පොරොන්දු දේශයට යාම? | Are we slaved to things? | Sinhala Sermons

දෙවියන්වහන්සේගේ ස්වරුපය අපිම දකගමු | Let’s find the true image of God by...

අපි හදුනන්නා වු ක‍ෙනා සැබෑවටම දෙවියන්වහන්සේද? | Is the God That we know ...

නොපෙනෙන නිදහස | Unseen Freedom | Deshanaya

Merv warns media

Deputy Highways Minister Mervyn Silva, at a function in Kelaniya today warned that if some media continue to report the way they do they will have to face the same fate as detained Parliamentarian Sarath Fonseka.

The Deputy Minister said journalists should not write in a way which would ultimately force them to be hanged.

While claiming that a certain newspaper will not sell without news about him the Deputy Minister later urged the media to scold him if they must but at the same time report only the truth.

“When you look at some of these people who write about me and scold me I personally know their background is not good,” he said.

Mervyn Silva was just yesterday reappointed to his post in the government after he was cleared by an SLFP disciplinary committee from charges against him involving an incident where he had tied a Sumurdhi official to a tree in Kaleniya.

Dictatorship will ruin country, Ministers and family, says Fonseka

18th amendment passed with 2/3 majority

UNF 09, SLMC 08 & TNA 01 voted for it

(Lanka-e-News, Sep. 08, 2010, 9.40 PM) The draft proposal of the 18th amendment was passed in Parliament today (18) with a majority of 144 votes. 161 voted for it while 17 voted against. MPs of the UNF, Lakshman Seneviratne, Abdul Cader, Earl Gunasekera, Nimal Wijesinghe, Prabha Ganeshan, Diggambaram, Sri Ranga and Upeksha Swarnamali; TNA Digamadulla District M.P. H R Piyasena and 8 MPs of the SLMC voted with the Govt. Democratic National Alliance and Tamil National Alliance MPS voted against the amendment. The main Opposition party, the UNP boycotted the amendment debate.

Soldier transferred for saluting Anoma Fonseka

An Army soldier who saluted Anoma Fonseka , the wife of Army Commander when she went to pay tribute at an Army memorial situated at Parliament Road, Sri Jayawardenapura had been given orders by the Defense Ministry to be transferred immediately to another place of work in the Army. Mrs. Fonseka who performed a religious pooja on the 8th ,lighting traditional ‘pahans’ invoking blessings for the release of Gen. Fonseka , had gone to the Army memorial to pay her tribute. It is reported that the soldier who saluted Mrs. Fonseka had been summoned by the Defense Secretary privately and blamed for his action , and later given an official transfer. The picture depicts the Army soldier who was transferred on the instructions of the Defense Secretary saluting Mrs. Fonseka

US upholds LTTE aid ban

The US Supreme Court has upheld a ban on aid to designated terrorist groups including the LTTE, even when that support is intended to steer the groups toward peaceful and legal activities, the US media reported.

According to US media reports the US court, Monday, left intact a federal law that the Obama administration considers an important tool against terrorism. But human rights organizations say the law's ban on providing training and advice to nearly four dozen organizations on a State Department list squanders a chance to persuade people to renounce extremism.

The justices voted 6-3 to reject a free-speech challenge from humanitarian aid groups to the law that bars "material support" -- everything from money to technical know-how to legal advice -- to foreign terrorist organizations.

The aid groups were only challenging provisions that put them at risk of being prosecuted for talking to terrorist organizations about nonviolent activities.

But Chief Justice John Roberts said in his opinion for the court that material support intended even for benign purposes can help a terrorist group in other ways.

In this case, the Humanitarian Law Project, civil rights lawyer Ralph Fertig and physician Nagalingam Jeyalingam, among others, wanted to offer assistance to the Kurdish or Tamil groups.

The government says the PKK has been involved in a violent insurgency that has claimed 22,000 lives while the LTTE waged a civil war for more than 30 years before their defeat last year.

LTTE network still active (By Gandhya Senanayake in Mullaitivu)

Defense Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that although the LTTE has been eliminated in Sri Lanka, the international web of the Tigers is still active but yet they do not have the capabilities to wage a war.

He made this statement when he addressed the security forces after opening the first Security Forces headquarters in Mullaitivua this morning.

