| Q. | The Hindu Editor Ram is very active in garnering support for Lankan policy on Tamils.Why&for Whom this change? | Related Search:
Current Events | | | Mr Ram's recent face to face interview with the Sri Lankan President Rajapaksha and subsequent release of these on three days in The Hindu
has raised some eye-brows.
A saying in Tamil goes as follows,
'SUMMA ADADHU SOLIAN KUDUMI"
meaning,
Tamil Hindu Priests have a tuft of hair,long hair tied up together to keep it intact.
This tuft of hair will move only if the priest shakes his head.
Priest will shake his head only with reason.
Here Mr.N.Ram shakes his head and in turn the tuft of hair for some reason or the other.
The president Rajapaksha has not invited or allowed any media person,local or international,to interview him but Mr.N.Ram.could achieve it at ease.
Only President would have invited him to Colombo with a propaganda motive in India.
His surprise visit to Colombo came to light only after he released photos of an IDP camp that he visited and exaggerated the process of the relief operation going on there.
That was his first to move to mislead the world that all relief operations are on war footing to make the 300,000 refugees,once chased,shelled or bombed by the same government,happy.
The above opinion is contradictory to what international media write about the pathetic condition of the camps.
After well taken photo' release in the last page of The Hindu,
His interview in three parts on three days was published.
The interview comprising Mr.Ram's well-worded but less important questions
(not covering the Human Rights Violations like killing,injuring,targeting temples and hospitals,the heavy casualty during the final phase of war,the misery or fate of surrendering Tigers,which have many cock and bull stories)
elicited very simple evading answers,as if the interviewed person is a kid.
The child type answers like "If you pinch me I will tell my mom" shows his precarious position in the International Media.
He is in a tight spot to answer so many questions on Human Rights Violations.Evidence is slowly coming in.
So Mr.Ram is doing a yeoman's service to uplift the lost morale of Sri Lankan government internationally,
It seems to be the President's request to him personally to bring him out of this predicament.
The only external supporter and reporter with him is Mr Ram.
Mr.Ram has shown keen interest in participating in a seminar on "Post conflict Sri Lanka and India's role" conducted in a Chennai college,presided by Sri Lankan's High Commissioner to India,C.Romesh Jayasinge.
Without the news paper "The Hindu" in one hand and coffee on the other hand" I cannot sip the morning coffee,a habit inculcated in me by The Hindu.This has been for decades.The Hindu is the only English Paper still read by many Tamilians,because of the intimate,homely attachment with the sentiments of Tamils.
I request Mr.Ram to handle this delicate Lankan Tamil issue accordingly.
CALL A SPADE A SPADE - language should be the language of the News Papers.
The assassinated editor of The Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunga, lives ever owing to his exemplary approach to the social cause.I salute him for his "Unbowed And Unafraid" attitude.
| | A. | sinhalese government has destroyed more than 600 HINDHU temples within last 2 weeks... but the HINDHU editor supports and hails rajapakshae brothers | | | |
| Q. | Is it not for certain that the local people will not bear a grudge if their economics is not protected? | Related Search:
Law & Ethics | | | for the sake of foreign marauders? Just as in any country in Sri Lanka the fishermen expect to be able to sell fish in their own country without being undercut by foriegn trawlers who escape taxes and any responsibility because the quotas that they severely exceed not only make fishing more difficult for the ordinary man but is tied into all kinds of foreign intrigue-
regardless of what foreign interests may sprout the domestic population is well aware of the fact that it has been over 30 years sice war was declared by the LTTE
Ceylon, as Sri Lanka was known, was a different country then. That was before a quarter-century of ethnic blood-letting convulsed the land."
We are also much more closely related and "ethnically mixed" than foreign sources would admit.
You are quoting a doorman at a hotel who sees people come and go and has rare opportunity to engae in what transpires inside a hotel. If you wanted to know such you would at least speak to the Maitre'd.
Next lie is that there is no free trade agreement between Sri Lanka and India "Trans-shipments through Colombo are rising too as Sri Lanka gains business from the expanding Indian economy, with which it has a successful free trade agreement. " and there will be no effect on national taxation brough on by a city government.
