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So far 17,903 LTTE cadres have died
Saturday, 26 November 2005 - 2:30 AM SL Time
The statistics provided by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, reveals that the separatist Tamil rebel outfit of Sri Lanka has so far lost 17,903 of its cadres either killed or died in action, since from 27 November 1982 up to 15 November 2005.
According to the LTTE statistics, out of the total dead cadres 14,908 were males and 3805 were females.
Out of the slain cadres 265 of them belonged to most fearsome Black Tiger suicide squad and the breakdown shows that 79 of them were killed from the LTTE`s Army black Tigers squad and 186 of them were from the Navy Black Tiger suicide squad and out of them 69 of them were female Black Tigers.
From last Monday up to 27th of this month, the week has been already declared as `Heroes Day Week` and the LTTE is making extensive arrangements to celeberate on 26, the birthday of its leader Velupillai Prabakaran and on 27th, the final day of the celebrations where the Prabakaran would deliver his annual Heroes days speech.
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The full text of the Speech made by President Mahinda Rajapakse at the swearing in ceremony
Friday, 25 November 2005 - 9:05 PM SL Time
Most Venerable Maha Sangha,
Members of the clergy of other religions
Hon. Chief Justice
Chiefs of the Armed Forces,
The Inspector General of Police
Distinguished guests
Brothers and sisters
First of all I would like to pay most respectfully my gratitude to hundreds of thousands of our people who voted me as the Executive President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. I also take this opportunity to commend and thank activists of all constituent parties of the United People`s Freedom Alliance and other parties who untiringly worked for the victory of the UPFA at the Presidential election.
Our main objective of the election was to ensure the victory of a policy. Today the majority of the people has endorsed that policy by exercising universal suffrage, a necessary feature of the sovereignty of the people. It is a policy that protects the country without dividing it. It is a policy that takes the country forward by eradicating poverty, under-development and backwardness. It is a policy that builds a new Sri Lanka. I would like to declare that from now on it is not a mere election manifesto but the public policy of the state.
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Rajapakse rejects Tamil Homeland, Right to Self determination
Friday, 25 November 2005 - 9:01 PM SL Time
Rejecting the Tamil demand of right to self determination and the concept of traditional Tamil homeland, Sri Lanka`s President Mahinda Rajapakse in his first address to the Parliament in Colombo Friday avoided reference to Norwegian facilitation and reiterated his hardline stand outlined in the `Mahinda Thinking` election manifesto prepared following his agreement with extreme Sinhala nationalist JVP and JHU. Nullifying the P-TOMS agreement, he said he would replace it with `Jaya Lanka` (Victory to Lanka) tsunami reconstruction programme. His `new peace process` would aim to have direct talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), he said.
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Politics
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CBK`s military farewell put off
Saturday, 26 November 2005 - 2:36 AM SL Time
Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga`s farewell ceremony scheduled to take place this week was postponed for next week as the venue - - the Army grounds still remains water logged after unprecedented rains that hit the country.
The novel ceremony would accord a guard of honour with a 21 gun salute for both incoming President Mahinda Rajapakse and outgoing President Kumaratunga.
Meanwhile President Rajapakse`s office said no date was fixed as to when the new President would move into President`s House. It is learnt that the new residence the former President is hoping to move into in Torrington is still under renovation.
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A Country has two leaders: TNA
Saturday, 26 November 2005 - 2:35 AM SL Time
A TNA parliamentarian yesterday told Parliament that there were two countries within Sri Lanka in which President Mahinda Rajapakse was the leader of the Sinhalese and LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran remained the leader of the Tamils.
Speaking during the emergency debate in Parliament, the party`s Jaffna district parliamentarian M.K. Sivajilingam extended his congratulations to President Rajapakse and Prime Minister Ratanasiri Wickramanayake.
He said his party would reject the government`s plan to enter into a dialogue on the peace process with the southern political parties without talking to the LTTE to identify its stance.
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President gives peace top spot, rejects division
Saturday, 26 November 2005 - 2:27 AM SL Time
Making his policy statement to Parliament yesterday, President Mahinda Rajapakse said he would give the highest priority to achieving an honourable peace within a sovereign and unitary state where all citizens, irrespective of their ethnicity or religious belief, could live in peace in all regions of the country.
The President said all ethnic groups of people, irrespective of where they were born, should be able to consider the whole country as their homeland.
He also emphasized the need to amend the clauses of the ceasefire agreement and ensure that no violations of human rights such as abductions of children takes place. He also said that a transparent mechanism should be set up to monitor the CFA.
