Tamil prisoners on hunger strike

BBC Sinhala
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At least 65 Tamil prisoners in Anuradhapura are on a hunger strike seeking proper protection.

The prisoners have launched a protest after being assaulted by the prison officials on Sunday, former Jaffna district parliamentarian MK Sivajilingam told BBC Sandeshaya.

Most of the prisoners subjected to assault were disabled during the war, he added.

Mr Sivajilingam said jail guards have also destroyed a Hindu Temple built inside the prison with permission.

Superintendant of Police (SP) Tusita Uduwara has held discussions with the prisoners but the prisoners demand a guarantee of their by higher authorities that such attacks would not occur in the future.

Government response

The authorities have prevented a team of lawyers and representatives of We Are Sri Lankans (WASL) organisation from entering the prison, they said.

WASL's Udul Premaratne has told media that it was the first time the lawyers were prevented from visiting the prison to look into an incident.

Prison Affairs Minister Chandrasiri Gajadheera said the incident has occurred as the authorities conducted a search after receiving information that there were plans to commemorate annual Heroes Day inside the premises.

After the search, said the minister, 19 mobile telephones have been confiscated.

He rejected the accusation that the prisoners were ordered to strip naked and taken out while it was raining for the search.

© BBC Sinhala

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Rebellion, Repression and the Struggle for Justice in Sri Lanka: The Lionel Bopage story

By Professor Sisira Jayasuriya | Groundviews
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This is a book that documents the life story of Lionel Bopage, who was one of the highest ranking leaders of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP- the Peoples’ Liberation Front) and a major figure in the JVP led youth insurrection of 1971 in Sri Lanka, drawing on a series of personal interviews with him. After migrating to Australia two decades ago, he has remained active not only in Sri Lanka related political activities but in the broader Australian political movements for social justice. The book tracks Lionel’s personal and political evolution over the subsequent four decades, placed in the wider socio-political context of this tumultuous period in Sri Lanka.

In many ways this is a deeply personal and richly detailed memoir, as Lionel looks back over the years and attempts to analyse how and why the party to which he committed himself, and under whose banner thousands of heroic youth fought and died, ended up in as the ardent supporter of a reactionary war against a national minority in alliance with the state machinery and its armed forces – the same armed forces who had butchered its own members and supporters only a few years earlier.

It is at the same time a historical and political analysis reflecting a serious and honest endeavour to objectively understand what happened and to draw the lessons of (often bitter) experience, not a project aimed at self glorification or demonization of his political or ideological opponents. But it is much more than a biographical narrative of a radicalised and idealistic young student, fired by vision of socialist revolution, who organised and led thousands of Sri Lankan youth in an abortive armed uprising against the Sri Lankan government and experienced in full the brutal repressive power of the state. It is, in an important sense, the story of the generation of youth who were drawn into mass struggles throughout the world during the 1960s, from the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America to the advanced countries of Europe, United States and, indeed, Australia too.

For me, a member of that same generation and Lionel’s contemporary as an undergraduate in the same university in Sri Lanka, reading this book was at one level a trip back in memory lane evoking much nostalgia for lost youth and times past. Reading about Lionel’s personal experience of incarceration revived memories of compatriots who were imprisoned, tortured and in several cases, killed by the police and the military. The book was also a reminder that the way to pay homage to the memory of those who, often at enormous personal cost and sometimes paying with their lives, struggled for a better world is to bring their story and the lessons of both successes and failures of those struggles to the attention of the current generation. In that sense, this book could not be more timely. In Sri Lanka itself the book comes at a time when the JVP, already much diminished in power and influence from its heyday, has undergone a deep spilt that has raised again the many unresolved issues concerning its own history and experiences. Internationally, it comes at a moment when a new global economic crisis is radicalising and propelling into struggle an entire new generation of youth on a global scale. All the issues of theory, history and programme that were posed in the 1960s are posed anew, but in a sharper and much more acute form.

The book is very wide in its scope and requires a much longer review to do it full justice. Without in any way questioning Lionel’s integrity I will make a few critical remarks here about some interpretations and the analytical conclusions in the book – some of these hark back to views that I held as a member of a Trotskyist group that was politically opposed to the JVP while defending it against state repression.

In my view the issues raised in Lionel’s story – including the many debates over issues of programme and orientation – need to be placed not only in the Sri Lankan context but in an even wider global context. (I recognise that the book does not entirely ignore the global context.) The radicalisation of youth in Sri Lanka was an integral part of the 1960s’ international upsurge of militant, sometimes revolutionary, struggles which challenged not only ruling classes and regimes but also exposed the conservatism and reactionary nature of the traditional left leaders and posed the need to build new revolutionary leaderships. As it turned out, building new leaderships that could unite the global struggles and lead to victorious socialist revolutions proved to be too much of a political challenge for that generation, however heroic and self sacrificing many of them were. Even the triumphant achievements of various national revolutionary movements, such as in Vietnam, proved ultimately to be transitory. There became the prelude to re-establishment of capitalist rule and the opening up of national economies to foreign capital and deep integration with the global capitalist system as part of so-called ‘national economic development’. By the 1990s, the national socialist projects that replaced the programme of the Third (Communist) International had led not to the building of socialism in one (or even a number of) countries but to the elimination of even the vestiges of socialism in every country. In looking back at the history of the Sri Lankan left and the JVP, I believe that the impact this had on the intellectual orientation of the radical left needs no emphasis.

Intense debates, divisions and splits characterised and influenced the subsequent evolution of the radical youth movements which emerged during the 1960s. This book documents in considerable detail the nature of these debates within the JVP and gives a sense of the flavour of the times. Youth grappled with issues of enormous historical importance that also had immediate practical relevance for revolutionary practice. In my view, it is important to emphasise that these discussions and debates took place in a global intellectual environment dominated by the triumph of national socialist ideology, where each national revolutionary movement was supposed to formulate their own unique path to socialist revolution. Internationalism was emasculated of its original Marxist and Leninist content and reduced to mutual assistance among ‘independent’ national socialist movements.

This is the international environment that shaped the evolution of the political positions of the Communist Party and the ex-Trotskyist Sama Samaja Party towards the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), ultimately leading to the move by both to join the SLFP dominated government and participate in the butchery of thousands of youth in 1971 and later in the racist wars against Tamils. In the book, the degeneration of traditional left leaders like Colvin R de Silva appear to be attributed primarily to their social background and entrenched ‘elite’ attitudes and personal relationships. I believe that this was a secondary factor. The basic factor was the de facto abandonment of an internationalist revolutionary perspective and its replacement with a Sri Lankan national ‘socialist’ programme. During the early 1950s the LSSP quietly dumped its previous programme that had emphasised links with the Indian working class in favour of a political alliance with the Sri Lankan SLFP. It made absolutely no attempt to support the building of a revolutionary movement in India.

