Colombo,
March 18, 2013
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa declaring open the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport said today the airport is a massive investment on behalf of the future generation of the country.
President Rajapaksa commissioned the airport with his arrival in a special SriLankan Airlines flight named as "City of Ruhunu Magampura" with First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa and other dignitaries.
After unveiling a plaque to mark the opening and signing the golden book as the first visitor, the President accompanied by ministers and other officials inspected all the facilities of the airport. A Minister of Posts Jeevan Kumaratunga issued a commemorative stamp and a first day cover to mark the opening of airport.
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Addressing local and foreign representatives and the guests who had arrived for the inauguration of the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, President Rajapaksa briefed the development of the airport built with China's financial assistance and explained that when aircraft start landing at the Mattala Airport, a growth in the area and the country will take place.
The international Airport will become an asset to build Sri Lanka's image in the world by staging Sports Festivals as well as international conferences, the President pointed out.
The Mattala Airport is located in the vicinity of the Hambantota Port and the Hambantota International Cricket Stadium and is in close proximity to the Yala National Park, Udawalawe Elephant reserve and several religious and historic places.
Pointing out that there will be critics the President said the posterity will respond to them when they reap benefits and people and the region would be benefited from the investment.
"We have been criticized for taking loans to build this airport, it (the loan) was not for consumption but to build infrastructure," he said.
President Rajapaksa expressed his appreciation to China for the financial support given by the Export and Imports Bank of China to construct the airport at a cost of US$ 209 million.
Chairman of Airport and Aviation Services Limited Prasanna Wickramasuriya says the need of a second international airport was a long felt requirement of the country. Although the Katunayake airport has a passenger capacity of 6 million it has handled more than 8 million passengers last year.
A flight of Sharjah-based budget carrier Air Arabia landed at the airport making it the first international airline to reach the Mattala Airport. A Dubai Airlines flight also landed at the airport today.
Civil Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayaratne said number of international airlines will commence their flights to Mattala from tomorrow. The airport will become the aviation maintenance hub of South Asia, he added.
Germany's Lufthansa Aviation has agreed to establish an international aviation maintenance service at the Mattala airport premises at a cost of US$ 87 million. The Cabinet has approved the project.
(Photos by Sudath Silva)
23 comments:
Bravo, Mr. President!
May Sri Lanka go from strength to strength under your guidance and become, in time, the Light of Asia it was always meant to be!
The NEXT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT should be built in Trincomalee, not Jaffna nor Batticaloa.
Trincomalee should be developed as the ECONOMIC HUB of the NorthEast to exploit its superb harbour and to support future industrial infrastructure in shipbuilding, petroleum storage and processing, and value-added agriculture and fisheries industries centered on this the region.
An added benefit is that there is space available in Trincomalee that is unavailable elsewhere.
Bravo!
Future Expressways should connect Colombo to Kandy, Kandy to Anuradhapura, Anuradhapura to Trincomalee, and Anuradhapura to Jaffna.
Subsequently, this network should be linked to Kurunegala and Puttlam, and to Batticaloa.
These Expressways should link to and become parts of two future continuous LOOP BELTWAYS that run along the Coastline of Sri Lanka, and midway between the coast and the hill country as follows:
1. A COASTAL BELTWAY to COMPLETE the linking of all major COASTAL CITIES together. Katunayake-Colombo-HGalle-Hambantota part will sooon be extended to Kataragama. It should be further extended to Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Puttlam, Negombo to Colombo
2. An interior Beltway linking the cities of Kegalle, Ratnapura, Nuwara Eliya, Moneragala, Dambulla and Kurunegala.
The basic idea is to provide an Expressway network of roads for rapid travel between the major cities, by building a road network in the form of a wheel with two express-beltways linked by spoke-like radial expressways.
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Expressway from Sri Lanka's Katunayake airport to capital to be opened in August
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Mar 18, Colombo: A new expressway linking Sri Lanka's main international airport in Katunayake to Colombo will be ready to open in August, the Economic Development Ministry said Monday.
The 26 kilometer-long Katunayake - Kelaniya Expressway built at a cost of US$ 291 million under the direction of President Mahinda Rajapaksa is part of the highway network connecting the already functioning Southern Expressway, proposed Northern Expressway and the Colombo Outer Circular Highway that is under construction.
When completed the road network will provide fast and easy access to the country's north and south and will avoid traffic when reaching the capital Colombo.
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa recently inspected the Katunayake - Kelaniya Expressway and instructed the relevant officials to plant trees native to Sri Lanka on either side of the road after conserving the marshy lands on both sides of the expressway and cleaning the Dutch Canal.
The Minister noted that the true benefits of the Southern and Colombo-Katunayake Expressways can be reaped only after the completion of the Northern Expressway the initial work on which has already begun.
The Northern Expressway will be constructed in three stages - the first from Enderamulla to Ambepussa, the second from Meerigama to Pellandeniya and the third from Ambepussa to Kandy.
The Minister has said that the planning has to be done causing the least damage to human settlements and the natural environment.
The technical report on the expressway construction, the environmental report, surveying the area, geological aspects and the resettlement of people who will be displaced as a result of land acquisition for the purpose are now being studied since the project is expected to meet the needs that would arise by 2030.
The FANATICS are not only at the FRINGE, but at the CENTER of Politics in Tamil Nadu as well.
They range from Chief Minister Jayalalitha (AIADMK), former CM Karunanidhi (DMK), and other political demagogues like Ramadoss, Vaiko ad inifinitum, ad nauseam.
All Indians should realize that TODAY these RACIST DEMANDS are being made against Sri Lanka; TOMORROW they will be uised against North Indians to separate DRAVIDAS NADU from India itself.
The whole show TODAY is being orchestrated by the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora in search of an Eelam in Sri Lanka. They are laying the gropundwork to destabilize and ultimately to DISRUPT India itself, because of their RACIST belief that DRAVIDA NADU must separate itself from ARYAN NORTH INDIA in order to thrive.
