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JVP protest at US embassy - Condemning the Israeli attack on Lebanon
Wednesday, 2 August 2006 - 4:12 AM SL Time
The JVP launched a massive protest campaign opposite the American Embassy yesterday around 10.00 a.m. condemning the Israeli attack on Lebanon. More than 400 members of JVP politicians both in Parliament and Local Government bodies took part in the demonstration which lasted over an hour.
The demonstrators started their walk from the Kollupitiya junction and came opposite the American Embassy shouting slogans and carrying banners condemning zionist terrorism.
Addressing the gathering JVP MP Vijitha Herath stated that Israel is attacking Lebanon and Palestine severely but the American leadership, instead of taking preventive measures follow a policy of double standard. He called upon the USA Government to bring about immediate pressure on Israel to stop this onslaught.
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Govt. says no war, UNP says war
Wednesday, 2 August 2006 - 3:09 AM SL Time
The government yesterday rejected claims it had declared war against the LTTE and said it would halt the ongoing military operation if the Tigers gave an assurance that the Mawilaru anicut sluice gate would be reopened. But the main opposition UNP insisted war had virtually resumed in the country.
Government defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the confrontation with the LTTE could have been avoided but stressed that time was in short supply due to the serious humanitarian crisis taking a turn for the worse.
Serunuwera Raja Maha Viharaya Chief Priest the venerable Saranakeerthi Serunuwera Thera told the Daily Mirror he was informed the LTTE was preparing to re-open the Mawilaru anicut just hours before the military operation was launched and believed the confrontation could have been avoided.
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Ground troops cautiously close in on Mavil Aru
Wednesday, 2 August 2006 - 2:09 AM SL Time
Troops advancing towards the Mavil Aru sluice gates were just ten minutes away from it at noon yesterday. But reaching the target could take 10 hours or more since the whole exercise would be futile if people get killed or injured in the process. The government is dealing with a terrorist outfit, Defence spokesman Minister Kheliya Rambukwella said.
`We will not fall into the LTTE trap. The troops are advancing very cautiously taking into consideration the risk involved with human lives both that of the troops and the civilians,` Rambukwella said addressing the press in Colombo yesterday.
Air strikes would continue on identified LTTE positions until the LTTE surrenders, as the aim of the government was to provide water to suffering peasants, he said. `The government will not give into the demands of the terrorists and the bigger task at hands is not moving into the area where the sluice is but to hold ground where the troops have advanced so far,` he said.
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Politics
Politics Forum
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Sri Lanka`s main Muslim parties in a rare show of unity
Wednesday, 2 August 2006 - 3:13 AM SL Time
The Government`s main Muslim ally, the National Unity Alliance (NUA) has expressed its whole hearted backing of the peace proposal submitted by the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) last week on grounds that what the SLMC has unveiled is the factual concept of the founder leader of both these parties, M.H.M. Ashraff.
NUA deputy leader Abul Kalam said that, `Conceptually we are for the SLMC proposal which is based on a non-contiguous administrative unit which merges the Muslim dominated areas in the North and East. This is an original concept of our founder leader Mr. M.H.M. Ashraff, and so we share the same concept.`
Mr. Kalam, however, maintained that his party will not come out with any counter proposals to the document presented by the SLMC, but his party aspired to hold extensive discussions on the proposal in the future with the SLMC, once it officially hands over a copy of the proposal to the Peace Secretariat for Muslims.
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President briefs India
Wednesday, 2 August 2006 - 3:11 AM SL Time
President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday briefed India on the current security situation in the country, Presidential sources said. They said President Rajapaksa during a telephone conversation also thanked Indian Premier Manmohan Singh for India`s support in evacuating Sri Lankans from Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the National Security Council convened an emergency session yesterday.
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I will do what Ranil says: Rajendran
Tuesday, 1 August 2006 - 4:32 AM SL Time
Colombo Municipal Council Independent Group 3 Leader S. Rajendran said yesterday he would not heed the UNP`s request to resign from the CMC to make way for the UNP members, if he lost the case against him filed by group member Stanley Jansz.
A case was filed by Mr. Janz when Mr, Rajendran decided to change his mind, following objections by other members of the group, not to appoint Mr. Janz as Deputy Mayor and Mr. Rajendran nominated himself for the post.
Mr. Rajendran had sent a letter to UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe stating that Independent Group 3 member Anthonypille Harischandran was ready to resign from the council to make way for a UNP member but not received any response from the UNP Leader.
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Editorial News
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Let`s face it!
Wednesday, 2 August 2006 - 2:13 AM SL Time
The government has refused to respond to the LTTE Trincomalee political wing leader S. Elilan`s statement to the foreign media that the LTTE has pulled out of the CFA. The LTTE headquarters has struck a different note. It has not withdrawn from the CFA, it says. The SLMM insists the CFA holds. Those who yearn for peace may want to believe that it was a slip of the tongue on the part of Elilan. But the LTTE is not known for lapsus linguae.
