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Sri Lanka: Jaffna Technical College principal compels students to campaign for Mahinda Rajapakses party
Jaffna Technical College Students Union (JTCSU) raised accusation against Yogarajan, their principal and President Mahinda Rajapakses Alliance candidate in the parliamentary election, for compelling them to campaign for Mahinda Rajapakses Alliance. Yogarajan had welcomed Namal Rajapakse, President Mahinda Rajapakses eldest son and his Blue Warriors group accompanying him when they arrived in Jaffna Tuesday to canvas votes for his fathers party, JTCSU said.
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Sri Lanka: Third Mu'l'livaaykkaal in the name of 'development'
After abetting a military defeat and subsequently blessing a political defeat, the coterie of countries propping up Sri Lankan state is now bent upon enacting a third Mullivaaykkaal, by bringing in a development defeat of Eezham Tamils through handing over development management to the Sinhalese, said a concerned group of diaspora Tamils who recently had an experience of negotiating development in a peace-facilitating European country. Funding agencies of this country, citing their present choice of a Sinhala NGO for implementation of programmes in the island, advise Diaspora Tamils seeking development funds for the North and East to work under the Sinhala NGO.
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China lends Sri Lanka $290m for development
China has completed arrangements through its funding arm, Exim Bank, to provide $290m in concessionary development loans to Sri Lanka, Reuters reported. $190m of the loan is to develop a second airport in Matara and the other $100m is to improve the railways. China was the largest foreign funding source for Sri Lanka in 2009 with $1.2 billion followed by the Asian Development Bank with $424 million, according to the same report. The 2009 funds were allocated to build roads, coal power project in the Eastern province, and a port in Sri Lanka's President's electorate in Hambantota.
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UK Foreign Affairs Under Secretary arrives in Sri Lanka
British Permanent Under Secretary for Foreign affairs, Sir Peter Ricketts, arrived in Colombo Wednesday early morning on a two day visit, Colombo media reported. He immediately called on Sri Lankas Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama.
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Sri Lanka: Sarath Fonseka to be tried over 5 charges under Army Act
Retired Major General Sarath will be tried over five charges under Army Act at a court martial within next few days, Military spokesman, Major General Prasad Amarasinghe told media Monday. He added that the summary of evidence over charges against General Fonseka made in compliance with provisions of the Army Act was completed and handed over to Army Commander over the weekend.
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Sri Lanka: IDPs in Moothoor complain to ITAK leaders about their uncertain future
Trincomalee electoral candidates led by Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK) leader Mr. R. Sampanthan, Tuesday visited the camps in Kiliveddi and Paddiththidal in Moothoor DS division where hundreds of internally displaced Tamil families from Champoor, Kooniththeevu, Choodaikkudaa and Navaratnapuram in the High Security Zones declared by the Sri Lanka Army after the eviction of LTTE in April, 2006, are lodged. The visit by ITAK candidates was a part of their election campaign for the forthcoming general election, sources in Trincomalee said.
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Sri Lanka: JVP will oppose any power devolution to North, East provinces
The Sinhala Marxist party Jantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) former parliamentarian, Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that JVP will oppose if a new political constitution devolving powers to the Northern and Eastern provinces is to be created, in a press briefing held in Colombo Tuesday. Minister G. L. Peiris recently said that the government intends implementing its newly drafted political constitution following the parliamentary elections and I call upon the government to make public this new political constitution, Anura Kumar Dissanayake said adding that JVP will never permit the country to be divided.
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Sri Lanka: Chinese involvement in Jaffna peninsula gains momentum
While India is said to be seriously considering opening a branch of its High Commission for Sri Lanka in Jaffna, Chinese contractors are actively engaged in planning the broadening of five major roads in the peninsula in keeping with the agreement entered with Sri Lanka President, Mahintha Rajapakse, sources in Jaffna said. A conference presided by Jaffna Government Agent was held Tuesday at Jaffna Secretariat to discuss matters related to road development projects in Jaffna peninsula with Chinese funds. Top officials from the Northern Province Street Development Commission Board (NPSDCB) explained the proposed projects to the participants in the conference. Divisional Secretaries, representatives of Traders Union and other civil organizations were invited to the above conference, the sources added.
