Friday, May 25, 2007

The perhaps only successful ‘project’ US giant Mercy Corps Inc. undertook at Arugam Bay was the plantation of fast growing trees along the main road.
Arugam.info objected to such trees being planted in front of the AbHa office, pointing out that they would soon touch the overhead main East Coast 33,000 Volt power lines directly overhead.

Of course idealistic Ms. Robinson did not listen to a simple peasant’s advice and continued “Changing Lifes” in the Bay.

Indeed, she was very successful in that undertaking – splitting the entire Community- and further more, even quicker than expected:
In living memory there has not been a single day without a power cut.
Mercyful trees grew so fast that they are now touching the lines at a dizzy height of 7 Meters.
Who on earth could be so short sighted?
The resulting el. shorts are even more spectacular than Mercy Corps’ earlier PR stunt “Lights of Hope”. Here we have a very dangerous situation!
For you who can’t recall the earlier huge fund raising exercise:

Mercy Corps dispensed a few hundred (very) low quality light chains to gullible AbaY residents.
Everyone was told not to switch them on until the paid(?) US media arrived – to make sure they last long enough we suppose.

Our own banner: “No lights – No hope” was of course ignored and never shown on the Oprah Whimpy show – although much more appropriate.
No matter what – these two successful US businesses managed to collect huge sums.
In the name of Arugam Bay. Ms. Whinfrey actually “Reached out”. To her ball pen and signed a cheque for a million US Dollars – where the rest Millions have gone we can only guess (Harpo Inc. still owes the people of AbaY $300 dating from an agreement Jan. 2005 for exclusive video footage transmitted to them by us)
So much for the advertised 5 year plan of Mercy Corpse – it started in 2005 and finished  sometime in 2006.

For the somewhat …technical minded:
Every school boy might understand the above illustration. It shows a tree near a fairly low power line, maybe 440V, in New Zealand.
In the clever NGO case of educated US Mercy Corps all sea side trees at Arugam Bay were planted DIRECTLY UNDER our much higher, 33,000V Main East Coast power line.
The simple natives of AbaY wish to thank the US for sending such ‘experts’ to our island!
Crops have Mercy on our uneducated Souls….

Observation:
It is very sad to report that Mercy Corps has totally failed in just about every task they undertook in our area.
It is however also realized and accepted, that Ms. Robinson acted in good faith, she really tried to do her level best for the Community. She simply chose to support the wrong people, and listed to the wrong local advice – that’s all.

In a week or so, we hope to publish a totally differed story.
This will demonstrate how a huge Organization did NOT at all act in good faith, they did NOT try to do the best to their abilities:
These guys actually refused to help the injured, actually stole from the Community, caused willful criminal damage and are locally known as ‘Die Rote Kotze’ (‘The Red Vomit’); for good and later explained reasons.
These weird people still have a police report pending against them and tried to silence us after attempts to sue us in Genevre failed miserably.
Wait for our report and evidence! It is all well documented!
We gave them a last chance to respond and live up to their given promises to make amends. But of course they feel they are soooo well known and they simply don’t care about us – the stupid Tsunami victims.

Colombo, 24 May, (Asiantribune.com): Owner of the Siam View Hotel [SVH] of Arugambay , Dr. Fred Miller complains the Arugambay branch office of a state owned bank terminated their services and defaulted rent payments one month after the tsunami.The Bank was located at the premises of the Siam Hotel , Arugambay and provided ample service for the area businessmen and the tourists .

Dr.Miller, served as an Engineer and the Hotel Owner who loves surfing in the Potuvil area said the Bank’s Management has still not answered his official letters regarding the monthly rent.

“The SVH, itself the hardest hit hotel for miles around, has been politely asking for the rent due ever since. Nothing at all was paid until a letter arrived a week ago informing them that the Bank has “No intention to re-open the Arugambay Extention office, said Dr. Miller.

For the few visitors of the Bay the handful of hard working, hard hit survivors managed to attract in such difficult times as there are no more financial services at Arugam Bay.

Indeed, the nearest cash machine is 2-3 hrs. away. A poor show – but it perhaps represents the kind of “assistance and concern” our East Coast location receives from faceless and very distant Colombo officers.

Since temporarily peace settled in 2002 a concerned and forward looking, branch manager of the Arugambay bank, thought to provide a better service to the influx of tourists to the Bay.