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Editorial News
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A President has spoken
Saturday, 26 November 2005 - 2:33 AM SL Time
President Mahinda Rajapakse has, like his predecessors, given top priority to finding a solution to the vexed problem of the conflict in the North and the East. The focus of his address to Parliament yesterday was predictably on the peace process. He has evinced a keen desire to take the peace process out of the rut along which it had been trundling in the past. He proposes to expand it to include all stakeholders including the main Opposition party, the UNP and the Muslims.
Contrary to the claims by his detractors who are all out to project him as a hawk, he didn`t mince his words when he said he didn`t believe in war as a solution and saw negotiations as the way forward.
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Old wine, new steward
Friday, 25 November 2005 - 1:57 AM SL Time
Today, elsewhere in this newspaper, a writer makes reference to `Chief of the School of Cynics`, Diogenes, who throughout his life searched with a lantern in the daylight for an honest man. His objective was to expose the vanity and selfishness of man. A modern day cynic in Sri Lanka may look with a lantern in the daylight not for an honest man but a government parliamentarian who is not a minister.
The new (') cabinet consisting of twenty five members may be smaller in size in comparison to the previous one, but their deputies, numbering thirty and twenty five state ministers account for almost the entire parliamentary group of the UPFA excluding the JVP.
They must be singing that popular Sinhala number in chorus, Api okkoma rajavaru`85 (All of us are kings`85!).
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Of hawks and a dove in the soup
Thursday, 24 November 2005 - 3:19 AM SL Time
The western media, the peace lobby and their fellow travellers have done it! They have dubbed President Mahinda Rajapakse a hawk. How have they come to such a conclusion so soon' What he really intends to do by way of resolving the conflict remains to be seen. A man, we believe, should be judged by his deeds and not words.
In 1994, President Kumaratunga was hailed as a dove. But within a few months of assuming office, the dove metamorphosed into a hawk. She waged war on the LTTE, which met its match in her. With the passage of time she turned into a cross between a hawk and a dove (supposing such a thing is ever possible) and towards the end of her second term became a confirmed dove cooing for political reasons. Even her worst critics (read the UNP) began to sing hosannas to her, when they knew her presidential days were numbered and went to the extent of offering her a job after retirement if Ranil became President.
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Stop Heroes` Day in London: JHU
Saturday, 26 November 2005 - 2:37 AM SL Time
Jatika Hela Urumaya (JHU) writing to British High Commissioner Stephen Evans urged the immediate intervention of the British Government to stop the celebration of Heroes` Day at Alexandra Palace and Wembley Arena in London on November 27 in commemoration of LTTE leader`s birthday.
JHU General Secretary Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera writing to Mr. Evans pointed out that LTTE`s theoretician Anton Balasingham is to address the celebration itself and LTTE Leader Vellupillai Pirahabaran`s speech is to be telecast live from his jungle hideout in the North of Sri Lanka.
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A`pura Police learn about human rights
Saturday, 26 November 2005 - 2:29 AM SL Time
The Police Project of the Centre for the Study of Human Rights, University of Colombo will conduct a training course on human rights and scientific investigation techniques for the In-Service trainees of the Anuradhapura in-service Training Institute on November 26 and 27.
Lectures will be conducted on human rights attitudes development, rule of law, civil rights and obligations, fundamental rights, conflict resolution and mediation, scientific investigation techniques, torture and on inquest procedures by lecturers from Police Department, Anuradhapura JMO and Lawyers from various capacities.
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Crack down on journalist killings urged
Saturday, 26 November 2005 - 2:28 AM SL Time
The media watchdog Reporters Without Borders Thursday urged Commonwealth leaders to crack down on journalist killings in six of its member states, where the group said there was a pattern of abuse and impunity.
The Paris-based organisation called for `a concerted effort to end impunity for the killers of journalists,` as leaders of the 53 Commonwealth nations gathered in Malta for a summit.
Fifteen journalists have been killed in member states Bangladesh, Gambia, India, Pakistan, Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka since the last Commonwealth summit in December 2003, with few cases brought to justice, the group said in a statement.
`The responsibility of the democratic countries meeting at the summit in Malta from 25 to 27 November -- especially Britain -- is to press leaders of those six states to stop such crimes and to punish them,` it said.
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Business / Economy News
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Rohitha leads 30 member team to boost Indo Lanka ties
Saturday, 26 November 2005 - 2:37 AM SL Time
Highlighting the new Government`s priority to promote investments in Sri Lanka, Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion, Rohitha Bogollagama will lead a high-powered, 30-member delegation from the public and private sector, to the 21st India Economic Summit 2005 at New Delhi, from November 26-29, 2005.