According to the CFA, the party that wishes to withdraw has to give two weeks` notice. The LTTE has not just given two weeks notice: It has given several months` notice. It was last November that Prabhakaran gave notice of a CFA pull out in his birthday speech, immediately after the election of President Mahinda Rajapakse. He, it should be recalled, promised war `next year` [2006] without specifying the exact date. He honoured his promise a few months later by starting claymore mine attacks on the armed forces personnel and resuming high profile assassinations. The LTTE attempt on the Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka`s life marked the end of the outfit`s commitment to the CFA.
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That elephantine advice
Tuesday, 1 August 2006 - 4:26 AM SL Time
The UNP has, while condemning the LTTE blockade at Mavil Aru, lashed out at the government for invoking of Protocol 1 of the Geneva Convention. In so doing, the UNP claims, the government has elevated the conflict to the level of a dispute between two states. `Previous governments have been careful to make the distinction between our internal armed conflict and a war between two equal parties,` the UNP says.
The UNP has made a valid point. But it is only a half truth that pervious governments were `careful to make a distinction between our internal armed conflict and a war between two equal parties.` The blame for having created a situation where the LTTE is behaving as if it had parity of status vis-`E0-vis the government in power should be apportioned to all successive governments. The process of the LTTE being placed on par with a legitimate government commenced a long time ago. It got a turbo boost under the Kumaratunga government, which out of naivete, embarked on a course of action which led to the internationalisation of the conflict as never before. Chandrika brought in Norwegians who had been trying to gain a foothold in Sri Lanka`s conflict for years, but in vain. The red carpet was rolled out for them in 1994. However, they failed to deliver and disappeared through the back door when the LTTE torpedoed the peace process in 1995. And they surfaced under the UNF government of Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe and established themselves in the country.
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Tamil grievances, aspirations, demands and solutions
Monday, 31 July 2006 - 9:36 AM SL Time
By Dr. Mahinda de Silva
CONFLICT RESOLUTION: Though I have contributed to diverse national newspapers on diverse subjects (including coconut oil, beautiful skin, Homelands and Tiger rides), I have not introduced myself to readers, and would appreciate the opportunity to do so very briefly.
For most of my life I have been involved in the practice and teaching of Western Medicine, 20 of which have been abroad from 1968. From my school days I have had a keen interest in the history of Sri Lanka, (Ceylon History), a time when history was still taught in school.
My father was a long standing `upcountry `politician and a founder of the SLFP. I was thus very familiar with the events and personalities associated with the early days of this `Tamil problem`.
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| Security
Security Forum
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No evidence of LTTE link with NY event - Embassy official
Wednesday, 2 August 2006 - 4:10 AM SL Time
The US embassy in Colombo yesterday stated that the US authorities couldn`t have prevented the Tamil sports festival in New York as there was no evidence to indicate the organisation behind this event had any links with the LTTE.
The Embassy`s press officer Evan Owen said this when asked if the US authorities will investigate into the festival organised allegedly by an LTTE front organisation, by the Daily News yesterday.
`There has were no mention in the news story that this organisation had any links with the LTTE,` he said.
The news of the sports festival was reported on Monday. Nearly 200 children from Tamil Sunday schools in Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx and New Jersey had participated in the event. The event was held at Jamaica High School sports facilities in New York on Saturday.
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Teenage motherhood in Lanka at 8.6 per cent
Wednesday, 2 August 2006 - 2:11 AM SL Time
Teenagers give birth to 8.6 per cent of the total annual births in Sri Lanka. In rural areas the figure stands at a staggering 12 to 14 per cent, a study conducted by Reproductive Health Initiative for Youth in Asia (RHIYA) an UNFPA project has revealed.
Similar projects were conducted in six other Asian countries and it was found that awareness among youth on sexually transmitted infections is comparatively low in Sri Lanka, said Eshani Ruwanpura Sri Lanka`s representative of RHIYA.
The European Commission has allocated a sum of Rs 132 million to cover the period from September 2003 to December 2006. But Ruwanpura said that even after December the project would be continued in areas identified as necessary.
In areas like Mannar and Vavuniya, awareness in sexually transmitted infections and reproductive health is less than 20 per cent but there is a steady improvement, Ruwanpura said.
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Sweden too decides to withdraw its truce monitors
Tuesday, 1 August 2006 - 4:42 AM SL Time
'We will gradually pull out our monitors before 1st of September,' Swedish Ministry spokeswoman told 'Asia Tribune.' She said that they regret it very much but helpless the issue of safety of their monitoring mission personnel would be questionable.
