Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

Anti-Lanka Sun TV crew stopped at BIA

A South Indian TV crew was prevented from reporting on the visit of the Indian delegation after their equipment was impounded by the Customs shortly after arriving at the Bandaranaike International Airport on Tuesday.

The four-member crew from the Chennai-based Sun TV was told they would not be allowed to cover the visit of the Indian delegation since they were anti-Sri Lanka and therefore a security threat to the country.
SUN TV Chief Editor Raja Vasudevan told the Sunday Times on the telephone that all this happened despite having prior clearance from the Sri Lankan authorities, including the media ministry.

He said the crew had even landed in Colombo on journalist visas. Our crew was told by the authorities in Colombo that SUN TV was anti-Sri Lanka and had even gone to the extent of providing live coverage of the recent assault of President Mahinda Rajapaksa s close relative Thirikumar Nadesan during a visit to a Hindu shrine in January this year, Mr. Vasudevan said.

He said SUN TV, which is owned by the grandson of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, had made several earlier visits to Sri Lanka but had never faced a similar situation. This incident is most disturbing and unfortunate and should never have happened, he said.

Mr. Karunanidhi is clashing head on with the Sri Lankan Government after he renewed his call for a UN-sponsored referendum to decide whether there should be a separate Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka.

His remarks drew a response from Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa who suggested that the former chief minister should concentrate on seeking a separate Tamil state in Tamil Nadu, because the Tamil population was much larger than in Sri Lanka.

Politicians invade forests

Environmentalists allege that nearly 20,000 acres of protected forest land located inside the Ruhunu National Park in Buttala has been encroached, and claim that the Department of Forest Conservation (DFC) continues to turn a blind eye to the entire episode.
According to the Environment Conservation Trust (ECT), the forest areas have been divided into sections ranging from 10 to 300 acres, and large scale Chena cultivation and gem-mining are taking place in the encroached and cleared lands. These forests are state owned and come directly under the DFC, said Sajeewa Chamikara of the ECT.
The forest areas, which have been encroached upon include areas in Niyadella, Demodara, Upaliya, Kaludiyaella, Thenagallanda, Bopitiya, Ethimale, and Kotiyagala, all coming under the Buttala Divisional Secretariat in the Monaragala District. A 10-acre section of forest land in the Demodara area has been encroached by a private company, which has already built a small holiday resort there, claims the ECT.
The ECT also alleges that a cabinet minister from the Monaragala District has illegally acquired another 300 acres of forest land in the Demodara area. A further 200-acre section has been illegally acquired by a Pradeshiya Sabha member from Buttala.

This incident is most disturbing and unfortunate and should never have happened, he said.

This incident is most disturbing and unfortunate and should never have happened, he said.

At the citizens meeting at Jaffna and also in a session with the Sri Lankan MPs, TNA leader Sampanthan stressed for a political solution within the united Sri Lanka and never talked about Eelam, he said.

I am a Sri Lankan and wanted to die as a Sri Lankan, Mr Rangarajan quoted Mr Sampanthan as saying.

Mr Rangarajan said Ms Sushma Swaraj, the leader of the Indian delegation, brought to the attention of Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa the aspiration of the Tamils, seeking greater autonomy for Tamil regions and elections to the North and he gave a patient hearing.

EM,

Which incident:

a. dambulla mosque incident or

b. GL's Palestinian fiasco incident or

c. Mullaitivu massacre incident or

d. geneva blunder incident or

e. Kuma's abduction incident or

f. Duminda's shooting spree incident or

g. Mervins legs breaking incident or

which one you are referring to?

Anything else?