Nowhere is the impact greater than in tourism. Last year, the island of coral reefs, lush forests and surf drew no more than 438,000 visitors because of the poor security situation. But tourist arrivals jumped 28 per cent in July and 34 per cent in August, and some hotels are already overbooked for the period starting February.
Utilizing tourism arrivals of one sector for increase in tourism as a whole is alos a defunct policy for in some segments tourism has risen up to 70% whilst in others the rise has only been minimal.
We lost over 26,000 soldiers to this ever careful operation to protect civilians and if we were at any way remiss our losses would have been cut in a tenth.speaking of 18 months in a 26+ month battle is just utter lack of respect of what a nation had to endure to gain security and liberty from a terrorist organization that was foreign funded - this of course is without validating the over 30 years of actual battle.
“During a three-hour burst of fighting at a 300m bund, my unit lost 27 limbs,” said Colonel Vikun Liyenage of the famed Gajaba infantry regiment as we shared a bus ride from the army base in Mannar to see a newly rebuilt bridge to Mannar Island. “But we just didn’t stop.”
This again is indicative of the measured level of combat that GoSL utilized in fighting the LTTE as if superior force was utilized thes battles would have been over in a matter of minutes.
"It also has to make sure ‘terrorism’ on the island does not rise again. "
The terrorism in quotes of this hack piece was and continues to be a threat of very real TERRORISM by the world's most deathly TERRORIST force.
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The Tigers were doughty fighters and their mines, cunningly laid, were lethal. In the last 18 months of the fighting, over 6,000 soldiers died and another 27,000 were wounded.
Not only are we ensuring a decent life for our peoples we are trying to ensure security and growth for our children that is not based on 15 year tax holidays or GSP+ for the trickle down benefits of such are minimal and truly support multinational operations much more than they support domestic populations - "The European Union has threatened to cut off the special trade benefit, called GSP+, if the refugees are not released promptly, endangering the livelihoods of some 300,000 garment workers on the island. Colombo responded that it bears the responsibility to clear minefields and to ensure a decent life for the displaced people. It also has to make sure ‘terrorism’ on the island does not rise again."
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"For all the ferocity with which he fought the rebels, Rajapaksa is reckoned to be sympathetic to the Tamil minority. “After a long time I am getting the impression that the Sinhalese mean something,” said Singapore gynaecologist C. Anandakumar, an ethnic Tamil who has made five trips to Sri Lanka since the war ended. “They paid a big price and are not prepared to see the same thing again.”
We are sympathetic to ALL our peoples regardless of which language they speak for it is they ALL the peoples at home whom the TNA refers to as "the others" in their statement fro Samanthapan of the peoples of the country - that have dearly paid for the utterly unreasonable expectations of less than 3% of the population. We have managed to live through a 30+ year terrorist war and have a constant 97% of the population who could integarte and assimilate enough to live together in peace. Those who don't want to live at PEACE - which is another ancient name of Sri Lanka - should leave Sri Lanka. A great idea for increasing the peace is ensuring that everyone has a
CHECK DRAFTS NOW RAJA NOW
CHECK DRAFTS NOW RAJA/GENERAL F/ BEN B/VLADIMIR/PEIRIS/
CHECK DRAFTS NOW RAJA/MAHMOUD/VLADIMIR
| | A. | I think I speak for all of us when I say "What???". Did you have a question? | | | |
| Q. | Do you think Thilan Samaraweera's cricket Test career is finish for the future? | Related Search:
Cricket | | | Thilan Samaraweera may have been discharged from the hospital & he can say all he wants but, i personally think his test or any cricket career for SL is finish (srry to say) hver, once u get an bullet into ur knee cap. There is no way u can recover 100% by operating ur foot componets effectivly or using ur legs 100%. As a lakan desi or a Lakan supporter of SL Cricket i feel sad & angry for his case bc, he wont be the same & smack double centuries....so that my frd is the whoel trh & nutin but the trhth.
Amin.