ALSO KNOW THIS: The current AGENDA against Sri Lanka will never succeed, not as long as one Sinhalese survives in Sri Lanka.
We Sinhalese, because of our Buddhist Culture and Beliefs that largely eliminated caste discrimination in Sri Lanka, have willingly granted equal citizenship rights to ALL Tamils in Sri Lanka irrespective of whether they are the so-called "Sri Lankan Tamils" or the so-called "Indian Tamils".
NO Sri Lankan will be accorded any SPECIAL EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS on the basis of communal attributes, such as race, religion, language, caste, or sex.
Accordingly, NO PART OF Sri Lanka will be given Any Sub-National Autonomy on Any Basis. It is too Dangurous to the Integrity and Survival of Sri Lanka as ONE NATION.
Every adult citizen is enfranchised to freely elect their candidates to the National Parliament. Beyond that, Sri Lanka will not be sliced and diced into a patchwork of Communal Bantustans for RACIST DEMAGOGUES to live discriminating against others in magnificent isolation. If India wants to do that ... that is India's own funeral ... we want no part of it. India will come to regret these communal policies as it inexorably hurtles towards disintegration in the future.
Indian Tamils, Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora can bay at the moon for an EELAM in Sri Lanka until HELL BOILS OVER ... BUT the MAJORITY OF PEOPLE in Sri Lanka will NEVER ALLOW it.
So, Give up this QUEST. Neither India, the UN, nor the Western Neocolonialists fishing in troubled waters in Sri Lanka to benefit their own geo-political agendas WILL NOT SUCCEED.
The Sinhala people of Sri Lanka have fought this battle over and over again for three thousand years ... and we have not given up.
WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP!
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Mindless solidarity
The Hindu
March 19, 2013
A fanatic fringe seems intent on hijacking the protest movement in Tamil Nadu against Sri Lanka’s treatment of its Tamil citizens.
Mindless solidarity
.....Continued 1.....
With the terrorist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam no longer in the picture, large sections of the people in Tamil Nadu have begun to openly sympathise with the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka. But, even as the protest movement gathers momentum, extremist outfits without any popular base have started carrying out violent attacks on Sri Lankan students and offices. After the ransacking of the Madurai office of Mihin Lanka, which offers cheap flights to Sri Lanka from different cities in Tamil Nadu, activists belonging to some of these outfits assaulted a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk who was part of a student team. Even Sri Lankan Tamils on pilgrimage to India have been at the receiving end of violence by people claiming to represent these outfits. Also, the very same people claiming to champion the rights of Sri Lankan Tamils have sought to paint the troubles of Indian fishermen venturing into Sri Lankan waters in the colours of a Sinhalese-Tamil conflict, though the conflict is essentially between Indian Tamil and Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen over fishing rights and livelihood concerns. Clearly, the efforts of these outfits seem directed at gaining publicity and winning new followers rather than at furthering the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils. Obfuscation of the real issues appears to be part of the overall strategy.
That the protests and attacks have peaked at a time when a resolution on human rights abuses by the Sri Lankan military toward the end of the war with the LTTE in 2009 is before the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva is certainly no coincidence. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and the principal opposition party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, have been asking the Centre to put pressure on Sri Lanka to punish those responsible for human rights abuses and to honour its responsibilities and commitments to Sri Lankan Tamils. However, the mindless violence of some of the fringe Tamil outfits is putting at risk India’s own moral authority to urge Sri Lanka to move towards a political settlement of the ethnic conflict. India’s approach toward Sri Lanka cannot hinge entirely or even primarily on domestic politics in Tamil Nadu. Those in Tamil Nadu talking of a separate Tamil Eelam as a solution seem to have no clue about the human costs that would be involved in partitioning a country and a people. India must look beyond Tamil Nadu while bringing to bear diplomatic pressure on Sri Lanka and working in coordination with other countries to ensure full and equal rights for Tamils as citizens of a united Sri Lanka.
The Central Government of India will ALWAYS be BLACKMAILED by TAMIL NADU demagogues, and Sri Lanka will ALWAYS pay the price.
It is TIME that the GOSL realizes this FACT OF LIFE and prepares to get Sri Lanka out of India's DEADLY EMBRACE.
Therefore, Sri Lanka should REDUCE its TRADE and ECONOMIC Cooperation with India, halt MILITARY cooperation with India, limit Indian embassies to only the embassy in Colombo, cutoff access by India to the North and East, give up cooperation with India on reconstruction work in the North and East, and DISCOURAGE and LIMIT Indian INVESTMENTS in Sri Lanka.
Reach out towards OTHER POWERS to fill those voids.
Sri Lanka's SURVIVAL is at stake; India is a CONTINUING THREAT to Sri Lanka's survival, we cannot afford to ignore or grow as a cancer within Sri Lanka.
Get Sri Lanka out of INDIA'S DEADLY EMBRACE!
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India should not polarize Sri Lanka - Minister Peiris
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Mar 18, Colombo: India has made an immense contribution to in Sri Lanka's north and it is in India's interest as much as Sri Lanka's to support to achieve stability and not to polarize Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris has said.
Highlighting that India has made massive contributions to the development of the war-affected North by building houses laying railway tracks and helping with agricultural inputs and the creation of livelihoods, the Minister said India has a moral responsibility to support Sri Lanka.
"It is in her interest, no less than in ours, to ensure that there is a stable, long-lasting settlement," the Minister has pointed out in an interview with an Indian English daily Hindustan Times.
"New Delhi must adopt methods that are conducive towards achieving that. To do anything that would polarize an already complex situation would be a mistake," he has said.
ndia should not polarize Sri Lanka - Minister Peiris
......Continued 1.....
Speaking of the US resolution, the Minister has said that not everyone is pursuing Sri Lanka and pointed out that during his recent visit to Japan, the Japanese officials were amazed by the progress Sri Lanka has made in a short period of time since the war ended in May 2009.
