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FM to visit Oslo as Lanka`s peace bid faces toughest test
Sunday, 11 June 2006 - 5:46 AM SL Time
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera will begin a visit to Norway tomorrow, as Sri Lanka`s peace process stands at the cross roads amid an ever-increasing spate of violence that has pushed the island to the edge of war.
Minister Samaraweera`s visit although previously planned, will be to discuss Sri-Lanka`s tenuous ceasefire and the future of the peace process with Norwegian peace brokers, Foreign Ministry officials said.
Mr. Samaraweera is also set to hold talks with Norway`s Prime Minister and other senior government officials.
The ministerial visit will begin a day after the LTTE leaves the Norwegian capital after they refused to hold previously scheduled talks with Sri Lankan Government delegates.
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Senior LTTE cadre, several others killed
Sunday, 11 June 2006 - 5:43 AM SL Time
A senior LTTE member and three others were killed in a claymore mine explosion on the LTTE controlled Vellankulam-Thunukkai Road in Mannar yesterday morning, a rebel official said.
LTTE spokesman Daya Master said that 'Colonel' Mahenthi, an LTTE 'Commander' in Mannar district, and three LTTE cadres, were killed.
Mahenthi was in charge of an area in LTTE-controlled Mannar district and he was the former head of the Jaffna liberation unit. He had also led many attacks on the security forces.
Meanwhile, a farmer was killed in another explosion in Nedunkerni in Kilinochchi.
In Muttur, a man and his 10-year-old son were shot dead while they were travelling in a bus from Muttur to Trincomalee.
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LTTE had other agenda in Norway
Sunday, 11 June 2006 - 4:53 AM SL Time
There are concerns that the LTTE was never intent on talking to the Sri Lankan government delegation and had other motives in Oslo.
A large LTTE delegation left for Norway from the Vanni last week and they were joined by the LTTE`s US based lawyer and LTTE activist Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran and constitutional expert Siva Pasupathy, a former Sri Lankan attorney general who is based in Australia.
Poor knowledge of English prevented many in the LTTE delegation from interacting with the government delegation. Those who spoke English, such as Pasupathy, Rudrakumaran and Pulidevan interacted with the Sri Lankan delegation prior to negotiations and even had meals together.
However, on the day the negotiations were to take place the LTTE refused to talk to the government delegation as there was no ministerial representation and insisted on interacting only with the Norwegians, reports from Oslo indicated. Yet, as early as May 30, the LTTE knew there would be no ministers.
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Politics
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Now, JVP backed railway unions threaten to strike
Monday, 12 June 2006 - 3:29 AM SL Time
The JVP backed All Ceylon Railway Employees` Union yesterday threatened to go on a 48 hour token strike from Wednesday midnight while challenging Transport Minister A.H.M. Fowzie for an open debate on television.
The Railway employees earlier threatened a 48-hour token strike from Jun 14 midnight saying the Minister was ignoring their grievances and disregarding directives given by the President, despite the lightning strike launched last week.
Union General Secretary Sumathipala Manawadu said they had informed President Mahinda Rajapaksa in writing about their proposed strike. He said the recently issued enjoining order preventing railway employees from sabotaging the railway service and threatening and intimidating other railway workers, was not relevant to them as they had never been engaged in such activities. The order was made following an application filed by the Railways General Manager Kulasinghe Premasiri citing seven trade unions as defendants.
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Fuel hike: Heavy fire on Government
Monday, 12 June 2006 - 3:28 AM SL Time
Many political parties and trade unions in the country yesterday blamed the fuel price hike on the government`s mismanagement of the economy and the inability to rein in rampant corruption in the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.
In keeping with the price hike, a litre of petrol will increase from Rs. 88 to Rs 93, kerosene from Rs. 38.50 to Rs 43.50 and diesel from Rs. 58 to Rs 61.
The main Opposition UNP said bad management of the Government had led to the fuel price hike. 'Ineffective management of the Government had led to the fuel price hike and it will not be able to escape from an impending crisis,' UNP Colombo District MP Bandula Gunawardene told the Daily Mirror.
