19th December 2015

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj “How do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you catch a cloud and pin it down? How do you find the word that means Maria? A flibbertijibbet! A will-o’-the wisp! A clown!” “Many a thing you know you’d like to tell her Many a thing she ought to understand But how do you make her stay and listen to all you say How do you keep a wave upon the sand?” “Oh, how do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?” – Oscar Hammerstein in “Sound of Music”. Veteran Indian Journalist P.K.Balachandran who has been resident in Sri Lanka for many years has over the years acquired a remarkable insight into the politics and […]

COLOMBO: The Chairman of Sri Lanka’s Tamil-dominated Northern Provincial Council (NPC) C.V.K.Sivagnanam, says that he is determined to overcome obstacles to sending relief to flood-ravaged Tamil Nadu. While Indian diplomats told Sivagnanam that India has a policy of not accepting foreign aid for disaster management, a section of the Jaffna Tamil media, allegedly instigated by his rivals, either ridiculed his plans or said that it is not the NPC’s business to send relief to Tamil Nadu. And the response of the NPC itself to his plea for contributions has been lukewarm. In the first week of December, Sivagnanam had called an informal meeting of the NPC to discuss ways in which the Council could aid relief efforts in Tamil Nadu. An informal meeting was called […]

Following the latest instance of arrest of Indian fishermen by Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaatoday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention for the release of 31 such persons along with their boats. “I urge your personal intervention… And request you to direct the Ministry of External Affairs to take up the matter with the Sri Lankan authorities at the highest level to secure the immediate release of 31 apprehended fishermen and their 23 fishing boats in Sri Lankan custody, including the 17 fishermen and 2 fishing boats apprehended on June 20,” she said. These arrests “vitiate the congenial atmosphere” in which the state government facilitated three rounds of bilateral fishermen-level talks in Chennai in January and in Colombo in May last year […]

The Government has decided to release more civilian land held by the military in the North, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament today. He said that President Maithripala Sirisena will have discussions in this regard with the relevant officials. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had recently reiterated a demand to the Government to release civilian land occupied by the military in the North. Speaking in Parliament earlier this week, TNA member Mavai Senathirajah said that while the new Government has freed several acres of land in the North, a lot still remains under military control. Senathirajah took note of the land being used by the military in Palaly, some of which belongs to civilians who fled the area during the war.. He also said the TNA […]

A heated exchange of words took place in Parliament today over the failure by the Government to appoint a new High Commissioner to the UK. Opposition member Udaya Gammanpila asked the Government if it is not giving importance to Sri Lanka’s relations to the UK and if that is why a new High Commissioner has not yet been appointed to the vacant position. Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva responded by insisting that Sri Lanka does see the UK as an important partner and that a suitable High Commissioner will be appointed soon. He then went on to say that the former High Commissioner was mistreated and was even assaulted by a member of the former Government. “We do no assault over diplomats like the way […]