While the Co-ordinating Committee of the Trade Union Alliance (CCTUA) maintained that their token strike against the electricity tariff hike was successful all round the country, the government said that overall attendance in public sector institutions had, in fact, increased by 3.5 per cent yesterday.

Former JVP MP and Co–convener of the CCTUA, Wasantha Samarasinghe said their strike had been a huge success in the public and private sectors.

He said that 201 factories in the private sector had been closed yesterday due to the absence of employees. The strike was most successful in the private sector and all employees had staged demonstrations opposite their respective institutions, he said.

“According to our records, 60 per cent of teachers did not attend school yesterday,” Samarasinghe said, adding that schools in the Ampara and Anuradhapura had been closed due to non attendance of teachers.

He claimed that 100 per cent of the employees had not reported for work on some estates, while overall 40 per cent of the estate workers had joined the strike.

Samarasinghe said that 95 per cent of the workers at the Sri Jayewardenepura hospital had joined the strike while 700 workers did not report to work at the Kalubowila Teaching hospital.

He said that 50 per cent of the Ayurveda workers countrywide supported the strike.

The former JVP MP said that workers of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority had not taken part in the strike, but they staged a demonstration.

Samarasinghe said that 90 per cent of shops had been closed in Chilaw, Anuradhapura, Mattakkuliya, Mutwal and Watawala yesterday in support of the strike

“As a token strike, it was very successful and our operational committee will meet today to decide future action as the government is yet to withdraw the electricity tariff hike,” Samarasinghe said, adding that they would announce their next action after the Vesak celebrations.

Director General of Government Information Prof. Ariyaratne Ethugala said, in a statement, that normal attendance of government servants averaged 90 per cent daily, but it had increased to 93.5 per cent yesterday. He said that public servants being present at workplaces yesterday was a clear indication that they endorsed the government’s development plans in the Fisheries, Estate and Agriculture sectors.

Prof. Ethugala said that schools and hospitals also functioned as normal yesterday.

“The government appreciates those who helped defeat the attempt to sabotage its development programmes by reporting to work yesterday,” he said.

The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA), a main party in the CCTUA did not take part in the strike at the Colombo, Rajarata and Moratuwa universities, Engineering Faculty of Peradeniya University and the Science Faculty of Ruhuna University.

FUTA President Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri said their members in other universities and faculties only boycotted lectures, but examinations and other administration activities were conducted as usual.

He said that they staged a demonstration with the participation of lecturers from the Colombo, Sri Jayewardenepura, Visual and Performing Arts and Open Universities in Nugegoda town.

Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said that teachers’ attendance was high yesterday and school buses, school vans operated as usual and non-academic staff too marked their presence more than on normal days.

Gunawardena said that he had visited several schools in Colombo and the ministry could provide a list of attendance by school principals, teachers and non-academic staff. later to prove the strike was highly unsuccessful.

Operations at the Sri Lanka Ports Authority were conducted as usual yesterday as 98 per cent of the employees reported to work, SLPA Deputy Chief Manager, Nalin Aponsu said.

He said that the strike was a complete failure at the Colombo port.

The National Transport Commission said that neither the SLTB nor private buses took part in the strike.

Chief Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Graduates’ Association Manula Chamal Perera said that none of the newly recruited graduates supported the strike.

UNP MP and President of the Public Service United Trade Union Federation Ranjith Madduma Bandara said that UNP only helped the JVP organised strike.

“It was successful only in some place such as Railway Department and Printing Corporation,” Madduma Bandara said adding that people got afraid when government cancelled all leave and they reported to work yesterday.(by Dasun Edirisinghe)

Source: The Island (Sri Lanka)

Government Minister and Jathika Hela Urumaya leader Patali Champika Ranawaka is to submit a private member’s motion in parliament this week against the 13th Amendment to the constitution.

The Minister’s media unit said that he will also submit a motion against the provincial councils system.

He note that in India if the provinces misuse their powers then the central government can take it over but in Sri Lanka the situation is different.

The Minister said that giving land and police powers to the provinces is dangerous and should not be allowed so he will put forward a bill in Parliament against it as a private member’s motion this week.

The government is to hold elections in the northern province in September and the Minister fears that if the TNA comes to power in the province then it will use the 13th Amendment to divide the country.

Source: Colombo Gazette

It would be an insult to the war heroes who sacrificed their lives for their motherland if we gave into international pressure and held Provincial Council (PC) elections in the North, Technology and Atomic Energy Minister Champika Ranawaka said.

Speaking at the 4th anniversary of the Sri Lankan War Heroes’ Commemoration Day organised by the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) at the Public Library in Colombo on Saturday, the Minister said Indian politicians Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa wouldn’t even be alive today to continue their politics against Sri Lanka if the late LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had won the Eelam war.

He also said the same fate would have befallen Sri Lankan politicians such as Sampanthan, Rauff Hakeem or Azath Salley, if Prabhakaran is alive.

“If not for the war victory achieved by the government, Tamil and Muslim political leaders who are very vocal today would have met with the same fate as Amirthalingam,” Minister Ranawaka said.

“Karunanidhi, Jayalalithaa and Sampanthan are trying to take Sri Lanka to the past again with the help of foreign nations such as England and the United States of America. So it is the duty of every Sinhalese to convert the war victory into a political victory in the international arena,” Ranawaka said.

Ranawaka further stated that it was a historical error that a constitutional revolution was not brought about when the government had a two-thirds majority in Parliament, which was why the JHU initiated a Bill to repeal the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.(Jayashika Padmasiri)

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

මොන ප්‍රශ්න, බාධක ආවත් වැඩි කළ විදුලි බිල අහෝසි කළ යුතු බවට බල කෙරෙන හෙට වර්ජනය ස්‌ථිර වශයෙන්ම පැවැත්වෙන බව ජනතා විමුක්‌ති පෙරමුණේ කේ. ඩී. ලාල් කාන්ත මහතා “දිවයින”ට පැවසීය.

මෙම වර්ජනයට කොටසක්‌ විරුද්ධයි. තවත් කොටසක්‌ කැමැතියි. ඒක තමා ස්‌වභාවය.

ඒත් බහුතරයක්‌ මෙම වැඩවර්ජනයට ස්‌ථිරවම සහාය දෙනවා.

ඒ වගේම මෙම වර්ජනයට සහාය නොදුන් පිරිසත් හවුල් කරගෙන විදුලි බිලට එරෙහිව තවත් දැවැන්ත වර්ජනයක්‌ ඉදිරියේදී ඇතිවිය හැකියි.

එක්‌සත් ජාතික පක්‌ෂය හා පක්‌ෂයට සම්බන්ධ ප්‍රධාන වෘත්තීය සමිති හතර හෙට (21 වැනිදා) පැවැත්වීමට නියමිත වැඩවර්ජනයට අනිවාර්යයෙන්ම පූර්ණ සහයෝගය ලබාදෙන බව එජාප මහ ලේකම් තිස්‌ස අත්තනායක මහතා “දිවයින”ට පැවැසීය.

විදුලිය ගාස්‌තු වැඩි කිරීමට එරෙහි සියලු දෙනා කටකතාවලට නොරැවටී මෙම වැඩවර්ජනයට සහභාගි වන ලෙස ද හෙතෙම ඉල්ලා සිටියේය.

එජාපයට අනුබද්ධ ජාතික සේවක සංගමය, ජාතික වතුකම්කරු සංගමය, ජාතික අධ්‍යාපන සේවක සංගමය සහ රාජ්‍ය සේවා ජාතික සේවක සංගමය යන වෘත්තීය සමිති සමග එජාපය වැඩවර්ජනයට සම්පූර්ණ සහයෝගය ලබාදෙන බවද හෙතෙම කීය.

Source: Divaina (Sri Lanka)

Respect for basic rights and liberties has declined in Sri Lanka in the four years since the government defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Human Rights Watch said today. This week marks the fourth anniversary of the brutal civil war’s end.

HRW says since the end of the 26-year-long civil war, the Sri Lankan government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has resisted taking meaningful steps to investigate and prosecute alleged war crimes by government forces and the LTTE, end the crackdown against the independent media and human rights activists, and stop ongoing abuses against suspected LTTE supporters. Government pledges to address the concerns of the ethnic Tamil population have gone unfulfilled.

“Four years after Sri Lanka’s horrific civil war ended, many Sri Lankans await justice for the victims of abuses, news of the ‘disappeared,’ and respect for their basic rights,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead, the Rajapaksa government has rejected investigations, clamped down harder on the media, and persisted in wartime abuses such as torture.”