He has said the Japanese officials were amazed that thousands of Tamils including 595 LTTE child soldiers have been reintegrated, demining is almost complete and schools are running.
"In how many countries of former conflict -many of whom are supporting the US resolution - have you seen such speedy work?" he has asked.
Responding to the queries on Channel 4 video on alleged Sri Lankan Army war crimes, the Minister has said that Sri Lanka has never refused to examine any new material brought up, even though the past experience with Channel 4 showed that these videos were fakes.
The Minister questioned the timing of Channel 4 material always surfacing when Sri Lanka goes before an international for a like the UNHRC.
"If you have incriminating material, why not put it all up? Why in installments?" he has questioned.
The Minister has expressed displeasure that the UNHRC chief Navanetham Pillay has been biased against Sri Lanka calling for an international investigation and wrongly characterizing the findings of a panel set up by the UN Secretary-General as a UN report to strengthen her case.
"The UN is supposed to be an impartial body," the Minister has said adding that European Union delegations travelled to northern Sri Lanka and came back impressed.
He has revealed that although many members of the delegation have told Sri Lanka that they do not agree with the UNHRC, they have been forced by Brussels to vote against Sri Lanka.
He noted that the UNHRC chief still has not taken Sri Lanka's invitation to visit the country and see for herself the progress made after the war.
"She laid some conditions -which we fulfilled -and promised to come. We are still waiting," he has said.
He has acknowledged that there were atrocities on both sides but finding evidence against the defeated terror outfit LTTE is not easy because during their control of the region they have destroyed most of the evidence, of their brutality.
However, it cannot be a reason for countries critical of Sri Lanka to lay disproportionate emphasis only on the one side, and show no concern for the other.
Much of the existing international law on conflict focuses only on those between states, not on asymmetrical conflicts against non-state actors, he has complained.
Sri Lanka should assume that the US will ultimately do its worst, and go ahead doing what it has to do to protect and defend Sri Lanka's national integrity and Sovereignty.
It is NO USE trying to Placate this Hypocrites trying to mine Sri Lanka's problems for their own geo-political purposes.
NO USE AT ALL!
Sri Lanka should look towards developing alternative trade ties and strengthening its alliances with other friendly nations.
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U.S. presents the toned down resolution on Sri Lanka to the UNHRC
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Mar 19, Colombo: The United States presented the revised version of its resolution 'Promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka' at the 22nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva yesterday before the Monday's deadline.
The U.S. tabled a toned down version of the resolution co-sponsored by 32 countries including the U.S. to the UNHRC expecting the less demanding resolution to get adopted by the Council without much resistance.
U.S. presents the toned down resolution on Sri Lanka to the UNHRC
....Continued 1.....
India, which voted against Sri Lanka last year supporting the U. S. resolution, said yesterday that it would be waiting to see the final draft to declare its stance on the resolution since the Sri Lanka's historic neighbor is under pressure from the pro-Eelam Tamil parties of its Tamil Nadu state to act against Sri Lanka.
The final draft tabled yesterday welcomes and acknowledges the progress made by the Government of Sri Lanka in rebuilding infrastructure, demining, resettling the majority of internally displaced persons, while noting that considerable work need to be done in the areas of justice, reconciliation and resumption of livelihoods.
It welcomed the announcement by the Sri Lankan government to hold elections to the Provincial Council in the Northern Province in September 2013.
The U.S. has dropped the entire call for demanding unfettered access to the Special Rapporteurs on the various disciplines to conduct investigations and instead encouraged the Sri Lankan government to cooperate with special procedures mandate holders and to respond formally to their outstanding requests, including by extending invitations and providing access.
While taking note of the National Plan of Action to implement the recommendations of the government's Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), the resolution says the national plan of action does not adequately address all of the findings and constructive recommendations of the LLRC.
It says the National Plan of Action does not adequately address serious allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law and expresses concern on continuing reports of violations of human rights, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture, and violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, as well as intimidation of and reprisals against human rights defenders, members of civil society and journalists, and threats to judicial independence and the rule of law, and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief.
The revised resolution reiterated its call upon the government of Sri Lanka to effectively implement the constructive recommendations made in the report of the LLRC, and to take all necessary additional steps to fulfill its relevant legal obligations and commitment to initiate credible and independent actions to ensure justice, equity and accountability and reconciliation for all Sri Lankans but stopped short of calling for an investigation into the violations.
However, it encouraged the government to implement the recommendations made in the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and also called upon the government to conduct an independent and credible investigation into allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, as applicable.
The resolution calls upon the government to fulfill its public commitments, including on the devolution of political authority.
The U.S. State Department on Monday said the U.S. is going to move forward in Geneva again and that was no surprise to the Government of Sri Lanka.
The State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said Monday that Secretary Clinton had made it clear to the Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris during their meeting last year in Washington that if Sri Lanka didn't have any progress the U.S. would go forward with the resolution.
GOOD! Hike the duty AGAIN by 300%.
Demolish Trade with India!
Buy goods Made in CHINA!
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Geopolitics may hurt Bajaj in Lanka
By Yuga Chaudhari
DNAIndia.com
Bajaj Auto, India’s biggest two-wheeler exporter, risks a decline in exports to Sri Lanka if the island nation hikes import duties yet again.
Sri Lanka faces a vote at the United Nations Human Rights Council on March 21 over alleged violation of human rights of its ethnic Tamil population and there is a huge political pressure on India to vote against it.
“Last year, when India voted against Sri Lanka, we saw import duties going up and exports to Sri Lanka dropping from 20,000-22,000 units per month in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 to around 8,000-10,000 by end of first quarter of this fiscal,” a Morgan Stanley report said.
Sales have recovered from the April 2012 low and now they are at 15,000 units a month.
About a third of Bajaj Auto’s turnover comes from exports and Sri Lanka is one of its biggest markets.
