You are cordially invited to attend a meditation session conducted
By
Dr. Sumana Perera
at
the London Buddhist Vihara
on
Saturday 12th October 2013
at
5.00pm – 7.00pm
All are welcome!
LONDON BUDDHIST VIHARA
Dharmapala Building The Avenue,
Chiswick, London
W4 1UD
Tel: 0208 995 9493
Fax: 0208 994 8130
[By Janaka Alahapperuma]
The newly built seven storied building for Bikku hostel of the Sunethra Devi Pirivena in Pepiliyana was vested in the Bikku community this afternoon (10 October) under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The new hostel will accommodate student bikkus from different parts of the country who are pursuing education at the Pirivena. The hostel was constructed by the Army under the guidance of Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development Gotabhaya Rajapaksa within 100 days. The President observed religious activities at the Viharaya and called on the chief incumbent Venerable Dr. Medagoda Abayatissa Nayaka thero who celebrated birthday today. The book titled ‘Ama Gangula Nivan Maga’ written by the senior lecturer of the Sri Jayawardenapura University Ven Dr. Medagoda Abayatissa thero was presented to the President at the ceremony. ‘Budun Dutu Yuvathiyo’ written by Lankadeepa newspaper journalist Sanjeevika Samaratunga was also published at the ceremony.
Chancellor of the Sri Jayawardenapura University Professor Ven Dr. Bellanvila Wimalaratana thero, Ven. Diviyagaha Yasassi thero, Ven. Kirama Vimalajothi thero, Ministers Professor G.L. Peiris, Bandula Gunawardana, Wimal Weerawansa, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Army Commander Lft General Daya Ratnayake were also present at the occasion.
The Sunethra Devi Pirivena in Pepiliyana was constructed by King Parakrama Bahu VI of Kotte between 1410 and 1415 AD in honour of his loving mother, Queen Sunethra Devi, whom he is said to have been extremely close to. The King, a great warrior who united Sri Lanka for the last time before European invasions, spent his most trying times before acquiring the crown, in the protection of his mother. The 600 year old Pirivena one of Sri Lanka’s greatest spiritual and historic monuments has rendered invaluable service in the field of Buddhist literature.
Pix by: Chandana Perera
[By Janaka Alahapperuma]
Nine new MPs were sworn in as Deputy Ministers before the President at the Presidential Secretariat this morning on 10 October. They have received the letters of their appointments at the oaths ceremony. Most of these MPs gained large number of preferential votes at the last General Election. The new deputy ministers are,
Pix by: Sudath Silva
The Sri Lankan Government today conveyed its disappointment at the Canadian government’s refusal to send a high level delegation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), while claiming that Canada should not use the domestic issues of a country to determine their approach to the Summit.
The government further stated that Canada was isolated in its decision, as the majority of Commonwealth countries were siding with Sri Lanka.
“Canada is totally isolated in this situation, because all the other countries are with us. We are dismayed by Canada’s attitude, where they are using domestic issues to determine their approach to the CHOGM,” Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris said yesterday during a press briefing on the Commonwealth Business Forum.
He further noted that the Commonwealth was a “voluntary association of sovereign states” and thereby no country had the right to sit in judgment of others. (Dianne Silva)
Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)
Former Sri Lanka Cricket Captain T.M.Dilshan will announce his retirement from international Test cricket tomorrow, the Sri Lanka Cricket said today.
Meanwhile in an interview with ESPN Dilshan said “I have taken this decision to allow Sri Lanka Cricket to groom another youngster in my place,” Dilshan, 36, said on Wednesday. “I was to announce my retirement after the Zimbabwe Test series but unfortunately the tour was postponed.”
Sri Lanka was to tour Zimbabwe from October and the tour itinerary included two Tests.
His 16 Test centuries included a career-best 193 against England at Lord’s in 2011 as captain.
Dilshan will continue to play in the shorter formats for his country, however. “I will discuss my future with the national selectors and if they need me I will play till the 2015 World Cup,” Dilshan said.
Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)
[By Janaka Alahapperuma]
The Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees this morning (08 October). The President and the Indian Minister have had lengthy discussions focused on enhancing bilateral social, economic, political and cultural cooperation between the two nations. Mr. Khurshid also emphasized the importance of strengthening relations between India and Sri Lanka. The discussion has also focused on the 13th amendment to the constitution at the meeting between Sri Lanka and Mr Khurshid who is on an official visit to the island.
The Indian Foreign Minister said he is highly satisfied with that democracy has been strengthened in Sri Lanka as well as in the Northern Province.The visiting minister has also discussed with the President on the recent Northern Provincial Council election. The Minister said that holding of a free and fair election in the Northern Province is a victory achieved by the people. The President told him that the people in the Northern Province were able to cast their votes freely after many decades.
The President has reiterated on the importance of an internal solution rather than on a solution from the outside. President Rajapaksa has also pointed out that the Parliament Select Committee would be the most appropriate and best platform to settle the issues that have erupted with regard to the 13th Amendment. He has also stated that future measures should be based upon the final proposal which is to be presented with the consent of all parties concerned. The Indian Foreign Minister has appreciated the right of Sri Lanka to take internal democratic measures.
The attention was also focused on the fishing problem between the two countries. It was agreed that the best way forward would be to facilitate a dialogue between fishing communities of both countries so that the fishermen themselves can find solutions to their problems. The urgent need to resolve the dispute through the participation of Sri Lankan and Tamil Nadu officials has been reiterated.
The High Commissioner of India in Colombo Y.K. Sinha accompanied Minister Khurshid along with several other officers from the Indian External Affairs Ministry and the Indian High Commission. Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Douglas Devananda, Minister of Power and Energy Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Monitoring MP of the Ministry of External Affairs Sajin Vass Gunawardena, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs Karunathilaka Amunugama and Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in India Prasad Kariyawasam were also present.
Minister Khurshid is also schedule to commence a tour in Jaffna this afternoon after meetings with government officials and the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe. He is scheduled to conduct talks with Northern Province Governor Major General (rted) G.A. Chandrasiri and newly elected Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council, C.V. Vigneswaran. He will also inspect the progress of housing construction projects in the north, which are being carried out under the Indian government aid.
Meanwhile Mrs Louise Khurshid met Sri Lanka’s First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa and discussed the social, cultural, educational and humanitarian projects carried out by ‘Siriliya Sevana’ programme.
Pix by: Sudath Silva & Lalith Welivitigoda
මහජන සම්බන්ධතා ඇමැති මර්වින් සිල්වා මහතාගේ සමීප සගයකු සහ “පිබිදෙන කැලණිය” සංවිධානයේ ප්රබල ක්රියාකාරිකයකු වූ කිරිබත්ගොඩ තිලක් තවත් පුද්ගලයකු සමග කැසිනෝ සූදු ක්රීඩා කිරීම සඳහා කැසිනෝ හලකට ගොස් එමින් සිටියදී ඊයේ (08 වැනිදා) අලුයම කොළඹ ඩී. ආර්. විජයවර්ධන මාවතේදී දෙදෙනාම අතුරුදන් වී තිබේ.