Thilan Samaraweera feared for his cricket career after the Lahore attack but is now confident of making a comeback to international cricket. Cricket, he says, remains his first priority and he is even open to playing in Pakistan again.
Samaraweera, who had a bullet removed from his left leg, was discharged from a Colombo hospital on Tuesday - two weeks after the attack - and went to the Sri Lankan board office today for physiotherapy. Two of his injuries have healed but his leg is still heavily plastered as he is yet to recover from the most serious injury, that to his hamstring. He has not held a bat yet but is hopeful of resuming practice in April.
Has the attack changed his outlook on the game? "No, I don't think so," Samaraweera told Cricinfo in an extensive interview. "Cricket is my No. 1 priority and I have to get physically and mentally strong to represent my country again. I was out of the team for two years but I came back strongly and I will do so again after this incident.
"I have had two weeks to think about it. Today I decided not to think about the past and to try and be positive."
The recent past has been extremely difficult for Samaraweera. The four days immediately proceding the Lahore attack were particularly torturous. "They were terrible. I couldn't go to the toilet, I couldn't walk, I couldn't even sleep as I couldn't change my body position. Those four days really worried me a lot. But, after the second operation it got better and, at the moment, my leg movements are improving every day."
Apart from conventional treatment, Samaraweera also met up with the Sri Lankan President's personal physician, Dr Eliyantha White, a faith healer who has successfully treated Lasith Malinga and Sanath Jayasuriya in the recent past. "I had a couple of sessions with him; he blessed me and gave me herbs. Everything is working well for me now."
Looking back at the incident, what strikes Samaraweera the most is how he and his team-mates didn't panic and how survival instincts took over. "That was the best thing. I was lying on the floor, in front of Sangakkara, when I got hit. I immediately put my head under the seat to protect it from getting hit. My leg was bleeding but survival instincts didn't allow me to panic. Once the bus stopped, I told [Chamara] Kapugedera, 'I can't walk; please take me to the dressing-room.'"
He was shifted immediately to hospital, where thoughts regarding his cricketing future terrified him. " I thought my career was over but a professor, who saw my X-rays and scans, came in and said, 'You are a lucky man. Don't worry, you will play again.' The bullet had gone through the muscle and not hit the bone or the knee."
Yet he was unaware of the gravity of the attacks until he reached the army base near Lahore, from where he was airlifted to Colombo. "There I saw [the footage] on news channels and it was terrible."
Samaraweera did not speak to his wife until six hours after the attack. "I didn't want to as I knew she would panic. I spoke to her brother and told him the injuries were not serious. When I finally did speak to my wife, she didn't believe that I was alright - the channels were saying I'd been hit in the head and chest. Only after she saw me at Colombo airport was she happy and relieved.
Looking back at the incident, what strikes Samaraweera the most is how he and his team-mates didn't panic and how survival instincts took over
"She is yet to fully recover from the shock, though. She is going to counselling sessions, arranged by the board, and is improving [Samaraweera himself will attend those sessions when fully fit]. The sessions have helped her a lot; they've also helped me in my rehabilitation back home. She is now moving on, dropping my kid to school and running the house."
Samaraweera has been spending time with his two daughters, aged eight and three. "The younger one doesn't know anything," he said with a laugh. "The elder one was worried about my leg and kept asking her mother whether I would be okay, whether I would be able to drop her at school soon! I am really happy with the emotional support that I have got from my family. My wife has never said not to play cricket in the future; she is just worried about my health."
He also cited his faith in Buddhism as another healing factor. "It clears your mind and calms you. None of us was seriously injured. Call it luck or whatever you will … My faith in r
| | A. | My dear Furious,
Thilan Samaraweera seems to be an incredible character. He is quite unbelievable in his positive outlook towards life. This incident is extremely sad and is surely one of the darkest of all black marks in the history of cricket. But, it has brought out Samaraweeras character to the forefront.
However, I think no one should tour Pakistan again in the near future. I don't trust that the Pakistan govt. can handle the situation.
Besides, I dont trust the present Pakistan govt.
