The British High Commission in Colombo yesterday said that from Monday May 6, 2013, applicants and their dependents who are applying for a UK visa will need to make their applications online. From this date, manually completed application forms will no longer be accepted.

Online applications and appointments will be mandated for all applications under the points based system, visitor and settlement routes. This means applicants will need to complete and submit the application form by visiting https://apply.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/iapply.portal.

Applicants will then need to print off a hard copy of their application form and make an online appointment to attend their nearest visa application centre (VAC).

They should bring the application form printout to their appointment at the VAC, along with the necessary supporting documentation. Applicants will need to give their biometrics (finger scans and digital photograph) at the VAC in line with the current practice.

By completing and submitting a visa application online, the customer saves time when attending the visa application centre. This is because information about the application has been received and recorded. It is also possible for the relatives of applicants to assist them to complete their application online.

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said even though we faced a 30-year war, we still import weapons and the equipment needed for defending the country.

He said it was now time for our country to carry out research and manufacture what was needed to secure our safety and add to our economic development as well.

Watch Video>> 

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

ලබන සිකුරාදා (26 දා) ලන්ඩන් නුවර පැවැත්වෙන පොදු රාජ්‍ය මණ්‌ඩල ඇමැතිවරුන්ගේ සමුළුවට සහභාගි වන ඇමැතිවරුන් වෙත ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට එරෙහිව බලපෑමක්‌ ඇති කිරීම සඳහා චැනල් 4 රූපවාහිනිය නිපද වූ zනෝපයර්Z චිත්‍රපටය ලන්ඩනයේදී තිරගත කිරීමට සැලසුම් කර ඇත.

මේ සඳහා එම චිත්‍රපටයේ අධ්‍යක්‍ෂ නාල්ලම් මැක්‌රේ සහ කොටි ඩයස්‌පෝරාව එක්‌වී තිබේ.

ලන්ඩන් නුවර ප්‍රන්ට්‌ලයින් ස්‌ලිම් නමැති මධ්‍යස්‌ථානයේදී මෙය තිරගත කෙරෙන අතර ඊට පොදුරාජ්‍ය මණ්‌ඩල ඇමැතිවරුන්ට ද ඇරයුම් පත් යවා ඇත. ලබන නොවැම්බර් මස ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පැවැත්වෙන පොදුරාජ්‍ය මණ්‌ඩල හමුව නොපවත්වන ලෙස එම ඇමැතිවරුන්ගෙන් ඉල්ලා තිබේ. (කීර්ති වර්ණකුලසූරිය)

Source: Divaina (Sri Lanka)

Britain has called on the Sri Lankan government to protect journalists and ensure freedom of expression.

British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said that Britain continues to have serious concerns about human rights in Sri Lanka, including in regards to freedom of opinion and expression, and in light of recent attacks on a number of journalists.

He said the British Government is concerned at reports of interference with the programming of the BBC, and consider the provision of impartial news to be very important as do many people who listened to the service.

He recalled that during Sri Lanka’s Universal Periodic Review in November 2012 at the UN in Geneva, the UK recommended that Sri Lanka should ensure that all citizens are able to freely express their opinions and beliefs without fear of reprisal or retribution, and to invite the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression to visit.

The recommendation was rejected by the Sri Lankan Government, the British Foreign Office Minister said.

“Officials at our high commission in Colombo regularly make representations to the Sri Lankan Government about our human rights concerns in Sri Lanka, including on freedom of expression. The UK co-sponsored the Sri Lanka resolution passed in the Human Rights Council on 21 March, and we welcome its adoption with the support of a majority of Council members. We look to the Sri Lankan Government to implement the recommendations contained in the resolution and comply with their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, which include the protection of the safety of journalists,” he said.

Source: Colombo Gazette

With a cold war raging between a top Ceylon Electricity Board official, who is a senior engineer and others at senior management level consisting mostly engineers, the most powerful man in the Ceylon Electricity Board, General Manager, Nihal Wickramasuriya, has called a meeting in a bid to reconcile those at daggers drawn.

Wickremasuriya, who is the senior most engineer in the CEB, told The Island yesterday that he was not aware of the latest breakdown which had been blamed on a top official. However, he made immediate inquiries and said that the situation was under control as The Island exclusively reported on Saturday.

Of the internal rift at the first coal fired plant in Norochcholai, Wickramasuriya said apart from him, CEB Chairman Ariyaratne Ganegala and Power and Energy Ministry Secretary M. M. C. Ferdinando had also been informed of the internal dispute. However, none of the employees at Norochchclai had come out with full details, he said. “If it is a personal matter, steps would be taken to iron it out, if it is a technical, issue then I will be compelled to hold an inquiry into it.”

Following the latest breakdown that lasted for about 24 hours, the plant resumed operations Friday night.

An engineer said that Norochcholai second plant was in the processes of being commissioned. “If such problems continue to occur we won’t be in a position to give an efficient service. Needless to say if the number of technical issues we have had faced since the first commissioning continues to plague us, then things will remain the same”.

The Rs. 45 billion plant’s latest problem was chiefly due to alleged inefficient management that had led to a breakdown in the boiler when attempts were made to run it at full capacity on an ad hoc basis on Thursday night, sources said. (by Ifham Nizam)

Source: The Islands (Sri Lanka)

කුරුණෑගල ශික්‍ෂණ රෝහලේ අංක 01 වාට්‌ටුව ඩෙංගු රෝගීන්ගෙන් පිරී ගොස්‌ ඇති ආකාරය ඊයේ (22 දා) එම රෝහලට ගිය අපට දැකගත හැකි විය.

මෙම රෝගය සඳහා ඇති එකම ප්‍රතිකාරය ඇඳ විවේකය බැව් වෛද්‍යවරුන් පවසතත් රෝගීන් සංඛ්‍යාව ඉහළ යැම නිසා එක ඇඳේ රෝගීන් දෙදෙනකු බැගින් සිටින අයුරුද දැකගත හැකිවිය.

2013 වසරේ මාර්තු 30 දා වන විට කුරුණෑගල දිස්‌ත්‍රික්‌කයේ හත් දෙනකු ඩෙංගු රෝගයෙන් මියගොස්‌ ඇති අතර වාර්තා වී ඇති රෝගීන්ගේ සංඛ්‍යාව 1240 ක්‌ බැව් කුරුණෑගල දිස්‌ත්‍රික්‌ වාහක රෝග අංශය පවසයි.

කුරුණෑගල, නාරම්මල සහ රිදීගම ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කොට්‌ඨාසවලින් දෙදෙනකු බැගින්ද, පන්නල ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කොට්‌ඨාසයේ එක්‌ අයෙකුද ඩෙංගු රෝගයෙන් මියගොස්‌ තිබේ. දැනට ඇද හැලෙන වර්ෂාවත් සමග ඩෙංගු රෝගීන්ගේ සංඛ්‍යාව තවත් ඉහළ යා හැකි බවට සෞඛ්‍ය අංශ අනතුරු අඟවයි.(ගොකරැල්ල – රණවීර මනුකුලසූරිය)

Source: Divaina (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lanka has called for the total elimination of nuclear weapons from the world claiming it is the only possible way for the survival of humanity.