He explained that the Colombo Price index had increased by 231.5 units in the month of May leading the country towards a severe financial crisis. Therefore, the Government should reduce the import duty on fuel, which amounts to Rs 37.96 for a litre of petrol and Rs 12.74 for a litre of diesel.
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Tamil Tigers say still committed to peace - Reuters
Saturday, 10 June 2006 - 9:20 AM SL Time
Sri Lankan rebel Tamil Tigers said on Friday they had reassured mediator Norway that they stood by their commitment to a ceasefire and peace process in their conflict with the Colombo government.
They made the comments after refusing on Thursday to meet a Sri Lankan government delegation for talks near Oslo. Norway then asked both sides to say if they still backed the 2002 truce which it brokered, but which now lies in tatters.
Norway had hoped the meeting would be a first step on the road back to peace talks and was blindsided by the refusal.
`Our commitment to the peace process and the ceasefire agreement is full and continuing with the sincerity we have shown since the beginning,` Tamil Tiger political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan told a news conference in southeast Norway.
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Editorial News
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Time for nationalising the problem
Monday, 12 June 2006 - 3:34 AM SL Time
Whether we approve of the role played by Norwegians in the country`s effort to find a negotiated settlement of the national problem or not, it is clear that the five critical questions posed to the government and the LTTE by Norway following the failure of scheduled Oslo talks, seem appropriate and timely.
The first question is: Will the parties stand committed to the ceasefire agreement of February 22, 2002. Though belated, this question needs to be answered honestly and unequivocally by both parties. The answers to the other questions depend on the response to this vital question. An answer to this question is required not only by Norwegians but by the people of this country. Much of the present confusion has indeed arisen from the failure to provide a proper and clear answer to this question.
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Is privatization the answer?
Sunday, 11 June 2006 - 4:59 AM SL Time
Another crisis is looming on the horizon. The CEB trade unions are threatening to plunge the country into darkness if the government goes ahead with the proposed reforms which they consider an attempt to privatize the institution. Ceylon Petroleum Corporation is in a similar plight with unions on the warpath. The Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC) has warned that it will be compelled to wind up operations unless the government settles its dues. It has already stopped selling petrol and kerosene, triggering panic buying which will result in an artificially created (made in India') scarcity. The deteriorating situation in the power and energy sector bodes ill for the national economy.
The government vehemently denies it intends to privatize state institutions. But the workers and the Opposition insist all reforms are aimed at privatisation. Monopolies, be they state owned or private, are not desirable as the consumer has no alternative but stomach shoddy treatment meted out to him or her. The pre-1977 CTB is a case in point. Even after economic liberalization, the people didn`t get a fair deal in many a sector. The Colombo Gas Company was another example: the gas cooker became a luxury and one had to go on all fours behind those in authority to obtain a cooker and a cylinder. Time was when cement was issued only for permits, which had to be obtained after wasting hours in queues. Getting a telephone connection was second only to winning a sweep ticket.
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Another Tiger ride
Saturday, 10 June 2006 - 9:08 AM SL Time
Erik Solheim is in the same predicament as those who have chosen to sleep with the Tigers. He has got up with ticks all over him and made a spectacle of himself. Scratch...scratch...scratch! Poor soul!
The Tigers have, true to form, reneged on their promise to him and refused to talk to the government delegation in Oslo, having abused the government`s courtesy and obtained chopper rides to the airport from Kilinochchi. We hear Norway faulting the Tigers for skirting talks and the Tigers claiming that they had informed Norway of their decision to boycott talks in advance. Solheim`s wily Tiger friends have become too embarrassing for him and his country. Solheim was making frantic efforts to coax the Tigers into changing their stand. Norway is also reported to have blamed the collapsed talks on the EU ban. The Vikings must be bonkers!
