Day: 17 December 2014

”Even if the TNA were to back President Rajapaksa it wouldn’t get anything in return” says Gotha!

Karu

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, taking part in an interview on Derana TV on Monday, defended the government much better than most ruling party politicians who make a lot of noise in dramedies that are political debates but leave the viewers unconvinced and disappointed in the end. He, as usual, tore into the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which, he said, remained committed to a separate state and had a visceral antipathy towards President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Interestingly, a discerning viewer phoned in to inquire from the Defence Secretary whether the government, having…

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BBS fear eastern terror groups

Karu

The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) today warned of terror groups operating in the eastern province and urged the government to take action to curb their activities. BBS General Secretary Galagodaaththe Gnanasara thero told the media today that the government has ignored intelligence reports with regards to these groups in the east. He said that allowing these groups to remain unchecked could result in similar incidents to that seen in Australia and Pakistan this week. The BBS monk noted that even international agencies have warned of a threat from terrorist groups based…

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Racist Mahinda says Maithri, TNA have deal

Karu

President Mahinda Rajapaksa today alleged that the opposition Presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena has signed a secret deal with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). Speaking at an election rally in Chilaw, the President claimed that the secret deal was formulated by a team which includes TNA Parliamentarian M.A.Sumanthiran. “We are watching these things very closely. These things need to be revealed,” the President added. He urged the public not to forget what the LTTE did and the fact that they have been defeated militarily. The President said that pro-LTTE groups operating overseas now want to…

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‘No devolution possible under Rajapaksa’

Karu

Sri Lanka’s Northern Tamils cannot expect powers to be devolved as long as President Mahinda Rajapaksa is in power, according to Rajitha Senaratne who was, not very long ago, a Minister in his cabinet. On November 21, he left the ruling coalition along with his colleague Maithripala Sirisena, now the principal challenger of President Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka’s upcoming presidential polls. “The President never wanted to give anything to the northern people,” he said, alleging that even the development taken up there was solely for the purpose of commissions. “The…

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Burning issues facing Tamil’s ahead of January polls

Karu

COLOMBO, 16 décembre 2014 (IRIN) – As Sri Lanka gears up for a presidential election five years after the end a long separatist rebellion, the country, especially the war-scarred North, faces a raft of unresolved chronic problems. Analysts regard many of them as long-term drivers of conflict. The front-runners in the January poll are incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is seeking an unprecedented third term (thanks to a constitutional amendment passed by the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), and his former minister of health, Maithripala Sirisena. Both are southerners.…

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Presidential Election And The TNA

Karu

By S. I. Keethaponcalan – The ongoing presidential election campaign in Sri Lanka seems to have downgraded the Tamil community, or to be precise, their main political party the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to the status of an outcast. Both major political formations, the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the National Democratic Front (NDA) headed by common opposition candidateMaithripala Sirisena, are not interested in a formal alliance with the Tamil party, despite the fact that Tamil votes are a crucial factor in the electoral…

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Tamils Between the Devils and Deep Blue Sea

Karu

The bill-board cartoon of Mr Shanmugasunderam shown above reflects accurately the current plight of Eelam Tamils in today’s Sri-Lankan politics. The Tamils had to trek a long tortuous path to come to this blind end. The Tamils were led to a tragic demise by the international community under the pretext of ending terrorism without fully studying the Tamils struggle for freedom since independence in 1948. After Sinhala genocide of nearly 150000 Tamils in Mullivaikal in May 2009 UN admitted that it failed in preserving human rights of Tamils and failing…

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