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Another birthday - amid crisis times in Sri Lanka
Saturday, 26 November 2005 - 1:11 PM SL Time
By M.R. Narayan Swamy, New Delhi: Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran marks his 51st birthday Saturday with a speech the next day that will indicate if the country`s fragile peace is set to continue or whether the ethnically divided nation will slide back to full-scale war.
Prabhakaran, the world`s longest surviving and in some ways the most singularly motivated insurgent, was born in Jaffna Nov 26, 1954, and founded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1976 with a small band of men with the dream of carving out an independent Tamil homeland.
Three decades later, he runs a de facto state in the north and east of the country which Colombo finds it difficult to vanquish. And the West, desperate to find a solution to the long-running conflict in the island nation of 20 million people to the south of India, is realising that it is not easy to persuade the man to give up his goal of breaking up Sri Lanka.
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Prabha`s response tomorrow will be crucial
Saturday, 26 November 2005 - 2:34 AM SL Time
LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran is expected to formally respond to President Mahinda Rajapakse`s invitation for the resumption of peace talks, LTTE sources said.
The elusive rebel leader will make his intentions known on the peace process when he delivers his annual heroes day speech in the Wanni tomorrow evening.
TNA parliamentarian K. Eelaventhan said the LTTE leader`s speech would be decisive as it would make clear if the peace process was to continue or whether the country would be forced back to war.
The martyr`s day speech comes in the backdrop of the LTTE instigating a total boycott of the presidential polls in the north and east saying the political leadership in the South had failed to resolve the ethnic conflict despite several rounds of peace talks.
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TNA doubtful of LTTE`s nod to govt`s approach to peace process
Saturday, 26 November 2005 - 2:34 AM SL Time
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday said that despite assurances of a firm commitment to the peace process and involvement of all parties by President Mahinda Rajapakse they see no basis for the current process to result in a constructive development in finding a solution to the ethnic issue.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror after a Party meeting held last evening TNA MP Mavai Senathirajah stated that in spite of the new President`s pledge to move ahead with the peace process as soon as possible, the party was still discussing the President`s stance regarding the ethnic issue and that they would be revealing their decision regarding the matter before November 28 (Monday).
He also mentioned that the TNA had requested for and was granted a debate in Parliament on December 7 on the speech made by Mr. Rajapakse yesterday, a day before the crucial presentation in Parliament of the proposed Budget.
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Politics
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Mahinda Chinthana subsidies will cost Rs. 10 billion a year
Sunday, 27 November 2005 - 4:37 AM SL Time
The government will have to spend an additional Rs.10 billion next year to provide fertilizer subsidies, increase Samurdhi benefits and provide mid-day meals for school children as promised in the 'Mahinda Chintanaya', a Sunday Times study shows.
To provide a 50-kg bag of urea at Rs. 350, the government will be forced to increase its subsidy to the private sector involved in the imports. Accordingly, the current subsidy of Rs.23,000 per metric ton of urea will have to be increased by Rs.4,000.
The additional subsidy for urea alone will cost the government Rs.1,400 million a year as about 350,000 metric tons of urea are used annually. However, if the prices of other fertilizers are also reduced to Rs.350 a bag, the government will have to provide an annual subsidy of Rs.3,500 million. Currently no subsidy is provided for other fertilizers, the Sunday Times study shows.
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LTTE as sole representative challenged
Sunday, 27 November 2005 - 4:33 AM SL Time
A newly formed pan-European Tamil organisation is challenging the LTTE`s claim to be the sole voice of the Tamil people.
Based in London but embracing expatriate Tamils from Europe, the new group called the Tamil Democratic Congress (TDC) has, as one of its aims, 'the re-establishment of a culture of tolerance, respect for contrary opinion, human life and human rights among Tamils.'
The TDC also expects 'to provide a forum for diverse opinion of Tamils on the Tamil national question to be expressed democratically.' These are among the stated aims of the TDC, according to the press release sent to The Sunday Times.