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| Security
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Nadarajah Sethurupan arrested in London and held in custody
Monday, 12 June 2006 - 3:39 AM SL Time
The notorious Nadarajah Sethurupan, the Editor of the now defunct 'Oslo Voice' the web news portal based from Oslo, Norway and also one alleged to be associated with Nitharsanam.com ' `the messenger of death` and his colleague Rajan Thamotherampillai of London are at present held under police custody in London. According to reports, police has released the third person.
On 8th June at about 10.00pm, London Metropolitan Police took into custody Nadarajah Sethurupan and two of his colleagues for unruly and violent behavior in front of the Tamil Broadcasting Corporation (TBC), the London based Tamil Radio station, owned by V.Ramaraj, located at Rayners Lane in Harrow, Middlesex, England.
According to the latest report, London Police has so far recorded statements from A K Vivekananthan, Sivajini Ramaraj, Visvalingam Sivalingam, Rajasingham Jayadevan, and also from Rajah, one of the staffs of the TBC.
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Chief of Defence Staff and Air Force Chief assume duties
Monday, 12 June 2006 - 3:27 AM SL Time
Air Force commander Donald Perera will assume duties as Chief of Defence Staff while Air Marshal Roshan Goonathilake, will take over as the new Air Force Chief today.
Air Vice Marshal Perera who was promoted to the rank of Air Chief Marshal relinquished his duties and officially handed over duties to the new Air Force Chief after receiving a farewell guard of honour at the Air Force Headquarters yesterday.
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Lankan illegals nabbed in Indonesia
Sunday, 11 June 2006 - 5:51 AM SL Time
More than 100 illegal immigrants from Sri Lanka have been arrested in Indonesia in the latest crackdown on human trafficking, a report from Indonesia said. An AFP report said 107 Sri Lankan men were detained when immigration officials raided two houses Thursday in the resort town of Cisarua, according to Muhammad Indra, a director with Indonesia`s immigration department.
He said all the men had entered Indonesia last month on `business visas that were improperly obtained` through gangsters in Colombo and Jakarta.
'We believe they were brought in by a human trafficking syndicate which targets Indonesia as either a transit country or a final destination. We are going to get to the bottom of this,' Indra told AFP. He described all the men as `jobless individuals` who have no clear purpose to visit Indonesia. He also said police and immigration officials were searching for 43 other men who were not at the houses during the raids. S. Pirabakaran, one of the illegal immigrants, was quoted by the daily Kompas newspaper as saying that he had obtained his visa `legally` from the Indonesian embassy in Colombo.
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Business / Economy News
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Seylan Bank launches Instant Credit Card
Monday, 12 June 2006 - 3:33 AM SL Time
Seylan Bank issued its first ever Instant VISA Debit Card over the counter in Sri Lanka by setting another milestone in the history banking yesterday.
'This is the first time an instant VISA debit card has been introduced to the country which classifies as the highest VISA card Issuer in Sri Lanka', Seylan Bank Ltd Seylan Card Centre Senior Manager Chandana William said at the launch.
He also said that the additional feature of this card is that the holder can obtain another card for family members at the same time as while also being responsible for its transactions and maintaining joint liablity.
Usually a deposit holder is not allowed to use the deposit for an emergency as it is placed for a fixed period. In the event the deposit is uplifted or withdrawn in advance a penalty is charged as a result. However with the new card the deposit holder will be able to use the deposit which is earning interest, safely with the bank without having to boost it up. An interest free credit period is available for 51 days on purchases use by the card.
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President opposes electricity price hike
Monday, 12 June 2006 - 3:32 AM SL Time
With the cost of living soaring, President Mahinda Rajapaksa last week shot down a Cabinet proposal to jack up electricity prices.
President Rajapaksa told Power and Energy Minister John Seneviratne at the Cabinet meeting last Wednesday to study the matter and come up with an alternative way to cut down the hefty losses the Ceylon Electricity Board is incurring at the moment.
With the CEB Restructuring Bill yet to be presented in Parliament, Minister John Seneviratne sought to increase the electricity prices as a solution to the CEB`s Rs.40 million per month loss.
President Rajapaksa noted that even if restructuring of the CEB was not done now, any other future government might go ahead with it.
