Monthly Archive for April, 2008

Bloody Red Tape

Published on 30/04/2008 in Blogs, From our own Correspondent, Money Matters and press coverage. 0 Comments

April 29, 2008 by jodevivre

Before I start this entry, I just want to say thanks to everyone for the comments and emails on my A?a??A?MysteriesA?a??A? post. Who knew so many of my friends would be so knowledgeable about toilets? I donA?a??a??t know what that says about youA?a??A? or meA?a??A?but I find it amusing nonetheless. Okay, on with the postA?a??A?

If there is one sure-fire thing IA?a??a??m going to gain from this Sri Lanka experience, it is patience. Unfortunately, IA?a??a??m not sure that patience was one of the big things that I was in need of before I came. Sure, I have no patience for idiots but, really, should anyone? Anyway, over the past 24 hours, I have encountered so many stumbling blocks and got myself tangled in so much red tape that I could probably fashion a sturdy noose out of it and hang myself. But I wonA?a??a??tA?a??A? patience, you see.

You may recall (did I tell you?) that after two weeks, I finally got a phone at home. IA?a??a??ve been waiting for said phone because it is the gateway to getting internet at home. Except apparently I donA?a??a??t have the right kind of phone. Mine is wireless and, according to the very unhelpful Sri Lanka Telecom representatives, I need a A?a??A?wire phone.A?a??A? So I logically asked them for a wire phone. But I canA?a??a??t do that because my landlordA?a??a??s name is on the account so he has to do the asking. The man is 100 years old and has a bum knee. Going to get my first phone was ordeal enough for him. Given that I made significant imaginary life changes the last time I tried to talk to him about the phone, IA?a??a??m really not looking forward to our next stressful conversation. I may end up pregnant.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Customs is still holding my package hostage. I have to write three letters requesting its release, go into town tomorrow during work hours to get a temporary VAT number and I probably have to drop a bag full of unmarked 1000 rupee bills in a garbage receptacle of their choosing before I get my bloody hairdryer. My computer, which our IT guy formatted for me to access wi-fi at the office now no longer able to access wi-fi anywhere else on the planet and I canA?a??a??t get the microphone in my headset or my webcam to work for more than one minute (just long enough to tease me that itA?a??a??s CAPABLE of working but chooses, infuriatingly, not to).

You just gotta laugh at it all. Oh woe is me A?a??a?? the challenges of my privileged life.

So I forgot to mention in my last entry something that made me laugh over the weekend. The fancy cafe the American girls and I went to is having a special food event. Apparently this is Hot Dog Week. Now this is a place that sells crepes and gourmet sandwiches and baked goods to die for but the big full-colour banner out front is trumpeting the awesome culinary masterpiece that is street meat. Yes, hot dogs with all sorts of different toppings (bun included!) are available, but only from April 25 to May 3. Get yours now.

Actually, I would totally welcome one of Oscar MayerA?a??a??s finest at lunchtime. During the day, there is absolutely no variety in what you can order from a Sri Lankan restaurant and, unfortunately, there are no fast food chains near my work. So every restaurant offers vegetable, chicken or fish curry. Or vegetable, chicken or fish buns. Now there are some very tasty dishes that IA?a??a??ve had since I arrived in Sri Lanka, but I canA?a??a??t find them anywhere during the day. But one evening as I was coming home after dark, I noticed that the street totally comes alive at dusk. From about 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. all of these food stalls emerge at the side of the road selling a variety of tasty things that are nowhere to be found during the day. They are like the vampires of food, except I am the one who wants to do the biting. The problem though is my office closes an hour before the vamps come out. And if I go home and then back to buy from these stalls, I have to take the food home again. That means I will need to go into my kitchen A?a??a?? after dark A?a??a?? to throw out the remnants. Oh dear. Oh, alright, ALRIGHT!! Maybe IA?a??a??ll break the no-kitchen-after-dark rule, but youA?a??a??re going to hear about it when I discover the rat party that goes on in there at night.

One of the things that I still havenA?a??a??t gotten used to is that in general, IA?a??a??m a total freak show here. It is partly amusing but most of the time itA?a??a??s just frustrating. EVERYONE looks at me. And most of these looks are not in a good way. They are prolonged stares that we would never give another human being out of politeness in Canada. IA?a??a??m talking discovering a new species stares. Stop walking kind of stares. Point and tug at your momA?a??a??s skirt stares. Actually turn around while youA?a??a??re driving a vehicle that could easily kill people kind of stares. Putting my shoulders under cover hasnA?a??a??t helped. And then Sunday morning, in search of breakfast food, I decided to go for a run. A very, very, VERY short run to the grocery store and back. And the running just made the staring worse. No one runs here. I knew this when I donned my sneakers, but sometimes you just gotta say A?a??A?screw itA?a??A? and embrace the freak in you.

Sunday was also BarbaraA?a??a??s birthday (one of the American girls), so that night, we went back to the fancy house where I had attended my first Sri Lankan birthday party to attend BarbaraA?a??a??s. It was a low-key affair with conversation, drinks, food and some easy listening radio (every English station in Sri Lanka seems to be easy listening). There was some yummy fresh guacamole. Guacamole! I hadnA?a??a??t even thought of that! All the ingredients are available at the local markets and itA?a??a??s healthy! This is another great reason to get to know people A?a??a?? to get meal ideas for when I start to eat again. J Tenormin nombre generico

I should also say an apology to Jesse. Turns out a Sri Lankan dog that was exported to England was infected with Rabies and has subsequently killed three Brits. All jokes about his neighbourA?a??a??s attack dog are retracted.

How much does olanzapine cost Phone Curiosities

Two more things A?a??a?? these fit in with nothing but they are things IA?a??a??ve observed and want to share. IA?a??a??ve noticed that both the Brits and the Sri Lankans have a habit, when rhyming off phone numbers or any number sequence, of saying A?a??A?doubleA?a??A? or A?a??A?tripleA?a??A?. When the first unhelpful telephone customer service rep referred me to the second one today, she said A?a??A?dial 2 triple five triple five.A?a??A? And it took me a couple of seconds to realize what she was saying. This wasnA?a??a??t the first time this has happened and the Americans stumble on it too. You wouldnA?a??a??t think that it is that confusing but it really is. A?a??A?The number is 0 triple 7 double 2 -1 – double 8 – 9A?a??A?. Uh, wha-?

Also, at both VSO and at Sewalanka (so I presume this is a pretty common office thing) staff canA?a??a??t make or receive phone calls directly. If I want to call out, I have to call the receptionist and tell her the number I want to call. She then hangs up, calls the person and then calls me back and connects us. To me, itA?a??a??s a highly inefficient system but I presume there is some logic to it. When I find out, IA?a??a??ll let you know.

source:
http://jodevivre.wordpress.com/

High prices and food shortages taking toll

Published on 30/04/2008 in Blogs, Money Matters, people and press coverage. 1 Comment

SRI LANKA: High prices and food shortages taking toll

COLOMBO, 30 April 2008 (IRIN) – Humanitarian agencies in Sri Lanka are preparing for the fallout as increasing food prices and shortages put vulnerable populations at risk of malnutrition and leave many families no longer able to afford essentials such as medical care and school tuition.

The global food crisis, referred to by World Food Programme (WFP) officials as “the silent tsunami” during a summit in London on 22 April, is hitting home.

Munniandy Muttur, a janitor in the capital Colombo, told IRIN: “I earn only Rs350 [US$3.20] per day, and that amount is not enough if we try to eat well. If I or my wife fall sick, we can’t even think of private hospital. God willing, we will either not fall sick, or just fall dead, that is better.”

The 66-year-old man said he and his wife had cut down on meat and survived as best they could. “Everything is getting expensive, but we are not getting paid more.”

Relief agencies warn that vulnerable communities will increasingly cut back on essentials just to get by.

“Poor communities are surviving from one day to another – the rise in food prices means the poor families are living in a ‘survival mode’, planning for their next meal, rather than making and acting on long-term plans for them and their children,” Nayomi Kannangara, Child Protection Program Manager with Christian Children’s Fund in Sri Lanka, told IRIN.

Kannangara warned that children’s education and healthcare may be neglected first.

“Some families may not be able to afford the bus fare to the hospital where the medical care is free and may not be able to purchase the drugs that are not available through the free clinics,” she said. “Symptoms are neglected and less attention is paid to non-critical medical needs.”

Rice stocks have dwindled since the government imposed price controls on 17 April. In addition, the World Food Programme (WFP) has temporarily suspended its work for food project in the war-torn northeast due to a lack of resources. WFP country director Mohamed Salaheen told IRIN the programme had been benefiting 175,000 people.

“We held discussions with the government and agreed on what our priorities are,” he said. “Given the resources we have, we cannot take care of everything.” The suspension will remain in force until new donor commitments allow the WFP to recommence it.

The WFP in Sri Lanka is facing increasing budgetary restrictions given that food prices have shot up by more than 50 percent in the past year and the agency is facing a 40 percent funding shortfall.

“We need an additional US$35 million to meet the funding requirements that were set on older prices, but now they have sky-rocketed,” the WFP country director said.

The food price increases have been exacerbated by a 12.5 percent shortfall in domestic rice supply, the staple food of the islanders, according to government statistics.

Inflation jump

The government Census and Statistics Department recorded that average annual inflation rose by 16.8 percent in March 2008. A monthly 1.5 percent rise in the Colombo consumer price index (CCPI) was due to escalating food prices.

“The increase in the CCPI for March 2008 is mainly due to an increase in prices of rice, fresh milk, condensed milk, Lactogen [baby food], tea, red onions, coconut oil, butter, jam, some varieties of fresh fish, dried fish, coconuts, potatoes and some varieties of vegetables,” it said in its latest CCPI report.

Agencies working with vulnerable populations have already begun to factor in the rising prices into their estimates.

“We are in discussions with WFP on whether to increase the monthly amount provided to poor families,” Meneka Calyanaratne, chief of communications for Save the Children UK in Sri Lanka, told IRIN. Such assistance, while important, is marginal in terms of numbers, compared with the WFP programme that has been feeding more than a million people. “It will all depend on what the assessments of WFP and other UN agencies are, but there is a very real likelihood that the individual grants will go up.”

Save the Children provides Rs1,600 (approx $16) per month for 2,672 poor families countrywide.

Calyanaratne also said rising food prices may force older children in poorer families to leave school for lack of funds. “When families find it hard to make ends meet,” she said, “they tend to look for easy avenues for more income; sending children to work is one of the easiest.”

Sri Lankans on average spend 37.6 percent of their monthly expenditure on food, according to the latest Census and Statistics Department data, with vulnerable families spending as much as 70 percent.

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And then the Monsoon Broke

Published on 29/04/2008 in Blogs, Money Matters, people and press coverage. 0 Comments

So I’m back to my routine at Sewalanka. O.k. I’m not really back to my routine, since I don’t have one, but I am quite busy (I guess busyness is a sign that I’m not back to my routine).

I’m learning quite a bit about the recycling industry here in Sri Lanka. We are gathering information for a proposal and I’ve met with the users (soda company), the recyclers, and soon the collectors. All fascinating stuff. Too bad I won’t be here to implement this project if we get it funded.

Cheap toradol for migraines In the meantime, I’m also preparing for a two-week jaunt around the island. My dear friend Rachel is stopping by on her way home from Egypt (technically Sri Lanka is on your way home from any destination, depending on which way you choose to fly) and we will spend 10 days seeing the sights. I haven’t actually been anywhere, so this is great for me. It has been difficult to decide where to go since I haven’t seen anything, so I can’t provide the insider information one would hope for when one visits a friend living in a country. Oh well.

The monsoon broke on Sunday (that is early), so at least it won’t be so hot while Rachel is here, but it will be wet.

Tonight I leave for Galle to do another photography workshop. I thought this would be my last one, but I’ve been asked to present at a psychosocial training also. Thursday is a holiday and Friday I’m presenting at the psychosocial training. Not a lot of time in there to do my regular job and work on the Global Fund AIDs stuff (that project is why I went to Indonesia in March).

