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Close fight in Jaffna
Contrary to claims made that it will be a cake walk for the
UPFA in Jaffna at the forthcoming Municipal election, with
Ministers Douglas Devanada and Rishad Bathiudeen spearheading
the fight for the government, political observers said it is
developing to be a close fight and the deciding votes could be
cast by nearly 10,000 displaced Muslim voters from there living
in other areas.
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Minister P’nilame returns prized bird to the zoo
The issue over the controversial exchange of a highly expensive
rare African grey parrot, a prized possession of the Zoological
Gardens in exchange for several mediocre birds ended on a happy
note...
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Mobitel launches new innovative package
Mobitel has come up with an
innovative tariff plan which will take away the activation fees,
monthly rentals and claims over lower charges with per second
billing. The innovative SMART pre-paid tariff offers the lowest
call charges to Mobitel and any other network.
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Doing their bit
to beat dengue
With government giving dire warnings to the public to clear
their surroundings of mosquito breeding places to combat the
unprecedented spread of the deadly dengue epidemic, people
everywhere are finally taking action. Here two young samaneras
of the Makuluduwa Temple in Piliyandala doing their bit to
tackle the problem
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Massive solar stink in East
An apparent unauthorised order placed for a consignment of 5,000
solar powered lanterns by a top bureaucrat in the Eastern
Province is now stuck in the Colombo Port incurring demurrage in
addition to the landed cost.
Eastern Province Governor Rear Admiral (Retd.) Mohan
Wijewickrema confirmed to The Nation that he had stopped
releasing any funds for the Rs. 75 million shipment.
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Tax Reform Commission appointed
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has appointed
a Presidential Tax Commission to probe the steep drop in revenue
collection in the last few years and recommend remedial
measures.
Former Vice Chancellor of the Colombo University...
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Govt. expands IDP facilities
Ministry of Health has decided to increase the Chettikulam
Welfare complex by two more villages in the near future as the
already established five villages are inadequate to meet the
basic needs of the displaced people there, IDPs Health Care
Director Dr. Hemantha Herath...
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NEWS |
Self employment for 49,000 widows
Social Services Director of the Eastern Province Nagarasa
Manivannan said yesterday that plans aimed at ensuring a steady
source of income for vulnerable women through self-employment
are being successfully implemented in the Eastern Province. The
activities planned under this project are being directed by the
Social Services department of the Eastern Province through the
Divisional Secretaries of the respective areas, he said. “There
are around 49,000 widows primarily as a result of the
war and the 2004 tsunami disaster in the Eastern
Province and we are providing them with basic facilities
for self employment,” Director Manivannan said.
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Children asked to cough up money for term test papers
The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) strongly objects to the
collection of money from students for printing term test papers
and questioned the Education Ministry’s sudden decision to
cancel the pilot programme conducted last year based on school
level assessments.
The second term tests in schools are due to begin early next
month. According to Union Convenor Joseph Stelyn, each student
from Grade 6-10 is being charged Rs. 60 while students from
Grade 11-13 are charged Rs. 90, as costs for printing
examination papers.
Last year, a pilot programme based on school assessment
and
examination processes had been conducted by the
Education Ministry in several provinces such as
Western, Wayamba, Sabaragamuwa and Central.
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Five Army men remanded over killing of bank manager
Five military personnel, including a Captain were remanded by
the Avissawella Magistrate yesterday for their alleged
involvement in the killing of Gunasinghe Prematilleke, Deputy
Manager of People’s Bank, Liberty Plaza branch. The victim was
found strangled to death in April.
The body of murdered Premathilleke from Idamtota area in
Ambalangoda, was found dumped near a bridge at Wakoya, Labugama
Road in the Kosgama Police area on April 4, 2009.
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Ambalangoda hails Army Commander
 Army
Commander General Sarath Fonseka was felicitated by the people
of his home town, Ambalangoda and teachers and students of his
alma mater Dharmasoka College during a ceremony on Friday (10).
The felicitation at Dharmasoka College included a Guard
of Honour accorded to the Army Commander by cadets of
the College and presentation of mementoes to the
Commander.
SEE INSIDE Visit by ministers to Jaffna
bears fruit
Minister of Trade, Marketing Development, Co-operatives and
Consumer Services, Bandula Gunawardene, has assured Jaffna
consumers of the availability of consumer goods at fair prices
with the setting up three Co-op City outlets by end of this
month. The Minister stated during a ministerial delegation visit
to Jaffna this week.
Speaking to The Nation Minister of Indigenous Medicine, Tissa
Karalliadda explained that Minister Bandula Gunawardene had
assessed consumer woes while Minister of Power and Energy
Mahindananda Aluthgamage involved in finalising the timeframe
for electrification of North and he was entrusted with the
upliftment of indigenous medicine there.
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POLITICS |
All aboard Yal Devi,
next stop Jaffna
 Is the arid political landscape in the North and East finally
changing? That was the question that many sought an answer to in the
past week, as signs of a transformation appear to be emerging in the
diverse political forces that contribute to the new found democracy in
that region.