Since 2009 the government has increasingly restricted fundamental liberties, imperiling Sri Lanka’s democratic system, Human Rights Watch said. Government officials have threatened, and unknown assailants have attacked, members of the media, civil society, and the political opposition. Activists who advocated for the 2012 Human Rights Council resolution were publicly denounced and threatened by officials. The Rajapaksa government orchestrated parliament’s impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake in December 2012 after she had ruled against the government in a major case.

Publications − including electronic media − that are critical of the government have been subject to government censorship, and some have been forced to close down. The leading Tamil opposition newspaper, Uthayan, has faced repeated physical attacks against its journalists and property.

The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) continues to be used to detain individuals for long periods without charge or trial. In May, the authorities detained Muslim opposition politician Azad Salley under the PTA for warning about the dangers of fanning ethnic hatred.

“The Rajapaksa government seems to be hoping that broad-based repression will dampen the exercise of fundamental freedoms,” Adams said. “But Sri Lankan activists and journalists who showed incredible resilience during wartime to bring forth the truth, will undoubtedly find a way to do so when the country is at peace.”

Human Rights Watch urged governments to demonstrate their concerns for Sri Lanka’s deteriorating human rights situation at the United Nations and other international venues. This includes continuing to press for an independent international investigation into wartime abuses, speaking out against ongoing abuses, and providing support for Sri Lankan civil society.

“History has shown time and again, most recently with the conviction of Guatemala’s former president, that hiding the truth is an impossible exercise,” Adams said. “Concerned governments should not let the poor human rights environment in Sri Lanka deter them from promoting accountability and greater rights protections.”

Source: Colombo Gazette

While claiming that Sri Lanka will not allow a single inch of the land to be taken away, President Mahinda Rajapaksa today said that in the four years since humanitarian victory there were many strategies tried out by some outside forces to rule Sri Lanka.

“There will be no room for separation, President Rajapksa said addressing the Humanitarian Victory Parade at Galle Face green this morning.

“The armed racist terrorism that existed for several years was used to control our country in the way that external forces wanted to. Foreign forces and pressures, foreign invasions are not new to us. In the four years since this great humanitarian victory there were many strategies tried out by these forces to rule our Motherland. These included the Arab Spring, grease demons, the independent of the Judiciary, media freedom and human rights. There were attempts to make us file answers to such charges almost every six months. It is these sinister aims that are put forward as the protection of human rights and democracy. However, what is hidden below this is the expectation to break up this country,” he said.

“I believe that the feeling that we should all live together in a single country is once again emerging in the hearts of the Tamil people,” President Rajapaksa said.
Prabhakaran and his cohorts destroyed the erudite society that could build the culture of the Tamil people of the north. Just as Prabhakaran, the political parties that are propping up the Diaspora are still engaged in an effort to drag Tamil society to destruction. As long as these groups exist the Tamil people need no other enemies, the President said.
The time has come for the people of the north to have a good understanding of the honesty of those who claim to speak on their behalf, President further added.

Full text of the speech >>

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

The fourth Victory Day parade was held today at the Galle Face green with the participation of thousands of military personnel who showcased a wide range of military equipment.

Photos >>

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will award the ‘Parama Weera Vibhushanaya’ award, the highest gallantry award any military person receives from the Head of State, on six war heroes tomorrow.

The awards will be handed over to the family members of the six soldiers who were killed during the war, Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will hand over the  gallantry awards during the Victory Day parade to be held at Galle Face tomorrow to mark four years since the end of the war.

The slain soldiers receiving the awards are: Captain G N Punsiri (Gajaba Regiment) killed on 2 July 2007 at Uvarakkulam, Lt W T Jayatillake (The Gemunu Watch Regiment) killed on 20 April 2009 at Iranamadu, Staff Sergeant Perera K G N (Commando Regiment) killed on 21 April at Puthumatalan, Sergeant Gunasekara KGD (Commando Regiment) killed on 16 February 2009 at Dara Point, Corporal Nilantha Kumara H A (Commando Regiment) killed on 29 January 2009 at Puthukuduiruppu and Corporal Pushpamal SPML (Commando Regiment) killed on 21 April 2009 at Puthumatalan.

 Source: Colombo Gazette

එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ. සංවිධානයට විදේශීය රටවලින් අවි ආයුධ මිලදී ගැනීම හා එම ත්‍රස්‌තවාදී කටයුතු සම්බන්ධයෙන් කරුණු හෙළිදරව් නොකිරීමේ චෝදනා 15 කට වැරැදිකරු වූ කොටි නායක ප්‍රභාකරන්ගේ පාසල් මිතුරාට කොළඹ මහාධිකරණ විනිසුරු ප්‍රීතිපද්මන් සූරසේන මහතා ඊයේ (16 දා) බරපතළ වැඩ සහිත මාසයක සිර දඬුවමක්‌ නියම කළේය.

නීතිපතිවරයා විසින් ගොනු කරනු ලැබූ චෝදනා පත්‍රයක්‌ කියවා දීමෙන් පසු වරද පිළිගැනීම මත මෙසේ මසක සිර දඬුවමක්‌ නියම වූයේ යාපනය, වැල්වැටිතුරේ පදිංචිකරුවකු වූ ජෙයසුන්දරම් යෝගනාදන් නමැති එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ. සංවිධානයේ ජාත්‍යන්තර ජාලය භාරව සිටි අයකුටය.

නීතිපතිවරයා වෙනුවෙන් රජයේ නීතිඥ ශමීන්ද්‍ර වික්‍රම මහතා සහ විත්තිකරු වෙනුවෙන් ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ අනිල් සිල්වා මහතා දක්‌වා සිටි කරුණු කෙරෙහි සැළකිලිමත් වෙමින් විත්තිකරුට එරෙහි චෝදනා 15 ට එක්‌ චෝදනාවකට මාසය බැගින් මාස 15 ක සිර දඬුවමක්‌ නියම කරන බවට සිය තීන්දුව ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කරමින් සඳහන් කළ විනිසුරුවරයා මානුෂීය හේතූන් මත සිර දඬුවම මාසයකින් එක්‌ වර ගෙවී යන ලෙසට නියම කරන බවත් සියලු චෝදනාවලට විත්තිකරුට වසරක කාලයක්‌ පුනරුත්ථාපනයට යොමු කරන ලෙසත් නියෝග කළේය.

විත්තිකරුට නියම කළ මාසයක සිර දඬුවමෙන් පසු ඔහුව සුදුසු පුනරුත්ථාපන කඳවුරකට යොමු කරන ලෙසද විත්තිකරුගේ සිර දඬුවම ඇත්ත වශයෙන්ම මාසයක කාලයක්‌ විය යුතු බවට බන්ධනාගාර අධිකාරිවරයාට විශේෂයෙන් දන්වා යවන ලෙසද විනිසුරුවරයා වැඩිදුරටත් නියෝග කළේය.

2005 ජනවාරි මස 01 දාත් 2007 සැප්තැම්බර් මස 08 වැනිදාත් අතර කාලයේදී කොළඹ, වවුනියාව, වැල්වැටිතුරේ හා සිංගප්පූරුවේදී කොටි නායක වේලුපිල්ලේ ප්‍රභාකරන්, ශන්මුගසුන්දරම් තායිතාස්‌කරන් නොහොත් කරන් කනගරාජා රවිශංකර් නොහොත් ශංකර් සමග එක්‌වී යුදමය කටයුතු සඳහා භාවිත කිරීමට යුද උපකරණ ඇනවුම් කොට ඒවා කොටි සංවිධානයට ලබාදෙමින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තුළ සාහසික ක්‍රියා ඇතිවීමට කුමන්ත්‍රණය කරන ලදැයි විත්තිකරුට එරෙහි නීතිපතිවරයා විසින් මෙහි චෝදනා ගොනු කොට තිබිණි.

එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ. සංවිධානයේ ත්‍රස්‌තවාදී ක්‍රියාකාරකම්වලට අවශ්‍ය අති නවීන යුද උපකරණ හා උපාංග ඇතුළු තාක්‍ෂණික කොටස්‌ විදේශීය රටවලින් ඇනවුම් කර ගෙන්වීමට කටයුතු කරන ලදැයි චෝදනා 15 ක්‌ යටතේ විත්තිකරුට එරෙහි චෝදනා ගොනු කොට තිබිණි.

