As part of the U.S. government’s support for a reconciled and unified Sri Lanka, the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) renovated two schools in the Eastern Province. James L. Russo, the U.S. Embassy’s Counselor for Press, Academic, and Cultural Affairs, presided over the official ribbon cutting ceremonies on July 2 and 3, 2018. Also participating were Deputy Minister of National Integration, Reconciliation, and Official Languages Mr. Ali Zahir Moulana; Coordinating Secretary for Deputy Health Minister Mr. Zarrjun Aboobucker; Zonal Director of Education Mr. M.L. Ahamed Junaid; and Captain Robert Holbrook of PACOM.
President Maithripala Sirisena presents an award to a young cooperative employee who was a winner at the 96th International Cooperative Day event in Batticaloa on 7 July as Industry and Commerce Ministry Secretary K.D.N. Ranjit Ashoka (far left), Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd. Cooperative Development Director A.K. Singh (second from left), Industry and Commerce Deputy Minister Buddhika Pathirana (fifth from left), Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen (third from right) and Eastern Province Governor Rohitha Bogollagama (far right) look on
• Bathiudeen announces tax exemptions, lifetime pensions for coops
• 40% of Lankans now a member of a coop unit, coop assets now close to $ 3 billion
• ‘Global coops positioned for SDGs’: Indian Coop’s Singh
During the past week, much has been written and spoken about the statement on “the need of a LTTE rule again” made by Wijeyakala Maheswaran, the State Minister for Child and Women’s Affairs. For racist politicos and the urban middle class it was God sent to shelve the “sermon proposing a Hitlerite rule” by Ven. Wendaruwe Upali thero, the ‘Anu-nayake’ (second in authority) of Asgiriya. While some in the Sinhala South sympathise with the “sermon proposing a Hitlerite rule”, some do disagree. But all have nevertheless condemned the call for a “LTTE rule again” as divisive, arrogant and disrespectful of democratic governance. Some stand the ground that it is a call for a “separate State” and should be legally punished. There are a few who try to understand the “call for LTTE rule again” as anger and vengeance against the “yahapalana” government and also against the military with the Tamil Diaspora still nurturing the “separatist” LTTE ideology. The “Hitler story” shelved
In Tamil, farewells are never final. As Akil Kumarasamy pointed out in a 2017 interview, the Tamil equivalent of goodbye is poyittu varen, meaning “I’ll go and return.” These are parting words especially suited to the refugee: ever running away, ever looking back.
Kumarasamy poignantly illustrates this tension in her debut story collection, “Half Gods.” Across decades and continents, her characters are haunted by catastrophic violence, their emotional scars passed from one generation to the next.
Indian peacekeeping troops in pursuit of suspected Tamil militants or their supporters in northern and eastern Sri Lanka have beaten, tortured and killed local Tamil-speaking civilians, according to two recently completed human-rights reports.
Hundreds of people have been detained and dozens are reported to have disappeared in Indian Army custody, the reports said. The Indians have declined to cooperate with Sri Lankan courts, where they operate. It is unclear whose justice, if any, prevails in northeastern Sri Lanka.
An urgent appeal was made to the President of UN Human Rights Council H.E. Ambassador Vojislav Šuc, to take steps to ensure the safety of six Tamil Mothers of the disappeared when they return to Sri Lanka after giving statements at the current UN Human Rights Council session. These mothers were threatened and abused by Sri Lankan Security force officers and military intelligence at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Names of the six mothers are attached in the bottom.
These Mothers are appealing UNHRC for help to find their children who disappeared in Sri Lanka and other thousands of Tamils who disappeared over the years. Several of the disappeared were surrendered by their families to the Sri Lankan security forces nine years ago at the end of the war.
I am happy to second the Motion that has been moved by the Hon. M.A. Sumanthiran, Member of Parliament. He has dealt, Sir, primarily with the issue of the elections not being held and discussed various steps that have been taken thus far and also discussed what needs to be done to ensure that democracy is functional in the provinces and that elections are held without undue further delay.
That, no doubt Sir, is a very serious issue which also raises the question of whether Governments in this country are seriously committed to democracy functioning in regard to provincial governance.
Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha who has been speaking out in support of the convicts of the Ramgarh lynching was there outside the Central Jail at Hazaribagh to welcome the eight as they walked out on bail. Life sentences for the murder of a Muslim trader Alimuddin alias Asghar Ali given by a lower court were suspended by the Jharkhand High Court on June 27.
Sinha was present with sweets and garlands, felicitating the convicts. At the time of their arrest and conviction by the court of additional district judge Om Prakash the Minister had been quoted in the media as stating that “from whatever I have gathered whatever after consultations and studying the various facets (of the case), I firmly believe that complete justice has not been done. I am not a police officer, and I have not done a detailed inquiry, but as per my understanding, complete justice has not been done. I consulted senior lawyers and
India would operate Sri Lanka’s loss-making Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in Hambantota, the Civil Aviation Minister has told Sri Lankan Parliament in Colombo.
