SriLanka's opposition demands parliamentary debate and an independent probe on Weliweriya killings

Sri Lanka's opposition Chief Whip John Amaratunga today demanded a debate in the parliament in regard of the deaths occurred in Weliweriya in Gampaha district in military involvement to disperse a group of people agitating for the right of safe drinking water.

Government Chief Whip Dinesh Gunawardane, Minister, said that the final decision regarding the debate may be taken at the meeting of the leaders of the parliamentary groups held today.

Delivering a special statement in the parliament today, the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe questioned why the Army was called to disperse a civilian agitation in a non-major town.

He demanded an independent investigation about the incident.

In response, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the military called to manage the violent protest had to take self defensive and civilian security measures in the context of protestors attacking the personnel with Molotov Cocktail and shooting.

Bailed out Sri Lankan local government chairman parades in his area as a hero despite bribery charges

Sources from Sri Lanka's Meegahathenna area said that the released Chairman of Walallawita Pradeshiya Sabha was parading in the area in vehicle convoy after being granted bail by court.

The local government Chairman Udeni Athukorala who was caught red handed as he was soliciting a bribe of Rs. 1.5 million from the Chairman of Bentara Pradeshiya Sabha in relation to permitting soil transportation business was seen waving to people and participating in welcoming ceremonies organized by his supporters.

Walallavita Pradeshiya Sabha chairman, Udeni Atukorale was released on bail by the Colombo Additional Magistrate today. He was arrested on July 05 by officers of the Bribery or Corruption Commission. 

The suspect was  remanded until July 09 by Matugama Additional District Judge R.A.J. Rajapaksa, who ordered him to be produced in the Colombo High Court today. 

Three international election monitors invited by Sri Lanka for monitoring Provincial Council election

Election Secretariat of Sri Lanka says that three foreign teams have been invited to monitor the Provincial Council elections of the Northern, Northwestern and Central Provincial Councils.

The three international organizations invited to send the election monitors are South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Commonwealth and Association of Asian Election Authorities.

The Election Secretariat has also granted permission to local election monitoring NGOs Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) and People's Action for Fair and Free Elections (PAFFREL).

The secretaries of political parties contesting the three Provincial Council elections requested the Election Commissioner to deploy international monitors. 

Jute to chase the wild elephants that clash with humans of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Wildlife Department has decided to cultivate jute as elephant fence to prevent the wild elephants roaming into human settlements causing damages to both man and the wild elephants.

Addressing a press conference held in the Wildlife Department, the Minister of Wildlife Vijith Vijayamuni Soyza said that the elephants are afraid of this natural thorny cultivation.

So far the Wildlife Department built electric fences to scare away the elephants from villages. However, it has been identified costly for construction and maintenance. The jute fiber fence will be established parallel and close to the electric fence currently constructed to ward off elephants from the fence.

Around 200 humans and 50 elephants die each year in Sri Lanka due to man - elephant conflict.

Sri Lanka's popular jute plant is different from the Indian variety. I think what they are going to grow is the local jute plant.

Second death reported from Sri Lanka's drinking water struggle

Second death was reported on Saturday from Sri Lanka due to use of so called minimum power by military to disperse a group of villagers that was agitating for the right of safe drinking water in Weliweriya in Gampaha district.

The dead person was identified as a 19 year old youth, police media spokesman Buddhika Siriwardane said. He was in an Intensive Care Unit of Colombo National Hospital since Thursday until he passed away last night.





Earlier, a 17 year old school boy was also killed due to Army shooting.

Five more persons are still in National Hospital due to the injuries sustained as Army used 'minimum power' to disperse the protestors. 

The protest was against a Heyleys subsidiary rubber factory in Rathupaswala and the residents of 12 villages claim that the drinking water has been contaminated due to the industrial waste of this factory.

Indian Tamils, Upcountry Tamils, Country Tamils or Sri Lankan Tamils

Sri Lankan Prime Minister says that the Indian origin Tamils will have a new race name as Sri Lankan.

Were they not Sri Lankans so far?

British colonial rulers brought poverty stricken South Indian Tamils to Sri Lanka for plantation labor. They made the Sri Lankan soil fertile with their sweat and have been building the national economy for more than a century.

Majority Sinhalese and 'local' Tamils considered them as aliens or foreigners and wonderfully, the Marxist theorists like Rohana Wijeweera considered them as invaders.

This community which is suffering from endemic and abject social backwardness needs to be guaranteed their equal rights.

I don't know if the Sri Lankan race name in their birth certificates and other relevant documents will mean anything in a context the other Sri Lankans identify themselves as Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim peoples.

In my point of view, they have the right to the identity of Upcountry Tamils which they have fought for. But there is a considerable number of Low Country Tamils in the districts of Kalutara, Rathnapura, kegalle and Galle districts.

What if they are called Country Tamils? 

On the other hand, is Indian Tamil a derogatory remark? I don't think so. The Jaffna Tamil elite needed to alienate themselves from this community for backward reasons. They need the same with the Batticaloa Tamils also. Do we need to give into a backward need of a community?

Why can't they claim for the identity of Sri Lankan Tamils? If they too need to mark a distinct identity, I think still Indian tag is better than the geographical term of Upcountry. India is a powerful country you can be proud of our origin.

Kneeling down drama in Sri Lanka's Northwestern Province continued

Sri Lanka's Puttalam Magistrate Ranga Disanayaka today cancelled the bail of the notorious former councilor of the Northwestern Provincial Council Ananda Sarath Kumara who is accused of harassing a school teacher within the school premises.

The magistrate ordered Ananda Sarath Kumara be remanded until August 08 for violating bail conditions.

A complaint was lodged last week by the husband of the harassed school teacher against him the Provincial Councilor for making statements threatening to his wife and the family.

The politician himself had also lodged a complaint for the future safety.

Provincial Councilor Ananda Sarath Kumara was remanded and later bailed out since he made a female teacher of Navagattegama Navodya School right inside the school premises for punishing his daughter.



Media followed up the incident and created a series of news centering the politician and the teacher. The teacher recently denied the media reports that she would address the opposition political rallies in case the politico is granted nomination to contest the election from the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance.




The politico himself seems thrilled with the national level publicity he gained from this incident and he is trying to invest it for a victory at the next election. He is most likely to be granted ruling alliance nomination and no wonder if he wind the election with a a huge margin of preferential votes.