විත්තිකරුට එරෙහි චෝදනා සනාථ කිරීම සඳහා ලැප්ටොප් පරිගණකයක්‌, ඡායාරූප කීපයක්‌, විද්යුත් ලිපි, භාණ්‌ඩ ඇනවුම්පත්, ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයේ හා අභියාචනාධිකරණයේ නඩු ගොනු කීපයක්‌ ඇතුළු නඩු භාණ්‌ඩ 07 ක්‌ චෝදනා පත්‍රය සමග සලකුණු කොට තිබූ අතර කොළඹ විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ පරිගණක අංශයේ ආචාර්ය රුවන් වීරසිංහ, නාවික කොමදොaරු රුවන් ප්‍රශාන්ත ඇන්තනි, ත්‍රස්‌ත විමර්ශන කොට්‌ඨාසයේ නිලධාරීන් ඇතුළු සාක්‌කිකරුවන් 7 දෙනකු නම් කර තිබිණි.

විත්තිකරුට එරෙහි නඩු විභාගය ඊයේ (16 දා) කොළඹ මහාධිකරණය හමුවේ කැඳවනු ලැබූ අවස්‌ථාවේදී නීතිපතිවරයා වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටි රජයේ නීතිඥ ශමීන්ද්‍ර වික්‍රම මහතා කරුණු දක්‌වමින් විත්තිකරුට එරෙහි චෝදනා පත්‍රය “තොරතුරු හෙළිදරවු නොකිරීම” උධෘතය යටතේ සංශෝධනය කර යළි ගොනු කරන බවත් සිදුවූ වැරැදිවලට පශ්චාත්තාප වී වරද පිළිගැනීම මත චෝදනා පත්‍රය එසේ සංශෝධනය කරන බවත් කියා සිටියේය.

විත්තිකරු විසින් මීට පෙර අවස්‌ථාවේදී අධිකරණය හමුවේ සිය කැමැත්තෙන් කළ ප්‍රකාශය තුළින් ඔහු විදේශීය රටවලින් කොටි සංවිධානයට ආයුධ මිලදී ගැනීම් සිදුකරමින් එහි ත්‍රස්‌තවාදී ක්‍රියාවන්ට සම්බන්ධව සිටිය ද පසුව ඒ පිළිබඳව දැඩි ලෙස පසුතැවිලි වන බවත් කොටි නායක ප්‍රභාකරන් සමග පාසල් වියේ සිට ඇසුරු කළ ද ඔහුගේ අන්තවාදී ක්‍රමවේදයන් හෙළා දැක විරුද්ධ වූ බවද දන්වා ඇති බව පැවසූ රජයේ නීතිඥවරයා එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ. සංවිධානය වෙත සහාය පළ කරන දෙස්‌ විදෙස්‌ පදිංචිකරුවන්ට එවැනි කටයුතුවලට එක්‌ නොවන ලෙසට ආයාචනා කරන බවද පැවසුවේය.

ත්‍රස්‌තවාදය වැළැක්‌වීමේ පනත යටතේ ගොනු කර ඇති මෙවැනි චෝදනා පත්‍ර විභාගයකදී සාක්‌කි කැඳවීම ඉතා අපහසු කටයුත්තක්‌ බව පෙන්වා දුන් ශමීන්ද්‍ර වික්‍රම මහතා විත්තිකරුගේ ප්‍රකාශයත්, වරද පිළිගැනීමත් සළකා බලා අවම සිර දඬුවමක්‌ පනවමින් ඔහුව පුනරුත්ථාපනයට යොමු කරන ලෙසට ඉල්ලා සිටියේය.

විත්තිකරු වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටි ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ අනිල් සිල්වා මහතා කරුණු දක්‌වමින් ත්‍රස්‌තවාදී කටයුතුවලට අදාළව අත්අඩංගුවට ගත් මීට වඩා ප්‍රබල පුද්ගලයන්ට සමාව ලබාදී ඇති අතර ඔවුන්ගෙන් ඇතැමුන් අද ජාතික දේශපාලනයට ද එක්‌ වී ඇති බවත් විත්තිකරු වරද පිළිගෙන සත්‍ය ප්‍රකාශ කිරීම මත යළි සාමකාමී ලෙස ජනසමාජයට එක්‌වීම සඳහා සහනයක්‌ ලබාදෙන ලෙසටත් ඉල්ලා සිටින බවත් ප්‍රකාශ කළේය.

විත්තිකරුගේ අයිරිස්‌ ජාතික බිරිඳ හා දරුවන් තිදෙනා සමග එක්‌වීමට ඔහුට යළි අවස්‌ථාව ලබාදෙන ලෙස ඉල්ලා සිටි ජනාධිපති නීතිඥවරයා පොලිස්‌ අත්අඩංගුවට පත්වූ විත්තිකරු මේ වන විට වසර 7 ක්‌ පමණ ඔවුන්ගෙන් වෙන්ව ජීවත් වී ඇති බවත් දඬුවම් නියම කිරීමේදී ඒ පිළිබඳව සැළකිලිමත් වී ලිහිල් දඬුවමක්‌ හෝ පුනරුත්ථාපනයට යොමු කිරීමක්‌ සිදු කරන ලෙස ඉල්ලා සිටින බවත් කියා සිටියේය.

ඉදිරිපත් වූ කරුණු කෙරෙහි සැළකිලිමත් වූ විනිසුරුවරයා විත්තිකරුට එරෙහි චෝදනාවන්ට උපරිම හෝ අවම දඬුවමක්‌ සඳහන් වන්නේ නැති බවත් කෙසේ වුවත් ඔහු වසර 7 ක්‌ පමණ රක්‌ෂිත බන්ධනාගාරගතව සිටීම දඬුවම් නියම කිරීමේදී සළකා බැලිය යුතුව ඇති බවත් සිය තීන්දුව ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කරමින් කියා සිටියේය.

විත්තිකරුට එරෙහිව ගොනු කර ඇත්තේ අපරාධමය චෝදනා බවද ත්‍රස්‌තවාදී සංවිධානයකට සහාය දක්‌වා ඇති හෙයින් මෙය සාමාන්‍ය නඩුවක්‌ ලෙස ගැනිය නොහැකි බවද අවධාරණය කළ විනිසුරුවරයා විත්තිකරුට දඬුවම් නියම කිරීමේදී අධිකරණය අවධානය යොමු කරන්නේ ඔහු ස්‌වේච්ඡාවෙන් කළ ප්‍රකාශය හා ඉන් අනාවරණය වන කරුණු බවද පැවසුවේය.

අපරාධ නඩු විභාගයක දඬුවම් පැනවීමේදී කළ වරදට අවංකව පශ්චාත්තාප වී සමාව ඉල්ලා සිටීම පිළිබඳව විශේෂ අවධානය යොමු කළ යුතු බැවින් විත්තිකරුගේ ප්‍රකාශය හා වරද පිළිගැනීම මත ඔහුට එක්‌ චෝදනාවකට මාසය බැගින් චෝදනා 15 ට මාස පහළොවක බරපතළ වැඩ සහිත සිර දඬුවමක්‌ නියම කරන බවත් මානුෂීය හේතූන් මත එකී සිර දඬුවම එකවර ගෙවී යන ලෙසට නියම කරන බවත් දන්වා සිටියේය.

සියලු චෝදනාවන්ට වසරක කාලයක්‌ පුනරුත්ථාපනය සඳහා සුදුසු කඳවුරකට යොමු කරන ලෙසත් පැනවූ සිරදඬුවම එකවර ගෙවී යන ලෙසට නියම කර ඇති බැවින් ඇත්ත වශයෙන්ම සිර දඬුවම මාසයක කාලයක්‌ බවත් විශේෂයෙන් සඳහන් කළ විනිසුරුවරයා නිදහස්‌ වී ගිය පසු සාමකාමී ලෙස ජීවත්වන ලෙසට විත්තිකරුට අවවාද කළේය.

Source: Divaina (Sri Lanka)

Military presence in the Jaffna peninsula as well as the Vanni was meant to guarantee the security of people living in the northern region, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said yesterday.

He told The Island that security forces’ presence was nothing but a necessity, though various interested parties and a section of the media were playing politics with purely a national security issue. The country had paid a very heavy price due to the failure of previous governments to adopt proper security measures. “I have no intention of repeating the same mistake,” he said.

The war veteran was responding to the allegation that an intimidating post-war military presence in the northern region, particularly in the Jaffna electoral district was inimical to the restoration of civilian rule. He alleged that critics had conveniently ignored the gradual decrease in military presence since the conclusion of the conflict on May 19, 2009.

Whatever the critics might say, those who had lived there during the conflict couldn’t be deceived by propagating lies, the Defence Secretary said. The reduction of military presence was visible, not only in the peninsula but in the Vanni as well, he said.