The $210 million facility, 241km south-east of Colombo, is dubbed the “world’s emptiest airport” due to a lack of flights.
India would operate the airport as a Sri Lanka-India joint venture. The joint venture would see India gain a major stake of the airport, Minister of Civil Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva told the Parliament.
When the parliament commenced sessions on the 3 rd (today) , questions were raised as to what action should be taken by parliament in the future in connection with the pro LTTE announcements made by State minister Vijayakala Maheswaran in the North. A number of joint opposition MPs pointed out the need to take action , and that her statements are violating the oath she has taken under 7 th schedule of the constitution.
The speaker who considered the views took measures today to inform the Attorney General to probe into whether any legal provisions have been violated , and to take legal action
Dr. Rajani Rajasingham Thiranagama, a symbol of Tamil human rights activism was shot dead by the LTTE in 1989. At the time of her murder, Rajani was the head of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Jaffna. She was also one of the founding members of the Jaffna branch of University Teachers for Human Rights. Breaking ethnic and religious barriers Rajani married Dayapala Thiranagama a student leader from Kelaniya University who went onto become an academic in his own right.
The following article written by Dayapala Thiranagama first appeared in September 2009, to commemorate Rajini’s 20th death anniversary. It is reproduced to remember her 64th birth anniversary which fell on February 23, 2018.
By David Kowalski
The world’s richest countries insist their involvement in developing nations is prompted by altruism, but this magnanimity rings hollow.
The tiny Pacific nation of Vanuatu is only the latest developing nation to fall victim to a highly disturbing trend: regional economic giants—in this case China and Australia—playing out their personal rivalries on emerging economies’ soil. Wealthier countries like these are engaged in a constant proxy war for influence, coercing poverty-stricken nations around the world to host their military bases and miring them in debt with gargantuan infrastructural projects
Basil Rajapaksa, brother and right hand man of ex president Mahinda Rajapaksa commenting on Army excesses when trying to quell protests in Rathupaswala said that it was so brutal that he could well imagine how they would have operated in the North.
Rajapaksa made these observations in an interview with the ‘Ada’ newspeper. He said in Sinhala: “ඉස්කෝලෙ ළමයිනෙ මිය ගියේ, අපේ ශාඛා සමිතිවල සාමාජිකයින්ගෙ කකුල් 21 වෙඩි වැදිලා කැඩිල තිබුණ. එතකොට මට උනත් හිතෙනවා මුන් උතුරෙ ගිහින් කොහොම මරන්න ඇතිද කියලා. ඒක මහ අමානුශික දෙයක්.”
The statement is in stark contrast to the general image of the security forces portrayed by that government.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and opposition leader R Sampanthan is to meet former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss the process to draft a new Constitution.
TNA Parliamentarian M.A Sumanthiran said that the new Constitution must have the backing off all political parties.
As a result he said that Sampanthan had talks on the new Constitution with the group of 16 who left the Government as well as others in Parliament.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has asked the Attorney General whether State Minister Vijayakala Mahsewaran’s controversial statement calling for the resurgence of the LTTE violates the Constitution or any other laws of the country and if so to take appropriate action against her.
“A question has arisen as to the type of action to be taken against Ms. Maheswaran after the sentiments expressed by MPs in the House today. The MPs stressed the need to take action against Ms. Maheswaran. They argued that the state minister had violated the oath an MP takes as per the annexure 7 of the Constitution,” a statement from the Speaker’s office said.
Meanwhile, the Speaker informed parliament today that he would inquire into the statement made by state minister Maheshwaran regarding the LTTE and take disciplinary action in addition to the inquiry by the Prime Minister on this matter.
China and Sri Lanka are committed to pushing forward cooperation on the Hambantota port project and realizing the goal of making Sri Lanka the logistics center of the Indian Ocean, said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Tuesday.
\"This is not only conducive to the economic development of Sri Lanka, but also conducive to regional interconnection and the common prosperity of regional countries,\" Spokesperson Lu Kang told a press briefing.
Lu made the remarks in response to allegations that appeared in U.S. media reports, which stated that China\'s acquisition of the Hambantota port from Sri Lanka highlights its \"debt trap\" and ambitious use of loans to gain influence around the world.
Angered by a New York Times investigation detailing how China seized ownership of a seaport in Sri Lanka, a group of Sri Lankan lawmakers denounced the newspaper on Monday, focusing their ire on two local journalists for the newspaper.
On Monday night, the lawmakers, who are allies of the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, held a televised news conference in which they claimed that the journalists, Dharisha Bastians and Arthur Wamanan, were working on behalf of the current government to malign Mr. Rajapaksa. One lawmaker displayed a close-up photo of Ms. Bastians’s face for the cameras.