At its peak, the company used to sell around 10,000 three-wheelers and 10,000 two-wheelers every month in that country.
However, a duty hike last year led to significant demand contraction there.
Indian automakers account for 90% of Sri Lanka’s motorcycle and three-wheeler imports and 30% of car imports.
Sri Lanka exports formed an estimated 7% of Bajaj’s fiscal 2012 revenue and 10% of operating profit.
In fact, the company was also considering to launch its four-wheeler — RE60 — in Sri Lanka before its India debut.
“If the duties are further hiked, then the company might delay the launch of the vehicle. Even if they launch it, volumes may get affected,” said Surjit Singh Arora, analyst with Prabhudas Lilladher.
This could be a double-whammy for Bajaj Auto.
To be sure, domestic motorcycle sales have been flat this fiscal and are not expected to recover soon.
“We are expecting the overall two-wheeler market to grow 7-8% in fiscal 2014 on the higher side,” said Arora.
Motorcycles grew just 0.90% during April-February over the year-ago period.
“Sri Lanka is about 3% of sales and 5% of Ebitda this fiscal and we expect recovery in fiscal 2014 (plus RE60 launch) and Sri Lanka to form 7% of sales and 8-9% of Ebitda,” said the Morgan Stanley report.
“If there is any import duty hike then our earnings could be at risk,” the report cautioned.
“There was an impact last year on our sales when the Sri Lankan government increased duties. We will have to wait and see the situation this time,” said an
executive of Bajaj Auto, who requested to be left unnamed.
Here is ANOTHER ADMISSION that the Congress Party of India, and its leaders Indira and Rajiv Gandhi in particular, AIDED and ABETTED Tamil terrorists in Sri Lanka!
It is presented here to PROVE that the Congress Party is NOT ANTI-TAMIL!
FOR SURE, it is CERTAINLY ANTI-Sri Lankan!
Bloody Murderers .... all of them!
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Embargo will hurt Tamils: TN Congress
By Express News Service - CHENNAI
18th March 2013 08:08 AM
Condemning attempts to malign the image of leaders of the party, especially Prime Minister Minister Manmohan Singh, in the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, TNCC chief B S Gnanadesikan, on Sunday, said economic sanctions against Sri Lanka will hurt the Tamil population.
In a statement, Gnanadesikan said the youngsters were being provoked against the Congress. However, none could deny the fact that the Congress party and its leaders, including Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, were instrumental in the armed Tamil movement sustaining in Sri Lanka, he recalled.
No civilised society could accept the way in which Manmohan Singh was being maligned and represented in the State by several groups, he charged.
INTERESTING!
Maldives Govt prohibits any non-Moslems from settling in the Maldives and Maldivians destroy all ancient Buddhist structures in the Maldives! It is well known that the virulenmtly fanatical Wahhabi sect dominates the Maldives!
Yet, here they are requesting asylum in Sri Lanka!
As the sea levels rise in the future, is Sri Lanka going to become inundated with these intolerant violent people?
Patali Champika is CORRECT TO RAISE THE ALARM!
Religious Extremists and Racists are the BANE of Sri Lanka!
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Lanka not concerned by increase of Maldivians: High Commissioner Ahmed Naif
Mar 18, 2013
Sri Lankan government is not the least bit concerned by the increase in Maldivians resident in the country, Maldives High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Hussain Shihab assured on Monday.
Shihab’s assurance came after a Sri Lankan Minister reportedly called for the deportation of Maldivians who are currently seeking asylum in Sri Lanka.
Local media reported Minister of Technology Research and Atomic Energy, Patali Champika Ranawaka, as calling on the government of Sri Lanka to take action against Maldivians who are converging in areas within the country.
During a ceremony to launch Patali’s book entitled ‘Al Jihad Al Qaeda’, the minister allegedly claimed that foreigners were flooding Sri Lanka due to conflicts in other countries.
“Because of the internal tensions in the Maldives, thousands of its citizens are now in areas such as Dehiwela, Ratmalana, Nugegoda, and they are seeking political protection and [it] would be a tremendous problem to Sri Lanka in the near future,” the Minister was quoted as saying in the Sri Lankan publication ‘Mirror’.
Sri Lankan media claimed the minister had then called for the government to carry out a proper census and subsequently arrange for the deportation of those seeking asylum.
The minister’s comments were made in light of proliferation of Saudi ‘madrassas’ – religious teachers – who are accused of propagating extremist Islamic ideas in Sri Lanka.
In response to the Minister’s call, Shihab said so far the High Commission has no information of any Maldivians who have sought asylum in Sri Lanka. According to the High Commissioner, the relations between Maldives and Sri Lanka are at an all time high and the latter was receiving tremendous economic benefits from Maldivians living in the country.
“Sri Lanka is benefiting greatly by Maldivians. Every year Maldivians spend millions of dollars in Sri Lanka. There have not been any concerns raised by the Sri Lankan authorities over the increase in Maldivians travelling to the country. This is the peak period in Maldives-Sri Lanka relations. Lanka acknowledges the benefits they get from Maldivians,” Shihab explained.
Shihab also said the Sri Lankan minister’s comments could be based on some “wrong” information. However, he was quick to reassure that it was not the policy or the stand of the Sri Lankan government.
“If the Sri Lanka government was concerned, why would they ease the visa process for Maldivians? But Lanka has facilitated the visa of Maldivians coming here [Sri Lanka] for medical treatment. So there is no policy to implement any restrictions on Maldivians,” he added.
Population: Census expert disputes anti-Muslim claim
by Dasun Edirisinghe
Island.lk
March 18, 2013
A senior census and statistics official yesterday disputed a claim being propagated in the country that the Muslim population is likely exceed that of the majority community. The Sinhala population in the country is 74.9 per cent according to the Basic Population Information Report of the Census of Population and Housing 2011.