Scantly dressed females somehow looked out of place in the nearby, conservative Pottuvil at this office. Impatient surfers found waiting for currency transactions and Visa Card advances troublesome and the local staff was overworked with such transactions.

In consultation with the SVH management it was decided to rent the premises at Arugam Bay to provide a better, most welcome and valuable service to visitors to this remote region.

There are no private Banks permitted and Central Bank’s permission was granted in 2003 to open the new Extention Office at Arugambay.

For an initial period of 3 Years the ground floor offices on the main road, in the very middle of the Bay were given to the Bank at a preferential rate of just 50$/month including air condition and power. The Siam View Hotel refurbished the office at a cost of around Rs. 300,000, to include an attached shower & bathroom.

On 26th December, 2004 giant floods swept the Bay and wiped off near all of the Siam View Hotel. The bank premises however remained intact and stood up to the waves.

The interior however was devastated and washed away. All which remained was the strong safe and the sign boards.

The State Bank never, ever came back to assess the situation, never even cleaned their own premises, but had the new safe removed in mid 2006.

The SVH itself has been credited on CNN & ITN with being the only functioning place open on the entire East Coast. Indeed, the SVH reopened on Tsunami Day itself providing valuable services to the (then) united Community. This is well documented elsewhere, mainly abroad.

More than a dozen letters were sent to the totally unconcerned bank’s Head Office. More followed to the Ampara regional office, asking to re-open the office as a matter of urgency to pay Tsunami relief locally. Unfortunately according to a source, ”Not even one single letter was ever answered,” he said.

- Asian Tribune -

source: http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/5849

Sunil C. Perera – Reporting from Colombo

Colombo, 24 May, (Asiantribune.com): Owner of the Siam View Hotel [SVH] of Arugambay , Dr. Fred Miller complains the Arugambay branch office of a state owned bank terminated their services and defaulted rent payments one month after the tsunami.

The Bank was located at the premises of the Siam Hotel , Arugambay and provided ample service for the area businessmen and the tourists .

Dr.Miller, served as an Engineer and the Hotel Owner who loves surfing in the Potuvil area said the Bank’s Management has still not answered his official letters regarding the monthly rent.

“The SVH, itself the hardest hit hotel for miles around, has been politely asking for the rent due ever since. Nothing at all was paid until a letter arrived a week ago informing them that the Bank has “No intention to re-open the Arugambay Extention office, said Dr. Miller.

For the few visitors of the Bay the handful of hard working, hard hit survivors managed to attract in such difficult times as there are no more financial services at Arugam Bay.

Indeed, the nearest cash machine is 2-3 hrs. away. A poor show – but it perhaps represents the kind of “assistance and concern” our East Coast location receives from faceless and very distant Colombo officers.

Since temporarily peace settled in 2002 a concerned and forward looking, branch manager of the Arugambay bank, thought to provide a better service to the influx of tourists to the Bay.

Scantly dressed females somehow looked out of place in the nearby, conservative Pottuvil at this office. Impatient surfers found waiting for currency transactions and Visa Card advances troublesome and the local staff was overworked with such transactions.

In consultation with the SVH management it was decided to rent the premises at Arugam Bay to provide a better, most welcome and valuable service to visitors to this remote region.

There are no private Banks permitted and Central Bank’s permission was granted in 2003 to open the new Extention Office at Arugambay.

For an initial period of 3 Years the ground floor offices on the main road, in the very middle of the Bay were given to the Bank at a preferential rate of just 50$/month including air condition and power. The Siam View Hotel refurbished the office at a cost of around Rs. 300,000, to include an attached shower & bathroom.

On 26th December, 2004 giant floods swept the Bay and wiped off near all of the Siam View Hotel. The bank premises however remained intact and stood up to the waves.

The interior however was devastated and washed away. All which remained was the strong safe and the sign boards.

The State Bank never, ever came back to assess the situation, never even cleaned their own premises, but had the new safe removed in mid 2006.

The SVH itself has been credited on CNN & ITN with being the only functioning place open on the entire East Coast. Indeed, the SVH reopened on Tsunami Day itself providing valuable services to the (then) united Community. This is well documented elsewhere, mainly abroad.

