October 04, 2012
I have been advocating Hydrogen Energy Technology for many years as an important aspect of achieving of Energy Independence for Sri Lanka at this forum and elsewhere, and I am pleased that the Government of Sri Lanka is taking the initiative to explore Hydrogen Energy Technology for transportation.
However, Hydrogen Energy Technologies should be viewed more broadly as a GENERAL SOLUTION to meeting all of Sri Lanka's energy needs .... as I explain below.
Hydrogen gas can be PRODUCED by electrolysis of water using time-varying renewable energies such as solar, wind, or excess hydro power. In the future, if Sri Lanka acquires nuclear power plants, electricity produced by these nuclear plants, and even conventional fossil-fueled plants, can be used during off-peak hours to produce hydrogen, as a part of maximizing power plant utilization.
The hydrogen thus produced can be STORED in tanks in a variety of forms: as a compressed gas, a gas adsorbed on certain metal hydrides from which the hydrogen can be released very simply by mild heating, or as a cryogenic liquid.
The hydrogen thus produced can be UTILIZED to fuel transportation vehicles having on-board storage tanks and fuel-cell power units and can be dispensed from local gas refueling stations. Alternatively, the hydrogen can be used to produce electricity in large fuel-cell plants co-located with the electrolysis plants at conventional electric power generating plants. Existing electricity production plants are very convenient for co-locating hydrogen plants because the high-voltage power transmission lines and switch yard infrastructure necessary for tapping into the electricity distribution grid already exist at such plants.
Furthermore, use of hydrogen as an energy storage medium solves the so-called LOAD-LEVELLING problem that LIMITS the amount of time-varying renewable energies that can be fed into the existing power grid served by conventional "base-load" power plants. To preserve the stability of the power grid, this amount can be only a small fraction of the base energy generating capacity. With hydrogen energy storage available for storing the time-varying renewable energy at whatever time it is produced, the stability of the grid can be preserved, without having to increase the installed capacity of conventional power plants. Hydrogen production and storage will enable generating plants to run near maximum capacity at all times with the excess above the electricity demand used to produce and store energy in the form of hydrogen, thus maximizing plant utilization.
Finally, both the production of hydrogen by electrolysis of water, and the generation of electricity by consuming that hydrogen in fuel cells, is POLLUTION-FREE, and does not produce any global warming gases, or result in a net consumption of water. When these environmental benefits are combined with the potential of hydrogen technologies to utilize indigenously produced energy by replacing imported fossil fuels, improve the nation's balance of payments, reduce power plant costs, and enhance the rate of return by maximizing plant utilization, there is no doubt that deploying hydrogen energy technology is a win-win strategy for Sri Lanka. In a world competing fiercely for fossil fuels, this will prove to be an increasing sound strategy in the future.
If Sri Lanka is to grow economically, then we must have a plentiful supply of inexpensive indigenously produced energy, that cannot be held hostage to events in foreign countries. Hydrogen energy technologies ... in all their forms .... are the solution to Sri Lanka's energy needs, and the need for energy security as a sovereign nation. As we develop our infrastructure in post- war Sri Lanka and progress towards becoming the New Wonder of Asia, let us adopt and invest our precious capital in the best energy technologies that will serve the nation's long-term interest. As a country that is making MAJOR INVESTMENTS in NEW INFRASTRUCTURE, Sri Lanka has a UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY to seize the initiative and lead the world in the deployment of a sustainable cost-effective non-polluting energy strategy.
I applaud the initiatives now being taken by the Government of Sri Lanka to firmly embed Hydrogen Energy Technologies in Sri Lanka's overall energy strategy.
Jayawewa, Sri Lanka!
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Sri Lanka enters hydrogen fuel era with workshop in Colombo tomorrow
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 03, Colombo: Sri Lanka will take the first step to the hydrogen fuel era with the first ever hydrogen workshop in Colombo tomorrow.
A hydrogen desk set up in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka under the assistance of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has organized the Hydrogen and Renewable Energy conference in Colombo on October 4th at the Cinnamon Lake Hotel as the first step to formulate Sri Lanka's hydrogen road-map.
According to the UNIDO National Director for Sri Lanka Nawaz Rajabdeen the second objective of the workshop is to use Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for wider hydrogen implementation in the country.
The experts conducting the workshop, Prof. Lalit Mohan Das of Indian Institute of Technology, UNIDO's International Centre for Hydrogen Energy Technologies (UNIDO-ICHET Associate Director Dr. Nikolaos Lymberopoulos and Senior Project Engineer of UNIDO-ICHET Dr. Frederico V Campbell arrived in Colombo this morning.
The meeting will bring together senior representatives from interested private enterprises and the government to gain insights from major international organizations on the status of hydrogen and fuel cell technology at global level, the progress made in hydrogen production from renewables and storage and the potential investment opportunities and commercialization challenges in Sri Lanka, according to the Consultant and Adviser Vittorio Coco of Sri Lanka's first Hydrogen project.
Rajabdeen announced in May that Sri Lanka would be stepping into hydrogen fuel era shortly and the first step would be through the SME sector.
"We are not looking at an immediate energy supply here - rather, the first step in our transition to modern energy Hydrogen in the medium to long term as we realize that energy independence is more and more crucial," Rajabdeen has said.
The Urban Council of Weligama has set up the hydrogen desk to develop an intercity hydrogen program for the Southern Province as the first step.
Under the advice of Coco, Sri Lanka will launch a pilot project to test hydrogen-powered three wheelers in Galle Fort where the diesel-run vehicles are not allowed to operate.
Similar project launched in India under the guidance of Prof. Das has proved that Hydrogen can be used as an alternate energy resource for vehicles and the hydrogen-powered Indian three wheelers are estimated to cost only 12% in comparison to standard three wheelers used there.
Prof. Das is also behind the famous hydrogen project in India called DELHy3W (Delhy-3W Hydrogen 3-wheelers project) with Mahindra and Mahindra.
Mahindra's HyAlfas, the world's first hydrogen powered three wheeler launched in January 2012, have reported 80 kilometers mileage for just one kilogram of hydrogen.
The three wheeler demonstration project in the Galle Fort in Sri Lanka is modeled on HyAlfa. The PPP venture plans to use 15 hydrogen powered zero emission three wheelers in Galle Fort and monitor them carefully for their pollutant free runs.
The confab tomorrow will feature presentations from the Sustainable Energy Authority, the DFCC Bank, ADB, BoI, UNIDO ICHET(Istanbul), UNIDO(Delhi), EU Delegation-Colombo, and the Indian Institute of Technology.
Delhy-3W Hydrogen 3-wheelers project, UNIDO India activities in the clean energy field, EU activities in the renewable energy field and hydrogen initiatives, funding opportunities for renewable energy in Asia, credit facilities in the field of renewable energy and hydrogen projects in Sri Lanka, and investments opportunities in Sri Lanka for renewable energy and hydrogen will be discussed at the workshop.
110 comments:
Sri Lanka's over reliance on hydro power is likely to cause recurring electrical power supply crises, especially as global climate changes alter traditional rainfall patterns.
The situation is aggravated by periodic droughts that make the water in reservoirs too precious to use for power generation, and demand reallocation to higher priority uses such as drinking and agricultural irrigation.
The prices of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal) required for power generation and/or transportation uses are soaring beyond our reach in world markets, while we are being simultaneously constrained from purchasing oil at discount from our traditional oil suppliers, such as Iran.
Meanwhile, the GOSL/CEB is forced to limit wind and solar power fed into the national power grid to 300 MW; about 10% of the total generating capacity supplying the grid. Any further increase of fluctuating renewable energy fed into the grid would destabilize it and cause power outages. In short, we cannot generate and use more renewable energy without first increasing the installed capacity of conventional power plants supplying on-demand power. These use costly imported fossil fuels.
It is in this context, that Hydrogen Energy Storage and Use Technology strategy, that I had summarized in the article above, is ESSENTIAL for Sri Lanka to implement.
Such a strategy would 1. REDUCE dependence of unaffordable imported fossil fuels by replacing imported fuels with a RENEWABLE INDIGENOUS NONPOLLUTING form of energy that can be used for fueling transportation vehicles and electricity generation, 2. REMOVE THE LIMIT on the FLUCTUATING RENEWABLE ENERGY that can be fed into the grid by storing that energy in the stored hydrogen, and 3. RELIEVE the pressure on the WATER RESOURCES of the hydropower reservoirs during periodic droughts, when the water is urgently needed for drinking and agricultural uses.
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Sri Lanka power sector in crisis again
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 04, Colombo: Sri Lanka Minister of Power and Energy Patali Champika Ranawaka warned today that the power sector of the country might face a very difficult situation unless rains are received by next week.
He said that the hydropower areas lack rains for the fourth consecutive season as the inter-monsoonal rains expected from mid-September did not fall.
The Minister said that the hopes are on the northeastern monsoons now. The dry zone areas of the country are experiencing a shortage of drinking water as well now.
He added that the daily loss of the Ceylon Electricity Board has gone up to Rs. 200 million a day due to increase of production of thermal energy. He said that the government expects the corporation of the electricity customers to paddle through the difficult situation.
Water from Sri Lanka's Mahaweli reservoirs released only for drinking
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 04, Colombo: The Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka says that water in the reservoirs under the Mahaweli scheme are now being released only for drinking purposes.
The Authority had made the decision taking into consideration the critical water levels at the main reservoirs.
Director General of the Mahaweli Authority Gamini Rajakaruna has told the media that the water level at the Victoria Reservoir was down to just 6.3 percent of its capacity.
The water level at the Randenigala Reservoir is at 9.5 percent of capacity while the Kotmale Reservoir is at 33 percent.
The Authority is also facing a dilemma over providing water for the cultivation of the next Maha season.
The low water levels has made it impossible to release water for cultivation purposes since priority has to be given to the provision of drinking water to the dry zone.
The districts of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Puttalam and Hambantota have been badly hit by the drought weather conditions.
The agriculture sector in the dry zone has been suffering due to the drought for the past few months and Sri Lanka's Central Bank lowered country's economic growth forecast due to the prolonged drought.
This amounts to TREASON on the part of the TNA, and UNDUE INTERFERENCE in Sri Lanka’s INTERNAL POLITICS on India’s part. NEITHER of these activities should be allowed by the GOSL.
The TNA was the subservient proxy of the LTTE during the SunGod’s reign, actively fighting for a separate Tamil fiefdom in Sri Lanka. That scheming and undermining has not changed one iota now; it has only moved to a different non-military stage.
On the other hand, India is not an IMPARTIAL party to the issue, to be accorded honored status in these matters, but a criminal party to the destruction of Sri Lanka in the past. India is responsible for initiating and supporting Tamil terrorism in Sri Lanka, invading Sri Lanka in a bid to partition it in favor of Tamil Eelamists, and embedding changes to Sri Lanka’s constitution that are INIMICAL to SRi Lanka’s continued survival as a sovereign nation. These activities of India led to the deaths of over 150,000 Sri Lankan citizens and placed our Motherland in jeopardy. India should be held culpable, and continue to pay war reparations for the reconstruction of our country.
India, the perpetrator of these crimes against Sri Lanka, should be given NO ROLE WHATEVER in Sri Lanka’s INTERNAL POLITICS.
To FORGIVE is DIVINE, but to FORGET is ASININE!
These ENEMIES of Sri Lanka must not be allowed to WIN in PEACE what they FAILED TO WIN in WAR.
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Sri Lanka Tamil party seeks India's assurance to participate in PSC on ethnic issue
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 07, Colombo: Sri Lanka's major Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has sought assurances from India's central government for constructive suggestions in negotiating with the Sri Lankan government on the ethnic issue.
The Tamil party has said that it will participate in the Parliamentary Select Committee proposed by the government to resolve the ethnic issue if the Indian Centre can provide an agenda for talks.
TNA Parliamentarian Selvam Adekkalanadan speaking to a local radio has said that the TNA has decided not to participate in the PSC but if India can give some assurance regarding the productivity of the process the party will reconsider their decision.
The Indian government has offered help to create a platform to restart stalled talks between the Sri Lankan government and TNA.
A TNA delegation is scheduled to visit India on a four-day tour beginning October 10th to hold discussions with Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and other government officials in New Delhi. They will however not hold discussions with the Tamil Nadu politicians during their short tour, the TNA MP has said.
Hoping to get both sides to initiate meaningful talks through the Parliamentary Select Committee process, India has invited the TNA for discussions following a request made by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa when he met the Indian Prime Minister during his visit to India last month.
During the meeting with Indian Premier, Sri Lankan President has insisted on TNA participating in the parliamentary select committee to formulate a national solution since all parties should be involved to discuss critical issues that require changes in the constitution.
Speaking to the Sunday newspaper The Nation TNA General Secretary, Mavai Senathirajah has said that the scheduled tour is a good opportunity to express their views to Indian leaders directly.
Malaysian govt. donation to Tamil Forum questioned Colombo regards body as an LTTE front says Godage
Island.lk
October 6, 2012
Sri Lanka is seeking details of how funds given to the Tamil Forum of Malaysia (TFM) by the Malaysian Government has been spent and the names of NGOs engaged in channeling such funds and the projects funded.
High Commissioner K. Godage, Sri Lanka’s envoy to Kuala Lumpur who will be ending his assignment and returning to Colombo shortly following a recall, earlier wrote to Tan Sri Mohamed Radzi Abdul Rahman, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in KL regarding news reports saying that the Malaysian Government had given US$ 1 million to the Tamil Forum of Malaysia.
Godage has said that the Sri Lanka Government takes the view that the Tamil Forum is a front organization of the LTTE which is pursuing the objective of establishing a separate state in Sri Lanka and that it works towards this goal with the Global Tamil Forum.
He says that the news report in the “The Star” on August 20, 2012 which he had enclosed has quoted Dr. N. Lyngkaran, President of the Tamil Forum of Malaysia saying that the forum “will ensure that the money spent was audited accordingly and that a report will be submitted to the Registrar of Companies.
They have also said that they engaged in relief work in the North and East of Sri Lanka.
“I do hope that the Malaysian Government would obtain from them the details with regard to the work they had done. I make this request as we have received reports from reliable sources that much money received from well meaning sources collected on the pretext of implementing development projects had been diverted to the LTTE front organizations particularly in Europe and the US to fund anti-Sri Lanka campaigns abroad,” Godage has said.
Following his first letter of September 7, 2012, Godage has written again on October 5 saying that he has been requested to find out details of how the money was given to the Tamil Forum of Malaysia and the names of the NGOs that has been engaged in channeling funds and the projects.
“My government wishes to have the information to ensure that such money has not been used for purposes inimical to the interest of the country,” Godage has said.
“You would no doubt appreciate that the granting of monies to foreign organizations could be abused and used for purposes claimed, constituting interference in the internal affairs of another state.”
He has further said that the High Commission is of the view that humanitarian projects and aid missions, no matter how their good intentions may well be, should be free from any kind of external influence.
Hence it is advisable to channel such funding through proper diplomatic channels, he has said.
According to a report in the “New Straits Times” of June 26, the Malaysian Government’s contribution to TFM will go towards helping 1,700 widows and orphans in Sri Lanka who lost their loved ones during the civil war.
Datuk M. Saravanan, Deputy Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister, had said that he hoped that the donation would be the starting point of a relationship between the Government and TFM.
“TFM has been helping Sri Lankan Tamils for a long time and this contribution is an acknowledgement of their work all this time,” the Deputy Minister has said.
“I have to admit that the amount is small, considering that it is to help 1,700 families, but I believe it is a good start.”
The 13th Amendment is SUICIDE PILL that was forced upon the hapless Govt of Sri Lanka AT THE POINT OF A GUN leveled at its head by India.
There is NOTHING in International Law, or in our own Sri Lankan Common Law, that COMPELS a VICTIM to honor an Agreement forced upon it by an AGGRESSOR. In such situations, the DUTY of the kidnapped victim is to survive .... anyway it can ... as Sri Lanka did .... until it can escape the kidnapper and restore its rights.
On the eve of World War II, Hitler demanded that Czechoslavakia give up its German-majority Sudetenland region to Germany upon the threat of invasion. In the now infamous Munich Agreement, hailed by Neville Chamberlain as heralding "peace with honor, peace in our time", the British and the French threw hapless Czechoslovakia to the wolves, reneging on their guarantee to defend the integrity of that country, in search of "peace" at any price. But this dishonorable ACT OF INFAMY, got them neither the "peace" they so cravenly sought, nor the "honor" they so highly valued. They lost BOTH.
At the conclusion of WWII with the defeat of Nazi Germany, the infamous Munich Agreement was ABROGATED as a CRIMINAL and ILLEGAL act imposed under DURESS upon Czechslovakia, and Czechslovakia was reconstituted and restored in its entirety.
While this is but one instance in International Law of Agreements made under Duress being rescinded, it is also universally recognized in the Common Law of nations, that agreements enacted under duress, without all parties being able to exercise their free will without compulsion, can and should be declared NULL AND VOID.
So it is with the 13th-Amendment to the Constitution imposed upon SOVEREIGN Sri Lanka by the FOREIGN STATE of India under the threat of PERMANENT Military Occupation by the "IPKF" troops.
The 13th-Amendment is in fact a de-facto PARTITION of Sri Lanka in favor of a racist Tamil separatist group. It is also a de-jure imposition of the SEED of that partition upon Sri Lanka by embedding the path towards partition in the highest legal document in our land ... our Constitution ... by a foreign aggressor nation that has NO LEGAL STANDING recognized by the sovereign people of Sri Lanka. This ILLEGAL ACT, executed far from the eyes of the world, is an ACT OF INFAMY no less egregious to justice and fair play as was the Munich Agreement imposed by Nazi Germany upon Czechoslovakia.
Therefore, it is INCUMBENT upon the Government of Sri Lanka to IMMEDIATELY ABROGATE this amendment to the nation's constitution in FULL, as constituting an ILLEGAL act that is INIMICAL to the survival of Sri Lanka as an independent and sovereign nation.
The GOSL has NO DUTY towards the aggressor nation India to "honor" the illegal agreement imposed by it, just as Czechoslovakia had NO DUTY to honor the Munich Agreement, when it was able to abrogate it. CRIMINAL ACTS must not be allowed to STAND.
When the TNA requests India to set the "Agenda" for the Parliamentary Select Committee of Sri Lanka so that the PSC achieves "productivity", it is in fact asking India to ENFORCE the 13th Agreement, and a "Political Solution" that is "acceptable" to the TNA, thus PREJUDGING the DECISION of the PSC. In this way, it attempts to bring pressure to bear upon the PSC, and ultimately the GOSL, to achieve its Eelamist goals, PRECLUDING the possibility that the PSC ... supposedly reflecting the wishes of ALL political segments of Sri Lanka ... MAY NOT RECOMMEND a solution that meets the Eelamist goals of the TNA.
My recommendation to the PSC is not to advocate anything that sets the stage for Sri Lanka to be again divided on communal bases of race, religion, language, caste, or sex. Power should not be devolved to a group of people firmly wedded to the notion of racial separatism and separate destinies for different communities of Sri Lanka. That is a prescription for national suicide.
Continued....
Instead, the PSC should recognize that ALL people of Sri Lanka can be served equitably, only by making the governance of Sri Lanka BLIND to communal differences, banishing communal attributes from the PUBLIC SPHERE to the PRIVATE SPHERE of people's lives as INDIVIDUALS where DIVERSITY can reign in its full glory to enrich people's lives. Embedding communal divisions in governance in the guise of assuring "diversity" is a false misguided approach to democracy, designed to transforming Sri Lanka into a patchwork of racist apartheid bantustans walled-off in supreme isolation perpetually at war with one another.
The GUIDING PRINCIPLE should be the preservation of EQUAL RIGHTS and EQUAL RESPONSIBILITIES of ALL citizens of Sri Lanka, not ONE IOTA more, not ONE IOTA less. irrespective of communal considerations. Sri Lankan citizens ALREADY ENJOY such rights under the existing laws of Sri Lanka that allpy equally to all citizens and regions of the country. The Tamil people already enjoy to all those rights as the Sinhala, Mulim and other communities ... despite the false manufactured allegations of discrimination that the Eelamists make to keep the pot boiling and gain rights unavailable to other citizens of Sri Lanka.
Let us REJECT the myopic vision of the TNA of Sri Lanka as a collection of communities separated by fear, and march towards becoming the New Wonder of Asia as ONE Unitary Nation, of ONE Unified People, sharing ONE National Destiny.
Since India does not understand the PRINCIPLE OF NON-INTERFERENCE in the Internal Affairs of its neighbors, let the GOSL take steps to RECIPROCATE their behavior.
Let Sri Lanka offer its "Good Offices" to every separatist group in India (Muslim Kashmiris and Assamese spring to mind) by hosting conferences on "POLITICAL SOLUTIONS" to their GRIEVANCES and UNFULFILLED ASPIRATIONS for independent nations, irrespective of whether those demands are reasonable or not, or what DAMAGE it does to the integrity of India.
In addition, let us aggressively pursue a program of promoting "human rights and democracy" in India. Let us, as close cousins of the people of India, assert an inalienable right to supervise devolution of sovereign power as a solution to India's separatist conflicts.
Perhaps DOING UNTO THEM WHAT THEY DO UNTO US would SUCCEED in getting the attention of Indian Leaders to our strong opposition to Indian Interference in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka, given that expressions of friendship and good neighborliness have ABJECTLY FAILED.
NOTHING works as well as fitting one's tormentors into the same torture body suit that they prescribe for us.
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
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Sri Lanka Tamil party delegation to leave for India today
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 10, Colombo: A seven-member delegation of Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Sri Lanka's major Tamil party, will leave for India today on an invitation extended by the Indian government to hold discussions on the ethnic issue.
During their four-day tour to New Delhi, the TNA delegation is scheduled to hold discussions with Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and other government officials in New Delhi on a solution to the ethnic issue.
The delegation, led by TNA Leader R. Sampanthan will include TNA parliamentarians Selvam Adekkalanadan, Mavai Senathirajah, Suresh Premachandran, M. A. Sumanthiran, Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy, and P. Selvarasa.
They will however not hold discussions with the Tamil Nadu politicians during their short tour, a TNA member has said.
The talks will be focused on finding a sustainable solution to the ethnic issue and the welfare of the Tamil community in the North and the East.
The Indian government has offered help to create a platform to restart stalled talks between the Sri Lankan government and TNA on the ethnic issue and it is expected that the Indian government will persuade the TNA to participate in the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee to bring up a permanent solution to the power devolution.
NOBODY is begging the TNA Traitors to join the PSC: it is their choice that they had better exercise SOON before that option is taken off the table, because that WINDOW will not be open INDEFINITELY; the Govt may TERMINATE the PSC process ALTOGETHER, after a reasonable time.
The TNA should not expect the PSC to grant them an EELAM, or to DEVOLVE POWER, especially POLICE & LAND POWERS, on a racist ethnic basis to Tamils only in the Northern Province. That will not happen, because that is CONTRARY to the will of the VAST MAJORITY of Sri Lankan citizens. No Government of Sri Lanka can do such a thing and expect to survive.
More generally, the PSC should recommend ABROGATION of the 13th Amendment to the constitution, ILLEGALLY imposed by India on Sri Lanka, as a part of DISSOLVING ALL Provincial Governments altogether.
The great majority of Sri Lankans are suffering under MULTIPLE tax-supported Government Bureaucracies. Provincial Local Governments ADD NO VALUE to governance, at a time when the whole world is racing towards streamlining their systems of governance to REDUCE COST and INCREASE EFFICIENCY to become more competitive in the global marketplace. ONE Central Government with police and land powers, and district, city and town councils without police and land powers, are ENOUGH government for tiny Sri Lanka.
More importantly, Provincial Governments, have the potential to become power centers for separatist movements enabling them to challenge and undermine the authority of the central government. There is no shortage of demagogues, Tamils, Moslems and Sinhalese, willing to do so to propel themselves into power as satraps running their personal fiefdoms.
If the TNA is allowed to dominate a Tamils-only Northern Province, the Muslims, demanding parity, will want to carve out a Muslims-only Eastern Province. Each of these provinces will then strike independent deals with foreign states, such as Tamil Nadu/India and Wahhabi Moslem states, while the central Government of Sri Lanka watches helplessly from the sidelines, with its hands bound by its own decisions. This plays into the hands of Sri Lanka's foreign enemies giving them READY-MADE client states within Sri Lanka, enabling them to DIVIDE and RULE ... all over again.
This is what happened in the past in Sri Lanka's long history of incursions by foreign powers ... let us learn from our own history, and not repeat those mistakes.
STUPIDITY, they say, is doing SAME thing and expecting a DIFFERENT result. Let us LEARN from our own past.
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Sri Lanka Tamil party may join PSC if government assures not to 'cheat again'
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 11, New Delhi: Sri Lanka's major Tamil political party Tamil National Alliance has said that they will consider joining the parliamentary select committee (PSC) proposed by the government to solve the ethnic issue if the government assures them that they will not be cheated again.
During his hour-long meeting with the External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna in New Delhi, the visiting Leader of the TNA Parliamentary delegation, R. Sampanthan has discussed the party's stance on the Sri Lankan government's proposals for power devolution to the minority Tamils.
Sri Lanka Tamil party may join PSC if government assures not to 'cheat again'
Continued ....
The TNA leader has told the Indian Minister that if the Sri Lankan government can remove the 'negativity' and assure that the Tamil people would not be cheated again the party might condider joining the proposed PSC to achieve a solution.
"If we get assurances that we will not be cheated again and that our people will not be deceived once again, we are ready to walk towards the path of finding a (political) solution. The negativity has to be removed," Sampanthan has been quoted in the media as saying.
"If the PSC has the intention of thrashing out a solution and has an agenda for (arriving at a political solution), we are ready to consider it. But, we are not ready to get cheated again," he has added.
A seven-member delegation of the TNA, led by Sampanthan, is visiting India from 10-13 October 2012 at the invitation of the Indian External Affairs Minister.
The delegation is will also meet the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and exchange views with the National Security Adviser and the Foreign Secretary.
India's invitation to the TNA followed the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit to New Delhi last month during which the President discussed the ethnic issue with the India Prime Minister in an effort to persuade the TNA to join the parliamentary select committee process.
During the meeting with Indian Premier, Sri Lankan President has insisted on TNA participating in the parliamentary select committee to formulate a national solution since all parties should be involved to discuss critical issues that require changes in the constitution.
The TNA delegation has pointed out to the Indian minister that Tamils in Sri Lanka should be given an opportunity to lead a dignified life and there should be no effort to "cheat them again".
The Tamil party has earlier said that it will participate in the Parliamentary Select Committee proposed by the government to resolve the ethnic issue if the Indian Centre government can provide an agenda for talks.
The Indian government has offered help to create a platform to restart stalled talks between the two parties and it is expected that the Indian government will persuade the TNA to participate in the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee to bring up a permanent solution to the power devolution.
