srilanka1998
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- 26. Juli 2005
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Will EU declaration help Sri Lanka's peace?
[ TamilNet ] [ 01:54 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
The European Union's (EU's) announcement that it "will not receive members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in its member states until further notice," and is considering formally listing the LTTE as a terrorist organization has raised both controversy and questions over whether the move will aid or hurt the island's stalled peace process. It was only a week prior to the EU declaration the LTTE Peace Secretariat in a statement urged the international community, particularly the EU, against exerting pressure targetted only at the Liberation Tigers. 'Ground realities notwithstanding, Colombo expects that the international community exert indiscriminate pressure on the LTTE. This pressure, the Sinhala ruling elites believe, would weaken the Tamil cause and we trust that the international community is aware of it. If the international community complies with what Colombo intends, then the Tamil people are made to feel being left alone in their struggle for justice,' the statement said.
The European Travel Embargo: Causes & Consequences
[ Illangai Thamizh Sangam ] [ 02:07 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
The decision by the European Union to ban the LTTE from visiting EU countries has been welcomed by the Sinhala polity with undisguised glee. The 'ban' was announced after calls by the Sinhala polity that the LTTE be listed as a terrorist organisation. It was clear that the Sinhala polity was alarmed by the growing legitimacy of the LTTE in the eyes of the international community. The calls were prompted by the belief that, stripped of this 'legitimacy,' the LTTE could become more malleable. Hence Dhanapala's assertion that "The route of appeasement or the 'carrot and more carrots' approach, have (sic) not worked with the LTTE." Many would, therefore, be inclined to view this action by the EU as caving into the Sinhala polity's crude but persistent diplomacy.
How is it possible?
[ Eezhanatham ] [ 02:09 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
The view expressed by Ranil Wickremasinghe that it is not possible to find a solution to the ethnic problem under the present constitution is nothing new. Question is, will anyone among the Sinhala leadership, including Wickremasinghe, take constructive actions to find a solution? In his election manifesto, Wickremasinghe has said that he will find a solution under the Oslo declaration and the Tokyo declaration. (It is a different matter whether the Tamil people will accept such a solution.) However, Wickremasinghe did not state in his manifesto his ideas about changing the constitution.Talking of constitution and of solution to the ethnic problem without first ensuring that fundamental change is meaningless. It is also deceptive.
Sri Lankan elections only help numerical majority to lord it over other communities
[ Northeastern Monthly ] [ 10:53 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
Presidential elections are to take place on 17 November. At present there are two clear candidates: one from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the other from the United National Party (UNP). It is rumored that other candidates, including one from the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), may also contest. It is not easy to guess whether the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) will put forward its candidate or not. As elections draw nearer, new friends crowd around candidates, new alliances are formed, and, similarly, new hostilities. The JVP and JHU have been befriending a candidate after extorting promises, the contents of which make new enemies.The conclusion is unavoidable that Sri Lankan elections very seldom provide the means for legitimate civil governance or true democracy. The present proportional representation system of elections adds to make the polls unfair. It ensures that neither parties nor policies gain support but furnishes a means for the numerical majority in a multiethnic, plural society to be guaranteed of victory and the right to rule, subordinating the minority communities.
British colonial laws on stray animals - top election issue in Sri Lanka
[ AP ] [ 10:56 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
Leftover British colonial laws regarding stray dogs and cats have become a campaign issue in the coming presidential election in Sri Lanka, whose majority Buddhists promote compassion toward all beings. Animal rights activists on Tuesday asked candidates to promise that, if elected, they'd replace the century-old colonial animal control laws with more humane policies. Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948. There are an estimated 2 million dogs and hundreds of thousands of cats in the island country of 19 million people. Most of the animals are strays. Sagarica Rajakarunanayake, who heads the group Friends of Animals, said strays are often placed in overcrowded pounds where they are allegedly neglected and left to die without euthanasia, reports the AP.
