[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 September 2014, 22:43 GMT]1,300 acres of lands are to be surveyed and seized by the SL military in Jaffna peninsula in the coming days, informed sources told TamilNet on Saturday. The lands belonging to Tamil people are to be seized in Maathakal, Achchuveali, Chavakachcheari, Nu’naavil and Thikkam. The SL military has already harassed the fishermen at Cheanthaan-ku’lam in Maathakal to vacate from their jetty and relocate their fishing tools as the land was to be surveyed, gazetted and seized for military expansion. On Friday, Tamil National Alliance…
Read MoreDay: 21 September 2014
Presidential Polls For MR, Now Suicidal
By Kusal Perera – “With all the thuggery and State patronising that reminds one of CBK’s Wayamba PC elections, Uva PC elections ; my forecast is (made on 14 Sept) – Moneragala (03 seats extra this time) : UPFA 08, UNP 05, JVP 01 and Badulla (03 seats less now) – UPFA 10, UNP 07 & JVP 01 – Total UPFA 18, UNP 12, JVP 02 With a majority of just 04, what would be the repercussions to the UPFA IF this comes right ?” I was almost there, except in Badulla, where a…
Read MoreWimal And Fonseka Fail In Uva
The Uva Provincial Council Election has been a disappointment not only to the ruling UPFA but also two smaller political parties, Wimal Weerawansa’s National Freedom Front and Sarath Fonseka’s Democratic Party.The NFF, which is a part of the UPFA, decided to run for the election alone in Badulla District. Not only did it fail to win representation, it has not polled a significant amount of votes. It has received 4,835 votes which is merely 1.10% of the votes casted.Meanwhile, the Democratic Party led by Sarath Fonseka, which had impressive performances…
Read MorePresident to leave for New York to address UNGA
President Mahinda Rajapaksa will leave on a five-day visit to New York during which he will address the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York. President Rajapaksa will participate in the general debate of the UNGA and is scheduled to speak on 25 September. This will be the seventh time the President is attending the UNGA. The President’s first address to the UNGA was in 2006. President Rajapaksa is also scheduled to participate in a number of bilateral discussions and take…
Read MoreGovernor refers an NPC statute to President
by Franklin. R. Satyapalan The first statute passed by the Northern Provincial Council elected in September 2013 will be sent to President Mahinda Rajapaksa by the Governor G.A. Chandrasiri tomorrow, the governor said yesterday. “The president will study the papers and perhaps seek an advisory opinion from the Supreme Court. Once a positive response comes back to me, I will give my assent (so that it becomes law),’’ he said. There has been a consistent tussle between the governor and the NPC over laws passed by the council with the…
Read MoreThe pangs of British Union and the predicaments of Uva Provincial Election
Rajan Philips Once again I am trying to hit two birds with one stone – writing about the Scottish vote and the Uva vote in the same article. The Scottish referendum has come and gone and the British Union has survived the challenge but only at the cost of public promises from Westminster about significant constitutional changes in the immediate future. The Uva vote is underway even as I write this article to meet my generous deadline, and the election results will be known by the time it reaches those…
Read MoreSmash The Rajapaksas NOW!
By Kumar David – The tide has turned; the time has come to act. The Rajapakse Regime must be smashed without mercy; Uva is the beginning of the end for the Mahinda–Gota–Basil power-drunk outfit. When land slides, an avalanche follows, but only if we do our bit. No quarter must be given, no opportunity lost, no breathing space allowed. Laxity will be used by Rajapakses, their cronies and their henchmen to defer fate. The opposition and the people should be lashed if they do not persevere with the determination of Caesar quelling Gaul or Alexander pursuing…
Read MoreUN Official Raises Rights Issue
By Waruni Karunarathne At the recently concluded 7th Beijing Forum on Human Rights held in Beijing, China, the Director of the Human Rights Treaties Division, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has raised certain concerns over human rights issues in Sri Lanka. Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) Dr Prathiba Mahanamahewa told The Sunday Leader that he represented the HRCSL at the Beijing forum and explained to the forum of experts that local procedures have been set in place by the Sri Lankan government to address…
Read MoreResume Talks With TNA, BJP Urges Lanka
COLOMBO: Muralidhar Rao, general secretary of the BJP in-charge of Tamil Nadu, and Vijay Jolly, global convener of the BJP’s overseas affairs committee, have appealed to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to “immediately” resume talks with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). An immediate resumption of talks is vital for lasting peace in Sri Lanka, they told Rajapaksa at a 45-minute meeting here on Friday. The BJP leaders said that PM Narendra Modi’s policy of taking everybody on board for the common good, encapsulated in the slogan ‘Sabka Sath-Sabka Vikas’, was…
Read MoreMahinda wins Uva PC polls but vote reduced from 72% to 48%
The ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) won the Uva Provincial Council elections securing the highest number of seats in the two districts at yesterday’s elections.Accordingly, the UPFA secured 19 seats including two bonus seats in the Provincial Council while the UNP secured 13 seats and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) received two seats.Although the UPFA won the entire province, the ruling party showed a major setback in some areas mainly in the Badulla district as it failed to win the Badulla, Welimada and Hali-Ela electorates.In the Badulla district the…
Read MoreNorth CM feels NPC can develop North
Northern Province Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran has questioned why he needs to work with the Government, as stated by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, when funds allocated for development of the North come from donor countries and can be directed to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC). Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had said recently that Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran is not cooperating on development work carried out by the Government, and this is affecting the ordinary people in the North. However, speaking at…
Read MoreCBK Expresses Fears Over A Possible Military Rule
Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has expressed fears whether a military rule would be established within Sri Lanka. In an interview with ‘Aththa’ newspaper the former president expressed her opinions on the ‘country heading towards a military rule’. “I have strong fears over this matter. Today even the roads are being swept by the military. Even the drains in front of my house are being cleaned by them. My greatest fear is whether they will commit a massive destruction by discarding their brooms for weapons at a crucial time when…
Read More142 of the 225 members in the present Parliament had failed the GCE Advanced Level Examination while 94 members had failed GCE Ordinary Level examination,
Main opposition UNP parliamentarian Buddhika Pathirana yesterday said that 142 of the 225 members in the present Parliament had failed the GCE Advanced Level Examination while 94 members had failed GCE Ordinary Level examination,“This is today’s state of affairs in the Parliament where the country was being administrated. Although I don’t have statistics on the situation in the Provincial Councils and other local bodies, I’m sure it cannot be better” Mr. Pathirana told the Daily Mirror.He said he agreed that examinations meant brushing up knowledge and not intelligence because there…
Read More