Mr. Bogollagama will be the first Cabinet Minister of the new Government to go abroad on a promotional mission.
The Minister is also expected to meet India`s Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, during the visit. Minister Bogollagama`s Economic Advisor Prof. Lakshman R. Watawala and Ministry Secretary Lal Kumara Gamage will be associated with the Minister.
As a proactive move Sri Lanka will host the opening night`s reception on November 26 on the theme `Sri Lanka: A great place to work. A great place to live.` The evening, featuring a medley of Sri Lankan dance and cuisine, will be sponsored by the Board of Investment, Sri Lanka, SriLankan Airlines and Sri Lanka Tourist Board and will include an address by Mr. Bogollagama.
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Anura to represent SL at Commonwealth summit
Saturday, 26 November 2005 - 2:31 AM SL Time
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has nominated Anura Bandaranaike, Tourism Minister and former Foreign Minister to represent him and the Government of Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Leaders Summit being held at Malta.
The nomination was made with the full concurrence of Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, a Tourism Ministry release said.
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Honours for top businessmen
Friday, 25 November 2005 - 2:07 AM SL Time
Several of the country`s captains of industry, top businesspersons and economists were among Sri Lankans who were conferred national honours by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, in one of her last official engagements, last week.
Among those who were conferred with the Desamanya title were former Central Bank Governor A.S. Jayawardene and present Governor Sunil Mendis, Harry Jayawardena, Lalith de Mel, Prof M.T.A. Furkhan, Mahesh Amalean, Mano Selvanathan, Nihal Jinasena, Deva Rodrigo, Sohli Captain, Tom Ellawela, Macky Hashim, Patrick Amarasinghe, Tilak de Zoysa and eminent economist Professor W.D. Lakshman.
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Sanath vows to fight back
Saturday, 26 November 2005 - 2:32 AM SL Time
Sanath Jayasuriya may have been axed by the national cricket selectors for the Test series against India, but the country`s highest run getter in both forms of the game says he`s far from over and vowed to fight back for his place in the team.
Speaking for the first time since his dramatic axing from the Test squad after a 6-1 drubbing in the One Day Internationals, the 36-year-old says that he will use the domestic matches to good effect to return to form.
`The day the team left to India I was feeling somewhat disappointed. The team that I have been a part of for the last so many years was going away but I was playing a club match,` Jayasuriya told `The Island` at his Barnes Place residence.
`Injury and form have deserted me and now I am keen at working hard on my game and getting back into the side. It`s actually a bit difficult to cope with it when you are out of the side but it`s a part of the game when you are a professional and I am cool about it,` the left-handed opening batsman said on losing his place in the side since becoming a permanent feature in the Sri Lankan batting order in 1995, with a scintillating hundred against the Australians at the Adelaide Oval.
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Colombo Basketball Club`s unbeaten run continues
Friday, 25 November 2005 - 1:58 AM SL Time
Colombo Basketball Club`s unbeaten run in the Colombo Super League Basketball tournament continued when they beat Otters AC in an `A` Division fixture at the Depot Police courts, on Tuesday. The tournament commenced after a week`s break due to the Presidential elections, but there was no stopping the Colombo boys who went on to secure their fourth win in the competition.
A single basket separated the two teams when Colombo took a slender two-point lead at the end of the first half (31-29). But they seized the initiative in the second half winning by 12 points (69-57).
Otters had looked one of the better teams in the tournament and on paper were supposed to pose a threat to the defending champions, but Colombo, who are already through to the semis, won without much trouble.
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Sri Lanka suffer heavy defeat
Thursday, 24 November 2005 - 3:18 AM SL Time
Sri Lanka`s Under-19 cricketers suffered a heavy 140-run defeat at the hands of hosts India, in the Afro-Asian Under-19 cricket tournament at the Ukku Stadium in India on Tuesday.
Batting first, India posted a mammoth 293 with Gourav Dhiman scoring a 98-ball 121 which included two sixes and 15 fours.
Chasing the target, Sri Lanka lost wickets at regular intervals. Gaurav Dhiman, Yo Mahesh, Piyush Chawla and Shahabaz Nadeem claimed two wickets each as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 153 in 34 overs. Sachithra Serasingha (30), was the top scorer.
With this third straight win, India have 18 points and head the table, while Sri Lanka remain on 11 points.
In another match, Pakistan defeated South Africa by four wickets. Though they missed the bonus point, Pakistan (12 points), are still in the race for a berth in the final.
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