Devolution BS being Orchestrated abroad is a PROBLEM that must be CONFRONTED HEAD-ON.
Devolution of Power on Communal bases to ANY GROUP must be resisted and avoided AT ALL COSTS.
The GOSL has to convey to ALL Foreigners and Eelamists that this is IMPOSSIBLE because:
1. The DEMOCRATIC form of Government we have in Sri Lanka will not PERMIT such devolution to separate communities, against the wishes of the VAST MAJORITY of Sri Lankan citizens.
2. Sri Lanka’s committment to both EQUAL RIGHTS for citizens, and EQUAL RESPONSIBILITIES due from citizens to the nation as a whole, is ABSOLUTE, and have ENSURED both RIGHTS and RESPONSIBILITIES, irrespective of community, in the past, and will continue to do so in the FUTURE.
Let those who demand DEVOLUTION provide a list of rights and responsibilities that Tamils, for example, don’t have, in fact and in law, that other ccommunities of Sri Lanka enjoy. The REALITY is that there are no such RIGHTS and RESPONSIBILTIES. Special rights for Tamils only CANNOT BE ACCOMMODATED in our democracy.
3. That the 30-year long separatist war we have just concluded, liberating and delivering to ALL people of Sri Lanka an equal right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, REQUIRES that Sri Lanka avoid all forms of devolution that could revive the defeated separatism. Sri Lanka dare not again sacrifice the security of ALL of its citizens, by devolving power to the defeated separatists on the very racist basis they sought to separate.
The GOSL should ask why it is so difficult for the Foreign Powers pressuring Sri Lanka to understand these realities, given that when their interests and security was at stake they did not devolve power willy-nilly to defeated enemies. Surely, what is good for the goose should be good for the gander as well?
The GOSL, should point out, for example, that after thye US Civil war, the victorious Union Government militarily occupied the Confederate South for nearly a century, to ensure that the Confederacy did not raise its ugly head again.
The Victorious Allies militarily occupied the Axis Nations defeated in WW-II for nearly 4 decades, declaring ILLEGAL all political parties that led the Axis powers and permanently ostracizing them. Even today, Allied Armies are present in the former Axis nations under the guise of the NATO. To this day, former Nazi party members are denied immigration to the United States, and Nazi leaders are pursued across the globe from pillar to post, as they should be, for their war crimes.
When Iraq was occupied by the US Army, the Iraqi Baath Party was banned, the Iraqi Armed Forces were disbanded and they were prohibited from induction into the new Iraqi Army. Even today, Iraqi Baath Party members are banned from holding political office. If the Iraqi Baath Party can be banned in this way, why is it not possible for the GOSL to ban the LTTE proxies of the TNA, instead of allowing them to creep back into power in the guise of “democrats” representing the very same people who they enslaved and tormented hand-in-glove with the LTTE? What kind of a hypocritical double standard is this?
The GOSL can use all of these arguments to PUSH BACK against the Foreign Tormentors of Sri Lanka, who are advancing their global agendas and dousing local political fires at Sri Lanka’s expense.
We need much more money to be spent by the GOSL for a GLOBAL MEDIA OFFENSIVE to lay these INCONVENIENT TRUTHS in front of the peoples of the world, in defense of the security of the generations of Sri Lankan citizens in the future. This program should be funded as a matter of high national security.
We need peace and security in Sri Lanka; our thousands of honored dead, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, have earned us that day in the sun for the Motherland.
The GOSL must fight against ALL FORMS OF POWER DEVOLUTION on Communal Bases, without throwing all of the sacrifices of our honored dead to the winds. THERE IS NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE.
White water rafting, a big tourist draw
DailyNews.lk
October 13, 2013
White water rafting in the Kelani Ganga is the latest attraction among tourists visiting the Sabaragamuwa Province, said a spokesman for the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council. Other major tourist hot spots in the province are the Rambukkana Elephant Orphanage and the Udawalawa Elephant Transit home.
Since tourist arrivals gathered momentum after the return of peace the tourist industry which was restructed to the maritime regions and archaeological sites in ancient cities has extended to the interior of the country specially areas in the Sabaragamuwa Province. The Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council taking cognizance of this factor has declared three tourist promotion zones in the Kegalle and Ratnapura districts.
They are Ma Oya, Seethawaka and Samanala Zones. In the Seethawaka Zone white water rafting in the Kelani Ganga has become a big attraction among visiting tourists. This service operating around Kithulgala through Ratnapura, Avissawella and Ginigathena has become a main source of livelihood for a large number of residents in the area.
The spokesman said tourists add another valorous experience to their Sri Lanka tour by joining white water rafting in the Kelani Ganga from Makandura entrance. More over nearly 400,000 tourist visit the Rambukkana Elephant Orphanage annually. At present there are 22 tourist hotels, 10 resorts, 37 rest houses and 17 rest halls in the province for the convenience of tourists.
The TNA wants an EELAM for Tamils-only, irrespective of what the majority of Sri Lankans want.
That was what the LTTE wanted; NOTHING has changed. Is that surprising, given that the TNA was the Political Arm of the LTTE?
Tamils have a "Tamils-only" country in Tamil-Nadu, India. Any Tamils who want to live in magnificient isolation in a Tamil Valhalla fighting caste wars for eternity, are welcome to depart for Tamil Nadu ... with our heartfelt blessings.
In Sri Lanka, they CANNOT HAVE a Tamils-only country, with or without Indian help, simply because MOST PEOPLE OF Sri Lanka ARE NOT TAMIL.
It is HIGH-TIME they came to terms with that, and decided to stay or depart.
In short, DISCE' AUT DISCEDE'!
On the other hand, Tamil people now have, and will have in the future as well, ALL THE RIGHTS every other Sri Lankan enjoys; NOT ONE IOTA less, NOT ONE IOTA MORE.
No one can call that UNFAIR, UNJUST, DISCRIMINATION against Tamils, or any other community of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka CANNOT ACCOMMODATE Tamil Dignity if that is based on SPECIAL RIGHTS for Tamils, that are UNAVAILABLE to other Sri Lankan Citizens.
Bottomline: Sri Lanka CANNOT, and indeed WILL NOT, ACCOMMODATE Racist Apartheid Tamil Eelamist Demands.
NO ONE, India INCLUDED, CAN FORCE Sri Lanka to do that.
NEVER!
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TNA tells Delhi ‘No PSC’
By The Nation
October 14, 2012
India assures a secure future for Tamils
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday claimed it had informed New Delhi that it would not participate at the Parliamentary Select Committee proposed by the Colombo Government, P. Ariyanenthiran, TNA Batticaloa District Parliamentarian told The Nation.Ariyanenthiran said he was informed of that decision by the TNA delegation now in India to hold meetings with Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna and later with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. ‘Our delegation had explained to New Delhi that the PSC was not a proper platform as the majority of the composition were government supporters’, he added.TNA was summoned to New Delhi after talks India held with President Mahinda Rajapaksa on September 20.
The seven-party delegation headed by R. Sampanthan cited earlier retractions by Colombo, especially the abrupt end in December last year to the series of confidence building discussions between the government and the Tamil party to find a solution. The Tamil party delegation also met with Indian Defense Advisor Shivshankar Menon and raised the issue of Tamil refugees settled down in Tamil Nadu and poaching by Tamil Nadu fishermen and the constant rift with Lankan Navy personnel. The former had assured the TNA he would raise the issue with the Tamil Nadu government.
The delegation cancelled its earlier scheduled meet with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalitha Jeyaram and slated to fly to Colombo today from New Delhi.
Meanwhile, a statement issued by the TNA said, “The TNA however intimated its grave concerns over the lack of progress by the Sri Lankan Government in the effective implementation of the constructive recommendations of the LLRC and the lack of a genuine commitment on the part of the Government of Sri Lanka to the evolution of an acceptable political solution. The TNA also observed that without meaningful action with regard to the above issues, the Tamil People in Sri Lanka cannot secure a future marked by equality, dignity, justice and self-respect. The TNA urged the need for urgent action to redress this situation. The discussions were free and frank, and the Prime Minister and the others reassured the TNA delegation that India was firmly committed to and would contribute its best efforts to ensure that the Tamil People in Sri Lanka secured a future marked by equality, dignity, justice and self-respect.”
Repeal 13A without delay says Gotabhaya
"Separatist sentiment still strong’’
By Shamindra Ferdinando
October 13, 2012
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday called for the abolition of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution without further delay.
The ongoing efforts by a political grouping led by one-time LTTE mouthpiece, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to hinder the passage of the Divineguma Bill in parliament meant that in spite of Sri Lanka’s battlefield victory over terrorism separatist sentiments were strong, Rajapaksa told The Sunday Island yesterday.
Responding to a query, the outspoken official said that the SLFP-led UPFA should either do away with the 13th Amendment or amend it taking into considering ground realities.
The Gajaba Regiment veteran said that the 13th Amendment was nothing but an impediment to the post-war development process. The TNA and its supporters couldn’t be allowed to interfere with what the Defence Secretary called pro-people projects beneficial to all.
The 13th Amendment came into operation in line with the Indo-Lanka Agreement in July 1987.
The Defence Secretary’s statement comes in the wake of the TNA having high level talks in New Delhi to push for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment.
Asked whether he was speaking for the government, the Defence Secretary said that he recently had an opportunity to express his opinion to President Mahinda Rajapaksa and many cabinet ministers. It was important to examine internal and external threats posed on the Sri Lanka State and take tangible action to neutralize the threat, he said."I’m not talking about President Rajapaksa’s government or the UPFA. I’m not talking politics. People should realize the external interference will not be beneficial. Whatever the party in power, it must have the freedom to take decisions for the benefit of the majority of Sri Lankans," the Defence Secretary said.
He said that it was a joke that the TNA, which declared the LTTE as the sole representative of the Tamil speaking people in the run-up to Dec 2001 parliamentary polls, now tried to achieve what the LTTE failed with its conventional military power.
The TNA would never have received an opportunity to represent Tamil speaking people unless the Sri Lankan military eradicated the LTTE on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon in May three years ago. Had the military failed, the TNA wouldn’t have been in the limelight today.
The UPFA political leadership and Opposition political parties should realize the TNA represented the LTTE’s interests and that interests of the ordinary Tamil people were very much different from those propagated by the group. He urged political parties to see how the TNA behaved at the height of the war.
"I challenge anyone one to produce a single stament issued by the TNA urging the LTTE not to use children as cannon fodder. Did TNA oppose when the LTTE imposed restrictions on all political parties throughout its reign of terror?"
Rajapaksa likened the 13th Amendment to the Norway arranged Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) finalized in Feb 2002. "The 13th Amendment and the CFA didn’t serve the people of Sri Lanka. Instead, they facilitated interests of various other parties, including the LTTE. Interestingly both supported the separatist cause," he said.
Rajapaksa said that that unless the government acted swiftly and decisively the ongoing crisis could have an impact on national security as well. He pointed out that already the TNA and some of its overseas supporters had been pushing for SLA pullout from the Northern region. It would be a mistake on our part to view protests against Divineguma Bill in isolation, he said.
My Comment at LankaWeb.com:
I want to caution PATRIOTS against idle speculation, pitting Rajapaksa brothers against each other.
The Rajapaksa Family working together have saved Mother Lanka from a FATE WORSE THAN DEATH and placed our Resplendent Motherland on the path to a glorious future. They have EARNED our gratitude.
Rarely have I seen a Band of Brothers working so well in unison towards a Great National Purpose. Let us REJOICE, for that is indeed the rarest of gifts that a nation can inherit.
Let these Patriotic Sons of Lanka continue their great task that lies ahead to uplift Sri Lanka to greatness, so that in the future all of us can say with pride, I too am a son or daughter of Sri Lanka.
Let us help them achieve that great task; Let us not pit them against each other, with destructive speculation.
At this critical time, when jealous enemies are scheming to prevent Sri Lanka from achieving greatness, IN UNITY, and UNITY ALONE, LIES OUR STRENGTH and OUR SALVATION.
Let us be MINDFUL of what is at stake.
Sri Lankan asylum seekers pirate trawler.
Is the LTTE behind this activity?
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Sri Lanka Navy to alert Australian authorities on the missing trawler
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 18, Colombo: Sri Lanka Navy expects to alert the Australian authorities on a missing trawler that has presumably been stolen during a mid-sea attack.
The fishing trawler which had set sail on Sunday (14) from the Kudaawella fishing harbor in Matara with a group of fishermen had come under attack in deep sea from another group, earlier believed to be pirates, in a smaller boat.
The attackers critically injured two fishermen who were later rescued by two merchant vessels and handed over to the Sri Lankan Navy.
The injured fishermen have said that another three fishermen of their group were thrown overboard and they remain missing.
Meanwhile some reports said the skipper of the trawler joined the attackers.
The smaller boat used for the attack on fishermen at sea in Kudawella had been taken into custody, the police said. The Navy has been searching for the fishermen's trawler.
The authorities now believe the attackers are asylum seekers who stole the modern trawler in an attempt to head to Australia.
Navy media spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya has told local media that measures would be taken to brief the Australian Navy and the Air Force about the missing trawler.
Meanwhile, Australian media reported that Australian Federal Police are assessing reports and any other relevant information, and are in liaison with Sri Lankan authorities.
Sarath Fonseka ... in Retrospect
In my mind, Sarath Fonseka of Sri Lanka is the Benedict Arnold of the United States. Initially a son of the American Revolution, his name today in America is synonymous with TREASON and BETRAYAL.
For those of you who don’t know who Benedict Arnold was, here is a brief summary. Benedict Arnold was a General in the Continental Army that was fighting the British Army in the American War of Independence. He was talented man of war. He captured Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, fought well in the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain in 1776, relieved the Siege of Fort Stanwix also in 1776, and was instrumental to the key American victory in the Battles of Saratoga in 1777.
Although successful in war, Arnold was passed over for promotion by the Continental Congress, and others were given credit for some of his successes. Although he was accused of corruption by his detractors, he reputedly spent some of his own money to support his troops. He felt particularly unappreciated by George Washington, the Commander in Chief of the American Army. Therefore, he defected to the British Army in 1779, in return for a commission in the British Army, and power and prestige as a British subject in America when the Americans were defeated by the British. He conspired to hand over Fort West Point that he was in command of to the British. Later, when his plot to enable the British to capture George Washington was exposed, he fled to the British, while his American and British collaborators were captured and hanged by the Revolutionaries.
Arnold was then commissioned as a brigadier general in the British Army, with an annual pension of £360, and a lump sum payment of over £6,000, a princely sum in those days. Thereafter, he commanded British troops on raids in Virginia and Connecticut, and nearly captured Thomas Jefferson, before the war ended with the American victory with French naval aid at Yorktown. In 1782, Arnold moved to London and was well received and treated by the British, including the german-born King George III. In 1787, he became a businessman in New Brunswick, Canada but settled permanently in London 1791, and where he died in 1801.
For his TREASON against his Motherland his name remains etched in the history of the United States as a mark of INFAMY. To be called a Benedict Arnold in the US is as low as you can go in the US. It is synonymous with being called a Quisling in Norway.
Sarath Fonseka, like Benedict Arnold, is flawed in CHARACTER, and lost his ethical and moral compass. Of UNBOUNDED Ambition, UNLIMITED in Greed for Recognition, Wealth and Prestige he quickly forget who befriended him and ENABLED him, frustrated previously by less able pusillanimous Presidents, to succeed with honor in his military profession. Ultimately, like Benedict Arnold, he lost sight of his unwavering duty to his country and his people, and placed them in mortal jeopardy.
Now Sarath Fonseka, tries to resurrect his former glory and honor through deceit and artifice … IN VAIN … for it is without admitting his grievous errors, and begging for forgiveness from the Sri Lankan people. Still blind, this man will never recognize that a cry of “Mea Culpa” is the curative but bitter medicine that he must imbibe.
Today, Sarath Fonseka, the former war hero, is A MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY, for having abandoned his DUTY he is bereft of all that matters in this life: his HONOR.
For those of us who revelled in his success in our patriotic war, and cheered him on as our great hero, the disillusion, disappointment, and yes … sorrow … is palpable. We grieve, but we are firm in our judgment of him.
Such is the PRICE one pays for the lack of a MORAL CHARACTER to restrain UNBOUNDED AMBITION, an INGREDIENT ESSENTIAL in the military above all other professions.
‘Unwavering commitment to security despite terror defeat’
By Dhanushka GODAKUMBURA
DailyNews.lk
October 19, 2012
President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday that even though terrorism which oppressed the people for three decades has been defeated, he is not prepared to reduce his commitment towards ensuring national security and catering to the welfare of War Heroes.
“Although the funds spent for national defence have caused concern among certain sections, the government stood by the policy that War Heroes who took to the battlefront with great sacrifice should be well looked after throughout their entire lifetime.”
He said no sincere patriot can ever forget the feelings of pride he or she enjoyed on the day our gallant War Heroes achieved the historic victory over terrorism.
President Rajapaksa said this participating in the inaugural national ceremony of the Ranaviru Ma - Piya Rekawarana Programme to show gratitude to parents of War Heroes who sacrificed their lives to liberate the country from cruel terrorism.
President Rajapaksa said even though certain forces tried to suppress the patriotic feelings of the people he could not leave them room to achieve their aims. Although terrorism had been defeated its dark shadows were trying to raise their heads once again and people should pay special attention towards it.
The President who observed that the government faced pressure from certain quarters when it implemented programmes for the welfare of ordinary citizens said some of them were getting ready to go to court to contest certain bills and even the budget proposals. He said the Divi Neguma Programme in particular was introduced provide economic strength to poor and underprivileged people in this country.
The Ranaviru Mapiya Rekawarana programme is implemented under a programme proposed by the President in the 2011 Budget. Under this programme a monthly payment of Rs 750 each is being paid to parents of war heroes past and present who served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Navy and Police Department from 1-1-1983 to 19-5-2009. President Rajapaksa launched the programme by handing over the pass book with the first payment to the mother of War Hero Gamini Kularatne who sacrificed his life at the Elephant Pass battle front.
FINALLY! Much needed Legislation to monitor and control NGOs activities thatare INIMICAL to Sri Lanka.
We have DEMANDED such Laws for a LONG TIME.
Expect FIERCE OPPOSITION from Foreign Powers trying to control, undermine and destabilize Sri Lanka.
Their NGO puppets are among their PRIMARY TOOLS for causing MAYHEM in Sri Lanka.
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Sri Lanka to bring legislation to monitor NGOs
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 18, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government plans to bring in legislation to monitor the activities of the numerous voluntary organizations in the country, a government official has said.
Director General of the Media Center for National Security (MCNS) Lakshman Hulugalla has said that a program has been launched to take action against the organizations which are engaged in activities against the interests of the country.
Hulugalla, participating in a discussion programme at the state-run radio Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, has said that several voluntary organizations engaged in numerous forms of irregularities have recently been identified and a new legislation has been drafted to take proper action against them since the existing legislations are inadequate.
Following the approval of the new legislation in the parliament it would be possible to monitor the activities of all the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) island wide, the Director General of MCNS has said.
He has pointed out that many NGOs in the North and the East in the recent past had encouraged the activities of the terrorist organization LTTE.
The official has further said that the government is prepared to identify and assist voluntary organizations engaged in providing services beneficial to the country and the people.
The government had decided to amend the existing Act which deals with both local and foreign NGOs to enable the government to probe their activities and take appropriate action against them wherever it is necessary.
My Comment at LankaWeb:
Fran Diaz, said:
"Food & alternative energy production should receive top priority, always. Some homes in USA have personal windmills installed in their gardens, and sea wave energy is due to be tapped offshore Oregon. Solar energy for homes should be subsidized by GoSL. Alternative energies are used extensively by some of the big businesses abroad. In Germany, even the roadside spare land is covered with solar panels in some areas.
Organic fertilizers should become “fashionable” in Sri Lanka. Organic foods are becoming very popular and more expensive in the west."
Bravo!! I concur WHOLEHEARTEDLY!
I have done precisely what you recommend in the USA: Installing a 12kW PV array on my home's roof, a 3kW Sun -Tracking PV array mounted on a metal post, a 2kW Vertical Axis windmill on a 30-foot tall tower, and converting my Toyota 4 Runner to a HYBRID electric SUV with a 60-mile battery powered range in addition to the 360 mile gasoline engine range ... all using products and designs engineered by myself and my wife (both R&D engineers retired from universities and national laboratories),first for our own use and then for sale to others through our small R&D company.
We no longer buy electricity from the power company; instead we sell it electricity at a total rate of return (including renewable energy tax benefits) that cannot be matched by any other legitimate investment in the marketplace. We have displaced 90% of our gasoline purchases using rooftop solar energy to charge my SUV using a GE Wattstation 240-volt charger installed in our garage.
Having proved to myself ... in the USA ... that these state-of-the-art renewable energy ideas are viable on the SMALL SCALE, I am now engaged in commercializing these products and taking these small scale Renewable Energy Technologies to Sri Lanka. The focus is twofold: On manufacturing them in Sri Lanka for export to foreign countries, and helping individual homeowners and small companies in Sri Lanka, rather than big institutions or the SL Government, to become energy independent and earn a good return on their investment.
Believe me: There is NOTHING like a home that generates a good income to pay its own mortgage that gladdens the heart of a homeowner!
The Research Vessel Samudrika RV should also undertake Wave Energy Spectrum Studies in Sri Lankan waters for the purpose of evaluating the feasibility of generating electricity from Ocean Wave Energy.
Because the parent Wind Energy density is much smaller near the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the Wave Energy Intensity near the Equator is likely to be much less than at those Northern and Southern latitudes. Therefore, wave energy intensity in Sri Lanka is likely to be much less than that, say, in the British Isles, the Japanese Islands, Korea, Alaska, Tasmania and New Zealand.
Nevertheless, the feasibility of Ocean Wave Energy extraction in Sri Lankan waters should be examined. Furthermore, wave energy extraction can be coupled to other goals as protecting harbors from wave action, and preventing erosion of Sri Lanka's coastline.
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Research vessel launched in Sri Lanka for ocean-based research
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 19, Hambantota: Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa Friday officially launched the Samudrika Research Vessel (Samudrika RV) of the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) at the Hambantota Magam Ruhunupura Mahinda Rajapaksa International Harbor.
Samudrika RV, the first research vessel of Sri Lanka was lunched to conduct a wide range of ocean-based research to provide the country with valuable information on the island's oceans.
The ship is equipped with advanced technology and also with a laboratory essential for research activities. It has the capability of accommodating seven scientists to engage in day and night research.
The vessel will be used to provide data to the fisher fraternity where fish is rife.
The Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Ministry says the deployment of the vessel will certainly help in Sri Lanka's quest to become a maritime hub in Asia, a goal set in the in the Mahinda Chintana Future Vision.
Ministers Priyankara Jayaratne, Johnston Fernando, C. B Ratnayake, Mahinda Amaraweera and parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa, Chairman of Port Authority Priyath Bandu Wickrama also participated in the event.
My Comment at LankaWeb:
Fran Diaz and Cerebus,
Thank you for the kind words of support. My wife and I are doing these things because we are still children having fun on a beach building sand castles, and because we deeply feel a need to help Sri Lanka in some meaningful way. What better way than to put the professional knowledge and skills gained over a lifetime to work?
I have developed a comprehensive website for marketing my Renewable Energy Products with detailed economic feasibility assessment, product evaluation, and installation guides for buyers, but have resisted the urge to publish the information in the prototype testing stage before the products are available for purchase, because such advertisement of vaporware destroys credibility. I will let you know when the website is online with a single hyperlink, without blatant commercial advertisement at LankaWeb.
Yes, Cerberus’s advocacy of guaranteed purchase prices for renewable energy by the government through long term bonds, would indeed be very beneficial to promoting and jump starting widespread adoption of renewable energies, particularly solar and wind, in Sri Lanka.
There are many other ways of doing this as well, such as: through investment tax credits as done by the federal government of the US; through tax rebates on a $/kW installed basis as in the State of California; through requiring power companies to purchase the NET generated renewable energy from homeowners and small producers at rates that equal their own generation cost (but excluding transmission and distribution costs) as in California; by requiring power companies to enable “Net Metering” to ease the measurement and billing of the net energy fed into the grid; by imposing carbon-pollution fees on the power companies to give them the incentive to favor and purchase clean energies; and by underwriting very low-interest renewable loans directly from commercial banks to individuals for small-scale renewable energy (solar and wind) installations.
My Comment at LankaWeb.com:
Naram,
Let us examine your comments regarding the feasibility of solar power in detail.
First, I did not deploy solar and wind because I am a wool-headed IDEALIST out to save the world. On the contrary, every renewable energy product I have developed and installed first for my own use was done using not monopoly money, but my own hard-earned money after detailed hard-headed assessment of the Total Rate of Return on my investment compared to other low-risk financial investments. My PV installation, for example, will still be providing 80% of the rated power 30 years from now, when I will be pushing up daisies from six feet below the ground.
If your relative in Galle had properly designed and selected the PV system, and purchased high efficiency bulbs (ie., LED or Compact Fluorescent, not wasteful Incandescent) to reduce wastage of power, and backed it up with a deep-cycle energy storage lead acid battery system with an small but efficient PV battery charger, he would be able to light up his house without any problems for many decades, incurring only the cost of replacing the batteries every 5 years or so. In Sri Lanka, two Sharp ND-240QCJ, 240 Watt Solar Panels (say, 15% efficient,39 inches x 65 inches in size, $340 ea) charging a single 12 Volt deep-cycle lead acid battery, and oriented facing approximately vertically upwards would have given him a lifetime of light for reading. (The approximately ideal orientation for a fixed-array for a site in the Northern Hemisphere would be with the Azimuth facing the South, and tilted at an angle equal to the Latitude (7 degrees N for SL) to the vertical.)
Yes, in Britain, whose Latitude is 53 degree N, facing South is more critical, but not essential because the Sun travels in a East to West trajectory that illuminates panels facing the East, South and West appreciably. Also, solar radiation has a diffuse component that reduces its directional impact as well. In the Northern Hemisphere, South facing is best but any direction … other than North facing … will do. Keeping the Solar panels free of dirt is important and is something that should be done on a yearly basis. A water hose and a brush on a long handle weilded by a non-expert cleaner is all that is needed. If you can’t do it, hire someone to do it … once a year!
You said, “to get electricity in the night at 230 – 240 V AC to power a modest radio / a small TV will take many tens of square metres of solar panels.” Nonsense! Two square meters of 240 Watt PV panels would be enough to power a village home through the night, if low-power equipment are chosen judiciously. Power consumption of radios and TVs depend on the technology. Most radios of today consume very little power … not even 5 watts of power. Large screen (> 32 inches) TV power consumption can be anywhere from 80 to 800 watts. There are small LCD TVs that consume as little as 20 Watts! With small PV systems, you need to carefully select the loads and plan to conserve the power. NOTHING, of course, can be done against invading Elephants except to hang out a “No Trespassing” sign because, as we all know, elephants are more intelligent and learned to read before we did. PV panels are UNIQUELY well suited to bringing the gift of electricity to remote villages in the third world. However, that electricity needs to be conserved and not used, for example, cooking or heating … for which a solar cooker or hot-water heater should be used.