“The situation which prevails in the Korean Peninsula reminds us of the urgency of the call for the total elimination of nuclear weapons since we firmly believe that total elimination of nuclear weapons from the world is the only possible way for the survival of humanity,” Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ambassador  said.

Ambassador Aryasinha made these observations when he addressed the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) on its opening day. The Session on from 22 April–3 May 2013 in Geneva, is being chaired by Ambassador Cornel Feruta of Romania.

He has called for “a balanced approach” in addressing the objectives of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Noting that “Sri Lanka remains fully committed to the nuclear non-proliferation commitments of the NPT and have steadfastly and consistently supported the global initiatives on non-proliferation”, Ambassador Aryasinha noted that “nuclear non-proliferation however remains one of three pillars of the NPT, which requires equal attention along with the other two – promotion of safe and secure use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and nuclear disarmament”.
He said “such an approach which includes the implementation of the 13 practical steps agreed on to meet the disarmament commitments during the 2000 Review Conference to advance progressively towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons, is a necessary step on the road map to achieving the ultimate goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.”

Ambassador Aryasinha said “Sri Lanka continues to be concerned about the existence of nuclear weapons and of their possible use or threat of use, as it poses a menace to humanity. It is Sri Lanka’s belief, that a transparent, sustainable and credible plan for multilateral nuclear disarmament is required in order to achieve our ultimate goal. In this context, Sri Lanka is committed to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the early entry into force of this instrument. We also recognize that the Fissile Material Cut off Treaty (FMCT) is a means to addressing the proliferation of fissile material which amounts to nuclear weapon proliferation, and that it is imperative to begin negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament on a non-discriminatory, multilateral and effectively verifiable treaty that bans the production of fissile material for manufacturing of nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices. We believe that these instruments would assist in controlling the proliferation of nuclear arsenals.”

“The importance of strengthening the Nuclear Disarmament mechanism is evident in recent activities which have taken place contrary to International Law. The situation which prevails in  the Korean Peninsula reminds us of the urgency of the call for the total elimination of nuclear weapons since we firmly believe that total elimination of nuclear weapons from the world is the only possible way for the survival of humanity.  It is for this reason that we continue the stress that states should move forward towards total elimination and the absolute ban of the nuclear arsenal.”

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

The Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) is conducting a survey to measure radioactive material present in Sri Lankan soil as a precautionary measure in case there is a leakage in the Kudankulam Power Plant in India.

AEA Chairman Dr. Ranjith Wijewardena said they were planning to gather data of the existing radioactive material and their levels so that the AEA could compare these results with the data gathered after any leakage of radioactive material. He said these results would be important to determine whether there is an increase in the radiation levels in Sri Lankan soil, if any nuclear disaster takes places affecting Sri Lanka.

“This is just a precautionary measure and also a project to feed our data bases. There have been talks about possible dangers with the construction of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. So we want to make sure Sri Lanka is out of harm’s way even though there is little possibility of radioactive material from India flowing to Sri Lanka because the power plant is about 200 km away from Sri Lanka” he assured.

The AEA has chosen 100 locations all over the island for the radioactive material study and also different locations in the Sri Lanka sea territory extracting sea water and sediment for the examination of radioactive material present in those samples.

“Radioactive material is everywhere. It can be either natural radioactive elements or artificial radioactive material. We believe that this artificial material came to Sri Lanka with countries like the USA running nuclear energy tests because the radioactive material is diffused to the atmosphere when these tests are done. But we did not find any radioactive material in any location above or in the hazardous level so the general public need not panic ,” he said.
He also said the AEA had found locations where natural radioactive materials were deposited like the Uranium deposit in Pulmudai.

“ Currently AEA is involved in a project with the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau to identify these deposits to  make use of them because material such as Uranium and Thorium are actually fuel used in nuclear power plants” he added. (Sarasi Paranamanna)

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the election for the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) would be held in September this year.

After handing over land deeds to farmers at a function held at the Resource Centre in Weli Oya on Saturday, he gave this assurance. “The election will be held on the date and time indicated to me by my astrologer” he said.

After establishing provincial councils in 1987, this would be the first time that an election was to be held for the Northern Provincial Council separately. Initially the Northern Provincial Council had been amalgamated with the Eastern Provincial Council and the only election for the merged Northern and Eastern Provincial Councils were held in 1988.

There were no elections held thereafter for the merged council and it was dissolved in July 1990. The two provinces were de-merged after a lawsuit in 2006. The first election for the Eastern Provincial Council was held in 2008.

President Rajapaksa first gave an undertaking to hold the Northern Provincial Council election in September 2013 during an interview with the Chennai-based Hindu newspaper on July 11, last year.

The US-sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka that was adopted at the UNHRC sessions last month too had welcomed the President’s announcement on the election to the Northern Provincial Council.

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

A woman raped at a hotel in Sri Lanka has spoken for the first time of the attack in which she was badly beaten and her British boyfriend was killed.

Victoria Tkacheva, 24, a Russian languages graduate, fears that the men responsible for her rape and the murder of Khuram Shaikh, a 32-year-old Red Cross worker from Rochdale, will not be brought to justice.

One of the eight suspects who were arrested but later released is a local politician whose family have close ties to the Sri Lankan president.

There is currently no prospect of a trial, but Tkacheva insists she will not rest until justice is done. “I know if Khuram was in my place he would go on to the end,” she said. “That’s what I must do too,” she told in an interview with the UK’s The Sunday Times.

The couple had met in 2009 in North Korea where he was working as a prosthetics expert for the Red Cross, fitting artificial limbs to adults and children. Tkacheva was in Pyongyang, the capital, to study the Korean language. The relationship continued when Shaikh was posted to Gaza.

They were enjoying a holiday in December 2011 at the Nature Resort in Tangalle, 100 miles south of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, when a group of men arrived at a hotel party on Christmas Eve.

After a minor tiff with Shaikh during the party, Tkacheva was sitting alone on the beach at midnight to cool down when she was approached by a man and asked whether anything was wrong.

She became anxious and ran back towards the hotel but was set upon by a number of men. She does not know how many.

“I couldn’t even see them. They started beating me. I fell to the ground — I was covering my head with my arms so I couldn’t see anybody,” she said. “It was next to the pool. It was so sudden, they were kicking and punching.”

Her assailants pushed her into the swimming pool. “I was trying to escape from the pool but they were not letting me.”

Tkacheva, who had suffered a fractured skull, eventually managed to get away.

“I got out from another side of the pool and in a few steps I found Khuram lying on the ground. I ran to him and started to call his name but he wasn’t responding.
“I tried to make him conscious, trying mouth-to- mouth, but there was nothing I could do to make him conscious,” she said.

