What play does Sri Lanka have in between Russia and Ukraine?

(June 29, 2010, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa is to leave for an official tour in Ukraine today. The official visit is scheduled from June 29 to July 2, 2010,

This is the first time a Sri Lankan President and a state head of the South Asian region pays an official visit to Ukraine, local media reported.

The Sri Lanka President is to hold bilateral talks with the Ukraine President, Prime Minister and senior state officials.

Director of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's information policy department Oleh Voloshyn said to Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper Kyiv Post that it would help promote a bilateral political dialogue at the summit level, further developing cooperation between the two countries in the fuel and energy, military and technical, education, and culture and humanitarian spheres.

Voloshyn also added that the two countries expect to expand their international treaty framework and strengthen the two countries' cooperation via international organizations.

A range of bilateral agreements, in particular, on cooperation in the tourism and military and technical spheres, are to be signed during the visit, said Kyiv Post.

Ukraine assisted Sri Lanka immensely in the latter’s war against terrorism. However, Ukraine has disputes with Russia, another ally of Sri Lanka. Russia recently raised voice against the panel appointed by the UN General Secretary to advise him on human rights issues related to Sri Lanka.

Russia opposes Ukraine's move to join NATO. Sri Lanka is also in a tug-of-war with EU over the GSP Plus tariff concessions granted by the latter to poor countries. Sri Lanka is unwilling to bow to EU pressure on ratifying UN conventions regarding human rights.



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An Indian who was to be disappeared in Sri Lanka found killed

(June 28, 2010, Colombo - Lanka Polity) An Inspector of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was arrested by police as he, in connivance with a Colombo businessman dumped a body of a slain Indian national in Munadalama in Puttlam district in Northwestern Province of Sri Lanka.

The suspected CID officer, reported Chandana Silva and Colombo 06, Big Banana restaurant owner Mariyanayagam Lesley Rajakumar have allegedly killed an Indian national aged 24 and named Thennarasu Selvakumar who worked under latter as a cook in a house in Wellawaththa. Later, the duo have brought the dead body to Mundalama in a double cab vehicle and dumped it into the sea.

Residents that saw these suspicious men throwing a suspicious parcel into sea, informed Puttlam police and the police without knowledge that a CID officer is involved in the crime blocked roads and arrested the suspects.

Meanwhile, the wife of one of the suspected murderers, Ms. Rajakumar lodged a complaint in police that their cook was missing.

A young man that was originally ill-fated to be one disappeared in Sri Lanka was 'lucky' to be found dead and to be ruled murdered at the post-mortem.

Why did these killers choose Palliwasapaduwa beach of Mukkuthuduwawa in Mundalama for dumping the dead body? How many times has this police officer done this kind of acts, previously? Are their more officials that do such things?

The answers my friend, is blowing in the wind.

Or else, let us talk about the Sinhala-Tamil unity at least in crime. Can the dead man be an early victim of CEPA?


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Sri Lanka government takes control of the construction of shrines with purposes of domination

A Buddhist temple in Kilinochchi

(June 25, 2010, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka government has decided to ban construction of religious places of worship around the country without permission. The reason cited by the government is that these shrines cause religious conflicts.

According to new regulations, if anyone needs to build a religious places of worship in certain place, the person has to submit an application recommended by the Divisional Secretary of the relevant area to the Secretary of the Ministry of Buddhist and Religious Affairs. The Secretary has powers to appoint a committee to study the application.

Building religious places of worship was not always an innocent task everywhere on this earth throughout the world history. Everywhere, religious devotion was mingled with the ethno-religious hegemonic needs and political dominance.

The same attribute was prevalent when the colonial rulers assisted building of Christian churches and in the post colonial Sri Lanka that government assisted setting up of Buddhist temples.

The process of setting up of religious places of worship was highly invasive in the post-war period. For instance, the way the victorious Army hurriedly set up Buddhist temples and erected unaesthetic statues of Lord Buddha at every nook and corner was an insult to the preacher of one of the world's most non-violent religions.

Similar dominating acts are wide spread in areas minority religious devotees dwell predominantly too.

Vicious non-religious aims of rousing anger of the ‘opponent’ religions are behind all these acts.

Some politicians expect a free and easy ride to power on the back of the blind devotees mobilized either for or against these acts of religious dominancy.

Certain scrupulous elements make use of these things for other personal gains. For example, a famous gossip regarding a major Buddha statue in Panadura town is that a businessman put up this statue to prevent his business places that were behind it being demolished in road construction.

Some more unscrupulous individuals use this madness to squat in prime lands in major cities and towns. That is why the government had to take the control of putting up religious places of worship.


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No elections close by in Sri Lanka; regime imposes heavy taxes on food commodities to prevent bankruptcy

(June 23, 2010, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Sri Sri Lanka government today increased the price of wheat flour in local market by imposing a new tax of Rs. 10 per kilo.

Wheat flour is considered an essential commodity and the price is controlled.

Accordingly, Sri Lanka’s major flour retailer Prima increased price of a kilo of flour by Rs. 10.50. The price of a kilo of flour sold by Prima will be raised from Rs. 63 to Rs. 73.50. The price increase is valid since midnight today.

