE PROPERTY will CONTINUE to be held SACROSANCT in Sri Lanka.
2. EXPLAIN & DEFEND the FACTUAL LEGAL BASIS of the move by the Govt to acquire these assets: privatized state assets and private assets ILLEGALLY given state benefits.
Under performance per se' by a private company is INSUFFICIENT REASON to warrant acquisition.
Either ILLEGALITY or the FAILURE to PERFORM under a CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT must be demonstrated.
Private companies will, and often do, FAIL ... all the time. FAILURE to PERFORM, and perhaps going BANKRUPT, is NOT A CRIME!
The GOSL should EXPLAIN the FACTUAL LEGAL BASIS for the contemplated acquisitions.
If such a VALID BASIS EXISTS, then the GOSL is DEFENDING the NATION, just as the US Govt RECENTLY did in taking over many PRIVate financial, automotive and energy companies ... in the INTEREST OF THE NATION.
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Sri Lanka hit by regime uncertainty
LankaBusinessOnline.com
November 08, 2011
Sri Lanka's investment prospects would be hurt by sudden changes in policy and laws relating to property rights and investment returns analysts said, describing a condition identified by economists as 'regime uncertainty'.
"Consistent government policy: that is what investors are looking for," Sujeewa Mudalige, President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka told a business forum on taxation organized by Sri Lanka's Institute of Policy Studies.
"In my view when an investor comes in they want to make sure, your tax laws will be consistent, your labour rules will be consistent.
"You will not have a pension scheme which will be all of a suddenly brought in from somewhere. You will not have laws and regulations which will not come in without adequate consultation and discussion."
Expropriation
Sri Lanka abandoned an attempt to build a third state controlled pension fund out of private sector worker's salary deduction earlier this year after a protesting worker in an export industrial zone was killed by police fire.
Sri Lanka is currently in the process of bringing a law to expropriate assets of dozens of private businesses, which the state says is underperforming or where assets are underutilized. The law was secretly made and is being brought to parliament as an 'urgent bill'.
Sri Lanka's opposition has charged that it is targeting businesses linked to them, a charge which spokesmen in the administration have denied. Several foreign owned entities including one operating Singapore investment is involved.
Sri Lanka is scaling down tax breaks offered to investors except for large projects. But the planned expropriation law targets businesses that have received state concessions, including tax breaks, land or other guarantees.
"We must be careful of signals sent to foreign investors from every policy move, not just signals sent on tax incentives but every policy move," Anushka Wijesinghe, an economist at the Institute of Policy Studies said.
"And I think that is why it is important to look at the new emerging laws to bring underperforming enterprises and assets under state control may be seen by external observers an expropriation law and cause fear among potential and existing foreign investors."
Sri Lanka hit by regime uncertainty
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Regime Uncertainty
Sri Lanka's current administration headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa commands a two thirds majority in parliament and official spokesmen have promoted 'political stability' as one of the draws for foreign investors.
But for investors, unpredictable policy, especially relating to property rights, from a stable regime has the same effect as unpredictable policy from different regimes.
Robert Higgs a US economist described the phenomenon in a in a 1997 paper as the likelihood of state action that will either undermine private property rights or return and yields on investments.
"Such attenuations can arise from many sources, ranging from simple tax-rate increases, to the imposition of new kinds of taxes, to outright confiscation of private property," Higgs wrote.
"Many intermediate threats can arise from various sorts of regulation, for instance, of securities markets, labor markets, and product markets.
"In any event, the security of private property rights rests not so much on the letter of the law as on the character of the government that enforces, or threatens, presumptive rights."
Higgs's original paper related to state interventions that prolonged the Great Depression in the US. Outright expropriation is the worst that a state can do to undermine property rights and harm investors.
TOO SMALL! A $92 Million PENALTY IS TOO SMALL ... TOO SMALL ... God Almighty .. TOO SMALL!
A $1 BILLION penalty would have been MORE APPROPRIATE as an EFFECTIVE DETERRENT to this terrorist lover, whose initial investment capital was given to him by the LTTE terrorists, and funded the LTTE as he stole his way to greater wealth, brazenly ripping off US Corporations and Investors with Unbounded Enthusiasm.
He is TYPICAL of the LTTE criminals in the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora ... DISHONEST Everyday,
UNREPENTANT Everyway!
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Rajaratnam slapped with $92m penalty in insider trading
MoneyControl.com
November 09, 2011
A US judge has ordered disgraced billionaire Raj Rajaratnam to pay a whopping USD 92 million as penalty in the biggest insider trading case in the US, saying the "huge and brazen nature" of his fraud "cries out" for such an unprecedented fine.
Judge Jed Rakoff of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York entered his final judgement yesterday finding Rajaratnam liable for a civil monetary penalty of USD 92,805,705, the largest penalty ever assessed against an individual in an insider trading case of Securities and Exchange Commission.