Tkacheva saw cuts on Shaikh’s face but did not notice the stab or bullet wounds that killed him. “When I couldn’t bring him round I screamed very loud from helplessness and then I think I lost consciousness because I don’t remember anything else.”

It appears that at this point she was raped. Her next memory is waking up in hospital wearing a T-shirt that she did not recognise and finding that her dress was blood-splattered and her underwear had gone. Her face was badly swollen and her body was covered in bruises.
Witnesses said Tkacheva had been found naked and unconscious in a room at the hotel on Christmas morning. She had been raped or sexually assaulted and had suffered vaginal injuries, according to a Sri Lankan police report.

Tkacheva does not recall when or where she was found. “You try not to think that could have happened but it’s disgusting because they killed Khuram and sexually assaulted me,” she said.

To the best of Tkacheva’s knowledge, her missing underwear has never been found and her dress was thrown away. Both could have provided police with DNA evidence.

The eight suspects were identified through witness accounts. They include Sampath Chandra Pushpa Vidanapathirana, the head of the local council in Tangalle, one of the largest towns in Sri Lanka’s southern province. His family have links to President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

While there is no suggestion that Rajapaksa or members of Vidanapathirana’s family have intervened in the case, the relatives of Tkacheva and Shaikh believe there has been a lack of urgency during the investigation. All the suspects were released on bail without charge last November.

Tkacheva, who has waived her anonymity as a rape victim, is ready to give evidence at any trial. “I was devastated when the men were freed on bail,” she said.

Last month the Sri Lankan government said it was awaiting a report on DNA evidence and had made every effort to find those involved.

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

බේරුවල  රොක්‌ලන්ඩ් හන්දිය අනාරක්‍ෂිත දුම්රිය හරස්‌ මාර්ගයේදී පෙරේදා (20 දා) රාත්‍රි 7.30 ට පමණ බස්‌ රියක්‌ දුම්රියක ගැටී සිදු වූ අනතුරින් තුවාල ලැබූ 28 දෙනකු කළුතර නාගොඩ රෝහලට ඇතුළත් කර ඇත. ඉන් බරපතළ තත්ත්වයේ පසු වූ සිව්දෙනකු කොළඹ ජාතික රෝහලට මාරු කර යෑවූ බව එම රෝහල් ප්‍රකාශකයෙක්‌ “දිවයින” ට පැවසීය.

ජාතික රෝහලට ඇතුළත් කෙරුණු තුවාලකරුවන් සිව්දෙනා අසාධ්‍ය තත්ත්වයෙන් දැඩිසත්කාර ඒකකයේ ප්‍රතිකාර ලබන බව රෝහල් අධ්‍යක්‍ෂ වෛද්‍ය අනිල් ජාසිංහ මහතා පැවසීය.

අකුරැස්‌සේ අවමංගල්‍යයකට සහභාගිවීමට මහනුවර කරදුවාවිල උඩවත්තේ සිට බස්‌ රථ දෙකක්‌ පැමිණ ඇති අතර එම කටයුතු අවසන් වීමෙන් පසු කාන්තාවන් පමණක්‌ පැමිණි බස්‌ රථය අධිවේගී මාර්ගය ඔස්‌සේ නුවර බලා ගොස්‌ තිබේ. පිරිමි පිරිස රැගත් බස්‌ රථය රාත්‍රි කෑම ගැනීමට හිතවතකුගේ මාගල්කඩ නිවස බලා යමින් සිටියදී මෙම අනතුරට මුහුණපා තිබේ.

බස්‌රථයේ ගැටුණු බලවේග කට්‌ටල දුම්රිය පෙරේදා සවස 5.55 ට පමණ කොළඹ සිට ගාල්ල බලා පිටත් වී තිබේ. පයාගල දුම්රිය ස්‌ථානයට මෙම දුම්රිය රාත්‍රි 7.27 ට නියමිත වෙලාවට පැමිණ ඇති අතර පසුව පයාගලින් එම දුම්රිය පිටත්වී විනාඩි කීපයකින් මේ අනතුර සිදුවී ඇතැයි පයාගල දුම්රිය ස්‌ථානාධිපතිවරයා කියා සිටියේය.

මෙම බස්‌ රථයේ සිටි පිරිසගේ ජීවිත බේරුණේ දුම්රිය මන්දගාමී එකක්‌ වූ නිසා බවත් බසය ශීඝ්‍රගාමී දුම්රියක ගැටුණේ නම් තත්ත්වය මීට වඩා වෙනස්‌ වීමට ඉඩ තිබූ බවත් දුම්රිය සේවකයෝ පැවසූහ.

දුම්රියේ ගැටීමත් සමඟ බස්‌රිය ගාලු පාරට විසිවී වැටී තිබේ. එහිදී බස්‌රථයේ සිටි පිරිසක්‌ පාරට විසි වූ බව ඇසින් දුටුවෝ පැවසූහ.

අනතුර සිදු වූ ස්‌ථානයට ගොස්‌ නිරීක්‍ෂණය කළ ප්‍රවාහන අමාත්‍ය කුමාර වෙල්ගම මහතා එම ස්‌ථානයට ආරක්‍ෂිත ගේට්‌ටු සවිකිරීමට පොරොන්දු විය. එමෙන්ම ඇමැතිවරයා අනතුරින් තුවාල ලැබුවන්ගේ සුවදුක්‌ විමසීමට කළුතර නාගොඩ රෝහලට පෙරේදා රාත්‍රියේම ගියේය.

මෙම සිද්ධිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් බේරුවල පොලිස්‌ ස්‌ථානාධිපති පොලිස්‌ පරීක්‍ෂක දුමින්ද සිල්වා මහතාගේ උපදෙස්‌ මත උප පොලිස්‌ පරීක්‍ෂක ගුණතිලක මහතා ඇතුළු කණ්‌ඩායමක්‌ වැඩිදුර පරීක්‍ෂණ සිදුකරති.

ප්‍රදීප් ප්‍රසන්න සමරකෝන්, සචිත්‍ර ඇල්වලගේ, විජයසිරි විද්‍යාසේකර – කළුතර සමූහ
පසුබිම් වාර්තා – ඇන්ටන් අන්ද්‍රdදි – මග්ගොන, තිලක්‌ විඡේසුන්දර – ඉඳුරුව, බී. එස්‌. ජයසිංහ – බණ්‌ඩාරගම, කමල් ශ්‍රී ලියනගේ – අහුංගල්ල, සිරිසෝම සුසෙව්හේවා – වාද්දුව

Source: Divaina (Sri Lanka)

The Norochcholai Coal Power Plant has suffered its nineteenth break down from Thursday night, CEB sources revealed.

They said a defect in a protective device of the boiler system of the plant had caused the breakdown.

When inquired, CEB Chairman W. B. Ganegala confirmed the report but said the defect caused by a faulty device had now been rectified.

