19th January 2015

Sri Lanka’s New Regime Have To Modernise Its Style

19th January 2015 // 0 Comments

By C P Thiagarajah – The man in the limelight today is Maitripala Sirisena (MS) a son of a World War II army veteran and a settler in Polonaruwa in a five acre plot given under the colonisation scheme inaugurated by the first prime minister of Ceylon Mr D S Senanayake. He is a giant killer, a modern David who slayed the giant Goliath Rajapaksa. His role as the new President will be watched by the world. Already politicians, diplomats, kings and queens shower their well wishes. Also flowing in are many suggestions and advices about good governance and democracy from varied sources. I am sure that king maker Chandrika Bandaranaike (CB) will be screening all these during her back seat driving of the present […]

Gota’s hidden house and truths exposed !

19th January 2015 // 0 Comments

(Lanka-e-News- 17.Jan.2015, 11.50PM) On the 15 th evening at a secret house belonging to Sri Lanka’s ex criminal defense secretary located at the end of 4 th lane , Pengiriwatte road , Embuldeniya murky and suspicious activities including transport of goods have taken place. Gotabaya has to hand over the official residence he is now in ,hence it is learnt that Gotabaya is supposedly transporting the household goods to this house which is in the name of his mother in law (wife’s mother) where he will be living in the future..It is noteworthy ,Gotabaya is moving into this house with the permission of the new government. In any case , based on reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division , this house was forcibly […]

India to keep close eye on PM’s ‘serious’ statement

19th January 2015 // 0 Comments

Indian Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu replying to a question on Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe’s remarks on offering more autonomy to Tamils in the island nation, he said it was a ‘serious’ statement and the NDA Government had taken note of it, the News X agency reprorted. “It is a very serious statement and we have taken note of it. We have age old relationship with Sri Lanka and we want to continue our relationship”, he said. After the victory of Maithripala Sirisena in the recent Presidential polls, Wickramasinghe indicated that the new Sri Lankan government would offer more autonomy to Tamils.

Government to offer more autonomy to the North

19th January 2015 // 0 Comments

The government is to present a constitutional amendment titled ‘13th Amendment Plus’ to grant more provincial autonomy to the North to address the grievances of the Tamils after the end of the war against terror, a Minister and former militant leader, said last week. Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare Douglas Devananda, also leader of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), said that an All Party Representative Committee is finalizing proposals, including necessary constitutional amendments, to address grievances of the Tamils. “We refer to this as ‘13th Amendment Plus’, that is, deeper provincial autonomy than currently in the Constitution. This will include a Second Chamber based on Provinces,” he said. He was addressing the Business for Peace Forum on the theme ‘Role of the […]

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Sri Lankan winners to receive young leadership award from the Queen

19th January 2015 // 0 Comments

Kavindya Thennakoon and Thejitha Saubhagya Edirisinghe from Sri Lanka are among 60 young people from across the Commonwealth who are being recognised as exceptional leaders in their community. These 60 young people are the first ever to receive a prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders Award. The Award, which will be presented in London by Her Majesty The Queen in June, and is part of The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme, celebrates the achievements of young people who are taking the lead to transform the lives of others and make a lasting difference in their communities. This year’s Award winners, aged between 18 and 29 and who come from all over the Commonwealth, are working to support others, raise awareness and inspire change on a variety of different […]

For China, its ties with Sri Lanka give it a foothold near crucial sea lanes in the Indian Ocean

19th January 2015 // 0 Comments

BY Harsh V. Pant teaches in the Defense Studies Department at King’s College London. In a stunning blow to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lankan voters opted for his former colleague Maithripala Sirisena to end a decade-long regime that has been increasingly marked by allegations of nepotism, corruption and authoritarianism. Rajapaksa, after defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), had won an overwhelming mandate for himself and his party in the 2010 elections. The LTTE had been fighting since 1983 for an independent homeland for minority ethnic Tamils after decades of discrimination at the hands of the Sinhalese majority. Though the civil war in Sri Lanka, which lasted for more than 25 years and claimed more than 100,000 lives, ended in 2009, the country remains […]

Basil in LA; bustle over missing baggage

19th January 2015 // 0 Comments

A purported photograph of former Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa arriving at the Los Angeles International Airport together with his wife Pushpa went viral on websites. Its veracity has not been confirmed. However, what many did not know is what went on after the couple came out of an Emirates flight and went to collect their luggage. Four suitcases which had been checked in at the Bandaranaike International Airport did not arrive. They had to leave the LA International airport with only their hand luggage. So, the first thing Mr. Rajapaksa, did was to telephone friends in Colombo. They lost no time in launching an ‘operation’ to search for the missing luggage. Many were the stories told to them, officially and otherwise. One version that […]

Rajapaksa’s surprise

19th January 2015 // 0 Comments

There were two striking developments after voters in Sri Lanka went to the polls on Jan. 8 to select their president. First, the incumbent, Mahinda Rajapaksa, lost. To the surprise of virtually every poll watcher, he was ousted by former Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena. Second, and perhaps even more surprising, Rajapaksa handed over power when the results become clear, rather than clinging to office, democracy be damned. The fights are not over, however. Rajapaksa still holds considerable power in Parliament and he is likely to use that as a base to battle the new president and whatever government he selects. Moreover, there is keen outside interest in Sri Lanka, and foreign governments may try to meddle in its domestic politics to protect their investments. Rajapaksa […]