After I put Rachel on her plane to return to Portland I will immediately jump in a vehicle to go to Arugam Bay for Wesak (for those outside of Sri Lanka that is this month’s Poya name, which is May 20) . I’ll have just been there with Rachel, but I like A’bay so much this doesn’t bother me in the least.

The point of telling you my travel schedule is so you don’t worry when you don’t hear from me for a few weeks.

Jessica Leas: Boralesgamuwa, Sri Lanka; A dire need to work more directly with environmental issues has brought me to Sri Lanka where I advise a local nonprofit on ways to make their community development work more sustainable. Outside of work I like to take photographs (I’m obsessed with Flickr), travel, bicycle, hike and all the things associated with those activities. Oh, and I’m fascinated by all wildlife, particularly non-human primates. Great apes in particular — don’t call them monkeys!

Colospa cheap source:
http://expatwithelephants.blogspot.com/2008/04/and-then-monsoon-broke.html

In the Eye of the Tiger. Part X

Published on 27/04/2008 in Blogs, Money Matters and press coverage. 0 Comments

Sunday, 23 December 2007

Another Holiday

The yearly “Contract Break” rolled around again, it doesn’t seem that long ago that I was doing it last year. This year was a bit of a repeat of last year, it is such a long way to go to NZ that it is hardly worth doing on the shorter breaks so when the month long break comes, it seems to be the best option.

The A380 at Changi Airport

I went through Phuket again, Steve was having his 40th birthday so I thought I’d drop in for a couple of ales to help him celebrate. As per usual, it was a pretty crazy week. Highlight would have to be trying to rock n roll dance with a bemused and probably slightly scared Thai girl while Max, an English guy that lives there, belted out Elvis over the stereo of some bar. Should really stay off that Samsong I guess, does funny things to you…

Steve ringing the bell to bring in his birthday

Eddie helping Steve with his birthday bikini and water wings

The girls behind the bar in Sirocco – Goong, Fa and Aon

After that flew to Perth and down to Bunbury for a few days. I stayed with John and Ange, Ange was pretty pregnant by that stage (she’s due around Christmas or New Year). Did a bit of visiting around, saw some of the old flatties etc which was all nice. Went to Perth to catch up with Aza but he got the wrong month – he thought I was talking about December when I was actually talking about November. He’s still Spaza.

Langley Park in Perth

From Perth I trooped on to New Plymouth where I did some hardcore sleeping for a couple of days – achieved about 13 or 14 hours on the first couple of nights. Mum cooked me a lamb roast which was grand and I did a fair bit of lazing about and hanging out with my niece. After that I flew down to Christchurch, my first trip back there in a long time, maybe 6 years. Hasn’t changed too much. Caught up with Greg, Rik and Kate, Setter and Cheryl and Poo as well as doing a bit of shopping.

Mountains north of Christchurch

Greg’s dog Kupa

Next was Blenheim, I hired a relocation rental (which didn’t turn out Fincar price in india to be as cheap as I thought after petrol was $1.70 per litre) and drove up to Picton which was a nice drive. I stayed with Lorree (she was house sitting). On Saturday, along with Andrea, we went and played mini-golf on the Picton foreshore, where I got a resounding hiding from both the girls as they have both been playing a lot of golf lately and had home-course advantage (OK, I was just really crap). After that we had lunch and a few beers. The next day Lorree and I went across to Nelson to see Marco and Anna in Mapua where we had a nice BBQ lunch and a chat and then an icecream at the inlet.

The Kaikoura coast

Mapua

Marco and Isabella

Marlborough

The new week had me in a plane to Wellington, where I stayed with Luke and Anna. I hadn’t seen them in a long time, and they had moved back from Melbourne earlier in the year so it was good to catch up. We did a short pub crawl then went to a Japanese restaurant, then another short pub crawl before having to go home as everything shuts quite early (or doesn’t open) on a Monday night in Wellington. Except for Luke and Anna’s house, where the bar was open until about 4am… Whilst in Wellington I also had lunch with Sean Gledhill and caught up with my cousins in Lower Hutt and my Aunt in Paraparaumu.

Paekakariki and Paraparaumu from Paekakariki Hill

Kapiti Island

Then it was on up to Hawkes Bay for a night with Jock and Kylie before back to Taranaki for Georgia’s 6th birthday party (kids can be so tiring, and I was only there for 1 1/2 hours with all of them!). Next day was on up to Auckland, where I had lunch with Theuns (who I used to work with in Napier) and also saw my Aunty Pat and Uncle Denis and cousins Brian and Craig. Craig had just arrived from Sweden and it’s been a few years since I saw them so we had a cuppa and a chinwag.

Georgia’s “rock star” birthday party – shes in the blue T-shirt and headband

I flew back through Singapore (11 hours, ouch) for an overnight. I got upgraded to a suite at the hotel but couldn’t really enjoy it fully as I was absolutely knackered and only there for about 8 hours, most of which was sleeping. Then back to Colombo where I got stuck until the day before Christmas Eve. Now I’m back out east for Christmas and New Year, Christmas will be in Arugam Bay and New Year I’m not sure about yet.

Sunday, 21 October 2007

Work and Play

Just so it doesn’t look like it’s all fun and no work here, I’ve added a couple of pics of some of the roads I am doing at the moment. I’m just about finished the bottom layer of a couple of kilometers, with the macadam (stone) and surfacing to seal it all off will be started soon. We’re going balls to the wall to try and get as much finished off before the rain, but I fear we may be fighting a losing battle.

First (or sub-base for you engineers) layer in Lahugala

Setting out in Panama

Also, here are a couple of photos of beaches that we are lucky enough to be able to enjoy. Both are pretty deserted (Pottuvil Point has a reasonable break so it does get a lot of surfers when it is on) at present which makes them nice. Peanut Farm has a lovely gentle slope and is very calm at the moment, I had a very peaceful swim around there last weekend.

Peanut Farm

Pottuvil Point. How’s the serenity?

This weekend Fergus and I went down and spent Saturday afternoon at Pottuvil Point, where we went for a wee paddle around the lagoon on a contraption consisting of a pallet nailed to a couple of the local fishing “canoes”. During the wet season we’ll get a couple of big torches and go out at night and try and spot crocodiles (there are some “beauties” in there”). Merete (the owner of Stardust where I was staying at the beginning of the year) had the opening party for her restaurant on Saturday night, which she has finished rebuilding after the tsunami. It’s been a bit of a labour of love for her, slowly slowly at times, but she is pretty happy she has finished and it is a beautiful building with great views of the sea and a nice breeze to keep it all cool.

Last week the LTTE attacked a small Army camp south of Panama, inside the Yala National Park. The usual knee-jerk reaction happened, with the military sending in a whole bunch of troops to look for them but by the time they arrived they were long gone. However they have decided to piss everyone off and cut off the mobile networks again in Thirukkovil and Akkaraipattu, and also this time in Pottuvil which they didn’t do last time, so I am kind of cut off with telecoms at the moment, probably for another week or so. It ain’t so bad though.

South Africa won the world cup, at least it wasn’t the Poms. But I’m over rugby…

Saturday, 20 October 2007

Gooooooooooood Morning Viet Nam

So off I toodled to Veit Nam (Ha Noi to be precise) for a couple of days for a conference, my nice mid-stint break. I was a little bit excited, a new country and all, and also a chance to get a bit more of an understanding of what the hell we are up to here.

Part of Ha Noi from the hotel

The Red River. It’s not so red, and not as famous as the Mekong

Fergus and I went for the SEACAP (South East Asian Community Access Project) conference. SEACAP is being implemented in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam at present but UNOPS has also secured a contract to implement a similar programme in Sri Lanka in the near future. Basically it’s about assisting with developing national standards for rural roads and providing reliable road access to vulnerable rural communities, kind of the same How much remeron does it take to overdose that we are doing under our EU funded project. We get to build 200 different trial sections and do lots of nerdy engineering stuff with them.

The conference was on 2 days but we arrived a little early so had a free day to have a bit of a wander around the city. Didn’t get too far as it rained a bit (wet season so hardly surprising) so we went and hid in a coffee shop for a couple of hours. After that we wandered through the city, got accosted by a lady trying to sell us t-shirts, who actually followed us down the road on a motorbike twice to show us different stock. Full marks for persistance…We ended up at a small bar/restaurant thing next to the lake which was pleasant (and cheap) for a couple of beers and watch the madness that was going on as the lads from three adjacent restaurants tried to get customers. The later it got into the evening, the more chaos there was as they tried to stop motorbikes and cars, and with “valet” motorbike parking, people would just get off their bikes and leave them in the middle of the road until the lads moved them.

Fergus and a statue

Crazy wiring

Me and a big glass o’ beer. Very heavy, had to lighten it a little…

Drummers at the conference dinner

Anyway I quite liked Ha Noi and Viet Nam (what I saw of it at least) and I think it will go on the “visit when I decide to give myself a nice, long holiday” list. One thing that did intrigue me was how they used a version of the Roman alphabet and not script like the Thai or Khmer language or characters like the Chinese. I guess it is a result of the French colonisation.

After Ha Noi, Fergus and I flew to Bangkok for the weekend, after Fergus decided that as it was his birthday on Saturday we shouldn’t spend it in stinky old Colombo. We got in late Thursday night and retired after some pizza and beer just down the road from the hotel.

Bangkok is pretty damned big

On Friday we slept late and eventually I got in touch with Bernardo, the son of Manoel (who we work with). He was in Bangkok on a visa run for a couple of days, so he came over to meet us. We ducked across Sukhumvit Road (a very quick duck, because it is a bloody busy road) and went to the Lebanese quarter for some kebabs and stuff, then jumped on the Skytrain to go to Siam Square and do a bit of shopping. On the top floor of the shopping centre they have car shops – Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche, Lamborghini etc – so we did a bit of tyre kicking and wondered how the bloody hell they got them up the escalators, and how the bloody hell we could scam them into thinking we could afford to buy one so we could go for a test drive.

Bernardo and Fergus outside Siam Paragon shopping centre

I’m not a big shopper so little things amuse me when shopping, like in the Levi’s shop when the shop girl told Bernardo he was fat and laughed at him, as the size he asked for (that he usually buys, according to him) didn’t fit. He spent the next 30 minutes muttering to himself about it as we walked around the shop.After whiling away a few hours there, we hightailed it back to the hotel to change as we had tickets for the Muay Thai at Lumpini Stadium that evening. We picked the wrong time to travel across town (Bernardo was staying on the other side to us), then travel back to the stadium as it took forever but was kind of cool to see Bangkok’s night action beginning, with all the food stalls and markets springing up everywhere.

We had almost ringside seats at the kickboxing, and they bring beer and food to you so you don’t have to miss any of the action. Early in the night they have the younger, lighter fighters and the more experienced guys later. Unfortunately we had to leave after about an hour or so as we were late for meeting up with Fergus’ friends in a pub somewhere. Bernardo and I could have stayed longer but as we had no idea where the hell we were going, we had to leave with Fergus. We just really wanted to see some teeth go flying…

Kickboxing action

Kickboxing Video. The guys in the corners (at the end) were hilarious. Waaaay!

Then we moved on to some pub somewhere and met up with some of Fergus’ friends from when he went to AIT. They were a good bunch and the pub had a good live band playing. However they also sold Whisky and Tequila by the bottle, so I’m sure you can figure out what happened then…I woke up some time the next afternoon, feeling quite strange but I put that down to the Sam Song (Thai rum). Fergus went out that night to have dinner at his friends house which was just down the road from the hotel, but I couldn’t face it and stayed in and went to bed early. We later discovered that no-one could remember who actually paid at the pub, until we got back to Sri Lanka and Bernardo filled us in. Fun times.I like Bangkok, crazy city with heaps and heaps happening all the time. Very noisy and quite polluted though, could get to you after a while.

