Three Indian warships arrive today Joint exercise belies anti-Lanka propaganda

Amidst allegations by some South Indian politicians that the Sri Lanka Navy attacks Indian fishermen near the international maritime boundary even after the end of the war, a combined Indo-Lanka naval exercise off Colombo is being planned.

A three-day exercise is scheduled to begin early this week in the Western Naval Area.

The LTTE collapsed on May 18 after bloody clashes on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon eliminated the last group of terrorists, including its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Sources said three Indian warships would be involved in the exercise, the first joint naval exercise after Sri Lanka’s triumph over terrorism. The vessels are expected to reach Colombo today (October 5). Responding to our queries, an official said that India’s readiness to go ahead with the exercise was evidence that even the Centre did not take South Indian criticism of SLN action seriously.

Sources said the SLN had thrown a cordon to prevent Indian fishermen crossing the maritime boundary to poach in Sri Lankan waters and there was no truth in claims of indiscriminate attacks on Indian trawlers. The LTTE had extensively used Indian boats to smuggle in arms, ammunition and explosives and in some instances seized boats but some Indian officials and politicians always placed the blame on the SLN, sources said.

A section of the Indian press recently accused the SLN of having killed at least 50 Indian fishermen within a fortnight, a claim strongly denied by the Sri Lankan government. This was followed by a raid on Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi by a group of protesters, who demanded an immediate stop to SLN attacks on Indian fishermen; they also demanded Kachchativu island back.

Sources said that SLNS Sayura, formerly of the Indian Navy and SLNS Shakthi, previously of the Chinese Navy would be involved in the exercise. SLNS Sayura is the first of the three Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) acquired from India while SLNS Shakthi, a Landing Ship Tank is the only one of its category with the SLN.

Meanwhile, Sukanya Class OPV INS Savitri which arrived in Colombo on Friday (October 2) will leave for the Maldives today. The Indian warship was escorting the Maldivian Coast Guard vessel ‘Hurawee’ on its way to India for a re-fit. Sources recalled that ‘Hurawee’ had been responsible for sinking an Indian fishing trawler, Sri Krishna, commandeered by the LTTE in May 2007. The Maldivians had backed Sri Lanka’s efforts to destroy the LTTE arms smuggling network by giving direct access to captured LTTE terrorists, sources said.

Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe on Saturday visited INS ‘Savitri’ at the Port of Colombo, where he met the outgoing Indian High Commissioner in Colombo, Alok Prasad.

Sources said that Sri Lanka was grateful for the opportunity given by India for SLN personnel to train onboard their vessels.

A few weeks ago, a Pakistani warship arrived in Colombo on a goodwill visit.

© The Island

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President's rally causes one death

Delay causes death to mother of two at President’s rally held at Matara Sanath Jayasuriya play grounds.

Monica Manamperi, a forty two year old mother of two daughters had to pay her life due the delay in transferring her to Matara General hospital from Bathigama hospital.

The driver of the ambulance carrying the serious heart patient has pleaded the organizers in vain to send the vehicle without being delayed.

According to the doctors of the hospital her life would have been saved if she was admitted earlier without causing much delay on the way.

© Lanka Truth

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Wife of jailed SLankan reporter accepts award

J.S. Tissainayagam, a Tamil reporter and editor serving a 20-year prison sentence in Sri Lanka, was awarded the first Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism on Friday.

His wife, Ronnate Tissainayagam, accepted the award, named for a 30-year veteran of Agence France-Presse who died last year, at a ceremony at the National Press Club.

Tissainayagam was honored by the US branch of Paris-based media rights group Reporters Without Borders and Global Media Forum, a company founded by Mackler to train journalists and non-profit organizations to use the media as a tool for social change.

"For the last 20 years my husband has endeavoured to pursue the goals that Mr. Mackler believed in as a journalist," Tissainayagam's wife said.

"Like Peter, my husband was never too busy to encourage those who wanted to learn to write and has helped many in journalism," she said. "Today my husband is continuing to teach me courage and grace in difficult times.

"For him, no matter what the circumstances are, there is no excuse for unkindness," Ronnate Tissainayagam said. "No matter what the circumstance, fellow human beings must be treated with dignity."

Marcus Brauchli, executive editor of The Washington Post, delivered the keynote speech at the award ceremony paying homage to journalists around the world working under repressive regimes.

"Doing such good journalism as the Peter Mackler Award encourages takes courage," Brauchli said.

Tissainayagam, who wrote for the North Eastern Monthly Magazine and Sunday Times and founded Outreachsl.com, a website that focused on the island's minority Tamils, was arrested in March 2008 on terrorism charges.

He was accused of receiving money from the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and causing racial hatred through his writings about Tamils affected by the LTTE war for a separate homeland, charges he rejected.

