US official visits Sri Lanka as IMF loan is released

(July 24, 2009 - Lanka Polity) Immediately after the IMF emergency loan was approved for Sri Lanka, the newly appointed United States Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, Eric P. Schwartz is to arrive arrive in Sri Lanka tomorrow (25), US Embassy in Colombo announced. US was earlier accused of delaying the loan for Sri Lanka.


Schwartz has worked with Sri Lanka earlier as UN Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery from 2005 to 2007. 

He is scheduled to visit the IDP camps in the North and will meet with senior government officials and civil society representatives.

This tour is significant as Sri Lanka looks improving its diplomatic ties with US and the West that are worried about the developing close ties of the island nation with China.

Sri Lanka to heighten internet censorship

Labels: අන්තර්ජාල වාරණය

(July 17, 2009) The websites the Sri Lanka government accuses of 'slinging mud' at it will face a situation that they 'will be automatically shut down.'

Media spokesman on National Security Minister Keheliya Rambukwella made the warning as reported by the defense reporter of the state-owned Dinamina Sinhala daily. 

A team of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) led by Deputy Inspector General Nandana Munasinghe has started identifying such websites using multiple technologies since yesterday according to the newspaper report.  

Lanka News Web, a website accused by the government politicians and the pro-government media of 'slinging mud at the government' cannot be accessed from Sri Lanka since July 11. However, the Minister of Information and Media Anura Priyadarshana Yapa denies any involvement of the government in such filtering. Pro-LTTE Tamilnet website is also blocked since years and the government does not admit the responsiblity of that act too.  

Sri Lanka Telecom, a company with 51% state stake is the major internet service provider in Sri Lanka. 

(In the map above, the countries in black are the most heavily censored nations regarding internet access. The countries in green maintain a surveillance; the countries in yellow have some sensorship while the blue countries have no censorship.)

Mercy Mission arrives in Cape Colorado instead of Captain Ali

(July 07, 2009) The load of relief items collected by Tamil Diaspora in UK in April in the name Mercy Mission to be dispatched defiantly to the civilians that were trapped in a Sri Lanka government designated no-fire zone prior to the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), is finally arriving in Sri Lanka today in a ship named Cape Colorado instead of the Captain Ali that languished for months near Colombo and Chennai ports seeking permission to be unloaded.

The Tamil Diaspora now seems less interested in the welfare of the internally displaced people who are now held in government run camps amidst severe hardships and they have focused their attention in setting up of a Transnational Self-governance for the Ealam Tamils. The separatist Ealam movement has lost ground in Sri Lanka amidst the severe suppressive measures of the government to crack down on the LTTE remnents.

However, the 27 container load weighing 884 tons of relief items will be vital for the Tamil IDPs to ease their hardships at least a little. Proud Sri Lanka government rejected these relief items but later agreed to accept it under the influence of India.

Clash between Chinese employees of the coal power project and villagers in Sri Lanka

(July 07, 2009) A Chinese national was injured and hospitalized following a clash with a group of villagers of Bingiriya area in the Northwestern Province of Sri Lanka on July 05.

The Chinese national is an employee of a concrete workshop belonged to the contractors of the Norochcholai coal power plant.

Reports from the area said that the Chinese employees tied a villager in the workplace and the villagers clashed with the employees after that. Four villagers were also injured.

Sri Lanka's first coal power plant is under construction in the Northwestern Province with credit facilities provided by the Export and Import Bank of China.

JHU of Sri Lanka likely to quit the government?

(July 05, 2009) Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) the monk dominated Sinhala Buddhist nationalist-religious political party of Sri Lanka is likely to revoke its support to the government following a meeting with the President Mahinda Rajapakse tomorrow, the observers say.

The party is under pressure due to the government's proclaimed stance on implementing the 13th amendment of the constitution fully that devolves the police and land powers to the Provincial Councils. The government has to take this minimal measure to mend its relationships with the Western powers and the neighboring India that urge the government to redress the political problems of the Tamils.

JHU's power contender Marxist nationalist People's Liberation Front (JVP) has already taken a hardline stand against the 13th amendment. JHU is in fear of losing its Sinhala nationalist vote base as a result of being a coalition partner of a government that devolves power to Tamils.

However, at present, the JHU is not in a position to go to a direct clash with the all powerful President, the observers say. Their stand will mostly be catalized by the actions the JVP will take against the 13th amendment, they say.

Fifty thousand metric tons of copper shell covers with Sri Lanka Army

Image via Wikipedia

(July 02, 2009) Sri Lanka Minister of Industrial Development Kumar Welgama revealed that Sri Lanka Army has 50,000 metric tons of empty cartridges made of copper.