It is said in the book that “in coalition with the SLFP they introduced progressive economic measures and often took an anti-imperialist stance on world issues and local affairs’(p. 418). In my view, the characterisation of the SLFP as ‘progressive’ was a fundamental rejection of the Marxist programme and an indication that even the LSSP – which had earlier vehemently attacked the Communist Party over this issue – was rapidly moving towards abandoning its programmatic insistence on the need for the working class to take power in alliance with the peasantry and moving to adapt itself to the SLFP in a parliamentary setting; it was therefore no mystery that the revolutionary ardour that was generated by the Hartal in 1953 led not to a renewal of the LSSP’s revolutionary programme but to an electoral alliance with the SLFP a mere two years after. The LSSP had shifted from revolutionary politics based on the perspective of leading the working class to take power, to using the influence it had over the working class to pressure the SLFP to grant it some concessions. From then on it was a short step to abandoning all parts of its programme, including the opposition to the Sinhala Only as official language, in its desire to remove obstacles to forming a governing coalition with the SLFP.

In my view, this rejection of an international outlook and programme was also the key factor that shaped the debate within the JVP on national rights of the Tamil minority. As Lionel points out the JVP attitude towards national minorities did not at the beginning start from a position of racist chauvinism but in its evolution it led inexorably to a position where the JVP became the most ardent proponent of war against the LTTE and the most consistent support of the Sri Lankan military.

It is my strongly held conviction that in today’s world situation, a nationalist orientation would be even more reactionary and destructive than in the period leading up to the First World War. The 20th century proved to be not only the era of wars and revolutions but also the era of ultimate practical refutation of ‘national socialist’ programmes. The new generation must not get trapped in the same bankrupt and reactionary ideological trap. Recognising specific national peculiarities and circumstances is one thing but giving the national state primacy in terms of political programmes and perspectives is another thing.

I believe that debates over these issues and clarity over political perspectives are essential if a new generation were not to repeat all the mistakes of our own generation. I welcome this book which can be the trigger for the revival of these necessary debates and salute Lionel for maintaining his commitment to social justice and for having the intellectual courage to go over and review his own life of committed struggle. This is not a book that attempts to justify every step of his political life or that of his companions, or to demonise his political opponents on the left, but reflects a genuine attempt to achieve a sober understanding of why so many individuals despite the commitment and personal courage they showed in that early period of struggle and conflict subsequently ended up as contemptible political opportunists and traitors to those ideals and values. This is why, despite my differences of opinion and critical remarks, I wish to reiterate that Lionel and Michael have done an enormous service not only to the new generation of youth in Sri Lanka but throughout the world who are seeking answers to the political challenges that they face in coping with the unfolding global crisis that threatens to dwarf the great Depression of the 1930s by providing a serious – though personal – analysis of the events that shaped the past four decades of history. I look forward to Sinhalese and Tamil translations of the book in the near future.

Sisira Jayasuriya is currently Professor of Macroeconomics in the School of Economics and Finance at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. He is also Director of the South Asia Research Facility. He was the Director, Asian Economics Centre at the University of Melbourne until his move to La Trobe University in 2008. He has to his credit many books and publications mainly in the field of economics research. His current research is on trade, product fragmentation and multinationals; agricultural reforms in India; food security and poverty issues in Asia and the economics of natural disasters. He was a contemporary of Lionel in his days at the University of Peradeniya.

More info on "Rebellion, Repression and the Struggle for Justice in Sri Lanka"

© Groundviews

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Sri Lanka storm kills 19, damages 5,700 homes

Agence France-Press (AFP)
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A storm packing heavy rain and gusty winds lashed southern Sri Lanka over the weekend, killing at least 19 and leaving 43 fishermen missing, the island's disaster management centre said Sunday.

More than 53,000 people were also forced out of their damaged homes in the southern areas of the country following two days of heavy winds and rain, the centre said in a statement.

It said 41 people who escaped with injuries were admitted to hospitals while the authorities were looking for any survivors among fishermen who were reported missing. About 5,700 houses were also damaged.

Sri Lanka depends on monsoon rains for irrigation and power generation, but the seasonal downpours frequently cause death and property damage.

© AFP

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Freedom of Expression on the Internet in Sri Lanka

Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA)
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The Centre for Policy Alternatives is pleased to release a new report examining the freedom of expression on the Internet in Sri Lanka. Since 2007, the freedom of expression on the Internet has faced considerable restrictions on account of the arbitrary blocking of websites and pronouncements by the government for greater regulation and monitoring of online content. There have also been concerns about the transfer of technology from countries such as China that may strengthen a surveillance regime and lead to further restrictions on web content. These issues along with a repressive legal framework have a chilling effect on freedom of expression on the Internet.

In line with the need to emphasise a rights-based framework when addressing online freedom of expression, the report examines the specific cases and practices that restrict freedom of expression on the Internet with respect to regulation, legislation and arbitrary action. In consideration of international freedom of expression standards, CPA’s report examines the government’s compliance with the broader international best practices and recommendations detailed in the report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue, which was submitted at the Seventeenth session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

The report looks specifically at the arbitrary blocking and filtering of web content; criminalisation of legitimate expression; the status of intermediary liability and actions of intermediaries; the potential for disconnecting users from Internet access, including on the basis of intellectual property law due to the broad nature of intellectual property legislation. The report also examines the potential threat that cyber-attacks may present to online freedom of expression, as well as the growing concern over and implications of the lack of substantive legislation for the protection of individual privacy and data. The final consideration of this report is with regard to Internet access and the acknowledgement of government policies with respect to providing adequate infrastructure for increasing Internet penetration in the country.

While the reform of existing legislation and regulatory practices is required in order to address the clear concerns about online freedom of expression, the report proposes national and international advocacy to ensure that the government addresses the issue of reform and adheres to international standards on the freedom of expression. There is also a need for a multi-stakeholder initiative so that the perspectives of users, intermediaries and other resource persons are incorporated into the design of legislation and formulation regulatory standards, thereby ensuring wide deliberation and participation to achieve the ultimate goal of strengthening freedom of expression on the Internet in Sri Lanka.

© CPA

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The Sri Lankan editor trapped in his office for the last five years

By Andrew Buncombe | The Independent
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It is not simply dedication to his job that has led newspaper editor MV Kaanamyl-nathan to not leave his office for five-and-a-half years. In the spring of 2006, gunmen stormed into the building and sprayed automatic fire that killed two employees and left bullet holes in the walls and the table in the conference room that remain to this day.

Since then, two police officers have been assigned to permanent duty outside the building and Mr Kaanamylnathan and his wife have left their three-bedroom home in the city and moved into a small space next to the newsroom. "I don't go out. The only exception is to go and see my doctor, a heart-specialist, once every three months," Mr Kaanamylnathan said. "For that, I have to make to make special arrangements.

The plight of Mr Kaanamylnathan and his newspaper Uthayan, (Rising Sun in Tamil), where six members of staff have been killed in the past decade and many others attacked, threatened and harassed in incidents that continue today, is a frightening window into the world of journalism in Sri Lanka.