The organisation, which invites like-minded organisations within and outside Sri Lanka to liaise with it, seems to have been formed last week after Sri Lanka`s presidential election at which registered Tamil voters in the Jaffna peninsula were prevented from voting due to a boycott mounted by the LTTE. The strong call going out from the TDC for the expression of diverse opinions, democratic debate and tolerance in the Tamil community is a direct challenge to the LTTE, some London Tamils said, explaining the purpose behind the new organisation.
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Mahinda moves on state media
Sunday, 27 November 2005 - 4:26 AM SL Time
A section of the state media heads faces the axe with Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa directing them to quit their posts.
Yapa who played a pivotal role in Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse`s successful presidential election bid, is believed to have called for their resignation immediately after taking over the media portfolio last Wednesday.
The Sunday Island learns that President Rajapakse has emphasised the immediate need to take full control of the state media. Well informed sources said that Yapa`s order took former President Chandrika Kumaratunga`s nominees by surprise. They did not anticipate Rajapakse to act this swiftly, the sources said.
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Editorial News
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Thoughts on the presidency
Sunday, 27 November 2005 - 4:27 AM SL Time
The appointment of Col. (Retd.) Gotabhaya Rajapakse as the Defence Secretary must raise many eyebrows for no other reason than the fact that he is President Mahinda Rajapakse`s brother. There are two sides to that coin. While it can be rightly argued that giving senior governmental appointments to the kith and kin of elected officials, however high or low, must not be permitted except under special circumstances, it is also necessary that people holding high office and carrying awesome national responsibilities must be able to make appointments that they are comfortable with. They must be able to implicitly trust whoever they appoint to such positions, have a good assessment of the capability of such a person to competently do the work the job entails and much more. In this light it can be said that this appointment, however bad it may seem from the concept of pavul sangrahaya, for which this country is notorious, should not be perceived as bad per se and the new president blindly faulted for beginning his administration with a black mark. It would be fairer to see how the new Defence Secretary performs in the position that has been entrusted to him. The judgement can come later.
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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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Kotagala raid: Thonda to be quizzed
Sunday, 27 November 2005 - 4:36 AM SL Time
Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) leader Arumugam Thondaman is to be questioned by police on allegations that his party members misappropriated state funds.
The questioning is a sequel to a Friday-night raid carried out by Colombo Crime Division`s special detectives who found television sets, computers, sewing machines, bicycles and sports equipment purchased out of state funds, but left undistributed for the past two years.
The detection was made at the Kotagala youth centre, a building owned by CWC parliamentarian V. Puthirasigamany, and rented out to the CWC-controlled Nuwara Eliya Pradeshiya Sabha. The building has now been sealed by police.
Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman P. Sakthivel was being questioned last evening while Mr. Thondaman and Mr. Puthirasigamany are also to be questioned, Police said.
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Wanni front group beats war drums
Sunday, 27 November 2005 - 4:32 AM SL Time
A Vavuniya based group believed to be an LTTE-backed organization yesterday told the people of the area to be ready for their liberation from the 'clutches of racists'.
The organisation describing itself as the `Wannian Force' in leaflets distributed in government-controlled areas of Vavuniya said: 'You have been forced against your wish to live in the controlled area of the enemy. This will not be for long. We will very soon redeem you from the clutches of the enemy. All of you get prepared to strengthen our struggle and redeem our people. Our real liberation will be only on the day you all realize that it is not possible to live with the racists'. The group said that under the new Mahinda Rajapakse administration, any talks on the possibility of forming an interim administration were ruled out, the P-TOMS agreement had been cancelled and no solution would be allowed outside the unitary nature of the state.
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LTTE does abrupt U-turn
Sunday, 27 November 2005 - 4:22 AM SL Time
LTTE activists in London who invited Tamil people in the UK to attend their `Heroes` Day` celebrations have abruptly changed their position and described the proposed event as a commemorative meeting for all those killed in the war.
