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Asgiriya Mahanayake supports P-TOMS
Friday, 24 June 2005 - 3:44 AM SL Time
The Mahanayake of Asgiriya Ven. Udugama Sri Buddharakitta Thera yesterday told President Chandrika Kumaratunga that she should go ahead with the P-TOMS agreement even though it was too late. The prelate who blessed the President also told her he believed there was no threat to the sovereignty of Sri Lanka in the agreement.
The President met the Mahanayake at the Sri Dalada Maligawa to brief him, as promised at the Janadipathi Mandiraya some weeks ago that the steps taking by the President would be intimated to the theras. The President told the Mahanayake of Asgiriya that the document would be tabled in Parliament as an adjournment motion today.
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President presents P-TOMS to Asgiri Nayaka Thero
Friday, 24 June 2005 - 2:14 AM SL Time
KANDY - President Chandrika Kumaratunga yesterday (23) presented the P-TOMS proposals to the Mahanayake of Asgiriya Most Venerable Udugama Sri Buddharakkitha Thero.
The proposed agreement between the government and the LTTE was explained to the Mahanayake Thero at the prelates `Aramaya` in the Sri Dalada Maligawa.
Present on the occasion were Finance and Planning Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama and Central Provincial Governor Monty Gopallawa.
The meeting was not open to the media.
While leaving the Sri Dalada Maligawa the Finance Minister, responding to a query from media personnel, said that the Joint Mechanism proposals were explained to the Mahanayake Thero, by President Kumartunge.
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CBK assures P-TOMS will address Muslim concerns
Friday, 24 June 2005 - 2:13 AM SL Time
President Kumaratunga met with Minister Ferial Ashraff and a delegation of her party on Tuesday (21) as part of a series of ongoing consultations on the proposed Tsunami Relief Council (P-TOMS). Minister Ashraff re-iterated a number of issues concerning the Muslim community with regard to the ethnic conflict, tsunami recovery and reconstruction. The. President assured Minister Ashraff, as well as other Muslim leaders whom she met separately, that she was fully conscious of the fears, anxieties and concerns of the Muslim people in the context of the suffering the Muslim community has endured during more than two decades of armed violence and the recent tsunami natural disaster.
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Politics
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JVP drapes Kandy with black flags
Saturday, 25 June 2005 - 2:00 AM SL Time
About 200 JVP members including MPs and Provincial Council members staged a protest campaign against the signing of the proposed joint mechanism at the George E. de Silva Park Thursday morning.
The demonstration which lasted about an hour included MP Dimuthu Abeykoon, Provincial Councillors Samansiri Fernando, G. B. Dassanayake and Chandana Dassanayake and MC member Anura Kumara Gonawela.
Black flags were hoisted all over the city while the police had strengthened security.
The protestors gathered at the Education Office and marched to the Kandy town demanding that the government abolish the JM. Police had taken action to remove the black flags hoisted in the city.
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President reaping what she sowed ' UNP
Saturday, 25 June 2005 - 1:56 AM SL Time
When the current political situation is analysed it is apparent that the President is reaping what she sowed. Today's situation is a direct result of the action and various strategies she adopted at the time the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe signed the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA).
The forces which she nurtured and released at that time are responsible for today's situation. Usually it is the government which has a large majority which has to occupy opposition benches. Today the situation is quite the opposite, the opposition with a huge majority has to occupy benches in the government side, Professor G. L. Peiris said at a media briefing at the office of the Leader of the Opposition on Thursday.
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Now, Ven. Uduwe wants to be free
Saturday, 25 June 2005 - 1:55 AM SL Time
Ven. Uduwe Dharmaloka thera yesterday informed Speaker W. J. M. Lokubandara of his decision to function as an independent MP.
The thero contested the last parliamentary elections on the JHU ticket. Well informed sources said that the decision was taken following consultations with his political colleagues.
The Speaker`s Office yesterday confirmed the Ven. Thera`s request. Subsequently the Speaker`s Office has requested Chief Opposition Whip Mahinda Samarasinghe to accommodate the Ven. Thera within opposition ranks.
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Editorial News
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JM's served a useful purpose!
Saturday, 25 June 2005 - 1:58 AM SL Time
Modern democracy is noted for its aversion to discrimination, which has helped even terror outfits to project themselves as the underdog in violent conflicts through their claim of fighting against discrimination. The international community has taken upon itself the task of eliminating this social evil, though its members have failed to rid themselves of it, as evident from the discrimination against Blacks and Red Indians in the US, Asians in the UK, the aborigine in Australia, the Burakumin in Japan and Samis in Norway and Sweden.