මොවුන් දෙදෙනා ගමන්ගත් සුපිරි ජීප් රථය ඩී. ආර්. විජෙවර්ධන මාවතේ අතහැර දමා තිබියදී පොලිසිය මගින් සොයාගෙන ඇත.
හිමිකරුවකු නොමැති සුඛෝපභෝගී ජීප් රථයක් මහමග අතහැර දමා ගොස් තිබෙන බවට ඊයේ (8දා) පෙරවරුවේ මරදාන පොලිසියට ලැබුණු තොරතුරකට අනුව ජීප් රිය සොයාගෙන සිදු කළ විමර්ශනවලදී එය කිරිබත්ගොඩ තිලක්ගේ රථය බවට පොලිසියට තොරතුරු ලැබී තිබේ.
ජීප් රථය සොයා ගැනීමෙන් පසුව පොලිසිය කළ දැනුම් දීමකට අනුව ඊයේ දහවල් මරදාන පොලිසියට පැමිණි කිරිබත්ගොඩ තිලක්ගේ බිරිඳ ප්රකාශයක් කරමින් සිය සැමියා පෙරේදා (7 වැනිදා) සවස සිට අතුරුදන්ව සිටින බව සඳහන් කළේ යෑයි කොළඹ ප්රදේශයේ උසස් පොලිස් නිලධාරියෙක් පැවසීය.
ඉකුත් කාලයේ ඇමැති මර්වින් සිල්වා සහ කැලණිය ප්රාදේශීය සභාවේ සභාපති ඇතුළු මන්ත්රීවරුන් අතර ඇතිවූ ගැටුමේදී ඇමැතිවරයාගේ සමීපතමයකු වූ කිරිබත්ගොඩ තිලක් නමැත්තා ගිනි අවියක් භාවිත කරමින් ප්රදේශයේ ව්යාපාරිකයන්ගෙන් සහ කිරිබත්ගොඩ පොළේ වෙළෙඳුන්ගෙන් මහා පරිමාණයෙන් කප්පම් ලබා ගන්නා පුද්ගලයකු බව ප්රාදේශීය සභා මන්ත්රිවරු ප්රසිද්ධියේම පැවසූහ.
කප්පම් ගැනීමට අමතරව කාලයක සිට කිරිබත්ගොඩ ප්රදේශයේ මහා පරිමාණ බූරුවා ගැසීමේ තිප්පොළක්ද ඔහු පවත්වාගෙන යන බවට චෝදනා කළ ප්රාදේශීය සභා මන්ත්රිවරුන් ඔහු හැඳින්වීම සඳහා “බූරු තිලක්” යන අන්වර්ථ නාමයද භාවිත කළේය.
කිරිබත්ගොඩ තිලක් සමග අතුරුදන් වූ අනෙක් පුද්ගලයාද ඇමැති මර්වින් සිල්වා මහතාගේ ආධාරකරුවකු බවට ඊයේ (8දා) දහවල් වන විට පොලිසියට තොරතුරු ලැබී තිබිණි.
මොවුන් දෙදෙනා කැසිනෝ සූදු ක්රිඩාවල යෙදී සිට යළි පැමිණෙමින් සිටියදී කිසියම් කප්පම් කල්ලියක් මගින් කප්පමක් ලැබා ගැනීමේ අදහසින් ඔවුන් පැහැරගෙන යන්නට ඇතැයි පොලිසියට සැක මතු වී තිබේ.
සිද්ධිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් මරදාන පොලිසිය පුළුල් පරීක්ෂණයක් ආරම්භ කර ඇත.
Source: Divaina (Sri Lanka)
[By Janaka Alahapperuma]
The newly elected Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Vigneswaran was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Northern Province before President Mahinda Rajapaksa at 9.30 am this morning (07 October) at Temple Trees. He took oaths as a member of the northern provincial council and later as the chief minister.
Former Supreme Court judge Wigneswaran has been selected as the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Chief Minister of the Northern Province following the landslide victory at the recently held Provincial Council Elections for the Province. As the TNA chief candidate at the election, Vigneswaran obtained the highest preferential votes in the Jaffna District with a total of 132,255 votes.
Religious leaders headed by Maha Sangha, Prime Minister D.M Jayarathne, Ministers, Maithripala Sirisena, Dallas Alahapperuma, Douglas Devananda, Rauf Hakeem, DEW Gunasekara, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Governor of Northern Province G.A. Chandrasiri, TNA leader R. Sampanthan, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, several parliamentarians, family members of the newly appointed Chief Minister Vigneswaran and many dignitaries were present at the function.
Earlier Northern Province Governor Major General (retired) G.A. Chandrasiri appointed Vigneswaran to the Chief Minister post of the Province on October 01 and Mr. Vigneshwaran accepted his appointment letter from the Governor.
Pictures are seen here Northern Province Chief Minister Vigneshwaran receiving his appointment letter from President Mahinda Rajapaksa and being greeted by Ministers and other dignitaries at the oaths ceremony at Temple Trees.
Pix by: Sudath Silva
එජාප නායක රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ මහතා නායකත්වයෙන් ඉවත් විය යුතු බව කියමින් මාතර නගරයේ පෙරේදා (05 වැනිදා) පැවැති විරෝධතා පාගමනට කඩාවැදී පෙළපාලිකරුවන්ට ම්ලේච්ඡ ප්රහාරයක් එල්ල කිරීමේ සිද්ධිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් මාතර පොලිසිය මගින් අත්අඩංගුවට ගත් පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රී මංගල සමරවීර මහතාගේ ආධාරකරුවෝ 24 දෙනෙක් ඊයේ (6 වැනිදා) මාතර අතිරේක මහෙස්ත්රාත් මංජුල කරුණාරත්න මහතා හමුවට ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමෙන් පසු අද (7 වැනිදා) දක්වා රක්ෂිත බන්ධනාගාරගත කරනු ලැබූහ.
මෙම පිරිස අද මාතර ප්රධාන මහෙස්ත්රාත්වරයා හමුවට පමුණුවා හඳුනාගැනීමේ පෙරට්ටුවකට ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමට නියමිතය.
මෙම ප්රහාරය එල්ල කිරීම සඳහා ආධාරකරුවන්ට අනුබල දුන් බවට චෝදනා ලැබ සිටින මංගල සමරවීර මහතාගෙන් ද මාතර පොලිසිය ඊයේ (06 වැනිදා) ප්රශ්න කර තිබේ.
බන්ධනාගාරගත කෙරුණු පිරිස අතර මාතර මහ නගර සභාවේ විපක්ෂ නායක උපුල් නිශාන්ත, දකුණු පළාත් සභා මන්ත්රී ගයාන් සංජීව, මංගල සමරවීර මහතාගේ පෞද්ගලික ලේකම් සමීර මනහර, මාතර ප්රාදේශීය සභා විපක්ෂ නායක ලයනල් කොඩිකාර, නාගරික මන්ත්රිවරුන් වන නලින් කුමාර, මොහොමඩ් ඉක්බාල්, මොහොමඩ් හුස්නි යන අයද සිටිති.