Sunday, 7 October 2007

My thoughts on Rugby

Rugby is a stupid game. That is all.PS Ha Ha Australia

Sunday, 30 September 2007

My Shitty Week

Just thought I’d share my shitty week. It was pretty shitty.

Shit Monday: My driver got fired after 1 1/2 years. To be honest he probably deserved it. Bright Spot: Got given 1 kilo of wild pork in Panama (the town, not the country)
Shit Tuesday: Tractor driver working for us in Pottuvil got arrested for “illegally” transporting sand between 2 sites, I spend 1 hour trying to get him released then another 2 at the court.
Shit Wednesday: Meeting with Police in Pottuvil to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Bright Spot: The Pottuvil Divisional Secretary (Government Rep) ragging on the Chairman of the Pottuvil Pradeshiya Sabha (Local Council) for 10 minutes about how hard he finds it to work in Pottuvil, and how he has never had so many problems in any other division he has worked in over the past 20 years. We agree.
Shit Thursday: Not much on the shittiness front this day.
Shit Friday: Boundary wall collapses on a site and kills one labourer and injures another. ’nuff said. Visit wailing family, accident site, got offered to see the body but turned it down. Police arrest Technical Officer and Supervisor but release later. Bright Spot: Get another 4 kilos of Panama pork
Shit Saturday: Visit other man in hospital. Bright Spot: Seems like he will be OK with no lasting damage. Fiji beats Wales (sorry, South Pacific solidarity and our Security guy is a big Fijian).
Shit Sunday: Get some sort of weird allergic reaction to something and lips around left corner of my mouth swell up for a few hours. Bright Spot: BBQing some of Friday’s pork tonight. Have lunch in Arugam Bay with Dawn as she is leaving for a few months. Get word that Annette will be back soon. Don’t have to deal with anything to do with work. Guys are here installing generator so I might be able to sleep in AC at nights now (it’s really hot at the moment).

Conclusion: This week SUCKED.

Had to share that. Hope to have some pics from Ha Noi and Bangkok up soon.

source:
http://intheeyeofthetiger.blogspot.com/

Pottuvil – Akkaraipattu highway in deplorable state

Published on 23/04/2008 in From our own Correspondent, Money Matters and press coverage. 0 Comments

V. P. Sivapragasam Akkaraipattu group corr.

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The highway described as “A-4” Road between Pottuvil and Akkaraipattu is in a deplorable condition, making it unfit for motorists who suffer accidents.

The Road Development Authority seems to have abdicated their duty when the said Pottuvil – Akkaraipattu highway remains in a dilapidated condition for a considerable length of time, about which the Sunday Observer too spotlighted last year.

The said roadway that connects several highly populated towns including Thambiluvil, Tirukovil, Vinayagapuram and Komari is in large ponds and pot-holes, deep and dangerous holes on the road surface is seen as a danger to the lives of those who ride bicycles and motorcycles.

The bridge over the Periya Muhathuwaram Causeway damaged several years ago and dangerously damaged by tsunami yet remains to be repaired. The poor state of the road way has crippled the operation of transport.

source:
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/04/22/news31.asp

USA Arugam Bay Blogs

Published on 20/04/2008 in Blogs and press coverage. 0 Comments

Forum Topic: Arugam Bay From forum: Sri Lanka by Saby_Baby (October 07, 2007) Hiya, Has anyone been to Arugam Bay? Or … … Sarah Hi We stayed in Arugam Bay last … … hotel, facilities etc. http://www.arugam.info/category … … the hotels and bars in Arugam Bay. We …
	Forum Topic: Arugam Aldactone acne cost Bay – Security Situation From forum: Sri Lanka by KenR-UK (March 25, 2006) … the security risks of visiting Arugam Bay. (For info we don’t intend to go any further North than Arugam Bay) We … … too, and continued their work: Arugam Bay and surroundings. Two …
	Forum Topic: Travel to Arugam Bay from Colombo From forum: Sri Lanka by thewoodshed (March 13, 2007) … would like to go to Arugam Bay, for … … Eliya (Nanu Oya) and Eliya-Arugam. For the … … nice time, & [Sandya] Hi, Arugam bay is … … about the perceived problems in Arugam Bay with …
	Forum Topic: Taking Young family to East coast Arugam and up – Plausible? From forum: Sri Lanka by Baldedash (January 07, 2006) … then plan on heading to Arugam as we are looking to give some money to an area which needs help with a school Project and it appears Arugam was pretty badly hit …
	Forum Topic: Info on Arugam Bay, and weather in August on west coast From forum: Sri Lanka by indiebear (March 18, 2005) … of rebuilding and tourism in Arugam Bay at the moment. I’m hoping to visit Sri Lanka in August and would like to go to the east coast but am finding it …
	Forum Topic: Stardust Hotel Pottuvil etc From forum: Sri Lanka by planetvenus (July 01, 2007) … 1) Haven’t been to Arugam but read … … influence it then. 3) Colombo-Arugam: 8 hours Arugam-Kandy: 6 … … s post. We stayed at Arugam Bay last year and met a family …
	Forum Topic: where do we go? From forum: Negombo by HansFreekit (August 02, 2007) … Colombo.. Do we go east (Arugam?) for the … … kandy…Any suggestions? Hi there, Arugam is best visited from the south coast, can’t find a driver willing to bring you there from …
	Forum Topic: diease From forum: Waikkal by surf85 (January 21, 2006) … im hopeing to go to arugam bay for 3months in jun to the end of august ive heard diease is really bad there at the mo is that true. and ive heard …
	Forum Topic: Is it safe to travel to Aragum Bay From forum: Sri Lanka by midnbanj (June 12, 2006) … what to advise. For sure, Arugam is the … … security risks. Maybe call an Arugam Bay hotel … … ourselves. We plan to visit Arugam Bay at … … information. They still say that Arugam Bay is …
Copegus purchase	Forum Topic: west or south coast hideaway From forum: Sri Lanka by MisterMark (December 15, 2007) … inland and New Year in Arugam Bay but I want to move west when my friends have gone back to work to chill out before I come home. Can anyone recommend a

TERRORISTS CRAVE FOR ADMINISTRATION IN THE EAST

Published on 19/04/2008 in people and press coverage. 0 Comments

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The Eastern Province elections scheduled for May 10th is one of the crucial and decisive elections in the post independence Sri Lanka. Eastern Province was the granary of the ancient Sri Lanka which provided sustenance for the illustrious forces of King Dutu Gemunu in the war of liberation and unification of the country. The illusory Eelamists dreamt to make it their food bowl, foundation of natural resources, main revenue source, the commercial capital and the main sea-port (Trincomalee). A large chunk of the land coming under the province was under occupation by the terrorist forces for over two decades. Our valiant security forces relentlessly marching forward from Mawil Aru, sacrificing their life and limb, relinquishing their worldly pleasures, forsaking their posterity, braving death, fearlessly and daringly countering enemy assaults, and shattering the propagated myth of invincibility of the terrorist enemy liberated the total Eastern Province and established the nationA?a??a??s sovereignty over the territory although some political opportunists pooh-poohed the great victory as clinging on to a waste jungle land.

The election being held after almost 20 years has been enthusiastically hailed by the people of the 3 districts as it would enable them to elect their own representatives and develop their areas and find viable solutions for many issues, including the severe unemployment problem. PeopleA?a??a??s enthusiasm in the election is reflected in the unprecedented number of candidates totalling 1342 vying for the 37 seats. 982,721 voters are eligible to cast their ballots in this election.

Several Parliamentary seats in the province are presently hed by Tamil National Alliance MPs who got nominated through electoral hijacking methods severely condemned by the European Union Election Observers and who does not visit their electorates or who have no link with the people they claim to represent.

The Province has all the features and ingredients needed to make it a roll model for building the foundation of true Sri Lankan identity through strengthening amity and harmony among the three main communities.

As per the 2007 enumeration conducted by the Census and Statistics Department and data published in the Preliminary Report of 2007 the distribution within the province is: Muslims 40%, Tamils 38% and the Sinhalese 22%. The District-wise population distribution as per the Report is: Trincomalee District: 45.4% Muslim, 28.6% Sri Lankan Tamils, 25.4% Sinhalese; Batticaloa District: 25% Muslim, 74% Sri Lankan Tamil, 0.5% Sinhalese; and Ampara District: 44% Muslim, 18.3% Sri Lankan Tamil, 37.5% Sinhalese.

on looming over on all sides. The Province was also left completely neglected by the previous Sri Lankan Governments. Kantalai Sugar Factory, Valachchenai Paper Factory and the export of mineral sands through the Mineral Sands Corporation could be named as the few and only steps taken by the Sri Lankan governments to develop the province.

The Eastern province covers 20% of Sri LankaA?a??a??s sea coast amounting to 420 kms, and possesses the best and beautiful beeches of Arugam Bay, Passekuda and Nilaweli with huge potential for tourist development.

There are 32 rivers flowing to the sea through the province and if the main irrigation systems that exist in the province are properly developed it can once again within a short span of time become the granary of Sri Lanka as it was built by King Saddhatissa. The Trincomalee Harbour, the fishing resources, huge mineral deposits laying untapped in the vast sea bed, wildlife sanctuaries, Kumana bird sanctuary are other economic potentials available in the province.

The terrorist outfit which was chased out by our gallant security forces will never remain at ease with the Sri Lankan government having total control of the Province and establishing the nationA?a??a??s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the province. It would undoubtedly make every attempt to disrupt the election and carry out contract killings and sow dissensions among the masses and even among the candidates, especially in the government group.

Furthermore, since the disruptive activities, horse-trading and even mass killings will not halt the elections and destiny of the Eastern Province remaining a part of Sri LankaA?a??a??s sovereign territory the terrorists outfit will chuck all its strength and financial resources to defeat the government candidates and prevent the Eastern Provincial Council becoming an Administration loyal to the government and associating with the development project underway to change the face of the hitherto backward Eastern Province, and the country reaping fruits from the Eastern Province resources.

While there are several groups in the fray contesting for the 37 Provincial Council seats in the election, the main battle is pitched between the government candidates and a Group of Mishmash that include UNP, SLMC and TNA loyalists contesting as UNP candidates under the Elephant symbol.

The whole election strategy of the UNP, contravening the stance adopted by them in the recent Batticaloa District Local Government Election, was unveiled only after the recent clandestine meeting Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe reportedly had with TNA MPs M.K. Sivajilingam, Selvam Adaikalanathan, N. Srikantha and Suresh Premachandran in Tamil Nadu. The drama of fraudulent resignation of Parliamentary seats by the SLMC red-herrings is also claimed to be part of the strategy adopted at this Tamil Nadu meeting. (The Parliamentary Seats still remain vacant and will be reoccupied by these con-men at the next Pariamentary sittings which will be held after the EP elections).

The terrorists have placed all their resources on this gambling based on the strong voter base UNP possessed in the Eastern Province since 1960s and the popularity it enjoyed among the Tamils with several Tamil MPs getting continuously elected as UNP MPs from the Eastern Province. The SLMC which insisted on contesting only under its Tree symbol shamelessly dropped the demand at the behest of the terrorist outfit for whom the SLMC leader always had strong allegiance over and above the Muslim community.

Under this atmosphere, the Eastern Province Provincial Council Election has become a crucial and a decisive turning point in Sri LankaA?a??a??s very existence as a sovereign nation, in the preservation of the glorious achievement made by the security forces, for upholding the aspirations of the liberated masses to live as equal citizens of the country, to facilitate those who have forsaken terrorism to enter the political mainstream and enjoy the fruits of democracy, and for continuation of the mammoth development work being implemented by the government.

A defeat for the government and election of the UNP Mishmash in this election would cause a colossal disaster to the country and the people of the Eastern Province. It is learnt that one of the major decision taken at the Tamil Nadu meeting was to adopt a resolution by the Provincial Council, if the UNP Mishmash was elected, to annual the demerger, and declare North and East as one single province. Having tasted the damage caused to Sri Lanka and its integrity, the enormous strength the terrorists gained, and the set backs suffered by our security forces, under terrorist appeasement government under Mr. Ranil Wickremasnghe, a Provincial Council under the UNP Mishmash gained power solely under the command of the terrorist outfit, would be a colossal disaster to the Eastern Province and for Sri Lanka as a whole.