Sri Lankan Ambassador to Indonesia and ASEAN Dharsana M.Perera planted a na tree, the Sri Lankan national tree, at Bogor Botanical Gardens on Monday to mark the 65th anniversary of Indonesia-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations.
Perera said na tree, also known as Sri Lankan ironwood, was special to Sri Lankan people.
For several centuries, na tree has been used as a traditional herbal plant and its wood has been widely used to construct temples and bridges. The tree’s flowers are also used in religious rituals in Sri Lanka.
“Na tree is a rare plant in Sri Lanka,” said Perera, adding that na tree had been officiated as the Sri Lankan national tree in 1986.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has requested President Maithripala Sirisena to temporarily remove State Minister Vijayakala Maheswaran from her ministerial portfolio until inquiries are completed.
An investigation is being carried out regarding certain controversial comments made by the State Minister regarding the now defunct LTTE, during an event in Jaffna yesterday
Several MPs from both sides today requested the Speaker of Parliament to relieve State Maheswaran from her post as an MP.
• "The Great Depression in the 1930s, led to the emergence of Keynesian economics with social welfare policies, market controls and a greater role for the state in managing the economy"
• "The key point here to draw from Schumpeter is that it is “only a small fraction of the population” that can be entrepreneurs "
After almost four decades of liberalisation around the world, economic development continues to fail. These failures have been characterised by increased national debt, mounting levels of unemployment and underemployment and large numbers of people living in poverty. Yet international agencies and national policymakers continue with neoliberal economic prescriptions of austerity and market-oriented economic reforms.
The Sri Lanka handover of its strategic Hambantota Port to China on a 99-year lease in December of last year triggered concerns worldwide. The worry, which lasts till today, was conspicuously portrayed by a New York Times report published last week. The article accuses China of using a debt trap for vulnerable countries, which therefore fuels corruption and autocratic behavior in these "struggling democracies."
Yet the report has drawn rebuttal from Sri Lankan politicians. The country's former Central Bank governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said the reporter used none of his views but rather the piece was a veiled attempt at using Sri Lanka to target China. Sri Lanka's former president Mahinda Rajapaksa refuted The New York Times report in a detailed statement. When the report called the Hambantota Port a failure because it drew only 34 ships in 2012, it
Ranil Wickramasinghe is in a panic mode with the coming Presidential elections for which he is being proposed as a candidate by the UNP. Having lost at elections 30 times facing the 31st election is for him a very trying situation. He was already lucky to have had become the Prime Minister without having to face any elections , but the Presidential election is another kettle of fish.
Therefore he hangs onto any straw to keep afloat in the flood of votes that sounds rushing in another direction. In order to stop the tide of the people’s anger taking him away it becomes necessary for Ranil W to pull up his trousers, turn round looking at his group of parliamentarians ,and laughing at his own joke, does his gipsy dance in the well of the Parliament . The PM Ranil tries to show his knowledge of Buddhism and comes out showing only his ignorance of Buddha Dharma. He claps and sings to Buddhan Saranang
The first United Nations High level Conference of Heads of Counter Terrorism Agencies of Member States was held on 28-29 June at United nations headquarters on the theme “Strengthening international cooperation to combat the evolving threat of terrorism”. The aims were to build a new partnership for multilateral cooperation to strengthen the international community’s counter-terrorism efforts.
“The Secretary General’s closing remarks at the end of the conference is as follows.
Thank you for these productive two days.
There will not be a negotiated outcome, so I will set out my own conclusions for the way forward, based on your discussions.
First, this conference has helped to strengthen multilateral collaboration, break down silos and build new partnerships.
In a press release the International Centre for Prevention and Protection of Genocide states that in response to the letter of 6 April 2018 of Miss A Seevaratnam the director of ICPPG, Mr. Lacroix Under Secretary General for UN Peacekeeping Operations has confirmed in writing that the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) has stopped deployment of personnel from Sri Lanka. Further, he has confirmed that the Sri Lankan deployment and rotations to UN peacekeeping will be contingent on the formalisation and implementation by the Government of Sri Lanka of an effective domestic screening process that meets the requirement of UN Policy.
The Yahapalana Government has kept its word to uphold the rule of law in the country, Minister of Finance and Mass Media, Mangala Samaraweera told guests at the Platform for Freedom (Nidahase Wedikawa), last evening in Matara.
“We managed to reinstate the rule of law and democracy back in this country which was being diluted over the past decade while they were in power,” the Minister said. Speaking of the recent comments that sparked about a Nazi regime, the minister drew parallels to the previous government where incidents similar to that of the Hitler’s Nazi regime took place.
“Whenever the previous government didn’t have sufficient support they were in the practice of blackmailing and poaching people from parties that were opposed to them.