Meanwhile, the Electrical Engineers Association attributed the frequent breakdowns to improper maintenance work.

They said the installation of the Norochcholai Plant was a timely need but the plant administration was responsible for frequent breakdowns due to lack of maintenance. They said their requests forwarded to the Ministry and the CEB had not been heeded to.

According to the engineers there are some rectifiable defects in the cooling system of the plant but lethargy on the part of the administration continued to create more problems.

Installation of the plant was meant for providing cheap electricity but the frequent breakdowns of the plant have compelled the CEB to buy expensive electricity from other sources, the association alleged. (Ajantha  Kumara Agalakada)

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

පාරිභෝගිකයාට දරාගත නොහැකි අන්දමට විදුලි ගාස්‌තු ඉහළ දැමීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් රජයට එරෙහිව විරෝධය පළකරමින් මහා වැඩ වර්ජනයක්‌ කැඳවීමට දේශපාලන පක්‍ෂ, වෘත්තිය සමිති සහ බහුජන සංවිධාන, රැසක්‌ තීරණය කර ඇත.

රාජ්‍ය, පෞද්ගලික හා වතු අංශයේ සමස්‌ත සේවකයන් මෙම වැඩ වර්ජනයට ඒකාබද්ධ කර ගැනීම එම සංවිධානවල අරමුණ වී තිබේ.

අසාධාරණ ලෙස ඉහළ දැමූ විදුලි බිල අඩු කරන ලෙස රජයෙන් කළ ඉල්ලීම්වලට යහපත් ප්‍රතිචාරයක්‌ මෙතෙක්‌ නොදැක්‌වීම නිසා වෘත්තීය සමිති ක්‍රියාමාර්ග දියත් කිරීමට තීරණය කළ බව වෘත්තීය සමිති රැසක නායකයෝ ‘දිවයින ඉරිදා සංග්‍රහය’ ට පැවැසූහ.

වෘත්තීය සමිති, බහුජන සංවිධාන, දේශපාලන පක්‍ෂවලට අමතරව ආගමික නායකයෝ ද විදුලි ගාස්‌තු ඉහළ දැමීමට එරෙහිව මේ වනවිට විරෝධය පළ කරමින් සිටිති.

එම නිසා මෙම සියලු කොටස්‌ ඒකරාශී කර ගනිමින් ඉදිරියේදී දැවැන්ත වෘත්තීය සමිති ක්‍රියාමාර්ගවලට යොමු වන බව අන්තර් සමාගම් සේවක සංගමයේ සභාපති වසන්ත සමරසිංහ මහතා ‘දිවයින ඉරිදා සංග්‍රහය’ ට ප්‍රකාශ කළේය.

රාජ්‍ය අංශය, පෞද්ගලික අංශය මෙන්ම වතු අංශය ද ඒකාබද්ධ කර ගනිමින් ඉදිරියේදී සිදු කෙරෙන වෘත්තීය ක්‍රියාමාර්ග පිළිබඳ තීරණ ගැනීම සඳහා වෘත්තීය සමිති නියෝජිතයන්, බහුජන සංවිධාන, ආගමික හා දේශපාලන පක්‍ෂ නියෝජිතයන් සමග මෙම බදාදා (24 දා) කොළඹදී හදිසි සාකච්ඡාවක්‌ පවත්වන බව ද සමරසිංහ මහතා ප්‍රකාශ කළේය.

විදුලි ගාස්‌තු වැඩි කිරීම පිළිබඳ මහජන උපයෝගිතා කොමිසම හමුවේ වෘත්තීය සමිති ද කරුණු ඉදිරිපත් කළ මුත් ඒ සියල්ල නොතකා හරිමින් එම කොමිසම රජයේ අසාධාරණ යෝජනාව පිළිගැනීම හෙළා දකින බවද කී සමරසිංහ මහතා මහජන උපයෝගිතා කොමිසමේ ප්‍රොaඩාවට එරෙහිවද වෘත්තීය සමිති ඉදිරියේදී ක්‍රියාත්මක වන බව පැවැසුවේය.

විදුලි ගාස්‌තු ඉහළ දැමීමට විරෝධය පළ කරමින් ජාතික සේවක සංගමය ද ඉදිරියේදී ගත හැකි උපරිම ක්‍රියාමාර්ගයන්ට එළැඹෙන බව එම සංගමයේ සභාපති පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී වෛද්‍ය ජයලත් ජයවර්ධන මහතා ප්‍රකාශ කළේය.

රජය විදුලි ගාස්‌තු අසාධාරණ ලෙස ඉහළ දැමුවේ නාස්‌තිය, දූෂණ හා වංචා වසා ගැනීමට බව කී ජයවර්ධන මහතා ඉදිරියේදී වැඩ බිම් මට්‌ටමින් සේවක පිරිස දැනුවත් කර විදුලි බිල ඉහළ දැමීමට එරෙහිව උද්ඝෝෂණ පවත්වන බව කීය. එමෙන්ම විදුලි ගාස්‌තු ඉහළ දැමීමට එරෙහිව ජාතික සේවක සංගමය නඩු මගට පිවිසීමට පියවර ගෙන ඇතැයි ද හෙතෙම කීවේය.

මේ අතරේ විදුලි ගාස්‌තු ඉහළ දැමීමට එරෙහිව රට පුරා පවත්වන උද්ඝෝෂණ රාත්‍රි කාලයේදී පැවැත්වීමට ජනතා විමුක්‌ති පෙරමුණ තීරණය කර ඇත.

පන්දම් දල්වමින් සිදු කරන මෙම උද්ඝෝෂණ මාලාවේ පළමුවැන්න හෙට (22 දා) මහරගම නගරයේ රාත්‍රි 7.00 ට පැවැත්වේ. ඉන්පසු මෙවැනි උද්ඝෝෂණ රට පුරා පැවැත්වීමට ජනතා විමුක්‌ති පෙරමුණ කටයුතු කර ඇතැයි එහි ප්‍රකාශකයෙක්‌ පැවැසුවේය.

විදුලි ගාස්‌තු ඉහළ දැමීමට විරෝධය පළ කරමින් හා ඒ පිළිබඳ වැඩ කරන ජනතාව සහ මහජනතාව දැනුවත් කරමින් අනිද්දා (23 දා) සවස 3.00 ට ජාතික පුස්‌තකාල ශ්‍රවණාගාරයේ සම්මන්ත්‍රණයක්‌ ද පැවැත්වේ.

අන්තර් සමාගම් සේවක සංගමය විසින් මෙම සම්මන්ත්‍රණය සංවිධානය කර ඇත.