The Gajaba Regiment veteran stressed that post-war deployment of security forces was the prerogative of the armed forces in consultation with the Defence Ministry. Commenting on ongoing controversy over high security zones in the Jaffna peninsula, the Defence Secretary said that the presence of the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) deployment in the Jaffna peninsula had been gradually reduced since the end of the war.

Security Forces Commander Jaffna Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe yesterday said that during the 2007/2008 period, the SLA presence in the Jaffna peninsula and the Jaffna islands amounted to 43,000 personnel. “By December 2009, the SLA strength was 26,400 officers and men. Today, the total SLA deployment comprised 13,200 personnel,” Major General Hathurusinghe said, noting the area covered by high security zones, too, had been reduced. The Jaffna Commander said: “In Palaly sector alone, we held 13,000 acres at the height of the conflict. Today, our deployment covers 6,200 acres.”

According to Maj. Gen. Hathurusinghe the military gave up an additional 21,000 acres held in other parts of the peninsula, including Colombuthurai, Chavakachcheri and Muhamalai.

Responding to a query, the Defence Secretary said that the military wouldn’t have been able to reduce its presence in the Jaffna peninsula without eradicating the enemy’s conventional fighting capability in the Vanni. Although, the peninsula had been regained in early 1996, the SLA continued to strengthen its presence fearing an all-out attack across the Jaffna frontline extending from Kilali to Nagarkovil via Muhamalai.

He said that the positioning of armed forces shouldn’t be a political issue or a topic for discussions with any external players. He said that the armed forces should be prepared to face any eventuality. Asked whether the government was concerned about a fresh bid to revive terrorism, the Defence Secretary said that security forces presence would act as a powerful deterrent. He accused some politicians of trying to use military presence in Jaffna as a rallying point against the government. He identified former Deputy Mayor of Colombo Azath Salley as one of those who had been engaged in an anti-government campaign. There could be powerful external elements trying to undermine peace and stability here through local pawns, he said, adding the government remained on alert to thwart fresh attempts to cause mayhem.

Those who had been severely critical of the government over Salley’s arrest were mum on the politician’s claim that Indian magazine Junior Vikatan misquoted him as having justified Tamil speaking Muslims taking up arms against the government, the Defence Secretary said.

Source: The Islands (Sri Lanka)

The police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) questioned former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka this afternoon regarding the suicide attack at the army headquarters in 2006 in which he was the main target.

A spokesman for Fonseka said that CID officers met Fonseka at his home and recorded a statement from him on the 2006 attack at Galle Face.

A female suicide bomber who had managed to slip into the army headquarters premises in 2006, jumped onto his motorcade when it was leaving the premises.

The explosion killed 11 people and injured many others including Fonseka who was in serious condition and recovered after several months.

The military had blamed the LTTE for the attack and launched air strikes on their positions in the east. That eventually led to an all out war in which the east was first captured and then the north before the rebels were completely defeated in 2009.

Source: Colombo Gazette
By Indika Sri Aravinda

Britain today warned that there will be consequences if the Sri Lankan government continues to ignore their international commitments in the lead up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in November.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told the British parliament the Britain condemns alleged human rights abuses committed in Sri Lanka.

He said this in response to a question raised by British MP  Simon Hughes as to why the British Prime Minister is attending the summit in Sri Lanka despite concerns raised over human rights abuses.

“We are all aware that the decision that the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary will attend the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka is controversial, especially in the light of the despicable human rights violations during the recent civil war. But I assure my right hon. Friend that the Government condemn those violations, the way in which political trials, regular assaults on legal professionals and suppression of press freedom continue, and the fact that too many recommendations of the lessons learnt and reconciliation commission have not been implemented. If such violations continue, and if the Sri Lankan Government continue to ignore their international commitments in the lead up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, of course there will be consequences,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

He said that while all understand the controversy and unease about the matter, by attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka Britain will be using the opportunity to cast a spotlight on the unacceptable abuses in Sri Lanka.

“Of course there will be consequences if the conduct of the Sri Lankan authorities does not change. The Commonwealth matters to us all, and it is based on a number of values. Where I accept the hon. Lady’s implicit criticism is in relation to this point: all Commonwealth Governments should do more to not only talk about those values, but ensure that they are properly monitored and enforced,” he added.

Source: Colombo Gazette

විදුලි ගාස්‌තු වැඩි කිරීම සම්බන්ධව ආණ්‌ඩුව සහ විදුලි බිල වැඩි කිරීමට එරෙහි ජනතා ව්‍යාපාරය ඊයේ (15 වැනිදා) පැවැත්වූ උද්ඝෝෂණ දෙක කොටුව දුම්රිය පළ ඉදිරිපිටදී එකිනෙකට හමුවී උණුසුම් තත්ත්වයක්‌ උද්ගත වීමට තිබූ ඉඩකඩ වැළකී සාමකාමීව නිමාවට පත්විය. ආණ්‌ඩුවේ සහ විපක්‍ෂ උද්ඝෝෂණ දෙක සඳහා දහස්‌ සංඛ්‍යාත පිරිසක්‌ සහභාගි වූහ.

ආණ්‌ඩුවේ උද්ඝෝෂණයෝ උද්ඝෝෂණ පෙළපාලිය කොළඹ ලේක්‌ හවුස්‌ වටරවුමින් සවස 2.00 ට ආරම්භ කර සවස 4.30 පමණ වන විට කොටුව දුම්රිය පළ ඉදිරිපිටට පැමිණ උද්ඝෝෂණයක නිරත වී විසිර ගියහ.

විපක්‍ෂයේ උද්ඝෝෂකයෝ සිය පෙළපාලිය සවස 2.00 ට බොරැල්ල කැම්බල් පිටියෙන් ආරම්භ කර සවස 4.30 පමණ වන විට කොටුව දුම්රිය පළ ඉදිරියට පැමිණියහ.

ආණ්‌ඩුවේ උද්ඝෝෂකයෝ විපක්‍ෂයේ උද්ඝෝෂකයන් කොටුව දුම්රිය පළ වෙතට ළඟා වනවාත් සමග විසිර ගියහ. එනිසා දෙපාර්ශ්වය එකිනෙකට හමුවීම නිසා ඇතිවීමට ගිය ගැටුමක්‌ අනූනවයෙන් වැළකී ගියේය.

ආණ්‌ඩුව උද්ඝෝෂණය කළේ විපක්‍ෂය විදුලි බිල වැඩි කිරීමේ මුවාවෙන් රට දෙකඩ කිරීමේ ජාත්‍යන්තර කුමන්ත්‍රණයකට සහාය දක්‌වන බව පවසමිනි.

විපක්‍ෂය උද්ඝෝෂණය කළේ විදුලි බිල ජනතාවට දරාගත නොහැකි අයුරින් වැඩි කරමින් ගෙන යන අකාර්යක්‍ෂම පාලනය නිසා ආණ්‌ඩුව පලවා හැරිය යුතු යෑයි පවසමිනි.

ආණ්‌ඩුවේ උද්ඝෝෂණය සඳහා අමාත්‍යවරුන් වන දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන, කුමාර වෙල්ගම යන මහත්වරුද පළාත් සභා සහ ප්‍රාදේශීය සභා මන්ත්‍රීවරුද සහභාගි වී සිටියහ.

විපක්‍ෂයේ උද්ඝෝෂණය සඳහා එක්‌සත් ජාතික පක්‍ෂ නායක රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ, ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී පක්‍ෂයේ නායක සරත් ෆොන්සේක, අන්තර් සමාගම් සේවක සංගමයේ සභාපති වසන්ත සමරසිංහ, නව වාමාංශික පෙරමුණේ නායක වික්‍රමබාහු කරුණාරත්න, ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී ජනතා පෙරමුණ නායක මනෝ ගනේෂන් යන මහත්වරුද වෘත්තීය සමිති නායකයෝද සහභාගි වූහ.

මෙම උද්ඝෝෂණ ව්‍යාපාර දෙක නිසා ඊයේ (15 වැනිදා) සවස කොළඹ කොටුව ටෙක්‌නිකල් හන්දිය, මරදාන, බොරැල්ල, බේස්‌ලයින් පාර දැඩි වාහන තදබදයකට ලක්‌ව තිබිණි.

විපක්‍ෂයේ උද්ඝෝෂණය, බොරැල්ල කැම්බල් පිටියෙන් ආරම්භ වී මැගසින් බන්ධනාගාරය අසලින් මරදාන වෙතට පැමිණ ටෙක්‌නිකල් හන්දිය ඔස්‌සේ කොටුව දුම්රිය පළ ඉදිරිපිටට පැමිණියේය.