Tsunami teenager disappears in UK
[ BBC ] [ 11:06 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
A Sri Lankan boy whose family sent him to the UK for a "better life" after their fishing business was devastated by the Asian tsunami has gone missing. Kajanthan Annathurai was last seen dropping his younger cousin at North Primary School, in Southall, west London, on 29 September. The 14-year-old, who does not speak English, came to live with his aunt and uncle in Southall five months ago. The tsunami hit in December, killing at least 200,000 people in 13 countries. Kajanthan is 5ft 2ins, of thin build, with brown eyes. He disappeared after dropping his eight-year-old cousin at the school at about 0815 BST. Police have been looking at CCTV footage from the area to find clues to his whereabouts.
Sri Lanka 2006 gov't spending tad higher on tsunami
[ Reuters ] [ 11:09 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
Sri Lanka plans to raise government expenditure by 1.4 percent in 2006, mainly for spending on the country's recovery from the Dec. 26 tsunami, officials said on Tuesday. However, the estimates do not include government fuel subsidies -- expected to cost the state around 16 billion rupees ($158 million) in 2005 -- which means government spending will likely overrun the 2006 plan unless they are cut next year. The details were contained in the Finance Ministry's appropriation bill presented to parliament on Tuesday. The appropriation bill does not include revenue estimates and Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama -- who wants to reduce the budget deficit to less than 8.0 percent of gross domestic product in 2006 -- is due to disclose details of his budget on Nov.8.
FAO, Japan and Belgium collaborate to boost the resumption of livelihoods in the east
[ FAO ] [ 11:11 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (MFAR) distributed close to 2,628 fishing nets and 90 engines to 248 tsunami affected fishers this weekend. This distribution of fishing equipment was made as part of two separate projects funded by the Government of Japan and Belgium which provide necessary inputs to all tsunami affected districts. The tsunami related damage to the fisheries sector was immense, it disrupted the livelihood of a vast number of people living along the coastal areas. In order to overcome the difficulties and restore normalcy in these areas, the Government of Japan provided a wide range of assistance under its various grant schemes.
[ TamilNet ] [ 01:54 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
The European Union's (EU's) announcement that it "will not receive members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in its member states until further notice," and is considering formally listing the LTTE as a terrorist organization has raised both controversy and questions over whether the move will aid or hurt the island's stalled peace process. It was only a week prior to the EU declaration the LTTE Peace Secretariat in a statement urged the international community, particularly the EU, against exerting pressure targetted only at the Liberation Tigers. 'Ground realities notwithstanding, Colombo expects that the international community exert indiscriminate pressure on the LTTE. This pressure, the Sinhala ruling elites believe, would weaken the Tamil cause and we trust that the international community is aware of it. If the international community complies with what Colombo intends, then the Tamil people are made to feel being left alone in their struggle for justice,' the statement said.
The European Travel Embargo: Causes & Consequences
[ Illangai Thamizh Sangam ] [ 02:07 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
The decision by the European Union to ban the LTTE from visiting EU countries has been welcomed by the Sinhala polity with undisguised glee. The 'ban' was announced after calls by the Sinhala polity that the LTTE be listed as a terrorist organisation. It was clear that the Sinhala polity was alarmed by the growing legitimacy of the LTTE in the eyes of the international community. The calls were prompted by the belief that, stripped of this 'legitimacy,' the LTTE could become more malleable. Hence Dhanapala's assertion that "The route of appeasement or the 'carrot and more carrots' approach, have (sic) not worked with the LTTE." Many would, therefore, be inclined to view this action by the EU as caving into the Sinhala polity's crude but persistent diplomacy.
How is it possible?
[ Eezhanatham ] [ 02:09 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
The view expressed by Ranil Wickremasinghe that it is not possible to find a solution to the ethnic problem under the present constitution is nothing new. Question is, will anyone among the Sinhala leadership, including Wickremasinghe, take constructive actions to find a solution? In his election manifesto, Wickremasinghe has said that he will find a solution under the Oslo declaration and the Tokyo declaration. (It is a different matter whether the Tamil people will accept such a solution.) However, Wickremasinghe did not state in his manifesto his ideas about changing the constitution.Talking of constitution and of solution to the ethnic problem without first ensuring that fundamental change is meaningless. It is also deceptive.