Source: Divaina (Sri Lanka)

ප්‍රභාකරන් මියගොස්‌ වසර හතරකට ආසන්න වෙතත්, තවමත් ඔහු විසූ නිවාස හමුවීම එක්‌ අතකින් පුදුමය. මානව හිමිකම් ගැන කතා කරනවා යෑයි කියන පිරිස්‌ හා දෙමළ වර්ගවාදීන් නිතර කියන පරිදි අද උතුර හා නැගෙනහිර ප්‍රදේශ සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම තිබෙන්නේ හමුදා ආධිපත්‍යය යටතේය. ඒ පළාත්වල අඟලෙන් අඟල හමුදාවය. එම පළාත්වල සිටින්නකු ශරීර කෘත්‍යයකට එළියට බැස්‌සොත් එතැනද හමුදාවය.

මේ කියන කතා සත්‍ය නම්, ප්‍රභාකරන් පදිංචි වී සිටි නිවාස දැන් හමුවන්නේ කෙසේද? අඩියෙන් අඩියට හමුදාව, වසර ගණනාවක්‌ සිටියා නම් මේවා නොදැක සිටින්නේ කෙසේද? ප්‍රභාකරන්ගේ නිවාස මේ කාලයේ සොයා ගැනීමෙන් පෙනී යන එක්‌ කරුණක්‌ වන්නේ මානව හිමිකම්කාරයෝ හා දෙමළ වර්ගවාදීන් දොඩවන තරමේ හමුදා ආධිපත්‍යයක්‌ උතුර හා නැගෙනහිර පළාත්වල නැති බවය.

ප්‍රභාකරන්ගේ එක්‌ නිවසක්‌ සොයා ගැනීමට ත්‍රස්‌ත විමර්ශන කොට්‌ඨාසය සමත් වී තිබෙන බව පසුගිය සතියේ වාර්තා වී තිබිණි. ප්‍රභාකරන් ත්‍රස්‌තවාදී නායකයකු ලෙස නිවාස කීයක්‌ පරිහරණය කරන්නට ඇද්දැයි කිව නොහැකිය. ප්‍රභාකරන්ගේ උපන් නිවස පිහිටා තිබුණේ යාපනයට කිලෝමීටර් 40 කට පමණ දුරකින් පිහිටි වැල්වැටිතුරෙයි ප්‍රදේශයේය. යාපනයේ සිට කන්කසන්තුරේ මාර්ගයේ ගමන් කරනවිට හමුවෙන උඩුප්පිඩි හන්දියෙන් වමට හැරී කිලෝ මීටර් දෙකක්‌ ගමන් කළ විට එම නිවස හමුවෙයි. අංක 322, පේදුරුතුඩුව පාර, වැල්වැටිතුරේ එහි ලිපිනයයි. 1982 පමණ වන තෙක්‌ ප්‍රභාකරන්ගේ නිවාසය බවට පත් වූයේ එයයි. ආරක්‍ෂක හමුදාව එම නිවස වටකළ එක්‌ රැයකදී ප්‍රභාකරන් එයින් පලාගිය අතර ඉන්පසු ඔහු සිය නිවස ලෙස නිවාස කීයක්‌ භාවිත කළාදැයි ප්‍රභාකරන්ටද මතක නැතුවා විය හැකිය.

මානුෂීය මෙහෙයුම දිනෙන් දින ඉදිරියට ඇදෙන විට ප්‍රභාකරන් සිය නිවාස ලෙස භාවිත කළ, සුඛෝපභෝගී නිවාස කිහිපයක්‌ම හමුදාව විසින් අත්පත් කරගන්නට සමත් විය. පිහිනුම් තටාක සහිතව තිබූ නිවාස ද ඒ අතර විය. මුලතිව්, පුදුකුඩුඉරිප්පු හි ප්‍රභාකරන් පදිංචි වී සිටි නිවස ජනතාවට දැක බලා ගැනීම සඳහා සූදානම් කර තිබේ. එය විශාල ආරක්‍ෂක සංවිධාන සහිතව තිබුණ වූවක්‌ වන අතර, ඒ අවට බිම් බෝම්බ 51000 ක්‌ වළ දමා තිබුණු බව බිම් බෝම්බ ඉවත් කිරීමේ නිරත සංවිධාන විසින් පසුව සොයා ගෙන තිබිණි.

තමන්ට තිබූ තර්ජන හමුවේ ප්‍රභාකරන් භාවිත කළ නිවසක්‌ ගැන ආරංචියක්‌ ත්‍රස්‌ත මර්දන ඒකකයට ලැබෙන්නේ එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ.යට සම්බන්ධව සිටි ඔත්තු කරුවකු මාර්ගයෙනි. යුද්ධය පැවැති කාලයේ සිටම ඔහු ත්‍රස්‌ත මර්දන ඒකකයේ ඔත්තුකරුවකු ලෙස සේවය කර තිබිණි.

ප්‍රභාකරන් පාවිච්චි කළ හෙලිකොප්ටරය හා වෙඩි නොවදින රථය භූගත බංකරයක ඇති බව මෙම ඔත්තුකරුවා විසින් ත්‍රස්‌ත මර්දන ඒකකයට දැනුම් දීමත් සමඟ වහ වහා එම ස්‌ථානයට යන්නට එහි නිලධාරින් තීන්දු කළේය. එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ. යේ උත්සව අවස්‌ථාවන්හි ගුවනේ සිට මල් ඉසින ලද හෙලිකොප්ටරයක්‌ පිළිබඳ යුද්ධය පැවැති සමයේ සිටම හමුදාවන් ඇස ගසාගෙන සිටින ලදි. වෙඩි නොවදින කාර් එකක්‌ ප්‍රභාකරන් සතුව තිබූ බවද ඒ කාලයේ සිටම හමුදාවන්ට ආරංචි වී තිබිණි. යුද්ධය නිමා වුවත් ඒ ගැන කිසිම තොරතුරක්‌ හමුදාව සතු නොවූ අතර, අලුත්ම ආරංචිය ඒ ගැන හමුදාවේ මතකය අලුත් කරන්නට විය. අදාළ ස්‌ථානය පිහිටා තිබුණේ කිලිනොච්චියට ආසන්නව, ඒ – නවය මාර්ගයේ සිට කිලෝමීටර් නවයක්‌ පමණ දුරකිනි. එම ප්‍රදේශය හැඳින්වූයේ උත්‍රපුරුම් ලෙසය.