Comment at LanWeb.com:
Continued .......
I KNOW that “reliable coal burning power stations with modern measures for reducing CO2 emissions” IS SIMPLY NOT ECONOMICALLY possible because of the HUGE Volumes of CO2 generated. We are not talking here about trace pollutants (NO2, SO2) etc, which we can clean up by scrubbing effluent gases, but getting rid of the CARBON …. a major constituent of hydrocarbon fossil fuels. We can transform the CO2 into solid carbonates disposed in waste dumps, or pump the CO2 into deep underground strata, etc etc but all of these options are EXPENSIVE and environmentally dangerous. Also, the act of producing fossil fuels from the earth is enormously destructive to the land … as we see all over the world … and especially in the coal fields of West Virginia. Finally, these fossil fuels are far more important for use as chemical feedstock to produce everything … clothes, plastics, fertilizers, medicines … that humans will need for eternity. Burning those resources is a PROFLIGATE WASTE of the inheritance of humankind.
I fully agree with your statement “Let the rich world develop finer solutions to absorb the poisons they filled our stratosphere like growing algea, all forms of biota absorbing CO2″ , especially the use of algae and other biota to consume and transform CO2 into less harmful forms. But let us remember, that biota also cannot be allowed to proliferate in an unrestricted way to absorb ever increasing amounts of CO2 emissions, for that itself would harm the environment as we know it, before humankind can evolve to adapt to those changes.
On the earth we have a FINITE ENERGY BUDGET fed by the Sun; we have to learn to harness those daily inputs of energy in non-harmful ways.
That brings us to Sri Lanka, where we are impacted by increasingly unaffordable fossil fuel importation costs, but are well endowed with the energy from the sun. Should we not use it, and learn to live within that bounty doing all we need to raise the living standards of our people, giving them globally marketable skills, using the best available technologies?
We are now investing vast sums of money on developing our national infrastructure to position Sri Lanka to become the New Wonder of Asia. Should we not deploy those funds in technologies that will yield a sustainable economy and environment avoiding the errors of the smokestack industrial age in the West, by importing now-cheap coal that will be unavailable at any price in the future?
We now have the opportunity to do that in economically ways, without bankrupting ourselves in the process, or causing irreparable future harm to our country.
FINALLY, we are getting some ACTION on our repeated calls for ELIMINATING the Provincial Council System COMPLETELY!
Let us GET RID OF this FOREIGN IMPOSED suicide pill THREATENING the INTEGRITY, SURVIVAL and PRODUCTIVITY of Sri Lanka.
It ENCOURAGES separatism by creating DEMANDS for control of each Province by COMMUNAL groups. It lays the basis for the transformation of Sri Lanka into a patchwork of Ethno-Religious Apartheid Bantustans constantly at war with each other. The tax receipts of those areas will become "legalized" war chests funding separatist activities.
It DILUTES the WRIT of the CENTRAL government, and enables Provincial Bureaucrats to appeal to Foreign Nations directly for support, and engage in foreign diplomacy, bypassing the Central Government. Foreign governments will recognize them as people who are the SOLE REPRESENTATIVES of the people of those regions and exercise de-facto and de-jure CONTROL of those regions.
It represents an ADDITIONAL COSTLY LAYER of UNNECESSARY BUREAUCRACY of highly paid politicians living off the backs of citizen tax payers. This represents an UNPRODUCTIVE OVERHEAD.
It raises ADDITIONAL INTERNAL BARRIERS to development of the country across provincial boundaries in the NATIONAL INTEREST, as we already seen in the TNA opposition to the Divi Neguma Bill, and the Mahaveli Development Scheme prior to the defeat of the LTTE.
The right to freely elect Representatives to the National Parliament is FRANCHISE ENOUGH for any law-abiding Citizen of Sri Lanka. No additionalmultiple layers of electoral rights are necessary
No administrative units larger than Districts, Municipalities and Villages are necessary for the EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE of Sri Lanka. Everything else is UNNECESSARY UNPRODUCTIVE overhead.
FREE Sri Lanka from the 13th AMENDMENT and the Provincial Council System for GOOD, and RE-ASSERT the INDEPENDENCE of our SOVEREIGN Nation!
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Sri Lanka considering to repeal Provincial Council system - report
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 21, Colombo: Inner circles of the Sri Lankan government are considering to repeal the Provincial Council system that was established under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution to devolve power, according to a report in a local Sunday newspaper.
Quoting an unnamed senior Minister, the Sinhala Weekly Divaina reported that the government is under pressure from both inside and outside to repeal the Provincial Councils system since the 13th Amendment has become a threat to the unity of the country.
Organizations and individuals supporting the government have pointed out that a 19th Amendment to the Constitution can be brought to decentralize the power and abolish the 13th Amendment since the government has a two-third majority.
A majority of the government believes the provincial council system will lead to another conflict in the country in the future and will be a hindrance to the development of the country, the report further said.
The Provincial Council system was introduced to Sri Lanka in the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1987 as a requirement of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord signed between India and Sri Lanka to end the civil war.
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, according to the report, at separate occasions have expressed that the provincial council system is an obstacle to government's development programs.
The report goes on to say that some organizations island wide are organizing protests to pressure the government to abolish the provincial council system.
Sri Lanka's Sinhala National and Buddhist Organizations have commenced collecting one million signatures for a petition demanding the abolition of 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
Gota promises clean, green city
By Malaka Rodrigo
SundayTimes.lk
October 21, 2012
The Government wants to make Colombo a cleaner, greener city, Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said in his address to the annual sessions of environmental professionals.
“We need to develop clean, green, people-friendly cities. The environment needs to be preserved so that people can enjoy the beauty of this country’s natural greenery and abundant waterways,” Mr. Rajapaksa said at the opening ceremony of the 6th Annual Sessions of the Institute of Environmental Professionals of Sri Lanka (IEPSL), last week.
Highlighting the projects already underway to clean up the city he said the Beira Lake project included the unblocking of gates, tributaries and output channels while unauthorised settlements and buildings around the area will be removed.
Mr. Rajapaksa added under the Metro Colombo Urban Development Project financed by a World Bank loan unresolved long-standing issues such as the problem of flooding and drainage in the city will be rectified. The city’s drainage infrastructure, including its micro drainage channels, primary and secondary canals and lakes will be improved under this programme, he elaborated.
Mr. Rajapaksa said under the Resettlement of Underserved Settlements Project of the Urban Development Authority, some 70,000 families living in poor conditions in the city will be relocated and given housing in high rise buildings, designed and constructed to acceptable standards.
According to the Defence Secretary these buildings will come up in the vicinity of the residents’ original homes, so that they would not have to find new jobs or different schools for their children. He said 10,000 housing units are currently being constructed while moves are afoot to expand this by a further 15,000 next year.
Addressing the gathering IEPSL president Prof. Hemanthi Ranasinghe reminded those present that any meaningful development had to go hand-in-hand with environmental well being, adding that the institute had selected ‘Urban Regeneration and Environmental Balance’ as the theme of its sessions this year to highlight this important aspect as many new development projects were currently underway.
Commitment to accelerate development programs: Govt’s investment on key projects gathers momentum
by Uditha KUMARASINGHE
SundayObserver.lk
October 21, 2012
The Government’s investment on key national infrastructure projects has gained momentum and its total investment on roads, bridges, ports, power generation, and irrigation amounted to Rs.152,401 million from January to April 2012.
According to the Mid Year Fiscal Position Report 2012 issued by the Finance and Planning Ministry, the Government has channelled enhanced resources for public investment with a commitment to accelerate development programs, targeting the rural sector through development initiatives such as Gama Neguma, Maga Neguma and regional development initiatives such as Uthuru Wasanthaya , Negenahira Navodaya and other development initiatives.
Divi Neguma, the one-million home economy program which is aimed at empowering household backyard economies to strengthen the economic base of the families, improving the nutrition level and ensuring the food security continued during the first five months of 2012 at a cost of Rs.556 million. Development of cottage industries, self-employment support initiatives, fishery and livestock development along with the small scale agricultural projects were mainly focused under this program.
Gama Neguma , the major initiative to empower the rural economy through developing efficient linkages between mainstream development activities and rural centric activities such as rural communities is promoted as a major contributor to the national economy, continued in 2012 with the new approach of “One project for one village” concept, the report said.
Accordingly, one development project worth one million rupees is implemented in each village. The program was continued during the first five months of 2012 at a cost of Rs.3,592 million focusing mainly on road development and improving minor irrigation and drinking water facilities.
Let Sri Lanka CONDITION the extradition of KP to India on the simultaneous extradition of Vaiko and other Indian Tamils, who aided and abetted the LTTE terrorists to murder the citizens of Sri Lanka, and violated Sri Lanka's immigration laws surreptiously entering Sri Lanka for terrorist activities, to Sri Lanka.
That should give India some FOOD FOR THOUGHT!
..............
Delhi to discuss KP’s extradition?
By The Nation
October 21, 2012
A fresh controversy surrounds the extradition demand of the former LTTE international arms procurer, Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP from India as the latest reports from New Delhi indicate that the Center is now discussing the issue again, reports reaching Colombo from the Indian Capital disclosed.Diplomats at the Indian High Commission in Colombo declined to comment on the issue stating that “It is too premature for them to comment”.
According to Indian reports, a recent statement made by a government official at a press briefing in Colombo that Pathmanthan faced no charges had irked New Delhi. They said Pathmanathan was not only wanted by India but also has a warrant issued on him by the Interpol to be tried for acts of global terrorism.
Pathmanathan is now involved in Northern development projects through his organization, North Eastern Rehabilitation and Development Organization.At the weekly Cabinet press briefing held on Friday (19), Minister of Mass Media and Information, Keheliya Rambukwella claimed the government had not ‘forgiven’ K.P. and allowed him to go free. He said the statement by Director General of the Media Center for National Security, Lakshman Hulugalla that no action could be taken against K.P. as there were no complaints or evidence against him “might have been a misinterpretation”. However, Rambukwella said the government was looking into the possibility of using K.P. as a government witness and including him in its continuing dialogue with the Tamil Diaspora. He added that K.P. had so far played a pivotal role for the success of ongoing dialogue with the Diaspora.
The TNA itself provided the impetus for the VAST MAJORITY of Sri Lankan citizens to GO IN EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION to its DEMANDS for DEVOLUTION of Power to Former Separatists.
Not quite what they wanted, is it? Once again their THREATS are EXPLODING in their own faces! The MORE they PUSH, the MORE it BACKFIRES!
Now their TREASONOUS trips to India and Tamil Nadu will resume, to wail and weep that they are unable to acquire through treasonous BLACKMAIL in PEACETIME what they failed to WIN through murderous VIOLENCE in WAR!
The PATRIOTS of LANKA must STAND FIRM to teach these UNREPENTANT TRAITORS that they will NEVER SUCCEED in resurrecting their Racist Aparthied Caste Ridden Eelam in our Motherland.
Same Equal Rights, YES!
Separate Greater Rights, NEVER!
...............
Sri Lanka Tamil party to campaign against government's attempts to centralize powers
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 21, Colombo: Sri Lanka's major Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) says it would carry out a campaign against the government's attempt to centralize powers in the center.
TNA Leader R. Sampanthan has said the government is in a position to take steps to centralize powers at present because it is in control of many provinces in the country.
"People in different parts of the country are greatly prejudiced with regard to provincial government to which they have much better access being able to implement programs in line with the democratic wishes of the people," he has observed.
He has added that the government, which has managed to muster a two-thirds majority in parliament through undemocratic means, is seeking to misuse the two-thirds majority to achieve its political objectives.
Referring to the proposed Divi Neguma Bill, Sampanthan has said the Bill entrusts development activities in the whole country to the Economic Development Ministry.
"We are opposed to the policy of concentration of power to the center and depriving the provinces of the powers given to them by the Constitution," the TNA leader has said.
There is a growing consensus in the country to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which devolves power to the provincial councils.
Sri Lanka Minister requests a referendum to abolish power devolution amendment
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 21, Colombo: Wimal Weerawansa, Sri Lanka Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities has requested from the President Mahinda Rajapaksa to hold a referendum to repeal the Provincial Council system.
Writing a letter to the President, the leader of the government coalition party National Freedom Front has suggested replacing the Provincial Council system with a devolution unit based on the district.
Weerawansa argues that the parliament will be helpless amidst the powers of the Provincial Councils soon due to the judiciary definitions of the articles of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which was forced by India under the Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987.
He further says that the people's opinion must be consulted to abolish the Provincial Council system which was established without people's consent.
The campaign in Sri Lanka to repeal the provincial council system brought into existence by the 13th Amendment is growing momentum as the major Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance, is refusing to participate in the Parliamentary Select Committee proposed by the government to devolve power.
But, but, but ... why does India refuse?
After all, India sees fit to insert itself into Sri Lanka's internal affairs at every opportunity; why not provide reciprocal privileges, at least in this instance when cross-international-border radioactive contamination is a distinct possibility?
Now, there are few other matters we want to get equal representation, given our concerns regarding our kinfolk in India ... like those Separatist Demands for "Political Solutions" from Kashmiris, and multivarious other insurgents of the North Eastern states of India. Let us not forget the dear old Naxalites and the Tamil Liberation Army either.
Yo, India! Can we talk about these issues? Just a wee bit .... Huh?
............
Nuclear threat: India turns down Lanka’s request
By Leon Berenger
SundayTimes.lk
October 21, 2012
Asia’s biggest nuclear plant to begin operations soon 160 km from Puttalam
India has refused to accept a year-long request to have Sri Lankans to be part of safety committees in the event of a nuclear fallout at the Kudankulam Nuclear Plant in Tamil Nadu to be commissioned shortly, Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) Chairman Dr. Ranjith Wijayawardana said yesterday.
The matter was taken up by Sri Lanka when officials from both governments met during a two-day meeting in New Delhi a fortnight ago to discuss Sri Lankan concerns on the plant, but the Indian side remain non-committal.
Dr. Wijayawardana said the AEA sought to become a part of the Safety Monitoring Committee at Kudankulam. The controversial nuclear facility is some 160 kilometres from Sri Lanka’s North-Western coast.
“We are keen on keeping a close watch on the work at the plant and for this, Sri Lanka has sought permission from India to be part of the safety monitoring mechanism,” Dr. Wijayawardana said.
He conceded that Colombo’s concern regarding the safety issues surrounding the nuclear complex that is set to be commissioned before the end of the year was relayed to the relevant authorities in India one year ago, but Delhi had failed to respond until earlier this month.
On an invitation from New Delhi this month, a Sri Lankan delegation held talks with Indian officials and the issue was discussed at length, Dr. Wijeyawardana said.
He said Sri Lanka failed to obtain a firm assurance that it would be allowed to be on hand to monitor the functioning of the plant and more talks on the subject were put off for mid next year — after the scheduled commissioning of the plant, an indication that India was not willing to share information on the issue. “We have initiated a bilateral approach and we are hoping that India will cooperate in the best interest of everyone concerned,” Dr. Wijayawardana said.
Last week the Sunday Times reported that India was willing to provide an early warning system to Sri Lanka in case of a nuclear fallout from the plant.
“We have already put in place several precautionary measures that include the installation of five early warning devices. These devices, provided by the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA), have already been set up at naval outposts in Kankesanturai, Mannar, Delft Island, Kalpitiya and Colombo. Three more devices were to be installed in Galle, Trincomalee and Samanalawewa,” Dr. Wijayawardana said. He said a special task force comprising security forces officers, experts, volunteers and officials from the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) was also at hand to deal with a crisis situation.
Environmentalists, however, slammed Sri Lankan officials for failing to advise the Government on the dangers posed by this complex.
Nuclear threat: India turns down Lanka’s request
Continued ................
Hemantha Vithanage, executive director of the Centre for Environmental Justice and Friends of the Earth, said the AEA had failed to address the seriousness of the issue and advise the Government accordingly.
“In India there is a howl of protests against the plant, but Sri Lanka which is the closest country to the controversial complex has chosen to be on bended knees and listen to the dictates of Delhi. In case of a mishap at Kudankulam there is little Sri Lanka can do to stay out of the way, early warning systems or otherwise, since radiation particles travel fast,” he said.
Mr. Vithanage said the Sri Lankan coast was the most vulnerable.
“For example Puttalam is just 160 kilometres away from Kudankulam while Chennai is some 450 kilometres away and therefore India is not really bothered,” he said.
In addition concerns were also raised on the dumping of nuclear waste from the plant with fears that they might be pumped into the Indian Ocean which would lead to a disaster for marine life in the region, the environmentalist said.
Bravo! Three Cheers for the Defence Secretary, Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa for calling for the ELIMINATION of the 13th Amendment & the Provincial Council System!
Let us DO IT NOW!
.................
Defence Secretary repeats call for abolition of 13-A
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
October 21, 2012
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday reiterated that post-war political strategy of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) left him with no alternative but to strongly recommend the abolition of the 13th Amendment. He urged the government, the Opposition as well as the international community to examine the conduct of the one-time mouthpiece of the LTTE.
It was up to Parliament to decide on the 13th Amendment, the Defence Secretary said, adding that the eradication of the LTTE conventional military capability shouldn’t be a reason for the government to be complacent.
The Defence Secretary was responding to a TNA delegation making representations to the Chinese Embassy in Colombo in a bid to block the on-going Chinese assistance to construct bases for security forces deployed in the Northern Province. The TNA was causing unnecessary friction, he said, adding that nothing could be as foolish as the TNA’s assertion that security forces were constructing bases on in Tamil areas.
The TNA couldn’t be allowed to dictate terms to the State as regards the deployment of security forces during war or peace time, the Defence Secretary said, noting that it was the sole prerogative of the government. He said the 13th Amendment was nothing but a springboard for those seeking to accomplish what the LTTE had failed achieve through terrorism.
The Defence Secretary said that that the government should realise the consequences of the TNA’s efforts to undermine GoSL’s relations with friendly countries. The TNA had never so much as issued a message of condolence when the LTTE killed Chinese nationals twice in separate attacks during the conflict, the Defence Secretary said. The TNA should be held accountable for its role during the 2001-May 2009 period, he, recalling that TNA leader R. Sampanthan’s had declared in the run-up to Dec 2001 parliamentary polls that the LTTE was the sole representative of Tamil speaking people.
Commenting on persistent TNA allegations that outsiders were being settled in Tamil areas since the end of the conflict, the Defence Secretary said that the main Tamil party was making an attempt to trigger ethnic tensions. "First of all let me tell you there is absolutely no necessity for the government to move outsiders to Northern and eastern Provinces. But people must have the right to live in any part of the country. There cannot be different sets of rules for Tamil speaking people and others." He said people from the North and the East had moved to Colombo and its suburbs during the conflict and were living there peacefully. Likewise, other people, too, should have a right to live in any part of the country without being troubled by political parties or politicians, he added.
Wimal warns Rajapaksa
DailyMirror.lk
October 21, 2012
Minister Wimal Weerawansa, who leads the nationalist NFF, in a letter to Rajapaksa on Sunday warned that 13A has the potential to undo the achievements of government troops who defeated the LTTE.
While claiming that the amendment undermined the people's sovereignty and the supremacy of national parliament, Rajapaksa called for a national referendum to abolish it. The issue surfaced as part of the reported unease between the judiciary and the executive arm of the state.
A financial bill which will purportedly usurp powers of the 13A and its embedded provincial council system was referred by the Supreme Court for approval of the provincial councils before being enacted in parliament.
JHU or the Sinhala Heritage Party, another Rajapaksa ally backed the comments made by powerful defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa that 13A needs abolished. "The TNA (main Tamil party) aims to target the 13A to further their separatist objectives," Udaya Gammanpila, the JHU senior and a Western Provincial Council minister told a public gathering on Sunday.
President Rajapaksa has earlier said that he was willing to consider granting full powers or 13-plus to the provincial councils.
The 13A, as it is called, was enacted in 1987 as part of Indian intervention to try and broker a solution to the Tamil demand for political autonomy. (Source: PTI)
Lonely Planet names Sri Lanka as the top destination to visit in 2013
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 23, Colombo: Lonely Planet, the world's largest travel guide and the digital media publisher has named Sri Lanka as the number one destination in the world to travel in 2013.
The 2013 travel guide says with the long-running civil war now over Sri Lanka is emerging as one of the planet's best-value destinations.
The country has been chosen as the number one destination based on the input from travel experts, travellers and other stakeholders, according to the publishers. According to the magazine, the visitor numbers are increasing and it is becoming easier to reach the country due to cheap fares from regional hub Bangkok.
Under the title "Serenity returns to Serendib" the world's most trusted travel publisher says investment is again fuelling the tourist industry in Sri Lanka and visitor numbers are steadily increasing.
"Prices are affordable. Indeed, Sri Lanka is emerging as one of the planet's best-value destinations," the magazine writes.
The 2013 Travel Guide highlights the emerging new popular places to visit in Sri Lanka, including the newly opened up East coast and less traveled paths in the western coast as well.
Emerging from a three-decade long war that has held off the travelers to the country and a devastating tsunami in 2004, Sri Lanka is beginning to experience the lost splendor again.
With white sandy beaches, timeless ruins, welcoming people, oodles of elephants, killer surf, cheap prices, fun trains, famous tea, and flavourful food there is "so much in so little", the Lonely Planet says.
Sri Lanka is the most improving economy in the ease of doing business
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 23, Washington, DC: Sri Lanka is one of the ten economies in the world that are improving the most in the ease of doing business, according to a new global survey by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank comparing 185 countries.
Climbing eight places from 89th to be ranked at the 81st place to do business Sri Lanka for the first time in 7 years ranked among those improving the most in the ease of doing business according to "Doing Business 2013: Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size enterprises" report released Tuesday.
Sri Lanka ranked 105 of 183 countries in 2010, 98 in 2011 and made a tangible improvement in 2012 by achieving a ranking of 89.
Sri Lanka has implemented reforms making it easier to do business - starting a business, registering property, getting credit, trading across borders.
Sri Lanka has made starting a business easier by computerizing and expediting the process of obtaining a registration number for the Employees Provident Fund and Employees Trust Fund and cutting time by 29 days.
Creating a unified registry for movable property Sri Lanka has made registering property faster by introducing an electronic system at the land registry in Colombo.
Sri Lanka has strengthened its secured transactions system by establishing an electronic, searchable collateral registry and issuing regulations for its operation and made getting credit easier. The reforms have made it easy to get credit by distributing data on loans below 1% of income per capita.
Automation has continued to play an important part in facilitating the processing and clearance of goods in many economies. In the past year by implementing the ASYCUDA World electronic data interchange system, a computerized customs management system that allows web-based submission of customs declarations, Sri Lanka has reduced the time to export and made trading across borders easier.
Sri Lanka has also computerized and expedited the process for registering employees.
According to the 2013 Doing Business report South Asia has been the least active in strengthening investor protections. Over the past 8 years Doing Business recorded 3 investor protection reforms among the region's 8 economies - in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
However, Sri Lanka is one of the countries that are slowest to enforce contracts easy taking 1,318 days.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) under its Doing Business improvement programme has been engaged in an exercise since 2009 under the guidance of the Ministry of Economic Development to improve country's relative international ranking position substantially in order to successfully attract foreign investment.
Sri Lanka is the most improving economy in the ease of doing business
Continued ........
In the South Asian region Maldives ranked at 95th place, Pakistan at 107th, Nepal at 108th, and India at 132nd place.
The 10 economies with the most business-friendly regulation are Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, China, New Zealand, the United States, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Georgia, and Australia.
Doing Business 2013 report investigates the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it and presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 185 economies and over time.
Regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business are covered in the report. They are, starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and employing workers.
The Data in Doing Business 2013, current as of June 1, 2012 are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms of business regulation have worked, where and why.
The full 2013 Doing Business report can be found here.
Govt. allies want 13-A scrapped
DailyMirror.lk
October 23, 2012
Several allies of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) have decided to continue their campaign to pressure President Mahinda Rajapaksa to abrogate the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, by using the two-thirds majority in Parliament, Daily Mirror learns.
The Jathika Nidahas Peramuna (JNP) led by Minister Wimal Weerawansa and the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) have started a public campaign against the 13th Amendment.
The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) led by Minister Dinesh Gunawardane has also decided to prevail upon the government in this regard.
Minister Gunawardena told Daily Mirror his party foresaw the consequences of this piece of legislation introduced in 1987 under the Indo-Lanka Accord giving birth to the provincial councils, which have become white elephants.
“This is a hastily prepared piece of legislation. The provincial councils are useless. They waste public funds. We have to do away with this system at least now,” he said. “In Sri Lanka, even education and health have been devolved to the provinces. These are two crucial subjects, which need to be handled by the central government to develop a country. We are witnessing the repercussions of leaving such powers in the hands of the provincial councils.
Asked whether he would carry out a public campaign, the minister said that his party would first discuss the matter with the government.
“We have written to the government on several occasions. We will take it up again. The government has a two-third majority in Parliament. It can be used to abrogate the 13th Amendment,” he said.
The MEP is an ally of the ruling coalition with three parliamentary seats. Digamadulla district MP Sriyani Wijewickrema and Deputy Minister Geethanjana Gunawardane are the two others.
He said that instead of the provincial councils a district council system could be set up to implement and co-ordinate development work.
“The Pradeshiya Sabhas and Urban Councils should be strengthened,” the minister said.
Referring to the Indo-Lanka Accord, he said though the former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi played a role in introducing this law here, there are village-based administrative bodies set up in India to carry out grassroots level development activities.
The minister said the MEP wants the cultural and linguistic concerns of people in the North addressed. (Kelum Bandara)
Communal “DIVERSITY” has NO PLACE in Governance!
This call for "Diversity" is the FIG LEAF under which Eelamist Separatists HIDE THE RACISM of their demands for DEVOLUTION of Power to them.
NO Short Cut!
This DEMAND for "Diversity" is a Trojan Horse designed to DISMANTLE Sri Lanka! It is the THIN EDGE of the Racist Eelamist WEDGE to CLEAVE Sri Lanka in TWO!
GIVE NO SHORT CUTS to the "DIVERSITY" Trojan Horse!
NONE!
My Comment at LankaWeb.com:
Fran Diaz,
Nice rebuttal to LingamAndy's query on 1956 and 1983 riots. Well done!
