The Tamil National Alliance has today condemned the statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs. Sampanthan – Mahinda – Colombo TelegraphIssuing a statement the TNA said; “The Tamil National Alliance reiterates firmly its denial of any involvement with the individuals referred to in the said statement pertaining to the investigation being conducted by the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Tamil National Alliance specifically states that it has nothing whatever to do with the said individuals pertaining to the said investigation or otherwise. It is ludicrous that the Government…
Read MoreDay: 8 November 2014
Take steps for Rajapaksa removal, TNCC chief urges Modi
“Mr. Modi knows how to do this. It is the duty of a super power to remove anti-people government. India is a super power,” he said. TNCC president EVKS Elangovan on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take steps for the removal of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa and install a new leader who would protect the interests of Tamils in the Island nation. “Mr. Modi knows how to do this. It is the duty of a super power to remove anti-people government. India is a super power,” he…
Read MoreAppeal against TN fishermen death sentence in Sri Lankan Supreme Court on Monday
Tamil Nadu has sent a cheque for Rs. 20 lakh towards the cost of legal expenses to the Indian High Commission in Colombo. An appeal is likely to be filed in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on Monday against the death sentence awarded to five fishermen from Tamil Nadu. Indicating this, an official release issued on Saturday stated that steps were on to move the Supreme Court. Chief Secretary Mohan Verghese Chunkath and Secretary of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries S. Vijayakumar ascertained the status of the case with…
Read MoreG.K. Vasan faces fishermen’s ire
The protesters said the previous UPA Government could have found a solution to enable fishermen fish in the Palk Strait and traditional areas without any problem as they were in power for a long time Former Union Minister G K Vasan, who quit the Congress, on Saturday faced the ire of fishermen, who are on an indefinite stir, when he visited them to express his solidarity with them on their demands, including release of five fishermen sentenced to death by a Lankan court. Some women posed questions to Mr. Vasan,…
Read MoreMPs sleeping in Parliament discussed
Parliamentarians were today advised against sleeping in the House during sittings after the issue came up during a speech made by UNP MP Ajith P. Perera. The UNP MP held up an image appearing in a Sunday newspaper showing Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva sleeping while President Mahinda Rajapaksa was presenting the 2015 budget in Parliament. However Minister John Seneviratne said making such comments in Parliament by pointing at a particular MP is unfair and should not be allowed as MPs tend to fall asleep during sessions, and that is…
Read MoreMinister Rishard Bathiudeen was in mortal fear of Basil
By Rajiva Wijesinha – This did not mean it was not sincere about reconciliation. Basil I think honestly believed that rapid development of the North would make everyone happy. Certainly he seems to have been surprised when the election results were announced, and winning less than a quarter of the vote clearly upset him, even though the confidence he had expressed previously, that government would do well in several places, may have been bravado. The problem was, he did not consult those whom he thought he was helping, rather like the devoted…
Read MoreNot to support Mahinda Rajapaksa at the planned forthcoming presidential election for a Third Term
By Laksiri Fernando – It appears that not only the country, but also the Left parties, particularly the LSSP and the CP led by you, are facing a crisis as a result. This is inevitable. However, the question is how you would come out of this crisis, uniting the parties that you lead, and addressing the issues at hand, not based on short term benefits for the party or for yourselves, but for the best interest of the country and the people. In short, I urge you not to support…
Read MoreUNP,JVP, JHU, Sobitha Thera join forces
A joint Opposition front is to be unveiled in Colombo next Tuesday with the government due to announce the date for the next national level election on Nov. 19. Informed sources said that the UNP, the JVP , the JHU and the Movement for Justice headed by Ven. Maduluwave Sobitha Thera would jointly unveil their ‘political programme’ at a meeting scheduled to be held at Muttiah Park in Colombo 2. Asked if the meeting had been called to announce the formation of the Joint Opposition Front (JOF) for the next…
Read More3,000 Lankan illegal immigrants missing in Britain
At least 3,000 Sri Lankans are among 50,000 illegal immigrants whom the British Immigration authorities have lost track of. The shambles in the British Border Agency, which was brought directly under the Home Office after a series of scandals rocked the institution, were exposed last week in a report by the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons. The figure of 3,000 Sri Lankans is speculative as the immigration authorities have no clear idea of how many are here illegally. The figure of 3,000 has been suggested to Sri…