"I never advocated violence," he said in a statement in court. "My objective was to generate non violent means of resolving the conflict. My research, writings and work was towards achieving this."

Cited by President Barack Obama as an "emblematic example" of a persecuted journalist, Tissainayagam was sentenced in August to 20 years of hard labor.

The Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism was founded in June 2008 to honor the memory of Mackler, who died of a heart attack that month at the age of 58.

Mackler covered wars, elections and other notable events around the world during his career at AFP and was key in transforming the agency's English language service into the international competitor it is today.

The Peter Mackler Award rewards journalists who fight courageously and ethically to report the news in countries where freedom of the press is either not guaranteed or not recognized.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has also selected Tissainayagam as a recipient of a 2009 International Press Freedom Award.

© AFP

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Lankan envoy justifies Tamil scribe's jail term

Sri Lanka has likened the charges against Tamil journalist J S Tissainayagam, sentenced to 20 years in jail for links with LTTE, to any European scribe accepting al-Qaeda funding.

Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU Ravinatha Aryasinha told Human Rights sub committee of the European Parliament in Brussels that he wondered "whether journalists in Europe accepting a cheque from Al Qaeda would be acceptable".

Aryasinha said the committee members gave the impression that Tissainayagam was convicted by the Colombo High Court for writing two articles, which in the view of the prosecution had the effect of inciting communal disharmony.

"They forget the more serious charge proved (against the Tamil scribe) which was that he had accepted funds from the LTTE," the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Brussels quoting the official said in a release.

© Press Trust of India

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MPs and Journalists attacked

A government minister along with supporters from Beliatta attacked opposition campaigners alleges the United National Party (UNP).

Speaking to BBC Sandeshaya, UNP general secretary Tissa Attanayake said “we were campaigning in Beveraliya Estate, Deniyaya on Sunday when we came under attack by Minister Dilan Perera and his supporters”.

“When we were using a road built by the state funds through Beveraliya Estate, our vehicles were stopped in front of a mansion by its owner.”

“We told him this is a public road but he told us it’s a private road,” Attanayake said.

“Then Minister Dilan Perera came with some people from Beliatta and attacked us”.

Journalists attaked

"Journalists were also attacked and their equipment damaged during the commotion. More than ten vehicles were damaged as well,” the general secretary added.

Journalists Chandika Jayawardana, Krishan Jeewaka Jayaruk, Kelum Jayaweera and Shaman Chanuka were among those beaten.

“If this road was built by using public funds, how is it not a public highway?” the UNP parliamentarian questioned.

Political parties in Sri Lanka are campaigning for the Southern provincial council elections due to be held on the 10th of October.

© BBC Sinhala

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Sri lanka : RSF worries about the safety of journalist

Reporters Without Borders is worried for the safety of Dileesha Abeysundera, a journalist working for the Sinhalese-language weekly Irudina, who may have been the target of a kidnapping attempt when unidentified men tried to force their way into her home in the Colombo suburb of Borella on the night of 28 September. She reported the incident to the police.

“The abduction and agression of journalist and press freedom activist Poddala Jayantha in June showed that this kind of threat is to be taken seriously,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Political gangs continue to intimidate journalists and human rights activists with complete impunity. We urge the authorities to carry out a thorough investigation in response to Dileesha Abeysundera’s complaint.”

Several men arrived outside Abeysundera’s home in a white van shortly before midnight, called out her name repeatedly and tried to force the gate before eventually leaving.

Abeysundera thinks she is being threatened because of her role in campaigns for media freedom and against the government’s plan to restore a press council.

The newspaper that Abeysundera works for is part of the Leader Publications group, which also owns the Sunday Leader. She is deputy secretary of the Free Media Movement and secretary of the National Forum for Journalists.

The investigation into the murder of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunga nine months ago has meanwhile stalled without any suspect being arrested.

© Reporters Sans Frontières

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"In democracies, like Sri Lanka, governments have a duty to uphold the rights of all their citizens" - Siobhain McDonagh

Addressing the final day of the 2009 Labour party conference, former Labour whip Siobhain McDonagh MP draws attention to Channel 4 News's coverage of events in Sri Lanka.

The Labour party conference in Brighton turned its attention to the aftermath of the civil war in Sri Lanka today.

In his speech, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said –

"In those democracies, like Sri Lanka, where civil war claimed lives and liberty, we say governments have a duty to uphold the civil, social and political rights of all their citizens, whatever their ethnicity or religion."

The conference went on to debate – and pass – a resolution which condemned "the detention by the Sri Lankan government of 300,000 men, women and children" as inhumane.

The resolution also called for journalists to be allowed to enter Sri Lanka and report what is happening in the camps, and for the withdrawal of Sri Lanka’s favoured trading status.