But, there are a few things I want to clarify. The first item is your statement that "There were no invaders from Lanka to Tamil Nadu or South India. "
Actually, there were quite a few invasions of South India ( and other countries in the region such as Myanmar and the Maldives) by Sri Lankan kings. With the exception of the Maldives, they were not for permanent "colonization" and "settlements" of those countries, but military actions in defence of Sri Lanka, or to aid allied nations in South India. Sri Lanka was key to confronting and limiting the military expansion of the Chola empire especially during the Anuradhapura and Pollonaruva periods.
Note that Sri Lanka traditionally allied itself with the Pandyan kingdom (now a part of the Indian State of Andra Pradesh), less often with the kingdom Kerala, and the Kalingas (now the Indian State of Orissa) against the Cholas. Sri Lankan kings often married Pandyan and Kalinga princesses to cement these alliances.
For example, Gajabahu I (114-136 AD) of Anuradhapura invaded the Chola kingdom to rescue 12,000 Sinhalese who had been kidnapped by Chola king Karikalan during the reign (110-113 AD) of his father Vankanasika Tissa. In addition to rescuing the 12,000 Sinhalese, he returned with 12,000 Tamils who were put to work to repair the damage inflicted in Sri Lanka by Chola invaders.
Later, Sena II (866-901 AD) invaded the Pandyan kingdom and recovered treasures looted from Sri Lanka during the reign of his uncle Sena I.
Still later Prakrabhahu the Great (1123-1186 AD ) launched a punitive campaign (1164-1165 AD) against king Narathu (1160–1165) of the kingdom of Bagan (Arimaddhanapura) in Myanmar for imprisoning and torturing Sri Lankan envoys, seizing all their possessions, including their money, elephants and ships, and cutting-off trade relations. His forces, led by Kitti Nagaragiri, captured many cities, dethroned king Narathu, and normalized relations with Myanmar.
During (1167- 1183 AD) Maha Parakramabhau's forces led by Lankapura invaded Pandya in 1167 AD to assist the the Pandyan king Parakrama against an alliance of his rival Kulasekhara Pandya and the Cholas. Lankapura landed at Ramanathapuram and captured the city of Rameswaram, built a fortress called Parakramapura, and retained control of that area for about thirty years. Although Lankapura was defeated in 1171 and his head nailed to the gates of Madhurai by Rajadhiraja Chola II (1163–1178), the forces of Parākramabāhu remained in Pandya scoring victories over Rajadhiraja Chola II in 1176. When the Pandyan king Virapandu III was defeated in 1183, the Sri Lankan army withdrew from Pandya Nadu, retaining only the area around Rameshwaram well into the reign of King Nissanka Malla (1187–1196 AD).
My Comment at LankaWeb.com:
Continued ....
Finally, the Sinhalese had settled the Maldives in its early history. I quote from Wikipedia.org: The earliest written history of the Maldives is marked by the arrival of Sinhalese people, who were descended from the exiled Magadha Prince Vijaya from the ancient city known as Sinhapura. He and his party of several hundred landed in Sri Lanka, and some in the Maldives circa 543 to 483 BC. According to the Mahavansa, one of the ships that sailed with Prince Vijaya, who went to Sri Lanka around 500 BC, went adrift and arrived at an island called Mahiladvipika, which is the Maldives. It is also said that at that time, the people from Mahiladvipika used to travel to Sri Lanka. Their settlement in Sri Lanka and the Maldives marks a significant change in demographics and the development of the Indo-Aryan language Dhivehi, which is most similar in grammar, phonology, and structure to Sinhala, and especially to the more ancient Elu language, which has less Pali.
In later times, according to a legend from Maldivian folklore, in the early 12th century AD, a medieval prince named Koimala, a nobleman of the Lion Race from Sri Lanka, sailed to Rasgetheemu island (literally "Town of the Royal House", or figuratively "King's Town") in the North Maalhosmadulu Atoll, and from there to Malé, and established a kingdom. By then, the Aadeetta (Sun) Dynasty (the Suryavanshi ruling cast) had for some time ceased to rule in Malé, possibly because of invasions by the Cholas of Southern India in the tenth century. Koimala Kalou (Lord Koimala), who reigned as King Maanaabarana, was a king of the Homa (Lunar) Dynasty (the Chandravanshi ruling cast), which some historians call the House of Theemuge. The Homa (Lunar) dynasty sovereigns intermarried with the Aaditta (Sun) Dynasty. This is why the formal titles of Maldive kings until 1968 contained references to "kula sudha ira", which means "descended from the Moon and the Sun". No official record exists of the Aadeetta dynasty's reign. Since Koimala's reign, the Maldive throne was also known as the Singaasana (Lion Throne).[20] Before then, and in some situations since, it was also known as the Saridhaaleys (Ivory Throne).[21] Some historians credit Koimala with freeing the Maldives from Tamil Chola rule.
I want to clarify my opposition to DIVERSITY in Governance.
DIVERSITY is a GOOD THING if it is applied at the SMALLEST GRANULAR LEVEL and is taken to mean that people should not be discriminated against because of their Communal Attributes such as race, religion, caste, language or sex. A democratic government elected by the citizens of a country, on the basis of one vote for each adult citizen, that assures equal rights for every citizen without regard to the above Communal Attributes automatically guarantees this kind of DIVERSITY in the Public Sphere of Governance.
I call this INTEGRATIVE DIVERSITY where Communal Differences are preserved at the SMALLEST GRANULAR LEVEL of peoples lives in the Private Sphere, while being BLIND to that DIVERSITY in the Public Sphere of Governance.
However, if DIVERSITY is identified at a much LARGER GRANULAR level, and taken to mean that the LAND of a country should be divided into separate regions for the EXCLUSIVE use of separate communities identified according to Communal Attributes, that its Representatives in LEGISLATURE (MPs, Senators, Executive Officers such as PM, President, Ministers, etc) are pre-allocated according to those Communal Attributes, that the Members of its JUDICIARY (Supreme Court Justices, Lower Court Justices) are pre-allocated according to Communal Attributes, that the Members of its LAW ENFORCEMENT system (Attorneys General, Police, Coast Guard etc) are pre-allocated according to Communal Attributes, that the Members of its ARMED FORCES (Army, Navy, Air Force, Military Intelligence) are pre-allocated according to Communal Attributes, and so on, then DIVERSITY becomes a DE-FACTO DIVISION of the country into Separate Communities and States without any shared values that promotes cohesion as a single nation.
Enforcement of this kind of fundamentally flawed APARTHEID DIVERSITY is in fact, a PERFECT PRESCRIPTION for the DISINTEGRATION of the nation into SEPARATE WARRING STATES, as each community attempts to increase its share at the expense of other communities. It is this kind of APARTHEID DIVERSITY that the Tamil Eelamists want to promote in Lanka, and the Muslims of the SLMC also want to preserve when they, like the TNA, opposes repealing of the 13th Amendment and the dissolution of the Provincial Council System (see the news article below).
It is important to note that APARTHEID DIVERSITY is not what is usually meant by DIVERSITY in Western countries, such as the US, when they support "diversity", for example, in the workplace. However, the Eelamists CONFUSE the two meanings DELIBERATELY to exploit the automatic knee-jerk approval of gullible unthinking Westerners to win their support for the APARTHEID DIVERSITY.
In a country with a democratic form of government with universal franchise and ensuring equal rights for all citizens, INTEGRATIVE DIVERSITY is automatically assured, and no calls for DIVERSITY to separate communities is needed.
Therefore, I oppose the Eelamists call for DIVERSITY in Governance, simply because they are agitating for the Apartheid forom of Diversity.
...........
13-A: SLMC flays call for referendum
By Franklin R. Satyapalan
Island.lk
October 23, 2012
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) will oppose any attempt by the government to hold a national referendum with a view to repealing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, SLMC General Secretary M. T. Hassen Ali, MP, said
13-A: SLMC flays call for referendum
Continued ...
Ali said: "Just because the government could not pass one Bill, it should not try to do away with the whole amendment. We will defend the 13th Amendment. It is unethical to hold a referendum at national level as the majority community would vote en-bloc in support of the move to repeal the 13th Amendment introduced as a panacea for the longstanding grievances of the minorities following the signing of the Indo–Lanka Accord in 1987."
"Some members of the government are trying to repeal the 13th Amendment at a time when the Tamil speaking minorities in the country are clamouring for more devolution. The latest government move ran counter to its promise to grant 13 Plus."
The SLMC General Secretary said that minority parties had never opposed steps taken by the government to develop the provinces and the people would benefit from the proposed ‘Divi Neguma’ Bill. He said: "We are not at all against the government initiating legislation in Parliament to implement new development programmes. What we oppose is the implementation of the development projects in rural areas of the North and the East from Colombo."
The SLMC secretary called upon the government to devolve more power to the Provincial Councils and to allocate for funds for development at the provincial level.
BOTH the Sri Lanka Government, and the Indian Government should take note of the SLMC's desire to EXPLOIT the 13th Amendment to CREATE THEIR OWN EELAM in the Eastern Provice of Sri Lanka.
The Provincial Council System, and the DEVOLUTION of POWER to those regions dominated by DIFFERENT COMMUNAL GROUPS will give rise to a Tamil EELAM in the Northern Province, AND a MUSLIM EELAM in the Eastern Province.
That will sound the DEATH KNELL of Sri Lanka as an UNDIVIDED Unitary Nation.
It will CREATE TWO BIG PROBLEMS for India.
1. The TAMIL EELAM will create a SPRINGBOARD for the SECESSION of Tamil Nadu first, and DRAVIDA NADU soon after, from the Indian Union.
2. The MOSLEM EELAM will create WAHABIST SPRINGBOARD for UNDERMINING India from its soft Southern underbelly in collusion with India's EXTERNAL Moslem enemies, and disenchanted INTERNAL Moslem population.
Indian Leaders were VERY STUPID in thye past supporting Tamil terrorism in Sri Lanka thinking they could control the Sri Lankan Tamils and it posed NO THREAT to India's Integrity. They were PROVED WRONG.
Now, they are PUSHING for DEVOLUTION of POWER under the 13th Amendment, not realizing that this will not only ENABLE the Tamil Separatists in India, but also the Moslem Separatists in India.
How STUPID can India GET? India NEVER LEARNS from its Own Mistakes!
If anyone thinks a MUSLIM "EELAM" in Sri Lanka will never happen, look at what is happening in the provinces of Pattani, Yala, Songkhla and Narathiwat at the Southernmost tip of majority Buddhist Thailand bordering Malayasia.
The actions of these MUSLIM terrorists in Thailand MIMIC the strategy the LTTE adopted in Sri Lanka: attack government personnel and facilities, create a backlash against Tamils, alienate and convert the Tamil community into a captive support base, obtain funds and weapons from abroad, and broadcast propaganda demonizing the majority community to present itself to the world as defenders of oppressed people, deserving world sympathy, while increasing the intensity of the attacks and transforming themselves into a well-oiled well-funded killing machine capable of paralyzing the whole country, from the Southern tip to the capital of Bankok. While Tamil Nadu and India served the role of Malaysia as the neighboring safe haven, the Tamil Diaspora is replaced by the Wahabbists and their terror groups around the world.
They are following EXACTLY in the footsteps of the LTTE.
Sri Lanka MUST TAKE NOTE of these developments and move to NIP this GROWING CANCER in the BUD, by getting rid of the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Councils, AND banning ALL COOMUNAL SEPARATIST PARTIES agitating for REGIONAL POWER BASES on Communal Bases, such as the TNA and the SLMC.
............
I quote the following from Wikipedia.org:
A resurgence in violence by Pattani guerrilla groups began in 2001. The identity of the actors pushing conflict remains mostly obscure. Many local and regional experts have implicated the region's traditional separatist groups, such as PULO, BRN and GMIP, and particularly the BRN-Coordinate (a faction of BRN) and its alleged armed wing the Ronda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK).[12] Others suggested the violence occurred under the influence of foreign Islamist groups such as al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah, but since their modus operandi – attacking army depots and schools – is not a similar MO to other groups attacking Western targets, most view the connections as weak.[13]
Some reports suggest that a number of Pattani Muslims have received training at al-Qaeda centres in Pakistan, though many experts believe, to the contrary, that the Pattani guerrilla movements have little or nothing to do with global jihadism. Others have claimed that the insurgents have forged links with groups such as the religious-nationalist Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines and the quasi-secular Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Indonesia.
.......
In 2002, Thaksin Shinawatra stated, "There's no separatism, no ideological terrorists, just common bandits." By 2004 he had reversed his position, and has come to regard the insurgency as a local front in the global War on Terrorism. Martial law was instituted in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat in January 2004.[15]
Continued.......
A striking aspect of the South Thailand insurgency is the anonymity of the people behind it and the absence of concrete demands. Thailand held relatively free elections in February 2005, and no secessionist candidates contested the results in the south. However, requests of cultural and religious freedom and the right to use the Yawi language have been presented numerous times. In July, the chairman of the Narathiwat Islamic Committee was quoted as saying, "The attacks look like they are well-organized, but we do not know what group of people is behind them."
.........
The insurgency is probably not caused by the lack of political representation among the Muslim population. By the late 1990s, Muslims were holding unprecedentedly senior posts in Thai politics, for example with Wan Muhammad Nor Matha (a Malay Muslim from Yala) serving as Chairman of Parliament from 1996 to 2001 and later Interior Minister during the first Thaksin government. Thaksin's first government (2001–2005) also saw 14 Muslim MPs and several Muslim senators. Muslims dominated provincial legislative assemblies in the border provinces, and several southern municipalities had Muslim mayors.
........
Attacks after 2001 concentrated on installations of the police and military, schools and other symbols of Thai authority in the region were burned. Local police officers of all ranks and government officials were the primary targets of seemingly random assassinations, with 19 policemen killed and 50 incidents related to the insurgency in the three provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat by the end of 2001.[29]
.......
Estimates of the strength of the insurgency vary greatly. In 2004 General Panlop Pinmanee said that there were only 500 hard-core insurgents. Other estimates say there as many as 15,000 armed insurgents. Some Thai analysts believe that foreign Islamist groups are infiltrating the area, and that foreign funds and arms are being brought in, though again, such claims are balanced by an equally large body of opinion suggesting this remains a distinctly local conflict.
.......
On June 15, 2006, during the 60th anniversary of the accession of Bhumibol Adulyadej to the Thai throne, well coordinated bomb-attacks against at least 40 government and official buildings occurred. Two police officials died and 11 others were injured. Experts say that the bomb attacks were a message to the Thai authorities, rather than an attempt to do real damage, as the bombs were loaded with small amounts of explosives. Had the devices been larger, the casualties and injuries would have been notably greater. The Thai media was late in reporting the incident, and only did so after the BBC and other international broadcasters announced it.
On 22 November 2006, Wan Kadir Che Wan, leader of Bersatu, an umbrella organization for southern separatist groups, told Al Jazeera television that the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist network was helping local insurgents stage attacks in Thailand.[30]
My Comment at LankaWEb.com:
Lorenzo,
You said "CULTURAL diversity is ALWAYS GOOD".
NOT TRUE ...it depends on at what level of granularity it is defined and how it is used.
DIVERSITY at the smallest level of granularity of INDIVIDUALS is GOOD, and is ASSURED by EQUAL RIGHTS enforced by a democratically elected government on the basis of one-vote for each person. It guarantees that Communal Affiliations are not used to GRANT or DENY either a citizen's RIGHTS or a citizen's RESPONSIBILITES.
But, ANY DIVERSITY, including CULTURAL DIVERSITY, used as a basis to acquire SEPARATE EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS at large levels of granularity (eg. at the level of Provinces instead of Individuals) for different communities is BAD.
For example, Tamils say, "We want the Northern Province EXCLUSIVELY for us to PRESERVE our Tamil Culture".
THAT IS EXACTLY the basis EELAMISTS use to DEMAND Devolution of Power, especially police and land powers, and Autonomy, for the Tamil Community. If the Tamils get it, the Muslims will want it also ... and Sri Lanka spirals into a patchwork of Apartheid Bantustans instead of a SINGLE UNITARY country without internal barriers separating its people.
Therefore, APARTHEID DIVERSITY is always bad, whether it is CULTURAL or NOT.
Tamil Nadu Demagogues playing the TAMIL RACE CARD for their own benefit says Daya Master.
NOTHING NEW!
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Tamil Nadu leaders playing “own politics” with Tamils’ issue, says Daya Master
By Nirupama Subramanian and R. K. Radhakrishnan
Jaffna, October 24, 2012
LETTER FROM LANKA Vaiko is spreading a "false propaganda" that Velupillai Prabakaran is alive, and other Tamil Nadu politicians talk about the rights of Sri Lankan Tamils "for their own politics," says a former LTTE member who identified the body of his leader back in May 200
Vaiko is spreading a “false propaganda” that Velupillai Prabakaran is alive, and other Tamil Nadu politicians talk about the rights of Sri Lankan Tamils “for their own politics,” says a former LTTE member who identified the body of his leader back in May 2009.
Dayanidhi, better known as Daya Master, who surrendered to the security forces days before the Sri Lankan war ended in 2009, and has since been “rehabilitated’’ by the government into a normal a life — with conditions attached — said there was absolutely no doubt that the LLTE leader was dead.
Dismissing talk of Tamil militancy rising again, he said the “only way” was for the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil National Alliance to find a political solution for the Tamil community.
“There is no chance for the LTTE to regroup. Only politically, they can put some pressure from abroad through diaspora Tamils,” he said on a recent afternoon when The Hindu met him at the Jaffna television station in Kokkavil where he is employed.
Some in the Tamil community who harbour extremist views will dismiss his words as those of a turncoat. But in fact, Daya Master represents the fatigue — evident across Jaffna — of the majority of Sri Lankan Tamils with 30 years of militancy and extremism in pursuit of separatism that took the community to the brink of disaster.
Daya Master used to be in the Tamil Tigers political wing, acting as their media coordinator, translating for international journalists, diplomats and workers of international NGOs who swarmed northern Sri Lanka when it was controlled by the LTTE.
After his surrender, along with some civilians, he was taken to Colombo, subjected to extensive interrogation and put behind bars.
He has been out on bail since September 2009 . But charges “that we were members of the LTTE” are still pending against him, he says. On the last Sunday of every month, he reports to the Jaffna police , and he cannot leave the country.
His rehabilitation is a job at Dan TV, a pro-Sri Lankan government Jaffna television channel. With his teacher wife and five-year-old daughter, he lives in Point Pedro. His wife recently received an award from President Mahinda Rajapaksa for topping a qualifying exam for principals.
Tamil Nadu leaders playing “own politics” with Tamils’ issue, says Daya Master
Continued ....
The 58-year-old former English teacher now describes himself as “only an employee” of the LTTE. With the same smile and certainty he had 10 years ago when he spoke of the LTTE’s Eelam dream, he speaks now about Prabakaran’s “mistakes”: two lost opportunities to make peace — in 1987, during the India-Sri Lanka Accord, and in 2002, during the Norwegian mediated ceasefire.
“On the political side, the LTTE should have come to a solution. That’s the problem. But, you understand? No one was there to say anything against HIS way,” he said, emphasising the pronoun, “including the commanders.”
He expressed puzzlement that some Tamil Nadu politicians such as the MDMK chief were still telling their followers that Prabakaran is alive.
“Why do they do this Vaiko is doing false propaganda. [Prabakaran] died. This is the truth – he’s no more… I saw the body. Me and Karuna [who rebelled against Prabakaran in 2004 and quit the LTTE] identified the body.”
He was critical of other Tamil Nadu political leaders too, including DMK leader M. Karunanidhi, and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
“Can we believe what [Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa] say now? They are saying some things only for doing their own politics. Tamil Nadu politicians have never been straightforward or spoken positively when it comes to Sri Lankan Tamils,” he said.
In the Northern Province, he said that there was a lot of development visible in all sectors. “Agriculture, construction etc. No one denies. The problem is political solution,” he says and hopes that the government and the Tamil National Alliance, which represents the majority of Tamils in parliament, will find a solution. “That’s the only way…Tamil people want solution.”
Oh My God ... the GOSL is still talking about "Power Devolution to the Provinces"??
The GOSL is letting go this wonderful opportunity to RID Sri Lanka of these FOREIGN IMPOSED CHAINS ... the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Council System .... ONCE and FOR ALL!
Tens of Thousands of PATRIOTIC Sri Lankans, Civilians and Armed Forces personnel, died to preserve the INTEGRITY and SOVEREIGNTY of Sri Lanka, and the GOSL wants to NEGATE their Sacrifices and RE-EMBED the conditions for CONTINUED WARFARE in Sri Lanka?
Pusillanimity Personified!
DISCE' Aut DISCEDE' ... LEARN or DEPART, I say!
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Sri Lanka reiterates its plan to implement '13 plus' for power devolution
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 25, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government today reiterated that it intends to implement the widely discussed '13 plus' arrangement as a means for power devolution to the provinces.
In responding to a question on the uproar over the purported plans to abolish the 13th Amendment, Media Minister and Cabinet Spokesman, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told the media Thursday that the government has not taken a decision about the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the President has stressed that the government's intention is, to implement the 13 plus.
"By the reference of 'Plus' it is envisaged to converge all minority groups in the provinces in a Senate," the Minister said.
The Minister added that President Mahinda Rajapaksa explained this mechanism to the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh during his visit to India last month.
Explaining the recent surge in the calls to abolish the 13th Amendment, Minister Rambukwella said the Amendment is part of the Constitution and the Members of Parliament are obliged to protect the Constitution.
"If there are obstacles to impediment public service such obstacles could be removed," the Minister said.
The Minister further pointed out that Sri Lanka is a democratic country and the people and their representatives have the liberty to express their personal opinions and the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance, being a combination of 21 political parties, has groups with different shades of opinion.
Speaking of a political solution to devolve power, the Minister said the government appointed the Parliamentary Select Committee to expedite the devolution process.
He further noted that the President without using his Executive Powers has pledged to implement the proposals presented by the PSC, and the legislature has been given the authority to discuss, deliberate and find the best solution.
However, the Minister noted that the major Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance, instead of participating in the parliamentary process where a solution is available, is seeking the assistance from outside forces which "cannot do anything".
The Minister said the "vacillating stance" of the TNA is the sole reason for the delay in the devolution process.
Here is a Press Release I received from the Eksath Sinhala Maha Sabha opposing the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Council System.
'
....................
Eksath Lanka Maha Sabha
12 Templars Road,
Mt Lavinia.
Tel 0718011664
Email cosmo@systec.lk
Press release
Abolish the 13th Amendment and Communal Parties
and bring in a Senate of Occupational Groups representing Professional,
Business , Cultural, and Trade Union Interest Groups .
Abolition of the 13th amendment, was a demand from the time this was instituted under duress by India,. The SLFP opposed it declaring it a monster and a white elephant. The JVP organized an island wide campaign with black flags. The Sinhala patriotic movements considered it a concession to Tamil communalists aimed at separating the North and the East from the rest of the country.
After 25 years of experimentation, there is no PC in the North of the country. The first PC in the North and East declared UDI and was dissolved since. . The allocation of nearly Rs 130 billion of tax payers money on PCs is wasted on emoluments of PC staff, who are duplicating the work of the Government Agents.
In the meantime, the TNA as the representative of the LTTE has taken over the demand for a separate power base for the Tamils in the North and the East. They have demanded the withdrawal of the security forces from the North, dismantling of military bases, and devolution of Police and Land powers. While over 150,000 Muslims and Sinhalese displaced by Prabharana from the North over the thirty year period remain unsettled, Thesawalame sectarian land laws still persist, the TNA is busy shuttling between India and Sri Lanka in their effort to carve out a Tamil ethnic state over one third of the land area of the country, forgetting that the Tamil population in the North and East is less than 4 % of the total population of the country, and in league with the rump of the LTTE Diaspora and neo colonialist backers of the LTTE, demanding that the leaders of the country be brought to trial for defeating the LTTE .
Lately the Supreme Court by way of clarification of sharing of legislative powers between the PCs and the centre government, has interpreted that the approval of PCs is needed before any Bill pertaining to matters devolved to PCs is taken up in the Legislature . The Parliament is thereby relegated to a secondary position as a legislature. What the LTTE could not win by way of terrorism is now conceded by way of the 13th amendment interpretation. .
Expecting this anomalous situation, the ELMS, in 2009, has called for the amendment of the National Constitution to do away with PCs, and Communal Parties and to provide for an elected House of National Interests represented by non communal Political Parties and a Senate of Occupational Groups representing Professional Interests, Business Interests , Trade Union Interests and Cultural Interests We welcome the call by Defense Secretary for the abolition of the 13th amendment.
Dr Nath Amarakone
General Secretary - ELMS.
My Comment at LankaWeb.com:
HussainFahmy,
I hope you understand that most people at Lankaweb RESPECT and HONOR the religion of Islam that Prophet Mohammed taught, and that they have written many articles supporting Moslem nations.
However, every religion has INTOLERANT FANATICAL branches, that sometimes become dominant, and make life miserable for others. Like most fanatics, they ultimately destroy their followers.
The intolerant Wahabbi form of Islam that demonizes people of all other religions, including the Shia branch of Islam, and don’t accept them as human beings completely equal to themselves, belong to this category of dangerous fanatics. The people who destroyed the Bamiyan Buddha statues, and those who impose draconian laws against non-Moslems in the Maldives, also belong to that category.
The Christian Portuguese who came to colonize Sri Lanka, and enslaved the peoples of many other Asian and South American nations, with the sword in one hand and the bible in the other, believing that they were spiritually superior, using religion to cover the murder of innocents and their unlimited greed, also belonged to this category.
However,we know that they don’t represent the teachings of Jesus Christ either, or Christian people at large.
Just as Moslems (both Sunni and Shia) of the Middle East should not be held responsible, unfairly demonized, and punished for the crimes of Europeans against the Jewish people, Sri Lankans don’t want Sri Lanka, or other Buddhist nations in South East Asia, to be tormented by Moslems of any branch, just because they are vulnerable and easy targets for fanatics supported by petro-dollars, and intolerant attitudes imported from abroad.
The peoples of these Asian nations are not responsible for the stupid insults of Westerners against the Prophet, nor are they responsible for the loss of Moslem lands in the Middle East.
Just as we ask Eelamist Tamils to cease and desist from separatist activities and undermining Sri Lanka, and for Sri Lankan Tamils to hold their duty as Sri Lankan citizens above all else, we ask Moslem Sri Lankans to do the same.
There is no need to issue veiled threats against anyone, or to spout Moslem religious dogma here. That is counterproductive; you will only lose the support of those who, like me, think well of Moslems in general, and have no animosity whatever towards them.
My Comment at LankaWeb.com:
..................
HussainFahmy,
I will let those who have said indefensible things against Islam, defend themselves.
However, regarding what is happening in South Asian nations, I recently wrote a comment about what is going on in the Muslim insurgency in Thailand, that is very similar to the recently defeated Eelamist Tamil insurgency in Sri Lanka. The facts I presented are a sample of what is published at Wikipedia.org and elsewhere.