The Defense Secretary added that organizations such as the Global Tamil Forum in the UK, the transnational government in the US and groups in Norway still carry the ideology of the LTTE and therefore the intelligent units of the army and all other security services have to be vigilant.

The Defense Secretary also said that the navy has a special role to play and that they need to protect the country from rebels who arrive in the country subsequent to receiving military training from other countries.

He added that the army should play a different role and should build a relationship with the public.

“Soldiers should know the intelligent capabilities of the LTTE and they should concentrate on sustaining the peace they achieved after hardships and many sacrifices. Security forces have an important role to play to prevent Sri Lanka from going back to the dark Age,” he said.

He also added that they will look into facilities when they set up camps for soldiers although it was not done so in earlier occasion.

“We will look into facilities before setting up camps unlike in the past so that soldiers can perform their duties well,” he said.

Meanwhile the Security Forces Headquarters Commander for Mullaitivu Major General Prasana deSilva, speaking to Daily Mirror online said that the army presence in Mullaitivu will be curtailed once civil administration is fully established in the area.

He said that following discussions with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mahinda Balasuriya and Defence Secretary Gotabahya Rajapaksa 5 to 6 police stations will be established in the area soon and once that is done the army presence will be reduced.

He also said that Mullaitivu, which is now operating on generators, will be connected to the main power grid by the end of this month. Public transport will be increased to the area and job opportunities will also be provided to the resettled families.

Country’s valuable lands are all now under the Rajapakse family

(Lanka-e-News 09.May.2010 11.30pm) Anura Kumara Dissanayake M P addressing a media briefing on the 9th at the JVP Headquarters at Pelawatte , Bataramulla said, at the recent distribution of Ministries when the new Cabinet was appointed , the important Institutions like the lands reforms Commission, Telecommunication regulatory Commission, Attorney General and legal Draftsman’s Dept , Urban development Ministry, Land rehabilitation and development Corporation, Coast conservation Dept., Petroleum resources development Secretariat, Oil resources development Institution, Finance Ministry, Security Division ,Highways , Ports and Aviation services are all distributed among the President’s family members . It is crystal clear from this that the Cabinet appointments have been made not with the objective of developing the country. The President before the elections promised to prune down the Cabinet to 35 to 37 Ministers , but now , already it has gone up to 42. Though the assurance given was that only those who were capable will be appointed as Ministers and Deputy Ministers , what has truly taken place is only just changing the names of the Ministries. The Gazette notification of the Ministries and their functions was delayed this time. According to that gazette notification the President has taken into his fold , Finance, Defense, Ports and aviation services, planning and Highways . There are 78 Institutions under the President now!

The lands reform Commission Committee was traditionally under the Lands Ministry . A large amount of the lands of this country under the State are under the purview of the lands reform Commission Committee. All those are now under the President. The Telecommunication regulatory Commission which ought to be under the Posts and telecommunication Ministry are also now under the President. This is a place where there is colossal monetary flow. The Attorney General’s Dept. and the legal draftsman’s Dept. which were under the Ministry of Justice have been brought under the control of the President.

Likewise , the important Urban development Authority as well as the lands rehabilitation and development Corporation under the Urban development Ministry have been brought within the ambit of the Defense Ministry. These types of things have never occurred anywhere in the world. These Ministries and Institutions have been distributed not based on any method .. They have been done to suit and please the President’s Family and relatives. The most valuable lands of this country belong to the Urban development Authority. By gazette notification these have been transferred to the Urban development Authority .This is a ploy to appropriate the most valuable common lands to himself , Anura Kumara asserted. Traditionally , coast conservation Dept. came under the Fisheries Ministry. But , now this has been brought under the purview of the Ministry of Ports and aviation services. All the coastal lands belong to the Coast conservation Dept.. Hence, a large strip of coastal land in the North and the East too is now under the President. These lands are the most valuable lands . Another important Institution is the Crude oil resources development Secretariat and Oil resources development Institution which was under the Petroleum Ministry . The President has divested it of the Ministry of petroleum and vested it under the President. It is evident from all these actions of the President , all important Ministries and Institutions of this country had been by careful calculation and manipulation brought under him , his family and relatives, not for the country’s development , but for the development of his family, Anura Kumara Dissanayake pointed out

Deputy Minister Muralidharan makes request on behalf of wife of former LTTE leader Tamilselvan

Deputy Minister of re settlement, Vinayaga moorthy Muralidharan had made a request to the Govt. on behalf of the wife of former political wing leader Tamilselvan who died in an air attack by the SL Air Force . He had asked the Govt. to grant permission to her who is expecting political asylum in India to go there.