More than a dozen letters were sent to the totally unconcerned bank’s Head Office. More followed to the Ampara regional office, asking to re-open the office as a matter of urgency to pay Tsunami relief locally. Unfortunately according to a source, ”Not even one single letter was ever answered,” he said.

After two and a half year residents of Arugam Bay finally know why they received not a single cent of help!
According to the huge, ultra expensive, 2 year UNHCR study, resulting in the precise maps below:
We don’t even exist!

Can you spot how many suffered here, on the South East Coast?

Good job at least the world media reported, at the time, that the epic centre was DIRECTLY opposite your favourite Surfing Bay – well known for years to have the highest waves in Sri Lanka; even in non-Tsunami conditions.
It also escaped the highly paid experts that in our hamlet more people died in percentage of the population than anywhere else – and we measured huge 46ft – 15 Meter+ swell that day.

Can anyone -OUT THERE!!- please explain why Arugam Bay has been totally left out of any donation bonanza?
We have proof and firm evidence that some of the hardest hit people have, to this very day Not received a single Cent from any official source.
Please come and take a look at Arugam Bay now, two years+ thereafter and you will see no improvement worth reporting.
Indeed, the infrastructure, the roads, the water supply, the medical care:
All are far worse now than two years back; that means: After the waves!
And: The hundreds of ENJOY’s in distant Colombo or, very daring in Ampara have no excuse here, for a change, that they can’t (or are too scared!) to ‘operate’ because of the “War”:
Because there simply isn’t one, and never has been a hint of one, here or anywhere near our peaceful, but neglected Bay.
Special Thanks to “Deutschland Hilft” – for having at at least a few beers with us!
We never, ever seen any “Help” from good old Deutschland! Or Britain. Or anybody.
But private, small help: YES! Thanks a Million folks!
For not trusting NGO’s!

The Lonely Planet has posted on its Thorntree site:

Arugam Bay

Dear Travelers, I’m currently in Arugam Bay (SriLanka) and just wanted to let you know that none of the rubbish that people say on the west and south coast is true. The road is open, just closes for the night, it is very quite here, the people are great, the beach is amazing and to be honest, so far it is the easiest place to be in Sri Lanka. There’s a restaurant and a few cabanas in Pottuvile Point due to open and they look great. Happy Travels, Nuno Campos

Arugam.info has been informed that a second book has been published about Arugam Bay.
Again and regrettably it is only available in German so far, but plans exist to release an English version.
The first book about our Bay “Der Krokodilfelsen” (the croc rock) by Claudia Ackermann is selling well and our good friend Alf is working on a translation right now.
Here is Claudia; she sent us her photo today:

“Die Welle” (the swell/wave) is written by Monika Kahrs and we will publish details soon>
For now, here is an abstract  by LuLu:

Tourists Hotel owners in Arugambe say that their hotels lack full occupancy due to the prevailing security situation in the eastern province.

At present some hotels which have established personnel connections with the overseas agencies could achieve 50 percent occupancy level , but said they have already reduced their workforce due to the present financial constraints.

Dr.Fred Miller , owner of the Siam View Hotel , Arugambe said he has Australian contacts to increase occupancy level of his hotel. However he proposed that the government should take measures to strengthen peace to end problems in Sri Lanka.

Dr.Miller said he started his hotel business in 1977 and now manages a star class hotel specially for surfers. He said around 60 percent of the hotels in the Arugambe area have been closed due to low or no occupancy.

A number of hotel owners also face financial constraints and tourists related self employers also were affected due to this problem.

Speaking to the media, they said that they lost their entire livelihood and now moving into other businesses.

Arugambe was a tsunami affected area in the eastern Sri Lanka and the authorities still repair common infrastructure to rebuild the area.

Meanwhile another hotel owner said the government must take necessary measures to improve infrastructure and promote tourism. However a number of foreign nationals who met this correspondent said that they have fear about armed groups who roam in the eastern province.

We cannot tour important tourists destinations in the province and most of our friends have decided to visit Bali islands and some other Asian destinations.

Meanwhile local tourists said that they have more problems due to the newly implemented Police Vehicle Permit system. According to the Police officials all vehicle owners who wish to visit outside the Eastern Province must obtain a vehicle permit from the Police. However it will take some time, said a Police official who dislike agreeing with the new permit system.

All government owned vehicles have immunity, but Transport Board buses and other private vehicles must obtain these permits.