I know very well that the majority community of Thailand has not discriminated against Thai Muslims to warrant a violent rebellion that is following in the LTTE’s murderous footsteps. In fact, the consensus seems to be that there are no valid reasons for that insurgency, and that it is fueled by the importation of intolerant ideas, funds and other support from abroad coupled to perceived weakness and unwillingness of the Thai government to act strongly to defend the country. I have little doubt that, like in Sri Lanka, that the Thais will ultimately be forced to act strongly, but by then hundreds of thousands of people will have died in vain.
That situation parallels what happened in Sri Lanka, where the Eelamist Tamils had no real cause for the pain, suffering and deaths they inflicted upon Sri Lankan citizens of all communities, provoking a conflict where there was none, because they were given every incentive to do it by the intolerant attitudes, funds and other support that flowed in from abroad, and because the government of Sri Lanka did not want to face up to its responsibility to fight them with the determination and will required to win. That failure to fight to win early extended the conflict for three decades, killed 150,000 people, and debilitated the economy of the country. We are still trying to recover from that destruction of our economy and society.
Who are these foreigners promoting this Moslem insurgency in Thailand? I believe they are the same Wahhabi/ Salafist extremists who are now funding the rebellions in Syria and conflicts elsewhere. Who will die as a result of these activities? They will mostly be Moslems of all sects. I also believe that they are at the root of the moves currently being taken by the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) to carve out a Muslim state in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, piggybacking on what the TNA is trying to do in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.
That, then, is the price Sri Lanka will pay for allowing the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Council System to remain in force, under the guise of enabling “Communal Diversity.” Bah!
Does this mean that the Moslem faith, as taught by Prophet Mohamed is evil? That Moslem culture and Moslem societies are flawed? No, they are not, far from it … but the people who misinterpret and misuse the Prophet’s message for their fanatical intolerant purposes are indeed evil and crazy; in the end they will destroy themselves.
Whatever may happen in other countries, in Sri Lanka we have NOW LEARNED, and RECOGNIZE through BITTER experience the dangers of these moves cloaked in “human rights”, “democracy” and “diversity” arguments represent. We will NOT PERMIT THEM to raise their UGLY HEADS AGAIN in Our Motherland.
The CREDIT for the EFFUSIVE PRAISE for Sri Lanka's CLEANLINESS in this article must go to that INCOMPARABLY EFFECTIVE PATRIOT of Lanka Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
Whatever he takes on ... HE ACCOMPLISHES in STYLE!
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We can learn a thing or two from Sri Lanka
By Ravindran Raman Kutty
The Malay Mail
October 26, 2012
MEETINGS and work brought me to Sri Lanka last week. Colombo was a pleasant surprise for me, as I was thinking weapon wielding army officers will be welcoming me. I was wrong. Colombo airport was small but cute and clean. The immigration officers were the most courteous immigration officers that I have ever encountered. Both air and ground airline staffs were kind, humane and courteous.
It was even more enjoyable when I took a quick dash to Kandy, wanting to visit the highlands of Nuwara Eliya. The Queen’s Hotel which, I spent a night was squeaky clean, though it was an old Viceroy’s palace aging more than 100 years old. The lacquered shiny floors were immaculate with the colonial Dutch design making a permanent impression on the guests. The service by the front office was exemplary and extremely hospitable.
It was a journey back to history, where I was fortunate to revisit the epic Ramayana. I visited the Hanuman Temple at Ramboda where Hanuman was searching for Sitadevi, Chinmaya mission of Sri Lanka has built a temple. The image of Lord Hanuman here is 16 feet. I also visited Sita Eliya, where Sita was kept abode by Ravana, the king of Lanka. The exact spot where, Sita was kept abode is now marked with the idol of Sita flanked by Rama and Lakshamana. The epic Ramayana was related in a very simple yet effective way by the caretaker of the temple. He made it a point to point to the Footprints of Lord Hanuman which were so obvious, as they were now painted with a coat of yellow paint. He also pointed to the river in which Sita was bathing. The hill just along the river is what Lord Hanuman burnt in his escapade to rescue Sita from Ravana. The Ramayana was certainly exciting to read, but to view the exact spots at the Nuwara Eliya was awesome and was very exciting. The cool breeze, the foggy low lying clouds, the scenic tea plantations were all breath-taking.
As a tea freak, I made a point to visit a tea plantation on the hills. I ordered my tea with a luscious chocolate cake, which was a magical combination for the cold and freezing weather at the hills. I managed to drink three cups of the “Mackwoods” tea and was almost feeling “one too many” after the third cup. The satisfaction that I derived was unexplainable, as the cup had no drops to prove.
Sri Lanka
BACK IN TIME: Sculptures of Rama, Sita and Hanuman among others at Sita Amman Temple
The drive down the hills was picturesque all the way. Beetroots, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, reddish, cabbage, cauliflowers were the main items in every stall, bidding good bye or inviting one to stop to buy. The weather was so cold that we did not use air-condition, on our Toyota Hybrid which was our rented car.
We can learn a thing or two from Sri Lanka
Continued....
The scene maybe quite similar to Cameron Highlands, but the ambience, hospitality, warmth and honest people of Sri Lanka must be mentioned and applauded. We have to learn much from the Sri Lankan who were besieged by war for more than 30 years. The country may have lost many thousands of lives and several politicians including some prime ministers. Their quest to return to normalcy is very evident. Colombo, Kandy is the two places that I visited.
They were immaculate and clean. The roads were clean and overall appearance of the city may look like some parts of India, but it’s pleasant, safe and clean. The roads are wide and the ride to the Highlands has better roads than our Cameron Highlands. We must learn about hospitality and humility from the Sri Lankans who are extremely pleasant and caring.
My visit to the Pettah market was even shocking. It was an exact scene of Calcutta in terms of traffic. But the roads were clean. The walkways were spotless. The safety level was undeniably great. I even visited a toilet in the Pettah Cross Street and was shocked to see, a clean toilet, with running water and a functioning cistern pump. The doors latch was still secure and there was no stench or stain for anyone to puke or close your nose. I am certainly impressed by the condition of the toilet, even if I want to compare with our Taman Tun Dr Ismail market’s toilets.
Malaysia we are more modern. We have the twin towers. We have the largest highways. We may have the longest bridge. Our FDI and GNI are worlds apart to Sri Lanka. We have fantastic public infrastructures to pride on, but Sri Lanka has one thing…their roads are clean, their markets are clean, the people are emphatic, they are courteous and they are in a hurry to recover the 30 lost years of development. I hope we can learn these simple traits from Sri Lanka and become a greater nation by afar!
Senior Minister D.E.W Gunasekara, I am sorry to say, does not know what he is saying. He is suffering from SENIOR onset of Alzheimers disease … and should retire gracefully for treatment … before he forgets everything that happened in the last 30 years.
The “armed movements in the North” DID NOT “lay down their arms” and “enter the democratic political process due to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution”.
Refusing to lay down their arms until the end, the LTTE HAD TO BE CRUSHED MILITARILY, and EVERY LEADER and SEPARATIST STILL BEARING ARMS killed. In no way, shape, or form does that amount to voluntarily “laying down arms” to “follow the democratic process” which they rejected when they resorted to murder and mayhem.
TheTNA, the surviving “Political Proxy” of the LTTE, is now PRETENDING to have entered the “political process” and is attempting to win through BLACKMAIL in PEACE what the LTTE FAILED TO WIN by VIOLENCE IN WAR! They were CRUSHED militarily, they didn’t enter into ANYTHING voluntarily. This Minister is talking GOBBLEDYGOOK!
The TNA rejected all offers while the LTTE was still a military force, so how can they be “CHEATED” of anything when they did not agree to anything? They were not CHEATED, they refused what was offered, and LOST EVERYTHING in WAR! Those refused offers are NO LONGER AVAILABLE to them.
Come on, GIVE US A BREAK from this ASININE DOUBLE TALK!
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Abolishing 13th Amendment is an invitation to separatism, Sri Lanka senior minister warns
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 26, Colombo: A senior Sri Lankan minister warned that abolishing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution would be an invitation to separatism.
Senior Minister D.E.W. Gunasekera making a special media statement has said that emphasis should be laid on the situation in post war Sri Lanka.
He has said that armed movements in the North had laid down their arms and entered the democratic political process due to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
He has noted that forgetting this fact by many who call for the abolishing the 13th Amendment is regrettable.
According to Gunasekera, the abolishing of the 13th Amendment would be an invitation to separatism and terrorism and the Tamil Diaspora would be happy with such a situation.
Consensus is growing in Sri Lanka against the 13th Amendment that evolves power to the provincial councils. However, the government said yesterday that it has not taken a decision about the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
My Comment at LankaWeb.com:
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran,
On reading your Proposal, I came away with two conclusions.
1. Most of the “rights” of citizens in Items #1 & #2 that you want to be included in a separate “Bill of Rights” are ALREADY embedded in, and guaranteed by, the existing constitution of Sri Lanka. Therefore, what additional advantages would accrue from of REARRANGING the Constitution, and relocating that text into a separate “Bill of Rights”? I don’t think there are any additional advantages whatsoever in doing that.
Moreover, there are several several items among these rights that pose problems. For example,
#1-c: While the right of an individual to “be educated in the language OF THEIR CHOICE (Sinhala, Tamil, English or a combinations of these)” sounds good, enforcement of equal rights in, for example, employent depends on ability to communicate in the required language at the place where the job is located. If the job is denied, then it will raise cries of “discrimination”. Therefore, the Government has to have the right to establish and enforce a language policy, such as a Tri-Lingual policy, that will produce a population to which it can deliver equal rights.
#1-f. The right to ” Preserve and develop their distinctive identity and its associated visible symbols” should be
deleted in its entirety because that can be used to implement various discriminatory practices and to pursue separatist agendas contrary to the development of a common shared Sri Lankan identity.
I am certain there are other issues in the rights you have proposed.
Furthermore, while the RIGHTS OF CITIZENS are proposed for inclusion in this “Bill of Rights”, the RESPONSIBILITIES and DUTIES of CITIZENS to their COUNTRY are missing. They include the responsibility to abide by the laws of the land, to avoid treasonous conduct, to serve in the military service when required, to avoid inciting communal discord, and so on. These RESPONSIBILITIES should also be listed in a separate “Bill of Responsibilities” of a citizen.
2. In Item #3, you propose that “Elected members of parliament from each province should be constituted into bodies (nine in total) that serve as the political link between the legislature, executive and the provinces. They could be called the ‘Provincial Advisory Councils’ . Then you proceed to define in detail the functions, and powers to be vested in these Provincial Advisory Councils.
You are in effect RECONSTITUTING the existing Provincial Council System through the backdoor under another name. Such a “Provincial Advisory Council” System, created by Law, would effectively have the same scope of functions as the existing Provincial Council System, and pose the same problems as the former does.
It would insert another unnecessary bureaucratic barrier between the Central Government and the citizenry, enable Communal Parties seeking regional power bases to dilute and undermine the authority of the Central Government, and it would attempt to acquire executive power denied it initially by complaining and agitating that its “advice” and “recommendations” are not being implemented. We are in effect, replacing one bone of contention with another similar bone.
Continued .....
Such an UNELECTED body would not only undermine the Executive Branch of the Government, but would also usurp the function and role of the ELECTED Representatives of the National Parliament by presuming to represent the people who elected them. Instead, perhaps, the ELECTED Members of Parliament should be given more power to benefit their constituencies.
In addition to this “Provincial Advisory Council” system , you are proposing an even greater level of Provincial Representation through MANDATORY membership in the Cabinet of Ministers. Since the beneficiaries of such representation are very likely to be the Ethnic and Religious Minorities now seeking autonomy in the North and East on COMMUNAL BASES, you are in fact advocating the de-facto creation of a patchwork of Nine Bantustans each FREE TO PURSUE its own anti-national agenda.
The basic problem, that the Provinces are too large relative to the Central Government, and when endowed with power at the level of provinces through any system organized on that size level, they pose a threat to the stability and integrity of the country, has not been addressed.
You must understand, that the majority of Sri Lankans do not want the nation to be divided into separate Ethno-Religious regions in OVERT DIRECT, or COVERT INDIRECT ways.
While Sri Lankans are committed to EQUAL RIGHTS for ALL citizens, and EQUAL RESPONSIBILITIES from ALL citizens, they also believe that the right to vote for one’s Representative to the National Parliament is sufficient FRANCHISE for any law-abiding citizen enjoying those RIGHTS and RESPONSIBILITIES. No administrative units beyond Districts administered by appointed Government Agents, and elected Municipality, Town and Village Councils are needed.
Only those with ULTERIOR SEPARATIST MOTIVES continue to cry “discrimination”, and seek to divide the people of Sri Lanka along communal lines. In that quest by promoting a false notion of APARTHEID DIVERSITY, geared to perpetuating the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Council System through various overt and covert means.
My Comment at LankaWeb.com:
...................
Fran Diaz,
You have nicely outlined the SPIRITUAL ESSENCE of the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha epics, divorcing it the from the physical and factual realities of peripheral importance.
I would like to emphasize that the Mahabharatha is set within the context of a war, perhaps allegorical, in which "good" is glorified and the "bad" is deprecated, in pursuit of the storyteller's goal of identifying guiding principles for our own journey through life. My goal in doing so is to point out one big difference between Hinduism and Buddhism that arises in this epic. As Hinduism's central spiritual tale, it legitimizes "good" wars for Hindus, where as Buddhism, abhors all violence and, therefore, is less practical for survival in the real world.
That, perhaps, is the real reason why the Eelamist terror was allowed to last for 30 long years in Sri Lanka, whereas in most other countries, it would have been ended early through the application of overwhelming military force. That force could have been applied in Sri Lanka, had the WILL existed. It was through massive application of force, in the US civil war, a war with the highest casualty rate ever, a war in which the Union was on the point of losing before the Battle of Gettysburg, that was ended in 4 short years. The prime mover for that policy was Abraham Lincoln, credited by most for his compassion towards his Confederate enemies, both military and civilian. But, yet, he urged Sherman's devastating March from Atlanta to the Sea, to break the will of the enemy people, and bring the war to a rapid conclusion. Would Buddhist Sri Lankan's be capable of such decisiveness? Apparently not, for it took 30 years, and 150,000 deaths, before a Government could summon the will and the support to wage war that could defeat the evil embracing the land, and rescue its people.
In Sri Lanka's own history, the Mahavansa story of how Buddhist monks of the day shed their robes and took up arms to join king Dutugamunu's war of liberation of Lanka from Chola invaders, crystallizes the eternal conflict between the ideal of religious teachings, and the practical world we live in and must survive. We recall how angry Dutugamunu himself was with his father Kavan Tissa's reluctance to take up arms against the foreign enemy occupying the Raja Rata of his people.
The conflict is embedded in every soldiers decision to leave his family and go to war: he DOES NOT WANT TO LEAVE his family knowing he may not come back to care for them, but he also knows that he MUST, while every fibre of his being tells him not to, BECAUSE his family survival in the long run hinges upon it. Compassion for loved ones, arising from the ability of human to reason, usually is the motivating force driving men to war.
Continued ....
Finally, let me congratulate you on the identification of physical locations in the Hill Country with the Ramayana tale, in pursuit of Tourist revenue, as creating potential National Security pitfalls for Sri Lanka in the Years ahead.
Just as Ayodhya, the birth place of Rama, in India has become a Bone of Contention between Indian Hindus and Muslims, and a SECURITY THREAT to India, Sita Eliya has the potential to become a similar problem for Sri Lanka, given the covetous eyes Indian Tamils of Tamil Nadu cast upon Sri Lanka, and the preponderance of Sri Lankan citizens of Indian Tamil extraction who live there.
The Ramayana also resonates in the mind of the majority of Indians who are Hindu. If the opposition that the Sethu Samudra Project to create a maritime channel for large ships in the Palk Strait has raise in Tamil Nadu, because of the Land Bridge created by Hanuman, is any measure, the Sita Eliya issue could easily spiral out of control.
Will the Sita Eliya create a manufactured foreign claim, embedded in the Ramayana epic, on the Hill Country of Sri Lanka, or will it make friends for Sri Lanka among the Hindus of India? Your guess is as good as mine.
Wanted combatants of Sri Lanka funded to migrate by LTTE members in Australia -Report
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 28, Colombo: Former Tamil Tiger combatants wanted for their crimes in Sri Lanka are being funded to migrate to Australia as asylum seekers by the former members of the terrorist group, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), already migrated to Australia, according to an Australian media report.
Six former combatants posed as asylum seekers were arrested leaving Sri Lanka this year, with another six people who were apprehended as alleged smugglers, the Herald Sun reported Sunday.
Sri Lankan authorities have alerted Australia of the possibility that former combatants already in Australia are funding the militants' passage.
The Australian Liberal MP for Canning Don Randall during his recent visit to Sri Lanka has been informed of Sri Lankan government's efforts to prevent the possible militants leaving the country.
Following his visit Randall has praised Sri Lanka's efforts to tackle the problem and congratulated the Sri Lankan government for setting an example of how to deal with the "evil trade in people".
The MP from Canning has urged the Australian government to throw its weight behind the Sri Lankan government to control the flow of illegal migrants.
"Australia needs to get behind GoSL with equipment, intelligence sharing and financial help in support of ongoing operations," the MP has said assuring his support for Sri Lanka's efforts to counter critics and criminal elements both at home and abroad.
Sri Lanka's High Commissioner Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe has said that the country would co-operate with Australia with information about any former combatants who had not been rehabilitated since the war ended in 2009.
"Anybody who comes here, if they have been involved in atrocities in Sri Lankan they could be wanted people. With the standing of our friendship we could share information on such people with Australia," the High Commissioner has been quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, eight more Sri Lankan asylum seekers have opted to return home from Christmas Island and they were flown back on Saturday.
These murders posing as "asylum seekers" should be prosecuted for the pre-medidated murder of the missing 3 crew members thrown overboard, to the fullest extent of the law.
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Sri Lanka arrests 14 pirate asylum seekers returned by Australia
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 27, Colombo: Sri Lanka police arrested the 14 asylum seekers deported by Australia Saturday when they disembarked at the Katunayake International Airport from a special charter flight from Australia.
The Australian authorities detained 15 asylum seekers, who pirated a fishing trawler in the mid sea off the island's southern coast on October 13 after assaulting its occupants and left them to die in the sea and sailed to Australia.
An Australian Customs Vessel, operating under the control of Border Protection Command has intercepted the pirated trawler named Thejan with the 15 people onboard north-west of the Cocos Islands late Thursday night.
Two fishermen seriously injured during the attack by the asylum seekers were rescued by two merchant vessels in mid sea and handed over to the Sri Lankan Navy.
It has been reported that part of the crew of the trawler and the skipper are among the suspects of the attack.
Sri Lankan authorities charging the 15 asylum seekers with attempted murder and robbery issued warrants for their arrest and sought Interpol assistance to find the suspects. They also alerted the Australian authorities to expect the stolen ship reaching their shores.
Australian authorities deported all but one asylum seeker who will later be assessed for his removal.
Australian media reported that one of the asylum seekers had earlier entered Australia illegally but volunteered to return to Sri Lanka in September on the promise of the $3300 government resettlement package.
According to a Sri Lankan official, the 14 suspects will face several charges including attempted murder, abduction and theft.
>Tamil Nadu police had seized explosives from activists of Sri Lanka terrorist group
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 28, Colombo: The Tamil Nadu police had seized explosives from the activists of Sri Lanka's defeated terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), a tribunal conducting hearing on the proscription of the group in India has been told.
Two police inspectors of Tamil Nadu police had told the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal set up in Chennai to evaluate the ban on the LTTE that they had seized explosives from three LTTE activists.
The government counsel, appearing before the tribunal headed by the Justice V K Jain, has told the judge that there was need to continue the ban on LTTE as the defeated Tamil Tiger terrorist group is continued to be a threat to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India.
Meanwhile, the pro-LTTE Tamil Nadu political leader, the general secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), V. Goplasamy aka Vaiko has also appeared before the tribunal and opposed the continuation of the ban, according to a PTI report.
Vaiko had told the Indian media that there is no truth to the claim that LTTE is present in Tamil Nadu and LTTE did not exist in India.
The Indian government declared the LTTE a banned organization in 1994 after an LTTE suicide bomber assassinated former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
The central government of India extended the ban on LTTE in July 2012 saying that it is necessary to declare the group as an 'unlawful association' since it continues to adopt a strong anti-India posture and pose a grave threat to the security of its citizens.
A pro-LTTE Canada-based Tamil making representations for LTTE has told the tribunal that LTTE is not fighting for a separate Tamil state in India and therefore it is unfair to ban LTTE in India.
The tribunal will hear the case again in Madurai and Chennai, officials have said.
Sri Lanka comprehensively defeated the terrorist group in the country three years ago in May 2009 and ended the 30-year long terrorism in the country, but the supporters of the terrorist group in Tamil Nadu state of India, certain European countries including the UK, France, and Canada have been actively involved in attempts to revive the group.
There is no Institution in Sri Lanka that is MORE CENTRAL TO REPEALING the 13th Amendment than the Buddhist clergy.
Give us your HELP to break these FOREIGN IMPOSED CHAINS that binds our Motherland HAND & FOOT, threatens its integrity, and its survival as an UNDIVIDED SOVEREIGN Nation!
........
Blessings of Buddhist clergy sought to abolish power devolution in Sri Lanka
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 29, Colombo: Sri Lanka Minister of Housing, Construction and Common Amenities Wimal Weerawansa met the Chief Prelates of Buddhist Siyam Nikaya today to seek blessings for the struggle led by him to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution under which the Provincial Council system was introduced as a power devolution mechanism.
The Minister has pointed out to the Chief Prelate of Asgiriya Chapter of Siyam Nikaya Ven. Udugama Buddharakkhitha Thero that the Provincial Council system has become a challenge to the Supreme Court as well.
In response, Ven. Udugama Buddharakkhitha Thero has noted that the Provincial Council system was not suitable for the country and pointed out that there were objections to the Provincial Council system since its inception under the influence of India.
Weerawansa’s party, National Freedom Front has sent letters to political parties including Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), major opposition United National Party (UNP), Marxist People’s Liberation Front (JVP), JVP splinter party Frontline Progressive Party, Jathika Hela Urumaya, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and the left parties of the ruling alliance United People’s Freedom Alliance to rally to pressure the government to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The Minister has earlier requested President Mahinda Rajapaksa to hold a referendum to repeal the Provincial Council system.
The campaign in Sri Lanka to repeal the provincial council system brought into existence by the 13th Amendment is growing momentum as the major Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance, is refusing to participate in the Parliamentary Select Committee proposed by the government to devolve power.
Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary had publicly called for abolishing the Amendment after the major Tamil Party Tamil National Alliance claimed that India is keeping a close watch on the controversial Divi Neguma Bill since the government through the bill was attempting to take over powers devolved to the provincial councils under the 13th Amendment.
However, the government has said that it has not taken a decision about the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
UPR sessions: Over 90 countries speak positively on SL
By Chamikara WEERASINGHE
DailyNews.lk
October 29, 2012
Out of a total of 99 countries that will speak on Sri Lanka's progress on human rights development at the United Nations Human Rights Commission's Universal Periodic Review(UPR) sessions, more than 90 countries will speak positively on the county's HR performance and achievements, External Affairs Ministry Secretary Karunathilaka Amunugama said yesterday.
He said Sri Lanka will not announce any voluntary pledges to the UNHRC at the forthcoming UPR session that it cannot fulfill later and it will answer questions raised by other countries during the process as a sovereign nation.
Meanwhile, most of the members of the Sri Lanka's delegation to the UPR, have already left for Geneva to attend the next month's UPR sessions. Plantation Industries Minister and Sri Lanka's Special Presidential Envoy on Human Rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe,will lead Sri Lanka's UPR delegation.
The delegation comprise Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinghe, External Affairs Ministry(EAM) Monitoring MP Sajin Vaas Gunawardena, EAM's UN division Multilateral Affairs Director Shashikala Premawardena, officials from ministries of Justice, Defense, Rehabilitation ministries and the Attorney General's Department.
Minister Samarasinghe has flown to Geneva for the sessions from New York after attending a UN meeting and having met the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN headquarters in New Yew York, according to Amunugama. UPR sessions for Sri Lanka will begin on Thursday (November 01) 2012. The country's human rights record will be reviewed during the sessions.
Asked if Sri Lanka was confident to answer all the countries that are listed to ask questions at the UPR, EAM Secretary Amunugama said, Sri Lanka's UPR delegation is confident to answer their questions and will answer them as time permits.
"There will be 99 countries asking questions, there will be much less time to answer them all within the allocated time," he explained. Asked if it was due to that the delegation might find some questions difficult to answer, he said, "there will be some questions that calls for long elaborate answers. However we attend the present UPR with a lot of confidence because we have fulfilled most of the country's voluntary commitments to the UNHRC at the last UPR in 2008."
"One of them is the National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights," he said " We will field questions that are raised against us as a sovereign nation and added that the questions will added.
It has been reported in the foreign media that the United States, Canada, Mexico , Spain, Czech Republic and Spain had submitted questions to the Council regarding the situation of Sri Lanka not holding elections for the Northern Provincial Council , and its status on the Victim Protection Bill at the UPR.
Amunugama said, President Mahinda Rajapaksa's position is very clear on the matter of holding elections in the Northern Province next year. "Before one can hold an election, there is work to be done concerning civilians in the Northern Province to make conditions conducive for an election. There is the election register that has to be made to make the voters eligible for voting," he said.
"There are people who had newly settled in the Province after the war had ended. There are thousands of Muslim and Tamil citizens who have been living in other areas who are originally from the Northern Province for the last three decades. Their names have to be entered in electoral registers,"
UPR sessions: Over 90 countries speak positively on SL
Continued ....
Besides , necessary infrastructure have to be established in the Province to hold an election, explained Amunugama." Unless we can meet all this requirements , it will be unfair to hold an election in the Province."
"Commenting on the status of the Witness Protection Bill , he said these things will have to be done in keeping the the country's legal system. We can very well explain our position on these matters to UN member countries if they are interested,"he said.
According to reports from Geneva, Sri Lanka has been given an extended period of time at this year's UPR. He said there will be 90 countries to speak positively on Sri Lanka's achievements in the areas of resettlement and rehabilitation of IDPs and clearing of land mines among other things.
GOOD QUESTION, Mr. Defence Secretary!
NOT ONLY the Organi!zation of Professional Associations (OPA), BUT ALSO the VAST MAJORITY of Sri Lankan citizens want the FOREIGN IMPOSED 13th Amendment REPEALED totally, because it UNDERMINES Sri Lanka's National Security and Sovereignty, and burdens the taxpayer with yet another UNNECESSARY BLOATED BUREAUCRACY. We are in danger of becoming a nation of ALL POLITICAL PARASITES and NO PRODUCTIVE WORKERS!
