srilanka1998
Member
- Registriert
- 26. Juli 2005
- Beiträge
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Will the Tamils Be Deceived Yet Again?
In a recent address to the business community Prime Minister Rajapakse said, "All sections of our society are sick and tired of theories and verbose statements, sick of visionary statements of our leaders, which have been largely confined to words, words. Like you, the captains of business, I too want action first, action second and action all the way." Rajapakse could not have made a truer statement. We hope that he is right about his attitude. It is not only leaders, but everyone else who make all sorts of statements - no matter how true, false, incongruent or damaging they are. Most speakers say what they think the audience wants to hear, more particularly the international ones, irrespective of their own beliefs. Likewise, everyone who has pen and paper writes all sorts of things without any responsibility . The wonder is that the media publishes these writers irresponsibly, without any regard to consequences.
Sri Lanka`s president slams premier over peace bid
Sri Lanka`s president berated her prime minister over his approach toward relations with the Tamil Tiger rebels - criticism that could hurt the premier`s bid for the presidency in the coming election. The scolding came hours after Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse signed an agreement with the Marxist People`s Liberation Front party to scrap government plans to share political power and tsunami aid with the Tigers, officials said Friday. Rajapakse signed the deal to garner the Marxists` support for his candidacy in presidential elections, due to be held by Nov. 22. In a letter sent Thursday to Rajapakse, President Chandrika Kumaratunga said the premier ``unilaterally decided to reject the tsunami aid-sharing structure,`` which had been ``approved by our entire party, the Cabinet - including yourself - and presented to Parliament.``
- Chandrika Mahinda row over JVP deal
Sri Lanka PM bid for presidency deadlocks peace efforts
Sri Lanka's prime minister has sealed a deal with the Marxist party under which he agreed to drop plans to share power with Tamil rebels in exchange for the communists' support in presidential elections. Under the deal, the premier also vowed to abandon a tsunami aid-sharing pact with the Tigers and halt privatisation."The overwhelming desire one sees... in the (Sinhalese-majority) south seems to be (for) continuation of the 'unitary state' and throws to the winds any understanding on humanitarian delivery for tsunami victims," The political wing leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), S. P. Thamilselvan said.
Norway to send envoy to Sri Lanka truce talks
Peace broker Norway said it will send a special envoy to Sri Lanka to help save a troubled ceasefire after admitting it had failed to secure agreement about a venue for planned talks. The Norwegian government in a statement said it is "deeply concerned" by the continuing violence in the island-nation despite a truce that has been in place since Feb 2002. "As facilitator, the Royal Norwegian Government has sought for the past three weeks to convene a meeting between the parties, at their request, to discuss implementation of the ceasefire agreement," it said. "We regret to conclude that the parties have not reached agreement on the venue for such a meeting at this juncture.
UN will not replace Norway as Sri Lanka peace facilitator: spokesman
The Sri Lankan government said Friday that it had not requested the United Nations to take over the peace facilitation role from Norway in its conflict with the Tamil Tigers. Nimal Siripala De Silva, the Minister of Health and the government spokesman, told reporters here that a visit by Kofi Annan's special envoy early this week was not meant to probe the possibility of ousting Norway. Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN special envoy, was on a fact-finding mission in the island on government request made in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of the foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, De Silva said. Norway has been facilitating peace with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels since the year 2000.
Sri Lanka calls for revamp of peace process
Sri Lanka called for a review of the peace process aimed at ending the island's three-decade-old ethnic conflict, seeking a greater international role in supplementing Norway as peacebroker. Jayantha Dhanapala, the senior adviser to the Sri Lankan President, said that last month's assassination of foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, which Colombo has blamed on the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), raised hard questions about the global role in Sri Lanka's peace process. "This may be an opportune moment to undertake a fundamental review or 'redesign' of the peace process in Sri Lanka," he told a Congressional hearing.
UN health body says no health hazards in tsunami-hit Sri Lanka
The World Health Organization said Thursday that tsunami-hit Sri Lanka is safe for tourists and that the disaster had not created any health hazards. "The tourists should come, they should not worry because all health measures have been taken," Luis Perez, Southeast Asia's regional adviser for the WHO told reporters in the capital, Colombo. He said the WHO had helped the government strengthen disease control systems, provide safe drinking water and enhance vaccination campaigns around temporary shelters since the Dec.26 disaster.
Sri Lankan terror expert arrested in Maluku
Rohan Kumar Gunaratna from Sri Lanka, was arrested by an antiterror police unit on Monday while he was on his way to Ambon from Seram Island, said Maluku provincial police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Artsianto. The police detained Gunaratna because he failed to show a document that allowed him to carry out research on terror cells in the conflict-ravaged province. Gunaratna was charged with violating the law on immigration and will be deported in the near future, while his two Indonesian accomplices would be set free, said Artsianto. Gunaratna's presence in Maluku was considered "sensitive" because Maluku was classified as a conflict zone from 1999 to 2002. The Christian-Muslim battles first broke out six years ago and lasted nearly three years until representatives of the two warring groups signed a government-sponsored pact in 2002.
Sri Lanka presidential vote likely November16-21
Sri Lanka's upcoming presidential election is likely to be held between November 16 and November 21, a source at the island's elections secretariat said on Friday. The two main candidates, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe, are both waiting for the elections commissioner to formally invite nominations and announce the poll date before publishing their manifestos, which are in turn keenly awaited by investors. "It is likely to be then. We are thinking like that," the source, who is involved in preparing the election, told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Election campaigning is already in full swing, with regular party rallies and banners and election posters pinned up across the country.