It is a national duty and responsibility of each and every Sri Lankan to rise against this alarming danger and urge, canvass and campaign the voters of the Eastern Province to prevent a group of political opportunists getting elected and betray the great victory of liberating the Eastern Province and throw the Eastern Province masses to the jaws of the terrorist enemy,

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source:
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items08/180408-1.html

Mirissa adventure A?a??a?? Foreigners Only

Published on 18/04/2008 in Blogs, people and press coverage. 1 Comment

A?a??A?Damn snobs!!A?a??A? was the exactly what I thought of Mirissa on my first visit thereas every single hotel had boards with thick lettering screaming A?a??A?Foreigners onlyA?a??A?. Even the ones without the sign looked at us locals like we were some sort of parasites A?a??A? I was rather pissed at the whole thing & swore never ever to come back to Mirissa & settled on the nearby quiet town of Weligama (my next post will be on the awesome time we had there) which was extremely hospitable.

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Even after coming back I kept stumbling on travel sites on Mirissa & what a nice beach they have (Which I had to agree with as Mirissa does have a trippy beach!!)A?a??A? However I had sworn never to go back to MirissaA?a??A? I kept remembering the first time I went to Hikkaduwa & Una Watuna although as in any tourist spot in SL people were apprehensionsA?a??a?? about locals but nevertheless they took us in with open arms & that is one reason we never stopped going back there..

After a few months however I met some friends who had good reviews about Mirissa despite my arguments with themA?a??A?. Plus these guys had pretty good reasons why the guys over there acted like all Sri Lankan travelers had the plague!! Anyways since we had a long weekend coming up & also because my plans to visit my meca the holy land of Sri lankan beach destinations A?a??A?ArugambayA?a??A? got foiled I was conviced by a couple of friends to try Mirissa once again (& maybe try see some killer whales also).

I came across www.mirissa.com Buy femara online & I called Sunil the owner of Surf sea breeze who was very gracious & offered us rooms at his joint. I must say Sunil was instrumental in changing my negative view of MirissaA?a??A? But I still wonder A?a??A?Did he give us the rooms because it was off season?? hmmmA?a??A?.

Anyways Mirissa beach was deserted & beautifulA?a??A?Surf see breeze had the best beach spot around right smack in front of the surf point!! amazing surf & plenty of restaurants that were once again kind of iffyA?a??A? but some of them were quite open (In many ways). All in all my Mirissa adventure was fun mainly because of the company I doubt I wouldA?a??a??ve enjoyed this place alone as much as I wouldA?a??a??ve enjoyed any other part of Sri Lanka – where people are friendly regardless of whether I carry dollars & pounds!! In fact I think if it was season & we did go to a rave there we wouldA?a??a??ve bin in for a spot of trouble!!

So I say to Mirissa – A?a??A?Please try change your fucking attitude!!A?a??A? J A?a??A?Thanks Sunil A?a??a?? You made our stay comfortable & I wall always recommend your place to anyone coming to mirissaA?a??A?

You can book surf see breeze by calling Sunil on 0714048084

source:
http://beachbumm.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/mirissa-adventure-%E2%80%93-
foreigners-only/

Eastern Province Muslis and Provincial Council Election

Published on 17/04/2008 in Blogs, people and press coverage. 1 Comment

by M. I. M. Mohideen
In the absence of official figures from the Government Department of Census and Statistics, the population of the Eastern Province and the eligibility to seats in the Provincial Council according to the ethnic ratio may be expressed as follows:

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The ruling UPFA contesting in alliance with the TMVP and the Muslim ministers in the present government has had talks with the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) to form a common list for the Eastern Provincial Council election scheduled to be held on May 10. SLMC had rejected the proposal.

At a meeting of Muslim civil society and religious leaders with the SLMC leader and party High Command members to join all Muslim parties under one common symbol, Mr. Hakeem had said that the SLMC would contest only under their own symbol the Tree.

But the SLMC is now contesting the Eastern Provincial Council election in alliance with the UNP under the Elephant symbol.

The TMVP leader Sivanesan Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan is insisting that a Tamil should be the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province. But President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that the Chief MinisterA?a??a??s post would be available for the party which gets the majority seats at the election.

If Pillayan becomes the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province, he will have at his disposal an armed force of his own and the powers on land, local government and public administration.

………………..

In the last 50 or 60 years, during which Sri Lankan government mounted a constitutional struggle, you will not come across a solitary Muslim voice against the aspirations of the Sinhala people. Muslim representatives did not go before Royal Commissions, or have they gone before the international community with any accusation and sought to blacken the image of Sri Lanka government. In fact, if there is one community that could legitimately complain of being discriminated against in the field of education, land alienation, public administration and security which come under the purview of the state, it could be the Muslims.

There are a number of events occurring in the East which directly affect the Muslim people. Muslims cannot understand why the government is not taking their concerns seriously. They have the feeling that they are being left to the grace and favour and the mercy of the TMVP which is a heavily armed terrorist organisation with a high record of atrocities against the Muslims in the East.

After the ceasefire during the UNP regime, the Muslims have been denied access to mosques during mass agitation promoted by the LTTE. Further, there are the incidents at Muttur, Kinniya, Valachenai, Eravur, Addalachchenai and Akkaraipattu where the LTTE – Karuna / Pillayan group and other Tamil militants destroyed properties worth billions and abducted and killed hundreds of Muslims while praying in mosques.

LTTE-Tamils are unlawfully occupying 63,000 acres of agricultural land belonging to 15,000 Muslim Families in the East.

Ampara District

Former Muslim majority Panamapattu DRO Division, 472 sq. miles, population 26,916. When redemarcating the new administrative divisions, 19,831 – 74% Muslim Majority Pottuvil AGA Division was given only 22% – 103.9 sq. miles and the balance 78% – 368.2 sq. miles land area was allocated to the 7,085 – 26% Sinhala majority Lahugala AGA division. Now the Sinhalese and the STF in Lahugala are objecting the Muslims cultivating the state land which they have been cultivating on government permit earlier.

In the Sammanthurai Muslim majority DRO division, nearly 50 sq. miles of land area covering the Hardy Institute, Ampara Tank and the Town area was separated and added to the Sinhala majority Wewagampattu South – Uhana AGA division.

When compared with the land area of Sinhala majority Lahugala AGA division and the land areas of Muslim majority Kalmunai AGA division, the Sinhalese are having 208 times more than the land area of the Muslims. When comparing the land areas for the Sinhalese with the land area for the Muslims in the Muslim Majority Ampara District, the Sinhalese land area is 13 times more than the Muslim land area.

Batticaloa District

Serious issues have been raised by Muslims of Batticaloa on the ongoing activities of the several international organizations assisted by the government and the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) in resettling the displaced Tamils on lands owned by the Muslims.

After 1985, LTTE forcibly occupied Muslim residential, agricultural and cattle farming lands – more than 35,000 acres in areas under their control. The GOSL did nothing to restore these properties owned by the Muslims on title deeds, government permits and the paddy cultivation register.

The displaced Muslims suffered untold hardships during the last 22 years. Now after the GOSL cleared these areas of the LTTE, the TVMP of Pillayan with the help of the government security

forces and INGO assistance, is putting up permanent houses, churches, temples and schools in the Muslim lands forcibly occupied by the LTTE without any consideration for MuslimsA?a??a?? right to settle the displaced Muslims who are the lawful owners of these lands.

The Batticaloa district consists of 14 Pradeshiya Sabhas and covering an extent of 2633 sq. km. There are four predominantly Muslim DS divisions and the land area – Kattankudi 3.4 sq. km. Eravur Town 3.89 sq. km., Koralaipaththu West (Ottamavadi) 6.84 sq. km. Koralaipaththu Central 6.50 sq. km. Total extent of Muslim land area approximately 20.0 sq. km., which is less than 1.0% of the total area of Batticaloa District where the Muslim population is 33% today.

Although the Local Government Commission declared Koralaipaththu Central – the area of historical habitation of the Muslims, covering more than 240 sq. km. and consisting of 11 Grama Sevaka Niladhari divisions, the boundaries have not yet been demarcated on ground. The TMVP of Pillayan has encroached on more than 110 sq. km.

Of the agricultural and cattle farm lands, more than 12,000 acres owned by the Eravur Muslims lie along the Chenkaladi – Badulla – A5 road. Today the entire area along this road has come under the control of GOSL armed forces. Arrangements are being made now to bring back the Tamils who have been unlawfully occupying Muslim lands and settle them permanently by the TMVP of Pillayan and the Government armed forces without any consideration of the displaced Muslims by the LTTE.

During the ethnic conflict 1983, 1985, 1990 etc., more than 12,700 Muslim families were chased out by the LTTE and they forcibly occupied all the Muslim lands that came under LTTE control. The GOSL did nothing to provide any relief or pay compensation for the loss of livelihood of these displaced Muslims.

Resettlement of displaced Tamils on Muslim land in Iyankeni, Meerakerni, Mitchanagar, Hidayathanagar, Thakvanagar in and around Eravurpathu Pradeshiya Sabha would further deteriorate the peaceful co-existence of Muslims and Tamils in Eravur.

Ollikulam, Sikaram, Karbela, Palamunai, Kankayan Odai, Keechampallam are the Muslim border villages of Kattankudi in Arayampathi Pradeshiya Sabha. Displaced Tamils after the A?a??E?TsunamiA?a??a?? and GOSL military operations to flush the LTTE terrorists in the Paduvankarai Tamil villages have been temporarily settled in private lands owned by the Muslims and the Mosques. Now the TMVP of Pillayan with the assistance of government armed forces and help from INGOA?a??a??s is making arrangements to provide accommodation to settle the displaced Tamils who have come from Paduwankarai Tamil areas, permanently on land belonging to the Muslims and the mosques, depriving the Muslims, the lands belonging to them.

Trincomalee District

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Kuchchaveli in Trincomalee district is a predominantly Muslim area. Total population 29,967 and 8,058 families. 65% Muslims 19,443, 31% Tamils 9,282, 3% Christians 905 and 01% Sinhalese 337. Kuchchaveli Pradeshiya Sabha 9 members, Muslims 6, Tamils 3.

But the Divisional Secretary is a Tamil in the predominantly Muslim division. Of the total number of 24 grama niladharies 65% Muslims are given only 7 GSs and the balance 17 GSs are given to the Tamils who are only 35%. Average population of a Tamil GS division is 250 people whereas the population in the Muslims GS division is around 1350.

After de-merging in October 2006, the Eastern Province administration is being ethnically transformed. Appointing retired administrative and security officials well-equipped to implement the A?a??E?SinhalisationA?a??a?? process.

Sri Lanka government has designed a new flag for the Eastern Province. The Muslim community which is the largest ethnic group in the East today has raised serious concern over the failure of the government to recognise this community by not printing any symbol in the flag to represent the Muslims.

Although the Muslims have not staged a war against the government of Sri Lanka for the settlement of our grievances, they are the worst affected lot in the East. The Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, the 13th amendment to the constitution and the provisions of the Provincial Council Act have failed to meet the legitimate and reasonable demands of the Muslims. They have failed to protect our lives and properties. They have failed to promote socio-economic interest of our people. They have failed to recognise the different ethnic and political aspiration of the Muslims. This total disregard shown to Muslim sentiments brings to surface one truth – the government has little or no concern about the safety and security of the Muslim people in the North-East.

Muslims should consider more seriously the present trend and take immediate steps to safeguard our legitimate rights in an appropriate manner. If proper safeguards are not secured now it would amount to be the biggest betrayal of not only the present generation but also those yet to be born in the Eastern province as Muslims.