The major bulk of this copper stock is from empty artillery shell covers. These artillery were used in the military operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam in the recent past.

The Minister said at a press briefing held in the Ministry on June 30 that this copper stock would not be allowed to be exported as raw material without 35% value addition.

A letter to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

IRIN, humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, posted the following news story on June 30.
SRI LANKA: Rains raise fears of malaria setback
Following is the response of the Lanka Polity Editor:

Dear Sir,

As concerned citizens of Sri Lanka, we highly appreciate the efforts of the UN humanitarian agencies to better the lives of the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. But the present situation of the country in which the authorities are engaged in spreading the view that the UN and other international agencies that raise humanitarian and human rights situations are 'enemies of the nation', the UN media needs to be extremely cautious when reporting.

Your reporting is the only responsible source to estimate the situation in the guarded refuge camps in Sri Lanka’s north. Most of the other news sources are directly biased to the military style propaganda of the government and the remaining elements of the rebels.

We want to show a basic error in this report. You write “Health experts warn that the arrival of monsoon rains in July could increase the risk of waterborne diseases for tens of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in camps in northern Sri Lanka,” Actually, the monsoon rains have arrived in the Southern, Western and Central regions that receive rain from the southwestern monsoon. There can be some rain in Northern, Eastern and North Central Provinces but it is not the monsoon for them. These areas receive rain from the Northeastern monsoon that arrives only in November, December every year. The four months ahead are the driest months for these areas. You can consult the Meteorological Department and verify the facts. We think that your or your “health experts” warning is baseless regarding the “increase the risk of waterborne diseases” if it is due to the monsoon rains.

This kind of carelessness in reporting actually fuel the malicious allegations against the UN that portrays the reports as destructive pro-rebel propaganda that aims at creating a bleak picture and panic.

Therefore, we urge your organization to be more responsible regarding the basic facts when reporting and to maintain high credibility in your reports.

Thanking You,

Editor, Lanka Polity

 

Strife within Sri Lanka government pro and against the implementation of the 13th amendment to the constitution

Sri Lanka Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) chief strategist Champika Ranawaka issued a severe warning to the government on June 29, 2009 at a press conference held in Colombo. He warned JHU would resign from the government if it proceeded in fully implementing or exceeding the 13th amendment to the constitution.


With this statement Champika outshines as a leader of a party that would not appease with a post of cabinet minister, several MPs and Provincial Councilors. He shows that the JHU will take the challenges in power politics and will march forward. 


It is a challenge to the JHU's main contender People's Liberation Front (JVP) as well. In the recent years, JVP's political strategy was parallel to the JHU's. 


In the post-Tamil Tiger period, clear division can be seen among the second level leaders of the government regarding the implementation of the 13th amendment to the constitution that was introduced in 1987 under the influence of India. Provincial Councils were established under it in 1988 but they were not fully implemented with police and land powers. 

Unofficial sources say that India has stressed Sri Lanka to fully implement the 13th amendment when a top level government delegation visited the regional power center recently. It is understood that the top leadership of the government remains silent diplomatically although they are not interested in power sharing with Tamils. 


Meanwhile, the National Freedom Front (JNP) has also begun campaigning against the 13th amendment and a seminar organized by party front organization Patriotic National Movement is to be held on July 07 in Colombo.

We learn that lobbying within the government against the 13th amendment has already begun but many ministers remain vigilant regarding the developments without taking a stance. They wait for the sides to gather momentum amidst local and foreign influence. 


Meanwhile, the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) that was appointed by the President to propose ways for power devolution is going to propose to exceed the 13th amendment to the constitution with clearly defining the powers of the Provincial Council and the Center. The concurrent list is to be abrogated accordingly, in addition to some other constitutional reforms. JHU also represented the APRC that was chaired by Minister of Science and Technology Thissa Vitharana, a member of the Trotskyist Lanka Samasamaja Party.

June 30, 2009

Colombo to use a bacteria for mosquito control

Image by jwinfred via Flickr

Public Health Department of the Colombo Municipal Council has taken steps to use Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) for mosquito control a dengue is spreading throughout Sri Lanka taking hundreds of lives.

Bti is a naturally occurring bacteria that is specific to mosquitoes and black flies, says goodbug,com website. It means that it is non-toxic and safe to use around humans, pets, wildlife and other insects. Bti is a spore forming bacteria that produces a protein crystal which is toxic when ingested by mosquitoes and black flies. Mosquito larvae that have ingested the bacteria and its protein crystals stop feeding within hours and will die within days. Repeated use of Bti is recommended to control mosquitos.

While Bti is non-toxic to humans, it is not approved for use in drinking water supplies. Sri Lanka imports Bti from US.