Dr. Nath Amerakone is a Founding Member of the OPA, and was central to its creation. He is active in OPA activities, and strongly advocates OPA's position on REPEALING the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Council System.
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, YOU ARE NOT ALONE .... the VAST MAJORITY of Patriotic Sri Lankans SUPPORT you, and will STAND BY YOUR SIDE come hell or high water. Please continue to DEFEND Sri Lanka as you are DOING!
GET RID of this BALL & CHAIN shackling the Motherland, NOW!
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Gotabhaya: OPA also wants 13-A abolished; Why flay only me?
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
October 29, 2012
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday said that his call for the abolition of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution had extensive backing from many sections of society.
Rajapaksa pointed out that Sri Lanka’s foremost outfit of professionals, the Organisation of Professional Organisations (OPA) had in May 2012 unanimously passed a resolution urging President Mahinda Rajapaksa to do away with the controversial 13th Amendment. The OPA’s call for the abolition of what was imposed on Sri Lanka way back in July 1987 coincided with the third anniversary of Sri Lanka’s war victory over terrorism.
Noting that the SLFP-led ruling coalition, too, had recently reiterated its commitment to the 13th Amendment, the Defence Secretary said both proponents and opponents of that constitutional amendment should examine the OPA’s statement, which was largely ignored by the media. Assuring its fullest support to President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s efforts to settle the national issue, the OPA called for the abolition of the 13th Amendment.
The Executive Council of the OPA declared that the 13th Amendment was an impediment to the post-war national reconciliation process and therefore it should be done away with.
The OPA came out strongly against devolution on the basis of the 13th Amendment in the wake of a section of the international community pressuring Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).
The OPA cited five specific reasons for the abolition of the 13th Amendment. The President of the OPA, Architect L.T. Kiringoda alleged that it had been drafted in India even without the knowledge of Sri Lankan Parliament foisted on this country. The brainchild of the then Indian government influenced by the LTTE, the 13th Amendment had brought about political instability, the OPA President said.
The Defence Secretary urged all those issuing statements supporting the 13 Amendment to re-examine the issue without being guided by external factors. They could easily initiate a dialogue with the OPA without further delay. The Defence Secretary said that he hadn’t come across any statement critical of the OPA statement, which was given front-page coverage of the May 12 issue of The Island.
Rajapaksa urged all political parties to make a realistic assessment of the situation without being guided by various domestic and external factors. Asked whether his move had been prompted by some interested parties moving the court against Divineguma Bill, the Defence Secretary said that the legal wrangle had helped realise the ground situation. There should be a centralised mechanism to handle some important issues, the Defence Secretary stressed. "How could provincial level administration interfere with national level planning?"
This Discovery of Heavy Weapons should be used as EVIDENCE that the LTTE did Fire Heavy Weapons from the Mullaivaikal Zone at the end of the War, to defend the GOSL against war crimes charges at the UN.
EVERY DAY, in EVERY WAY, MORE and MORE EVIDENCE of Tiger Atrocities is REVEALED.
Even MOTHER NATURE conspires against the LTTE to reveal its DARK SECRETS!
...............
Cyclonic storm in Sri Lanka North exposes hidden LTTE heavy guns
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 31, Colombo: The Sri Lankan Army has found heavy artillery guns and a fast attack craft hidden by Sri Lanka's defeated Tamil Tiger terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) following the flooding of the coastal areas in the North.
The flooding brought on by the Cyclone Neelam along the coastal areas of northeastern Sri Lanka has exposed the heavy weaponry hidden in the Vellamullivaikkal beach in Mullaitivu, the last battleground of the war.
The Army has recovered five artillery guns - four 152-mm canons and one 132-mm canon and a boat with two 120-horse power engines, Army Spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya said Wednesday.
The Spokesman said the Tigers had buried the cache along the coast and it was exposed due to the storm surge in the area.
The weaponry has been discovered from the beach in close proximity to Jordanian ship Farah III which was run aground and captured by the LTTE in December 2006.
The government has constantly accused the LTTE of firing artillery pieces in the final stages of the war from the no-fire zone where the civilians were sheltering to provoke the military to return fire.
"We knew that the terrorists used heavy weapons, but this is physical evidence of their big artillery guns," Wanigasuriya has told AFP.
"Tigers fired these artillery pieces from areas where the civilians were sheltering in the final stages of the war," AFP quoted Wanigasuriya as saying.
This Discovery of Heavy Weapons should be used as EVIDENCE that the LTTE did Fire Heavy Weapons from the Mullaivaikal Zone at the end of the War, to defend the GOSL against war crimes charges at the UN.
EVERY DAY, in EVERY WAY, MORE and MORE EVIDENCE of Tiger Atrocities is REVEALED.
Even MOTHER NATURE conspires against the LTTE to reveal its DARK SECRETS!
……………
Cyclonic storm in Sri Lanka North exposes hidden LTTE heavy guns
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 31, Colombo: The Sri Lankan Army has found heavy artillery guns and a fast attack craft hidden by Sri Lanka’s defeated Tamil Tiger terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) following the flooding of the coastal areas in the North.
The flooding brought on by the Cyclone Neelam along the coastal areas of northeastern Sri Lanka has exposed the heavy weaponry hidden in the Vellamullivaikkal beach in Mullaitivu, the last battleground of the war.
The Army has recovered five artillery guns – four 152-mm canons and one 132-mm canon and a boat with two 120-horse power engines, Army Spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya said Wednesday.
The Spokesman said the Tigers had buried the cache along the coast and it was exposed due to the storm surge in the area.
The weaponry has been discovered from the beach in close proximity to Jordanian ship Farah III which was run aground and captured by the LTTE in December 2006.
The government has constantly accused the LTTE of firing artillery pieces in the final stages of the war from the no-fire zone where the civilians were sheltering to provoke the military to return fire.
“We knew that the terrorists used heavy weapons, but this is physical evidence of their big artillery guns,” Wanigasuriya has told AFP.
“Tigers fired these artillery pieces from areas where the civilians were sheltering in the final stages of the war,” AFP quoted Wanigasuriya as saying.
'India's backyard' Sri Lanka sets out a welcome for dragon’s landing
By Asanga Abeyagoonasekera
GlobalTimes.cn
October 31, 2012
As India and China tussle for the future of the Asian century, the Indian Ocean has become a new locus for competition. Sri Lanka has strong bilateral relations with both China and India intermingled with historic ties.
In the recent past, with the changing global power dynamics, Sri Lanka's increasing relations with China have attracted a lot of attention in the context of the Sri Lanka-China-India relationship.
Even though formal diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and China run deep into the history, as early as 1957, there is a marked acceleration in the China-Sri Lanka interactions after 2005.
Likewise Sri Lanka-India relations too have a rich diplomatic history which dates back to 1948. To quote the late Sri Lankan foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, relations between India and Sri Lanka are "so ancient that they are lost in the mist of time."
After the end of a three-decade long conflict with the Tamil Tigers, Sri Lanka is focused on expanding and building the much needed infrastructure for economic development. The realist motives are the key to understanding Sri Lanka's relationship with both Asian giants.
China has in the recent past provided Sri Lanka with $5 billion in economic, military and technical assistance. During the recent visit of Wu Bangguo, Chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, 16 bilateral agreements on tourism, telecommunications and transport were signed.
China has become one of the main trading partners of Sri Lanka. The Hambantota Port development and $209 million airport, Norochcholoi coal power plant, Colombo Port expansion project, and irrigation and power projects running into the millions are just some of the projects in which China is involved.
Sri Lanka is greatly appreciative of China's assistance. Sri Lanka's hopes of becoming another Asian miracle will involve increasing trade with both India and China as well as exploiting various opportunities created by the growth of the Indian and Chinese economies.
China's growing ties with Sri Lanka are seen by some as part of Chinese expansionism, and consequently as a threat to the Indian strategic position.
Nevertheless, policymakers, analysts and scholars should take notice of Sri Lanka's needs as well, which include becoming more competitive in the region and accelerating economic development.
In the case of India, South Indian politics play a key role in determining relations with Sri Lanka, and as a result Sri Lankan-Indian relations have been seen as asymmetrical. The lack of a political solution to ethnic disputes and the rehabilitation process is a bone of contention in Sri Lankan relations with India.
However Sri Lankan-Indian trade relations have been strong with the signing of the largest foreign direct investment deal yet, worth $4 billion, for an industrial zone in Trincomalee, and investments made by private companies such as Airtel amounting to $1 million.
'India's backyard' Sri Lanka sets out a welcome for dragon’s landing
Continued ...
India has also invested heavily in rehabilitation and development in the north, with grants amounting to $1.7 million for the development of industrial zones in the region last year, and India committed $850 million for rebuilding the northern railway and to upgrade other infrastructure projects. Sri Lanka has also put more focus on a free trade agreement with India.
With the reality that Sri Lanka is traditionally considered India's backyard, the traditional ties between the nations are not in jeopardy as a result of the heavy Chinese investment.
Sri Lanka envisions a future role of being a strategic hub in five different ways; knowledge, commerce, navigation, aviation, and energy.
It is with these ambitions in mind that Sri Lanka is leveraging the commercial and trade opportunities that result from the growing economies of China and India. The island and the two great powers can work together to help maintain regional peace, stability, and growth.
The author is executive director of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations & Strategic Studies in Sri Lanka.
My Comment at LankaWeb.com:
Sirih,
You have asked some very pertinent questions.
But the REAL question is: What are the powers assigned by the Constitution to the Provincial Councils? Is the Chief Justice merely INTERPRETING the law according to the existing constitution, AS SHE SHOULD, or is she making a NEW LAW through an unjustifed interpretation that is contrary to the spirit and letter of the Constitution, AS SHE IS NOT ALLOWED TO DO? I intend to RESEARCH this matter for myself.
More importantly, this CLEARLY DEMONSTRATES the problems that SL will face if the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Council System remains in force: it will UNDERMINE the power of the Central Government to ACT IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST on a whole slew of things affecting National Security, Maintenance of Law & Order, Land Utilization, Infrastructure Development, Education, Healthcare, Language Policy, National Integration, etc etc ad infinitum, ad nauseam. Anything that crosses the physical, legal or administrativel boundaries of the Provinces will be contested.
For example, when the 13th Amendment and the PC System is implemented, it will no longer possible for Sri Lanka to undertake military action to defeat separatist groups like the LTTE that arise in the future. Each Province will have a veto power.
Everytime the Central Government wants to do something, the Provincial Governments will be able to challenge it and stop it. If the PCs are over-ridden in any way, they will appeal to foreign countries and claim that "democracy" is being undermined and the laws of the land are being violated.
Sri Lanka is a very small country, much smaller than many COUNTIES in the USA, much less provinces/states. I don't hear outcries for a full fledged multi-level government to be imposed on them.
Why do we need the full unwieldy apparatus of a federal style government to manage our little country? There is NO REASON AT ALL, except the URGENT NEED of the TNA (and the SLMC) to use the Provincial Council System as a LEVER to get the maneuvering space to create their own separate Ethno-Religious fiefdoms.
The 13th Amendment and the PC System was imposed ILLEGALLY on SL by force by India, in the dark of the night. If we fall into the same sinkhole during the DAY that we fell into in the dead of the NIGHT, WE DESERVE EVERY MISFORTUNE THAT BEFALLS US in the future.
There is NO CURE that I know for TERMINAL STUPIDITY!
If the Chief Justice stands in the way of REPEALING the 13th Amendment, without understanding that this is an ILLEGAL law IMPOSED UNDER DURESS upon Sri Lanka, then let her be IMPEACHED on that basis, and be DISMISSED from her position as a Justice on the Supreme Court.
There are two cleaner ways to get rid of the 13th Amnedment & the PC System: 1. By a 2/3 vote by the Members of Parliament, which requires the GOSL to take the lead, and bear the CRITCISM of the foreign enemies of SL, and 2. By holding a National Referendum that transfers the solution and the criticism to the voting citizens.
Both of these methods are examples of DEMOCRACY in ACTION, with the first option polling the elected representatives of the citizens, and the second option directly polling the citizen voters. If the GOSL is UNWILLING to bear the criticism they used their party strength to influence the outcome in the first option , let them wear a FIG LEAF on the sidelines and transfer that responsibility to the PATRIOTIC citizens by holding a National Referendum.
NONE of the jaundiced Western Champions of DEMOCRACY can claim that is UNDEMOCRATIC, for it is the BEST EXPRESSION of the will OF the People, BY the People, FOR the People of Sri Lanka, and NONE OTHERS.
The fact that the Chief Justice delivered the Decision on the DiviNaguma Bill to the Secretary General of the Parliament instead of the Speaker seems, at face value, to be a minor, remediable, technicality.
The REAL ISSUE here seems to be the RULING of the Supreme Court (SC), under the Chief Justice's leadership, that the NATIONL DiviNaguma Bill, which cuts across Provincial boundaries, is UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
The Chief Justice seems to be BLIND to the fact that the 13th Amendment which created the Provincial Council System, and which forms the basis of the SC decision on the DiviNaguma Bill, is itself UNCONSTITUTIONAL!
The 13th Amendment was ILLEGALLY imposed upon Sri Lanka by India, ignoring VOCIFEROUS PROTESTS from the majority community, and most citizens, of Sri Lanka, under the THREAT of Permanent Military Occupation of Sri Lanka by Indian Forces.
If the Chief Justice cannot find the LEGAL PRECEDENT for delivering a Judgment that QUESTIONS the LEGALITY of the 13th Amendment itself, she DOES NOT BELONG in her position as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, for she lacks either the necessary JUDICIAL KNOWLEDGE to DISCOVER those PRECEDENTS, and/or the necessary personal commitment to preserving the Integrity and Sovereignty of Sri Lanka.
In my own comments at LankaWeb.com and the SriLankaDefenceForum.blogspot.com , I have identified many International Legal Precedents (for example, the infamous Munich Agreement that was abrogated by Czechoslovakia after the defeat of Nazi Germany) that can be used for that purpose.
Therefore, let this MYOPIC & USELESS judge be removed from the Supreme Court, using any and all evidence that exists of her unsuitability for her position on the Supreme Court, for she has failed her FOREMOST DUTY to Defend & Protect Sri Lanka.
What do you EXPECT, but this, from a small fraction of the World's population, self-appointed champions of "democracy" arrogating to themselves the title of "World Community"?
The US, UK, Canada, and France that form this EXCLUSIVE CLUB, wage global war with impunity, ACCOUNTABLE TO NO ONE.
The PUPPET UN, dependent on them for funds, looks the other way as illegal murderous wars are waged all over the world, with fabricated PROVOCATIONS. When it turns out that the evidence cited is missing, they blame it on an OOPS FACTOR and forge ahead regardless, leaving a wake of incinerated dead bodies behind.
People are blown to bits in far-off lands by drones, at the touch of a button, and "the co-lateral damage" is denied.
This is a classic case of the GOLDEN RULE: He who has the GOLD, makes the RULES!
BLOODY HYPOCRITES!
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World divided on Sri Lanka's human rights
By Ben Doherty
SMH.com
November 2, 2012
Pilloried and praised, congratulated and condemned, Sri Lanka has received a forthright, but divided, assessment of its postwar human rights record.
Sri Lanka, whose 26-year-civil war ended in 2009 with the defeat of the separatist Tamil Tigers, was excoriated by a swath of countries, including the US, Britain, France and Canada, at the UN Human Rights Commissioner's universal periodic review hearing in Geneva. Those countries detailed allegations of continuing human rights abuses, including enforced disappearances, torture and state-sanctioned murders.
But the island nation stoutly defended itself, and was backed by Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan and a host of others, which said it had made solid progress since war's end.
The US ambassador, Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, told the hearing Sri Lanka had taken steps to win the peace after the violent end to the war, but flagrant abuses continued.
"Serious human rights violations continue, including disappearances, torture, extra-judicial killings and threats to freedom of expression. Opposition figures have been harassed, detained and prosecuted. There have been no credible investigations or prosecutions for attacks on journalists and media outlets."
Ms Donahoe brought up the case of the judge Manjula Tillakaratne, who was beaten in broad daylight after he said publicly judges were being pressured by powerful people and were in fear for their lives.
She also mentioned the government's efforts to impeach the country's chief justice, which began on Thursday. The government claims Shirani Bandaranayake has overstepped her mandate, but most observers regard the impeachment as a new front in a long-running battle with the judiciary.
Ms Donahoe said Sri Lanka's former conflict zones in the Tamil-dominated north remained militarised "and the military continues to encroach upon daily civilian and economic affairs".
Britain's ambassador, Karen Pearce, said there should be no impunity for attacks on journalists, rights defenders and lawyers, "nor reprisals against any individual including for cooperating with UN mechanisms".
Sri Lanka's representative, Mahinda Samarasinghe, said his government was concerned, more than any country, with "winning the peace" and building a comprehensive rehabilitation.
"On many fronts progress has been achieved, but we still acknowledge, at the same time, that challenges are ahead of us. We ask our friends in the international community to give us the time and space to make further progress. We are working for a new Sri Lanka, we are working for a united Sri Lanka."
Sri Lanka was defended by many allies, who said the country had defeated terrorism. The country was praised for its efforts to resettle people displaced by the war, for boosting education rates and for opening up the previously war-torn north of the country.
My Comment at LankaWeb.com:
NeelaMahaYoda said:
1. "The United Kingdom is an example of a unitary state. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland which, along with England are the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom, have a degree of autonomous devolved power – the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament in Scotland, the Welsh Government and National Assembly for Wales in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Executive and Northern Ireland Assembly in Northern Ireland."
Yes, but is it not true that, despite formally being a unitary state, there is a movement NOW for Scotland to COMPLETELY BREAKAWAY from the UK as a Sovereign Nation? That could become a reality in the next five years.
Suffice it to say, that the GRADUAL EROSION of Central UK Government's authority in Scotland in recent decades, beginning with the creation of an autonomous Scottish Parliament, and the DEVOLUTION of MORE & MORE POWER to the Scottish Parliament, has INEXORABLY led to the current situation of Scotland being poised to become an independent state. So why was this ALLOWED to happen by the British?
Scotland's impending breakaway would have been UNTHINKABLE and NOT TOLERATED in the past when Britain was threatened by foreign enemies on the European Continent (e.g., Spain in the time of Queen Elizabeth I, Republican France in Napoleon's time, Kaiser Wilhelm's Germany in the WW I period, and finally Nazi Germany in the WW II period. ) Today, the UK does not feel that urgency regarding Europe, in the fond belief that all disagreements that led to conflict in the past are suppressed by the European Union. But clearly, the UK and other European countries feel threatened by distant enemies in Asia, and wage war whenever they feel threatened.
Given the disparity in knowledge and wealth between the West and their distant enemies in Asia, the only REAL THREAT to this HEGEMONY of the Western powers is that those countries may acquire Nuclear Weapons, thus achieving PARITY and some degree of INVULNERABILITY. That is at the CORE of their CURRENT drive against Iran and its allies, by every possible means, including as we shall soon see after the US Presidential Elections, WAR.
Sri Lanka, however, does not share the sense of security enjoyed by these Western powers. Quite the opposite is true for Sri Lanka; our historical threats from abroad are continuing unabated. The foreign threats against Sri Lanka, arising not only from Sri Lanka's historical enemies from across the Palk Strait, but from distant neo-colonialists playing big power games in the Indian Ocean, abound.
GIVEN THAT REALITY, Sri Lanka cannot be complacent about its security, defer to Western powers enjoying overwhelming military superiority over their enemies, and DISMANTLE our CENTRAL GOVERNMENT, or DIMINISH its POWER & AUTHORITY by devolving power to UNREPENTANT OLD SEPARATISTS, and would-be NEW SEPARATISTS. That would amount bto SUICIDE.
Let us recall that the Victorious Allies, on the East and the West, carved up Germany and stationed vast armies for many decades in Europe to guarantee their own security. The NATO of today, has inherited that role in Europe, not only to keep enemies in Eastern Europe at bay, but also to keep warmongering regimes raising their heads again in NATO countries, like Germany.
As Britain did in the past, when it felt INSECURE and armed itself to the teeth, Sri Lanka must keep its defences STRONG. Among those defences, a STRONG CENTRAL GOVERNMENT whose writ holds sway across ALL of Sri Lanka is KEY. That is ESSENTIAL to Sri Lanka's survival for the FORESEEABLE future.
Continued 1 ....
2. " Throughout U.S. history, the division of power between the federal government and state governments has been the subject of continuous political and legal battles. After suffering from the British government’s political and economic tyrannical policies applied to the American colonies that eventually led to the American Revolution (1775-1783), many Americans greatly distrusted centralized governmental powers. As a result, when the Continental Congress drew up the Articles of Confederation in 1781, the new central government was assigned few powers. The central government had little authority over commerce, no court system, and no power to tax. The states were essentially a loose union of sovereign (politically independent) governments, each free to regulate commerce as it saw fit, make money, and have their state courts hold judgement over national laws."
TRUE, but the US then was a new country that was created by the VOLUNTARY agreement of the original 13 colonies to come together to win their independence from Britain; it was not a nation that had any historical existence as a single nation. The 13 states had widely different economies and cultures; the north was engaged in shipping, trade, agriculture, and some manufacturing, while the south was almost entirely plantation-style agriculture relying on slave-labor. States rights were critical to the elite in each state, who wanted to preserve their privileges and position intact within their state. Without compromise and agreement to join together, the United States would not have been created. The continuing threat of invasion by European powers, primarily the British (which happened in 1812 when they burned Washington, DC) kept them together for common defense.
States rights came to a head 100 years later when the issue of Slavery and other Economic issues became bones of contention. The Economic issues included the desire of Northern industrialists to feed their mills with Southern products, rather than allowing them to export to more profitable foreign markets. The Southern States asserted, that as entities that joined the United States VOLUNTARILY, they had the right to secede from the Union to pursue a separate future.
Abraham Lincoln, and the Unionists felt that, the preceding 100 years of being joined together had transformed the country into one nation, with shared expectations and aspirations from ALL of the citizens of the country. He felt that two aggressive nations competing for the same resources of the East as well as the new frontier territories in the West would lead to interminable War as was then common in Europe. The Unionists felt it was their duty to preserve the country whole, and endow future Americans with the blessings of a peaceful, mighty, undivided nation.
Abraham Lincoln strongly felt that keeping the country whole was a duty that transcended abolishing slavery. He said: " If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that." He wrote this on August 22, 1862, just a few weeks before signing the Emancipation Proclamation, in response to an editorial by Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune which had urged complete abolition. Officially he MUST save the Union above all else, personally he wanted to free all the slaves.
Continued ....2
As you correctly state, the US Federal Government has gradually acquired more power and authority, that the Founding Fathers had not granted it, in response to PERCEIVED national needs, such as national defense, Economic security of citizens (New Deal, Social Security), Anti-trust laws to control monopolistic practices of banks, corporations, and the wealthy through breaking up monopolies (Standard. Oil, US Steel, AT&T, Banks etc etc), alleviating civil strife (Civil Rights Laws), regulating monetary policy (the Federal Banks), Education policy (US Dept. of Education), healthcare, consumer protection (FDA) etc etc. Imposition of the hated NATIONAL INCOME tax was central to funding this EXPANSION of Federal Government operations (See below).
Just as the United States responded to PERCEIVED National Needs by centralizing authority, Sri Lanka has EVERY RIGHT to respond to its needs in the SAME Areas by centralizing its power .... AS IT SEES FIT ... according to its own WIT. That is the ESSENCE of SOVEREIGNTY.
The point I wish to make is that, although the States initially had SEPARATE Sovereign Rights, once they JOINED the Union, the the United States asserted that Citizens of the Country as a WHOLE gradually acquired RIGHTS that transcended the rights of the INDIVIDUAL States. For example, since declaring independence, they were able to move anywhere within the country, settle down, and exercise their rights at both the State and Federal levels. It is this principle of citizen's rights on a NATIONAL LEVEL that Abraham Lincoln invoked to wage the US Civil War to defeat the Confederacy, and RETURN the SECEDING states to an undivided Union.
In Sri Lanka, which has historically existed as a single nation for millenia, despite internal divisions from time to time in response to foreign invasions, no Sovereign Rights, similar to those of the US States, can be claimed for the Provinces similar to that of the 13 Colonies
Therefore, any NEW LAW, such as the 13th Amendment, ILLEGALLY IMPOSED by a FOREIGN NATION to devolve power and separate rights to the Provinces. has no legal standing in the eyes of the SOVEREIGN people of ALL of Sri Lanka, who have lived together as one people for millenia, and acquired those SOVEREIGN rights as a single nation.
Let us also note in passing, that it is the very recognition of "States Rights" in the US that led to the SECESSION of those SEPARATIST States to form the Confederacy. Why should Sri Lanka place its neck within such a NOOSE held by SEPARATISTS? That would be LUNACY!
Continued 3 .....
3. SLAVERY: As a peripheral issue, I would like to mention that one of the compromises made by the Founders of the United States was whether African American should enjoy the same rights as whites. Thomas Jefferson, who had a black mistress till he died, and many descendents today who trace their lineage to that union, could not specifically include wording in the Declaration of Independence, guaranteeing the inalienable rights, endowed by God to humans, to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to African Americans. It was not possible to do so later in the Constitution, or even the Bill of Rights still later. African Americans, apparently, were not human enough ... for another 100 years until the US Civil War that emancipated them in theory .... and then 100 years beyond that to be finally empowered in the 1960's as a result of the Civil Rights Movement led, among others, by Rev. Martin Luther King. They were valuable property not to be easily given up!
That is one chapter in the DARK history of the US Champions of Democracy and Human Rights who dare to PREACH to Sri Lanka today. There are many other dark tales to tell another day, at a more propitious time.
4. Federal TAXATION: Perhaps the issue closest to the heart of all Americans is that of taxation. Given that British EXCISE taxes sparked the American Revolution, the Federal Govt did not impose a Federal INCOME tax until 1931, although income taxes were imposed briefly during the Civil War and the 1890s. The US Govt also collected tariffs on some imports, and States and local governments collected poll taxes on voters, and property taxes on real estate. The States and the federal government began taxing inheritances after 1900, while the states (but not the federal government) began collecting sales taxes in the 1930s.
I urge all to read Sri Lanka's National Report on Human Rights submitted to the UPR hearings at the United Nations (Nov 1, 2012 - Nov 5, 2012), in its ENTIRETY.
I am copying below the Introductory Section I of that document, for your convenience.
In particular, I would like to draw your attention to Item #4 of that section on the safeguards embedded in Sri Lanka's constitution for protecting Human Rights. Such safeguards are not a part of the original US Constitution, and were relegated to the Bill of Rights as a CORRECTION to the original Constitution.