මේ අතර මෙම ගැටුම පැවැති අවස්ථාවේ වෙඩි ප්රහාර එල්ල කළ බවට චෝදනා එල්ල වී ඇති දකුණු පළාත් සභා මන්ත්රී මෛත්රි ගුණරත්න මහතාගේ පියා වන හර්මන් ගුණරත්න මහතා ද අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන අධිකරණයට ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමෙන් පසු රිමාන්ඩ් භාරයට පත් කර ඇත. ඔහු ද මෙම ගැටුමේදී තුවාල ලබා ඇති නිසා පොලිස් ආරක්ෂාව යටතේ තංගල්ල රෝහලේ ප්රතිකාර ලබමින් සිටී.
මෙම ප්රහාරයේදී පුද්ගලයන් අටදෙනකු තුවාල ලැබූ අතර ඔවුන් රෝහල්ගත කර ඇත. මෙහිදී වෙඩි ප්රහාරයට ලක් වූ දකුණු පළාත් සභා මන්ත්රී ක්රිෂාන්ත පුෂ්පකුමාර මහතා කරාපිටිය රෝහලේ ප්රතිකාර ලබමින් සිටින අතර වෙඩි ප්රහාරයට ලක්ව බරපතළ තුවාල ලබා සිටින තවත් අයකු මාතර රෝහලෙන් කොළඹට මාරු කර තිබේ.
මෙම ගැටුම සම්බන්ධයෙන් තවත් පුද්ගලයන් පිරිසක් අත්අඩංගුවට ගැනීමට නියමිත අතර ඔවුන් සොයා විශේෂ පොලිස් කණ්ඩායම් පහක් පරීක්ෂණ පවත්වති.
ප්රහාරයට සම්බන්ධ පුද්ගලයන් හඳුනාගැනීම සඳහා මෙම සිද්ධිය වූ අවස්ථාවේ පටිගත කර ගන්නා ලද වීඩියෝ දර්ශන උපයෝගි කරගන්නා ලද බව ද පොලිසිය පවසයි.
රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ මහතා එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂ නායකත්වයෙන් ඉවත් විය යුතු බවට බලකරමින් එජාප ආධාරකරුවන් දහසකට ආසන්න පිරිසකගෙන් සැදුම්ලත් සාමකාමී පාගමනක් පෙරේදා (05 වැනිදා) පෙරවරුවේ දෙවුන්දර විෂ්ණු දේවාලය අසලින් ආරම්භ කරනු ලැබීය. දකුණු පළාත් සභා මන්ත්රී නීතිඥ මෛත්රී ගුණරත්න, බස්නාහිර පළාත් සභා මන්ත්රී ශිරාල් ලක්තිලක, දෙවිනුවර ප්රාදේශීය සභා විපක්ෂ නායක තුෂාර විඡේසූරිය යන මහත්වරුන්ගේ ප්රධානත්වයෙන් ආරම්භ කෙරුණු විරෝධතා පාගමනට නායකත්වය දෙනු ලැබුවේ හර්මන් ගුණරත්න මහතා විසිනි.
දෙවුන්දරින් ආරම්භ කළ පාගමන මාතර දෙසට ගමන් ගනිද්දී මාතර වැල්ලමඩම දෙසින් පැමිණි රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ මහතාට පක්ෂව පැමිණි ආධාරකරුවන් පිරිසක් මාර්ගය අවහිර කරමින් බාධා කර තිබේ. මංගල සමරවීර මහතාගේ ප්රධානත්වයෙන් පැමිණි එම ආධාරකරුවන් කළහකාරී ලෙස හැසිරෙමින් රනිල් විරෝධී පාගමනේ පැමිණි පිරිසට පහර දීමට උත්සාහ කර ඇතත් ප්රදේශවාසීන් විසින් එය මැඬපවත්වා තිබේ. පසුව රනිල් විරෝධී පිරිස නැවත පාගමන ආරම්භ කර මාතර නගරය බලා ගමන් කළ අතර මාතර නගර සභාව ආසන්නයේ මඟ රැක සිටි පොලු මුගුරුවලින් සන්නද්ධ සියයකට අධික පිsරිසක් සාමකාමී පාගමනේ යෙදුණු පිරිසට ඉවක් බවක් නොමැතිව පහර දීමට පටන්ගෙන තිබේ.
එම ගැටුම ඇති වූ අවස්ථාවේ වෙඩි තැබීම් කිහිපයක් ද සිදු වූ අතර වෙඩි ප්රහාරයට ලක් ව පස්දෙනෙක් එහිදී තුවාල ලැබූහ. මංගලගේ පිරිස මාතර නගරයේ ධාවනය වූ වාහන කිහිපයකට සහ පෙළපාලියේ වාහන කිහිපයකට ද පහර දී බරපතළ හානි සිදුකර ඇත.
මාතර පොලිසිය ගැටුම මැ`ඬපවත්වා දෙපාර්ශ්වය විසුරුවා හැරීමට පසුව කටයුතු කර තිබේ. මෙම ගැටුම සිදු වූ ස්ථානයේ තිබී පිස්තෝල හිස් උණ්ඩ කොපු කිහිපයක් ද පොලිසිය සොයාගත් අතර වෙඩි තැබීමට උපයෝගි කරගත් පිස්තෝලය ඊයේ (06 වැනිදා) සවස් වනතුරු සොයාගෙන තිබුණේ නැත.
දකුණු පළාත් භාර ජ්යෙෂ්ඨ නියෝජ්ය පොලිස්පති සී. ඩී. වික්රමරත්න, නියෝජ්ය පොලිස්පති මැකාති පෙරේරා, ජ්යෙෂ්ඨ පොලිස් අධිකාරි දේශබන්දු තෙන්නකෝන් යන මහත්වරුන්ගේ උපදෙස් මත පරීක්ෂණ පැවැත්වේ.
පසුබිම් වාර්ත:- චන්ද්රදාස කොඩිතුවක්කු, කැකනදුර – ගයාන් දර්ශන, ගන්දර – එස්. කේ. කේ. ගුණතිලක, අකුරැස්ස – උපුල් පිනිදිය, මාතර – කේ. එච්. පියසේන, ගාල්ල – ලලිත් චාමින්ද, ගාල්ල අතිරේක – යූ. පී. කුලතිලක
Source: Divaina (Sri Lanka)
[By Janaka Alahapperuma]
Seven new foreign envoys including five Ambassadors and two High Commissioners taking assignments in Sri Lanka presented their credentials to President Mahinda Rajapaksa at a ceremony which was held at the Presidential Secretariat this morning on 04 October.
The new diplomats assuming duties were,
Thereafter the new diplomats joined in a discussion with the President. Welcoming new envoys to the credential ceremony the President said that they are all joining their assignments at a crucial time when the country is getting ready for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) – 2013 in Colombo. The Commonwealth Summit which is scheduled to be held in November will undoubtedly be the largest conference ever organised by the Sri Lankan Government. The President further noted that Sri Lanka’s economy is at a rapid growth after eliminating thirty years of terrorism and the Government’s rehabilitation, reconciliation, resettlement, reconstruction and development process have achieved a huge amount of progress within a short period of time. The President also said Sri Lanka seeks to work with the international community and requested their support to rebuild post war Sri Lanka, which would create an environment for the progress and prosperity of people.