At the moment Tamilselvan’s wife is in the custody of the security Forces.

If party wants me to resign from leadership, I am prepared to do so –Ranil says in India

(Lanka-e-News 11.May.2010 9.00PM) UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who is on a private tour of India, is to make a special statement as to whether he will continue to be the UNP leader or not, immediately after he returns to SL. Wickremesinghe’s private Secretary, Sudath Chandrasekera had conveyed this message passed to him by Wickremesinghe over the phone from India. When Lanka e news inquired about this from Chandrasekera, he stated that Wickremesinghe did everything possible for the progress of the party and make it victorious. After the defeat at the Presidential and General elections, he wanted to step down from the leadership, but it is the party members who requested him not to do so., and urged him to continue as the leader. He added , that Wickremesinghe had told him over the phone that he has no necessity to forcefully remain as leader , and if it is the wish of the party that he should resign, he has no desire to continue in that position.

It is reported that Mr. Wickremesinghe before he left for India has met the members of the Committee headed by Joseph Michael Perera to reorganize the party and told , if necessary he is prepared to resign from the leadership. The Re organization Committee was appointed by the UNP Executive Committee.

Military to decide on CM

By Melanie Bamunusinghe


The Military will decide if to go ahead with the Court Martial (CM) against former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka next Tuesday as scheduled despite it clashing with Parliament proceedings or postpone it for a later date or time.

The next Court Martial hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, the same day Parliament is scheduled to convene and General Fonseka is expected to attend Parliament.

The Democratic National Alliance (DNA) had earlier claimed that the next Court Martial cannot proceed as scheduled as General Fonseka is a member of parliament and is protected under the parliamentary privileges and so he can attend parliament.

Military Spokesman, Major General Prasad Samarasinghe told Daily Mirror online that discussions regarding the date and time of the next Court Martial is still ongoing and a statement will be issued soon.

The Court Martial is probing into four charges against General Sarath Fonseka regarding military procurements under the section ‘disgraceful conduct’ in the Army. (Daily Mirror online)

Mervyn says will resign if guilty

By Jamila Najmuddin


Deputy Media Minister Mervyn Silva, who assumed duties at his Ministry in Colombo today, made a pledge that he will resign from his new post if there are allegations against him and if such allegations are proven to be true.

The Deputy Minister, who is known for his frequent clashes with the media, also urged journalists and media institutions to contact him directly if they have any concerns noting that he even sleeps separately from his wife at home just to make sure his mobile is reachable even at night.

The Deputy Minister, who is now the acting Media Minister in the absence of President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is in Bhutan for the SAARC summit, said that he will setup a complaints desk at the Media Ministry for journalists to lodge complaints or make suggestions.

He also mentioned the name of one electronic media institution saying that media house has done a lot of wrong. However he was later seen serving cake to the crew of the same media institution who were also at hand at the event this morning when he took office.

“If I have done anything wrong against the media and if there is proof then I will resign from my Ministry,” Minister Silva added.

Minister Silva meanwhile added that the “Rajapaksa Company” has done a lot of good to the country and if not for them this country would suffer the same fate as some western countries who are facing economic issues. (Daily Mirrior online)

Akon ticket money refunded

Organizers of the cancelled Akon concert (which had been scheduled to be held here last Saturday) have begun refunding the cost of the tickets purchased, officials said; adding that the rescheduled concert in the Maldives had also been postponed.

“We have already begun refunding the money. Those who purchased tickets from Dialog and Cinnamon Grand Hotel will be refunded on Thursday 29th April,” an official at Platinum Entertainment told Daily Mirror online.

The concert by Akon was to be held in Sri Lanka last Saturday but had to be cancelled as a result of protests by some groups who charged that the singer had disrespected Buddhism by having a group of semi-nude dancers perform in front of a Buddha statue in one of his videos.