Campaigners say reporters and media employees here are among some of the most vulnerable in the world; at least 14 have been killed in recent years and many more forced into exile. Several others are missing and unaccounted for. Among the most high-profile of cases was that of Lasantha Wickramatunga, editor of the often-critical Sunday Leader, who was murdered in January 2009. Nobody has yet been charged with the killing.

The troubles at Uthayan, established in 1986 to appeal to working-class Tamils, did not end after police were deputed to guard the premises. A driver was killed several months later and a talented young reporter – recruited because senior correspondents declined to come to the office anymore – was shot dead the following year on his way to work. Most recently, the paper's news editor, Gnanasundaram Kuganathan, was severely beaten by two men armed with iron bars as he left the office in July.

He has since left Sri Lanka and is staying in Europe. It is unclear when he will return. "It's a miracle that I survived. I was beaten almost to death," he said after the attack.

Mr Kaanamylnathan's newspaper is owned by a Tamil member of parliament. While it insists its news coverage is unbiased, he does not hide the fact that the publication supports the cause of Tamil nationalism. Yet over the years, the newspaper has faced threats from the Sri Lankan military, Tamil militants and unidentified thugs allegedly linked to pro-government paramilitaries.

Between 1990 and 1995, the city of Jaffna, located at the very tip of Sri Lanka, was controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), whose decades-long insurgency for a Tamil homeland was crushed in 2009.

"We have a relationship with all parties, even the military. We carry all the stories and all the statements," said Mr Kaanamylnathan, whose wife pays a weekly visit to the couple's house to make sure all is well. "The government is saying there is no problem, but the opposite is the case."

Campaigners say President Mahinda Rajapaksa has failed to act to protect journalists and in many cases is responsible for a crackdown on dissent. Several journalists have disappeared without trace, among them Prageeth Eknaligoda, a political analyst and cartoonist from Jaffna, who was kidnapped in Colombo in January 2010, just two days before the presidential election. He worked for the LankaeNews website.

The journalist's wife, Sandya, said there had been no news about her husband and no apparent progress with the case. The police claimed they were still investigating but did not appear to be very interested, she said. She has written to everyone from the President to the country's human rights commission but, she said,no one had offered help.

"I have two children and both of them know that their father is missing. But we [are trying] our best to find him," said Mrs Eknaligoda. "We know he is alive somewhere. I urge the government to find him. We are suffering because now we don't have any income."

More recently, the news editor of The Sunday Leader, Frederica Janz, was threatened after giving evidence in the court case of former army chief Sarath Fonseka, who was last week jailed for three years after being convicted of accusing the President's brother of committing war crimes during the final stages of the war to defeat the LTTE. "We will not spare you," said a handwritten note sent to her home in the capital.

Campaigners say that since his re-election Mr Rajapaksa appears to be tightening his grip on dissent. In recent weeks, the government has blocked access to websites, including that of the main opposition party, the UNP. A statement issued at the time by the Ministry of Mass Media and Information said a survey it carried out had revealed that certain websites were in violation of laws designed to protect against defamation and character assassination.

"We saw no 'peace dividend' after the end of the war, and what we've seen since is a crackdown on media that seems aimed at consolidating political power in the President's office and his circle of advisers," said Bob Dietz, Asia programme director at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). "The situation looks quite bleak."

The moves by the government to try to control online media, a recently new development, were addressed in a report by the Centre for Policy Alternatives, an NGO based in Colombo. "The censorious attitudes towards media freedom and the freedom of expression more generally are increasingly evident in the online sphere," it said.

"The insidious attempts to regulate online content; block websites; the attacks on journalists...and repeated statements from government officials threatening those who provide alternative and dissenting views do not bode well for the future of online freedom of expression in the country."

The minister for mass media and information, Dr Keheliya Rambukwella, could not be reached for comment, but the government has always adamantly denied any involvement in attacks on journalists. Among the goals of its national media policy is to "safeguard the right of all citizens to express their views via any and all media and to receive, provide and gather information required for the proper functioning of society".

After the attack on his office in 2006, Mr Kaanamylnathan took a decision not to repair either the bullet holes in the yellow walls nor the plastic-topped table, around which the senior journalists gather every afternoon do decide what stories will appear on the following day's front page. He said: "We have kept it like this because if we did not, people would not believe us."

Ongoing conflict

A government-appointed body set-up to look into the civil war has reportedly concluded no state should be asked to "suspend military operations aimed at rescuing civilians forcibly held by a heavily armed terrorist group".

The Island newspaper, known to be close to the government, said the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) had noted that while humanitarian law prohibits the targeting of civilians, it permits com-bat operations to rescue "hostages". The report is not yet public.

A UN panel concluded there were "credible allegations" both government troops and the LTTE committed war crimes. It said tens of thousands of civilians may have died and called for an independent inquiry. The government dismissed the claims and established the LLRC.

© The Independent

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Tracing Sri Lanka's missing children

Photo courtesy: AFP

By Mel Gunasekera | Agence France-Press (AFP)
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Two and a half years after the end of Sri Lanka's bloody ethnic conflict, hundreds of families displaced by the war are still engaged in a fraught, exhausting search for missing children.

Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tamil civilians were caught up in the chaos of the military's ferocious final assault on cornered Tamil Tiger rebels in the jungles of northeast Sri Lanka in April and May 2009.

As the offensive intensified, Usha Devi Selvaratnam said goodbye to her teenage son, Sivakajan, having sold a gold chain to buy him passage on a rebel-controlled vessel bound for the relative safety of the northern Jaffna peninsula.

She never saw him again.

"There is no trace of him... just a big hole in my heart," she told AFP in Vavuniya where huge numbers of refugees were interned in the months following the end of the war.

Sivakajan left home with just a backpack, containing clothes, identification papers, as well as textbooks and school attendance records to prove that he was not a fighter with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Usha heard that her son had been taken in for questioning by the military with other passengers when the boat docked in Jaffna. But since then, nothing, despite countless requests to the authorities for information.

"We want to know what happened to our children. I believe my son is still alive. If he died, I need proof. I think all families with missing children have a right to know, to bury the past, to enjoy freedom after war," she said.

Uncovering the fate of the missing like Sivakajan is extremely complex.

Some parents fear their teenage children may have been picked up by the LTTE and forced to fight in the rebels' final stand.

Others believe they are being held by the authorities or that they managed to escape overseas but have been unable to contact their families.

In the case of younger children, there are concerns they may have fallen foul of traffickers or even been adopted by families unwilling to give them up.

The underlying fear is that they were simply killed in the final offensive that the United Nations estimates cost up to 40,000 civilian lives.

"Tracing missing children is a very sensitive issue," said Brigadier S. Galgamuwa, a consultant for the Vavuniya-based Family Tracing and Reunification Unit.

Run by the government with assistance from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the unit is currently trying to trace 370 boys and 327 girls who have been reported missing since the conflict ended.