The new envoys pledged to work diligently to strengthen bi-lateral relations as well as their goodwill and assistance for government’s development projects. They also promised to provide their fullest support and participation for the forthcoming CHOGM Conference in Sri Lanka.
The credential presentation ceremony was attended by the Deputy Minister of External Affairs Neomal Perera, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Chief of Protocol of the Ministry of External Affairs, senior officials of the Ministry, senior members representing Sri Lanka Security Forces and officials of the respective missions.
Pix By: Sudath Silva
“During my visit to all parts of the country North, East, South and West I was able to speak freely and openly with ministers, government officials, religious leaders and most importantly ordinary citizens from all sections and walks of life. What struck me particularly was that the military presence in the North was substantially less than what has been often portrayed’, says Lord Rogan of the United Kingdom.
He expressed these views when he met President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees today on 04 October. Lord Rogan of Lower Lveagh, member of British House of Lords and Vice Chairman of British- Sri Lanka Parliamentary Group has just completed a seven day fact finding visit to Sri Lanka. He is also a member of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) of Northern Ireland which is currently a coalition partner with the ruling Conservative party.
“Sri Lanka must be recognised as a country coming out of an armed conflict spanning a thirty year period which cost around 100,000 lives. Since 2009 much has been achieved in Sri Lanka- the government has policies to achieve more. I was happy to note that there is religious and ethnic harmony”, he further said.
“I found that peace has descended on this pleasant land and that development and prosperity are continuing to grow a pace. Having lived in Northern Ireland during our troubles, I know how easy and wrong it is for outside commentators to make snap judgments (often on poor and wrong information) on the situation in our two countries. We suffered because of this- as you are doing today. Commentators from the outside world should realise it takes time, energy and commitment to achieve the ideals set out by the Sri Lankan Government”, Lord Rogan observed.
President Rajapaksa said that the government has spent around 3 billion US Dollars for the development of the North since the end of the conflict. “This is higher than what has been spent for the South. The type of modern health and hospital facilities provided to Jaffna are available only in few cities including Colombo in the rest of the country”, the President pointed out.
“The Sri Lankan President, government and people must be given both space and patience by the outside world to fulfill their plans. The forthcoming CHOGM Conference is a golden opportunity for the peoples of Sri Lanka to show the true picture of life in their post-conflict country. Dialogue and diplomacy are fundamental to the way forward for lasting peace and prosperity, thankfully I have experienced many examples of both”, said Lord Rogan. Senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs were also present at the discussion.
Pix By: Nalin Hewapathirana
Submitted by Janaka Alahapperuma
The Association of Professional Sri Lankans in the UK presents ‘Students Day’ in association with the High Commission of Sri Lanka on Saturday 19th October 2013.
Wesley college (OBA UK) presents ‘Double Blue Dinner Dance 2013’ on Saturday the 5th of October 2013.
[By Janaka Alahapperuma]
A special discussion between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Leader R. Sampanthan was held at President’s House today on 04 October. The meeting between the two leaders took place this morning at 8.30 am and the pair last met in July this year to talk about the parliamentary select committees. The intention of the today’s meeting was to discuss about the swearing in of Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneshwaran who was elected in the recently held PC elections. Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga was present at the occasion.
Meanwhile TNA is also having a special meeting in Colombo on the final arrangements of the sworn in ceremony for the newly elected Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister, council members and the naming of the PC ministers. Sources close to the party informed that the heads of all the TNA coalitions and parliamentarians are participating in the discussion.
However some coalition members of the TNA have criticised and expressed their unwillingness to allow its Chief Minister to be sworn in before the Northern Province’s Governor and retired Major General G.A. Chandrasiri since the TNA captured 28 seats and two bonus seats (total 30 seats) in the 38 seat Northern PC. Therefore the sources said they have decided to invite President Rajapaksa to Jaffna to administer the oath of office to the country’s first Chief Minister of the North in a gesture of goodwill.
Former Supreme Court judge C.V. Vigneswaran obtained the highest preference votes in the Jaffna District with a total of 132,255 votes, and was unanimously selected to the post in a post- election meeting by the 28 TNA candidates who were elected for the Northern Provincial Council. However former judge Vigneswaran received his letter of appointment as the Northern Province Chief Minister from the Governor of the Province Major General (retd) G.A. Chandrasiri at the Governor’s office in Jaffna on last Tuesday (01 Oct).
Pix by: Sudath Silva
A statue of Queen Victoria in Sri Lanka’s main city, Colombo, has been taken off its plinth for renovation ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held there next month.
The statue was moved from its original location seven years ago and placed in an inconspicuous position.
But the authorities say it will now be given more prominence.
The Telegram Service with a 150-year-old history came to an end today and was replaced by the Tele -Mail service.
The Telegram Service which brings back nostalgic memories of a different kind of ‘short message service’ was taken over by the Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd, the successor to the Telecommunications Department with the Postal Department being responsible only for the delivery of telegrams.
Postmaster General Rohana Abeyratne said the Telegram Service had ceased to function with immediate effect and that the Tele-Mail service first introduced in 2000, was now available at all post offices in the country. He said the telegram service which was incurring losses had to be replaced to avoid further losses. Mr. Abeyratne said the telegram service had lost its glamour and was not much in demand.
Post and Telecommunications Minister Jeewan Kumaratunga said the Tele-Mail system would provide a better service to the people and that public servants would be able to use it to request leave of absence with documentary proof in case of an emergency.
He said steps would be taken to avoid technical defects and improved in consultation with the public.
Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)
Amidst moves to name him as the party’s Chief Ministerial candidate, at the forthcoming Southern Provincial Council polls, UNP MP Sajith Premadasa demands that he be made the leader of the party and its next presidential candidate.
At the last presidential polls in January 2010, the UNP threw its weight behind former army commander Gen. Sarath Fonseka along with the JVP, the TNA, the SLMC and the CWC.
The SLFP-led UPFA introduced the 18th Amendment to the Constitution to do away with the presidential term limit to pave the way for President Mahinda Rajapaksa to contest the presidential election for a third time.
The UNP Working Committee, Parliamentary Group and the party Convention should introduce far reaching reforms, Premadasa told The Island yesterday. “On top of the reforms should be a change of the leader.”
Asked whether he could muster the required support among party seniors to push for reforms, the Hambantota District MP said that in the wake of the recent humiliating electoral defeats in the Sabaragamuwa and Central Provinces and extremely poor performance in the Northern Province those who loved the country and the party wanted him to take over the leadership.
Commenting on the Matara District Organisation’s decision to propose Premadasa as the Southern Province Chief Ministerial candidate, at the next Working Committee meeting, an irate Premadasa alleged that a despicable attempt was being made to distract the party. He emphasised that he wouldn’t give in to the machinations of a few desperate individuals all out to retain the defend leadership at the expense of the party.