මෙම ස්‌ථානය පිහිටියේ විශාල පොල් වත්තක්‌ මධ්‍යයේ එතරම් විශාල නොවූ ගෙයක්‌ ලෙසය. බැලූ බැල්මට එය කුඩා ගෙයක්‌ ලෙස පෙනුණත් ඊට යටින් දෙමහල් බංකරයක්‌ පිහිටා තිබිණි. මෙය 2004 වසරේ ඉදිකරන ලද්දක්‌ ලෙස සැලකේ. ත්‍රස්‌ත විමර්ශන අංශය විසින් මෙම බංකරය සඳහා පිවිසෙන පඩි පෙළ මතු කරගෙන ඇත්තේ, අඩි දහයක්‌ පමණ හෑරීමෙන් පසුවය. පඩිපෙළ අසලම තිබූ කාමරයෙන් ගුවන් යානා නාශක මිසයිල අසුරා තිබූ හිස්‌ පෙට්‌ටියක්‌ හමු වී තිබිණි. උසින් අඩි 150 ක්‌ පමණ වන මෙම බංකරය තුළ ගුවන් යානා නාශක අවි සවිකර තිබෙන්නට ඇති බවට ආරක්‍ෂක අංශ සැක කරන අතර යම් හෙයකින් මෙම ස්‌ථානයට ගුවන් ප්‍රහාර එල්ල වුවහොත් එයින් ආරක්‍ෂා වීම මෙහිදී ත්‍රස්‌තවාදීන්ගේ බලාපොරොත්තුව වන්නට ඇත.

ඉතාම රහසිගත ලෙස තිබූ මෙම බංකරය ප්‍රභාකරන් පරිහරණය කර ඇත්තේ සීමිත පිරිසකට පමණක්‌ ඇතුළු වීමට අවසර ලබා දෙමිනි. බංකරය සොයා ගැනීමෙන් පසු ආසන්න ප්‍රදේශවාසීන් ආරක්‍ෂක අංශවලට පවසා ඇත්තේ, මෙම නිවස පිහිටා තිබූ පොල්වත්තට ඇතුළුවීම පවා එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ.ය විසින් තහනම් කර තිබුණු බවය. ආරක්‍ෂක අංශ පවසන ආකාරයට මෙහි උඩු මහලේ එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ. නායකයා ඉහළ පෙළේ එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ. නායකයන් සමඟ රැස්‌වීම් පවත්වා තිබුණත්, භූගත බංකරයට සිය විශ්වාසි සගයා වූ බුද්ධි අංශ ප්‍රධානි පොට්‌ටු අම්මාන් හටවත් ඇතුළුවීමට අවසර ලබා දී නැත. සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම විදුලි රැහැන් ඇද, වායු සමීකරණ සහිතව මෙම බංකරය සකසා තිබුණත් එය එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ.යට අයත් හෝ ඔවුන් මෑතදී ගත් ඉඩමක්‌ නොවේ. එය දෙමළ වාර්ගික අයිතිකරුවකුගෙන් බලෙන් ලබාගෙන තිබිණි.

මෙම බංකරයේ යටි මහල් පිළිබඳව පරීක්‍ෂණ කටයුතුවලට බාධාවක්‌ වී ඇත්තේ මේ දිනවල උතුර ප්‍රදේශයට ඇදහැලෙන මහා වර්ෂාවය. මෙම වර්ෂාපතනයෙන් බංකරය මඩින් පිරී ගොස්‌ තිබීම නිසා යටි මහල් පිළිබඳ තවම නිරීක්‍ෂණ ලබාගත හැකිව ඇත්තේ අවමයෙනි. බංකරයේ යටි මහලටම වාහන ගාල් කළ හැකි අයුරින් එය සකස්‌ කර තිබුණද, ප්‍රභාකරන්ට අයත් වෙඩි නොවදින රථය හෝ හෙලිකොප්ටරය ඒ තුළ දක්‌නට ලැබී නොමැත.

මෙය ප්‍රභාකරන් සිය පෞද්ගලික නිවාසය ලෙස භාවිත කර ඇති බවත් පවුලේ අයගේ ස්‌ථිර වාසස්‌ථානය වූයේ මෙම ස්‌ථානය බවටත් වන මතයක්‌ද පවතී. ප්‍රභාකරන් සිය දරුවන් කිලිනොච්චි පාසලකට යවා ඇත්තේ මෙම ස්‌ථානයේ සිට බවට වන තොරතුරු ආරක්‍ෂක අංශ වෙත ලැබී තිබේ.

2007 වසරේදී ත්‍රස්‌ත විමර්ශන කොට්‌ඨාසය ලද තොරතුරකට අනුව මෙම ස්‌ථානය එල්.ටී.ටී.ඊ. නායකයන් සැරිසරන තැනක්‌ ලෙස හඳුනාගෙන තිබිණි. ඒ අනුව ෂෙල් වෙඩි ප්‍රහාර හා ගුවන් ප්‍රහාර මෙම ස්‌ථානයට එල්ල කීරීමට හමුදාවෙන් පියවර ගත්හ. දැනට ආරක්‍ෂක අංශ වෙත ලැබී තිබෙන තොරතුරු අනුව, එම ගුවන් ප්‍රහාරයකින් ප්‍රභාකරන්ට සුළු මට්‌ටමක තුවාලයක්‌ සිදුවී තිබෙන අතර, තමන්ගේ නිවාසය හමුදාව හඳුනාගෙන ඇතැයි සැක කරන ලද ප්‍රභාකරන් මෙම නිවස, ඉන්පසුව අතහැර දමා තිබේ.

මීට වසර හතරකට පෙර එක පවුලේ සාමාජිකයන් එකම බස්‌ නැවතුම් පළකින් වෙන වෙනම බස්‌වල නැඟී ගියේ මෙම ත්‍රස්‌තවාදියාගේ ක්‍රියාකාරකම් හමුවේ බව රටට අමතකය. වසර තිහක්‌ පුරා රටක්‌ මුස්‌පේන්තු කළ අයෙකු තවමත් විටින් විට අලුත් ප්‍රවෘත්ති මවා දෙමින් සිටියත් ප්‍රභාකරන් කියුවා යෑයි කියන ආකාරයට සිංහලයාට යමක්‌ මතක ඇත්තේ සති දෙකකි.

තමන්ගෙන් ලැබූ පීඩනය එසේ අමතක නොකරන්නැයි කරන සන් කිරීමක්‌ ලෙස, ප්‍රභාකරන්ගේ නටබුන් මෙසේ වරින් වර මතු වීම සැලකිය හැකිය. ඒ අතින් බලන විට මේ සොයාගෙන ඇත්තේ ප්‍රභාකරන්ගේ ගෙයක්‌ ලෙස භෞතිකාකාරයෙන් පමණක්‌ ගන්නවාට වඩා, වසර තිහක කළු මතකයක්‌ ජනතාවට වරින් වර සිහිකැඳවීමක්‌ ලෙස ගැනුම වටී.

මනෝජ් අබයදීර – හේමන්ත රන්දුණු

Source: Divaina (Sri Lanka)
Image courtesy of  Divaina (Sri Lanka)

A student living in the Nonpareil Estate at Balangoda is reported to walk nearly 24 kilometres a day to school and back.

The child is a student of the Vivekanda Vidayalaya situated in the estate.

Recently, Sabaragumwa Provincial Council (SPC) officials and Chief Minister Mahipala Herath visited the area. According to reports, the Grade IV student Pradeep begins his 12-kilomtre walk to school at 4.00 a.m. and reaches home from school around 7.00 p.m after another 12-kilometre trudge.