It was possible for the framers of Sri Lanka's Constitution to do so, in the light shed by earlier Constitutions of other countries, whereas the US Constitution needed to patch the holes in the original US Constitution with the Bill of Rights and various other Amendments.
This is why it is NOT NECESSARY to tack on a separate Bill of Rights to Sri Lanka's Constitution as proposed by another Blogger at LankaWeb.com. ALL of the Safeguards in the US Bill of Rights are ALREADY embedded in EQUIVALENT FORM within the MAIN BODY of Sri Lanka's current Constitution.
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Human Rights Council
Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review
Fourteenth session
Geneva, 22 October–5 November 2012
National report submitted in accordance with paragraph 5 of
the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 16/21*
Sri Lanka
I. Introduction
1. Sri Lanka is pleased to submit its national report for the 14th Session of the Working Group.1 As consistently maintained Sri Lanka considers the UPR to be the most appropriate forum at which human rights related matters pertaining to a country should be discussed, together with voluntary engagements under the human rights treaties and interactions with special procedures mechanisms. This is despite two unhelpful attempts to needlessly draw attention to the situation in Sri Lanka in the Council in 2009 and again this year. These ill-conceived, unwarranted, unnecessary and intrusive attempts did not result in any tangible benefits for the Sri Lankan people over and above what the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) set out to do and has been able to achieve for them. Sri Lanka regularly briefs the Council on gains made, challenges faced and future plans vis-à-vis the human rights situation in the country. Participation in the new interactive, collaborative and inclusive mechanism, the UPR, must be viewed as part of that ongoing effort.
2. Sri Lanka today is a stable, united and forward-looking country. Our polity has enjoyed being constitutionally governed and being part of a vibrant democracy for over 64 years as an independent nation. The nation has achieved peace and social tranquility by the military defeat of one of the worst manifestations of terrorism the world has seen in recent times – the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The humanitarian operation ensured for the people of the North and East their right to live in dignity and restored democratic freedoms. It also ensured for the rest of the country freedom from fear of terrorist attacks. Sri Lanka is now consolidating gains made in economic, political, social and cultural spheres and our potential for advancement has increased exponentially. Equity in economic development, eliminating regional disparities, and guaranteeing equality of opportunity for every Sri Lankan no matter where they live, their ethno-cultural background, the language spoken or religion professed, remain the national priority.
3. Sri Lanka‟s multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural character which has been preserved in the face of conflict and terrorism, equips us to face the unique challenges and opportunities ahead.
Continued 1.....
4. Sri Lanka‟s Constitution gives pride of place to Fundamental Rights in Chapter III which provides exclusive jurisdiction to the Supreme Court to ensure expeditious legal remedy. Article 3 recognizes that the sovereignty of the people is inalienable and includes the powers of government, fundamental rights and franchise. Article 4 (d) casts a positive obligation on the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary to respect, secure and advance fundamental rights. The Constitution inter alia recognizes the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom from torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; right to equality, freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention and punishment; prohibition against retro-operative penal legislation; freedom of speech, assembly, association, occupation and movement. The rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and the right to freedom from torture are enshrined as absolute and non-derogable rights.
5. Sri Lanka accords the highest priority to active participation in the multilateral treaty framework relating to human rights and is party to seven core human rights treaties. The international Conventions subscribed to by Sri Lanka have been given effect to in accordance with the constitutional process through specific constitutional provision, the enactment of substantive legislation and through subsidiary legislative instruments. Sri Lanka also continues to actively engage with the OHCHR and an invitation was extended in 2011 to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit the country.
6. Despite nearly 30 years of conflict against terrorism, we successfully sustained the wellbeing of our people. This has been confirmed by the UNDP‟s Human Development Report (2011) which has given Sri Lanka a value of 0.691 in its human development index.2 This has been achieved by the consistent investment in public services such as health, education and the provision of economic opportunity, including the provision of public services and the payment of salaries to public servants, even in areas that were unlawfully occupied by the LTTE.
7. Notwithstanding their military defeat and being proscribed in 32 countries, the LTTE‟s international network and sympathizers continue to espouse the agenda of destabilization and separatism. Their attempts to misinform host governments, opinion makers including media and the Sri Lankan expatriate community by blatant falsehood, propaganda and misinformation, proceed unabated. Their financial and other links with international criminal organizations continue to pose a threat to Sri Lanka and the international community. The substantial resources they possess enable them to sustain a vicious campaign of disinformation, and destabilize peace efforts with a view to undermining the reconciliation process.
Army recovers 30 Tiger fieldguns
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
November 2, 2012
Army headquarters yesterday said that the LTTE artillery ‘regiment’ had been its most powerful component comprising at least 30 artillery pieces, including 152 mm (15 units), 130 mm (11), 122 mm (3), 85 mm (1) and one 120 mm mortar.
Military spokesman Brig. Ruwan Wanigasooriya yesterday told The Island that LTTE artillery had caused heavy losses to troops, particularly on the Vanni front, where some of the bloodiest fighting took place in 2008 and 2009.
Since the recovery of one 152 mm on Jan 29, 2009, at Vishvamadu on the Vanni east front, the SLA has recovered 30 artillery pieces (152 mm, 130 mm, 122 mm and 85 mm) and one 120 mm mortar. Of them, five were found on Oct 31, 2012, buried in the Vellamullivaikkal beach. According to the military spokesman, all those guns had been operational on the Vanni and Jaffna fronts throughout the campaign. Asked whether the SLA had any idea about the other types of mortars used by the LTTE, Brig. Wanigasooriya said that the LTTE had deployed a large number of 60mm mortars.
The SLA lost 2,174 and 2,350 officers and men during 2008 and 2009, respectively. The SLA categorized the number of missing at 113.
Brig. Wanigasooriya said that almost all of them had been killed on the Vanni and Jaffna fronts. Responding to a query, the military spokesman asserted that the LTTE had largely used artillery and mortars against the advancing troops, though its arsenal comprised a range of other potent weapons.
The majority of the captured weapons had been bought overseas and smuggled into Sri Lanka over the years.
The 152mm artillery gun with a range of 20 km has a 75m killing zone, though its effectiveness may vary depending on factors such as the surface of the area where an artillery round lands. Brig. Wanigasooriya said that the 130 mm with a range of 27 km was the longest range heavy weapon acquired by the LTTE. "130 mm is effective up to 50-75 m radius, whereas 122 mm artillery and 120 mm mortar are deadly 50 m radius," Brig. Wanigasooriya said. The 122 mm has a range of 20 km, whereas 85 mm artillery and 120 mm mortar can effectively take targets 17 km and 7 km, respectively.
The SLA, too, deployed 152 mm, 130 mm, 122 mm and 120 mm field guns. They introduced Czech built multi barrel rocket launchers in May 2000 subsequent to the fall of the strategic Elephant Pass base.
Continued .....
Having liberated the Eastern Province in June 2007, the SLA stepped-up offensive action on the Vanni front, where it encountered heavy artillery fire. Brig. Wanigasooriya said that terrorists fired thousands of rounds of artillery and mortars at fighting formations deployed on the Vanni and Jaffna fronts as well as those holding liberated areas.
Commenting on fighting in the Eastern Province, the official said that the LTTE had used artillery and mortars effectively in the Eastern theatre. He recalled the LTTE mortar attack on a group of US and European diplomats in Feb 2007. However, the level of deployment of artillery in the Eastern Province couldn’t be compared with the North, he said. The LTTE had deployed a few artillery pieces in the Eastern Province retaining tremendous firepower in the North.
Army headquarters said that among 15,788 disabled during the eelam war IV, a substantial number had received injuries due to artillery and mortar fire.
Brig. Wanigasooriya said that the LTTE had developed its artillery ‘regiment’ over the years with the acquisition of a range of artillery and mortars. According to intelligence sources, the LTTE had acquired smaller multi-barrel rocket launchers in the late 1990s before the SLA took delivery of multi barrels from Pakistan and Czechoslovakia. At the onset of the conflict, the LTTE produced at least two types of mortars, which were used against security forces.
Brig. Wanigasooriya said that a sizeable percentage of 23,323 officers and men killed during the entire conflict died due to artillery and mortar fire.
INDIA, as expected, is PUSHING HARD to PARTITION Sri Lanka and EMPOWER their Fifth Column in Sri Lanka.
The Global Tamil Forum is ECSTATIC.
Just when they think they are WINNING, that is the time to give them ANOTHER Nandikandal by cutting off their LEGS right at the KNEES by ABOLISHING the 13th Amendment NOW!
The MORE they AGITATE to PARTITION Sri Lanka, the MORE they should be MADE TO LOSE. There is NO OTHER WAY with these guys.
The underlying Cause and Effect Relationship will PERCOLATE into their Dull Racist Minds SOMETIME.
Until then let us batten down the hatches, erect the barriers and man the ramparts of Mother Lanka!
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India pushes for implementation of 13th Amendment
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
November 3, 2012
India has reiterated its call for the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and credible investigations into allegations as regards atrocities during the eelam war IV.
The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) appreciated India’s position at the 14th session of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva on Thursday (Nov 1).
"We are encouraged by the Indian intervention at the UPR which clearly articulated serious issues including militarization, lack of political will to resolve the Tamil National Question and the lack of progress on accountability that Sri Lanka refuses to address post end of war," GTF spokesperson Suren Surendiran spokesperson told The Sunday Island yesterday.
While noting positive development with regard to resettlement of the internally displaced persons, rehabilitation of ex-LTTE personnel, de-mining and reconstruction, India urged GoSL to address remaining issues as regards rehabilitation and resettlement.
India reiterated its commitment to help GoSL to tackle these problems.
Recalling GoSL’s assurance to the previous UPR four year ago to implement the 13th Amendment and subsequent promises given to the international community, India emphasized the responsibility on the part of the GoSL to keep its pledge. India stressed the need to go beyond the 13th Amendment, while underscoring the importance of a speedy political solution to the national issue.
Noting that GoSL has announced PC polls for the Northern Province next year, India insisted that those living in that region should be given an opportunity to exercise their franchise as early as possible.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa early this year declared that Northern PC polls would be held in September 2013.
Commenting on accountability issues, India pushed Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), including investigations into human rights violations and incidents involving loss of civilian lives.
Sri Lanka On Track To Reach US$ 4000 GDP Per Capita Before 2016- Cabraal
TheSundayLeader.lk
November 03, 2012
“Sri Lankan economy is poised to reach a per capita income level of US$ ($) 4,000 probably by 2015,” said Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal in an interview with The Sunday Leader.
He said that Sri Lanka took 56 years after independence to reach the $ 1,000 per capita income level which was in 2004. However, from 2005 – 2011 it made remarkable progress and reached a $2,836 low middle income per capita. Cabraal said that he expects the $3,000 mark to be reached by the year end and for the $ 4,000 mark to be reached by 2015. He added, “So far103 countries have reached a $4,000 GDP per capita level and our analysis indicates that many countries have accelerated in its GDP growth after the 4,000 mark had been crossed.”
Research also shows that the first country to reach the $4,000 mark was USA in 1967 and from 1970 to 1979, 34 countries including Australia, Canada, Japan and UK crossed that mark. Thereafter, between 1980 to 1989 11 countries including South Korea and Singapore went past the $ 4,000 mark, while 17 countries including Brazil and Malaysia were able to surpass the GDP per capita $ 4,000 level between 1990 and 1999.
During the 12 year period 2000 – 2011, 40 countries have been able to move up the ladder with Maldives and Thailand from Asia also crossing the line.Today, there are several countries that are close to the $4,000 mark and that list includes Indonesia, Philippines and Sri Lanka.
Answering the question as to what would be the scenario in these new circumstances, Cabraal mentioned that many new opportunities and challenges will surface over the next few years in Sri Lanka’s journey towards $ 4,000 per capita income. Principal amongst those new opportunities would be developments in banking, with significant increases in private sector credit with long term external financing costs reducing in response to better credit circumstances and potential.
Continued .....
Cabraal also said that current research indicates that the stock market capitalization is likely to rise to around 60 – 70% of GDP by 2016, or about $ 70 billion and the corporate bond market will be poised to reach a level of around $ 10 billion by that time. These developments would result in a massive transformation taking place in these markets, he said, but cautioned that the right initiatives and policies will have to be implemented on a continuous basis in order to make that situation a reality.
He welcomed the conscious steps that are being taken to make doing business easy, and the actions implemented to improve the country’s sovereign rating. In addition Cabraal emphasized the need to improve infrastructure including roads, ports, airports-both international and domestic, power, telecoms, condominiums, other constructions and hotels. He also referred to the improvement of other social overheads, particularly education, health, IT, vocational training, skills development, recreation and sports, all of which which would serve to enhance the conditions required for the establishment of the right conditions to move towards the $ 100 billion economy goal.
“Sri Lanka is fast becoming a popular tourist destination with prestigious organizations such as the ‘Lonely Planet’ endorsing it as one of the best places to visit, and therefore there is a clear likelihood that Sri Lanka would be able to attract the investments necessary to develop the country to be a popular tourist destination that would attract 2.5 million tourists by the year 2016,” said Cabraal, who added:“We should also strive to maintain political stability with a peaceful social environment and ensure that right conditions exist for ethnic and religious harmony to be preserved on a continuous basis”.
The Governor cautioned that the global environment is likely to pose tough challenges and highlighted the need to avoid the “middle income trap” that some countries who have ventured past the $ 4,000 GDP per capita mark had fallen into. He referred to the stagnant growth in certain Latin American economies, particularly because their exports could not compete against low income and low wage economies and against the highly skilled and innovative advanced economies.
“As a result the force of the economic gravity has pulled back those economies leading to structural inflation, namely increased wage levels with lower unemployment in some of those countries”, said Cabraal. He remarked that Sri Lanka has to fashion the right policies to avoid this “middle-income-trap” situation in its effort to becoming a “Break-out Nation”. Cabraal said that there are many lessons to be learnt from empirical examples of the 103 countries that went past the $ 4,000 mark and therefore CBSL is now in the process of a continuous and serious study in that regard.
Cabraal also explained that the country will undergo a significant paradigm shift at this transition, since people’s income will move towards a “middle income status” from the current “low middle income status”, he added: “Consumers will change their preferences in their economic and social habits. In such a scenario there is likelihood that activities will become more electronic and IT based and the economy to get more connected to international markets. In order to face up to these challenges all stakeholders in the country should develop a comprehensive approach towards focusing on their economic targets, while also developing policy frameworks that are better coordinated”.
Concluded Cabraal, “We should,and shall develop a series of alternate steps to meet unexpected challenges and would continue on our successful policy of creating sufficient spaces and cushions to absorb external shocks”. He asserted that the Government and CBSL have shown that they are prepared to implement bold, timely and appropriate measures in managing the economy, and that they would continue to follow such a policy in the future too.
ANOTHER example of a Potential Problem in Devolving Power to Provincial Councils: Hospitals.
Multiple-Overlapping-Bureaucracies Sapping the Economic Vitality of the Nation!
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Minister promises to develop all hospitals
By Ridma Disssanayake
DailyNews.lk
November 03, 2012
The government’s policy is to develop all hospitals in state and provincial sectors, Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said. “All hospitals in the public sector provide a free health service to the public. The government’s aim is to upgrade the standards of the country’s free health service, whether they come under the central government or provincial councils,” he added. Minister Sirisena was speaking during an inspection tour of Wathupitiwala Base and Gampaha General Hospitals.
The minister discussed the development process of these hospitals with their controlling authorities and promptly solved some of key problems affecting the hospitals.
“While the country claimed to run 1,047 hospitals,only 47 of them come under the purview of the government .
The other 1,000 hospitals are under the purview of the Provincial Councils. I have no idea to take over any hospital to the central government. We only need to upgrade the country’s free health service. The government has taken a number of measures,” the minister said.
“Even though, I am the Health Minister, it is not possible for me to visit all the hospitals in the country. It is not practical as well. We The Provincial Councils should be held responsible with matters regarding to provincial things,”the minister added. He said the assistance of Provincial Councils is important for the government to go forward with their development projects.
Other governing authorities should provide all assistance to the development projects initiated by the government.
Health Ministry Deputy Director General (Laboratory Services) Dr.Gamini Samarasinghe,Deputy Director General (Medical Services)
Dr.Ananda Gunasekara,Medical Supplies Division Director Dr.Kamal Jayasinghe and Western Provincial Health Services Director Dr.Amal Harsha Silva were also participated.
Sri Lanka has NO OBLIGATION whatever to INDIA to implement the 13th Amendment.
What OBLIGATION does a VICTIM have towards a CRIMINAL who held a GUN to his head and demanded signing over his property?
NONE! ZERO! ZILCH! …. in Common Law AND in International Law! No agreement made under DURESS is valid in Law.
Did Czechoslovakia have an OBLIGATION to HONOR the INFAMOUS Munich Agreement and LEAVE the Sudentenland, that was robbed by Nazi Germany under the THREAT of INVASION, in German hands?
No! Czechoslovakia ABROGATED the Munich Agreement after the defeat of Germany in WW II.
Does Sri Lanka have an OBLIGATION to HONOR the INFAMOUS 13th Amendment IMPOSED by India upon Sri Lanka under Military Occupation of a large part of Sri Lanka by Indian Forces?
The ANSWER, my friend, blows in the wind: NO OBLIGATION WHATEVER!
Note that the same CLUB of Western Nations (UK and France) who failed to honor their DUTY TO DEFEND Czechoslovakia and threw it to the German Wolves, are the same VULTURES now demanding Sri Lanka to honor the 13th Amendment imposed by India upon Sri Lanka under the Military Threat of Permanent Occupation, throwing Sri Lanka to the Indian Wolves!
They only care ONLY about their own agenda and their own security; “human and democratic rights” they shout from the rooftops are MERELY A CLOAK to DISGUISE their own interests. “Human and Democratic rights” are forgotten, of course, when they wage criminal wars in far off lands, arrogating the law unto themselves, with their PUPPETMASTER … United Nations …. in charge of the puppet show to hoodwink the global audience.
My Comment at LankaWeb.com:
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran:
This relates INDIRECTLY to your list of 8 points above, and DIRECTLY to comments you made on a different webpage at LankaWeb. You said:
1. “Sri Lanka has however an obligation to its minorities. The obligation is to provide them equal opportunities as citizens, afford them equal protection as citizens …”
NO, Sri Lanka has NO OBLIGATION to “minorities” per se’, but YES, Sri Lanka the OBLIGATION to assure the SAME EQUAL rights for ALL CITIZENS, and to hold ALL citizens ACCOUNTABLE to their EQUAL RESPONSIBILITY to obey the law, serve and defend the country, IRRESPECTIVE of Community.
In other words, GOVERNMENT, acting in the PUBLIC SPHERE, should be BLIND to Communal differences.
2. “Recognise their language rights” …. YES, and the Government should institute a fair language policy purely only because it eases effective governance; otherwise it should let people use whatever language they wish. In my view, the Tri-Lingual Policy advocated by MR is the best, compulsorily requiring proficiency in both Sinhala and Tamil from ALL citizens, and compulsory proficiency in English so that all Sri Lankans can swim like fish in the ocean of the world as a whole.
3. “Recognise their cultural rights” …. NO, the Government should have NO BUSINESS promoting cultural rights of any community. That should be RELEGATED to the PRIVATE SPHERE of the lives of individuals. Let people enjoy their culture in their PRIVATE homes and PRIVATE institutions.
But, when they interact with others outside those private institutions they should be governed by PUBLIC laws … such as those prohibiting discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, religion, language, caste, sex, and wealth.
For example, a Tamil Brahmin should have the right to deny entry to a lower-caste Tamil into their PRIVATE homes, or to a PRIVATE devotional area within their own home, or into marriage with their children, if they so choose, but they should be prohibited by law from denying entry to a PUBLIC Hindu temple, to a home rented to the public, or to a job in their business that serves the public.
Continued ....
4. “take into account their concerns in governance and permit them to participate in governance at the national level. ” ” … YES, allow them that as EQUAL citizens of Sri Lanka, through the SAME ELECTORAL and other mechanisms of Governance available EQUALLY to ALL citizens of Sri Lanka, but NOT through SPECIAL mechanisms made available because they are “Tamil” people who should be separately REPRESENTED at the National, or at ANY OTHER LEVEL, of Governance, through positions reserved for Tamils only.
If COMMUNAL representation in governance were to be allowed for Tamils, then there would have to be SEPARATE REPRESENTATION for the SINHALA people and the MUSLIM people as well …. and we are back where we began …. dividing Sri Lanka … and its citizenship rights on Communal bases. There would again be INTERMINABLE accusations of “discrimination” and “unfairness” in the allocation of government benefits. We are back to UNENDING communal riots!
Do you realize that this is EXACTLY what is happening in India, where with the good intention of uplifting disadvantaged people, Government assistance is allocated on the basis of CASTE …. Scheduled Castes, Other Disadvantaged Castes, and what have you, ad infinitum, ad nauseam, leading to a goldrush in getting communities identified and defined as “caste disadvantaged”? Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of poor Brahmins pull rickshaws and clean toilets in New Delhi and elsewhere, without government aid because they are “high caste” … BY DEFINITION … because they wear the “Purna Noola” around their scrawny underfed necks.
This communal allocation of benefits has led to frequent civil strife and riots in India. As one Indian Supreme Court judge remarked “There is no country in the world like India where people struggle to degrade themselves socially to receive government handouts!” This is one of the reasons why I say, that India has NO WISDOM IN GOVERNANCE to offer Sri Lanka … they are mired in communal policies that pit their communities against one another. They are trying to force the same poisonous pills down Sri Lanka's throat. BIG, clearly, is neither BETTER nor WISER!
Allocation of National Benefits on COMMUNAL bases is a terribly UNFAIR, and inexorably DIVISIVE, way of assisting people, that creates more problems than it solves. The CORRECT WAY to allocate National Benefits to the needy, is to base that allocation on verified NEED, and NEED ALONE, irrespective of Community.
Your recommendation of SEPARATE REPRESENTATION for Minorities at the National Level is a step on this fast path to COMMUNAL HELL presumably paved with good intentions.
These mini-hydropower plants should be constructed and operated to serve MULTIPLE purposes:
1. To store and conserve water during droughts,
2. To generate electricity when there is sufficient EXCESS water, and
3. To assist in load levelling on the national grid, by having pumped water storage capabilities, with upper and lower reservoirs between which water can be transferred.
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Sri Lanka to construct 200 mini hydropower projects
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 06, Colombo: Sri Lanka Minister of Power and Energy Patali Champika Ranawaka says that measures are in place to construct 200 mini-hydropower projects in the island.
The country has already tapped almost all the mass scale hydropower generation capacities and now focused on small scale hydropower generators and the other regenerative methods for power generation.
Opening the country's first community hydropower plant, which generates 18 kilowatt in Kaduaruwandola, Athuraliya, the Minister pointed out that small scale hydropower projects provide great assistance by adding to the national grid to supply electricity to rural areas.
The Minister said that the private sector has implemented around 100 mini-hydropower projects in Sri Lanka.
Ceylon Electricity Board has identified around 600 small scale hydropower projects which are capable of adding around 500 MW of power to the national grid.
Coalition party of Sri Lankan government to file a case to abolish 13th amendment
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 10, Colombo: Sri Lanka's government coalition party National Freedom Front (NFF) says the party will file a case in the Supreme Court against the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The NFF will request the courts to abolish the provincial councils established in line with the 13th Amendment.
The case is to be filed in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on Monday. NFF sources say that nationalist lawyers S.L. Gunasekera, Gomin Dayasiri and Kapila Gamage are to appear for the case.
NFF leader Minister Wimal Weerawansa told media that the 13th Amendment was passed in 1988 going against the Constitution.
NFF recently joined hands with the nationalist party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and held a joint press conference to mobilize people to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
REJOICE! Another LTTE murderer BITES THE DUST ... killed by his other gang members!
Manna from Heaven!
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Top LTTE figure in France shot dead
DailyMirror.lk
November 09, 2012
A prominent LTTE leader and leader of the Pro-LTTE Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC) in France Nadarajah Matheenthiran alias Parithy was shot dead in Paris, France as a result of internal rift, informed sources said.
Sources said that Parithy belonged to LTTE's Nediyavan faction. Since the death of Prabhakaran an internal rift occurred between LTTE Europe Leader Nediyawan and V. Rudrakumaran who was also a prominent LTTE leader based in USA.
Meanwhile AFP reported a Sri Lankan man was shot dead in Paris late Thursday, a police source said.
The murder may be an example of violence within the Sri Lankan community, though no line of investigation has been ruled out, the source added.
The victim, in his fifties and known to the police, was hit by gunfire from an unknown assailant in eastern Paris.
He died shortly afterwards, the police source said.
A hunt has been launched for the killer who fled the scene.
REJOICE!
"The President has meanwhile said that a change in the prevailing Provincial Council system which was based on the 13th Amendment is necessary to make devolution more meaningful to the people."
But, let us not merely CHANGE it;
Let us REPEAL it FULLY, and get rid of PCs altogether!
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Sri Lanka Opposition Leader holds discussion with governing party ally on 13th Amendment
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 10, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe today held a discussion with governing party ally the National Freedom Front (NFF) on the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
Wickremasinghe met with NFF Leader and Minister Wimal Weerawansa in the parliamentary complex to discuss the call by the NFF to abolish the 13th Amendment.
The NFF group led by Weerawansa has told the UNP that the 13th Amendment needed to be repealed.
The UNP representatives while not opposing the repeal of the Amendment has opined that a different solution was required.
Wickremasinghe has however said that the final decision on the party's stance on the 13th Amendment issue would be decided at the next UNP convention.
UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake and the Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga were also present at the discussion.
The NFF led by Weerawansa and the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) have formed an alliance to pressure the government to abolish the 13th Amendment.
The President has meanwhile said that a change in the prevailing Provincial Council system which was based on the 13th Amendment is necessary to make devolution more meaningful to the people.
So, what EXACTLY does this mean?
That Provincial Council System will remain as centers of separation, but less power will be devolved?
Half-way measures won't do.
Get rid of the 13th Amendment and the PC system in one fell swoop!
AWAY with this FOREIGN IMPOSED BALL & CHAIN shackling Mother Lanka.
PULL IT OUT OF Sri Lanka's Constitution by leaf, branch, trunk and root!
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Sri Lanka's provincial council system needs changes for more meaningful devolution - President
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 09, Colombo: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that a change in the prevailing Provincial Council system is necessary to make devolution more meaningful to the people.
Delivering his 2013 budget speech in the parliament Thursday, the President has noted that devolution should not be a political reform that will lead the country to separation but a mechanism that would unify the country.
"Instead it should be a one that unifies all of us," the President noted.
The provincial council system should not involve high spending and complex governance structures that will impose further burden on people, President Rajapaksa stressed.
While acknowledging that government's overall development strategy has strengthened new economies in each province and supported revenue needs of Provincial Councils, the President pointed out that Provincial Councils need to adopt a single uniform levy in place of all taxes, fees, charges and levies to simplify the provincial revenue administration to facilitate business development.
