Sri Lanka Buddhist extremists incite communal violence between Sinhalese and Muslims in Beruwala

Communal violence took place in Sri Lanka between Muslims and Sinhala Buddhists in the evening of June 15th in Sri Lanka's Beruwala multi ethnic electorate.

Reports say that two shops and a van was set fire in Muslim dominated Dharga Town. Police curfew has been imposed in the Beruwala and Aluthgama police areas.

 A tense situation prevailed in the area since three days as a Muslim man allegedly attacked a Buddhist monk. The Sinhalese Buddhists of Aluthgama town protested the police blocking Galle Road two days ago for failing to arrest the persons who assaulted the monk. Police later arrested the suspects and remanded them.

On June 15,  Buddhist extremist Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) held a rally at Aluthgama town. Ground reports said that they had planned to demonstrate across Dharga Town upto the temple of the monk who was attacked. Muslims are accused of pelting stones at the motorcade.

When we visited the area in the evening today, police and Special Task Force were guarding the Muslim town. Muslim shops in Dharga town were closed. large number of people had gathered in the mosque. The gates of the mosque were locked and police were guarding the main road in the town. Buddhists had decorated the road to the temple of the attacked monk at a corner of the town with Buddhist flags. Ground reports said that the BBS had planned to hold a demonstration across Dharga town taking the attacked monk in a procession to the temple he resided after the rally held in Aluthgama town.

BBS leader, Buddhist monk Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero has allegedly delivered a fiery speech inciting communal violence at the BBS seminar held yesterday at Aluthgama.

Addressing the cheering crowd in the tension-stricken town, the monk said that if a moor set hand on any Sinhalese, not Buddhist monks, it would be the end of all the moors.

He publicly exclaimed that he was a racist and religious extremist.

He questioned why the police was providing so much security to Dharga Town and said that the police and Army of Sri Lanka were still Sinhala. He said pointing the guns to them was wrong.

The monk also blamed some Ministers who criticized them as racists and named them as toilet washers.

He pointed out he had made aware even the President regarding the problems the Sinhalese were facing but for no avail.

The monks speech is on You Tube and can be viewed below.

Communal violence caused carnage in Muslim dominated Dharga Town after this rally. 

A former cadre of Tamil Tigers wanted for making a living with explosives buried during war time

Sri Lanka police media spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana said that police is on the look out for a former cadre of the defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) under suspicion of possessing explosives.

Police released photos of the wanted man who has been identified as Gunasekara Mudiyanselage Nilanka Jude Antony a.k.a. Cyril Nilangam Jude Antony who used the pseudonym ‘Villango’ in the LTTE.

This person who is believed an explosive expert of the LTTE is believed to have knowledge on the places the LTTE had buried its explosives.

Police media spokesman said that a police team had arrested a person on June 04 in Madu area ho was possessing around 15 kilograms of explosives. He has revealed about Villango the wanted suspect.

They have reportedly unearthed the explosives buried by LTTE and sold them to the fishermen to use illegally in fishing.

The youth in northern Sri Lanka find it difficult to find employment, as Jathika Hela Urumaya MP Athuraliye Rathana Thero said in a newspaper interview with Ceylon Today compared to southern parts of the country.

Villango can be subjected to summary killing or being shot dead when he attempted to attack police during a search operation for hidden explosives, as it normally happens in Sri Lanka.  

Interestingly, the suspect has a Sinhala name.

Police Terrorist Investigation Department conducts further investigations.

Sri Lanka investigates about a wheel found from sea

Sri Lanka Air Force media spokesman Wing Commander Gihan Senevirathna said that special investigation was underway regarding a wheel found in the western sea of Sri Lanka.

The wheel which is suspected to be a part of an aircraft was recovered by a group of fishermen. Sources said that it had entangled in a fishing net.

Wing Commander Gihan Senevirathna said that an expert would be consulted regarding the wheel.

The wheel was found in the sea of Moragalla coast in Beruwala in the south of Western Province.

The wheel was handed over by the fishermen to Moragalla police station.







The news has caught attention since the search is underway for Malaysian aeroplane MH 370.

Change in Wimal Weerawansa's tone after meeting with the President

Sri Lanka's Minister Wimal Weerawansa who met President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday showed a change of tone today.

Addressing a press briefing held in Colombo today, Minister Wimal Weerawansa slammed the attempt of the opposition to field a common candidate at the upcoming Presidential.

Weerawansa said that country did not need a common candidate but a common programme. Wimal laughed at the common candidate branding he or she as a common substitute to bear the defeat when there are no candidates for the parties to field.

He pointed out that Sri Lanka has not so far experienced the effects of ushering apolitical characters into political power.

Wimal's party National Freedom Front submitted the 12 point resolution of the party to the President yesterday and said they expected a positive response from the party. He also vowed to take strong decision unless they would not be able to change the path of the government positively. 

In a nutshell, the proposals seek the government to avoid any attempt to probe the human rights violations in the war internationally or locally, not to devolve power further or to discuss such devolution, to suppress Tamil struggle for state, to revoke concessions provided to multinational companies and to assist local industries, to sign a free trade agreement with China, not to allow casino and drugs and to introduce a new constitution that strengthens central governance.

Sri Lanka's Election Commissioner seeks legal advise on former Army Commander's voting rights

The Election Commissioner of Sri Lanka said that he had sought the legal advise of the Attorney General to decide if the vote cast by the former Army Commander at the past Provincial Council election legal.

Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka whose civic rights are questionable following the court sentences against him cast his vote at the Western Provincial Council election held recently.

The Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said that the former Army Commander had not registered his vote at the residence he mentioned in the documents submitted to the Election Commissioner's Department.

He further said that Fonseka had registered his vote from a relative's house in Piliyandala.

The Election Commissioner said that he had received a complaint in regard of Fonseka's voting and his name would be removed from the electoral registry if the Attorney General instructed to do so.

Sri Lanka's Federation of University Teachers' Associations strike again. But where is that 6%

Header of FUTA website

Sri Lanka's Federation of University Teachers' Associations (FUTA) announced yesterday that they would hold a token strike on June 03.

FUTA said yesterday that the Ministry of Higher Education had failed to oblige to the memorandum of understanding agreed at the end of the continuous strike of the university teachers in 2012.

FUTA demands the removal of the conditions of the research allowance of the university teachers, increase of basic salary by an amount similar to the research allowance, abolition of gazettes pertaining to the establishment of private universities, appointment of a special Presidential Commission to monitor the reforms in higher education and to have biannual discussions between the FUTA and the vice chancellors' federation.

A notable feature of the FUTA's new demands was the drop out of the popular demand they set forth amidst the past trade union action, allocating 6% of GDP for education.

FUTA representatives vowed to resort to a tougher trade union action unless the demands are granted soon.

Verdict on graphic warnings on cigarette packet

The verdict of the case filed by Ceylon Tobacco Company against Sri Lanka government over graphic warnings on the cigarette packets is to be delivered tomorrow, May 12th.

Sri Lanka government issued a special gazette on August 08, 2012 making it compulsory to display eight graphic warnings on cancer covering 80% of the surface of the cigarette pack.

The parliament passed three regulations under the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act on February 19. However, the implementation delayed due to lawsuit.

Ceylon Tobacco Company, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco, filed a petition against Minister of Health Maithripala Sirisena and National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol over the new regulation.

Health sources say that 60 to 65 persons die daily due to illnesses related to smoking.