In a recent address to the business community Prime Minister Rajapakse said, "All sections of our society are sick and tired of theories and verbose statements, sick of visionary statements of our leaders, which have been largely confined to words, words. Like you, the captains of business, I too want action first, action second and action all the way." Rajapakse could not have made a truer statement. We hope that he is right about his attitude. It is not only leaders, but everyone else who make all sorts of statements - no matter how true, false, incongruent or damaging they are. Most speakers say what they think the audience wants to hear, more particularly the international ones, irrespective of their own beliefs. Likewise, everyone who has pen and paper writes all sorts of things without any responsibility . The wonder is that the media publishes these writers irresponsibly, without any regard to consequences.
Sri Lanka`s president slams premier over peace bid
Sri Lanka`s president berated her prime minister over his approach toward relations with the Tamil Tiger rebels - criticism that could hurt the premier`s bid for the presidency in the coming election. The scolding came hours after Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse signed an agreement with the Marxist People`s Liberation Front party to scrap government plans to share political power and tsunami aid with the Tigers, officials said Friday. Rajapakse signed the deal to garner the Marxists` support for his candidacy in presidential elections, due to be held by Nov. 22. In a letter sent Thursday to Rajapakse, President Chandrika Kumaratunga said the premier ``unilaterally decided to reject the tsunami aid-sharing structure,`` which had been ``approved by our entire party, the Cabinet - including yourself - and presented to Parliament.``
- Chandrika Mahinda row over JVP deal
Sri Lanka PM bid for presidency deadlocks peace efforts
Sri Lanka's prime minister has sealed a deal with the Marxist party under which he agreed to drop plans to share power with Tamil rebels in exchange for the communists' support in presidential elections. Under the deal, the premier also vowed to abandon a tsunami aid-sharing pact with the Tigers and halt privatisation."The overwhelming desire one sees... in the (Sinhalese-majority) south seems to be (for) continuation of the 'unitary state' and throws to the winds any understanding on humanitarian delivery for tsunami victims," The political wing leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), S. P. Thamilselvan said.
Norway to send envoy to Sri Lanka truce talks
Peace broker Norway said it will send a special envoy to Sri Lanka to help save a troubled ceasefire after admitting it had failed to secure agreement about a venue for planned talks. The Norwegian government in a statement said it is "deeply concerned" by the continuing violence in the island-nation despite a truce that has been in place since Feb 2002. "As facilitator, the Royal Norwegian Government has sought for the past three weeks to convene a meeting between the parties, at their request, to discuss implementation of the ceasefire agreement," it said. "We regret to conclude that the parties have not reached agreement on the venue for such a meeting at this juncture.
UN will not replace Norway as Sri Lanka peace facilitator: spokesman
The Sri Lankan government said Friday that it had not requested the United Nations to take over the peace facilitation role from Norway in its conflict with the Tamil Tigers. Nimal Siripala De Silva, the Minister of Health and the government spokesman, told reporters here that a visit by Kofi Annan's special envoy early this week was not meant to probe the possibility of ousting Norway. Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN special envoy, was on a fact-finding mission in the island on government request made in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of the foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, De Silva said. Norway has been facilitating peace with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels since the year 2000.
Sri Lanka calls for revamp of peace process
Sri Lanka called for a review of the peace process aimed at ending the island's three-decade-old ethnic conflict, seeking a greater international role in supplementing Norway as peacebroker. Jayantha Dhanapala, the senior adviser to the Sri Lankan President, said that last month's assassination of foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, which Colombo has blamed on the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), raised hard questions about the global role in Sri Lanka's peace process. "This may be an opportune moment to undertake a fundamental review or 'redesign' of the peace process in Sri Lanka," he told a Congressional hearing.
UN health body says no health hazards in tsunami-hit Sri Lanka
The World Health Organization said Thursday that tsunami-hit Sri Lanka is safe for tourists and that the disaster had not created any health hazards. "The tourists should come, they should not worry because all health measures have been taken," Luis Perez, Southeast Asia's regional adviser for the WHO told reporters in the capital, Colombo. He said the WHO had helped the government strengthen disease control systems, provide safe drinking water and enhance vaccination campaigns around temporary shelters since the Dec.26 disaster.
Sri Lankan terror expert arrested in Maluku
Rohan Kumar Gunaratna from Sri Lanka, was arrested by an antiterror police unit on Monday while he was on his way to Ambon from Seram Island, said Maluku provincial police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Artsianto. The police detained Gunaratna because he failed to show a document that allowed him to carry out research on terror cells in the conflict-ravaged province. Gunaratna was charged with violating the law on immigration and will be deported in the near future, while his two Indonesian accomplices would be set free, said Artsianto. Gunaratna's presence in Maluku was considered "sensitive" because Maluku was classified as a conflict zone from 1999 to 2002. The Christian-Muslim battles first broke out six years ago and lasted nearly three years until representatives of the two warring groups signed a government-sponsored pact in 2002.
Sri Lanka presidential vote likely November16-21
Sri Lanka's upcoming presidential election is likely to be held between November 16 and November 21, a source at the island's elections secretariat said on Friday. The two main candidates, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe, are both waiting for the elections commissioner to formally invite nominations and announce the poll date before publishing their manifestos, which are in turn keenly awaited by investors. "It is likely to be then. We are thinking like that," the source, who is involved in preparing the election, told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Election campaigning is already in full swing, with regular party rallies and banners and election posters pinned up across the country.