Land, security, allocation of legitimate share of state land and natural resources to predominantly Muslim local bodies and the resettlement of Muslim IDPs and Tsunami victims are the serious issues that the Eastern Province Muslims are facing today. Therefore it is very important that the majority Muslim community should take control of the Eastern Provincial Council with a Muslim Chief Minister.

source:
http://www.island.lk/2008/04/17/features1.html

Rise in Muslim discontent

Published on 16/04/2008 in Blogs and press coverage. Closed

By Col R Hariharan (retd.)

The political style of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his use of military option in handling the Tamil insurgency have split almost all political parties which have been compelled to make hard political choices. Starting with the United Nationl Party (UNP), the latest episode in the “split-story” is the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).The smaller parties did not split but joined the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) bandwagon enjoying the perks of office. Those who have resisted have generally put paid for their demeanour. But the hardest hit in this political maelstrom is the Muslim political leadership, notably the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC).

With the fourth edition of the Eelam War raging in the north, the sharing of power between ethnic communities is as yet an undecided issue. With President Rajapaksa representing the larger section of Southern Sinhala viewpoint, Cheapest place to order estrace cream both the Tamil and Muslim communities need strong and unified leaderships to workout an equitable solution to power sharing.

Among Muslim leaders, particularly of the SLMC, the peace process 2002 created a feeling of disappointment. The peace talks between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) excluded direct and separate representation to the Muslim community, who inhabit large areas in the northeast. They feared the devolution process would bypass Muslim interests by default. Efforts of Rauff Hakeem to muscle into the process through direct deal with Prabhakaran, the LTTE leader, resulted in empty words. The demand for equitable role for Muslms in the peace process on their own right was never taken seriously by other stakeholders including the international community.

Similar was the experience of the Muslim community which bore a major brunt of the devastation of the tsunami strike in December 2005. Their relief measures were slow in coming. And they were unhappy that their woes did not get the adequate attention they deserved. These experiences have glaringly showed the inadequacy of Muslim leadership to articulate their viewpoint.

These came on top of a similar experience in the past when India actively intervened in the period 1983 to 1987 in support of the Tamil cause that culminated in the India- Sri Lanka Agreement 1987. Then also the Muslim community felt their interests had been marginalised in the devolution stakes. At that time the Muslim polity had no independent articulation but had tried to find a place within the leadership of the two major national parties. And the elections taking place now in the east are only a resurgence of the very same form of provincial level devolution. So it will probably revive the old fears of alienation. And the Muslim population is politically more conscious than ever before. So the feeling of alienation could be stronger if the elections are not conducted fairly.

Muslim leadership and the PC elections

With the President talking of democratisation of the east, the time has come for Muslims to demand a share of the pie in the power structure. This would also set a precedence for their share in power in the national dispensations in the future as and when the war ends (!). If the Muslim leaders fail to achieve this they are likely to become non entities in the eyes of the people. This has created a crisis of sorts for the Muslim polity in participating in the forthcoming provincial council elections in the eastern province. The crisis has three major facets.

The first relates to handling President Rajapaksa’s desire to play an assertive role in the east, so that the ruling UPFA coalition (and as a corollary Sri Lanka Freedom Party A?a??a??SLFP) can gain a firm foothold cashing upon their military success against the LTTE. Rajapaksa has shown remarkable political savvy in understanding the weakness of Muslim leadership which is split and easily satisfied with political pickings. So he struck a deal with the community leaders (Jamaat) directly and that acted as a hidden persuader in working out support for the UPFA. Only Rauf Hakeem of the SLMC appears to be trying to be free of the “Rajapaksa embrace” perhaps to save his own identity as the true successor of MHM Ashraff.

Rauff Hakeem’s fears are not unjustified. The President’s new thrust lines of politics in the east involve coalition with the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), who are still armed and have a dubious record of acts of violence and intimidation against Muslims. If TMVP establishes itself in the corridors of power, life could become difficult for Muslims. Moreover, in the near term, if the President succeeds it could end the carefully nuanced Muslim leadership’s tactics of “milking” maximum benefit out of the traditional antagonism between the SLFP and its bA?A?te noire the UNP. In some distant future it holds the potential to evolve a Tamil-Sinhala political coalition at the cost of Muslim interests in the power play. This unlikely happening could throw the Muslims into political wilderness.

The second facet relates to the importance the eastern provincial council elections hold for Muslim political identity. The fact that three senior Muslim members of parliament resigned their membership to participate in the provincial council poll shows this. This comes out of what they feel as justifiable claims to have an elected body of their choice with a Muslim chief minister. This is not an unrealistic thought. By most counts (though often unreliable) Muslims have emerged as the biggest population group in the east touching around 42 per cent of the total. It is this desire to capture power that has made two prominent Muslim leaders – Hizbullah and Rauff Hakeem – choose opposite political camps. Hizbullah has chosen to partner the UPFA while Hakeem is going along with the UNP agreeing to put up candidates of SLMC to contest with UNP symbol. His choice is probably driven by Gasex online dating the fear of Rajapaksa’s domination which he perceives as Southern Sinhala assertion.

Lastly, the success of the Muslim leaders in the election is going to determine the pecking order of Muslim leadership in the national sphere. But with the TMVP domination of the Batticaloa district and the uncertain dimensions of Sinhala support in what had been traditional UNP strongholds, any split in Muslim votes could result in the diminution of an independent Muslim political articulation. So far the Muslim politicians have been able to achieve much using their clout with whosoever is in power. But the moment the relevance of their support diminishes such achievements could become uncertain.

Some of the problems faced by Sri Lanka’s Muslim population are similar to those faced by Muslims in many countries where they are a minority. These are mostly related to the inherent contradictions within the Muslim Ummah in reconciling increased assertion of Islamic identity with that of national one. Thanks to the more accommodative Sufi beliefs of most of the Sri Lankan Muslims to a large extent this problem has been managed well despite periodic confrontation with the increasing spread of fundamentalist Wahabi influence.

Despite minor sectarian skirmishes between the two, so far the community has managed to keep them within manageable proportions, thanks to the pragmatic approach of Muslim population and its leaders. If there is a perceived threat to the Muslim identity the Wahabis are likely to take advantage and use it as a lever to spread their influence. And it is good to remember that unfettered spread of Wahabi influence has led to the growth of aggressive fundamentalism of the Taliban type in many countries. Similar potential exists in arming Muslim private militias which could come into being as a response to TMVP depredation if it continues after the elections. And political disillusionment is the first step to these unhealthy developments.

The observation of International Crisis Group on the subject in their report of May 29, 2007 aptly sums up the whole situation: There is no guarantee that this commitment to non-violence will continue, particularly given the frustration noticeable among younger Muslims in the Eastern province. In some areas there are Muslim armed groups but they are small and not a major security threat. Fears of armed Islamist movements emerging seem to be exaggerated, often for political ends. Small gangs have been engaged in semi-criminal activities and intra-religious disputes, but there is a danger they will take on a role in inter-communal disputes if the conflict continues to impinge upon the security of co-religionists.

Such a development should not be dismissed casually. The weakened Muslim leadership could well be swept aside if the community loses its confidence in the present scheme of things. (In this context, it is probably too early to comment on the impact of Paistan President Musharraf’s generous offer to help Sri Lanka’s fight against terror. But when such an offer comes from a leader, who had unhesitatingly used the same terror weapon in neighbouring countries in the past through proxies guided by the ISI machinery it has dangerous portends.) This should be the last thing all communities in this troubled province need. To avoid such a development, the work is cut out for all stakeholders in and out of power to ensure a fair representation for all communities. Specifically the needs of the hour are as follows –

The administration should run a free and fair election without stuffing of ballots or intimidation to keep voters away from exercising their franchise. The UPFA leadership in particular should run a tight ship avoiding the temptation to use the TMVP muscle power to ensure victory, as the opposition is already voicing their suspicion. One way of achieving this is to have international election observers present during the election process and providing unfettered media access during the run up to the elections and voting.

Have a proactive internal security plan in place to ensure communal confrontation does not erupt even accidentally.

Muslim leadership inside the coalitions should ensure the tradeoffs are not short term. It is high time the leadership united on major issues of community and national interests rather than think on personal considerations. A major weakness is the leadership’s inability to think and act proactively. This can come through if only the work out a larger consultative coalition outside party folds to serve the commom interests of the community.

http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=12043

Nothing but sheer madness!

Published on 15/04/2008 in Blogs, people and press coverage. 0 Comments

Suicidal tendencies of politicians are monumental, as we have been repeating umpteen times in these columns. Lured by prospects of gaining political mileage, they resort to death-defying acts bordering on plain stupidity, which are suggestive of a kind of death wish. In so doing, they endanger not only their lives but also those of the ordinary people.

The government, we are told, is toying with the idea of having its May Day rally in Ampara by way of a show of strength in view of the upcoming Eastern PC polls. The proponents of this harebrained political project seem to think that turning Ampara into a sea of people for a few hours is the surest way to eclipse the UNP-SLMC combine and demoralise its supporters. PretenceA?a??a??or boru showA?a??a??is part and parcel of Sri Lankan politics. All political parties are notorious for transporting people to their rallies from distant places. The two main parties even dish out free food and liquorA?a??a?? mainly sachets of kasippu (rot-gut)A?a??a??to those who take part in their political circuses. For a rally, say, in Kandy, people are bussed from places as far away as Moneragala, free of charge. (Today, NGOs are emulating the SLFP and the UNP to attract crowds to their events in a bid to impress their donors.) Diclofenac over the counter nz

This certainly is not the time for such gimmicks, especially in the Eastern Province. The LTTE has manifestly lost the East and it is unlikely that the outfit will be able to stage a comeback. But, it is capable of launching small scale terror strikes in any part of the country. Its sparrow units have struck in areas like Buttala and Hambegamuwa, killing dozens of people and injuring scores of others. All it takes for the LTTE to disrupt a rally is a single suicide bomber.

It was at a May Day procession that the LTTE assassinated President Ranasinghe Premadasa, one of the most protected leaders in the world. It has attacked a number of political rallies with devastating impact. Leader of the Opposition and UNP Presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake and several other UNP stalwarts were assassinated at one of the UNP meetings at Thotalanga in 1994. President Chandrika Kumaratunga had a narrow escape at the conclusion of her final presidential election campaign meeting in 1999. A group of Opposition heavyweights perished in a suicide attack on a UNP meeting on the same day.

This is not the time, we repeat, for mass gatherings. PoliticiansA?a??a?? wisdom of holding May Day rallies anywhere at this juncture must, therefore, be questioned. The cancellation of a May Day rally is not an act of cowardice but the most sensible thing to do at a time when the war is raging in the Wanni and the LTTE is looking for something to offset the battlefield gains of the military. Nothing hurts the Tigers more than the fact that their invincibility pretensions have taken a serious dent at the hands of the military. They will do anything to boost the morale of their combatants. They will baulk at nothing in their desperate efforts to achieve that objective.

Ironically, it was only the other day that the government media announced that the ruling party politicians had been warned against making public appearances owing to high security threats against them. At a May Day rally, they will be there in their hundreds, exposing not only themselves but also those around them to terror strikes like the recent one that killed Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle.

Why should politicians get involved in May Day rallies in the first place? The International WorkersA?a??a?? Day has nothing to do with politicians. They had better leave that to workers!

The government-TMVP alliance and the UNP-SLMC coalition have turned the Eastern PC polls into a prestige battle. However hard they may try to flex muscles, it is doubtful that their vainglorious shows of strength will sway easterners, who will have to be assured of their safety and helped rebuild their lives.

We thought the government was confident when it threw down the gauntlet for the PC polls in the East. It has banished the LTTE from that province and initiated a number of massive development projects besides having the entire state machinery at its disposal. The JVPA?a??a??s conflict couldnA?a??a??t have come at a better time for the government as regards the Eastern polls, where the anti UNP-SLMC vote will be split due to the JVP’s entry into the fray. The intraparty dispute of the JVP has left a bad taste in many a mouth and many voters who would have voted with the JVP at a future election is utterly disillusioned. The recent vehicle robberies and incidents of assault and intimidation have evoked memories of JVPA?a??a??s reign of terror (1987-89). The government also seems to think that its alliance with the TMVP which is on a mission to liberate the East from the domination of the North will help secure a sizeable chunk of the Tamil vote.