Sri Lankan elections only help numerical majority to lord it over other communities
[ Northeastern Monthly ] [ 10:53 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
Presidential elections are to take place on 17 November. At present there are two clear candidates: one from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the other from the United National Party (UNP). It is rumored that other candidates, including one from the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), may also contest. It is not easy to guess whether the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) will put forward its candidate or not. As elections draw nearer, new friends crowd around candidates, new alliances are formed, and, similarly, new hostilities. The JVP and JHU have been befriending a candidate after extorting promises, the contents of which make new enemies.The conclusion is unavoidable that Sri Lankan elections very seldom provide the means for legitimate civil governance or true democracy. The present proportional representation system of elections adds to make the polls unfair. It ensures that neither parties nor policies gain support but furnishes a means for the numerical majority in a multiethnic, plural society to be guaranteed of victory and the right to rule, subordinating the minority communities.
British colonial laws on stray animals - top election issue in Sri Lanka
[ AP ] [ 10:56 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
Leftover British colonial laws regarding stray dogs and cats have become a campaign issue in the coming presidential election in Sri Lanka, whose majority Buddhists promote compassion toward all beings. Animal rights activists on Tuesday asked candidates to promise that, if elected, they'd replace the century-old colonial animal control laws with more humane policies. Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948. There are an estimated 2 million dogs and hundreds of thousands of cats in the island country of 19 million people. Most of the animals are strays. Sagarica Rajakarunanayake, who heads the group Friends of Animals, said strays are often placed in overcrowded pounds where they are allegedly neglected and left to die without euthanasia, reports the AP.
Tsunami teenager disappears in UK
[ BBC ] [ 11:06 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
A Sri Lankan boy whose family sent him to the UK for a "better life" after their fishing business was devastated by the Asian tsunami has gone missing. Kajanthan Annathurai was last seen dropping his younger cousin at North Primary School, in Southall, west London, on 29 September. The 14-year-old, who does not speak English, came to live with his aunt and uncle in Southall five months ago. The tsunami hit in December, killing at least 200,000 people in 13 countries. Kajanthan is 5ft 2ins, of thin build, with brown eyes. He disappeared after dropping his eight-year-old cousin at the school at about 0815 BST. Police have been looking at CCTV footage from the area to find clues to his whereabouts.
Sri Lanka 2006 gov't spending tad higher on tsunami
[ Reuters ] [ 11:09 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
Sri Lanka plans to raise government expenditure by 1.4 percent in 2006, mainly for spending on the country's recovery from the Dec. 26 tsunami, officials said on Tuesday. However, the estimates do not include government fuel subsidies -- expected to cost the state around 16 billion rupees ($158 million) in 2005 -- which means government spending will likely overrun the 2006 plan unless they are cut next year. The details were contained in the Finance Ministry's appropriation bill presented to parliament on Tuesday. The appropriation bill does not include revenue estimates and Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama -- who wants to reduce the budget deficit to less than 8.0 percent of gross domestic product in 2006 -- is due to disclose details of his budget on Nov.8.
FAO, Japan and Belgium collaborate to boost the resumption of livelihoods in the east
[ FAO ] [ 11:11 GMT, Oct. 4, 2005 ]
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (MFAR) distributed close to 2,628 fishing nets and 90 engines to 248 tsunami affected fishers this weekend. This distribution of fishing equipment was made as part of two separate projects funded by the Government of Japan and Belgium which provide necessary inputs to all tsunami affected districts. The tsunami related damage to the fisheries sector was immense, it disrupted the livelihood of a vast number of people living along the coastal areas. In order to overcome the difficulties and restore normalcy in these areas, the Government of Japan provided a wide range of assistance under its various grant schemes.