In the meantime, Swedish diplomat Anders Oljelund, Ambassador at Large told 'Asian Tribune,' 'We were in Sri Lanka to make the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam know that they have to change the decisions they have taken about the three Nordic countries, who are members of the European Union. '
He said 'Tamil Tigers should not mix up the European Union clamping down ban on them with the activities of the Monitors belonging to Sweden, Denmark and Finland.'
Anders Oljelund who is back in Sweden told 'Asian Tribune' that he went to Sri Lanka to demonstrate the interest Sweden has in the Sri Lankan peace process.
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Business / Economy News
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CPC increases fuel prices, by Rs. 3
Wednesday, 2 August 2006 - 3:07 AM SL Time
The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation yesterday announced a three-rupee price hike on petrol and diesel from midnight yesterda. Kerosene prices were increased by Rs. 2 a litre.
According to the new CPC price list, a litre of Lanka Auto Diesel will be sold at Rs. 64 a litre, Lanka Petrol 90 Octane at Rs. 96, Lanka Petrol 95 Octane at Rs.99, and Lanka Super Diesel at Rs.69.30. Kerosene will be sold at Rs.45.30 a litre and Lanka Furnace Oil 3500 Sec at Rs.43
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CEB Amendment Bills: No alterations
Wednesday, 2 August 2006 - 2:13 AM SL Time
There will be no alterations to the CEB Amendment Bills to be presented before parliament despite objections by the JVP backed Lanka Viduli Sovaka Sangamaya (LVSS) CEB sources said on Monday.
LVSS President H. A. Ranjan Yayalal told the island that Power and Energy Minister W. D. J. Seneviratne had failed on numerous occasions `if he tries the same method he would fail once again`.
`This time it is going to be different because we will come out as a joint force, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation workers, Railways and Ports. We have teamed up.`
`In future if any of the group faces problems, all others will come to the forefront,` he added.
Jayalal also said that the Minister and CEB directors should action and punish culprits.
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LTTE damages roads, prevents water supply
Wednesday, 2 August 2006 - 2:11 AM SL Time
Attempts, by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board, to supply water to Seruwila were hampered by a crater, caused by a claymore mine, on the road taken by the water carrying bowsers.
However, emergency water supplies were provided by pumping water from two wells, situated in the premises of a temple, but soon these wells, too, went dry. Nearby wells had dried up due to the closure of the Mavil Aru sluice, which in turn had dried up the irrigation canals.
Limited supplies were provided from about 90,000 litres presently available in Seruwila water tank. However, damaged road is repaired, the bowsers could move and supplies could be made available to the villagers, according to working Director of the Water Board Lakshan Abeygunasekera.
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He is a genius -Mahela
Wednesday, 2 August 2006 - 2:14 AM SL Time
After Sri Lanka went one up in the two match Janashakthi Test series, captain Mahela Jayawardene paid tribute to Muttiah Muralitharan, who finished with a ten wicket match bag on a flat track.
Jayawardene called Muralitharan a genius and applauded his efforts in taking ten wickets on a batsman friendly track.
When Sri Lanka opted for the second new ball on day four, Jayawardene called upon Muralitharan to bowl the second over to the surprise of many, but off the second ball he bowled he got a wicket. `It was a bit of a freak, Murali getting a wicket off the first ball. When I took the new ball I didn`t have a plan to bowl him, but Murali came and said that it might go low and skid through and asked for one or two overs to see how it goes,` Jayawardene explained.
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Muralitharan ends South African defiance
Tuesday, 1 August 2006 - 4:28 AM SL Time
South Africa batted for almost two days and 157 overs but still couldn`t prevent their worst Test defeat against Sri Lanka as the hosts won the series opener by a massive margin of an innings and 153 runs. After a disappointing effort with the bat in the first innings where they were bowled out for 169, the tourists came up with an improved performance yesterday.
On a flat SSC track that got slower and slower, Muttiah Muralitharan bowled brilliantly picking up his 54th five-wicket haul in Test cricket and Sri Lanka won the Test after lunch on the final day. Muralitharan picked up six wickets in all in the second innings and ended the game with ten for 172 -- 17th time he has taken ten wickets in a match.
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Sri Lankans stretched with no-ball syndrome
Monday, 31 July 2006 - 9:25 AM SL Time
South Africa`s top order batsmen put behind their batting debacle of the first innings and dug in defiantly to check Sri Lanka`s record-breaking victory march as the first cricket test was poised for an interesting finish at the end of the fourth day at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo yesterday.Openers Andrew Hall and Jacques Rudolph set up the resistance with a record-breaking first wicket partnership of 165 runs surpassing a previous best 137 between Andrew Hudson and Kepler Wessels at the same venue in 1993, followed by skipper Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher shutting the door for the day with an unbroken partnership of 126 runs in a second innings total of 311 for 4 as the Sri Lankan bowlers unexpectedly laboured for wickets.
But Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody lamented his team were shut out from an early finish because of a flat track and slammed the character of the pitch saying it was not up to expectations for a five-day game.
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