Officials acknowledge that the actual number of missing children is probably far higher, with most cases not being formally registered.

So far 49 children have been traced by the unit and contacts re-established with their parents and relatives.

But the work has been hampered by a lack of reliable documentation, especially relating to the movement of families in the final, chaotic weeks of the fighting.

"It is likely that some of the children reported as missing may actually have died in the conflict -- the knowledge of which may help to bring some kind of closure to the families," said UNICEF child protection specialist Saji Thomas.

However, confirming the fate of those on the list is "very time consuming" and requires input from multiple sources including health officials and law enforcement officers, Thomas said.

In some cases, the period of separation has been so long that children do not even recognise their parents or other relatives.

"In these instances, government probation officers intervene to help build trust between the children and their care givers so that they are comfortable enough to return to their families," Thomas said.

For some like 19-year-old Kaushy, who was rescued by the military from the LTTE-run orphanage where she grew up in northern Mullattivu, there are no relatives to be reunited with.

"I have no family. The only families I've seen are in Hindi films," she told AFP as she watched other orphans at the Don Bosco children's home in Vavuniya play hopscotch in the garden.

Sister Pettilda Fernando, who runs the home, said many orphans like Kaushy had been "brainwashed" by their LTTE minders, who co-opted many to fight in the rebels' ranks or train as suicide bombers.

Erashakumar, 19, says the only father figure for most orphans like herself was LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, who was killed in the final days of the military victory over the separatists.

"People say uncle (Prabhakaran) died fighting. Yes, we miss him," Erashakumar said.

The government has published pictures of the orphans in the Tamil press, but nobody has come forward to claim the children.

"They may never trace their families. But they are also God's children. They need love and understanding," said Fernando.

© AFP

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China, Sri Lanka's top lender

Lanka Business Online
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China has emerged as the top lender to Sri Lanka in the nine months to September 2011, in terms of money actually disbursed and loans committed for new projects, finance ministry data shows.

Up to September 2011, China has disbursed 599.9 million US dollars out of a total of 1,573.9 billion US dollars.

Japan came second with 239.4 million US dollars of which 11.9 million were grants and India third with 179 million US dollars, a finance ministry report said.

Asian Development Bank disbursed 171.8 million US dollars of which 12.5 million were grants and the World Bank 166.2 million dollars of which 4.7 million were grants.

Japan has traditionally been Sri Lanka's largest source of foreign financing. Though the financing is given at concessionary rates, the rising yen has increased the cost of past borrowings.

China is giving loans at near commercial terms through mainly from its Export Import Banks to finance Chinese project goods and construction services.

Sri Lanka has increased procurements from export import banks in recent years from other countries as well.

China also committed the most money to new projects in the nine months to September accounting for 784.7 million dollars out of 1,802.09 million dollars.

Japan came second with 520.48 million US dollars. ADB was third with 231.1 million dollars and World Bank third with 103.5 million US dollars followed by UN agencies with 79.52 million US dollars.

© LBO

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Sri Lanka devalues currency, ups defence budget

Courtesy: Daily Mirror

By Amal Jayasinghe | AFP
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Sri Lanka announced Monday a surprise three percent depreciation of the rupee against a basket of currencies in a move to boost exports, as it released a 2012 budget that boosts defence spending.

Sri Lanka's central bank has said the rupee has been steadily appreciating against other currencies since the end of the island's decades-long Tamil separatist war in May 2009.

Economic woes in Europe and the United States have also led to a downturn in demand for Sri Lanka's exports, government officials said.

"I have asked the Central Bank (of Sri Lanka) to depreciate the rupee by three percent with immediate effect," President Mahinda Rajapakse told parliament as he unveiled the budget.

"This is to remain competitive with our neighbours," he said.

Official sources said it was the first time in more than a decade that the government has carried out a "single stroke" depreciation of the rupee.

Sri Lanka's central bank has maintained a "managed float" with the local unit tied to a basket of foreign currencies.

The central bank said the rupee had appreciated 7.4 percent last year against the basket of currencies including the dollar, the pound and the euro.

"Our exporters find it difficult to remain competitive," Rajapakse said.

Neighbouring India's rupee has fallen by nearly 15 percent this year against the dollar as investor concerns about the eurozone debt crisis and a slowing domestic economy have pumped demand for the US currency.

The president added he was also keen to reduce imports of goods that could be easily manufactured on the island, saying he was offering tax breaks to small industries to make medical supplies and food supplements to save millions of dollars spent on imports.

The budget included an increase in defence spending, despite the end of the ethnic conflict, with some 230 billion rupees ($2.1 billion) to be spent on defence in 2012, up from 215 billion rupees this year.

Security authorities say they need to keep defence spending high to repay loans on military hardware purchased to fight the Tamil Tigers during nearly four decades of ethnic conflict which claimed up to 100,000 lives.

Rajapakse also announced a new move to re-take some 37,000 hectares (91,428 acres) of plantations leased to private companies, saying that the land had not been properly utilised.

The takeover announcement came hot on the heels of criticism over another move earlier this month to nationalise 37 private companies which had either leased or bought state land in the past 20 years.

As part of new revenue-raising measures, Rajapakse hiked taxes on luxury vehicles while cigarette and alcohol prices were increased just before the budget. He also announced a 10 percent salary increase for public servants.

The country's total spending in 2012 is estimated at 2.22 trillion rupees while total revenue is estimated at 1.12 trillion rupees, figures showed.

© AFP

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Sri Lanka mulls police 'cash for big families' plan

By Charles Haviland | BBC News
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The government of Sri Lanka appears to want military and police families to have more children.

Presenting the annual budget speech on Monday, President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced that any police officer parenting a third child would be given a one-off cash grant of one hundred thousand Sri Lankan rupees.

The same grant was offered to army, navy and air force parents a year ago.

Delivering the budget in his capacity as finance minister, President Rajapaksa said that giving police families a sum equivalent to 900 dollars for parenting a third child was the mark of a "caring society."

He said the police and the rest of the security forces had fostered democracy, development and social reconciliation in Sri Lanka, and deserved this grant for having another child.

'Continued militarisation'

Nearly all members of the police and military currently come from the Sinhalese ethnic majority and the announcement was criticised by two civil society activists.

One, Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, said the police had done nothing to democratise Sri Lanka and asked why such grants should not be offered for every Sri Lankan child.

Another, Herman Kumara, said these special family grants continued a process of social “militarisation” and financial help should be given to farmers, fishermen and other food producers.

The police spokesman, Ajith Rohana, said however that his colleagues did a risky and difficult job and deserved such concessions.

Sri Lanka has a relatively low fertility rate of less than two children per woman.

A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he would not be having a third child simply to get the grant.

“You can't bring a child up with 100,000 rupees,” he said.