The SPC said this child is the eldest of six siblings and lives with his parents in the Nagrek Division of the estate. The estate is located on a high mountainous area, considered by many as the highest elevation in the Sabaragamuwa Province. The area does not have enough infrastructure facilities and the steep access road is usually buffeted with strong winds that prevail during some months restricts public mobility to a large extent.

The boy hails from a village 7,200 feet above sea level, and 32 kilometres off Balangoda. Only this child from among the 16 in the village attends school.

The Chief Minister is reported to have instructed his officials to provide education facilities to the other 15 as well.  The Chief Minister met this child and commended his perseverance in carrying out his studies amid difficulties.(Kelum Bandara)

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

A police directive to track down foreign tourists and long-time overseas residents in Sri Lanka is a security measure, the government said today.

“In the guise of tourists, there are certain elements which are adverse to the country. That is why we need to keep a track of them,” Keheliya Rambukwella, minister of information and government spokesman told reporters.

Last week, the police headquarters had told local police stations to gather information on tourists lodged at hotels and guest houses within the respective police areas.

The police said the measure was taken for the safety of tourists.

A British tourist was killed in an attack at a southern tourist resort in December 2011.

The British Foreign Office travel advisory noted violent crime against foreigners is “infrequent” in Sri Lanka but states an “increasing number of reports of sexual offences, including against minors”.

The government has lodged its protest against the British travel advisory saying Sri Lanka saw the arrival of over a million tourists in 2012.

Source: PTI

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa invited the expatriate critics of Sri Lanka to come and witness the development achieved after ‘eradicating terrorism.’

He made these views at the opening ceremony of the Thoppigala war memorial today participating as the chief guest.

“People were deprived of enjoying the scenic beauty of this area due to the 30-year-old war and people in these areas had to leave their native places and had lived under dire conditions.

After liberating the country from the terrorism, not only Sri Lankans but foreigners also have been able to come and enjoy the scenic beauty of this area,” he said.

He said that this was a great opportunity for the foreigners who hold wrong views to come and witness how Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims live together peacefully in these areas after the war.(K.G. Karunaratne)

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

[අකිත පෙරේරා]

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව පොදු රාජ්‍ය මණ්‌ඩලීය සාමාජිකත්වයෙන් ඉවත් කළ යුතු බවට සහ පොදුරාජ්‍ය මණ්‌ඩලීය නායකයින්ගේ සමුළුව ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පැවැත්වීම අත්හිටුවිය යුතු බවට යෝජනාවක්‌ දකුණු අප්‍රිකාවේ කේප්ටවුන්හි පැවැත්වෙන පොදු රාජ්‍ය මණ්‌ඩලීය නීතිඥ වෘත්තිකයින්ගේ 18 වැනි සමුළුවේදී යෝජනා කර ඇත.

මෙම යෝජනාව මෙම මස 26 වැනිදා පැවැත්වෙන මීළඟ සමුළුවේදී සම්මත කර ගැනීමටද ඔවුන් තීරණය කර තිබේ.

හිටපු අගවිනිසුරු ශිරාණි බණ්‌ඩාරනායක මහත්මිය ධුරයෙන් ඉවත් කිරීම සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය ක්‍රියා කළ ආකාරය සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අධිකරණ ක්‍ෂේත්‍රයට විධායකය විසින් අනිසි ලෙස බලපෑම් කිරීමට එරෙහිව මෙම යෝජනාව ඉදිරිපත් කර ඇත.

මෙය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ජනතාවට එරෙහිව ගෙන එන්නක්‌ බවත් වත්මන් ශ්‍රී ලංකා ආණ්‌ඩුව නීතියේ ආධිපත්‍යයට එරෙහිව සිදුකරනු ලබන කටයුතු නිසා අධිකරණ ක්‍ෂේත්‍රයේ ස්‌වාධීනත්වයට එල්ලවී ඇති බලපෑම් ඉවත් කර ගැනීමේ අරමුණින් සිදුකරනු ලබන්නක්‌ බවත් පොදු රාජ්‍ය මණ්‌ඩලීය නීතිඥ වෘත්තිකයින්ගේ සමුළුව සඳහන් කරයි.

Source: Divaina (Sri Lanka)

[ by Shenali Waduge ]

“Oh! Great King, the birds of the air and the beasts have an equal right to live and move about in any part of this land as thou.  The land belongs to the peoples and all other beings and thou art only the guardian of it.”

This call based on fundamental Buddhist tenets of love and compassion for all living beings, was made by Arahant Mahinda to King Devanampiyatissa in their very first encounter over 2300 years ago, and effectively put a stop to the deer hunt of the King at the base of the Mihintale Rock.

It had a dramatic impact and together with other Buddhist moral injunctions helped formulate the ethical foundations of public policy and governance strenuously followed by all Sinhala Buddhist kings who ruled Sri Lanka.

Buddhist Influence

Buddhist influence helped create a benevolent state in Sri Lanka that accepted state responsibility for the welfare of both man and animal.

The Buddha’s discourse in the Cakkavatti – Sihanada Sutta (Digha Nikaya of the Sutta Pitaka) where the Buddha spelt out the duties of an ideal ruler and declared:

“The Cakkavatti King (Righteous King) will give protection, shelter and ward both to the different classes of human beings, and also to birds and beasts”,

had resonance throughout our history for over a period of 2000 years from the time of King Devanampiyatissa to the last king of the Kingdom of Kandy, which was ceded to the British in 1815.

The social and legal history of Sri Lanka provides innumerable examples of the Buddhist attitude to animal life. Our former Kings established some of the worlds’ first wild life sanctuaries.  Five of the kings governed the country under the ‘Maghata’ rule, which banned completely the killing of any animal in the kingdom.

King Silakala (524 – 537 AD) decreed the ‘preservation of life for all creatures’ throughout the Island[1]. King Kassappa IV (898 -914 AD) granted safety to all creatures on land and water and in doing so observed in all respects the conduct of the ancient kings.[2] Virtuous Kings moved by compassion for animals distributed ‘young corn full of milky juice’ to cattle, and rice to the crows and other birds.[3] King Mahinda IV made arrangements for the distribution of rice cakes to apes, wild boar, gazelle and dogs.[4] King Parakramabahu I had commanded that safety of life be extended to all creatures without exception living on dry land and in the water on the four uposatha days in every month.[5]

Several Kings established Animal Hospitals and one King, namely Buddhadasa (341 AD) became a reputed medical and veterinary surgeon.

The people, influenced by the principle of ‘Ahimsa’ generally kept away from occupations that required the killing of animals to earn a living- e.g. hunting, fishing and the slaughter of animals for food.  Those who resorted to these activities were usually relegated to the margins of the society and treated as outcastes.

Today, we do not have Kings or Monarchs any more but it is largely the votes of the Sinhala Buddhists (70% of Sri Lanka’s population) that bring Governments to power or over throw them at elections.