Be that as it may, the fact that charity does not begin at home is no reason why it should not be practised elsewhere. So, the right of the international community to champion the rights of ethnic, religious or cultural minorities in lands other than theirs cannot be questioned.
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Look who is talking!
Friday, 24 June 2005 - 2:16 AM SL Time
Political Wing Leader of the LTTE Thamil Selvan has told Deputy Foreign Minister of Norway Vidar Helgessen that the Tigers could no longer rely on President Chandrika Kumaratunga, as she was not using her executive powers to establish the Joint Mechanism. He has also said that the LTTE couldn't convey any messages to the Muslim community as it could not trust President Kumaratunga.
Look who is talking! President Kumaratunga, who has gone out of her way to have a partnership with a terror outfit and got into trouble in the process, has only herself to blame. She has risked her political future and caused an irreparable split in the UPFA coalition and ruined the prospects of her party's presidential candidate winning the next presidential election, in her efforts to put the JM in place. And now she has the LTTE accusing her of not being trustworthy.
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Pursue consensual politics
Thursday, 23 June 2005 - 1:53 AM SL Time
The emphasis, that the Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe made, on the quality of leadership the country requires today, while delivering the eighth 'Dudley Senanayake Memorial' lecture at the BMICH, is timely.
In his address, he brought out the quality of the leadership that this great leader provided, as four-times prime minister of this country and, quite correctly said, that he delivered on the pledges he made and did not sacrifice credibility, for the sake of lies or slogans. It was, however, unfortunate, that the great task of solving the ethnic problem and uniting the nation that Dudley Senanayake undertook, as the leader of the seven-party government, could not be accomplished.
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| Security |
Driving against Bhikkuhood - CMT
Saturday, 25 June 2005 - 1:55 AM SL Time
The Commissioner of Buddhist Affairs and the Commissioner of Motor Traffic had notified the Venerable Dr. Paragoda Wimalawansa Thera that the issue of a driving licence to a Bhikku is contrary to the tradition and concept of Bhikkuhood, the statement of objections filed in the Court of Appeal by the Commissioner of Motor Traffic had explained.
The Venerable Dr. Wimalawansa Thera of Sakyamuni Viharaya Kuda Waskaduwa, had made the Commissioner of Motor Traffic, the first respondent, in the petition filed by the Thera challenging the rejection of the application for a driving licence, on July 27, 2004.
The statement of objections by the Commissioner of Motor Traffic explained that, he consulted the Commissioner of Buddhist Affairs and both of them decided on April 4, 1988, not to issue driving licence to Bhikku, thereafter.
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UNP`s Act helps CBK
Saturday, 25 June 2005 - 1:54 AM SL Time
An extraordinary gazette notification issued in July 2003, during the previous UNF regime, would give absolute powers to police and security forces in quelling protests near Janadhipathi Mandiraya.
The JVP and JHU, planning protests in Colombo, particularly outside Janadhipathi Mandiraya, against giving legitimacy to the LTTE through the Joint Mechanism aka Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS), would be lawfully crushed, political sources said.
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JVP causes chaos in House
Saturday, 25 June 2005 - 1:53 AM SL Time
Parliament sessions were disrupted yesterday (24) shortly after question time in the morning, when the JVP frontline members staged a protest demonstration in the well of the House, waving black flags, shouting anit P-TOMS slogans condemning it as an anti-national betrayal. Speaker W.J.M.Lokubandara, who presided, appealed to the JVP members for order but order could not be restored till around 10.30 a.m.
Sittings were adjourned till July 5 but before the commotion hit the House Leader of the House Maithripala Sirisena tabled a document purported to be the P-TOMS proposal of the government, on which an accord was reported to have been reached between President Kumaratunga and the LTTE earlier.
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Business / Economy News
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MTN Dialog wins Duolog duel
Saturday, 25 June 2005 - 2:01 AM SL Time
The case filed by MTN Networks (Pvt) Ltd under the Intellectual Property Act against Minuwampitiyage Channa Priyadharshana Pieris of Pannipitiya was settled before the Commercial High Court judge K.T. Chitrasiri with the defendant undertaking not to use the word/trademark 'Duolog'or any other word/trade mark which resembles the 'Dialog' trademark.
The defendant agreed to remove and ceased to use all the banners/visiting cards using the word/trademark 'Duolog' and the signature phrase `The Future. Today`.