Minomycin online dating The UNP-SLMC combine has sought to pooh-pooh military victories and development projects in the East. It is eyeing a block vote, especially in the Muslim areas and banking on a possible protest vote from the Tamils opposed to the TMVP and sympathetic to the LTTE in addition to the traditional UNP vote in the East.

Thus, the challenge before the government is how to eat into the SLMC vote bank and win over the Tamils whom it has antagonised through its military campaign and alliance with the TMVP. The UNP-SLMC coalition will have to give the people an alternative to the governmentA?a??a??s development projects and tell them what it proposes to do with the present military strategy and the de-merger. For, the government has apparently sought to give the people a choice between voting with it and losing development projects as well as paving the way for the LTTEA?a??a??s return.

These are not objectives that could be achieved through a show of strength. They need a great deal of effective campaigning at the grassroots level.

Boru shows serve little purpose in this regard. They only expose political leaders and their followers to danger.

source:
http://www.island.lk/2008/04/15/editorial.html

East Coast: “Best Beaches”

Published on 12/04/2008 in Blogs, people, press coverage and Security & Safety. 0 Comments

I wish that JVP is undivided

The Indian support to implement the 13th Amendment to solve the national problem is still in the fore mainly on platforms of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which is now facing with the serious internal crisis, paving the way for a party division.

Pix Thilak Perera
The Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa, who said that he does not have the A?a??E?remote deviceA?a??a?? to exercise control on the government, added that the government would seek the assistance of countryA?a??a??s closest neighbour India to resolve the national problem as mentioned in the A?a??E?Mahinda ChinthanaA?a??a??.

Rajapaksa told the A?a??E?Sunday ObserverA?a??a?? that the JVP has done blunders against India throughout its history and as a result, the outcome was badly affected the future of the country. A?a??A?I think another blunder by them, in this regard is in the makingA?a??A?, he said.

Talking about the JVPA?a??a??s future he said he personally wished that all JVPers be brought together as it is still a prominent force in Sri Lankan politics.

Following are the excerpts:

Q: President Rajapaksa had appointed three operational committees for the forthcomingEastern Provincial Council elections. Late Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle was in charge of one of these committees. How will you be able to face the election without him and who is next in line to fill the void?

A: It is a huge loss. In the Eastern Province majority speaks Tamil. Minister Jeyaraj was very fluent in all three languages and a seasoned campaigner.

He has been involved with the East for several years and more so after the liberation of the East. It is a big setback to the government. I have not been aware of as to who will be appointed the chief Government Whip but that will be decided upon by the President soon.

The President has appointed another team under the able leadership of Minister Maithripala Sirisena to handle the election campaign in the Trincomalee district.

Q: While the development projects in the East are progressing, some claim that they have been stalled with only the name boards or foundation laying ceremonies. What is your comment?

A: How can it be limited to mere name boards or foundation stones. Those who have not moved around in these areas can say anything. People are happy with the progress in the Eastern province which has been neglected for decades.

I have never seen a province like this, being neglected since the time the Britishers left. It has a sea belt of about 420 km covering a 20 percent of the sea coast of the entire country. Out of the 102 rivers in Sri Lanka, 32 of them flow into the sea from this region. One third of the main irrigation systems is located here.

The best beaches – Arugam Bay, Nilaweli and Paseekudha are pride of the province. One of the finest ports – the Trincomalee Harbour, wildlife sanctuaries including the Kumana bird sanctuary, are in the East. This province has plenty of wealth and great potential for development.

The development projects in the East are going ahead. The government has allocated money for these development projects giving top priority. The development work has commenced already but our plans are to hand over these projects to the people of the East after the elections, because people who will benefit from these projects should be partners of these projects as well.

The Centre has done its responsibility by liberating the East from the clutches of the LTTE, thanks to President Rajapaksa and the Security Forces, who had established the civil administration with a comprehensive development plan to develop the East.

These projects include livelihood, infrastructure and other sectoral development. So the Government believes that it is time for the people, who are the beneficiaries should take over. The Centre must not do interfere from then on.

Q: A massive sum of money has been allocated to these projects in the East. What is the guarantee that these monies would not be mismanaged by politicians at different levels?

A: There are lots of mechanisms adopted to monitor these activities. One is the Provincial Council. The authority to spend money on these projects will be given to them. The Councils will decide on their priorities in the province and the manner in which the allocations should be used. Then we have the local bodies which also have the right to decide what to do in their respective areas. The mechanism has already been set in place.

But that does not mean that from the day these systems are in operation there will be no corruption. You cannot bring it down to zero level. Even our religious leaders tried to stop the corruption but it still exists. The Mahinda Rajapaksa government is trying its best to stop corruption and wastage of funds, and to bring the culprits to book.

Q: Human Rights groups are criticising Sri Lanka and have categorised Sri Lanka as one with the worst human rights violations. How does the government face these allegations?

A: I think we have faced the allegations very well. At the Geneva sessions when this came up but due to our extensive explanations put forward by our group including Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe and the Ambassador Dayan Jayathilleke we got a patient and understanding hearing. It was proved that Sri Lanka was intact safeguarding human rights.

Some of the allegations were proved to be baseless and majority of the international community gave the full backing to Sri Lanka. I feel that we should take the allegations seriously. They do not know the ground realities of our country and not have not even visited us.

They do not talk about human rights violations in their own countries. As a responsible government we are ready to face any criticism and Mahinda Rajapaksa government is always bound to protect rights of all the people in this country.

Q: However much the government tries to correct the picture, the negative messages do reach the West. Why does the government fail to counteract the LTTE backed propaganda in an effective manner?

A: I do not think we have failed because we have faced them all very effectively so far. There are two things that the government thought in counteracting these allegations. One is through propaganda where the LTTE tells the international community that the outfit is militarily strong and has the support of Tamils.

The government is taking every possible step to educate the international community on the truth through the media, especially through web sites and even at international forum. The local government election was the best example that had disproved the LTTE propaganda. It showed how much confidence the Tamils have in the government and also in democracy. People want to be free from LTTE control.

Militarily the government is going ahead crushing terrorism and will continue to defeat the outfitA?a??a??s last stronghold – Kilinochchi.

The other way of counteracting LTTE propaganda is through the media. We have powerful web sites. The Defence web site is an effective tool in this regard and it is 10 times more powerful than the Tamil Net.

But at this point I want to reiterate that instead of the LTTE, the UNP has become the voice of the LTTE. I think bulk of the LTTE propaganda is not done by the LTTE but by the UNP, for the LTTE. That is our main problem and we need to counter that. I think people have to pay for the actions of these elements.

Q: The JVP has accused the government for seeking the support of India to solve our national problem. Do you think that India has hidden agendas in trying to help us?

A: That is the JVPA?a??a??s view. The government strongly believes that India can play a very vital role in solving the national problem.

In the Mahinda Chinthanaya it is very clearly mentioned that we should get the support of India and our other neighbours. Our government has close ties with India. When we talk of India, throughout its history the JVP has made blunders which had badly affected the future of this country. I think another blunder by them in this regard is coming up.

Why should they have hidden agendas? I agree that every country has its own commercial agendas. Even we have our own, where we want to capture the market. So that is upto India to decide whether they could help us or achieving their own agendas. But as a country we are more independent in making our decisions.

Q: But President Rajapaksa has recently said that he is personally not for the 13th Amendment. The SLFP had opposed it during late President J.R. JayewardeneA?a??a??s regime. Therefore people have their doubts that this new move by the present government is just to please the international community. How genuine is the government in trying to solve the national problem under the 13th Amendment?

A: The Mahinda Rajapaksa government is totally committed to solve the national problem. It was one of the main pledges President Rajapaksa made before the elections. We do not want to please the international community.

Then, if we are not genuine why should the government take all the trouble to hold local government elections and again the provincial council elections in the East. Because the government wants the people to experience their fundamental rights in power sharing.

This government is doing its best to solve the national problem by addressing the grievances of the Tamil people. We do not have any other intentions. We have very well said that by giving power to the provincial councils is not going to be end in solving the national problem. It is only the beginning.

Q: The government had pledged to end the war before the end of 2007. But it was reported that at the recent Security Council meeting with the President, the service commanders had drawn the deadline as 2009. Why it is going to be dragged on for another year?

A: I do not know about this. I am not aware of these dates and targets. What I can say is that Sri Lanka has become a united country after several decades. The national flag will fly high in all the 25 districts and people enjoy the true freedom now. They will celebrate this New Year with total freedom. The Mahinda Rajapaksa government is confident that our Security Forces will liberate the people who are suffering in the LTTE held territories shortly. The morale of the soldiers is high. They are going ahead with military offensives in their mission to capture Wanni.

I have visited Silawatura, Weli oya and Mannar fronts last week. The troops are advancing steadily. People in those areas are waiting for the military to liberate them. When the soldiers went down with Chikungunya, people treated them. This shows they are in need of freedom and sick of LTTE terrorism.

Q: Once you had invited the LTTE for peace talks. How feasible is this invitation today, while the military is successfully going ahead ?

A: Military operations and peace talks are two different issues. In the Mahinda Chinthana the government had clearly mentioned our intention to solve the national problem through a negotiated settlement.

Still we are trying our best to maintain that position. However, as I said earlier the doors are open for the LTTE to resume peace talks. The problem here is the genuiness of the LTTE in peace talks.

Q:The JVP which has claimed to be the third force in the country has been divided into two segments. How do you see its future ?

A: I do not know whether it is divided or not. I do not want to comment on this issue.

But I personally wish the JVP should not be divided into fragments because it is considered to be a very prominent force in this country.

Q: Your brother, Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is keen on a ban on the LTTE immediately. What is your stance as the senior Advisor to the President ?

A: Retin-a cost without insurance I think he has made this remark considering the defence and legal aspects. But, we have to think about other aspects before agreeing to a ban. So I think the President and the government will decide to ban the LTTE at the right time. I think the LTTE too has a role to play not to force the President to impose the ban. If the LTTE continues with their violent activities the government may naturally go for a ban, in the future. It is upto the LTTE.

Q: Is there any truth in that, some UNPers will be joining the government soon?

A: I normally do not listen to these types of talks but every day someone or other is joining us. Some had the habit of going and some coming in. Yes. We have invited some UNPers but I do not know whether they will join us or not. I am not sure as yet. It is still at negotiation stage. Doors of the UPFA government are open to everyone who likes to join the government. It is politics.

Q: You had several rounds of discussions with the SLMC Leader Rauf Hakeem. What went wrong?

A: Nothing went wrong. But from the beginning we knew that Ranil Wickremesinghe and Hakeem will get together at the end. But I tried to invite the SLMC as a party and therefore met its leader. Unfortunately Hakeem joined the UNP but many SLMC members are now with the government. We do not have to worry.

Q: The TMVP is still accused of harassing and intimidating senior Tamil politicians. What are the measures taken by the government to control their activities?

A: I do not know any such Tamil political party leader who was harassed by the TMVP because all the Tamil leaders are now with the TMVP.

Those who are not with the TMVP are either in Colombo or abroad. Therefore how can the TMVP harass them?

Q: The main reason for carrying arms according to the TMVP is that they need security.

So is the government ready to give them maximum security and thereby disarm them?

A: Yes, we are ready only if they ask for more security. The government will not only provide security for the TMVP but also for other political parties who are under threat. The government is ready to provide security for UNPers if they ask for security. The other thing, other than the security forces, I have never seen a TMVP cadre carrying arms.

Q: Is that true that instead of disarming the Pillaiyan group they are allowed to build up their military camps in the East now ?

A: The important thing I want to emphasise here is that no one should call them as Pillaiyan group, because it is a recognised political party now. It is now the TMVP not the Pillaiyan group.

We do not call Bumiputhra party as Harishchandra group. It is a political party which has recorded a victory.