According to the business community of the province a number of lorry owners refused to transport goods into the Eastern province due to the Permit system.

The police and the other security officials regularly check these vehicles, loading and unloading, also incoming and outgoing goods by these vehicles. According to the Police officials Journalists who carry their digital cameras and Laptop computers must face police inspection and take separate permit from the Police to bring into Eastern province.

Dr. Miller, SVH

Vehicle permit issuing station

Scenic beauty of Arugambe

Source: http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/5750

Arugam.info has just been informed that the State owned Bank, the Bank of Ceylon has decided to close its ‘Arugambay Extention office’ for ever.

History:
Since (temp.) peace settled in 2002 a concerned and forward looking, local manager, a Mr. Y.B. Aliyar thought to provide a better service to the influx of tourists to the Bay.
Scantly dressed females somehow looked out of place in the nearby, conservative PottuVille at the BoC office. Impatient surfers found waiting for currency transactions and Visa Card advances troublesome and the local staff often became overworked with such additional workload.

In consultation with the SVH Team it was decided to rent premises at Arugam Bay to provide a better, most welcome and valuable service to visitors to our remote region.
There are no private Banks permitted and Central Bank permission was granted in 2003 to open the new Extention (sic) Office at AbaY.
Result:
For an initial period of 3 Years ground floor offices on the main road, in the very middle of the Bay were given to the Bank of Ceylon for a preferential rate of just 50$/month incl. a/c and power. The SVH refurbished the office at a cost of around 300,000 Rs./ to include an attached shower & bathroom.
December 2004
On 26th December, 2004 giant floods swept the Bay and wiped off near all of the Siam View Hotel. The bank premises, however remained intact and stood up to the waves.
The interiour, however was devastated and washed away. All which remained was the strong safe and the sign boards.
The State Bank never, ever came back to assess the situation, never even cleaned their own premises, but had the new safe removed in mid 2005.

Letters
The SVH itself has been credited on CNN & ITN with being the only functioning place open on the entire East Coast. Indeed, the SVH reopened on Tsunami Day itself providing valuable services to the (then) united Community. This is well documented elsewhere, mainly abroad.
More than a dozen letters to the totally unconcerned BoC Head Office. More followed to the Ampara regional office, asking to re-open the office as a matter of urgency to pay Tsunami relief locally. This great service would have enabled affected, very poor people to collect their 500 Rs./ in full.
Instead, more than 100 Rs./ were wasted on travel, via boat service to PottuVille.
Every week.
Not even one single one of letters were ever answered. Instead the agreed rent payments stopped in January, 2005 – just ONE month after the disaster.

Legal
The SVH, itself the hardest hit hotel for miles around, has been politely asking for the rent due ever since. Nothing at all was paid until a letter arrived a week ago informing them that the Bank has “No intention to re-open the Arugambay Extention office“.
A legal case is still ongoing of this treatment – which totally is opposed to the huge adverts the Bank has placed in leading newspapers: ‘How much we are committed to help ….etc.’
The now vacant offices look just like they did on December, 2004 – and the poor SVH is expected to pick up the repair bills…..

Conclusion
For the few visitors of the Bay the few very hard working, hard hit survivors managed to attract in such difficult times there are no more financial services at Arugam Bay.
Indeed, the nearest cash machine is 2-3 hrs. away.
A poor show – but it perhaps represents the kind of “assistance and concern” our East Coast location receives from faceless and very distant Colombo officers.

update, 24th May, 2007:
The bank suddenly agreed to pay rent until Mid 2006.
However, the sign boards were removed May, 2007.
Unpaid SLT telephone bills still arrive at the SVH for the BoC office.
The SVH is waiting the return of the keys and the handing over of clean, working premises in a similar condition as they were rented out initially.
A further letter to the BoC has not been answered as yet….

We will keep you informed!

Sri Lanka seen heading back to civil war — on an even larger scale

KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka (AP) — Day and night, warplanes roar over this rebel-held town as the steady thump of artillery echoes from afar — a preview, many fear, of a military showdown in Sri Lanka that could leave thousands dead.