The other flour retailer Serendib will also increase price soon, sources say.

The price of the bakery products is also to go up since today.

The government also imposed a new tax of Rs. 5 per kilo of sugar as well.

Meanwhile, the major opposition United National Party (UNP) criticized government’s moves to increase prices of essential commodities citing the escalation of prices in world market as reason, but not giving the advantage of the price de-escalations in world market to the consumers.

The UNP spokesman MP Lakshman Kiriella said that the price of sugar went down in world market. But the government imposed a tax of Rs. 5 per kilo of sugar preventing the decrease of sugar price in local market.
Sri Lanka government recently increased the price of milk powder. Before that the LP gas price was also increased. Now the government repeatedly highlights that the fuel prices will not be raised. This is a tactic to avoid the rightful bringing down of prices to match the world market prices. The government is silently imposing taxes to keep the dropping prices up.

Mahinda Rajapaksa regime is afraid of nothing. No elections close by.


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GSP Plus extension conditional, says EU; Sri Lanka to lose the free ride

(June 22, 2010, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Press Office of the Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives issuing a press release said today that the reports on the GSP Plus concessions to Sri Lanka stating that the benefit would be offered to Sri Lanka unconditionally was not true.

The European Union says that the date of 15 August on which Sri Lanka would cease to benefit from GSP+ will not be extended unconditionally.

The European Union says that it has informed the Government of Sri Lanka of its readiness to propose to the Council of the European Union to maintain GSP plus preferences for Sri Lanka for a limited additional period, subject to a clear and written commitment by the Government of Sri Lanka to undertake a well defined number of human rights related actions, within a 6 months time frame beginning in July of this year, and to provide reassurances as to the sustainability of progress registered under the GSP plus dialogue.

The European Union says, “Only if a written commitment to this effect has been made by the Government of Sri Lanka, by 1 July 2010, would the European Commission put such a proposal to the Council of the European Union, without prejudice to the final decision.”


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Setting fire to Tamil silver screen in Sri Lanka

(June 20, 2010, Colombo - Lanka Polity) A fresh terrorist organization calling themselves ‘Democratic Tamil People’ sent warning letters to the cinemas in Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka banning screening Indian Tamil movies in the cinemas anywhere in the two Tamil speaking Provinces.

Meanwhile, an unknown group believed to belong to the same ‘Democratic Tamil People’ set fire to a screen of a cinema in Eastern town Kaththankudi. The cinema was showing an Indian Tamil movie. Kaththnkudi police is investigating the incident. Noone has been arrested yet and no one would be as normally happens in these areas.

The action of the ‘Democratic Tamil People’ is believed a tit for tat for the boycott of IIFA award ceremony held in Sri Lanka by Indian Tamil cinema artists and technical staff. Some media said that the hitherto unknown ‘Democratic Tamil People’ had told in its notice that they do not want the Indian Tamil cinema artists that boycotted the Colombo IIFA. (Apawa Epa nam Apatath Epa)

Ordinary Sri Lankans, either Tamil or Sinhala speaking were not interested in IIFA and most of the people of the Northern and Eastern Provinces were not at least aware of an IIFA. The war-victimized Tamils of the Northern and Eastern Provinces have enough woes than IIFA to worry.

The terrorists that banned screening Tamil movies in Northern and Eastern Provinces are appeasing no Tamils but the government that incurred a massive loss both financially as well as in propaganda through IIFA.

Meanwhile, several managers of cinema halls in Colombo and other areas out of the Northern and Eastern Provinces said that they have not received any warning notices. Major market for Tamil movies in Sri Lanka is still in Colombo. The managers however, were shocked with the news and expected the authorities would provide protection to them.

A major Tamil cinema complex in Colombo is belonged to the family of a Sinhala cinema director whose footage hard copy of a movie glorifying war was recently stolen by unknown persons at a Colombo studio.

Sri Lankan cinema was highly contributed by South Indian cinema before 1983. Tamil artists directed Sinhala films and many Sinhala cinema songs that are still popular were created with immense contribution of Tamil artists and technicians.

In 1983, state-sponsored Sinhala racists set fire to many cinemas and a few studios that belonged to Tamils. Thirty-year war spared few cinemas in Northern and Eastern Provinces for the Democratic Tamil People’ terrorists to ban screening films. Sri Lankan cinema industry is almost collapsed.


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Sri Lankan workers to have one more holiday; the Victory Day

(June 19, 2010, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka is to have war victory celebrations every year on May 18 and the government will have to become the day another holiday.

Sri Lanka already has 25 public holidays and the number will increase to 26, if the victory celebration day is added to the list.

The victory celebrations in massive scale cannot be conducted without proclaiming the day a holiday at least to the city where the celebrations are held. Om the other hand, the celebrations will become a propaganda loss comparing to the massive expense for the programme if people will not watch it in television. Therefore, it will become another unavoidable holiday.

Too many holidays is considered a factor discouraging the foreign direct investment to the country.

In public sector, the employees enjoy nearly one third of the years either holidays or leaves. Meanwhile many public sector employees in already overstaffed institutes idle without specific duty


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