In the criminal case against Rajaratnam, the Sri Lankan hedge fund founder was ordered to pay more than USD 53.8 million in forfeiture of illicit gains and USD 10 million in criminal fines. The total amount of monetary sanctions imposed on Rajaratnam in the civil and criminal cases now stands at more than USD 156.6 million.
In imposing the fine, Rakoff said such a severe civil penalty will bring home the message that insider trading should be "a money-losing proposition" for anyone who plans to engage in it. He said the penalty is further justified given Rajaratnam's networth which "considerably exceeds" the penalties in the criminal case.
"When to this is added the huge and brazen nature of Rajaratnam's insider trading scheme, which, even by his own estimate, netted tens of millions of dollars and continued for years, this case cries out for the kind of civil penalty that will deprive this defendant of a material part of his fortune," Rakoff said in his judgement.
Tamil Refugee Returnees from India allege "Discrimination" by India, even after India gave them refuge for 20 years! Is there no end to ingratitude?
Welcome home ... but leave the communal "permanent victim" attitudes behind in India, and oppose ethnic terrorism in Sri Lanka.
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Setting sail to their homeland with hope
By J. Praveen Paul Joseph
TheHindu.com
Second batch of 47 Sri Lankan refugees repatriated
“It is a joyous moment for us. We had never dreamt that a day would come when we would be able to return home,” said S. Sivadharshan, a resident of the Kottapattu refugee camp for Sri Lankan Tamils at Tiruchi since 1990.
“It is time to end the stigma of being a refugee,” remarked 32-year-old N. Maheswari.
Both spent two decades in refugee camps after fleeing their homeland when hostilities broke out.
Of the 47 Sri Lankan Tamils who assembled at the Orange Gate of the passenger terminal at the V.O. Chidambaranar Port here on Tuesday, some could not express their joy in words, as they prepared to sail back to their homeland.
They constituted the second batch of Sri Lankan Tamils repatriated to the island nation by the Tuticorin-Colombo ferry service. The first batch of 37 reached Colombo in October.
Discrimination alleged
Maheswari, a resident of the Rayanur camp in Karur, said that her family faced discrimination in society while their children faced a similar situation in schools.
Added N. Mayuran (26); “Since the age of four, I have been residing at the same camp in Karur. Had the government given Indian citizenship, I would not have opted to return.” Even benefits of the welfare schemes of the State government were not given properly to the refugees, he claimed.
They said they were deeply indebted to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which facilitated the journey. Since normality had been restored, they expressed their desire to settle down in their hometown.
‘No cause for anxiety'
Through relatives back home, they had ascertained the conditions in their native place and felt that there was no cause for anxiety or uncertainty about their life and safety in post-war Sri Lanka.
Their children's education will not be affected, said Sivadharshan, a resident of Kottapattu camp in Tiruchi, as the academic year would commence only in January.
M. Sasikaran (32), also from the Kottapattu camp, said the repatriation was unexpected and the passport for the journey home was taken only after the UNHCR pledged support.
The refugees are headed for Maharambakulam in Vavuniya, northern Sri Lanka, Tirukadalur in Trincomalee in the east, besides other parts of Sri Lanka.
Fifteen of them were residents of the Tiruchi camp, 15 were from the Karur camp, 13 from Mandapam in Ramanathapuram district and four from Thappathi camp in Tuticorin district.
The group, with their baggage affixed with the tag ‘Returnees' and carrying the logo of the UN refugee agency, embarked on the nine-deck Scotia Prince, the ferry that will take them across the sea in a 14-hour journey.
There were some emotional scenes as relatives bade them a tearful farewell.
Bravo! Extending the network of railways to emerging population centers in Sri Lanka ... for transport of people and hauling of heavy goods ... will pay great economic and environmental dividends in the future.
It will enable businesses to locate further away from built-up cities and for employees to travel easily from their homes to workplaces avoiding the excessive cost, congestion and environmental impact of using individual automobiles.
Creating an omnipresent railway transport system through out Sri Lanka is a step in the right direction towards a prosperous environmentally sustainable future as Sri Lanka's population grows by leaps and bounds.
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Major development anticipated in railway transport of Sri Lanka
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 10, Colombo: Planning Director of Sri Lanka Railways Wijaya Samarasinghe says the Department is now conducting field surveys to construct several new railway lines in several areas of the country.
Several new railway lines connecting rural villages are under consideration to be constructed. These include rail lines from Kurunegala to Dambulla via Habarana, Badulla to Wellawaya via Bibila, Maho to Puttalam, Medawachchiya to Trincomalee and Avissawella to Hambanthota.
Earlier the Department carried out a feasibility study on constructing a line from Kottawa to Horana. A mono rail from Katunayake to Colombo is also in the card.
Once implemented, these developments will be a significant change in the railway transport system in the island after the colonial times.
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