Pottuvil: Simmering pot of ethnic tension

By Wilson Gnanadass in Pottuvil
At a time when media attention and peace keeping efforts are understandably focused on Sri Lanka to bring an end to the ongoing ethnic conflict, a dangerous mix of developments is taking place in Pottuvil, in the south eastern part of the island.
Armed conflicts plague the northern part of Sri Lanka while a disintegrating economy along with human rights violations and even threats to freedom of expression are driving the south deeper into mayhem.
However, in Pottuvil, although life has returned to normal after the clash between the Karuna group and the Pradeshiya Sabha took place last month, beneath the surface tension lingers between different communities.
A deeper assessment into the life of all three communities shows that although there is a thirst for ethnic co-existence, there is a barrier separating them.
Still, Pottuville no doubt is a bustling town and Arugam Bay is certainly safer than Colombo, stated one hotel manager.
Division between Tamils and Muslims
From time immemorial, Tamils and Muslims have been living as members of one family in Pottuvil, a predominantly Muslim region. A record number of intermarriages have been reported from these areas. The dialects of the communities are mixed.
In between two major Muslim towns there are several Tamil villages, and Tamils and Muslims have mingled with each other for business, education and various other reasons.
However, today that relationship is strained. For the first time in the history, the Tamils celebrated their New Year festival without inviting the Muslims. Tamils working in Muslim shops were told to leave their jobs or else face the consequences.
The forced separation has disturbed and hurt both Tamils and Muslims. Muslims blamed the Karuna faction for the latest development, while Karuna’s men blamed the Muslim politicians.
Both communities traded charges at each other without realising they were bringing about the separation of the century-old cherished bond.
PS issue
Wittingly or unwittingly, the April 9 incident over a Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) building has dampened the relationship between the communities.
While the Karuna faction attempted to acquire the building by force, the Muslim dominated PS managed to retain the ownership of the building legally. The PS is dominated by Muslims. Tamils in the region are represented by only one member. To Karuna’s men, this is a big hitch.
According to them, the Tamils are underrepresented and they claimed to be the sole representatives of the Tamils, a claim rejected by the Tamils.
However, Karuna’s men pointed out that the Tamils were given step-motherly treatment by the majority Muslims, and added they were present to give the Tamils leadership. They also expressed anger at the Muslim politicians.
Karuna’s men stated that all leading jobs in the town were given to the Muslims and the Tamils were being trampled, and vowed to correct this error.
TMVP repression
Since the defection of Karuna from the LTTE in 2004, the correlation of the Tamils and Muslims has become estranged.
The Karuna faction established political quarters almost in every town in the east and in Pottuvil too an office was set up. The office according to eye witnesses has served as a ‘Kangaroo Court’ to deal with issues pertaining to the day to day life of Tamils and Muslims.
‘Kangaroo Court’
In one instance, a 24-year-old man was beaten for three hours by three men of Karuna’s group over a personal problem he had had with his wife.
On another occasion, a female who was employed in a Muslim shop under a Muslim for the past 10 years was asked to immediately step down with no reasons given.
Besides, the Muslims have also been issued summons by Karuna’s men and have been questioned for hours. This has annoyed a majority of the Muslims since the Karuna group has even got involved in personal affairs of the people.
Senior Muslim citizens and even members of the clergy perceive these events initiated by Karuna group as a deliberate attempt to bring about a division between these two ethnic groups.
Shadow member of Pottuvil PS, A.M. Mohamed Thajudeen is of the view that the actions of Karuna’s men are provocative and might at some point provoke the Muslim youth also to take up arms.
He said after the April 9 incident, the relationship between the two groups has been strained but added efforts were being made to rebuild the relationship.
He is of the view that this is a byproduct of government strategy since Karuna’s group is allegedly supported by the state. “The government should not ignore our appeals. We have lodged entries with the police against these men, but to no avail,” he said.
He said Karuna’s men were not only getting involved in the PS matters but also into the personal affairs of the Muslims. “Why are they getting involved in this fashion?” he questioned.
Muslims fear that they could be driven out of the east in a manner similar to how the Muslims in the north were chased out of their traditional habitat by the LTTE in 1990.
Burning issues
The Muslims have been confronted with an array of issues which they view as calculated efforts by the government to suppress them.
In Palayadivettai, Kirankovai, Muslims have been cultivating in nearly 502 acres of land for several years.
As cultivation began and business grew, the war broke out, forcing them out of this area. Several attempts to obtain permits from the divisional secretary to continue cultivation also failed due to the ongoing conflict.
During the period when Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe became prime minister and the Ceasefire Agreement was signed with the LTTE, the Muslim cultivators had returned to Palayadivettai to continue cultivation.