After liberating the East the government did not allow anybody to establish camps but there were some camps in the East before liberation. They are allowed to continue to function because of their safety.

They are limited to those areas. I have never seen them although I have gone to the East several times. But I have information about these camps.

Q: If they are a recognised political party, can the government allow them to have military camps ?

A: The government does not allow anyone to run military camps in the East. I agree the TMVP has their former camps and who is going to provide them security.

During the CFA lots of cadres laid down their arms as to what had happened. They were massacred. So who is going to give the TMVP this guarantee that same unfortunate occurrence would not happen to TMVP cadres.

Q: Will this huge Cabinet be reduced to 35 soon?

A: No, I do not know. But why should we reduce the Cabinet while the Ministers are doing a good job.

Q: Some people have fixed the tag A?a??E?remote controlA?a??a?? of Mahinda Rajapaksa government to Mr. Basil Rajapaksa. Is that true ?

Cheap acivir 800 A: If I can control the government as simply as they think why should we have a big Cabinet. I am not controlling the government but I only advise the President in certain areas.

Who is Basil Rajapaksa …

He still recalls nostalgic memories of his childhood, where as a A?a??E?gangA?a??a?? of six boysA?a??a?? and three girls, they spent their holiday mischievously in their ancestral home at Medamulana, Weeraketiya, the residence of State Councillor and Deputy Speaker Don Alwin Rajapaksa.

Their father, one of the freedom fighters, did not want his A?a??E?small army of little boysA?a??a?? to be politicianA?a??a??s sons. Rajapaksa brought up his children just as ordinary children who have tough skins to face any challenge in the future.

The Rajapaksa brothers lost their father when they were young; the fifth boy was studying for his Ordinary Level Examination at Ananda College, Colombo at that time. A?a??A? We had a very happy and enjoyable childhood. We were fortunate to have very loving parentsA?a??A?, reminisced Parliamentarian Basil Rohana Rajapaksa.

Hardly getting a chance to spend a day with the whole gang, the six boys were never seen at home together.

When one of them was at home, the others were engaged in some activity or other somewhere. A?a??A?It was very rare for all of us, especially the boys to be seen at home together in a given day. Someone is out all the time A?a??A?, Basil, who is one of the busiest Parliamentarians today, said.

A?a??A?Be down to earthA?a??A?, that was the finest lesson that the young Rajapaksas learnt from their father who always tried to find solace in simplicity.

He shared his time with ordinary farmers in a kamatha (paddy field) or at one of their houses.

A?a??A?He visited every house in our village and used to have tea or coffee with them. He was a simple and ordinary man. Our father wanted us to be normal children not as children of a politicianA?a??A?, he said.

Yet to complete his learning from his big brother – the President of this country – Basil said that he has a lot to learn from A?a??E?lokku aiyaA?a??a??.

Calling his A?a??E?aiyaA?a??a??, a man of courage and a tolerance, Basil said the biggest lesson that he learnt from President Mahinda Rajapaksa is his tolerance. A?a??A?He was harassed by lots of people, especially the SLFP leadership. Though he was the youngest MP of the party then he became the Assistant Secretary of the party 10 years after me, in 1989A?a??A?, he said.

Among the six boys – Chamal, Mahinda, Chandra, Gotabhaya, Basil and Dudley – guess who the naughtiest was?

According to the Senior Presidential Advisor, the mischievous and naughtiest was the young man Mahinda.

With no specific aim in life to become the Prime Minister or the President of this country, he said that he had to fulfil all his goals with his childrenA?a??a??s education. The only wish now on his cards, as he said, is to be his big brotherA?a??a??s advisor and help him to develop this country and to bring peace.

The most unforgettable incident in his life …guess ! Being sworn in as an MP amidts pandemonium in the Parliament, delivering the maiden speech as an MP or being appointed as the Presidential Advisor to his brother. None of these.

A?a??A?It was the day I met my fiancee, Pushpa. I will never forget that dayA?a??A?, recalled this tough looking MP.

The dream wedding was cancelled with the death of George Rajapaksa and later the couple had to go to the RegistrarA?a??a??s office with late Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle as one of the attesting witnesses at the betrothal.

Some of the Rajapaksa brothers took to the family tradition of wearing the earthy-brown shawl – kurahan satakaya- representing kurakkan cultivation in their village.

Basil Rajapaksa strongly wants to be A?a??E?BASIL RAJAPAKSAA?a??a??, the farmer in his own home garden when he is relieved of all his official duties.

source:
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2008/04/13/pol001.asp

Eastern province: Impact of altered demographics

Published on 12/04/2008 in Blogs, Money Matters, people, press coverage and Security & Safety. 0 Comments

by Neville Ladduwahetty

Following every terrorist act in Sri Lanka there arises a refrain that the countryA?a??a??s conflict cannot be resolved militarily, followed by the proposition that since the conflict is essentially political in nature, the focus should be on finding an acceptable political arrangement instead of the military approach currently pursued. However, it must be conceded that there is a nexus between political goals and the choice of means and tactics, which in Sri LankaA?a??a??s case has been determined by the LTTE to be a separate state won through an armed conflict.

The leaders of the civil rights movement in the US realizing this nexus, consciously and deliberately decided on non-violence as the means to achieve their goals. By contrast, the Sri Lankan Tamil community resolved with conscious deliberation to resort to an armed conflict to achieve their political goal of a separate state. Under the circumstances, the choice for the Sri Lankan state has been to either to accept the creation of a separate state or to resist such a creation by neutralizing the means to create it. Since the choice undoubtedly has to be for the latter course, there is no option but meet the military threat militarily. Furthermore, as long as both positions remain unchanged, the armed conflict would continue. For there to be peace, therefore, either the Sri Lankan state has to accept the idea of a separate state, or the LTTE has to abandon its goal and dismantle the means as well.

Since it is the LTTE that has set the goal and adopted the means, the only option available to the Sri Lankan state is to address the military capabilities of the LTTE and weaken it to a point where the LTTE realizes that a separate state through armed conflict is not a realistic proposition. It was the reaching of such a point in the dynamics of the Northern Ireland conflict that forced the IRA leadership to abandon violence and seek a negotiated solution. A similar realization dawned on the Ache rebels when the tsunami of 2004 destroyed their military capabilities.

A similar dynamic has to occur in Sri Lanka for the LTTE to realize that the original goal is an unrealistic proposition. It would be only at such a point that the LTTE would be prepared to consider alternatives to its original proposition. The weaker the LTTE, the more significant would be the shift from their original position. Therefore, the military capabilities of the LTTE have a direct bearing on the nature and scope of the political arrangement that the LTTE would accept and which the rest of the country would tolerate.

This military/political dynamic was reached in the Eastern Province. It was the neutralization of the military capabilities of the LTTE in the Eastern Province that has paved the way for Peoples of the Eastern Province to exercise their civil and political rights. This and other developments taking place in the Eastern Province could very well undermine the whole concept of a separate state; a notion that is clearly NOT viable without the Eastern Province.

GROUND REALITIES

An imperceptible but pertinent fact that is emerging is the demographic changes in the Eastern Province. These changes have gone unnoticed since the Census of 1981. The 2007 enumeration conducted by the Census and Statistics Department reveal that the Muslims are not only a majority in the province but also that they are the majority in the Districts of Trincomalee and Ampara. This trend could lead to the Eastern Province becoming the territorial base of political power for the Muslims.

According to the data in the Preliminary Report of 2007 the distribution within the province is: Muslims 40%, Tamils 38% and the Sinhalese 22%. According to the Report the distribution by district is: Trincomalee District: 45.4% Muslim, 28.6% Sri Lankan Tamils, 25.4% Sinhalese; Batticaloa District: 25% Muslim, 74% Sri Lankan Tamil, 0.5% Sinhalese; and Ampara District: 44% Muslim, 18.3% Sri Lankan Tamil, 37.5% Sinhalese. These ground realities could have a profound effect on the short and long term trajectories of power sharing arrangements in Sri Lanka.

The immediate impact of this statistical data is that the Muslims are emerging as the most populous ethnic group in the Eastern Province, with the Sri Lankan Tamils remaining as the most populous ethnic group in the Northern Province. Even though each province may evolve as a political base of each respective group, the fact remains that the majorities of both communities reside outside these political bases. Under the circumstances, political arrangements based on territorial distribution makes no sense.

Perhaps, it is the awareness of these developments that prompted the Muslim leadership to take the forthcoming Provincial Council elections seriously to the extent that some of them have given up their seats in Parliament in order to contest the election. If not at the forthcoming election, there is a strong possibility that future elections may return Muslim majorities with Muslim Chief Ministers in the Eastern Provincial Council.

There is therefore, a need to rethink the whole premise of regional devolution of political power. The alterations to the demographics in the Eastern Province demonstrate the fluidity of population growths and distributions. Therefore, formulating political arrangements based on present ethnic or other concentrations could with time be not only meaningless but also inappropriate. Changes in power bases could lead to new ethnic tensions; a sure formula for instability.

IMPACT OF ALTERED DEMOGRAPHICS ON THE NATIONAL QUESTION

If and when the Eastern Province becomes a non-Tamil political base, the foundation of a separate state of Tamil Eelam would be undermined because the very heart of this concept was underpinned by the resources and potential of the Eastern Province. Furthermore, the ethnic mix of the Eastern Province together with the concentration of Sri Lankan Tamils in the Northern Province was intended to mirror the scene in the rest of the country with the concentration of Sinhalese in the South, thus creating the “image” that the country was divided between the Sinhalese and Tamils.

With the real possibility of losing the Eastern Province politically to another ethnic group, the political power base of the Tamils would be confined to the Northern Province which by all accounts would be mono-ethnic. A separate state in such a context would have little or no attraction. Therefore, with these facts in view, there is an urgent need to reconsider the relevance of former political arrangements contemplated in the light of existential realities.

Buy avapro blood pressure medicine One political arrangement that would be acceptable to the overwhelming majority in the light of this background would be to abandon the whole concept of ethno-territorially based power sharing and seriously explore central power sharing. This would give all communities the opportunity to be represented in the governing processes instead of regionally based power sharing; a concept that Sri Lanka has been forced to consider based on a demographic premise that has no relevance today. It is vital that the APRC becomes aware of these emerging transformations if its deliberations are to have any meaning.

CONCLUSION

It is the LTTE that has set the goal of a separate state and it is the LTTE that has adopted violent means to realize it militarily. Since the Sri Lankan nation finds both goal and means set by the LTTE unacceptable, Governments representing the Sri Lankan nation have no option but to respond to LTTE efforts militarily. Not to do so would leave the military capabilities developed by the LTTE intact and the issue would remain open ended without finality and closure. For the military operations to cease, either the LTTE has to dismantle its military capabilities voluntarily, or the Government has to neutralize it militarily.

A military approach is being pursued by the LTTE on the premise that the conditions that existed at the commencement of their endeavour to create a separate state, still exist. The notion that the Northern and Eastern Provinces could form a political unit exists among the non-LTTE Sri Lankan Tamils as well. These positions long held have no relevance in the context of two facts relating to the Eastern Province. The first being the reestablishment of the writ of the state and the second, being the transformed demographics. Both facts make it necessary for political goals once conceived to be revisited.

The impact of the transformed demographics in the Eastern Province is that this province could emerge as a political base for the Muslims; a fact that may emerge even as early as the forthcoming Provincial Council election. If the Eastern Province becomes a Muslim political base and the Northern Province becomes a Tamil political base with the rest of the 7 provinces becoming a Sinhala political base, the political boundaries would become coterminous with ethnic concentrations. Devolving power under such conditions is a sure recipe for instability as has happened with the former Yugoslavia, and more recently with Kosovo.

These developments would undermine the very foundation of a once conceived separate state consisting of the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Despite the change in the scope of the original project, for the armed conflict to continue in order to create the Northern Province as a political base for Sri Lankan Tamils is senseless because this is already an accepted fact. Despite this reality, if the LTTE continues the conflict, it can only mean that its intention is to create a separate state consisting of the Northern Province all by itself.

