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News Image 76816 - Sri Lanka on the spot over ivory
Wednesday, 30 May 2012 - 4:27 PM SL Time - Some news pictures are worth a million words
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A move by Sri Lanka to donate over 1,500 kilogrammes of ivory it seized last week to the country s Buddhist temples has been met with stiff opposition.
According to the Sri Lankan English daily The Island, the country s customs director Ranjan Canagasabai declared that the ivory, which was shipped from Kenya, will be shared out among temples.
This is highly irregular, Mr Karl Karugaba, the acting director of the Nairobi-based Lusaka Agreement, said of the decision.
The Lusaka Agreement is an intergovernmental organisation representing eight Eastern and Southern African countries tasked with enforcing laws on the illegal trade in wildlife.
International regulations are quite clear on what to do with contraband ivory. It should be returned to the originating country unless such a country is not interested in recovering the product. In any case, they should have the courtesy of consulting Kenya, which had alerted them of the products, Mr Karugaba said.
Another Sri Lankan customs official, Dr Neville Gunawardene, is quoted saying that although the tusks were dispatched from a Kenyan port, they had been smuggled to that country from Uganda after being stored underground for a period of about six months.
Equally alarmed by the Sri Lankan decision was the Kenya Wildlife Service. If this is true, then it is hard to understand how investigations and issues of determining where the ivory came from will be carried out. In case arrests and prosecutions are made, the ivory will be required as exhibit, Mr Paul Udoto told the Nation.
He said that although KWS had no claim to the ivory, since indications were that it originated from outside the country, it would be premature for an individual player to make such a unilateral decision.
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According to Mr Udoto, there are many players involved in investigations to establish the source of the ivory and the criminal gangs involved.
Such investigations will include, Kenya as the port of exit, Kenya Revenue Authority, Sri Lanka, Interpol and the Lusaka Agreement.
That cannot happen. There are laid down procedures by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) and other international legal instruments, says Ms Elizabeth Wamba, the communications manager of the International Fund for Animal Welfare in Nairobi.
Sri Lankan environmentalists have also expressed anger at their government s decision.
A local elephant researcher Manori Gunawardana said the decision was tantamount to tacitly condoning the poaching of hundreds of elephants in Africa.
It also reflects badly on the country, because it looks as if we were trying to unjustly enrich ourselves with the illegal ivory, an environmental lawyer and activist, Jagath Gunawardana, was quoted by The Island on Wednesday.
Sri Lankan authorities seized the consignment that was shipped from Kenya last Wednesday. According to Sri Lankan officials, the ivory marked as plastic waste was addressed to a buyer in Dubai.
The container carrying 359 pieces of ivory had originated from Kenya and was going through the main sea port of Colombo when customs agents intercepted it following a tip-off.
The Sri Lankan High Commission in Nairobi declined to comment on the issue even after being presented with the relevant newspaper articles
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Thiwanka
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 30 May 2012 10:28:15 GMT Report for Abuse
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What religious significance ivory, especially contraband ivory has got to do with the Buddhist temples? The poachers would have killed
180 elephants to obtain those tusks. They really do not have any functional value but cosmetic value unless you make some other products from them. Do Maha Sangha really need such animal parts? Or, can we, Buddhsists worship ivory once it is donated to the temples? It is not, in any way some relic with any significance. |
AstroLTTE
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 30 May 2012 10:37:37 GMT Report for Abuse
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| Monks has nothing to do with these Ivory...I can imagine why custom decided to distribute these Ivory among the temples....it's nothing but keep on requesting to customs by monks and politicians..... -)) |
p007
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 30 May 2012 11:54:48 GMT Report for Abuse
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| Did the customs director, Ranjan Canagasabai, act on his own or was he merely carrying out orders? |
joepublic
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 30 May 2012 11:59:29 GMT Report for Abuse
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I detest this trade and the people connected to it in anyway, the killing of these sentient beings for their Ivory tusk must be condemned by society as a whole. We need to get rid of this attraction to ivory, we need to show people the suffering behind every purchase of ivory.
Same way I'm against the barbaric killing of Whales too, these beings have a right to a life like we all do. It's about time we stop poisoning our seas.
Blue fin tuna caught off California contains radiation from Japan's Fukushima plant
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/9296723/Bluefin-tuna-caught-off-California-contains-radiation-from-Japans-Fukushima-plant.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/9294946/Fukushima-former-Japanese-government-admits-policy-to-blame.html
India we're watching you, In fact, the whole world is watching you.
Reuters: German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity through the midday hours on Friday and Saturday, the head of a renewable energy think tank said.
The German government decided to abandon nuclear power after the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, closing eight plants immediately and shutting down the remaining nine by 2022.
http://www.ft.lk/2012/05/30/germany-sets-new-solar-power-record-institute-says/
Edited By - joepublic - 30 May 2012 12:01:13 GMT |
ShivaRebirth
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30 May 2012 12:40:31 GMT Report for Abuse
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India we're watching you, In fact, the whole world is watching you.
And the whole world is watching you. |
AnuD
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 30 May 2012 12:48:23 GMT Report for Abuse
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Instead of Destroying distributing among Temples was the best.
Anyway, Customs stopped the intended sale which would discourage the poachers.
I think some Africans are pi44ed off because they could not milk out of this.
Edited By - AnuD - 30 May 2012 12:54:12 GMT |
AnuD
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30 May 2012 12:52:01 GMT Report for Abuse
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Reuters: German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity through the midday hours on Friday and Saturday, the head of a renewable energ
Sri Lanka imported $ 5.0 billion worth oil and think how many Billions or automobiles.
That is how they show that that govt is doing well. |
shamalp
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30 May 2012 13:11:01 GMT Report for Abuse
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Joepublic,
You and your British poofters know nothing about Ivory. It is a beautiful thing to have in an ancestral home. If you don't like Ivory, you can stop contributing to this page, but as for me, Ivory adds so much to the interior decor of a Living Room. We have a pair in our ancestral home back in SL, I have a pair at our home here.
All our guests who have the privillege of sitting on our beautiful living room admire the Ivory pair. Some day when I die I want this majestic pair to stand over my head to give the mourners a wonderful funeral experience.
Edited By - shamalp - 30 May 2012 13:14:07 GMT |
joepublic
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30 May 2012 13:39:50 GMT Report for Abuse
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Anyway, Customs stopped the intended sale which would discourage the poachers.
I'd be more happy if this ivory was marked with recognisable dye or using DNA techniques and sold off on the open market, then with the funds raised, the WWF could help to set up a trust for the conservation of these beautiful majestic creatures for future generations to enjoy.
You and your British poofters know nothing about Ivory.
You are a one Sad Individual, its only a Dumb Animal like you would think its OK to inflict barbaric torture on these animals for their ivory, why, just so that your vanity can be kept intact and that you are able to boast to your friends of your status in life. What a sad individual you are, you should do the humanity a favour and go jump off the first bridge you see. I guarantee you, you won't be missed. |
shamalp
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30 May 2012 13:51:13 GMT Report for Abuse
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Joe,
Admit it, all these humanitarians just so that they are envious of the lifestyle of those who can afford good things in life. Trust me, if you were to win some lottery or something (because that's the only way I can see how you would get rich), you'd be the first to have a pair in your living room. |
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