Debating the resolution, former Labour whip Siobhain McDonagh described Sri Lanka as "a country where we can see on Channel 4 News young men, naked and bound, shot at close range."

On 25 August Channel 4 News broadcast footage which appeared to show Sri Lankan forces executing Tamils.

The footage allegedly dated from January of this year, several months before Sri Lanka declared victory over the Tamil Tigers after a civil war that had lasted more than a quarter of a century.

Sri Lanka’s government disputed the authenticity of the footage, but it nonetheless prompted the United Nations to call for an investigation. UN rapporteur Philip Alston remarked: “This videotape seems to have most of the characteristics of a genuine article.”

On 7 September Channel 4 News broadcast new film which appeared to reveal the victims of Sri Lanka’s war, suffering poor conditions in UN-funded camps.

Four days later, on 11 September, Professor Rajiva Wijesinha, spokesman for Sri Lanka’s ministry of disaster management, appeared on Channel 4 News, questioning the authenticity of the film shown on 7 September and of the earlier footage.

© Channel 4

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Southern PC Elections: state vehicles being misused on large scale

While highlighting the fact that for the first time in election history party leaders have not been invited to meet the Commissioner of Elections before the Southern Provincial Council election, Ruwan Banagala of the Campaign for Free and Fair Election (CaFFE) charged that an increasing number of election malpractices were being reported in the run up to the Oct 10 polls.

Giving examples he said they had received complaints that vehicles belonging to the Ministry of Vocational Training were being used for propaganda work in the Galle district. “Five buses bearing licence number plates starting from WP NA 6912 upto 6916 were been used for propaganda work in the daytime and are parked at the Technical College premises at night. It was reported that persons using these vehicles cover the state logo with a white sticker before using them in the Galle District. Two additional vans (WPNA 4527 and WPNA 4529) are being used for the same purpose. Highlighting several other abuses of state resources he said a digital printer brought by the ministry on invoice no 4305 was allegedly being used at one of the candidate’s elections office.”

Similar abuses of public property have also been reported from Hambanthota this time involving vehicles belonging to the Ministry of Ports and Aviation. Vehicles belonging to other ministries too have been used for propaganda work for the Southern Provincial Council election.” he added.

Media Spokesman for CaFFE Keerthi Tennakoon presenting an update on incidents of violence and election malpractices said 126 such cases had been reported. “ 38 cases of damaging property, 18 assaults, 20 violations of election law including pasting posters and cutouts in unauthorized places, six cases of intimidation, 13 cases of misuse of state property and 22 incidents that cannot be categorized was also reported. There had also been nine unconfirmed incidents reported as well,” he said.

He pointed out that this is the first time in the history that the party leaders did not held the discussions with the Elections Commissioner with regard to the elections.

He also stated the importance of implementing the 17th amendment, specially the need of independence elections commission and independence police commission for a free and fair election.

© Daily Mirror

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Govt. will oppose any EU probe

By Sandun A. Jayasekera - The government yesterday expressed its unconditional opposition to any inquiry by the European Union (EU) on Sri Lanka in connection with further extending the GSP+ facility, stressing any such move would compromise the self esteem, dignity and sovereignty of the country.

Export Development and Internal Trade Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris making a special statement at the weekly cabinet news briefing at the Information Department auditorium stressed that Sri Lanka was ready to reciprocate positively in a dialogue if the EU needed more information but not at any cost.

‘There has been a great deal of misunderstanding and misinterpretation about the extension of the GSP+ facility which was granted in January 2008 for three years. The people who talk negatively about Sri Lanka must understand that the situation is much different from what we have witnessed prior to the end of the conflict. The highest priority of the government right now is to resettle about 250,000 IDPs safely,” Prof. Peiris emphasized.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has appointed a high level Cabinet Sub Committee to look into issues pertaining to the extension of the GSP+ and take all necessary steps to obtain it. The committee has already conducted several rounds of talks and has interacted with the EU through Sri Lanka’s EU representative Ravinatha Ariyawansa.

“But we will not agree to an inquiry by any other country. We do not want to withhold any information from the EU. But we refuse in no uncertain terms if the EU demands a probe and we shall not take part or support any such inquiry,’ Prof. Peiris emphasized.

© Daily Mirror

Related Links:
Lanka will not respond to GSP+ investigation expert’s report - Daily Mirror

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25th JVP office set ablaze

A JVP propaganda office was razed to the ground in the early hours of yesterday (1) at Wadiya in the Beliatta Police area.

This was the 25th JVP office that was set ablaze in the Hambantotta District during the run up to the forthcoming Southern Provincial Council elections.

Beliatta Police are conducting investigations.

© The Island

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