© BBC News

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What a shootout between two politicians says about a nation

By Edward Mortimer | Huffington Post
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Since the end of its civil war against the ruthless Tamil Tigers (LTTE) in 2009, the Sri Lankan regime's own reputation for ruthlessness has grown. At its heart are the three Rajapaksa brothers - President Mahinda, defence secretary Gotabhaya ("Gota") and Economic Development Minister Basil - controlling a formidable military force that has quashed all resistance and committed many grave human rights abuses. For the Tamil and Muslim minorities, the end of the war has been marked by further discrimination and alienation. But for many who belong to the country's majority Sinhalese community, government restrictions on personal freedoms and the relentless militarisation of the island have seemed like a small price to pay for the prospect of national security and an end to the LTTE's brutal campaign for a separate state... until a disturbing incident last month provoked unease and dissent even in conservative Sinhalese circles.

On 8 October, in the Kolonnawa district of Sri Lanka's commercial capital, Colombo, Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, an adviser on trade union affairs to the Sri Lankan president, was killed in broad daylight during a shoot-out with a group led by another parliamentarian, Duminda Silva, a Colombo district MP who had worked closely with Gota Rajapaksa. (Silva's website states he was the Ministry of Defence's monitoring officer - something the MoD is now struggling to deny.)

Premachandra and three of his supporters died on the spot. They had been shot repeatedly from head to toe with T-56 assault rifles. A police source said that at least 40 rounds were fired.

Two of the bullets ripped through Silva's skull. He was rushed to hospital and put on life support. A few days ago, the Sri Lankan press reported that he had been taken abroad for further treatment. During a parliamentary exchange the Leader of the House confirmed that no police statement had been taken from Silva because he had been judged unfit to speak. He added that Silva could not be prevented from leaving the country as "police had not identified him as a suspect". Gone is the man who might have been able to shed light on this shocking incident, a man alleged to have connections to the defence secretary and the Colombo underworld.

So what do we know? According to the police, violence between the two factions involved is both commonplace and common knowledge. But Premachandra and Silva were prominent politicians belonging to the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance, not gang members. And the timing of the shooting - just two hours before the close of local elections - also points to a political, not a strictly criminal, cause.

This is the stuff of gangster stories, of the Mafia and Camorra, of Martin Scorsese films. In Sri Lanka, it is just another day. Following the attack the Minister for Construction Wimal Weeranwansa - an ardent Rajapaksa supporter whose manufactured anti-UN protests have provoked much derision - told a public meeting that "when a politician goes with an underworld gang and shoots another politician dead, it is not good for the country". A breathtaking understatement that reveals the true nature of today's Sri Lanka.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has sought to create the illusion of a government that is strong and united, but this incident hints at the truth: Sri Lanka in is disarray. The Sunday Leader, a Sri Lankan broadsheet newspaper, has described the country as 'Oppressed North, Lawless South', where top politicians like the all-powerful Gota display thuggish behaviour and criminal affiliations. These are not mavericks or exceptions. Several other politicians have been involved in similar incidents. Mervyn Silva, for instance, currently Deputy Minister of Highways - previously Deputy Minister of Mass Media & Information, once tied a government official to a tree for his alleged failure to attend a dengue fever prevention programme. His name was also mentioned in connection with the murder of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge in 2009.

Yet somehow, the Rajapaksa regime has managed to persuade the international community to believe in a very different Sri Lanka. At the Commonwealth heads of state meeting in Australia, just three weeks after the shooting, most leaders - with the notable exception of Canada - were happy to avoid discussing the human rights record of the country that will be hosting their meeting in 2013, whilst Sri Lankan representatives dismissed a UN war crimes report as "a travesty of justice and preposterous". They must have been delighted when the meeting's host, Australian prime minister Julia Gillard, said that Sri Lanka had to deal with its human rights issues itself.

On 14 and 15 November, foreign governments again fuelled the Rajapaksa myth by wining and dining with Gota during the 'Galle Dialogue' sessions in Sri Lanka. The guest list included representatives from Canada, Australia, France and the UK who had been invited to discuss strategic co-operation in the Indian Ocean. This sort of PR stunt, aimed at bolstering Sri Lanka's international reputation, would have been a golden opportunity for countries to take a stand. But instead of boycotting the event, the international community showed once again that it has little to offer other than platitudes.

Within the country at least, dissent is beginning to take hold. Last month's shoot-out sparked a newspaper frenzy, with much speculation on whether the defence secretary has been protecting Silva. Familiar allegations of Gota's connections to well-known thugs and criminals have gained a new lease of life, particularly the nature of his relationship with Silva, which many believe is the reason why Silva has not been named as a suspect in the shoot-out investigation and was allowed to leave the country. And this time, dissenting voices like the Sunday Leader have been joined by others that normally support the government (or are too afraid to speak out) such as Colombo Page and the Daily Mirror.

Sadly, the response has been another media clampdown. Two Sri Lankan news websites featuring articles and footage related to the incident, Lanka e News and Lanka Newsweb, have been blocked - another sign that, even though the war ended more than two years ago, the Rajapaksa regime is not ready to release its iron grip. Dissenters are still routinely accused of being LTTE supporters and are threatened or harassed, if not worse.

Sri Lanka's Sinhalese elite is finally realising that the end of the war will not bring freedom, rights or accountability. It is time that the global community wakes up too.

© Huffington Post

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Unruly govt. MPs try to manhandle opposition members during budget

By Kelum Bandara and Yohan Perera | Daily Mirror
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Parliamentary business was relegated to rowdy levels today during the budget speech of President Mahinda Rajapaksa with some unruly government MPs trying to manhandle and rough up UNP members who held aloft placards critical of the 2012 budget.

In the middle of the President’s budgetary speech, UNP MPs started shouting slogans against the budgetary proposals. They also rose on their feet holding aloft placards which said ‘Shame’ in all the three languages.

However, the action by the UNP provoked some government benchers to react angrily. Ruling party MP from the Kandy District Lohan Ratwatte was the first to run down towards the seat of Chief Opposition MP John Amaratunga. MP Ratwatte grabbed the placard that was in the hands of Mr. Amaratunga and ran back to his seat. His action appeared to be a signal for his other colleagues to unleash their anger against the UNP MPs.

Followed by Mr. Ratwatte, ruling party legislators such as Roshan Ranasinghe from Polonnaruwa, Chamika Buddhadasa from Badulla and Udith Lokubandara started trying to snatch away the placards and posters that were with the UNP members.

The situation led to unpleasant and unparliamentarily scenes in the House with some angry government members throwing water bottles at the UNP members. Heated cross talks ensued between the members of the two sides, and in one instance, MP Buddhadasa almost traded blows with UNP MP from Badulla Harin Fernando.

Deputy Education Minister Gamini Vijith Wijayamuni Zoisa also stormed into the well of the House and threw away the books and documents placed on the desks of the UNP members. Deputy Minister of Ports Development Rohitha Abeygunawardane then approached the seat of UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera and started confronting him with un-parliamentary language.

However, some senior government members such as Bandula Gunawardane were seen trying to calm their colleagues down and prevent any possible violent incidents.