ආණ්‌ඩු පක්‍ෂයේ උද්ඝෝෂණය ලේක්‌ හවුස්‌ වටරවුමින් ආරම්භ කර කොටුව දුම්රිය පළ ඉදිරිපිටට පැමිණියේය.

විපක්‍ෂයේ උද්ඝෝෂකයන් කොටුව දුම්රිය පළ ඉදිරිපිටට පැමිණි පසු විපක්‍ෂයේ පක්‍ෂ නායකයෝ සහ වෘත්තීය සමිති නායකයෝ දුම්රිය පළ ඉදිරිපිට ගුවන් පාලම මතට නැඟ උද්ඝෝෂකයන් ඇමැතූහ.

එහිදී එජාප නායක රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා පැවසුවේ විදුලි බිල ජනතාවට දරාගත නොහැකි බවත් ඊට විරෝධය පාමින් ජනතාව ඒකරාශි කරන බවත්ය. ආණ්‌ඩුව නිදහස්‌ අධ්‍යාපනය සහ සෞඛ්‍ය කප්පාදු කරමින් ජනතාව මත බර පටවන බවත් දැන් විදුලි ගාස්‌තුවත් වැඩි කරමින් ජනතාවගේ සාක්‌කුවට ගහන්න හදන බවත් විදුලි ගාස්‌තු වැඩි කිරීමේ යෝජනාව ආණ්‌ඩුව හකුලා ගන්නා තුරු මෙවැනි උද්ඝෝෂණ කරන බවත් රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා කීවේය.

ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී පක්‍ෂ නායක සරත් ෆොන්සේකා මහතා කීවේ මේ දූෂිත ආණ්‌ඩුව පලවා හැරීම සඳහා ජනතා සහාය ලැබීම දිනපතා වැඩි වන බවත් ජනතාවට සහන නොදෙන ආණ්‌ඩුව පලවා හැර ජනතා සහන සලසන නව රජයක්‌ ළඟදීම පත්කර ගන්නා බවත්ය.

ආණ්‌ඩුවේ උද්ඝෝෂකයන් සිය උද්ඝෝෂණය අවසන් කර විසිර ගියේ ලබන 21 වැනිදා කිසිම රාජ්‍ය ආයතනයක වැඩවර්ජනයක්‌ සිදු නොකරන බවටත් එදිනට වෙනදාටත් වඩා වැඩකරන දවසක්‌ බවට පත්කරන බවටත් පොරොන්දුවක්‌ ලබාදෙමිනි.

විපක්‍ෂයේ උද්ඝෝෂණය සඳහා එජාප සාමාජිකයන් වන කරු ජයසූරිය, සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස, දයාසිරි ජයසේකර මහත්වරුන්ද සිරිතුංග ජයසූරිය, සුනිල් රත්නප්‍රිය යන වෘත්තීය සමිති නායකයන් ඇතුළු විශාල පිරිසක්‌ සහභාගි වූහ. (ශිරාන් රණසිංහ සහ චමින්ද සිල්වා)

Source: Divaina (Sri Lanka)

The twin pillars of durable peace and political stability have opened doors for Sri Lanka to move forward on accelerated economic and social development, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

වසර 23 ක්‌ තිස්‌සේ නතර වී තිබූ මැදවච්චිය හා මඩු දක්‌වා වූ දුම්රිය ධාවන කටයුතු ඊයේ (14 දා) පෙරවරුවේ සිට යළි ආරම්භ කෙරිණි. මැදවච්චිය හා මඩු අතර පිහිටි නේරියකුලම හා සෙට්‌ටිකුලම දුම්රිය ස්‌ථාන ද යළි පිහිටුවා ඒවා විවෘත කිරීමද මෙදිනම සිදු කෙරිණි. ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන කටයුතු පිළිබඳ ඇමැති බැසිල් රාජපක්‌ෂ, ප්‍රවාහන ඇමැති කුමාර වෙල්ගම, කර්මාන්ත සංවර්ධන ඇමැති රිෂාර්ඩ් බදියුදීන්, කර්මාන්ත හා කුඩා ව්‍යවසාය කටයුතු පිළිබඳ ඇමැති ඩග්ලස්‌ දේවානන්දා, ප්‍රවාහන නියෝජ්‍ය ඇමැති රෝහණ දිසානායක, අධ්‍යාපන සේවා ඇමැති දුමින්ද දිසානායක, ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන නියෝජ්‍ය ඇමැති එස්‌. එම්. චන්ද්‍රසේන, උතුරු මැද ප්‍රධාන ඇමැති එස්‌. එම්. රංජිත්, නියෝජ්‍ය ඇමැති වීර කුමාර දිසානායක යන මහත්වරුන්ගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් මෙම විවෘත කිරීම් සිදු විණි.

මැදවච්චියේ සිට තලෙයිමන්නාරම දක්‌වා දුම්රිය මාර්ගය ඉදිකිරීමේ කටයුතු බාරව ක්‍රියා කරන ඉන්දීය ඉරිකෝන් ඉංජිනේරු සමාගමේ ඉංජිනේරුවෝ හා විධායක නිලධාරීහු රැසක්‌ද මේ අවස්‌ථාවට සහභාගි වූහ.

ඉන්දීය ඉරිකෝන් සමාගම ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 81 ක වියදමින් මැදවච්චියේ සිට මඩු දක්‌වා වූ දුම්රිය මාර්ගයේ වැඩ කටයුතු සිදුකළ අතර මෙම දුම්රිය මාර්ගය ඉදිකිරීමේ කටයුතු ආරම්භ කළේ 2011 මාර්තු මාසයේදීය.

දෙවැනි අදියර යටතේ මඩු සිට තලෙයිමන්නාරම දක්‌වා වූ කිලෝමීටර් 63 කින් යුත් දුම්රිය මාර්ගයේ වැඩ කටයුතු ඉතා ඉක්‌මනින් නිම කරන බවද මෙහිදී ඉන්දීය ඉරිකෝන් සමාගමේ නිලධාරීහු පැවසූහ.

ලබන ජුනි මාසයේ සිට අගෝස්‌තු දක්‌වා වරින් වර මඩු දේවස්‌ථානයේ පැවැත්වෙන මංගල්ලයන් සඳහා බැතිමතුන්ට දුම්රිය පහසුකම් සලසා දීමට දැන් දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව කටයුතු යොදා තිබේ.

මැදවච්චිය හා මඩු අතර ධාවනය වූ ප්‍රථම දුම්රිය ගමන සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සිටින ඉන්දීය මහ කොමසාරිස්‌ අශෝක්‌ කේ. කාන්ත් මහතා ද, බැසිල් රාජපක්‌ෂ, කුමාර වෙල්ගම යන අමාත්‍යවරුන් සමග සහභාගි වූහ.

ලබන ඔක්‌තෝබර් මාසය වන විට උතුරු දුම්රිය මාර්ගයේ ඕමන්තේ සිට කිලිනොච්චිය දක්‌වා දුම්රිය ධාවන කටයුතු ආරම්භ කළ හැකි බවද මෙහිදී ප්‍රවාහන ඇමැති කුමාර වෙල්ගම මහතා පැවසීය. (දිනසේන රතුගමගේ)

Source: Divaina (Sri Lanka)

The Health Ministry’s Food Advisory Committee decided to test more samples of milk powder imported from New Zealand to check whether any harmful chemicals were in it, informed sources said.

The decision was taken at a meeting held at the Health Ministry today with the participation of its Director General Dr. Palitha Mahipala
The Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeyawrdana told Parliament last week that people should refrain from consuming imported milk powder as it contained harmful chemicals.

He said it had been found that dangerous chemicals had got into the milk through a pesticide sprayed in New Zealand. (Ajith Siriwardana)

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

“Tampering civilians’ Statements is a serious matter”, tells Ambassador Amza to the Channel-4 Director at the Screening of “No Fire Zone” in the European Parliament

Media Release issued by the Embassy of Sri Lanka to Belgium, Luxembourg & the European Union- Brussels

During his intervention at the end of a panel discussion that followed the screening of the  film “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka”, held at the premises of the European Parliament on Tuesday, the 14^th May 2013, which was jointly organized by Amnesty International,  Human Rights Watch and  International Crisis Group, the Head of Mission of Sri Lanka to the EU, Ambassador P.M. Amza stated that the Channel-4 has made serious mistakes by misinterpreting what the witnesses have said in Tamil, to suit the Channel-4 agenda.