Several positive developments - each a small step in its own way -
have contributed to this sense of cautious optimism. Local elections are
to be held on August 8 in Jaffna and Vavuniya. Most Tamil political
parties are in the fray, and they have also attended the All Party
Conference for Reconciliation summoned by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
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Talks with Indian leaders yield
results
The
Indian government has set apart Indian Rs. 500 crore (SL Rs. 11.9
billion) for North East reconstruction and resettlement of IDPs in the
annual Budget, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee unveiled in Indian
Parliament recently.
This was another outcome of talks that President’s Senior Advisor
Basil Rajapaksa, Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and President’s
Secretary Lalith Weeratunga held with the Indian leaders in New Delhi
last month.
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NEWS FEATURES |
Uva-optimistic of a new era
 Although the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) is set for a
landslide victory at the first election after complete
elimination of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), inability
and failure of the Uva Provincial Council to address the most
pressing needs of Badulla and Moneragala and allegations of
wide-spread bribery and corruption, haunt the minds of the
people.
The UPFA was elected as ruling party of the 34-member Fourth Uva
Provincial Council in 2004, and Wijith Wijithamuni Soysa was
made the Chief Minister, while Nanda Matthew was made the
Governor of Uva. UPFA won 21 seats along with Janatha Vimukthi
Peramuna’s seven seats while the main opposition United National
Party- UNP won 12 (with Ceylon Workers Congress-CWC obtaining
two) while Upcountry Peoples...
SEE
INSIDE13th Amendment and
International System
My young friend and critic Malinda Seneviratne just has to be
kidding. He writes in The Nation of July 5, 2009 that “Dayan not
only thinks the 13th is great, but trusts the President to
deliver his (Dayan’s) Utopia.” Now that’s wrong on all three
counts. I don’t think the 13th Amendment is “great.” It is not
the President I “trust” to deliver on it. And the present Sri
Lanka with an activated 13th Amendment is a far cry from any
notion of Utopia I might have.
I think the Sermon on the Mount is “great.” I think that the
US Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776 is “great.” I
think that Mao’s ‘On Contradiction’ is “great.” I think that
Fidel’s Second Declaration of Havana and Che’s Message to the
Tricontinental are “great.” I do not think the 13th Amendment
is
“great.”
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Lanka looking at historic series win – wary of Pakistan backlash
 A historic Test series win will be furthest from the mind of
captain Kumar Sangakkara as his team prepared to defend the 1-0
advantage they took in the three-Test series at Galle after a
sensational turnaround on the fourth day.
“Any victory gives you a psychological advantage, slightly more
confidence than if it was a draw or a loss. But at the end of
the day it’s a new Test match and the Pakistanis will come out
fighting. We have to be good to absorb the pressure as best as
we can,” said Sangakkara ahead of the second Test which begins
at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium today.Why do superstars lie? Part II
 On
December 16, 2007 when this column ran a headline titled ‘Why do
superstars lie?’ it created quite a furore with Sri Lanka’s
master blaster Sanath Jayasuriya who was the individual in
question.One and half years later we have another similar case with
Sri Lanka’s fast bowling star Chaminda Vaas who was in the news
throughout the first Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at
Galle denying to the media that he never said that he was giving
up Test cricket to concentrate on ODIs and Twenty20
internationals to chairman of selectors Ashantha de Mel. Vaas
drew a lot of sympathy from his supporters and the media for
this statement that made De Mel look as if he had jumped the gun
and tried to force the veteran cricketer into retirement.
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INTERVIEWS |
 Police
busted LTTE network long before final victory
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jayantha
Wickramaratna reveals that there has hardly been any terrorist bombing
outside the battle zones for about a year, due to them having busted all
LTTE terror cells from July last year. As a result of such efficient
actions of the Police, the citizens have been able to walk the streets
freely. According to the IGP, in the process, they had recovered more
than 3,900 kilos of high explosives from these terror cells, and all
suspects had been produced in courts according to the law of the land,
without any complaints of torture.
Following are excerpts of the interview
Q: The latest incident involving the sudden transfer of a
Chief Inspector from Peliyagoda, after he allegedly accepted a
complaint against the area political heavyweight,...
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 Povincial Councils are a workable system
Nearly 22 years have elapsed since the 13th Amendment to the
Constitution has been passed in Parliament. It envisaged power
devolution at the province level while keeping to the unitary
nature of the state. Since the Amendment became part of the
country’s supreme law, it has been subjected to various
criticisms by diverse groups; some even claimed that it
ultimately leads to separatism. The most vehement censure came
from once revolutionary Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) who
termed the Amendment that was introduced as part of the
Indo-Lanka Accord signed in 1987 as India’s strategy of
intervening into Lanka’s internal affairs. Hence the Amendment
that was introduced as a possible solution to the raging ethnic
strife during the late 1980s was left without being fully
implemented. Until 2008, it was functioning only in seven
provinces in the country, sans the most important Northern and
Eastern Provinces, the geographical areas that were mostly
affected by the war.
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