The scenes that were unbecoming of parliamentarians were seen even by the members of the diplomatic missions in the Speaker’s gallery. After the incident, all the UNP MPs left the chamber.

They were heard saying that the violence used by the government to suppress the rights of people is now being used inside the House as well.
Despite the commotion created by the members, the President continued with his speech.

© Daily Mirror

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Sri Lanka tipped to raise defence spending

Agence France-Presse (AFP)
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Sri Lanka's president is expected to raise defence spending when he unveils his 2012 budget Monday, officials said, even though the country's bloody civil war came to an end two-and-a-half years ago.

As the island nation's export-dependent economy is hit by a downturn in key US and European markets, Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also finance minister, is expected to outline plans to cut the country's deficit and raise new revenues.

Finance ministry officials said the budget will forecast a growth rate of 8.0 percent for 2012, down from an earlier projection of 9.0 percent, and estimated 8.5 percent growth in 2011, unchanged from previous estimates.

The slower growth outlook was tied to economic woes in Europe and the United States, where leaders are struggling to overcome spiralling debt problems that have resulted in lower spending on exports, officials said.

As a result, Sri Lanka's budget deficit is projected to hit 6.2 percent of gross domestic product next year, compared with a previous forecast of 5.2 percent, officials said.

The new estimate is still lower than the 6.8 percent tipped for 2011.

Official figures tabled in parliament showed 230 billion rupees ($2.1 billion) would be spent on defence in 2012, up from 215 billion rupees this year.

Security authorities say they need to keep defence spending high to repay loans on military hardware purchased to fight the Tamil Tigers during nearly four decades of ethnic conflict that ended in May 2009.

Sri Lanka's military is also recruiting, despite claiming victory over the rebel group and declaring an end to a civil war which claimed the lives of up to 100,000 people.

Rajapakse was also expected to raise new taxes, including higher cigarette and alcohol duties, although few details were available.

The country's total spending in 2012 is estimated at 2.22 trillion rupees while total revenue is estimated at 1.12 trillion rupees, figures showed.

© AFP

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Sri Lanka war probe report delivered to president

By Ranga Sirilal | Reuters
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The Sri Lankan panel investigating the end of a quarter-century war with Tamil Tiger separatists delivered its report to President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday (20), a step awaited by Western nations urging investigations into war crimes allegations.

Rajapaksa has said he will make public the findings of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), Sri Lanka's answer to calls from some Western governments, overseas Tamil Tiger supporters and rights groups for an independent investigation.

"The final report was handed over to the president by its chairman. The president will now study the report," Bandula Jayasekara, the president's director general of media, said.

It is expected to be presented to parliament in December, officials have said, but the government has yet to give a date.

Many Western nations, India and others have said a credible report by the LLRC would, in conjunction with political concessions to minority Tamils, obviate the need for an outside inquiry.

The report says there appears to be enough evidence to warrant the government investigating incidents that may have occurred in the last months of the war, which ended in May 2009, the Sri Lankan weekly Sunday Times reported.

"However, the Commission has neither named the specific incidents nor identified the persons responsible for them," the newspaper said.

The U.N.-sponsored report on Sri Lanka says there is "credible evidence" the military killed thousands of civilians at the climax of the war, which ended in Sri Lankan victory.

The government has said civilians were killed but rejects the bulk of the U.N. report as a regurgitation of allegations "fabricated" by the Tamil Tigers' overseas propaganda network, and says its soldiers acted in accordance with international law.

© Reuters

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Sri Lanka: Student union office sealed

By Dasun Edirisinghe | The Island
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Undergraduates of Sri Jayewardenepura University Saturday (19) night claimed that the university administration has sealed the Student Union office and damaged the photographs of the fallen student leaders in that room.

"The university administration threatened they would remove the statue of student hero opposite the university’s Sumangala building," IUSF Convener Sanjeewa Bandara told The Island.

According to the Mirihana Police five improvised explosive devices known by criminals as ‘duppi’ were founded at inside the university premises on Friday.

The bombs were found while some workers were repairing the new art gallery building of the university and police believe students may have hidden them to be used in a clash.

"Students never use bombs when battles," Bandara said, adding that the explosive devices had been introduced by the security personnel of the ‘Rakna Lanka’ firm attached to the Defence Ministry.

Vice Chancellor of the University Prof. N. L. A. Karunaratne was not available for immediate comments.

© The Island

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Tissainayagam denies former Attorney General's claims

By Raisa Wickrematunge | The Sunday Leader
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Senior Tamil journalist J. S Tissainayagam denied allegations that he “admitted his complicity” to an offence in order to gain a Presidential pardon.

The allegation was made on November 9, when a delegation led by Presidential Counsel and Senior Legal Adviser to the Cabinet Mohan Pieris answered questions raised by the Committee Against Torture on whether the Convention Against Torture was being properly implemented.

A delegate who said he was “personally involved” in Tissainayagam’s case claimed that the journalist had written to the President saying he was remorseful for his actions. “He had been convicted and sentenced, but his complicity in what he did was confirmed by his letter, which was sent through his lawyers. He did receive a pardon,” a UN press release said.

However, Tissainayagam denied this statement. “I wish to state that any allusion to my admitting complicity is completely false,” he said. He added that he did write to the President to receive pardon, but only to apologize in the event his writing had caused personal embarrassment to anyone. “I am unaware that embarrassing the President or the Government of Sri Lanka is a crime and that was not the crime I was accused of,” he pointed out.

As such Tissainayagam categorically denied that he was complicit in or remorseful about a crime.

Tissainayagam was convicted by the Colombo High Court in September 2008 for “causing communal disharmony”. They also found him guilty of funding his publication with LTTE money. He was sentenced for 20 years, but was later released following a Presidential pardon.

Pieris was not available when The Sunday Leader attempted to contact him.
Below is Tissainayagam’s full response to the delegation:

It was brought to my notice that [a delegation led by] the former Attorney General and now Senior Advisor to the Cabinet on Legal Affairs, Mohan Peiris, had made reference to me in an official reply to the Committee Against Torture (CAT) in Geneva this month.

This is what was said, “Concerning specific cases raised by the Committee, a delegate said he had been personally involved in the case of J. S. Tissainayagam. Mr. Tissainayagam personally wrote to the President asking for a pardon, saying he was remorseful for what he did. He had been convicted and sentenced, but his complicity in what he did was confirmed by his letter, which was sent through his lawyers. He did receive a pardon.”

I wish to state that any allusion to my admitting complicity is completely false. I did write to the President. Working as a journalist for over 20 years I never wrote to cause anyone personal embarrassment. I only wrote to highlight issues of public interest and in the hope the president and the government would take action to rectify the problems. If any of my writings had caused embarrassment to anyone (whether the president or anyone else) I had no qualms in apologizing as causing embarrassment has never been my intention.

I am unaware that embarrassing the president or the government of Sri Lanka is a crime and that was not the crime I was accused of in the High Court of Sri Lanka in September 2008. I wish to state that I have never committed any crime. Therefore, admitting remorse or complicity to any crime, in this letter to the president or otherwise, does not arise.