Platinum Entertainment had later made arrangements to hold the concert in the Maldives and obtained the approval of the Maldivian government as well. However, when contacted by Daily Mirror online today, Platinum Entertainment said that the concert had been “postponed” but would not comment on the reason for the postponement. (Daily Mirror online)

Gas companies seek price increase

By Mahinda Nissanka.

Shell and Laugf Gas companies have sought permission to increase the price of gas from May 1 with the Consumer Affairs Authority expected to take a decision today after meeting Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando.

A senior officer of the Consumer Affairs Authority said a price revision was due to be effected soon in keeping with the pricing formula according to which prices were due to be revised every two months.

He said price of gas in the world market had increased.

When the Shell and Laugf Gas companies sought permission for a price increase from the former minister but with the Treasury removing the import tax of Rs.8.70 a price increase was averted.

A 12.5 Kg cylinder of Shell gas is sold at Rs 1550 while Laugf gas sells a 12.5 cylinder of gas at Rs.1421.

General to take a leaf from JR’s book

Democratic National Alliance (DNA) leader MP Gen. Sarath Fonseka has borrowed a book from the Parliamentary library, which discusses how President J. R. Jayewardene fought against the Samagi Peramuna government of Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike between 1970 and 1977.

Mr. Jayewardene was the Opposition leader at that time with only a handful of MPs in his party. The then SLFP led government enjoyed a two-thirds majority in Parliament. The book written about his role as the Opposition leader describes how he withstood heckling and bullying by SLFP strongmen at that time, and led his party to a landslide victory in 1977.

DNA General Secretary MP Vijitha Herath told the Daily Mirror yesterday that Gen. Fonseka who had a discussion with his MPs on Tuesday burrowed this book from the library to be read while being held in detention.

Besides, the DNA has decided to vote against the state of emergency on May 4. Gen. Fonseka will speak during the debate on the extension of the state of emergency on that day.

Mr. Herath said that Gen. Fonseka acquainted himself with the Parliamentary staff and knew how to access the research division of the House meant for MPs.

Asked how the DNA would act in Parliament in the future, he said that his party would stand together with the UNP on common issues.

“Otherwise, we will act independently,” Mr. Herath said.

Di Mu is new Prime Minister

General Secretary of the People’s Alliance (PA), Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Jayaratne was sworn in as the Prime Minster before President Mahinda Rajapaksa a short while ago. Mr. Jayaratne entered parliament from Gampola electorate following the General Election in 1970 from the United Front led by Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Born in June 7, 1931 he is one of the earliest members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party when it was founded in Kandy in 1951. He was educated at Doluwa Maha Vidyalaya where he was later a teacher. He was later postmaster at Doluwa, Gampola from 1960-62. He was defeated in the General Election of 1977 and later re-elected from the Kandy District. In the 1989 General Election, he obtained 54,290 votes; the highest polled by a candidate of the district from the SLFP and was a member of the opposition in the parliament. He was a key member in organizing the People's Alliance and in the General Election of 1994, he was elected again with the highest number of votes from the Gampola electorate and appointed Minister of Land, Agriculture and Forestry in the cabinet of Prime Minister Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. Following the election in 2000 he was appointed Minister of Agriculture, Food and Corporative. With the General Election victory of the PA in 2004, he was appointed Minister of Post and Telecommunication and Upcountry Development and later in 2005 he was appointed Minister of Post and Telecommunication and Rural Economic Development under President Mahinda Rajapaksa. From 2007 to date he has been the Minister of Plantation Industries. In 2001 he was elected Chairman of the Asia Pacific Region of Food and Agriculture Organization. Mr. Jayaratne is the 20th Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Trouble brews as it begins: No wishes or greetings from Weerawansa to Speaker

After Chamal Rajapakse was appointed as the Speaker of Parliament, all leaders of the political parties spoke well of the Speaker and wished him well. But, Wimal Weerawansa , the NFF leader and who parades as a prominent partner of the UPFA did not express such eulogies .

Among those who used the tongue most to bring the Rajapkses to power, Weerawansa was leading.

It is reported that Weerawansa is in deep despair and disappointment over the allocation of slots to his party members in the National list, and non appointment of MPs as promised. During the election campaign, he identified himself as the 'Mawbime panchayudha' ( weapon of the motherland).

Whether Weerawansa who is now in total despair will use the weapon to battle out his political disappointment or lay down his weapon ? political analysts ask.