Director, Population Census and Demography Division of the Department of Census and Statistics, Indu Bandara said that according to the 2011 census, the Muslim population was 9.2 per cent and the Sinhala population was 74.9 per cent. Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils were 11.2 and 4.2 per cent respectively.
The census taken in 1981 showed that the Sinhalese accounted for 74 per cent of the population, Muslims 7 per cent, Sri Lankan Tamils 12.7 per cent and Indian Tamils 5.5 per cent.
Answering a query, at a seminar held yesterday, at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, Mrs. Bandara said that the Sinhala and Muslim populations had increased at the rate of 1.04 and 1.87 per cent respectively between 1981 and 2012, but it was not a threat to Sinhala people contrary to claims being made in some quarters to that effect.
She said it was also false to state that the Muslim population was higher than the Sinhala population within the Colombo Municipal Council area.
"There are divisional secretariats, Colombo, Timbirigasyaya I and Timbirigasyaya II, in the CMC area, but those reports were based only on the Colombo Divisional Secretary’s area," Mrs. Bandara said.
According to the latest report, the Malay, Burgher, Chetti and other minor ethnic groups increased at the rate of 0.23 percent, she said.
Sri Lanka’s population consisted of 70.2 percent Buddhists, 12.6 Hindus, 9.7 Islamists and 6.1 percent Christians, according to the census of 2012, Bandara said.
"The male population decreases year by year and the 20,263,723 total population, by 2012, was made up of 48.5% males and 51.5 females," she said, noting that the longer life expectancy of females and the migration of a large number of males in search of foreign employment could be the increase in female population.
The child population in 1981 was 35.2 percent and it had reduced to 25.8 per cent in 2012 while elderly population had increased to 12.2 per cent by 2012 from 6.6 per cent in 1981, Bandara said.
The senior official said that the working age population had increased to 62 per cent (2012) from 58.2 per cent (1981) and it was a boost to the country’s development.
BOYCOTT Tamil Nadu!
END Trade, Travel and ALL interactions with Tamil Nadu!
Let us NOT HELP Sri Lanka's ENEMIES!
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Sri Lanka warns its nationals against traveling to Tamil Nadu
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Mar 19, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government today warned its citizens against visiting to the State of Tamil Nadu in India and requested them to travel with caution.
The Sri Lankan government regretted the recent incidents of intimidation of Sri Lankan nationals particularly instances of violent assaults against Buddhist Monks in Thanjavur and at the Central Chennai Railway Station, India, the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement today.
The Ministry said it has lodged strong protests with the Indian Government through its High Commission in New Delhi and the Deputy High Commission in Chennai over the incidents of assaults on Sri Lankan Buddhist monks in the State of Tamil Nadu.
"The Government of Sri Lanka whilst condemning such assaults carried out by extreme elements with vested interests in attempting to tarnish our friendly relations with India, is constrained to request Sri Lankan nationals to exercise caution when undertaking visits," the statement said.
The External Affairs Ministry requested the Sri Lankans to keep the Sri Lanka Deputy High Commission in Chennai informed well in advance if they need to travel to Tamil Nadu due to compelling reasons.
The Sri Lankan government issued a travel advisory warning its nationals not to travel to Tamil Nadu following the mob attack by the pro-LTTE demonstrators on 184 Sri Lankan pilgrims to a revered church in the state in September last year.
Tamil Nadu Political parties are jockeying for position in the upcoming National elections, and are posing as the “Most Tamil” of all Tamils by raising Sri Lankan Tamil issues. The current ploy by the Karunanidhi/DMK leaving the UPA government coalition is just that: Internal Indian Politics. However, these internal politics of India have tremendous security impacts on Sri Lanka at the UN and elsewhere.
Regional communal politics of India ALSO impacts India Nationally in many ways.
It raises comparisons with India’s policies in Kashmir, encouraging Kashmiris, aided and abetted by Pakistan, to raise human rights issues and cries of “genocide” at the UN. India knows this, aware that India itself initiated, aided and abetted Tamil terrorism in Sri Lanka and has BLOODY HANDS that could be exposed at the UN in any broader discussion of human rights abuses by India.
Yesterday,the Lok Sabha censured Pakistan for interfering in India’s internal matters by passing a Resolution in Pakistan’s parliament condemning human rights abuses by India in Kashmir. If that is interference by Pakistan in India’s internal matters, will not a Resolution in the Lok Sabha against “human rights abuses” against Tamils in Sri Lanka also be interference in the internal affiars of Sri Lanka? Indians are WELL AWARE of this Double Standard being exposed to the world.
India is surrounded by neighbors who are angry at India. Sri Lanka is ARGUABLY the ONLY NEIGHBORING COUNTRY that STILL wants to maintain amicable relations and an alliance with India.
India has disagreements
with Pakistan on the Jammu & Kashmir territories, and competes with Pakistan in Afghanistan threatening Pakistan’s Western border as well,
with China on border territories that India lost to China in the Indo-Chinese war and on support for the Tibetans,
with Bangla Desh on borders and the influx of illegal immigrants,
with Nepal on its relations with China, and now
with Sri Lanka on Sri Lankan Tamil, Fishing rights in the Palk Strait, and Sri Lanka’s relations with China,
to name but a few of India’s conflicts with its neighbors.
Finally, Indians are mortified by Dravidian animosity, vociferously led by Indian Tamils, towards the majority non-Dravidian peoples of India that is creating a North-South divide in India. Dravidians, in general, and Indian Tamils in particular, feel dominated by the Northerners and viciously attack the Northerners.
Indians are particularly worried that these internal regional squabbles in India are affecting India’s Foreign Policy to the Deteriment of its Overall National Security.
For example, Chief Minister Mamata recently scuttled an a painfully arrived at agreement between India and Bangla Desh on the repatriation of illegal Bangla Deshi immigrants into India. The recent pulling out opf Karunanidhi’s DMK out of the UPA coalition on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, placing the UPA govt at risk, as an election ploy is yet another example of Communal election politics in India. On top of this, 800 million people of India live in areas dominated by Naxalite/Maoist terrorists over which the National govt has little control.