Premadasa said: “The party needs a radical change. No one has asked the incumbent leadership to name Chief Ministerial candidates for the Southern, Western or Uva Provinces. Instead of listening to the voice of the electorate, now wanting change of leadership, a foolish attempt is being made to divert the attention of the party. We cannot afford to allow the incumbent leadership to manipulate the Working Committee and the Parliamentary Group again to its advantage.”
Premadasa alleged that those wanting him to contest the Southern Provincial Council were conspiring to sabotage his political career. He claimed that the group conspiring against him worked with the notion that the government could be defeated with the support of former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.
Responding to a query, Premadasa said that the UNP couldn’t afford to identify itself with those who had been still working closely with foreign elements supportive of the LTTE’s separatist sentiments.
He said that the UNP had the wherewithal to take on the UPFA if it was given effective leadership. Pointing out that the UNP had always performed well in the Hambantota electoral district under his leadership, though it was President Rajapaksa’s home base, UNPer underscored that at the last parliamentary polls in April 2010 his party had managed to retain the same number seats, whereas the number dropped in all other electoral districts. (By Shamindra Ferdinando)
Source: The Island (Sri Lanka)
Chairman of Selectors Sanath Jayasuriya promised to field a full strength side during the ODI and T-20 series in England next year. With English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) advancing the ODIs before the Test Matches for Sri Lanka’s tour of that country next year, there are fears that several players will be unavailable for the series as they have lucrative IPL contracts.
The IPL schedule is not out yet, but in recent years, India’s domestic T-20 tournament has dragged on till end of May. By end of May next year, the T-20 International and four of the five ODIs between Sri Lanka and England would have been over. Sri Lanka arrive in England next year on the 10th of May and play the T-20 International on the 20th of May. Prior to that they have three warm-up games in Kent, Essex and Surrey.
“This tour obviously has been on the Future Tour Programme (FTP). No one can now say that this was not on the FTP. Every nation has to honour the FTP and we will do that too,” Jayasuriya toldThe Island yesterday responding to one of our queries.
“If you take the New Zealand players, they ended their IPL commitment early to represent their country and the Australians who were involved in the Ashes packed their bags early as well from the IPL. It’s the responsibility of the national players to honour international commitments,” Jayasuriya added.
When asked if any player issues conditions on his availability to play the series in England, Jayasuriya said the board will have to take a decision on that but promised firmness this time around unlike in the past where the board has given into players’ wishes under political pressure.
The last time the Sri Lankans toured England, senior players made a mockery of preparations ahead of the series by arriving in England in several batches due to their IPL commitments. Some players even missed a warm-up game and were clearly unprepared when the first Test came up in Cardiff, where they were blown away for 82 runs just over a session to lose the Test by an innings.
One of the players who arrived late to due to IPL – Mahela Jayawardene – failed to make a half-century in the entire Test series and struggled against the moving ball. During the three Tests all his six dismissals were caught behind– twice caught by wicketkeeper, twice caught at first slip, once caught at third slip and once caught at fourth slip.
In 2009, the players took the roles of activists as they sought political intervention to cancel a tour of England following an ECB’s invitation to fill a gap created by Zimbabwe. Not only was the tour scrapped, Board Chairman at that time, Arjuna Ranatunga was unceremoniously sacked as well. West Indies eventually accepted to tour England although their players too had IPL contracts. (by Rex Clementine)
Source: The Islands (Sri Lanka)
ආණ්ඩුක්රම ව්යවස්ථාවේ 13 වැනි සංශෝධනයෙන් රජයේ ඉඩම්වල අයිතිය පළාත් සභාවලට පවරා නැති බවත් පළාත්බද ජනතා අවශ්යතා සඳහා රජයේ ඉඩම් පළාත් සභාවලට පාවිච්චි කළ හැකි නමුත් එම ඉඩම්වල අයිතිය දිගටම ඇත්තේ මධ්යම රජයට බවත් ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය ඊයේ (26 දා) ප්රකාශයට පත් කළ නඩු තීන්දුවකින් තහවුරු කළේය.
ඒකීය රාජ්යයක් වන ශ්රී ලංකාවේ පළාත් මට්ටමින් බලය විමධ්යගත කිරීම සඳහා පිහිටුවන ලැබූ පළාත් සභාවලට අයත් වන විෂයයන් ලැයිස්තුගත කර ඇති අතර ‘රජයේ ඉඩම්’ එම ලැයිස්තුවට ඇතුළත් නොවන බවද එම තීන්දුවේ සඳහන් කර ඇත.
මෙම නඩු තීන්දුව ඊයේ ප්රකාශයට පත් කරනු ලැබුවේ අගවිනිසුරු මොහාන් පීරිස්, කේ. ශ්රීපවන් සහ ඊවා වනසුන්දර යන ත්රිපුද්ගල විනිසුරු මඩුල්ල විසිනි.
විනිසුරු මඩුල්ලේ තිදෙනා ගත් තීන්දුවලට හේතු වෙන වෙනම ප්රකාශයට පත් කර තිබූ නමුත් රජයේ ඉඩම් මධ්යම රජය සතුය, රජයේ අවසරය මත පමණක් යම් සීමාවන්ට යටත්ව ඒවා පළාත් සභාවලට පරිහරණය කළ හැකිය යන්න විනිසුරුවන් තිදෙනාගේ ඒකමතික අදහස බව තීන්දුවලින් ප්රකාශ වී ඇත.
ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය ඊයේ ප්රකාශයට පත් කළ තීන්දුවට මූලික වූයේ මහනුවර පළාත්බද මහාධිකරණය හමුවේ 2000 වර්ෂයේ පැවරූ නඩුවකි.
ඒ නුවරඑළිය මහෙස්ත්රාත් උසාවියට අයත් ඉඩමක බලෙන් පදිංචිව සිටි තැනැත්තියක් ඉන් ඉවත් කිරීම සඳහා එම ප්රදේශයේ ඉඩම් අත්පත් කර ගැනීමේ බලධාරීන් විසින් උසාවි නියෝගයක් ලබාගෙන ඇත. ඊට එරෙහිව නඩු මගට පිවිසි ඉඩමේ පදිංචිව සිටි තැනැත්තිය එම නියෝගය අවලංගු කරන්නැයි ඉල්ලා සිටියාය.
මහනුවර පළාත්බද මහාධිකරණ විනිසුරුවරයා තීන්දු කළේ එම නඩුව විභාග කිරීමට පළාත්බද අධිකරණයට බලයක් නැති බවයි.
ඊට පසුව ද්රවිඩ ජාතික තැනැත්තියක වන එම විත්තිකාරිය එම නඩු තීන්දුවට එරෙහිව අභියාචනාධිකරණයට ඇපෑලක් ගොනු කළ අතර එය විභාග කළ අභියාචනාධිකරණය රජයේ ඉඩම් පළාත් සභාවලට අයත් වන බැවින් එම නඩුව විභාග කිරීමට පළාත් මහාධිකරණයට බලයක් ඇතැයි තීන්දු කළේය.
