Day: 20 August 2016

Lessons From India – Pakistan Partition

Karu

By Izeth Hussain – Izeth Hussain The approach of the seventieth anniversary of the Partition of India has inspired much writing in both India and Pakistan about its significance. William Dalrymple wrote in the New Yorker of June 29, 2015, that the Hindu-Muslim mutual genocide that accompanied the Partition was as unexpected as it was unprecedented. Between one to two million were killed, fifteen million were uprooted, and all imaginable horrors were committed by both sides. Dalrymple wrote that some British journalists who witnessed the Nazi death camps claimed that…

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Who saved Wimal Weerawansa?

Karu

By Anuradha Herath Politburo member of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, President of the National Trade Union Centre, K. D. Lalkantha questions; also with the budget due in another two months, what is the use of a VAT Bill, now. Excerpts of an interview: ? The VAT Bill which was due to be presented in Parliament this week was postponed. Has the heat regarding the opposition against VAT cooled down? A: We are against imposing of old or new taxes in any way, and anyhow, on imposing taxes on the people.…

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Doubtful about OMP Bill -Missing persons didn’t just go missing – Suresh Premachandran

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BY Mirudhula Thambiah Former Tamil National Alliance(TNA) Parliamentarian and Leader of Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) Suresh Premachandran commenting on the recently passed Office of the Missing Persons Bill said, he was quite doubtful whether this office will fulfil the needs of the families of missing persons. “When former President Chandrika Kumaratunga visited Jaffna recently, some relatives of the missing persons told her that they have handed over their children to the Army and that they should definitely be in their custody and had questioned her whether they would…

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Joint Opposition (Mahinda’s Group) has become a laughing stock- Tilvin Silva

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BY CHARMINDA RODRIGO General Secretary of the JVP, Tilvin Silva said in an interview with Ceylon Today, that many corruption inquiries were undertaken by various governments.’UNP and SLFP always conduct such inquiries only within a safe zone favourable to them.’ Excerpts of the interview: ?: JVP issued a statement back in 2015, during the election that Mahinda Stores consists of contraband commodities and at the same time no assurance could be issued on the commodities available at Maithri Stores. How do you assess the validity of this statement when you…

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Mahinda Group the Joint Opposition is trying to play the communal card.

Karu

A big step to clear minds, end the agony of wondering: Office of Missing Persons sails through By Manjula Fernando The controversial Office of Missing Persons (OMP) Bill was passed in Parliament on Thursday amid a pandemonium created by the Joint Opposition members. Their attempts to disrupt the proceedings calling for the withdrawal of the Bill, which they termed an attempt to penalise war heroes and the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, had a counter effect. The Bill was to be debated for two days but due to the JO hullabaloo…

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Government is trying to bring in the 13 Amendment and Mahinda group opposes it.

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By Shaahidah Riza United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP and member of the Joint Opposition, Lohan Ratwatte, faulted the government for presenting the Office of the Missing Persons Bill, during the absence of the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Joint Opposition only requested the debate pertaining to the OMP Bill to be delayed just by one day, he said, and added that the Speaker did not accommodate that request as he is puppeteered by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Excerpts of the interview: ?. You participated in the tour of South…

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Jaffna Investment Forum May Become An Issue Between Governor and Chief Minister Wigneswaran

Karu

COLOMBO:  The Governor of Sri Lanka’s Tamil majority Northern Province, Reginold Cooray, is organizing an international investment forum in Jaffna on August 22, and is planning to set up a One-Stop Shop at the Jaffna Secretariat to help persons wanting to invest in the war-devastated Northern Province. But this move could become an issue between the Governor, representing the Central government in the province, and the elected Chief Minister of the province, C.V.Wigneswaran. By organizing the forum unilaterally, the Governor may be intruding into the domain of the Chief Minister,…

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Sri Lankan govt has done nothing to help Tamil widows, MPs from island nation say

Karu

MADURAI: The Sri Lankan government has not announced any welfare measures for the widows of men who were killed during the civil war between the armed forces of the island nation and LTTE, according to four members of parliament from that country. Sri Lankan MPs Velukumar of Kandy, Shritharan of Kilinochi, I Charles Nirmalanathan of Mannaar and Seenithambi Yogeswaran of Mattakalappu were in Madurai on Friday to attend a cultural programme The MPs spoke about the lives of the Tamil widows in Sri Lanka. They said they had raised the…

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Chief Minister slams UN Resident Co-ordinator for ignoring war crimes

Karu

The Chief Minister of the Northern Province C V Wigneswaran criticised the current UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, accusing her of ignoring the topic of war crimes in a report that was sent to his office. Addressing the Northern Provincial Council earlier this week, Justice Wigneswaran said that whilst topics such as justice, harmony, good governance and reconciliation were mentioned in the report, there was no mention of war crimes. “The damages resulting from the war crimes are the underlying reasons for the need to build peace and reconciliation,” Ceylon…

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The Office on Missing Persons: A New Chapter or Another Empty Promise?

Karu

11 August 2016 was an important day for the victims of past abuses in Sri Lanka. This was when Sri Lanka’s Parliament enacted legislation to establish the first permanent entity to investigate and inquire in enforced and involuntary disappearances and missing persons. For the victims, many who have gone before numerous investigations with no follow up, the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) may finally be able to provide them answers and end the silence. While 11 August was significant for the victims, the events in Parliament demonstrate the immense challenges…

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Why is President Maithiri hiding the truth?

Karu

President Maithripala Sirisena, warned today that he is ready to expose the truth about members of the former Government who are looking to form a new political alliance.  A Joint opposition member said if he is withholding information about the members of the former Government who had broken the law of the country than President Maithiri is breaking the law of the country too. By withholding the information President Maithri is playing the same game as the previous president Mahinda who black mailed the then MP’s by saying ”I  have files on you”. Speaking…

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US Makes Push To Prosecute Perpetrators

Karu

The United States has made a push to ensure the current government protects religious minorities in the country. This comes in the wake of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) attempting to raise its head and voice once again. A new US State Department report had noted that the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka had urged government leaders at the most senior levels, including President Maithripala Sirisena, to arrest and prosecute perpetrators of crimes against religious minorities and to protect religious freedom for all citizens. The annual State Department report on…

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Global Woman of the year 2016 is ”Lyca Gnanam Foundation & Gnanam Foundation’s Co founder Mrs Gnanambikai Alagarajah”

Karu

Lyca Gnanam Foundation & Gnanam Foundation’s Co founder conquered UN Global Official of Dignity Award UK based Sri Lankan Philanthropist Mrs Gnanambikai Allirajah was announced as the ”Global Woman of the year of 2016” by the Global Officials Dignity Award’s team, announced by Princess Maria Amor, founder and president of We Care for Humanity and creator of the G.O.D. Awards. The award ceremony was held on 17th of Aug 2016 at United Nation Headquarters, New York. The Global Officials of Dignity (G.O.D.) Award is a global humanitarian awards institution respecting the “best…

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