Read MoreUN slams Government over war probe
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Friday criticized the continuing attacks by the Sri Lankan Government on the integrity of the UN Human Rights Office’s ongoing investigation into alleged grave human rights violations and abuses in Sri Lanka, and condemned the intimidation of human rights defenders and individuals who may wish to cooperate with the investigation. “This continuing campaign of distortion and disinformation about the investigation, as well as the insidious attempts to prevent possible bona fide witnesses from submitting information to the investigating team,…
Read MoreMannar Bishop meets Defence Secy Mullikulam displaced to be resettled soon
By Ananth Palakidnar Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, at a special meeting with Mannar Bishop, Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph, has agreed to expedite the resettlement of fisher folk in Mullikulam in the Mannar District. The special meeting between the Mannar Bishop and the Defence Secretary was held at the Defence Secretary’s office in Colombo on Wednesday (5). Bishop Joseph told Ceylon Today, the Naval presence in Mullikulam was not yet removed. and the fisher folk numbering 232 families from the area still live in different locations without…
Read MoreFonseka snubbed at Koslanda welfare centres
By S. Buvaneka, Haputale Corr (Left) Some of the relief materials left by Democratic Party members. (Right) Gen Fonseka speaking to landslide victims. Officials of the Disaster Management Centre providing relief to people affected by Koslanda landslide turned down relief material donated by Democratic Party (DP) Leader Retd Gen. Sarath Fonseka and his supporters yesterday.As the authorities did not accept the dry rations and other food items, Gen. Fonseka ordered his supporters to dump them opposite the entrance to the Sri Ganesha Vidyalaya in Koslanda. Gen. Fonseka and his supporters…
Read MoreMassive security for India-Sri Lanka ODI
HYDERABAD: Nearly 1,500 police personnel will be deployed for the upcoming one-day international cricket match between India and Sri Lanka at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal on Sunday. Cyberabad police said 56 cameras would be installed in and around the stadium and a command control room will also be set up to monitor all the CCTV footage. “Spectators will not be allowed to carry bags, banners, cell phones, cameras, binoculars, match boxes, lights, helmets, cigarettes, perfumes, eatables or even water bottles into the stadium,” the police said in…
Read MoreDMK for special session on Sri Lanka
India’s DMK party has urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam to convene a session of the Tamil Nadu Assembly to discuss important issues, including the death sentence awarded to five fishermen in Sri Lanka, the hike in milk prices and the proposal to hike power tariff. In a statement in Chennai, DMK party treasurer and the party’s Legislature party leader M.K. Stalin said as Tamil Nadu was witnessing one crisis after another, there was a need to discuss these issues in the Assembly. Stalin said that though Mr. Panneerselvam had assumed…
Read MoreFresh moves by CBK
Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, who recently returned to the country from an overseas stay, is playing a ‘pivotal role’ in working out a common agenda to bring forward a candidate acceptable to all the parties in the opposition, Daily Mirror. However, it was not clear whether she would contest proposed snap presidential election as the common candidate or not. The parties in the opposition are busy with preparations for working out a common agenda for the election. It is learnt that the idea for a common candidate is gaining…
Read MoreThe Two Bizarre Constitutional Questions!
By Laksiri Fernando – It may appear that Mahinda Percy Rajapaksa has preempted Sarath Nanda Silva. But you never know. The latter may appear before the Supreme Court before the verdict on the 10th. An intriguing constitutional situation has arisen in this serendipity (does it mean strange?) Sri Lanka with two bizarre questions being referred to the Supreme Court by the former in his apparent capacity as the incumbent President. They were buddies few moons ago. Two questions are ordered alphabetically (a) and (b). Logically speaking, (b) should have come…
Read MoreBar wants hearing on Sri Lanka presidential terms
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka’s Bar Association on Friday asked the Supreme Court to hold an oral hearing on whether President Mahinda Rajapaksa could seek a third term in office. Rajapaksa on Thursday sought the court’s opinion if he could contest an election two years before his second term ends. The constitution has been changed to allow a third term, but there is debate over whether the change applies to Rajapaksa. The president wants the court to rule by Monday, and the court gave the Bar Association until Friday evening…
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