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Sri Lanka: SLA consolidates its grip on Jaffna peninsula
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander Lt. Gen. Jegath Jeyasooriya officially opened the SLA Civil Administration Head Office Tuesday and inaugurated its Website in a public building on Jaffna Hospital road, taken over by SLA for this purpose, sources in Jaffna said. In the past SLA civil administration offices had been used by the government to control and subjugate the people of the peninsula militarily, the sources added. These offices were alleged to have been involved in the disappearances of the young men and women who had gone to these offices as well as the killings of them on the roads and elsewhere, the sources further said.
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Sri Lanka: Colombo NGOs register complaint over threatening web report
Executive directors of two NGOs, the Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a Colombo-based think tank, and Transparency International, Sri Lanka (TISL), have written a protest letter to Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse complaining about a news report in a Colombo website which said that "[Sri Lanka] state intelligence agencies have been compiling a list or lists of individuals supportive of the opposition, and that CPA's Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, and TISL's Weliamuna have been placed on that list. While noting that CPA "cannot independently ascertain the veracity of this report," the letter said, if the report is true then "there are reasonable grounds for fear about the physical liberty and safety of the individuals concerned."
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Sri Lanka: SLA harasses resettled IDPs in Vanni
Vanni Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) allowed to resettle in some areas in Kilinochchi and Mannaar districts are being subjected to severe restrictions and harassment by occupying Sri Lanka Army (SLA), sources close Jaffna Bishop's House said. This information was gathered from the group of Catholic Bishops of six districts who visited the said areas in Kilinochchi and Mannaar recently, the sources said. The Bishops, however, are reluctant to officially disclose this situation in Vanni due to fear, the sources added.
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Emergency extended in Sri Lanka by another month
The State of Emergency was extended by another month by the Sri Lankas parliament Tuesday. Ninety three parliamentarians of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and its constituent parties voted for the extension and twenty parliamentarians from the main opposition United National Party (UNP), Tamil National Alliance(TNA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) voted against. The dissolved parliament was summoned by Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse to ratify his gazette notification issued last week to extend the emergency. According to the Constitution, the gazette notification should be ratified within ten days.
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Sri Lanka: Government suppresses protest demonstration of IDPs in Jaffna
A protest demonstration demanding immediate resettlement of people displaced from Valikaamam North occupied by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) as High Security Zone (HSZ) organized by the Welfare Organizations for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) on 1 March in front of Jaffna Secretariat had to be given up due to the strong opposition to it by Jaffna Government Agent (GA) K. Ganesh, the representatives of the welfare organizations said. The GA had refused to accept the memorandum of the protestors saying that the matter of resettlement should not be made a political issue in the context of the forthcoming parliamentary election, the organizations further alleged.
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Ban Ki Moon concerned over Sri Lanka's lack of progress
Expressing concerns on the lack of progress on "political reconciliation, the treatment of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the setting up of an accountability process in Sri Lanka," United Nations Secretary General, confirmed that he intends to move forward on a group of experts which will advise him on setting the broad parameters and standards on the way ahead on establishing accountability concerning Sri Lanka, a UN News Center report said. "The accountability concerns possible breaches of international humanitarian law or abuses of human rights carried out during the conflict," the report said. Earlier, High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Navi Pillay, called on Sri Lanka to investigate the allegations itself, albeit with outside help.
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Sri Lanka: International Womens Day observed in Jaffna
Around 500 women including many feminists from South observing International Womens Day went on an awareness march Monday around 9:30 a.m from Jaffna Secretariat, sources in Jaffna said. Jaffna Government Agent, K. Ganesh officially inaugurated this event which highlighted the plight of women gone missing and arrested women exposed to violence in the prisons including women militants, the sources added. Action Committee Against Gender-based Violence had organized this event.
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