The Ambassador pointed that in the “Killing Fields” documentary, the civilians who spoke in Tamil at no stage stated that the attacks were carried out specifically by the Sri Lankan Army,   rather they always mentioned that “they attacked”, leaving it ambiguous.

Ambassador Amza further elaborated that when a question was posed in English to an unidentified victim regarding an alleged attack on a hospital by asking “do you think this was an accident?”, the answer from the victim in Tamil was, “Athavathu aspaththirikku aim panniththan adichchiruppinam” which literally means “they may have aimed and attacked the hospital”.  The Ambassador contended the Channel-4 of translating it as “the hospital was targeted”, giving implication to the viewers that it was done by the Sri Lanka Army. In this context, the Ambassador questioned the Director/Producer, Callum Macrae who was present as one of the Panellists, on what basis he gave an interpretation to what the witness referred to as “they”, to indicate that it was the Sri Lanka Army.

Pointing out to a similar mistake in the subsequent Channel-4 Documentary, “Sri Lanka Killing Fields: War Crime Unpunished”, during which an unidentified witness makes a statement in Tamil  saying “Enkalidamirunthu 150 meeter irukkum 15 perukku melai kayakkarnkal ippadi bankarukkulliruntha ellorayum veliyil iluththu iluthu pottu suttukkondu waran” which provides literal translation as “the distance may be about 150 meters from us.  More than 15 injured civilians were inside the bunker when they pulled them out one by one and fired”.  The Channel-4 took the liberty of translating it to mean “as I got up from the bunker, about 150 meters away from where I saw a group of Army soldiers pulling out over 15 civilians staying in a bunker and spraying bullets on them at close range”.    The Ambassador emphasized that at no stage, the witness stated that it was Sri Lankan Army that was pulling the civilians out from the bunkers and killing them.  The Ambassador also pointed out that anyone with a sound knowledge of the Tamil language would identify them as serious mistakes and misinterpretations and manipulations done to suit the Channel-4 agenda.  As the civilians’ statements constitute important evidence in any conflict, tampering them to give a completely false view, is a matter of serious concern, he said.

The Ambassador also refuted allegations on the killing of a 12 year old boy identified as the son of the LTTE leader.  The Ambassador, while casting doubts on Channel-4 making sweeping conclusions based on few pictures depicting a man clad in a uniform similar to Sri Lanka Army personnel,  a clean and neat bunker,  a man in slippers, and an ‘expert opinion’ based on the pictures given to him   that the boy was captured by the Army  who then fed him a snack then killed him at point blank range, questioned as to why the ‘expert opinion’ disregarded the possibility of him being killed by his own bodyguards, to avoid being captured by the Sri Lankan Armed forces.

The Ambassador reminded that the LTTE was not an ordinary group of terrorists, but was one in which all its cadres mandatorily carried cyanide capsules to kill themselves if captured by the Army.  It was also a ruthless terrorist group which never hesitated to use even disabled and pregnant women as suicide bombers in order to achieve its objectives.

Referring to a similar allegation where just by showing a 20 second footage of a group of  females  suspected as LTTE cadres, been taken away in a tractor, and giving an interpretation that their destiny was not know thereafter, he used the opportunity to remind the gathering about the comprehensive efforts taken by the Government in rehabilitating over 12,000 former LTTE cadres including 594 child soldiers after the end of the conflict, who have now been successfully integrated into the society and are leading peaceful and dignified lives.

Ambassador Amza stated that irrespective of Sri Lanka’s categorical rejection of the Channel-4 footage and its authenticity, Sri Lanka nevertheless, is in the process of investigating the allegations.  In this context, he reiterated Sri Lanka’s request to Channel-4 to provide original materials available with them to help the investigation process rather than pleading for Pounds through projects such as the ‘Kick-starter’, in order to go on a globe-trotting venture with the film.

The Ambassador added that, as a native Tamil speaker, he could provide ample evidence  to prove that Channe-4 indeed had a sinister motive to discredit Sri Lanka with the connivance of the pro-LTTE diaspora organizations,  and further alluded that it was ironical to see how one time arden supporters of the LTTE and its killing spree through funding and other propaganda activities are now projecting themselves as independent human rights activists, having been oblivious to the countless human rights violations carried out by the LTTE.

The following is the full text of the speech

The Government of Sri Lanka strongly protests the use of the premises of the European Parliament for screening of this film today.  My presence here is to reject the contents of this film and to make a brief statement.  I would like to stress that my presence is in no way meant to give credence to either the event or the documentary.

I am a native Tamil Speaker. I personally have seen to my own eyes how the conflict began, how the innocent people from South to North and from West to East in Sri Lanka suffered during the last 30 years. I also witnessed how the LTTE led Diaspora manipulated matters, in this part of the world taking advantage of some of the generous national policies. Hence, I can speak with confidence and authority on what is happening in my country, especially to those who make empty slogans while having not done anything for the Tamils in the country. Much of what is shown are part of a sinister effort to make Government of Sri Lanka look guilty.   For that, the truth has been ignored or suppressed.

Sri Lanka Armed Forces have never targeted its own civilians deliberately as alleged. The fact that over 290,000 civilians fled the LTTE towards the Army during the last stage of fighting  is a clear testimony to this.  Even the critics of Sri Lanka acknowledge this fact and appreciate the efforts of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces to rescue the civilians from the clutches of the LTTE which used them as human shields.   In his Hard Talk interview, on 10 April 2013, Sir John Holms, the Former United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs & Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for Coordinating Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that the basic problem to the casualties is that the LTTE was not releasing the civilians.

This disputed series of Channel -4 films contain materials which are discredited, uncorroborated and unsubstantiated.  It comes out as a routine pattern, aiming at intergovernmental fora and events. However, the material is largely rehashed and recycled to suite to the story. The Channel-4 Documentaries often talked about the shelling of civilians targets.  In the “Killing Fields” Documentary the Channel-4 had shown the LTTE carrying mortars and using artilleries.  Sir John Holms during his Hard Talk interview also confirmed that the LTTE were firing shells. In the “Killing Fields” documentary, the civilians at no stage stated that the attacks were carried out specifically by the Sri Lankan Army, rather they always mentioned “they attacked”.   When a question was posed in English, to an unidentified victim, regarding an alleged attack on a hospital asking “Do you think this was an accident?”, The answer come from the “victim” in Tamil was “Athavathu aspaththirikku aim panniththan adichchiruppinam” which literally mean, “they might have attacked aiming the hospital only”.  The Channel-4 however translated it as “the hospital was targeted” giving implication to the viewers that it was done by the Sri Lanka Army. In this context, I recall my question to the Director/Producer of the film, which I raised in London in June 2011, during a live debate that was broadcasted by BBC Asia Network in London, as I am yet to hear his reply.  On what basis did you interpret that the “witness” referred to the “Sri Lanka Army” when he said  “they”?  The Channel-4 did the same mistake once again. In its subsequent documentary, “Sri Lanka Killing Fields : War Crime Unpunished” the Channel-4 repeated this mistake.  At the 28^th minute of the programme the Channel-4 telecasted statement of an unidentified witness. He said in Tamil “ “Enkalidamirunthu 150 meeter irukkum 15 perukku melai kayakkarnkal ippadi bankarukkulliruntha ellorayum veliyil iluththu iluthu pottu suttukkondu waran”.  The literal meaning of this “the distance may be about 150 meters far from us.  More than 15 injured civilians were inside the bunker when they pulled them one by one and were firing”.  The Channel-4 had taken the liberty  to  translate it as  “As I got up from the bunker, about 150 meters away from where I was, I saw a group of Army soldiers pulling out over 15 civilians staying in a bunker and spraying bullets on them at close range.  Here again one would notice the witness at no stage said that it was the Sri Lankan Army that was pulling out the civilians from the bunkers and killing them.    Those who understand Tamil would know these are serious mistakes on the part of the Channel-4. A misinterpretations and manipulations done to suit its agenda.  As the civilians’ statements constitute important evidence in any conflict, tampering with them in my belief is a serious matter.