© The Sunday Leader

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The Indian Ocean, maritime security and regional undercurrents

By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya | The Sunday Times
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The past week saw a number of discussions, in different forums, that turned the spotlight on the Indian Ocean and its strategic importance for countries in the region as well as outside. Coincidentally, it appears. Here in Sri Lanka there was the 'Galle Dialogue,' a two-day international conference on maritime security organised by the Ministry of Defence and the Sri Lanka Navy.

A talk held in Colombo on Thursday at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies as part of the India-Sri Lanka Foundation's inaugural lecture series, also dealt with related issues. On the topic of "India and Sri Lanka and the Asian resurgence," the speaker, former Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran drew attention to the shift in the centre of gravity in the global economy towards India and the Pacific.

In his presentation at the Galle Dialog, the US delegate Robert M. Scher, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for South and Southeast Asian Affairs, remarked on the increased importance that US policymakers assigned to the Indian Ocean.

He said it "now surpassed the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as the "world's busiest and most critical trade corridor." Parts of the speech seemed to reflect the influence of Robert D. Kaplan's eye-opening book "Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power" (Random House, 2010). He was clearly referring to Kaplan's statistics when he said that "By some measures over fifty (50) percent of the world's container traffic and seventy (70) percent of global energy trade transits through the Indian Ocean. These numbers are only expected to grow over the next decade, fuelled by the Asian economic expansion and the growing need for raw materials and energy resources from Africa and the Middle East."

Was it coincidental that just two days later US President Barack Obama announced the decision to deploy 2500 marines in northern Australia, with a view to asserting its military presence in the region? A day after announcing that agreement with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, in a speech to the Australian parliament Obama asserted the US's intention to play a decisive role in shaping the future of the Asia Pacific region. The move has irked China. "It may not be quite appropriate to intensify and expand military alliances and may not be in the interest of countries within this region," Liu Weidman, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said" the New York Time reported.

The northern tip of Australia where the new American base is to be set up would represent the eastern edge of the swathe of oceanic territory that comes within Kaplan's analysis. He defines this Greater Indian Ocean area as encompassing the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, and Java and South China seas.

Referring to the U.S. Marine Corps "Vision and Strategy" statement covering the years to 2025 Kaplan observes that "Along with its continued dominance in the Pacific, the U.S. clearly seeks to be the preeminent South Asian power. This signals a momentous historical shift away from the North Atlantic and Europe."

It would appear that Sri Lanka is aware of the importance newly assigned to the seas around it. Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his opening remarks noted that "the energy security of many nations also depends on the Indian Ocean, as the fuel requirements of many industrialising nations are met through the energy resources transported through it. For all these reasons and more, the Indian Ocean's importance in the global context is very great."

He went on to flag some of the external threats to maritime security in the region. These included piracy originating in Somalia, arms smuggling and human and drug trafficking. Rajapaksa appealed for greater international cooperation to address the threats while acknowledging the responsibility of coastal nations in particular, saying "we must not shirk our duty."

While Sri Lanka is eager to showcase the capabilities of its battle-fresh, well trained armed forces -- including the navy that played a vital role in the defeat of the LTTE -- Sri Lanka would also need to be wise to the underlying power-play amongst the big powers when it responds to overtures that may be made as a result of shifting global priorities. The new emphasis placed on the Indian Ocean region relates to the rise of two emerging economic powers, India and China, both friendly nations as far as Sri Lanka is concerned. The anxieties of the US in relation to China are not those of Sri Lanka.

It is interesting that while the US delegate's presentation, by his own admission, mainly sought to look at how the Indian Ocean region affected the US and how the US could best address its own interests, the tail end of it included a reference to human rights. "The Obama administration has made it clear that it will pursue policies that include both engagement with those with whom we share interests AND on behalf of improvements in human rights," he said, following it up with the now familiar refrain on "accountability for serious violations of human rights during the war" in Sri Lanka.

President Barack Obama in his speech to the Australian parliament also referred to China in similar manner. Asserting that the US welcomed the rise of "a peaceful and prosperous China" and sought greater cooperation, he also referred to China's "poor record on human rights," according to Doordarshan. "We will do this even as we continue to speak candidly to Beijing about the importance of upholding international norms and respecting the universal human rights of the Chinese people," he was quoted as saying.

For analysts a question of interest is whether human rights have become the west's new weapon for control and domination of regions that are of strategic importance, in their calculations. China's economic expansion and outward thrust has typically been peaceful and non-confrontational. But the same cannot be said of the US, whose record has shown it will not hesitate to launch military operations that violate sovereignty of other states in pursuit of its 'high-value targets' such as Osama bin Laden (killed in Pakistan) and the al Qaeda cleric Anwar al Awlaki, (killed in an air raid in Yemen).

Robert Kaplan in a talk on his book at the Carnegie Council last year referring to China's projects in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Burma, observed that while China provides "significant military and economic assistance" to countries where it is building or helping to build ports, China does not intend to have naval bases in these places. "To have permanent naval bases in any of these ports would be too provocative to India. China is at pains to convince people that its military and economic rise is benevolent and non-hegemonic." His reference to Sri Lanka at that talk would seem to explain the current swirl of activity and discussion relating to the Indian Ocean in general and Sri Lanka in particular:

"Why is Sri Lanka important? Because it is right at the crux of the great international sea lines of communication. It's where tens of thousands of ships and merchant vessels pass each year. In this new geographic I'm detailing, Sri Lanka is going to be a very important major player."

© The Sunday Times

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Sri Lanka: Ex Army chief found guilty

Sri Lanka Mirror
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Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka was found guilty and given a three year prison sentence with hard labour after the verdict was given on the ‘White Flag’ by the Colombo High Court today (18).

the court also imposed a fine of five thousand rupees or six months in jail for default.

The verdict of the Colombo high court trial-at-bar - comprising Justices Deepali Wijesundara, Z. Rasheen and W.T.M.P.B. Waraweva was divided with Justices Deepali Wijesundara and Z. Rasheen in favour of the verdict.

Justice W.T.M.P.B. Waraweva was of the view that Mr. Fonseka should be released from the charges.

The former Army Commander was the respondent in the case, in which the attorney general has filed charges against him, that he had told the newspaper that Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had ordered that surrendering LTTE cadres be shot during the final stages of the war.

© Sri Lanka Mirror

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Indian investment into Sri Lanka zooms

By T E Narasimhan | Business Standard
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The Sri Lankan government has set a target of $3 billion (around Rs 13,500 crore) FDI inflow into the country by 2015, of which 15-20 per cent is expected from India. The trade between the two countries is expected to touch $900 million, said Sam Wijesekara, counsellor (Commercial), Sri Lanka Deputy High Commission in Chennai.

The country has attracted FDI worth $516 million from various countries.

During January-October this year, the Sri Lankan government granted approvals to nine Indian projects with an estimated investment of $168 million (around Rs 756 crore).