The District Coordinating Committee (DCC) that met in Ampara during this time has also decided to grant permits to the cultivators.
While the Muslims have been involved in cultivation since the, the present government decided to bring a halt to it.
The Wildlife Department that met on April 27 in Lahugala has decided to convert this piece of land that has been used for human cultivation into a land to grow vegetation for elephants.
This would bring an end to the cultivation being done by over 250 Muslim farmers who have been cultivating on this particular land and earning a living for the past 25 years.
In another instance, the Lahugala Pradeshiya Sabha chairman in a recent letter to the government has expressed his desire to incorporate three grama sevaka divisions of Pottuvil into the Lahugala Divisional Secretariat Division.
Muslims claim that the land coming under the three grama sevaka divisions have been used for cultivation by them for the past several years on an annual permit basis. They believe this is part of a programme by the government to expand the Shastrawela Temple in Panama.
Harassment
Their woes do not end at that. In another instance, the Muslims have also faced harassment in Pasaradichenai.
Pasaradichenai is a 10-acre Muslim burial ground. However, settlers from the south have encroached on this land over the years. A survey has revealed that the Muslims have lost nearly three acres of land.
When a complaint was lodged with the police and relevant government authority, the cemetery had been divided among the communities proportionately. In this instance too the Muslims had to lose a couple of acres from their original burial ground.
Munai in Arugambay is a cultivation plot, where around 20 Muslim farmers owned lands and engaged in farming.
According to Yasimbawa Adam Bawa (51), he owned two acres of land in Munai but during the time when the LTTE drove Muslims out of the north in 1990, the Muslims in this area had also been chased out by the LTTE.
However after 1994, when the situation calmed down, he along with other Muslim cultivators had returned to their land. But to their dismay they had not been allowed to carry out cultivation by the Tamil and Sinhala settlers.
Bawa was also in possession of the government permit given to him by the district secretary but he said today he and other farmers were not allowed to engage in any farming in their own land.
Lack of confidence
If the 1990 mass exodus of Muslims from the north forced them to lose confidence in the LTTE, the massacre of 10 Muslims at Irathalvettu, Pottuvil on September 17, 2006 led to their losing confidence in the government too. The presence of Karuna group compounds this.
The Muslims in Pottuvil do not wish to accept that the massacre of the 10 Muslims was carried out by the LTTE.
According to Pottuvil Pradeshiya Sabha Vice Chairman M.B. Abdul Majeed, it is almost one year since this incident took place but the government is yet to complete its investigation. He added the manner in which one of the survivors, Meera Mohideen was being protected by the state casts suspicion on the government.
“In between two predominant Muslim towns – Pottuvil and Akkaraipattu – there are several small Tamil villages. The Muslims keep shuttling between these two towns daily. If the LTTE wanted to kills us, they could have planted a claymore mine or set up a bomb in one of the busses plying in between these two towns,” he said.
“The location where these 10 Muslims were brutally assassinated was surrounded by the Lahugala STF Camp, Sengamam STF Camp, Third Mile Police Post, Pottuvil Police Station, Arugam Bay STF Camp and Shastrawela STF Camp. How can one expect the LTTE to penetrate into this highly fortified area and commit such a heinous crime in broad daylight? This is questionable,” he added.
Discrimination
Be that as it may, the Sinhalese who have been deeply rooted in these areas for several decades also lead a life of poverty and distress.
For the grief-stricken fisher folk, life there is a constant battle. Some of them have gone there from the deep south to continue the legacy left behind by their fathers and forefathers, while for others it is a fresh start.
For a few others, their presence was not due to own choice but since they followed false promises by southern politicians. “Only now we know we have been cheated,” they said.
D.V. Padmasiri arrived in Pottuvil 25 years ago. He is a father of three. He was forced to follow his parents from the south. His parents were engaged in fishing.
Life for Padmasiri is difficult. He talks of discrimination and not being able to gain what the Muslims gain. “This is a worry for all of us,” he said.
He said life there, however, was free of tension. According to him there are no police, no government officials, no checks and no barriers. “We do everything according to our wants. Nobody checks us,” he said.
Suranga Janakantha, father of one, has been living in Ulla, Pottuvil from childhood. He had come with his parents and enrolled himself at the only Sinhala school found in Pottuvil. The Sinhala Maha Vidyalaya caters to 120 Sinhalese students.
He is of the view the Sinhalese peasants were discriminated against by the majority Muslims.
“We could not even get our due share after the tsunami. The government promised to construct houses for us. But all the government institutions here are dominated by the Muslims, and therefore we lost the chance of getting houses. For each house, the authority here dominated by the Muslims demanded Rs. 50,000 as commission. Where can we go for this money? Therefore, we decided to live in cadjan huts,” he said.
He said the Sinhala community is on good terms with the Tamil community but not with the Muslims since “they are dangerous.”