ALL of these things CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE that the COMMUNAL Policies of India are creating centrifugal forces that threaten NATIONAL INTEGRITY of India.
....Continued 1......
The lesson Sri Lanka must learn from all of this is two fold:
1. Don’t adopt the federal system of India as a model for Sri Lanka; India is CLEARLY on its way to DISINTEGRATION. Mercifully, Sri Lanka is small enough to be governed efficiently by a UNITARY non-FEDERAL form of government.
2. Anticipate that Dravidian/Tamil Nadu – Central Government politics in India will always ADVERSELY AFFECT Sri – Lanka. Therefore, PREVENT the growth of Indian Influence in Sri Lanka by EVERY MEANS and GET OUT OF THe DEADLY EMBRACE of India before it is TOO LATE!
I recommend the following program on India’s NDTV to readers to get a first hand view of these issues being discussed by both Dravidian and non-Dravidian political commentators. Note that many of them take on the communal Tamil commentators (Esp. Elangovan) to task and defend Sri Lanka and India’s National Interests vigorously!
http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/left-right-centre/will-a-parliament-resolution-on-sri-lanka-backfire-on-india/268986?relatedviaplayer
President opens Sri Lanka's largest solar power plant
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Mar 19, Hambantota: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today opened the largest solar power plant in the country in Hambantota.
The Japan-funded 737 kilowatt power plant has been constructed at Baruthankanda in Hambantota at a cost of 1.025 billion rupees.
Sri Lanka is focusing on alternative sources to meet the energy requirements of the country under the implementation of projects outlined in President Rajapaksa's policy document - Mahinda Chinthana Idiri Dekma to provide electricity for all at all times.
The solar panel plant is an eco-friendly project that would help to save a large amount of foreign exchange spent on importing fuel.
Ministers Susil Premajayantha, Johnston Fernando, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Mahinda Amaraweera, and Dilan Perera, Deputy Ministers Abdul Cader, parliamentarians Namal Rajapaksa and V.K. Indika, and Japanese Ambassador Nobohito Hobo also participated in the occasion.
(Photos by Udesh Gunaratne)
The country that committed the greatest WAR CRIME of the 21-st Century, the Invasion, Occupation and Destruction of Iraq on a false pretext of WMD, killing 1,250,000 Iraqis in the process and wounding and disabled many times more, is up to more murderous IDIOCY AGAIN.
These MURDEROUS BUNGLERS NEVER LEARN.
Who will hold the leaders of the US who Destroyed IRAQ and murdered its People with impunity? WHO, WhEN? At the UN controlled by the US?
Now, the very same Emperor is standing NAKED pointing fingers at Sri Lanka for defending the lives of its own people from a murderous TERRORIST organization.
WHAT MONUMENTAL HYPOCRISY!
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Sri Lanka requests a vote on the resolution at the UNHRC
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Mar 20, Colombo: Sri Lanka Tuesday said it intends to request for a vote when the United States sponsored draft resolution is taken up at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Thursday, March 21.
In letters addressed to Foreign Ministers of Human Rights Council member countries, Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris rejecting the new resolution has said, that Sri Lanka seeks the understanding and the support of HRC member states at the vote on this resolution.
The U.S. yesterday tabled a dressed down version of its resolution 'Promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka' at the 22nd session of the UNHRC in Geneva Monday.
"Just as the Government of Sri Lanka did not recognize the last HRC resolution, it rejects the new resolution. Sri Lanka intends to request a vote when the draft resolution is taken up at the Human Rights Council on 21st March 2013," the External Affairs Minister has written.
According to Minister Peiris, the introducing a single country resolution against Sri Lanka is counterproductive at a time when Sri Lanka is working hard to establish a sustainable peace and reconciliation in the country.
"Government of Sri Lanka believes that drawing disproportionate attention to Sri Lanka's situation and introducing a resolution that seeks to discredit, single out the country and name and shame are unhelpful and counterproductive to Sri Lanka's current reconciliation process," the Minister emphasized.
"The beneficiaries of such action would be none other than the divisive forces that seek to destabilize the hard won peace in the country," he pointed out.
The Minister also cautioned the member states that such acts will set a dangerous precedent for all the countries.
"Moreover, the precedent created by intrusive, biased and politicized actions such as the US sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka would pose a danger for all nations," the Minister warned In his letter.
Although the final draft tabled yesterday welcomed and acknowledged the progress made by the Government of Sri Lanka in rebuilding infrastructure, demining, resettling the majority of internally displaced persons, it said considerable work need to be done in the areas of justice, reconciliation and resumption of livelihoods.
In the latest version the U.S. has dropped the call for an international inquiry into the allegations of violating humanitarian laws and human rights. However, Sri Lanka expects India, pressured by the pro-Eelam Tamil political parties in Tamil Nadu and by the walkout of its ally DMK, to add tougher wordings to the U.S. resolution.
Local media quoting diplomatic sources from Geneva said that the U.S. is trying to achieve larger consensus on the new resolution as it has come under serious pressure from certain countries, including Cuba, Indonesia, Thailand and Pakistan to soften its stance and not to be overcritical of Sri Lanka.
Gonseka: GO AWAY .... WE WILL NOT TRUST you to DEFEND Sri Lanka ... EVER AGAIN!
It is Gonseka's attempts to discredit the GOSL that precipitated the War Crimes Charges by the UN in Geneva.
He brought Brave Long-Suffering Sri Lanka into DISREPUTE and STAINED the FABULOUS ACHIEVEENT of the Patriotic Sri Lanka Defence Forces.
Driven by Unlimited Personal Ambition and Jealousy, Gonseka BETRAYED his Motherland to its ENEMIES.
GO AWAY Gonseka ... HIDE YOUR HEAD IN SHAME in some deep dark hole ... never to be seen again!