ඊට පසුව අභියාචනාධිකරණය දුන් තීන්දුවට එරෙහිව ඉඩම් අත්කර ගැනීමේ බලධාරියා මෙන්ම වැවිලි කර්මාන්ත අමාත්යාංශයේ නිලධාරියකු වන එස්. සී. කේ. ද අල්විස් මහතා ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයට ඇපෑලක් ගොනු කළේය.
ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය ඊයේ ප්රකාශයට පත් කළේ එම ඇපෑලේ තීන්දුවයි.
අභියාචනාධිකරණය දුන් නඩු තීන්දුව ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය මගින් අවලංගු කළ අතර උසාවිය හමුවේ සාකච්ඡාවට භාජනය වූ නීතිමය ප්රශ්නය පැමිණිල්ලේ වාසියට තීන්දු කෙරිණි.
ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ මනෝහරද සිල්වා, අධිනීතිඥ පාලිත ගමගේ යන මහත්වරුන් 1 වැනි වගඋත්තරකරු වෙනුවෙන් ද අධිනීතිඥ ගෝමින් දයාසිරි මනෝලි ජයවර්ධන මහත්ම මහත්මීන් 2 වැනි වගඋත්තරකරු වෙනුවෙන් ද පෙනී සිටි අතර නීතිපති වෙනුවෙන් නියෝජ්ය සොලිසිටර් ජනරාල් යුහාන් විඡේතිලක මහතා පෙනී සිටියේය.
මෙහි විත්තිකාරිය වූ ද්රවිඩ ජාතික කාන්තාව වෙනුවෙන් අධිනීතිඥ එම්. ඒ. සුමන්තිරන් හා ගනේෂ රාජා මහත්වරු පෙනී සිටියහ.
Source: Divaina (Sri Lanka)
UNP parliamentarian 
said today the party would undergo significant changes soon in the wake of the defeat at Saturday’s elections to the three provincial councils.
“Senior party members including the party leader has sought our ideas as to the kind of changes that the party should be subjected to. We hope these changes will be introduced at the next working committee meeting to be held on October 7. A group carrying out contracts on behalf of the government is obstructing UNP attempts to rise up. Unless this matter is resolved, we won’t be able to stand up as a party even if a new leader is appointed”, Mr. Fernando said.
He said Dayasiri Jayasekara’s claim of a possible computer ‘jilmart’ at the provincial council election was proved when marked ballot papers were recovered from a counting centre in Puttalam.
“I congratulate Dayasiri on his victory at a time when members of government and the opposition were trying to undermine his political campaign. I have no personal dispute with him. Whatever I did was with the intention of protecting my party,” he said. (Yohan Perera, Ajith Siriwardana & Naduni Jayasinghe)
Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)
While strongly repudiating UN Human Rights Chief Navinethem Pillay’s assertion that if certain concerns are not comprehensively addressed, she believes ‘the international community will have a duty to establish its own inquiry mechanisms’, Sri Lanka said that she has no mandate to make such a claim.
In response to Pillay’s remarks, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha said, “having brought normalcy to the lives of the civilian population, GOSL has also taken positive steps to address issues of accountability. The GOSL strongly repudiates the High Commissioner’s assertion that if certain concerns are not comprehensively addressed, she believes “the international community will have a duty to establish its own inquiry mechanisms”. We also note that the HC has no mandate to make such a claim. Multiple mechanisms to address accountability have been put in place and are in motion as a continuous progression from the LLRC process.”
Criticising several other allegations levelled against Sri Lanka, Mr. Aryasinha said, “The Sri Lankan government strongly refutes the HC’s view that the human rights situation in Sri Lanka remains critically important”. As pointed out many times in this Council by my delegation, the disproportionate attention paid to Sri Lanka, largely at the behest of parties with vested interests, considerably complicates the on-going delicate process of reconciliation. Sri Lanka is not a situation that requires the urgent and immediate attention of the Council. Sri Lanka needs to be encouraged, not impeded.”
Statement by Sri Lanka as concerned for the Oral update of the High Commissioner- Agenda Item 2 >>
Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay today set a deadline for the government to address human rights concerns by March 2014 in the absence of which she believes the international community will have a duty to establish its own inquiry mechanisms.
In a statement on Sri Lanka, which was delivered to the UN Human Rights Council by the Deputy High Commissioner Flavia Pansieri, Pillay said that she has not detected any new or comprehensive effort to independently or credibly investigate the allegations which have been of concern to the Human Rights Council.
“She encourages the Government to use the time between now and March 2014 to engage in a credible national process with tangible results, including the successful prosecution of individual perpetrators, in the absence of which she believes the international community will have a duty to establish its own inquiry mechanisms,” the statement said.
She also called for continued attention on Sri Lanka by the UN Human Rights Council.
Source: Colombo Gazette
Australia and Britain said Wednesday there remain important concerns about human rights and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, but also noted areas of progress and also encouraged countries to participate in the Commonwealth leaders’ meeting to be held in Sri Lanka in November.
“Sri Lanka will have an opportunity to show what progress has been made in areas of humanitarian support and human rights,” foreign media reports said quoting Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. She said more could be achieved by engaging Sri Lanka than by isolating it.
Bishop welcomed this week’s provincial elections in a region that was ravaged by the war.
Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)
Picture is seen the two leaders greet one another as they meet for bilateral discussions.
The Pakistani delegation included several high-profile officials including the Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Minister of Finance Ishaq Dar and the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations Masood Khan.
The Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister of Youth Affairs and Skills Development Dullas Alahapperuma, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Dr. Palitha Kohona and Additional Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs Mrs. Kshenuka Seneviratne were also present at the meeting.
[By Janaka Alahapperuma]
The Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa in New York City on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday 25 September. The discussion between the Commonwealth and Sri Lankan delegations was mainly based on the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) – 2013 which is scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in November. Secretary-General, Sharma informed President Rajapaksa that representatives of many countries who visited Sri Lanka recently as a part of the advance visits prior to the CHOGM were very satisfied with the planning underway in preparation for the summit.
The delegation from the Commonwealth Secretariat consisted of the Director of the Office of the Commonwealth Secretary-General Simon Gimson, Director of Political Affairs Amitav Banerji, Director of Communications and Public Affairs Richard Uku and the Head of the Asia Division of Political Affairs Ms. Nishana Jayawickrama.
The Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris, Monitoring MP of the Ministry of External Affairs Sajin Vass Gunawardena, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs Mrs. Kshenuka Seneviratne and Director General of Europe and Americas of the Ministry of External Affairs Mrs. Himali Serasinghe were also present at the meeting.
Sri Lanka’s tour of England next year will clash with the IPL. Since he retired from Tests, Malinga has been least affected by international schedules clashing with the cash rich IPL, but now that the ODIs will precede the Tests in England, he will have to make a choice. (Files)
The national cricketers and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) could be in for a major showdown after it emerged that the national cricket team’s tour of the United Kingdom next year would clash with the next edition of the Indian Premier League.