Since the end of its 25-year civil war in 2009, the country has been working to improve the investment climate, including making fiscal and tax reforms under the guidance of the International Monetary Fund.

In 2005, FDI flow from India to Sri Lanka was $18 million, which peaked in 2008 at $126 million and now India stands among the top five investors in Sri Lanka, with $ 457 million on a cumulative basis.

The top investments include Cairns India - oil exploration, Bharti Airtel, Indian Oil, Piramal Glass, Tata group - Tata Communication, Taj Hotel, Ashok Leyland, Ultra Cement, Ceat, L&T and Asian Paints. Besides, four banks including State Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank and ICICI also have branches in the island nation, said Wijesekara.

During the first half of 2011, FDI inflow from India was $47 million, according to the Sri Lanka Board of Investment (BoI), which added that During January-October this year, the Sri Lankan government granted approvals to nine Indian projects with an estimated investment of $168 million. At least, eight of these have begun commercial operations. This is a big jump as last year approvals were granted for 15 projects with an estimated investment of $ 72 million.

Investments flow from India to Sri Lanka in 2009 was $77 million and increased to $110 million in 2010.

Companies, which have recently entered Sri Lanka include Shriram EPC, a renewable energy company and Marg, an infrastructure company from Chennai.

According to Wijesekara, real estate, IT/BPO, hotels, food processing are some of the key sectors driving the investments into Sri Lanka from India.

The last few years have also witnessed an increasing trend of Sri Lankan investments into India, said Wijesekara. He added, the investments in India include Carsons Brandix (around $ 1 billion to set up a garment city in Visakhapatnam), MAS holdings, John Keels, Hayleys, and Aitken Spence (Hotels). There are also investments in the freight servicing and logistics sector from services industry.

© Business Standard

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Sri Lanka: Verdict due in Sarath Fonseka case

By Charles Haviland | BBC News
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The verdict is due in the third and most serious case brought by Sri Lankan authorities against former army chief Sarath Fonseka.

He is charged with "spreading disaffection" after he gave a newspaper interview apparently giving credence to allegations that the defence secretary ordered war crimes.

Fonseka has said he was quoted out of context.

He is already serving a two-and-a-half year sentence for corruption.

Fonseka, 60, faces further charges, including one of harbouring army deserters.

An ardent nationalist of the Sinhalese ethnic majority, he fell out with his ideological soulmate, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, shortly after leading the military to victory against the Tamil Tigers in 2009.

He challenged President Rajapaksa in the presidential elections in November 2010 and suffered a defeat.

In a newspaper interview he apparently gave credence to allegations that the defence secretary ordered the killing of Tamil Tiger leaders as they tried to surrender.

On Friday (18) three judges will pronounce their verdict - if found guilty he faces a possible jail sentence of up to 20 years.

© BBC News

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661 Days: Where is Prageeth?

Sri Lanka Guardian
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There was a media Conference called by wife of Pragith Ekneligoda, Mrs. Sandya Ekneligoda at the Centre For Society and Religion Auditorium, Colombo, today (17).

It was pointed out that during the 2nd day of the 47th Session on Sri Lanka at the CAT Committee in Geneva, Sri Lanka's ex Attorney General Mr. Mohan Peiris,made some references on the issue of the forced disappearance of Pragith Ekneligoda, claiming that according to reliable information that he could vouch for, Mr. Ekneligoda has taken refuge in a foreign country and that the campaign against his disappearance is a hoax.

Mr. Peiris failed to provide detailed information on the alleged whereabouts of Mr. Ekneligoda despite claiming that he had "reliable information". He did not name the country, where he is now. So Pragith’s wife wants Mr. Mohan Peiris to disclose the details of the whereabouts of her husband. Speaking further, she said that on 23rd of Nov., the case in the magistrate courts, Homagama re’ the disappearance of Pragith is to be called and before that she needed the said information from Mr.Peiris.

Pragith Ekneligoda, a political columnist and cartoonist with Lanka-e-news website and a freelance journalist who was known for his anti-government news and cartoons went missing on January 24, 2010, just days before the presidential election and it is 661 days now for his disappearance. He was believed to be a supporter of the common opposition presidential candidate,Mr. Sarath Fonseka.

Mr.Mangala Samarawira, on behalf of United National Party told the gathering that as the opposition, they will do their best to protest for this. He said that they plan to formulate a program me for protesting Avanitiya (lawlessness) of the country during the coming months with the support of everybody. He reminded that President is only caretaker of the country but not the King of this country. Replying to a question, posed by Mr. Elmo Fernando, BBC Sandeshaya, he said that though, he admits that there are problems in the opposition party, they will forget the differences and fight for the common good.

Dr. Nimalka Fernando explained the gathering how Mr. Peiris was responding to the CAT committee about Pragith and other journalists who were attacked. Mr.Jayantha Katagoda M.P.in the National Alliance, Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne, Mr. Siritunga Jayasuriya, Mr. Linus Jayatilaka, and K.D.C. Kumarage, A A L also spoke.

© Sri Lanka Guardian

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Murdered Sri Lanka politician's family hail MP's arrest

BBC News
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The daughter of a Sri Lankan politician shot dead last month has welcomed a court move to arrest an MP in connection with his killing.

Speaking to the BBC from an undisclosed location outside Sri Lanka, Hirunika Premachandra said that the news had restored her faith in the judiciary.

Her father Bharatha Lakshman was allegedly killed by MP Duminda Silva.

Mr Silva was injured when shooting broke out in Colombo between rival members of the governing party.

On Tuesday a court said that Mr Silva should be arrested and produced before a court even though his name is not among the list of 15 police suspects wanted in connection with the violence.

He is currently believed to be receiving medical treatment for severe injuries in a hospital in Singapore.

Gun culture

"I think this is the first time I felt happy since my father passed away," Ms Premachandra told the BBC Sinhala service.

"It is not because somebody is being sent to prison but because we can still trust the judicial system in Sri Lanka.

"I salute the judge for making us still believe in the judiciary."

Presidential adviser Mr Lakshman was among four people killed when shooting broke out within the governing United People's Front Alliance as local elections were being held in a suburb of Colombo on 8 October.

Police said on Tuesday that there was not enough evidence to arrest Mr Silva and that he was "not of sound mind".

However, considering the evidence, the magistrate ordered the MP's immediate arrest.

Police quoting Mr Lakshman's driver said that Mr Silva blocked Mr Lakshman's vehicle and shot him. But, the officer said, other eyewitnesses had contradicted this.

The BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo says that several other people have been detained in connection with the violence, including Mr Silva's bodyguard and a man widely described as an "underworld figure" who was with Mr Silva at the time.

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa countered widespread allegations against Mr Silva by saying he was "not a known underworld king pin or some drug dealer - he's an elected MP".

But Mr Rajapaksa admitted that politicians in the area where the gunfight took place had connections with the underworld and its gun culture.

© BBC News

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