The defendant agreed also not to carry on any other advertising and permanent activity simulating and reproducing the get up/trade dress/colour combinations used by the plaintiff in respect of Dialog GSM as depicted directly and/or indirectly either by himself and/or his employees, agents or anyone whosoever holding under the defendant.
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SriLankaFirst commends P-TOMS
Saturday, 25 June 2005 - 1:57 AM SL Time
SriLankaFirst together with the Business for Peace Alliance (BPA) expresses its support for the government's proposed Post-Tsunami Operating Management Structure (P-TOMS). SriLankaFirst and the BPA welcome the proposed Joint Mechanism as it envisions a fair and equitable mechanism for the disbursement of much needed post-tsunami aid pledged by donors for the North and East regions.
The fair and equitable distribution of aid can only be made possible through an inclusive mechanism such as the Tsunami Relief Board, which is representative of all the parties operating in these areas. Confined to only a two Kilometer coastal strip of land across the six affected regions in the North and East for a limited period of one year, Sri Lanka First and the BPA believes the proposed structure would fast track the reconstruction and rebuilding of the devastated areas.
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Bogus foreign employment agent fined
Friday, 24 June 2005 - 3:47 AM SL Time
A person who had kept in his possession three passports belonging to others and misappropriated a large sum of money of various persons by running a bogus foreign employment agency was fined one hundred and fifty thousand rupees after being produced before Kandy magistrate, Harsha Setunge. He was also sentenced to three years imprisonment suspended for five years.
The accused Hamees Mohamad Rafi alias Professor Rafi is allegedly a resident of Dubai.
Police said that he had contributed a number of articles to new lappers on Astrology in the guise of a Professor.
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| Sports News
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Arnold leads Sri Lanka into serious battle
Saturday, 25 June 2005 - 1:56 AM SL Time
When the two articulate captains verbally shadow-boxed each other at a media conference, we realised the long-delayed West Indies 'A' tour of Sri Lanka carried a lot more importance than appeared on the surface. Far more important than, for example, the tours to the tsunami-wrecked island by England 'A' and Pakistan 'A' earlier in the year.
England 'A' began with an overconfident gallop and a lot of bravado, before they ran out of puff long before the tour ended. Not only did they end up an embarrassed lot; their coach Rod Marsh gave them a royal bollocking earful. The former Australian wicketkeeper, a notoriously hard taskmaster, let them know just how important fitness is, in searing hot and humid conditions.
Pakistan 'A' were also fortunate to escape a 'Test` series defeat through rain, in Dambulla of all places. This followed their good-fortune and technical deficiency from Sri Lanka 'A' in the limited overs final, at a near-deserted Sinhalese Sports Club ground.
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Lara out of Lanka ODIs
Friday, 24 June 2005 - 2:16 AM SL Time
Brian Lara will not play any one-day internationals during the West Indies` tour of Sri Lanka next month.
Speaking to the BBC, the prolific left-hander, who holds the highest Test score in history, said that less one-day cricket `might give me a little more time in the Test arena`.
`That`s what I enjoy a lot, the five-day game,` he added, giving his backing to a form of cricket that has been threatened recently by the popularity of Twenty20 and one-day internationals.
Lara did not play in the three one-day games against Pakistan last month in the Caribbean, which provided an early indication that he was withdrawing his valuable services from the one-day team.
His run tally for the 50-over format stands at a phenomenal 9,302 runs from 255 games, including 19 hundreds, so it is not for want of success that Lara is declining to play one-day cricket in Sri Lanka.
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Miandad unlikely to be given Indian visa
Friday, 24 June 2005 - 2:16 AM SL Time
Javed Miandad is unlikely to be granted a visa to visit India again after it was announced that his son, Junaid, will marry Mahrooq, the daughter of Dawood Ibrahim, who is still wanted in India in connection with the Mumbai blasts of 1993. The wedding is to take place in Karachi, with a reception in Dubai.
The decision to deny Miandad a visa in future was taken at a meeting of officials from India`s Ministry of External Affairs, according to an article in The Mumbai Mirror. Though it was agreed that officially declaring Miandad persona non grata would provoke a response from Pakistan, the officials have apparently decided that any requests for a visa from his side in the future would be politely turned down.
Miandad has visited India several times in the recent past to watch matches and offer his views on TV analysis shows. But with this marriage alliance queering the pitch as far as India is concerned, it could be a long time before he appears on Indian TV screens again.
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