source:http://www.nation.lk/2007/05/06/newsfe2.htm

Arugam.info has learned that in addition to the closure of the main transit road, the famous A4, from Colombo to Arugam Bay the International Airport of Sri Lanka will also close at night. No (commercial…;-) night flights are planned as from 10.April, 2007 for at least 3 months, for well known reasons.
“The safety of our visitors is paramount” a spokesman in Colombo is quoted to say.
Please check the new airline schedule with your carrier to avoid disappointment or undue delay of reaching your peaceful Bay.

The planned, second International Airport, much closer to Arugam Bay – with its advertised 4km!! runway (1km longer than even the new A380 requires….?..) will not be open for many years to come. If at all.

British government reissues travel warnings to Sri Lanka

Mon, 2007-04-30 04:48London, 30 April, (Asiantribune.com): British Government has reviewed and reissued travel warning to British citizens traveling to Sri Lanka in general and the North and East of the country in particular, in the light of the latest incident in which LTTE used aircrafts ob 29 April to drops bombs in targets in Colombo.

The latest travel warning by the issued by the British Foreign and Commonwealth office pointed out that on 29 April 2007 the LTTE used light aircraft to drop bombs on targets in the Colombo area.

Although the warning said that little damage was caused by this incident, and a similar raid on 26 March on the military area of Bandaranike International Airport (north of Colombo), caused disruption in Colombo city and at the airport.

The warning went on to point out that some airlines are reviewing their flight schedules to Sri Lanka. British Foreign and Commonwealth office urged traveller to check the status of their flights to and from Bandaranike International Airport with their carrier.

The full text of travel warning issued by the British Foreign and Commonwealth office is given below:

“We advise against all travel to the north or east of Sri Lanka. If you are in the north or east, you should leave. For the purpose of this travel advice we consider the north to be all areas north of the A12 road (which runs from Puttalam in the west to Trincomalee in the east) including the Jaffna peninsula; and we consider the east to be the districts of Trincomalee and Batticaloa, as well as coastal areas of Ampara district north of Pottuvil and east of the A25 and A27 roads.

“There are reports of continuing fighting between the Sri Lanka government forces and the Liberation Tigers Eelam (LTTE) throughout the north and east. This has included the use of ground forces, artillery fire, mines, air and naval attacks. Further fighting could occur with little or no warning.

“There is a high threat from terrorism in Sri Lanka and a risk of British nationals becoming indiscriminately caught up in attacks. Terrorist attacks against government and civilian targets have taken place throughout the country, including in areas and on travel routes popular with tourists. Please see the Terrorism section of this travel advice for more details.

“On 29 April 2007 the LTTE used light aircraft to drop bombs on targets in the Colombo area. Although little damage was caused this incident, and a similar raid on 26 March on the military area of Bandaranike International Airport (north of Colombo), caused disruption in Colombo city and at the airport. Some airlines are reviewing their flight schedules to Sri Lanka. Travellers are advised to check the status of their flights to and from Bandaranike International Airport with their carrier.

“There is heightened security, particularly in Colombo and southern Sri Lanka. There have been detentions, particularly of people of Tamil ethnicity. You should ensure that you carry some form of identification with you at all times. If you are a British national and are detained, you should ask the authorities to contact the British High Commission. You are strongly advised to comply with government and security force instructions.

“We strongly recommend that all British nationals who are resident and/or working in Sri Lanka, or visiting for over one month, should register with the British High Commission in Colombo.

“About 90,000 British nationals visit Sri Lanka each year. The main type of incident for which British nationals require consular assistance in Sri Lanka is replacing lost or stolen passports and ill health.

We strongly recommend that you obtain comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling. You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for the activities you want to undertake. “

- Asian Tribune -