Sri Lanka are due to fly to the UK on the 10th of May this year, but the IPL is expected to go on till end May. This year’s IPL ended on May 26th, while in 2012, the IPL ended on May 27th. Next year’s IPL itinerary is yet to be announced.
Sri Lanka’s first warm-up game starts in England on the 13th of May at Chelmsford, while the first T-20 International starts on the 20th of May at The Oval.
This time around, the ODIs will take place during the first half of the summer, followed by the Tests, although it was vice-versa on previous instances.
The itinerary for the England series means that the players have no option but to leave the IPL early. Had the ODIs followed the Test matches, it would have been an ideal situation for someone like Lasith Malinga, who only plays ODI cricket. However, now that the formats have been switched, the strike bowler will face a predicament.
In 2011, Malinga hastily retired from Test cricket, but has emerged as the most successful bowler in the IPL.
Not only Malinga, but over the years, Sri Lankan players have been reluctant to leave the IPL early to honour their international commitments. Since the IPL started in 2008, Sri Lanka’s tours of England have been badly affected and the trend is expected to continue.
In 2009, Sri Lanka’s cricketers, led by Mahela Jayawardene rebelled, when SLC accepted an invitation from the English and Wales Cricket Board to fill a gap created by Zimbabwe to play a Test series. Not only was the England series scrapped, but World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga was ousted from the post of board chairman, as a number of senior players and a notorious player agent rebelled against him.
The players, however, in obtaining a no Objection Certificate from SLC had insisted that they will come out of the IPL in the event they had obligations towards the national team.
West Indies accepted the same offer that Mahela and co. kicked out and although they had several stars representing playing in the IPL, they played the series in England, in 2009.
For the 2011 tour of England, Sri Lanka’s cricketers arrived there late and went onto miss a warm-up game as well.(by Rex Clementine)
Source: The Island (Sri Lanka)
[By Janaka Alahapperuma]
President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is in New York to participate the 68th United Nations General Assembly met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the summit on Tuesday September 24.
Sri Lankan delegation headed by President Rajapaksa held discussions with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the UN officials at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The head of the UN has appreciated the measures taken to set up a provincial council in the North after three decades. Opinions were also exchange on the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation (LLRC) Report.
The Sri Lankan delegation included Minister of External Affairs Prof G.L. Peiris, Monitoring MP Sajin Vass Gunawardane, Secretary to the President, Lalith Weeratunga and Sri Lankan Permanent Representative to UN, Ambassador Dr Palitha Kohona and Additional Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs Mrs Kshenuka Seneviratne at the discussion.
Meanwhile Sri Lankan First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa met with Mrs Ban Soon-taek, Spouse of United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon inside the United Nations Headquarters in a different function organised for the spouses of the participating world leaders.
During the United Nations General Assembly reception, US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama warmly received President Mahinda Rajapaksa and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.
Pix By: Sudath Silva, Lalith Welivitigoda & White House Official Photo Gallery
[By Janaka Alahapperuma]
President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived in New York on 22 September (yesterday) to participate in the 68th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Session. He was warmly welcomed by UN Sri Lankan representative Dr. Palitha Kohona, his Deputy Major General Shavendra Silva, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States and Mexico, Jaliya Wickramasuriya and members of the staff of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations. Several members of the Sri Lankan community living in New York City were also present to welcome the President and the First Lady. Sri Lankan President is scheduled to address the General Assembly Sessions tomorrow on 24 September. This is the 6th occasion, the first of which was in 2006 the President addresses the General Assembly upon getting elected to the Presidency in the year 2005.
During this visit the President is also scheduled to meet the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, the Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma and hold bilateral discussions with several Asian and African Heads of State. The President is also scheduled to participate in a political debate on Sustainable Development, during this visit. First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, Ministers Prof. G.L Peiris, Nimal Siripala De Silva, Dallas Alahapperuma, Monitoring MP Sajin Vass Gunawardena, Secretary to the President Lalith Weerathunga and senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs also joined the President in this visit. President Mahinda Rajapaksa and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa are seen here being welcomed by two Sri Lankan children as staff members of Sri Lanka’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations look on.
Pix By: Sudath Silva
Nawa arahadi Buduguna Pujawa will be held on Saturday, 28th September at 6pm.
An eight-week course on Buddhism will start on Monday 07th October 2013 at the London Buddhist Vihara. Classes will be held each Monday from 7pm – 9pm.
A 10 week course starting Thursday 3rd October 2013. Classes will be held every Thursday from 7pm – 9pm.
වයඹ පළාත් සභා මැතිවරණ අපේක්ෂක දයාසිරි ජයසේකර මහතා, මනාප ඡන්ද 336,327ක් ලබාගනිමින් පළාත් සභා මැතිවරණ ඉතිහාසයේ වැඩිම මනාප ලබාගත් අපේක්ෂකයා ලෙස නව වාර්තාවක් පිහිටුවීමට ඊයේ (22) සමත් විය.
දයාසිරි ජයසේකර මහතා විසින් බිඳ දමා ඇත්තේ චන්ද්රිකා කුමාරතුංග මහත්මිය විසින් 1993 බස්නාහිර පළාත් සභා මැතිවරණයේ දී මනාප 298457ක් ලබා ගනිමින් තබා තිබූ වාර්තාවය.
ජොහාන් ප්රනාන්දු මහතා කුරුණෑගල දිස්ත්රික්කයෙන් දෙවැනි තැනට මනාප ලබාගෙන ඇති අතර, ඒ මහතා ලබාගෙන ඇති මනාප ප්රමාණය 134443කි. දයාසිරි ජයසේකර මහතා ඔහුට වඩා මනාප ඡන්ද 201884ක් ලබා ගැනීම විශේෂත්වයකි.
වාර්තා ගත ජයග්රහණයෙන් පසු දිනමිණට අදහස් දැක්වූ දයාසිරි ජයසේකර මහතා,
වයඹ දැක්මෙන් මනා ලෙස සම්පත් කළමනාකරණය කර ආශ්චර්යමත් ශ්රී ලංකාවක් ගොඩ නැඟීමට ජනපති මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා ගෙන යන වැඩපිළිවෙළට හැකි උපරිම අයුරින් දායක වෙනවා. ශ්රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂ අභිමානය රැකගනිමින් වංචාව, දූෂණය, පරාජය කිරීමට ගෙන ගිය සංවිධානාත්මක වැඩපිළිවෙළේ අතිවිශ්ෂ්ට ජයග්රහණයක් ලෙස මෙය හැඳින්විය හැකියි.
දේශපාලන සදාචාරය මුදලට විනාශ කිරීමට දැරූ උත්සාහය පක්ෂයේ මැති ඇමැතිවරුන්ගේ ආශිර්වාදයත් ශක්තියත් මත තමාට පරාජය කිරීමට හැකි වුණා, ඒ පිළිබඳ නිහතමානීව ආඩම්බර වනවා.