However current rulers must take the cue and observe in all respects the conduct of the ancient kings, who were in the main virtuous Kings moved by compassion for animals.

Buddhist First Precept

“Abstain from taking life” is the first precept of Buddhism “Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami”. Pana refers to any living being that has breath or consciousness which includes people and all animal life. Atipata means “striking down” referring to killing, injuring or torturing.

The violation of the first precept involves 5 factors – the living being, the knowledge of the living being, the volition thought of killing, the killing itself and the death of the living being. In the context of the current scenario what needs to be understood is that the violation of the precept arises in the mind with the recognition of a living being and the willful thought of killing that being. A killing that is premeditated is a graver offense than an impulsive killing.

Decision to close water holes around Mattala Airport

Let us place this in context of the decision to close the water holes at Mattala by the civil aviation authorities on the grounds that the birds and other wildlife species pose a threat to aircrafts.

The decision to have a second international airport in Sri Lanka is a worthy one but the feasibility tests that would have been conducted should have covered the facts that

§ The proposed International Airport was to be in the heart of an already existing bird sanctuary.

§ That birds and animals were already living in the areas and it was their natural habitat with grass, weeds and seeds naturally available to them.

When the civil aviation authority says that they have come up with an “eco-friendly action plan” since the opening of the airport it sadly means that not a single person involved in the planning phase of the airport cared to consider what would happen to the wildlife, flora and fauna?

How morally correct is it for our society to close the water holes in and around the Mattala Airport to prevent birds and other wildlife species from moving about in areas that have been their natural habitats for over thousands of years?

How morally correct is it for the civil aviation authorities to remove sources of fodder such as grass, weeds and seeds that attract birds and animals as well as the cruelty of lighting flares and crackers to scare these birds and animals away just before arrival and departure of an aircraft?. Were these not taken into consideration when planning or were things planned in Colombo totally oblivious to the ground realities and the large scale harm that would invariably befall on the animals?

When the civil aviation heads says that denying water and food to the birds and animals is the “only way to prevent” them from interrupting aviation traffic is he and his staff knowingly violating the Buddha’s first precept and does he and staff think they are absolved of the sin being committed by saying that the option to close water holes is better than the plans to shoot down the birds since it was neither environmentally friendly and “not the right thing to do”. Is the right thing to do then to deny birds and animals water and food paving the way for a slow agonizing death of these animals through starvation?

We are about to witness a vast tragedy take place because of the shortsightedness and the lack of moral consideration at the planning stage for the wildlife and birds that constitute part and parcel of Sri Lanka’s ecosystem. Can authorities turn a blind eye to watch these innocent and defenseless animals and birds die one by one precipitated by our own inhumane conduct, when we have a bird sanctuary that in itself is a tourist attraction.

This is just another example illustrating how decisions taken in haste by planners without looking into greater details and the vital interests of animals living in their ‘traditional habitats’  and drawing up contingency plans before the damage is caused, is what Sri Lanka lacks in.

Given the colossal expense incurred to set up the airport, the tragedy that confronts us it to knowingly watch as authorities kill every bird and animal living in their natural habitat which has now been usurped by man in a manner totally contrary to basic Buddhist principles and fundamental notion of reverence for life.  

It takes away and diminishes our Buddhist identity which has always upheld the moral and ethical premise that ‘Life is dear to all, so therefore do not kill’ and over centuries had laid the foundation for Sri Lanka’s Buddhist civilization.

The present generation of Buddhists is under a great moral obligation to protect animals and take steps to ensure that our current rulers follow the unique examples set by our ancient but nevertheless virtuous kings in caring for the welfare of animals.

Source: OnLanka News (Sri Lanka)

A US media report has claimed that Al-Qaeda factions are operating in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and these groups then enter the U.S. for terrorist activities.

WND.com, an independent news network operating in Washington also reported, quoting sources as saying that Iran was behind the Boston bombings and pointed to the collaboration of the regime’s Quds Forces with Hezbollah and elements of Al-Qaeda with links to individuals in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

He said that under Quds Force guidance, Hezbollah recruited Sunni terrorists allied with Al-Qaeda factions in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, who then entered the U.S. for terrorist activities.

Meanwhile the Telegraph reported that a recipe for how to make pressure cooker bombs, which investigators say were used in the Boston Marathon attack, was most notoriously published in the Al-Qaeda magazine Inspire.

In 2006 it was reported that the police arrested five Maldivian nationals in Colombo sparking unconfirmed rumours that the suspects were linked to Al-Qaeda.

The Sri Lankan government has however insisted that there are no Al-Qaeda cells operating or training in Sri Lanka.

The Times of India, in 2001, highlighted an alleged nexus between Al-Qaeda and the LTTE, and claimed that “Qaeda links with the LTTE is the first instance of an Islamist group collaborating with an essentially secular outfit”.

The US-based research organisation “Maritime Intelligence Group” had also said the Indonesian group Jemaah Islamiya, which has known links to al-Qaeda, had been trained in sea-borne guerrilla tactics by LTTE Sea Tiger veterans.

Wikipedia had reported that the “Norwegians Against Terrorism” led by Falk Rune Rovik, described how some groups in Norway, at the behest of the LTTE, sold fake and stolen Norwegian passports to al-Qaeda members.

The LTTE itself acquired a fake passport for Ramzi Yousef, convicted mastermind of the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center in New York. He further alleged that funds from Government of Norway had been inadvertently diverted to the LTTE.

Source: Colombo Gazette

The Gillard Government in Australia has so far returned more than 1000 Sri Lankan illegal immigrants after a group of 39 asylum seekers was returned to Colombo today, Australian Ministry of Immigration and Citizenship said.

Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Brendan O’Connor said the group was advised its members were subject to removal from Australia as none had raised issues that engaged Australia’s international obligations.

The group comprised 38 irregular maritime arrivals who arrived at Geraldton last week. Processing of the remaining passengers continues.

One of the irregular maritime arrivals was from a different vessel.

Without a valid visa, the 39 had no legal right to remain in Australia.

Since August 13 last year, 1004 Sri Lankans who arrived as irregular maritime arrivals have departed Australia – 795 of them involuntarily.

“Returning this group to Sri Lanka sends the powerful message that people who pay smugglers are throwing their money away and risking their lives in the process,” Mr O’Connor said.

“There is no fast track to Australia – irrespective of whether someone arrives at an excised offshore place; if they do not engage Australia’s protection obligations, they will be returned home.

“Where it is determined that claims do not engage Australia’s international obligations, the person will be removed from Australia at the earliest opportunity,” Mr O’Connor said.

“The Gillard Government is committed to deterring people from taking dangerous journeys by boat and stopping those people smugglers who profit from this evil trade.

“We will continue to transfer people to Nauru and Papua New Guinea and asylum seekers arriving by boat will have no advantage in the processing of their claims.

“There is no advantage to arriving in Australia by boat.”

People returned involuntarily do not have access to reintegration assistance.

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)