Day: 15 October 2014

Military presence in nothern province – Analysis

Karu

The Northern Provincial Council has asked the Sri Lankan defence forces to vacate from their province. According to the TNA leaders the army occupies nearly 25 per cent of the total land area in the province. But according to the Sri Lankan ministry of defence the total area under the forces in NPC is less than five per cent. Isn’t the army justified in occupying a small portion of land in a former conflict zone? What are your comments?  This is a slightly complex question linked to the post war…

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EU to ban fish imported from Sri Lanka

Karu

The European Union (EU) has decided to ban the import of fisheries products caught by vessels flagged in Sri Lanka from entering the EU market after three months’ time from now. The European Commission said that in November 2012, the EU sent a warning to Sri Lanka saying they were not complying with international rules on illegal fishing and their control systems were inadequate. European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki said that two years later, not much has changed and the same problems are still there and are even…

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Tamil asylum seekers detained illegally and denied procedural fairness by Australian Government

Karu

Tamil asylum seekers detained illegally and denied procedural fairness The Australian Government’s decision to detain 157 Tamil asylum seekers at sea for nearly a month was illegal, lawyers say. The validity of the law to detain the group in June is under the spotlight at the High Court in Canberra. The court was today told by lawyers representing the asylum seekers that the group was illegally detained and denied procedural fairness when they were not asked about their refugee status. The group, which includes 50 children, were intercepted at sea…

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Citing Buddhist monk, SL police refuses to act on land-grab complaints in Batticaloa

Karu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 October 2014, 23:50 GMT] The Head of the Sri Mangalaramaya Buddhist vihara Venerable Ampitiye Sumanarathana thero has been instrumental in seizing the lands of Eezham Tamils and handing over these lands to Sinhalese from the border villages. When the Tamil land owners complained to the Divisional Secretary of Poaratheevup-pattu (Vellaave’li), the DS accepted their lands have been illegally encroached. But, the Sri Lankan Police at Vellaave’li has refused to accept and act on the complaints by Tamil land owners. The latest seizure of farm lands has taken…

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Voter Bribery For Upcoming Presidential Election In Jaffna

Karu

In an attempt to coax the voters in the North before the upcoming presidential elections, President Rajapaksadistributed some 20,000 families with land claiming they were handed over to the beneficiaries through title deeds when in fact they are only land permits. Reporting on the President’s three-day visit to the North where he re-opened the railway line to Jaffna, local media has published that some 20,000 displaced families have received title deeds of lands. However, sources claim these lands have not awarded by title deeds but through permits under the Land…

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Mahinda Rajapaksa And The Seven Dwarfs

Karu

By Rajiva Wijesinha – A Presidency Under Threat: Corruption And Commissions Enemies Of The President’s Promise – Sleepy III Mahinda Samarasinghe was asked to chair an Inter-Ministerial Committee to implement the Human Rights Action Plan, and as usual I had to do much of the work through convening a Task Force to expedite implementation. I resigned however in 2013 when I found that, though there was much goodwill from many Ministries, and we got a few things done, no formal coordination of activities and initiatives was possible. I realized that it was…

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Letter to Nonis the Chris

Karu

Dearest  Mr. Nonis, who is doctor also, It is with the greatest sadness that we are hearing about the assault upon your person by the person who is supposed to be monitoring persons in the ministry of the foreign affairs. It is coming to me like the shock deep in the night. While I am in coma-like sleep I am hearing the massive smack and waking up in cold sweat to be finding my wife also up and fully and completely awake. I am asking, my dear, what is that…

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Praising Modi costs Congress spokesman his job

Karu

By S Venkat Narayan Our Special Correspondent NEW DELHI, October 13: India’s opposition Congress Party today sacked its MP Shashi Tharoor as one of its spokespersons days after the UN diplomat-turned-politician praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat (Clean India) mission. “Congress President Sonia Gandhi has accepted recommendation of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) disciplinary committee to remove Shashi Tharoor from the list of spokespersons of the AICC with immediate effect,” the party said. Tharoor reacted immediately after his sacking. “As a loyal worker of the Congress, I accept the…

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Tamils were not fools and they were fully aware of how the UPFA government had violated their democratic rights

Karu

by Zacki Jabbar President Mahinda Rajapaksa had gone to Jaffna and distributed others peoples gold, but no matter what he did the northern Tamils would not vote for him, the UNP said yesterday. Assistant Secretary of the UNP Akila Viraj Kariyawasam addressing a news conference in Colombo said that the Tamils were not fools and they were fully aware of how the UPFA government had violated their democratic rights, after having claimed that all communities would be treated alike with the end of the war. The Jaffna population would take…

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President laid the foundation stone for the construction of a 48 ft. Buddha statue in Nainathivu

Karu

(Colombo, Lankapuvath) President Mahinda Rajapaksa this morning (October 14) laid foundation stone for erecting a new Buddha statue at Nagadeepa Purana Raja Maha Viharaya off Jaffna peninsula. Following participatingin number of official events and ceremonies in Jaffna yesterday President Rajapaksa visited the Nagapeeda Temple and received blessings form the chief incumbent of the Temple venerable Navadagala Padumakiththi Tissa Thera. President then Naagapushani Amman’ Kovil and participated in religious activities. The Nagadeepa Purana Raja maha Viharaya is one of the sixteen most sacred places of worship by the Buddhists in Sri…

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TNA complains to US about president’s visit

Karu

by Shamindra Ferdinando The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is in a quandary over the ongoing large scale Indian funded projects meant to facilitate post-war reconciliation process. The five-party TNA on Monday (October 13) boycotted the inauguration of the 38 km Pallai-Jaffna railway line with the participation of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Indian High Commissioner, Y.K. Sinha joined President Rajapaksa at the inauguration ceremony. Addressing officials in Jaffna, a smiling President Rajapaksa declared that former battlefields had been now turned into paddy fields. Some of the bloodiest battles were fought along the…

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