Take the credentials of the main actress in the Channel-4 Documentaries – Damilvani.  Who is she? How reliable is what she claims? A person with three different aliases in different locations, namely, Damilvany Kumar, Vany Kumar,  Damilvany Gananakumar.  She was indeed from the Tamil Youth Organization (TYO) of the LTTE and brought to Sri Lanka by Castro, former Head of the LTTE Foreign Division. What she uttered about direct infusion of blood, amputation of legs without anaesthesia, are all exaggerated stories that a genuine bio-medical student would think twice. The doctor, who appears in the Channel-4’s latest releases along with Damilvany, lately stated that they made comments under pressure from LTTE regarding the humanitarian situation in the un-cleared areas during the last stages of the humanitarian operation and also contended the baseless allegations of Vany Kumar on alleged amputations without anaesthesia and re-administering blood wasted  from dead and wounded etc.

It is a known fact that the demonstration by civilians outside the UN Office shown in the film was orchestrated by the LTTE. Further, there were several humanitarian agencies including ICRC and the local staff of UN that remained till the last stretch of the conflict.    One could not rule out the possibility that the LTTE would harm the international workers and put the blame on the GoSL, had they stayed.

Many of the allegations in the films are based on  similar assertions.  The most hyped up event in the latest episode is the killing of a 12 year old boy identified as the son of the LTTE leader.  The video shows several pictures depicting a man clad in a uniform similar to the SL Army, a clean and neat bunker, a man in slippers, and an “expert opinion” based on the pictures given to him stating that he has examined the pictures and that it was a close range shoot. These un connected material allows the producer to make a sweeping           conclusion that the boy was captured by the Army, who fed him with a snack, then killed him at point blank.  Why has he disregard the following possibilities?,

That he was killed by his own bodyguards.  Remember we are talking about no ordinary group of terrorists, but those who wore cyanide capsules to kill themselves if captured by the Army, those who even used disabled women as suicide bombers. There were even suicide attacks when the stream of tens of thousands of people were moving into government areas at the end of the final battle. As history has proved many times, what excludes the perception that the battle hardened carders cannot shoot the son of the leader rather than letting him to be captured by the enemy?.

The “expert” has only examined the pictures given to him and not the real body, so, how can one confirm without an iota of doubt that the bullets came from a gun used by the Military and not the LTTE?

Had the Army wanted to deliberately kill a 12 year old boy, why did the Government rehabilitate 594 child soldiers who surrendered and the UN Security Council came to the decision that Sri Lanka should be removed from the Annex II to the Resolution 1612, as it has cooperated with the UN on the aspects of implementing the 1612 Resolution on Children and Armed Conflict.

Casting doubt does not mean the truth is being told. Showing a visual of a group of girls suspected to be Tamil Tigers loaded to trailers, taken away, the narrator says “we only have these 20 second footage. No idea what happen to them“? If one is to claim that casting doubt is professional journalism, we only challenge them to tell the world how            and why, over 12,000 Ex-LTTE cadres, including core LTTE leaders and their families have been saved, cared for and rehabilitated by the Government?

It is a similar sweeping conclusion that the military presence in North is correlated to the number of rapes reported. Had there been any perpetrators, as done in the past, they should be brought to justice. That is why, irrespective of our categorical rejection of the Channel 4 footage and its authenticity, the Government, and the Military, going by the recommendations of the LLRC has launched a Court of Inquiry. This is the first thing that any professional military in the world would do. I would like to reiterate our request to the Channel-4 to provide the original materials used by them to help the investigation process, which to date has not been acceded to.

As a democratic country, Sri Lanka has done much to recover from the deadly effects of the 30 long years of the terrorist conflict that has devastated every aspect of life in the country. It is a painful and delicate reconciliation process.  We are mindful of the challenges ahead and once more I wish to reiterate that repetitive bashing of Sri Lanka with vested agenda would not be of any help in bringing justice or reconciliation but it will only keep the wounds open          for ever.

My next point is even more worrisome. Why reputed NGOs are letting their name and prestige to be used for promoting this kind of cynical activities.  When the money of LTTE comes through its front organizations under the guise of charity, even some of the reputed NGOs present here have become gullible to LTTE propaganda. It appears they have forgotten, the crimes of the LTTE, when accepting the donations in dollars.  I am saying this with authority and proof at hand.

Though the LTTE, a banned Terrorist Organization in 32 countries including the EU has been defeated in Sri Lanka completely and comprehensively, the remaining LTTE rumps are still active outside of Sri Lanka, particularly in Europe.   Being a Tamil speaker myself, I can provide enough and more evidence to prove that the Channel-4 has a sinister motive to             discredit Sri      Lanka with the connivance of the Pro-LTTE Diaspora Organizations; The screening of the selected version of the documentary during the 3^rd Anniversary of the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) is a clear indication to this. It is in one hand ironical to see how     the one time ardent supporters of LTTE and its killing spree, through funding and other propaganda, are now reborn as independent human rights activists.

Further, the objective of the producer is very clear now with his kick-starter project coming into light pleading pounds to make a globe-rotting venture with the film. Can he with conscious tell this audience that he is satisfied that the money he collects now, are not from the same people who once supported killing of innocent Tamil people in my country. If he cannot, we have to assume that he does not care as long as it fulfils the 20,000 pound target to help him roam around the globe with his product.

In conclusion I must say that No fire Zone is doing an injustice to the ordinary Sri Lankan people who are yearning for nothing but peace, dignity and normalcy in life.  If the supporters of this venture believe that by cooking up stories like the “No Fire Zone” can bring them peace and dignity, it is nothing but a grave mistake. Please do not seek globe-rotting their plight; my Sri Lankan Tamil brothers and sisters living in the country do not deserve such treatment.

By Slmedia UK

The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) today claimed that Minister Wimal Weerawansa may have links with Shiva Sena in India.

BBS general secretary the venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara thero said that the Minister’s wife is working with a Buddhist monk in Padukka who is funded by the Shiva Sena.

Shiv Sena, is a Hindu nationalist political organisation in India. Gnanasara said that the Shiva Sena is working on the policy that Buddhism did not originate in India and the monk in Padukka is doing the same.

“Shiva Sena is working to protect Hinduism in India. A lot of Hindus are converting to Buddhism and that is a big problem for the Shiv Sena. The monk in Padukka is being funded by them. He has written books saying Lord Buddha was born in Sri Lanka. So we suspect Minister Weerawansa’s and his wife are linked with Shiva Sena,” he said.

Gnanasara thero also challenged Minister Weerawansa to prove claims he had made that the BBS is funded by Norway.

He said that if the claims are proven then the BBS will disband after making a public apology to the nation.

If not then he says Minister Weerawansa should wear a loincloth and go home for telling lies.

“He is saying we are trying to remove Muslim Ministers from the government. He is telling lies and we cannot allow such Cabinet Ministers to continue like this,” Gnanasara thero said.

Gnanasara thero said that the Minister has not raised his voice against Muslim extremists operating in Sri Lanka but yet goes on protest when anything is said against Cuba.

“We know politicians always tell lies. We will reveal more about that Minister (Weerawansa) if the need arises. There are three groups working against us and we will reveal things about them as well soon,” the BBS monk said.

CLICK HERE FOR BBS AUDIO>>

 Source: Colombo Gazette

නැගෙනහිර ප්‍රදේශයේ පසුගියදා හමාගිය සුළි කුණාටුවට “මහසෙන්”Êයන නම යොදා ඇත්තේ 2003 දී ශ්‍රී ලංකාව කළ යෝජනාවකට අනුව අන්තර්ජාතික කමිටුවකින් බව කාලගුණ විද්‍යා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව ප්‍රකාශ කරයි.

ව්‍යසනකාරී හා පීඩාකාරී සුළි කුණාටුවකට “මහසෙන්” යන නාමය යෙදීම ලැඡ්ජාවට කරුණක්‌ යෑයි කියමින් රට පුරා මේ දිනවල දැඩි විරෝධතාවක්‌ එල්ල වෙමින් තිබේ.

මහසෙන් යනු මින්නේරි දෙවියන් නමින් ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන් සලකන ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨ රජතුමකු නිසා සුළි කුණාටුවට “මහසෙන්” නම භාවිත නොකිරීමට ඉදිරියේදී වගබලා ගන්නැයි සෞඛ්‍ය ඇමැති මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන මහතා ද ඊයේ (13 දා) ආපදා කළමනාකරණ අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම්වරියට උපදෙස්‌ දී ඇත.

ඒ අනුව මහසෙන් යන නම සුළි කුණාටු නම් ලැයිස්‌තුවෙන් වහා ඉවත් කරන ලෙසට ඒ පිළිබඳ වූ අන්තර්ජාතික කමිටුවට දැනුම් දෙන ලෙස ඇමැතිවරයා ලේකම්වරියට පවසා ඇත.