සියලු අභියෝග හමුවේ එක රොදකට බැඳී ශක්තියක් වූ සමස්ත වයඹ ජනතාවට හිස නමා ආචාර කරනවා. පක්ෂ භේදයෙන් තොරව වයඹ පළාත සංවර්ධන මාවත කරා යෑමට ඇපකැප වෙනවා.
මම ජනාධිපතිතුමාගේ මාර්ගෝපදේශකත්වය යටතේ යාමට ඇප කැපවී සිටිනවා. වයඹ සංවර්ධනයේ මාවත දැන් විවර වී තිබෙනවා. මට ඒ සඳහා ඔබ සැමගේ සහාය අවශ්යයි. මම ඔබ සැමගේ ආදරණීය දයාසිරි ජයසේකර යැයි හෙතෙම වැඩිදුරටත් කීය.
Source: Dinamina (Sri Lanka)
The Democratic Party (DP) led by former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka said it was now the “third force” in Sri Lankan politics.
Democratic Party parliamentarian Jayantha Ketagoda said that the party will now look at taking their political policies further.
The Democratic Party received 3 seats in the North Western Province and 2 in the Central provincial council elections held yesterday and pushed the JVP down the list.
Ketagoda told the Colombo Gazette that the DP was satisfied with the outcome of the polls and showed that the people clearly wanted an alternative force.
“Our party was formed only a few months ago so this is a significant achievement for us. General Fonseka was fully committed during the election campaign at the provincial elections,” he said.
He also noted that they party managed to gain the votes it got despite several hurdles during campaigning for the polls.
The MP said that among the hurdles faced was the refusal by local authorities in some areas to allow the DP to hold election rallies.
Ketagoda also said that the election was not free and fair as the government violated election laws which included misusing state resources. (Easwawarn Rutnam)
Source: Colombo Gazette
උතුරේ ජනතාව රජයට වඩා දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානයට විශාල බලයක් ලබාදීම නිසා ඔවුන් වෙනුවෙන් ඉටු කිරීමට වගකීම් රැසක් ඇතැයි සී.වී. විග්නේෂ්වරන් මහතා ඊයේ (22 දා) දහවල් ඔහු නවාතැන් ගෙන සිටින යාපනයේ නිවසේදී පැවැසීය.
දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානයේ ජයග්රහණය පිළිබඳව මාධ්යවේදීන්ට කරුණු දැක්වීමට ඊයේ (22 දා) යාපනය ටිල්කෝ හෝටලයේදී පස්වරු 2 ට පැවැත්වීමට නියමිත මාධ්ය සාකච්ඡාවට පෙර දහවල් “දිවයින”ට විශේෂ ප්රකාශයක් කරමින් විග්නේෂ්වරන් මේ බව පැවැසීය.
තවදුරටත් අදහස් දැක්වූ ඔහු කියා සිටියේ උතුරේ වැසියන් වසර හතළිහක පමණ කාලයක සිට අත්විඳින ප්රශ්න
රැසක් හා යුද්ධය හමාර වීමෙන් පසුව මුහුණ දෙන ගැටලු රැසක් ඇති බැවින් ඒ සියලුම ප්රශ්නවලට විසඳුම් ලබාදෙන ආකාරයේ පළාත් සභාවක් උතුරු ප්රදේශය තුළ දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානය විසින් ගොඩ නගන බවයි.
කවුරුන් කුමක් ප්රකාශ කළත් දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානයේ අරමුණ රට බෙදීම නොව ඒකීය රාජ්යයක් තුළ බලය බෙදාගැනීමේ ක්රමයට අවතීර්ණ වීම බව ප්රකාශ කළ විග්නේෂ්වරන් මහතා උතුරු පළාත් සභාව තුළ සිටින සිංහල, දෙමළ, හා මුස්ලිම් වැසියන්ට සර්ව සාධාරණව සැලකීම තම පක්ෂයේ යුතුකම වී ඇතැයිද පැවැසීය.
රජය පරාජය කොට දෙමළ වැසියන් අති බහුතර බලයක් දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානයට ලබාදීම ගැන සලකා බලන විට ලද ජයග්රහණයේ සතුටට වඩා විශාල බරක් තමා ඇතුළු දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානයේ සාමාජිකයන් මත පැටවී ඇතැයිද හෙතෙම පැවැසීය.
මේ අවස්ථාවේදී “දිවයින”ට අදහස් දැක්වූ ආර්. සම්බන්ධන් මන්ත්රීවරයා කියා සිටියේ රජය උතුරේ ජනතාවට විවිධ බොරු කියමින් දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානය පරාජය කිරීමට උත්සාහ කළත් දෙමළ ජනතාව විශාල යුද්ධයකට පසුව දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානයට සහාය පළකොට තිබීම දෙස බලන විට ඔවුන්ගේ අවශ්යතාවන් ඉටු කිරීමට තමන්ට පූර්ණ ශක්තිය යෙදවීමට සිදුවන බවයි.
සුරේෂ් ප්රේමචන්ද්රන් මන්ත්රීවරයා කියා සිටියේ දකුණේ ජනතාවත් රජයත් ජනාධිපතිවරයාත් දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානය එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ. යේ අරමුණ ඉටු කිරීමට බැඳී සිටින පක්ෂයක් ලෙස හංවඩු ගසා ඇතත් එවැනි අරමුණක් හෝ බලාපොරොත්තුවක් දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානය තුළ නොමැති බවයි.
දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානය යාපනය දිස්ත්රික්කයේ මන්ත්රීධුර දහසයෙන් දාහතරක්ම දිනා තිබුණද ප්රතිඵල නිකුත් වීමෙන් පසුව ස්ථාන කීපයක රතිඤ්Æ දැල්වීම හැරුණු විට ජනතාව කෑකෝ ගැසීම පෙළපාලි යැම් දක්නට නොලැබිණි. ඉරිදා දිනයක් වූ බැවින්ද මැතිවරණ රාජකාරි සඳහා යොදාගත් බස් රථ යළි ධාවනය සඳහා බස් හිමියන් ඊයේ (22 දා) යොදා නොගැනීම නිසාද යාපනයේ ප්රධාන මාර්ගවල පවා දැඩි පාළු ස්වභාවයක් දක්නට ලැබිණි. පොලිසිය හා පොලිස් විශේෂ කාර්ය බළකාය යාපනයේ නගරය අවට දැඩි ආරක්ෂක වැඩපිළිවෙළක් යොදා තිබූ අතර මැතිවරණ ප්රතිඵල දැන ගැනීමටද යාපනය මධ්ය මහා විද්යාලයේ පිහිටි ගණන් කිරීමේ මධ්යස්ථාන වෙත එතරම් පිරිස පැමිණ නොසිටියහ.
දේශීය හා විදේශීය මාධ්යවේදීන් 109 දෙනකු යාපනයේ මැතිවරණය වාර්තා කිරීමට පැමිණ සිටීම විශේෂ සිද්ධියක් විය. (දිනසේන රතුගමගේ සහ ප්රසන්න ප්රදීප්)
Source: Divaina (Sri Lanka)