Chairman of the Harrow Tamil Welfare Association Veerahia Ramaraj said that their organisation and peace-loving Tamils in the UK are trying hard to stop LTTE activities. He said that the LTTE changed their stance to circumvent the British Terrorism Act 2000.
`We are waiting to see the conduct and progress of the events. Let`s see whether LTTE leader Pirabakaran`s Heroes` Day speech will be broadcast. Have they decided to stop the LTTE card-carrying member Anton Balasingam from speaking' Have they dumped the cut-outs of the LTTE leader and some of their cadres for hero worshipping'`, Ramaraj asked.
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Business / Economy News
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A newly formed pan-European Tamil organisation is challenging the LTTE`s claim to be the sole voice of the Tamil people.
Sunday, 27 November 2005 - 4:34 AM SL Time
Stockbrokers said last week that the market is likely to crash this week with the anticipated announcement by LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran today of a pullout from the ceasefire agreement or veiled threats to the government over the peace process.
'Prabhakaran`s speech has a direct bearing on the stock market and the general perception is that he will pull out of the ceasefire agreement, paving the way for war, once again.
This will definitely prompt the market to crash this week,' said Chitra Sathkumara, CEO, Ceybank Unit Trust, in a view that was shared by many other brokers.
However, The Sunday Times FT reliably learns that the LTTE leader is unlikely to pull out of the peace process but would make certain demands like the ISGA being the basis for resumed discussions. President Mahinda Rajapakse on Friday told Parliament he would like to reopen talks with the rebels.
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Cartoon Network partners with Dialog GSM launches Mobile Content
Sunday, 27 November 2005 - 4:27 AM SL Time
Tumer Broadcasting System Asia Pacific Inc. (TBSAP), well known kids` entertainment channel Cartoon Network, has signed an agreement with Sri Lanka`s leading mobile service provider Dialog Telekom.
As part of this latest venture, Cartoon Network mobile content will now be available to all Dialog subscribers. This is the first time that Turner Inc has signed up with a Sri Lankan mobile telecommunications company.
This milestone ensures that popular Cartoon Network characters like Dexter`s Laboratory, Scooby Doo, The Flintstones, Tom and Jerry, The Jetsons, and other favourites will find their way to the mobile phones of Dialog customers in the form of Wallpapers, Polyphonic Ring-tones, RingIN tones and exciting Java Games. The content will be available to all Dialog subscribers whose phones support GPRS and WAP applications, the company said.
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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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| Sports News
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Sri Lanka Cricket on top gear for cricket extravaganza
Sunday, 27 November 2005 - 4:36 AM SL Time
As top ICC officials arrived in Sri Lanka for the launch of the Under 19 world cup Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) welcomed the move by the State to exempt the event from taxes.
Speaking to the Sunday Times Secretary of the Interim Committee Adel Hashim said,' We are extremely happy at the gesture made by the Finance Ministry on this aspect. It will only help Sri Lanka to be more lucrative for sports events of this nature in the future'. When asked how much was the financial benefit that ICC was to get Hashim replied saying,' The actual estimates and budgets are being consolidated at the moment; hence we are unable to give an exact figure'. The secretary confirmed that they had made prior representations to the sports ministry on this matter and are extremely happy that the government has now recognized the importance of our country hosting such events.
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Rajeev sets the Lankan pace
Sunday, 27 November 2005 - 4:34 AM SL Time
Former Royalist Rajeev Rajapakse advanced to the stage two of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Men`s Future tournament`s qualifying round which got underway at the Queens Tennis Centre of the Gymkhana Club, yesterday.
This is the richest ever tournament hosted under the auspices of the SLTA.
Rajeev was in cracking form brushing aside the Indian Nikhil Murali in straight sets 6-1, 6-0. Rajeev will find stiff opposition when he clashes another Indian Aditya Madkekar in his stage two game today.
In the second game Sukul Savrav (India) beat Meshal Sinnen (Sri Lanka) 6-0, 6-0. The third game of the day saw home versus home battle where Divyanshu Singh beat Jitender Mehlda 6-0, 6-1.
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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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