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LTTE fighters were dressed in Indian Army uniforms: Fonseka
March 20, 2013
The LTTE fighters were dressed in Indian Army uniforms during the final battles of the nearly three-decade long civil war, former Sri Lankan Army Chief Sarath Fonseka has said.
Fonseka in an address to the Foreign Correspondents’ Association in Colombo yesterday also denied that his troops killed Balachandran, the 12-year-old son of slain LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Britain’s Channel 4 television network last month released new photographs of what they called Balachandran inside a military bunker having a snack and another frame which showed his bullet riddled body.
“These pictures could have been doctored,” Fonseka said. “The bunker where he was looks too tidy and orderly to be one of our bunkers. In the battle field, we did not have the luxury of having such neat and tidy bunkers,” Fonseka said.
“The camouflaged uniform worn by someone who is claimed to be a Sri Lankan soldier is not we issue our troops. This is the camouflage that is used by Indian troops. We know Tigers used smuggled Indian Army-type uniforms,” he said.
However, Fonseka repeated his offer to face any independent international investigation and said it was his “duty” as the commander at the time to face any probe.
He accused the government of not addressing accountability issues and allowing calls for a war crimes probe to escalate without addressing the basic questions many had.
“People want to know what happened. Some want to clear doubts,” Fonseka said, adding that he was prepared to answer the charges if he was questioned by any international independent probe. Fonseka fell out with President Mahinda Rajapakse soon after crushing the LTTE in May 2009 and went on to challenge Rajapaksa in the January 2010 presidential election.
He suffered a crushing defeat and was later arrested and jailed till May last year when he was freed on a presidential pardon. Fonseka said Sri Lanka will face more international allegations of war crimes unless it agreed to a probe.
India undermines and helps to destabilize Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka should DISCOURAGE all Indian Involvement ... economic, diplomatic, cultural, and military ... in Sri Lanka.
Our NATIONAL SECURITY should come before EVERYTHING ELSE.
India CHOOSES not to respect Sri Lanka'S sovereignty AND must suffer the consequences of LOSING its only FRIEND in the region.
SO BE IT! Sri Lanka MUST PROTECT ITSELF, and move beyond India's DEADLY EMBRACE, before it is TOO LATE. Our DUTY to PROTECT our PEOPLE must come FIRST!
DIVEST Sri Lanka of ALL THINGS Indian!
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Lankan roulette
Business-Standard.com
March 22, 2013
An international airport, a strategic port, communication satellites, road and railway links - China is spreading its web in the island nation. India has to take decisive steps or else the tide could ...
In June 2009, when Sri Lanka officially celebrated the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam after a bloody war that lasted 25 years, the victory parade, which included tanks, fighter jets and artillery pieces, made India sit up: most of the military hardware on display was of Chinese make. China had played a key role in making that victory possible, and the Mahinda Rajapaksa government made no attempts to hide its gratitude. India has since watched with increasing concern, and some helplessness, China's growing presence in the island nation which sits barely 31 km across the Palk Strait from the southern tip of India. The wave of protests in Tamil Nadu against the Sri Lanka government's alleged atrocities on Tamils and India's vote in favour of the US resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday is further working towards China's advantage.
The sentiment is not limited to the country's leaders, who obviously know that gains can be made by playing one country against the other; it now runs deep. An assessment report of a political analyst to a company with business interests in Sri Lanka, which Business Standard has accessed, points that Lankan society is now vehemently arguing that it should lean towards China - a "friendly nation" - and not rely on India, particularly on the economic front. The speculation that India played a key role in watering down the resolution hasn't allayed the disgruntled sections of Lankan society, the report says.
Thus, Sri Lankan Airlines has cut its flights to Chennai by half, to 14, following the attacks on Sri Lankan tourists, including two monks. There are reports that Sri Lanka has decided to partially take over a strategic oil storage depot in Trincomalee from Indian Oil Corporation's Sri Lankan arm, Lanka IOC. India has denied the reports. A day before this news broke, Lanka IOC Chairman Makrand Nene had said that there was no competition from China "but we have no plans to expand in Sri Lanka at the moment."
Lankan roulette
....Continued 1.....
Recent events show how close China and Sri Lanka have become. A few days ago, Rajapaksa inaugurated the country's second international airport, the $206-million Rajapaksa International Airport in Mattala built with money from China's Export-Import Bank. Some Chinese officials were present at the function. Some 40 km to the south is the China-funded $1 billion Hambantota Port. Why not India? "It's not that China is getting preference; it was always India first. We invited India first to build our ports, including the Hambantota port, but it rejected it saying it's not viable, so we invited China," Rajapaksa had said earlier. A senior official from the shipping industry in India says the port project "is really a great miss and India will regret it on all fronts, be it security or trade".
The Hambantota Port is located on a key shipping route which sees around 300 ships, mostly oil tankers, passing through every day. Ironically, when the deep-water port formally opened for international shipping in June last year, the first consignment it moved was 1,000 Hyundai cars from Chennai, outbound for Algeria. If you look at it from the commercial point of view, then the port is meant to provide docking and refuelling facilities to the thousands of ships that ferry oil and raw materials from Africa and the Persian Gulf to China every year. But, this also happens to be a geo-strategically convenient location. It is a crucial link in the "string of pearls" which China is building in the region through a network of ports to consolidate its economic and military influence in the Indian Ocean: Sittwe in Myanmar, Chittagong in Bangladesh, Hambantota in Sri Lanka, Gwadar in Pakistan and Marao in the Maldives.
Chinese money is pouring into Sri Lanka. From 2007 to 2011, while India extended aid of $298.1 million to Sri Lanka, China gave $2.126 billion to become the largest foreign aid provider to the country. While Indian aid has been for "soft" purposes like healthcare and education, the Chinese have funded highly-visible infrastructure projects. As on today, reports say, China has pledged more than $3 billion for infrastructure development in Sri Lanka. Some industry watchers have expressed concern that China might even be getting contracts for mega projects by bypassing tender procedures.