Lessons from the previous regime

19th January 2015 // 0 Comments

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s defeat at the presidential election was not a surprise as the contest was always too close to call since the advent of President Maithripala Sirisena as the opposing candidate. Yet, it has left many asking the question ‘what went wrong?’ A simplistic explanation has been offered: Rajapaksa lost the election due to the vote against him in the North and East. The former President himself emerged from his Tangalle residence and told crowds that President Sirisena won because of “Eelam votes”. That though is not quite true. Statistically, it is true that the majorities given to President Sirisena in the two provinces amount to more than his ultimate majority. However, many other factors contributed to Rajapaksa’s downfall. It would be naïve […]

Insight: Indian spy’s role alleged in Sri Lankan president’s election defeat

19th January 2015 // 0 Comments

(Reuters) – Sri Lanka expelled the Colombo station chief of India’s spy agency in the run-up to this month’s presidential election, political and intelligence sources said, accusing him of helping the opposition oust President Mahinda Rajapaksa. An Indian foreign ministry spokesman denied any expulsion and said that transfers were routine decisions. Rajapaksa, voted out of office in the Jan 8 election, told Reuters he did not know all the facts while the new government in Colombo has said it is aware of the reports but cannot confirm them. But several sources in both Colombo and New Delhi said India was asked to recall the agent in December for helping gather support for joint opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena after persuading him to ditch Rajapaksa’s cabinet. A […]

Possible Suspect Of Military Coup Probe Mahinda Balasuriya Sneaks Out Of Country

19th January 2015 // 0 Comments

Former Secretary of the Ministry of Law and Order and Former IGP Former IGP and Law and Order Ministry Secretary Mahinda Balasuriya has left for Abu Dhabi this morning, airport sources confirmed. Balasuriya is likely to be a possible suspect in the investigations with regard to the attempted coup on the election night. It has come to the limelight that Balasuriya had attended a suspicious meeting on January 07 with several senior Army officials and two senior-most Police officers in the Department. Balasuriya, reportedly, was the person who invited the two senior Police officers to attend the meeting. Balasuriya had reportedly flown out of the country on a Rotana Airlines flight. The former Ministry Secretary had fled the country against a backdrop where the Attorney […]

19th Amendment expected to sail smooth

19th January 2015 // 0 Comments

President Sirisena’s 100-Day program With Parliament set to meet on Tuesday (January 20) for the first time since the conclusion of the presidential election, the process of abolishing the ‘authoritarian’ executive presidential system, one of the main campaign pledges of President Maithripala Sirisena, is set to commence this week. “All the commissions which existed under the former government acted according to the whims and fancies of the former President. He exploited the powers given to him under the executive Presidency. Therefore the commissions were never able to deliver the expected outcome.” he expressed. Rajapakse also pointed out that they are in the process of drafting the Constitution by making necessary amendments to the Constitution to enable the commissions to act independently. “Bribery commission will function […]

India, Sri Lanka pledge to build better ties

19th January 2015 // 0 Comments

New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANS) Nine days after President Maithripala Sirisena took office, Sri Lanka and India Sunday pledged to deepen their relations, with New Delhi agreeing to work “closely and extensively” with Colombo. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj conveyed India’s views to her new Sri Lankan counterpart Mangala Samaraweera, who arrived here overnight on his first foreign trip after Sirisena came to power Jan 9. In three hours of extensive discussions, Sushma Swaraj and Samaraweera covered all issues including enhancing bilateral cooperation and political reconciliation efforts in Sri Lanka. Also discussed were Indian development partnership projects in Sri Lanka and issues related to the alleged trespassing of Indian fishermen into Sri Lankan waters. An external affairs ministry statement said the two ministers “had extremely […]

India, Sri Lanka fishermen’s association meeting proposed for long term goals: MEA

19th January 2015 // 0 Comments

New Delhi, Jan. 18 (ANI): The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Sunday stated that a meeting of the fisherman associations of India and Sri Lanka has been proposed in order to work out a long term solution with regards to this issue, adding that the matter needs to be dealt with in a humane manner. “It is proposed to have a meeting of the fishermen’s associations of the two countries at an early date to discuss how to address longer term goal in this regard. Both India and Sri Lanka feel that a longer term solution needs to be worked out taking into consideration all aspects of the matter,” MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told the media. “In the interim, there is an understanding that […]

US lauds steps taken by new Lankan government

19th January 2015 // 0 Comments

Lauding the steps taken by the new Sri Lankan government, the US has said it looks forward to to work with the administration of newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena. “Our expectations from the new government are the expectations of the Sri Lankan people. We simply want to support the new government in fulfilling its campaign pledges to the Sri Lankan people,” Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal said. “We are extremely heartened by the steps that they have taken in these early days. We welcome the very resilient and robust verdict on democracy in Sri Lanka,” she said. “The fact that this was a very peaceful transition and the fact that the new government has come in and has […]

January 2015
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