'Hence it would be better to make the necessary amendments to the CEB Bill and bring it to Parliament soon,' the President said. It was agreed to increase the government`s say over the CEB and make the necessary changes to the bill.
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Business community welcomes abolition of 15% tax on teabags export income
Sunday, 11 June 2006 - 5:02 AM SL Time
In a move to promote capacity expansion in the Teabag Processing Sector of the tea industry, the government has abolished the present tax of 15% on income from exporting teabags.
The average export price in 2005 for bags was Rs. 545/95 per kilogram as against the average export price of Rs. 222/75 per kilogram for bulk tea.
`This enormous gap shows the potential that exists for increasing the foreign exchange earnings of the country by promoting teabag exports. Out of Sri Lanka`s annual exports of 300 million kilograms of tea, only 6% of the volume is at present channelled to the export market in the form of teabags`, industry sources said last week.
On a recommendation by the Export Cluster of the National Council for Economic Development, the Secretary to the Treasury has exempted from April 1, 2006, income tax on profits from teabags. The profits derived from processing of other primary agricultural produce have been already exempted from income tax in the last Budget proposal, the sources said.
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| Sports News
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Sri Lanka beaten as Jayasuriya fails
Monday, 12 June 2006 - 3:35 AM SL Time
Sri Lanka were beaten by Somerset by 51 in their one-day match at Taunton yesterday. Chasing a 333 target the Sri Lankan were never in the hunt as openers Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya fell cheaply in the first over.
The only form of resistance came when middle order batsmen Tillekaratne Dilshan and Prasanna Jayawardena shared in a 125-run stand for the sixth wicket. Dilshan made 97 while Jayawardena made 55. Both were run out.
Scoreboard
Vs Somerset at Taunton
M.J. Wood c Fernando b Perera 116
J.D. Francis lbw b Malinga 0
A.V. Suppiah b Fernando 72
C.L. White b Malinga 64
J.C. Hildreth not out 46
W.J. Durston b Malinga 12
C.M. Gazzard run out 8
G.M. Andrew not out 2
Extras (lb 6, w 6) 12
Total (6 wickets, 50 overs) 332
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Sri Lanka is way behind in Sports Marketing - Nalin Attygalle
Sunday, 11 June 2006 - 5:01 AM SL Time
Sports Marketing though an important phenomena in today`s context where money plays a significant role in sport promotion, Sri Lanka has rather taken a back-seat in this aspect as rightly pointed out by Nalin Attygalle, Chairman Sponsorship and Marketing Committee of the South Asian Games organizing committee.
`It`s sad that we don`t utilize these opportunities to build the image of the country, promote tourism and especially for greater utilization of facilities,` said Attygalle, a Chartered Marketer by profession.
Sri Lanka is on the brink of hosting the 10th South Asian Games in Colombo in August this year, but he questioned Sri Lanka`s plans, if there are any, for the utilization of these facilities after the mega event comes to an end.
`We need to develop a strategy to market our venues and facilities. If not it`s an utter waste to dump several millions of rupees in acquiring these highly sophisticated equipment and other facilities,` he noted.
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Vidanage honoured in Melbourne
Saturday, 10 June 2006 - 9:10 AM SL Time
Sri Lanka`s Commonwealth Games gold medallist Chinthana Vidanage was the guest of honour at the Mermet Weightlifting Stadium on Tuesday June 6 when he was introduced to Sam Coffa AM JP - President of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association and First Vice-President of the International Weight Lifting Federation - in the presence of Sri Lanka`s High Commissioner to Canberra K Balapatabendi P.C.
The trustees of the `Chinthana for Beijing 2008` - David Cruse, Padmini Gunasekera and Quintus de Zylva were on hand when Chinthana was introduced to Sevdalin Marinov who will be his coach whilst he is in Australia. Sevdalin won a gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul in the 52-56 kg class and was a multi gold winner in the Commonwealth Games. He will be personally responsible for all Chinthana`s activities at Hawthorn.
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