Its engineers are building roads, railway lines, telecommunication links, dams, hospitals, expressways like the one between Colombo and Katunayake, stadiums, schools, hotels and power plants. Last year, Sri Lanka launched its first communications satellite with the help of China Great Wall Industry Corp, China's state-owned space technology firm. It has since signed a string of satellite deals with Sri Lanka. It's also helping build a space academy. Deals are being struck between the two countries to build telecommunication and information technology networks. The two have also pledged to improve their defence ties.
Two years ago, China had gifted Sri Lanka Nelum Pokuna, a state-of-the art theatre and convention hall in the heart of Colombo. And now, Lotus Tower, a 350-meter multi-functional telecommunication tower and entertainment centre, is being constructed in Peliyagoda, near Colombo, with financial assistance from the Export-Import Bank of China. Sri Lanka's defence secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has justified China's increasing presence in the Indian Ocean saying that "the safety and stability of the Indian Ocean is critical for China's energy security and its increasing interest and increasing naval presence in this region is quite understandable."
Lankan roulette
....Continued 2......
Some of the gains to China are clearly at India's expense. Last year, a plot of land in the heart of Colombo earmarked for an Indian cultural centre (the Indian High Commission had completed all formalities) was sold to Chinese aircraft manufacturer, China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation, at the eleventh hour. The incident brought an uneasy feeling of being elbowed out to make way for China. M Rafeeque Ahmed, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, fears that India is missing opportunities which are now favouring China and this "will make Sri Lanka economically colonised". India's national security agencies have expressed concern over these developments. But it is not clear what the government is doing to consolidate India's economic position in Sri Lanka. All that Foreign Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin is willing to say is: "When we have to, we will issue a press release."
But companies with business interests in Sri Lanka want to hear more than that. Sri Lanka says there is no threat to Indian investments. Sam Wijesekara, counsellor (Commercial), Sri Lanka Deputy High Commission, says: "It is wrong to say India does not have any role to play in the Sri Lankan economy. Today India is on top of the list when it comes to private investments." Official data shows that in 2011, investment worth $98 million came to Sri Lanka from India as compared to $3.5 million from China. Leading Indian companies in Sri Lanka include the Tata group, Ceat, Nicholas Piramal, Ashok Leyland, SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and LIC. Somi Hazari, managing director of the Shosova group of companies, who trades in textiles with Sri Lanka, however says business has come down drastically. "Business is moving towards China, and it's not just because trade with China is cheaper. The Tamil issue is playing out in China's favour." From 2001 to 2011, India's textile exports (mainly from the southern districts of Tamil Nadu and Punjab) to Sri Lanka have increased about three-folds. But China has during the same period increased its textile exports to Sri Lanka by almost eight times. In the cement market, too, India is losing share to China and Pakistan. India-Sri Lanka trade has increased by one per cent per annum on an average from 2007 to 2011. On the other hand, average growth of China-Sri Lanka trade has been 32 per cent annually.
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There are other areas of concern too. Sri Lanka is believed to hold sizeable deposits of natural gas and fossil fuels. For India's energy security, the country is extremely important. As of now, Cairn Lanka, a subsidiary of Cairn India, is the only company from outside Sri Lanka which is actively involved in hydrocarbon exploration here. It has so far drilled four exploration wells in the block in the Mannar basin. This has resulted in two discoveries: natural gas deposits in Dorado and Baraccuda. But there could be competition soon. "I understand that China is also looking at exploration opportunities in Sri Lanka," says R S Sharma, former chairman and managing director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and ONGC Videsh Ltd.
Sri Lanka has already announced the second round of bidding for licences for the remaining blocks in the Mannar basin. China, it is believed, will be a major contender and a strong competitor in the bidding. Industry watchers say India's position has become shaky after the recent incidents in Tamil Nadu. If China wins the bid to drill in the Mannar basin, it will be positioned right under the nose of Tamil Nadu, a few kilometers away from the Indian coast.
Lankan roulette
.....Continued 3.....
The way things are going, it won't come as a surprise if China bags several of these blocks. Colombo's leading newspaper, Sunday Times, has reported that the Lankan government has decided not to consider international companies and their "key shareholders" who have "known alignment in world politics" when offers are invited to assess its offshore petroleum data. The decision, it said, was taken on a recommendation by Rajapaksa who also looks after the petroleum resources development secretariat which handles the country's hydrocarbon exploration. This was after the Sri Lankan government ran into trouble with the Norway-based TGS Nopec to analyse Sri Lanka's offshore petroleum data. The decision could impact Indian companies too, given that the Cabinet, as reported by Sunday Times, has also decided that companies should not in any way impair Sri Lanka's national interest.
Recently, India's National Thermal Power Corporation also faced hurdles and considered pulling out of Sri Lanka, its maiden overseas venture, following fresh terms set by the Ceylon Electricity Board. The board wanted downward revision of operations and maintenance cost to Rs 20.5 lakh per MW each year from the current Rs 38.92 lakh. Officials at NTPC now say the issue has been resolved and the 500-MW coal power project at Sampur in the Trincomalee district is on track.
China, meanwhile, is sending just the right feelers to Sri Lanka on the Tamil issue. Last week, the newly-elected Chinese president, Xi Jinping, telephoned Rajapaksa to say that China supports Sri Lanka's efforts to protect its national sovereignty and would continue to offer assistance. In Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is, meanwhile, determined to wrench back its core issue - of the rights of the Tamils - which it feels is being hijacked by fringe elements. With the Lok Sabha elections just a year away, DMK's chief, M Karunanidhi, is going all out on this. And in doing so, the man who turns 90 next year is pushing Sri Lanka deeper into the arms of China.
After killing the leader of terrorist in Srilanka many of the tourists willing to book cheap flights to Pakistan they really inspired and want to visit Pakistan.
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