The President has added that devolution should not involve high spending and complex governance structures that will impose further burden on people.
The elimination of provincial disparities using national standards is the main weapon through which national reconciliation can be promoted, the President stressed.
Referring to the Northern Provincial Council election, President Rajapaksa noted that the government was committed to conducting the election in the North.
"We remain firmly committed to conduct Provincial Council Elections next year, to facilitate democratic representations to promote peace and development," the President assured.
We PATRIOTS of Sri Lanka HOPE & PRAY that this Indian IMPOSED BALL & CHAIN shackling Mother Lanka, and compromising its Territorial Integrity, National Security, and Sovereignty will be REPEALED as SOON AS POSSIBLE.
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India-mediated 13th Amendment on its way out?
By R. K. Radhakrishnan
In the strongest indication yet that Sri Lanka is having a serious rethink on the India-mediated concept of autonomy for provinces in the country, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, announced in parliament on Thursday that “a change in the prevailing Provincial Council system is necessary to make devolution more meaningful” to people.
His announcement comes a few weeks after two coalition partners of the United People’s Freedom Alliance, which rules the country, demanded the scrapping of the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution. The 13th Amendment, incorporated into the Sri Lankan constitution following the Indo-Lanka accord of 1987, granted limited powers to Sri Lanka’s nine provinces.
The Jathika Hela Urumaya (led by Buddhist monks) and National Freedom Front (breakaway group of JVP), both partners of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party-led UPFA have demanded that the amendment be nullified. The professedly-left Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna has also made a similar demand. Adding to this chorus was the country’s Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is also a sibling of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He was quoted in the Island newspaper as saying that the 13th Amendment should go – and timed it to coincide with the New Delhi visit of leaders of the Tamil National Alliance in October.
The TNA sees the amendment as a ray of hope for limited autonomy for the Tamil dominated Northern Province. President Rajapaksa had announced through The Hindu that the elections to the Northern Province – the only one without an elected council – will be held by September 2013.
President’s reasoning
“Devolution should not be a political reform that will lead us to separation but instead it should be one that unifies all of us,” in an apparent reference to the events that followed after Varadaraja Perumal was elected Chief Minister. Mr. Perumal declared the creation of Tamil Eelam in the merged North-Eastern province on March 1, 1990. The then President R. Premadasa dissolved the council and imposed direct rule.
“It should not involve high spending and complex governance structures that will impose further burden on people. Everybody who met me from all corners of Sri Lanka whether they were Tamils, Muslims or Sinhalese, asked for greater access to education, health, employment opportunities, better living and equal standards across the nation. The elimination of provincial disparities using national standards is the main weapon through which national reconciliation can be promoted. This Government remains committed to ensure that these aspirations of our people will be fulfilled,” he told the parliament, and invited the Leader of the Opposition, Ranil Wickramasinghe, the TNA and the JVP to help in “constructively” solving problems confronted by our people.
Change in Indian stand?
There appears to be a shift in the Indian stand towards Sri Lanka, as seen in Geneva early this week. While in its opening remarks during the Universal Periodic Review on Sri Lanka, India highlighted the need to expand on the 13th Amendment, early Northern Provincial council elections, and related issues, none of this figures in the ‘interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review.’ “India looked forward to speedy resolution of the residual issues in resettlement and rehabilitation. It called for credible investigations into allegations in the LLRC report. It noted the action plan for time-bound implementation of LLRC recommendations,” it said.
Sri Lanka MUST DO EVERYTHING Humanly Possible to save the wild elephants.
They are an Important Part of our National Pride and Heritage, no less than our People who inhabit our country.
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Sri Lanka to erect 1,500 km electric fences to prevent man elephant conflicts
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 10, Colombo: Sri Lanka Deputy Minister of Agrarian Services and Wildlife S.M. Chandrasena says that electric fences covering 1,500 kilometers will be built soon to prevent the man-elephant conflicts.
The Deputy Minister said that the construction would be conducted urgently under the guidance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa under whose direct purview the Ministry of Wildlife functions.
The construction of electric fences aims to prevent crop damage by elephants and also to save the lives of the wild elephants from the farmers' attacks.
Recently the wildlife authorities and police arrested a man for electrocuting an elephant with a home-made device.
The Deputy Minister further stated that the 40,000- strong Civil Defence Force would assist the Ministry in construction.
The Ministry has also taken steps to repair tanks in forest reserves for elephants to find water easily.
The Minister further said that an insurance scheme would also be implemented to provide relief in case of death, injury or crop damage in man-elephant conflicts.
A 19th Amendment to DEVOLVE POWER to "Provinces" as described in this article, is STILL the WRONG SOLUTION.
The BASIC PROBLEM is that Large PROVINCES with DEVOLVED POWERS can UNDERMINE the CENTRAL Govt Powers, and PROMOTE Separatism.
The CORRECT SOLUTION is to ELIMINATE PROVINCES as Administrative Units COMPLETELY, and NOT DEVOLVE POWER to large administrative regions with Ethno-Religious COMMUNAL Majorities.
We don't want the Provincial Council System to be RECONSTITUTED in ANOTHER DISGUISE!
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19th Amendment to Sri Lanka Constitution to devolve power under consideration
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 11, Colombo: Sri Lanka government is considering to introduce a 19th Amendment to the Constitution as a solution to the current national issue of power devolution while the momentum to abolish the India-doctored 13th Amendment is gathering momentum.
The government is currently preparing a draft amendment, legally termed as the 19th Amendment, as an alternative to the 13th Amendment.
The draft amendment will be presented to the parliamentary select committee that has been proposed to formulate a solution to the current ethnic issue, government sources revealed.
The campaign in Sri Lanka to repeal the provincial council system brought into existence by the 13th Amendment is receiving support from government allies and recently the National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader and Housing and Construction Minister Wimal Weerawansa, joined by the nationalist party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), called on the government to take firm steps to repeal the 13th Amendment.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his Budget speech last Thursday indicated that a change in the prevailing Provincial Council system is necessary to make devolution more meaningful to the people.
The President noted that devolution should not be a political reform that will lead the country to separation but a mechanism that would unify the country.
Ranil Wickremasinghe, the leader of the opposition and the United National Party (UNP), yesterday held a meeting with Minister Weerawansa to discuss the call by the NFF to abolish the 13th Amendment.
During the meeting the UNP representatives including General Secretary Tissa Attanayake and the Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga, while not opposing the repeal of the Amendment, have opined that a different solution was required.
The 19th Amendment under works now will include options for the devolution of power and will replace the 13th Amendment to eliminate the existing provincial council system.
The government has meanwhile renewed its invitation to the major Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance, to participate in the PSC to discuss the change to the Constitution. The government has said that it is ready to allow more time for TNA to take a final decision on the process.
TOO BAD that the GOSL allowed this MURDERER to LIVE for SO LONG in a Foreign Country without EXTRADITING him to Sri Lanka to serve his PENANCE!
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Parithy, one of Sri Maha Bodhi attackers
by Manjula FERNANDO
DailyNews.lk
November 11, 2012
The LTTE leader, Parithy, killed in France on Friday was a member of the terrorist group that carried out the Sri Maha Bodhi attack where 146 Buddhist devotees and bhikkhus were massacred on May 14, 1985, Head of International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Prof. Rohan Gunaratna said.
According to intelligence sources, Parithy a supporter of the LTTE Nediyawan faction had been killed by the Vinayagam faction which is now aligned with US based lawyer Rudrakumaran of the TETG.
“Vinayagam wants to capture power from Nediyawan who controls all TCCs, Tamil youth organisations and other LTTE fronts,” he said adding that splits and infighting became pronounced after Velupillai Prabhakaran’s death.
Parithy, whose real name is Nadarajh Matheenthiran and known by the alias Reagan in Sri Lanka was appointed Head of LTTE in France in 2003 by Nediyawan who lives in Norway.
“Operating under the cover of the Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC), France he had engaged in crime including extortion and also had connections with the Global Tamil Forum under Rev. Fr. S.J. Emmanuel.
Prof. Gunaratna said, ‘Parithy had received terrorist training in Himachal Pradesh, India in 1984. He had participated in several terrorist attacks within Sri Lanka before fleeing to South India in 1990 after being injured by the IPKF’.
Lanka exports tractors to Swazilandhttp://www.sundayobserver.lk/2012/11/11/new20.asp
SundayObserver.lk
November 11, 2012
A Sri Lankan company has shipped 40 tractors to Swaziland, which are designed to cost less, but help farmers get optimal crop production.
Swaziland King Mswati III was presented with one of the tractors by the company, which has already opened a manufacturing and assembly factory in the African nation.
The project by the EDNA Group is one of the fruits of the Swazi King's recent visit to Sri Lanka. Their local branch is situated at the Matsapha Industrial Site.
Chairman of the EDNA Group Lal Edirisinghe said a new tractor costs E23,000. When it comes with components, which includes a planter, plough, dresser and others, it costs about E39,000.
The King was shown the tractor at the Lozitha Palace where he appreciated it.
"We have already shipped 40 tractors to Swaziland and 100 are on the way. For now we will be specialising in the assembly plant, but soon we will also start the manufacturing plant."
He said the tractor could be used even as a water pump as well as an electric generator.Swaziland Investment Promotion Agency (SIPA) acting Chief Executive Officer Phumelele Dlamini said farmers were encouraged to buy the tractors as they are cost-effective and can be used for many purposes.
Sri Lanka, China to boost defense ties
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 11, Beijing: Sri Lanka and China have pledged to enhance the defense relations between the two countries and their militaries during a meeting of their top officials.
Sri Lankan Secretary of Defence and Urban Development Ministry Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is visiting China to attend the 9th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in the southern city of Zhuhai, met with the Chinese Defense Minister General Liang Guanglie on Sunday.
During a meeting in Beijing, the two top officials have pledged to boost the relations between the two countries and their militaries, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
General Liang during his visit to Sri Lanka in late August signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Secretary Rajapaksa to grant about 1.56 billion rupees (Chinese Yuan 75 million) to construct a state-of-the-art auditorium complex at Sri Lanka Military Academy (SLMA) in Diyatalawa.
China is providing US$ 100 million (Rs. 13.2 billion) for army welfare projects initiated by the Ministry of Defence to set up accommodation and infrastructure facilities in army camps in the north and east.
China has also announced a grant of US$ 1.5 million for modernization of the Defense Services College in Colombo for children of security forces personnel and the police.
My Comment at LankaWeb.com:
Lorenzo,
Yes, we should not PRE-JUDGE the 19th Amendment without knowing its factual content. NEVERTHELESS, we can CLEARLY ARTICULATE what it should not do.
For example, I STRONGLY DISAGREE with the statement that “The draft amendment will be presented to the parliamentary select committee that has been proposed to formulate a solution to the current ethnic issue, government sources revealed.”
The very NOTION that a solution to “the ethnic issue” can be found within a Constitutional Amendment that devolves power, apparently to ethnic minorities, is an ABSOLUTE DEMONSTRABLE FALLACY; it would only EXACERBATE not only ETHNIC but also RELIGIOUS DIVISIONS.
Constitutional Amendments should NEITHER RECOGNIZE, NOR attempt to “SOLVE” real or imagined ETHNO-RELIGIOUS ISSUES by DEVOLVING POWER to Administrative Regions with Large ETHNO-RELIGIOUS Majorities. That is the same objection we had to the 13th Amendment; it divides the people according to community, it undermines the Central Government that is the glue that holds the country together, and Promotes Separatism arising from racism, religious bigotry, foreign influence, and personal ambition of greedy power-hungry individuals.
That is, Government Administration at National and Local levels should be BLIND to COMMUNAL differences. Sri Lankan CITIZENSHIP should be the ONLY BASIS for allocation of the BENEFITS of EQUAL CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS, and the EQUAL RESPONSIBILITY/DUTY due from citizens to the country, and to other citizens.
The statement that “ethnic issues” can be resolved by “devolution of power” to any unit of local government is a DESTRUCTIVE MISCONCEPTION that cannot be corrected through further tuning of the Constitution. That CONCEPTUAL misunderstanding is as the HEART OF OUR OPPOSITION to Constitutional attempts to solve Communal issues. Communal problems WILL DISAPPEAR when the GOSL ceases to accept the FLAWED NOTION that communal problems can be solved by FURTHER EMBEDDING different rights and different responsibilities to different communities living in different regions of thye country through the Constitution. That is EMPOWERMENT and EXACERBATION of the DIFFERENCES, not the BINDING TOGETHER and UNIFYING the People through their shared needs, benefits, rights and responsibilities.
Therefore, the GOSL, and the Constitution, should UNAMBIGUOUSLY DECLARE the following Guiding Principle: “Sri Lanka will not assign different RIGHTS and RESPONSIBILITIES of its Citizens on the basis of their different COMMUNAL CHARACTERISTICS.”
Let Communal Diversity, CELEBRATING COMMUNAL differences, reign in the PRIVATE SPHERE in the Private Lives and Homes of Citizens!
Let National Citizenship, CELEBRATING SHARED EQUAL RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES, reign in the PUBLIC SPHERE of Governance!
Therefore, it is IMPORTANT to ARTICULATE what the 19th Amendment should, or should not, attempt to do, before it gets RIGIDLY CAST IN THE IRON OF INFLEXIBLE POLITICAL EGOS.
What struck me the most about the 2012 US Presidential Elections, was how DOWNRIGHT WRONG the pollsters were.
Republican prognosticators like Carl Rove, George Wills, Newt Gingrich predicted a Romney win by at lest 6 percentage points in popular votes and 300 electoral votes. They fooled themselves with their own bias.
Democratic pollster predicted a small win, with Obama squeaking through only by few percentage points in popular vote.
Only ONE young man using novel mathematical algorithms to statistically analyze ALL available polls predicted a substantial win for Obama.
As we now know, ONLY his predictions were borne out: Obama won the popular vote by over 6 percentage points, and 332 electoral votes in comparison to Romney's tally of 206.
The US voters should now ponder how they can hold these blind pontifical prognosticators of election results responsible for their flawed predictions.
It seems to me, as a keen wit once quipped, that "Bookies are Morally Superior to Pundits as Predictors of the Future: Bookies have to pay for their mistakes, while Political Pundits escape scot-free!"
Sri Lanka, China to boost defense ties
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 11, Beijing: Sri Lanka and China have pledged to enhance the defense relations between the two countries and their militaries during a meeting of their top officials.
Sri Lankan Secretary of Defence and Urban Development Ministry Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is visiting China to attend the 9th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in the southern city of Zhuhai, met with the Chinese Defense Minister General Liang Guanglie on Sunday.
During a meeting in Beijing, the two top officials have pledged to boost the relations between the two countries and their militaries, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
General Liang during his visit to Sri Lanka in late August signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Secretary Rajapaksa to grant about 1.56 billion rupees (Chinese Yuan 75 million) to construct a state-of-the-art auditorium complex at Sri Lanka Military Academy (SLMA) in Diyatalawa.
China is providing US$ 100 million (Rs. 13.2 billion) for army welfare projects initiated by the Ministry of Defence to set up accommodation and infrastructure facilities in army camps in the north and east.
China has also announced a grant of US$ 1.5 million for modernization of the Defense Services College in Colombo for children of security forces personnel and the police.
The BBC should not stop its APOLOGIES there; it should APOLOGIZE to Sri Lanka for its INCESTOUS collaboration with Eelamist Tamil TERRORISTS in ABUSING Sri Lanka of War Crimes, in the GUISE of REPUTABLE JOURNALISM.
FOLLOW the MONEY TRAIL to get to the ROOT of the INCEST!
Inbred PAEDOPHILIA is BAD; aiding & abetting TERRORISM is FAR WORSE!
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BBC director general resigns over 'shoddy journalism'
By Michael Holden
November 10, 2012
LONDON (Reuters) - BBC Director General George Entwistle resigned on Saturday, just two months into the job, after the state-funded broadcaster put out a programme denounced by the corporation's chairman as shoddy journalism.
The BBC, reeling from revelations that one of its former stars was a paedophile, brought further problems on its head when a flagship news programme aired a mistaken allegation that a former senior politician sexually abused children.
The BBC had already issued a full apology on Friday, but on Saturday its director general had to admit under questioning from his own journalists that he had not known in advance about the Newsnight report, weeks after being accused of being too hands-off over the previous scandal on the same programme.
Accepting Entwistle's resignation, BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten said: "This is undoubtedly one of the saddest evenings of my public life.
"At the heart of the BBC is its role as a trusted global news organisation.
"As the editor-in-chief of that organisation, George has very honourably offered us his resignation because of the unacceptable mistakes -- the unacceptable shoddy journalism -- which has caused us so much controversy."
Entwistle quit after strong criticism over the Newsnight programme.
"I listened to the director general with increasing disbelief," John Whittingdale, chairman of parliament's powerful media committee, told Reuters. "The level of failure of management at every level within the BBC, up to and including the director general, is just extraordinary."
The BBC and its bosses have been under huge pressure since a rival broadcaster carried charges last month that the late Jimmy Savile, one of the most recognisable personalities on British television in the 1970s and 80s, was a prolific sex offender.
EXPOSE WITHDRAWN
Suggestions have surfaced of a paedophile ring inside the broadcaster at the time and a BBC cover-up. To complicate matters for Entwistle, Newsnight pulled a planned expose of Savile shortly after his death last year, and the BBC went ahead with tribute shows.
Having been widely criticised for not broadcasting that expose, which led to its editor stepping aside, Newsnight is now being lambasted for its November 2 report on sexual abuse at children's care homes in North Wales during the 1970s.
Steve Messham, a witness, told Newsnight that a senior Conservative had raped him when he was a child in one of the homes.
Newsnight did not identify the politician, but the name of Alistair McAlpine, Conservative Party treasurer from 1975 to 1990 during Margaret Thatcher's premiership, quickly appeared on the Internet and social media sites.
On Friday, McAlpine went public to rigorously deny the allegations and threaten legal action.
Hours later, Messham said he had misidentified McAlpine to Newsnight. The programme admitted it had not approached McAlpine for a comment, or shown Messham a picture of McAlpine, before airing the report.
Castigated for what he agreed was a slow response to the Savile disclosures, Entwistle demanded a report on the incident by Sunday and suspended all Newsnight investigations.
The erroneous Newsnight report had been cleared by senior managers and lawyers, and commentators queried why Entwistle had been kept in the dark in the wake of the furore over Savile.
(Editing by Stephen Powell)
The TERRORISTS of the JVP were just as BAD as the TERRORISTS of the LTTE.
Hero Worship of Murderous Terrorist Leaders such as Rohana Wijeweera should be banned just as the Glorification of the Arch Murderer Velupillai Prabhakaran should be BANNED!
...............
Sri Lanka Marxists to hold 23rd November Hero Commemoration
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 11, Colombo: Sri Lanka Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) prepares to hold the 23rd commemoration of its late leader Rohana Wijeweera and others died in the 1987-90 insurrection.
The November Hero remembrance ceremony will be held in the Viharamahadevi Open Air Theatre, in Colombo in in the afternoon on November 13th.
JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe and the General Secretary Tilvin Silva will deliver the keynote addresses at the commemoration ceremony.
A book on JVP history from 1965 to 1994 is also to be launched at this function.
Meanwhile, the breakaway Frontline Socialist Party has also planned to hold a November Hero Commemoration on November 13 at Henry Pedris Ground in Colombo.
JVP founder Rohana Wijeweera was killed by Sri Lankan police on November 13, 1989.
Lanka now wants to clip wings of provincial councils
By P K Balachandran
NewIndianExpress.com
November 12, 2012
The Sri Lankan Government would ask the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), which is to be set up to draft a new devolution package, to ‘drastically’ prune the powers of the Provincial Councils (PCs), a source close to the regime told Express here on Sunday.
The government would not go to the extent of abolishing the PCs, which were set up at New Delhi’s instance following the India-Sri Lanka Accord of July 1987, but it was bent on pruning the powers of the PCs drastically to rid them of features which abridged the powers of the national parliament and the directly elected Executive President, the source said.
The 13th Amendment and the Provincial Councils (PC) Act of 1987 had placed several constraints on parliament’s ability to make laws on subjects devolved to the provinces.
They also curbed the powers of the provincial Governor who was supposedly an agent of the Centre. The Sri Lankan Centre was not given the powers that the Indian Centre had vis-a-vis the States to curb separatism and misrule. The Sri Lankan Centre’s hands were tied by prohibitions and the cumbersome procedure of passing laws with a two-thirds majority and, in some cases, through a referendum.
The source said the government was afraid that a Tamil-dominated Northern Province ruled by the “separatist” Tamil National Alliance (TNA) might spin out of control and make unacceptable demands on the Centre. The fear that India and Tamil Nadu might collude with TNA to destabilise Sri Lanka again (as they did in the 1980s) was very much there, he added.
The source said that the Rajapaksa government was keen on having the Provincial Councils Act amended before the Northern Provincial elections scheduled for late 2013. To enable this, the PSC would be constituted soon, whether or not the Tamil National Alliance joined it, the source added.
The Mahinda Rajapaksa government has a two-thirds majority in parliament needed to amend the constitution. And, as Basil Rajapaksa, the powerful Economic Development Minister in Lanka, has said the government is ready for a referendum too.
PRUNING PC POWERS is NOT ENOUGH! Separatist ENTITIES have an INHERENT Historical Tendency to ACCRUE Power, by Bribery, Blackmail, Deceit and Treason.
GET RID OF the 13th Amendment by Leaf, Branch, Trunk and Root! We don't want to fight this battle FOREVER!
DON'T PLACATE Sri Lanka's internal and external enemies by RE-INTRODUCING the 13-A in ANOTHER DISGUISE to DEVOLVE POWER to SEPARATION-PRONE Minorities in lightly populated, large PROVINCES of the country.
DON'T SETUP ADDITIONAL Layers of Governance that will UNDERMINE Central Government's DUTY TO PROTECT the Integrity, Security and Sovereignty of the Nation.
AVOID the URGE to IMPOSE unnecessary, unwieldy, costly, centers of separation staffed by useless highly-paid bureaucratic bunglers upon the heads of long-suffering Sri Lankan taxpayers! ENOUGH Bureaucracy ALREADY!
DO PERMANENTLY station the Sri Lanka Defence Forces in the North & East, and ALL around the country, to DEFEND & PROTECT and DEVELOP National Infrastructure.
Remember, Allied Forces STILL OCCUPY EUROPE in the GUISE of the NATO, not only to DETER external enemies in Eastern Europe, but also to PREVENT Fascists from RAISING their UGLY HEADS again in Western Europe! What is GOOD for the Allied GOOSE, should be GREAT for the Sri Lankan gander, as well !
Congenital IDIOCY as GOSL Policy MUST STOP someday, somewhere.
GET RID OF the 13-A without REINTRODUCING IT in a ANOTHER GUISE; DO IT NOW, than RUE the FAILURE LATER!
..............................
Lanka now wants to clip wings of provincial councils
By P K Balachandran
NewIndianExpress.com
November 12, 2012
The Sri Lankan Government would ask the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), which is to be set up to draft a new devolution package, to ‘drastically’ prune the powers of the Provincial Councils (PCs), a source close to the regime told Express here on Sunday.
The government would not go to the extent of abolishing the PCs, which were set up at New Delhi’s instance following the India-Sri Lanka Accord of July 1987, but it was bent on pruning the powers of the PCs drastically to rid them of features which abridged the powers of the national parliament and the directly elected Executive President, the source said.
The 13th Amendment and the Provincial Councils (PC) Act of 1987 had placed several constraints on parliament’s ability to make laws on subjects devolved to the provinces.
They also curbed the powers of the provincial Governor who was supposedly an agent of the Centre. The Sri Lankan Centre was not given the powers that the Indian Centre had vis-a-vis the States to curb separatism and misrule. The Sri Lankan Centre’s hands were tied by prohibitions and the cumbersome procedure of passing laws with a two-thirds majority and, in some cases, through a referendum.
The source said the government was afraid that a Tamil-dominated Northern Province ruled by the “separatist” Tamil National Alliance (TNA) might spin out of control and make unacceptable demands on the Centre. The fear that India and Tamil Nadu might collude with TNA to destabilise Sri Lanka again (as they did in the 1980s) was very much there, he added.
The source said that the Rajapaksa government was keen on having the Provincial Councils Act amended before the Northern Provincial elections scheduled for late 2013. To enable this, the PSC would be constituted soon, whether or not the Tamil National Alliance joined it, the source added.
The Mahinda Rajapaksa government has a two-thirds majority in parliament needed to amend the constitution. And, as Basil Rajapaksa, the powerful Economic Development Minister in Lanka, has said the government is ready for a referendum too.
If the 13th Amendment is MEANINGLESS, as the TNA has pronounced in the past (see SO article below), WHY should REPEAL of the 13-A damage Sri Lanka?
If the TNA can't get its OWN STORY STRAIGHT; how can it expect ANYONE ELSE to keep a STRAIGHT FACE observing its antics ?
The 13th Amendment is MEANINGLESS ... we AGREE!
REPEAL the 13-A; REPEAL it NOW!
...................................
13 A meaningless, we rejected it – TNA MP
SundayObserver.lk
www.sundayobserver.lk/2012/11/18/pol01.asp
Sajin questions Sumanthiran’s double standards :
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran admitted that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is ‘meaningless’ and that the TNA had rejected it right from the start.
Parliamentarian Sumanthiran made this statement in Parliament on November 9, though it was not highlighted in the media. “The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution is something that we had rejected right through as being meaningless,” the TNA Member of Parliament told the House.
UPFA parliamentarian Sajin De Vass Gunawardena questioned Sumanthiran on the TNA’s stance on the 13th Amendment, on the same day. But Sumanthiran interrupted Gunawardena. Vass Gunawardena told Parliament on Friday that he would be making a statement on Sumanthiran’s views expressed on November 9 and requested Sumanthiran to be present in Parliament on Saturday (17). When Vass Gunawardena questioned the TNA MP’s double standards and raised questions on his stance during the second reading of the Budget 2013 yesterday, Sumanthiran was not present in the Chamber.
Though Sumanthiran was present in the Parliament Lobby, he evaded facing Vass Gunawardena and answering questions on the TNA’s stance on the 13th Ammendment.
MP Vass Gunawardena said the TNA has not been united in finding a solution to the aspirations of the Tamils as various MPs express different views from time to time. “Sumanthiran tells one thing and his leader R. Sampanthan tells another. Until they are united, it will be difficult to find a solution to the problems of the people in the North and the East,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sumanthiran had even demanded the abolition of the 13th Amendment since it is meaningless.
“If not, there will be no purpose in the 13th Amendment remaining in the statute books and it can be abolished,” he wrote to the blog dbsjeyeraj.com on October 28, 2012.
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