Cheap atorlip While the conflict in Northern Ireland was resolved due to the IRAA?a??a??s self realization that violence was not taking them any closer to their political goal, and the conflict in Ache, Indonesia, was resolved because of the effect of the tsunami on the Free Aceh Movement/GAMA?a??a??s military capabilities, the transformation in the military/demographic dynamic in the Eastern Province will force the LTTE/Sri Lankan Tamils to consider alternatives hitherto not considered. Since these changing circumstances are also underscored by the security implications of devolving power to ethnically based territorial units, Sri Lanka can find resolution to its conflict only if its communities together explore arrangements where political power is shared by all at the Center.

source:
http://www.island.lk/2008/04/12/features1.html

Eastern PC election: A race between Muslim parties

Published on 10/04/2008 in Blogs, From our own Correspondent, Money Matters, parties, people, press coverage and Security & Safety. 0 Comments

Cheap artane castle MSM AyubThe former Lanka Guardian Editor and a respected journalist, late Mervin de Silva while testifying before the Mosad Commission appointed by the former President Ranasinghe Premadasa in early nineties said that Sri Lankan leaders had pushed a politically passive community into active politics by inviting Israelis to train the troops.

He was referring to the Muslim politics that by then had started influencing the national politics following the advent of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) into the mainstream politics. Before that there was no Muslim politics as such except for the mostly Colombo based and provincial elite Muslims contesting at elections under the two main parties, namely the United National Party(UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

By now Muslim politics has become so vital a component of national politics that the main Muslim political party, SLMC is usually called the A?a??A?king makerA?a??A? as in the case of Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC). With the announcement of the election for the newly created Eastern Provincial Council which was de-merged from the Northern Provincial Council by a Supreme Court ruling in October 2006 on a petition filed by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the significance of Muslim politics has ascended to a peak

This can be attributed mainly to the composition of the province which consists 33 percent of Muslims and the possibility of Muslims being the decisive factor in electing the rulers of the Province at the May 10 election, in the light of Muslim votes are apparently going to be less divided than the other two communities would be.

There are so many parties with Sinhalese leadership and Sinhalese nationalism in the fray and the two main parties and the JVP contesting on three fronts have the capacity to draw Sinhalese votes in bulk. Tamil votes would be drawn mainly by the Pillaian group and a portion of votes may be bagged by the UNP while a considerable number may be influenced by the LTTE either by way of persuading the people to abstain or winning them through its political party, PeopleA?a??a??s Front of Liberation Tigers (PFLT) which was registered with the Commissioner of Elections in 1989 during peace talks.

Although Muslim votes too would definitely be divided, Ashraff has so peculiarly inspired the majority of Eastern Muslims that they do not turn their backs to the SLMC even the high ranking leaders of the party would do so. This was why Rauff Hakeem could boast at the conclusion of the Batticaloa district Local Government election that SLMC has won 82 percent of the Muslim votes cast.

Another reason for the Muslim factor to be more in the limelight than the Pillaian group in this election, at least for the moment is that the Pillaian- United PeopleA?a??a??s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) marriage was long solemnized and it was a closed issue by the time of the announcement of Eastern Provincial Council election.

The UNP, as the opposition neither had any leverage nor did at least attempt to lure the group, while the SLMC, seemingly undecided kept the whole world in suspense as if open for auction. Knowing very well the advantage of being the talking point SLMC leaders readily and positively responded when Government leaders invited for talks in spite of their talks with the UNP had gone a long way ahead.

When Muslim ministers convened all Muslim political parties for a meeting claiming they want to form a Muslim alliance for the Provincial Council election in order to have a Muslim as the Chief Minister, the SLMC consented without questioning as to why the ministers are going to deprive the Government of Muslim votes in this crucial election and also as to why the Government did not utter a word against the Muslim ministers attempting to divest it of some of the precious votes.

As a seasoned politician Hakeem knew of the advantage of being in the limelight through this move too, although he did not want such an alliance which cannot win given the combined strength of the UPFA and TMVP. However, Hassan Ali, SLMC General Secretary had confided with a Daily Mirror journalist that the Ministers are up to drag the talks until the nomination day, so that the SLMC would not be able to finalize any strategy with the UNP against the Government.

Former Deputy Minister MLAM HisbullahA?a??a??s cross over to the ruling party from the SLMC and the more stunning resignation of SLMC stalwarts including its leader Hakeem to contest at the less important Provincial Council apparently turned the race into one between the Muslim ministers and the SLMC

Communal attacks against the SLMC or any other minority party by leaders of majority community might help them to secure more support from the respective minority community. Already there has been one such attack that the SLMC is going to be a threat to Sinhalese and Tamils in the East, which if it continues will arouse Muslim sentiments in favour of SLMC. These kinds of communal provocations would identify Muslim feelings with the SLMC which in turn will convert them into votes and ultimately Hakeem will be benefited in his effort to ascending to the chief administrator of the province.

History has proven this point very vividly in the central hills long ago. The CWC and its former leader late Saumiyamoorthi Thondaman was repeatedly attacked for winning over A?a??A?everythingA?a??A? for estate Tamils and attempting to carve out a separate state called A?a??A?MalayanaduA?a??A? at the expense of Sinhalese. The grand old man once retorted to this writer that there is no need for anyone to carve out a Malainadu afresh, for it exists from the day God created the world. Malainadu in Tamil means hill country.

Saumiyamoorthy Thondaman was awarded with these kinds of A?a??A?creditsA?a??A? such as winning over A?a??A?everythingA?a??A? for the estate Tamils despite the fact that the estate sector has won the A?a??A?medalsA?a??A? through social indicators for lowest education, highest malnutrition, highest drunkenness, highest child mortality etcetera. However when he was attacked from outside the estate community emotionally set to defend him and he continued to be the king of the hills until his death.

Late Ashraff also had such benefits of vilification by outsiders.

Haste shown by the Government in slashing HakeemA?a??a??s security in a way implies the importance and the seriousness of SLMC for the Government. However, the attempt by the state to prune HakeemA?a??a??s security soon after he along with SLMC General Secretary Hassan Ali and Politburo member Basheer Segudawood resigned from the parliament will sometimes be another benefit for the SLMC, unless it leads to some disaster. This sometimes might help Hakeem to continually to be in the spotlight and thereby draw Muslim sympathy towards him.

Despite the fact that the Muslim factor has become a vital ingredient in the making of national politics and perhaps the most reckoned with element by all major parties at this Provincial Council election, it is seen by many as a fragmented force.

Because within two decades since mid-eighties the 1.5 million strong Muslim community has produced a series of political parties ironically agaist the wishes of the founder of the first Muslim party, the SLMC.

The founder of the SLMC late MHM Ashraff called on the Muslim community at the day of inauguration of the party on November 26, 1986 at the A?a??A?Pasha VillaA?a??A? in Maradana, Colombo not to create a second Muslim party in an event where the SLMC leadership fails to address the problems of the Muslim community, instead he suggested to throw the incumbent leadership away and find dynamic new leaders capable of facing the challenges of the day.

But to the utmost dismay of many in the Muslim community the second Muslim party emerged in three months in the name of Muslim United Liberation Front (MULF) led by MIM Mohideen who later joined the SLMC when Ashraff was in Chandrika KumaratungaA?a??a??s cabinet. With the death of Ashraff in an air crash over Mawanella in 2000 a plethora of Muslim parties have sprung in rival to the SLMC.

The National Unity Alliance (NUA) which Ashraff formed with the intention of gradually switching to national politics from communal politics, departed first from the SLMC with AshraffA?a??a??s widow Ferial heading it, and leaving the SLMC solely to the leadership of Rauff Hakeem, AshraffA?a??a??s confidant.

This occurred when President Chandrika Kumaratunga sacked Hakeem from the ministerial portfolio on June 21, 2001 for reasons known only to her, and Hakeem left the Government taking the sacking as a despiser on the party. However some SLMC leaders including Ferial Ashraff remained in the Government as ministers, deputy ministers and officials of various government and semi- government institutions and converged under NUA as a distinct party.

The Ranil Wikremesinghe regime between December 2001 and February 2004 saw another few splits in Muslim parties including in the SLMC. The then Deputy Minister MLM Athaullah broke away and formed the National Congress (NC) while businessman Naseer Ahmed created the Democratic United Alliance (DUA) distancing himself from the SLMC.

Then it was the turn of NM Shaheed PC to come up with his own party, All Ceylon Muslim Congress (ACMC), resigning from the Muslim Congress. Three SLMC parliamentarians, Rishad Badiuddeen, Najeeb A Majeed and Amir Ali who wanted to join the Chandrika Kumaratunga government parted with the Muslim Congress in October, 2004, ensuing which the infamous Kumari Cooray episode was staged. They also joined the ACMC.

Thus controversies over leadership, national list parliamentary seats, cabinet minister posts etcetera led to springing of a bunch of splinters and offshoots from the stem of SLMC.

By now there are around a dozen Muslim political parties in the country each claiming that it is the real heir to A?a??A?ThalaivarA?a??A? Ashraff and was trained in AshraffA?a??a??s school (pasarai). Each profess that it is the genuine guardian of the community A journalist from the East once attributed this mushrooming of Muslim parties to A?a??A?ambitions that infused by the A?a??A?ThalaivarA?a??A? into the ordinary peopleA?a??A? who before the advent of the SLMC could not even imagine to be elected at least to a village council that existed few decades ago.

Today most Muslim leaders who profess to be god fearing are in a position to drag The Almighty Allah, Holy Prophet and Holy QurA?a??a??an or any other sacred concept in Islam into their politics, even reciting qurA?a??a??anic verses on public platforms, purely to exploit the piety of the ordinary voters and grab money making positions.

Almost all of them agree on the problems of Eastern Muslims, especially on the land problem in the Pottuvil electorate and threats by the armed Tamil groups in Batticaloa and Trincomalee, but the question whether they can agree on solutions to those problems, given the divisions among them, in the face of the election is something only time will answer.

source:
House for sale in hazelwood artane http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=11534

STF clash with Army

Published on 09/04/2008 in Blogs, From our own Correspondent, people, press coverage and Security & Safety. 0 Comments

By Supun Dias and Senaka De Silva How to buy bactroban Two soldiers and a civilian were killed in a forest 5 Km from the Komarikulam area in Ampara yesterday, when a group of Army personnel and Special Task Force (STF) personnel shot at each other after each mistook the other for Tiger rebels.

The Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said that another soldier had been wounded in the clash and was receiving treatment at Ampara Hospital.

Buy generic keflex online Pottuvil Police OIC Sena Suraweera said that the bodies of the soldiers had been handed over to the Army after conducting a post mortem. The Army personnel had been conducting a cordon and search operation in the area at the time of the incident.

The civilian who had gone to the forest to cut wood has been caught in the crossfire, he said.

source:
http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=11422

Top priority to develop East – Susantha

Published on 08/04/2008 in Money Matters and press coverage. 0 Comments

by Lakshmi de Silva
The development of the Eastern Province under the special effort made by the government to rehabilitate the infrastructure facilities involving irrigation, health and education is receiving top priority with the Ministry of Nation Building playing a vital role, Minister of Nation Building Susantha Punchinilame said yesterday.

The Divisional Secretariat in Thirukkovil in the Eastern Province had started working after a lapse of more than 20 years and 206 million rupees was allocated by the government for the 22 Grama Niladhari Divisions to implement a number of development projects in the area, Punchinilame said. The minister, who was on tour of the area when speaking to The Island, said that it was the first time that a minister was visiting the DS offices in Kandikuduchchiaru, Lahugala Order clozaril dosage , Panama and Aliadivembu after a couple of decades to get first hand knowledge of the development programmes implemented there.

Tenormin 25 mg price in pakistan People of the area were very keen to develop education and health care facilities that were neglected all these years and all projects are to be implemented. 20 percent of manpower was voluntarily contributed.

source:
http://www.island.lk/2008/04/05/news3.html

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