ලෝක කාලගුණ විද්‍යා සංගමයත් ආසියානු පැසිපික්‌ ශාන්තිකර සාගරයේ ආර්ථික කොමිසම සාමාජිකත්වය දරන බෙංගාල බොක්‌ක හා අරාබිය ආශ්‍රිත සුළි කුණාටු පිළිබඳ කමිටුව විසින් “මහසෙන්” යන නම පසුගියදා නැගෙනහිර ප්‍රදේශයේ හමාගිය සුළි කුණාටුවට යොදා ඇත.

එම කමිටුව විසින් කළ ඉල්ලීමකට අනුව 2003 වසරේදී සුළි කුණාටු සඳහා නම් අටක්‌ ශ්‍රී ලංකා කාලගුණ විද්‍යා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව විසින් ඉදිරිපත් කර ඇතැයි කාලගුණ විද්‍යා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ නිලධාරියෙක්‌ “දිවයින” ට පැවසුවේය.
ශ්‍රී ලංකාව මෙන්ම ඉන්දියාව, මාලදිවයින, පාකිස්‌තානය, තායිලන්තය, බුරුමය ආදී රටවල් ද මෙසේ සුළි කුණාටු සඳහා නම් ඉදිරිපත් කර ඇත.

මාලා, රශ්මි, බන්දු, මහසෙන්, ප්‍රියා, ආසිරි, සෝබා යන නම් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවෙන් ඉදිරිපත් කර ඇති අතර මින් පෙර හමා ගිය සුළි කුණාටුවක්‌ “බන්දු” යන නමින් නම් කළ බව ද ඉහත නිලධාරියා කීය.

මෙවර ද ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නමක්‌ යෙදීමට වාරය ලැබුණු නිසා ජාත්‍යන්තර කමිටුව “මහසෙන්” යන නම ඊට යොදා ඇතැයි ද ඉහත නිලධාරියා කීය.

මින්නේරි දෙවියන් නමින් ජනතාව අතර ප්‍රසිද්ධ මහසෙන් රජුගේ නම ව්‍යසනකාරී හා පීඩාකාරී සුළි කුණාටුවක්‌ සඳහා යොදාගැනීම පිළිබඳ මේ වන විටත් රටේ විවිධ මට්‌ටමේ පුද්ගලයන් සහ සංවිධානවලින් විරෝධතා මතුවන බව ද එම නිසා මෙම නම වහා ඉවත් කිරීමට කටයුතු කරන ලෙස ද ඇමැති මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන මහතා ආපදා කළමනාකරණ අමාත්‍යාංශයෙන් ඉල්ලා ඇත. (අජිත් අලහකෝන්)

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

Parliamentarian Duminda Silva has been reappointed as the organizer for the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in the Kolonnawa electorate.

Minister Basil Rajapaksa was appointed as the SLFP organizer in the Kolonnawa electorate after the Mulleriyawa shooting incident in October 2011 in which Silva was seriously injured.

However now that Silva has recovered and is out on bail he has been given back the SLFP Kolonnawa organizer’s post.

Kolonnawa Urban Council Chairman Ravindra Udeshantha said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa spoke to him and instructed him to give Silva the backing he needs as he has now been reappointed as the SLFP organizer of the area.

Udeshantha added that no matter what opinions one may have in the party, if the President gives instructions then that is followed to the letter.

Duminda Silva’s Coordinating Secretary A. Hewavitharana confirmed that the MP had been given back the Kolonnawa post. He also said that a decision has not yet been taken as to when he will return to parliament. (by Indika Sri Aravinda)

Source: Colombo Gazette (Sri Lanka)

විදුලි ගාස්‌තු ඉහළ දැමීමේ තීරණය හකුළා ගන්නා ලෙසට බලකරමින් මෙම 21 වැනිදා රට පුරා පවත්වන මහා වැඩවර්ජනයට ආණ්‌ඩුව යහපත් ප්‍රතිචාර නොදැක්‌වුවහොත් ඉන් පසු අඛණ්‌ඩ මහා වැඩවර්ජනයක්‌ දක්‌වා තමන්ට පියවර තැබීමට සිදුවනු ඇතැයි වෘත්තීය සමිති නායකයෝ සඳහන් කරති.

මෙම 21 වැනිදා පවත්වන වැඩවර්ජනය සඳහා එක්‌සත් ජාතික පක්‍ෂය සහ ජනතා විමුක්‌ති පෙරමුණ සහාය ලබා දීමට මේ වන විටත් එකඟ වී ඇති අතර ද්‍රවිඩ ජාතික සන්ධානයේ තීරණය මෙම සතියේ ලබාදෙන බව පවසා ඇතැයි වෘත්තීය සමිති ඒකාබද්ධ කිරීමේ කමිටුවේ කැඳවුම්කරු වසන්ත සමරසිංහ මහතා “දිවයින” ට පැවසුවේය.

ආණ්‌ඩුවේ ඇමැතිවරුන් වන ඩියු ගුණසේකර මහතාගේ සිලෝන් ෙෆඩරේෂන් ඔෆ් ටේ්‍රඩ් යුනියන් සහ මහාචාර්ය තිස්‌ස විතාරණ මහතාගේ ලංකා කම්කරු සම්මේලනය යන වෘත්තීය සමිති දෙක ද මෙම වැඩවර්ජනයට සහාය දැක්‌වීමට කැමැත්ත පළ කර ඇති අතර බාලා තම්පෝ මහතාගේ සී. එම්. යූ. නමැති වෘත්තීය සමිතිය ද මීට සහාය දක්‌වන බව පවසා ඇතැයි වසන්ත සමරසිංහ මහතා කීවේය.

ඊට අමතරව ලංකා පෞද්ගලික බස්‌ හිමියන්ගේ සංගමයේ සහාය ලබාදෙන බව එහි සභාපති ගැමුණු විඡේරත්න මහතා ද ප්‍රකාශ කර ඇතැයි කී වසන්ත සමරසිංහ මහතා සමස්‌ත ලංකා පාසල් වෑන් රථ සංගමය, ට්‍රක්‌ රථ රියෑදුරන්ගේ සංගමය සමඟ සාකච්ඡා පවත්වමින් සිටින බව ද කීය.

සමස්‌ත ලංකා ත්‍රිරෝද රියෑදුරන්ගේ සංගමය ද මෙම වැඩවර්ජනයට සහාය ලබාදෙන බව පවසා ඇතැයි කී හෙතෙම ශ්‍රී ලංකා මුස්‌ලිම් කොංග්‍රසය සමඟ ද ඉදිරි දිනවල සාකච්ඡා කරන බව ප්‍රකාශ කළේය.

මෙම වැඩවර්ජනය සඳහා නීතිඥවරුන්ගේ සහාය ලබාදෙන ආකාරය පිළිබඳ ශ්‍රී ලංකා නීතිඥ සංගමය ඉදිරි දිනවල ප්‍රකාශ කරන බව කියා ඇතැයි ද කී වසන්ත සමරසිංහ මහතා, රජයේ වෛද්‍ය නිලධාරි සංගමය සහ පරිපූරක වෛද්‍යවරුන් සමඟ ද ඉදිරි සතියේ සාකච්ඡා කරන බැව් පැවසුවේය.

ලංකා ගුරු සංගමය සහ ජල, විදුලි වත්තීය සමිති ද සෞඛ්‍ය සේවාවන් ද මෙම වැඩවර්ජනය සඳහා කැමැත්ත පළකර තිබෙන බව කී සමරසිංහ මහතා මේ වන විට වෘත්තීය සමිති හයසියයකට අධික සංඛ්‍යාවක්‌ මීට එක්‌ව සිටින බව කීය.

මෙම වැඩවර්ජනය කිසිදු පාර්ශ්වයකට ආපසු හැරවිය නොහැකි බව කී සමරසිංහ මහතා 21 වැනිදා වර්ජනයෙන් පසුව ද රජය යහපත් ප්‍රතිචාර නොදැක්‌වුවහොත් 22 වැනිදා ප්‍රවෘත්ති සාකච්ඡාවක්‌ කැඳවා ඊළඟ පියවර ප්‍රසිද්ධියට පත්කරන බව ද කීය. එම නිසා සියලු වැඩ කරන ජනතාව සමඟ එක්‌ව අඛණ්‌ඩ වැඩවර්ජනයක්‌ කිරීම දක්‌වා වූ පියවර වෙත තමන් තල්ලු නොකරන ලෙසට රජයට අනතුරු අඟවා සිටින බව ද වසන්ත සමරසිංහ මහතා කීවේය.

Source: Divaina (Sri Lanka)