Rehman | | | |
| Q. | Tehelka Magazine, Vol 6, Issue 30, Dated August 01, 2009 has its say on Tamil refugees.Can N.Ram Reply to it? | Related Search:
Media & Journalism | | | "MAKING A mockery of the international outrage on the rising deaths, disappearances, and malnourishment in the camps, Rajapaksa described the ‘welfare villages’, as the camps are known in Sri Lanka, as “the best” of their kind, in a recent interview to N Ram, Editor of The Hindu.
Tamil politicians say that the refugees are gripped by fear because of this army operation targeting Tamil youth and middle-aged men. They say suspects are arbitrarily separated from their families and housed in special camps. Military spokesperson Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara told TEHELKA that about 10,000 persons are now in such camps. Jaffna MP MK Sivajilingam says relatives of the detainees are in great anguish since they don’t know the whereabouts of their loved ones.
No agency, including the UN, has accurate details about the total number of inmates in each camp. The government has refused to reveal details despite demands from various bodies. When asked about the alleged disappearances of Tamil youth from the camps, UN Spokesperson for Sri Lanka Gordon Weiss said, “We have asked the government to increase the level of transparency surrounding the screening process.” He admitted that the UN and other international organisations do not have access to camps’ central registries. Thus, Colombo is accountable only to itself for the life of Tamil inmates. Since the number of detainees in the camps is unknown, theoretically, Colombo can get away with any number of disappearances.
Catch the following link to know more....
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| | A. | HINDHU EDITOR N.RAM KNOWS ABOUT THE CONDITION BUT HE NEVER TELLS THE TRUTH.. BECAUSE RAJAPAKSHAE OFFERED HIM A SEPARATE MINISTER POST in his sinhalese parliament....
THE EDITOR IS AGAINST TAMILS AND HINDHUS... he is a servant for rajapakshae and his supporters. | | | |
| Q. | Do journalists read newspapers? | Related Search:
Current Events | | | A leading media rights group on Friday urged Sri Lanka's government to lift a ban on independent reporting from the island's war-torn north.
Paris-based Reporters without Borders (RSF) appealed to President Mahinda Rajapakse to allow both local and foreign journalists to freely report on the fighting against the Tamil Tiger rebels.
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Information Director Anusha Pelpita said the department decided to obtain copies of journalists' company identity to issue the Government's Media ID to prevent drivers, peons, labourers and others obtaining journalists' IDs.
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On the day the ICRC in Geneva issued its demarche, the LTTE refused permission for those two international staffers, along with the ambulances, to leave LTTE controlled territory. The ICRC staff in Colombo may not be aware that the LTTE have been firing from the area which the Government had declared a safe zone. Initially the international community, which clearly never learned the philosophical skill of induction, was not sure who had fired. The Bishop of Jaffna, as befitted his training, was sharper. In asking the Government to extend the safe zone, he declared that he and his colleagues ‘are urgently requesting the Tamil Tigers not to station themselves among the people in the safety zone and fire their artillery-shells and rockets at the army. This will only increase more and more the death of civilians thus endangering the safety of the people’.
Later that day the UN also realised the truth and asserted that ‘we believe that firing this morning most likely was from an LTTE position.’ The fact that Geneva seems oblivious to all this suggests either wilful ignorance or naivete. It is true that the ICRC code of operation demands neutrality. Neutrality however demands objectivity in analysis and reporting, not generalizations that portray the Government in a negative light.
| | A. | I don't know about this particular case but yes, all journalists read newspapers, it's a vital part of their job. Reporters have to know how other newspapers are reporting the story they're working on, and the production journos have to know how it is being produced elsewhere.
To give you an example, I worked as a sub-editor on a London evening newspaper for 15 years, and one major sin that almost constituted a sacking offence (at least it would earn you a big "b0llocking") was to reproduce a headline that was already in a morning paper that day.
Several full sets of newspapers were placed by the messengers every morning in every department, and if you had any spare time between stories, you picked up a newspaper and read it. That was the only acceptable activity other than work.
The senior journalists (production editor of each department, assistant editors, deputy editor and of course the editor) get the very earliest editions of every single paper and read them thoroughly before their working day even begins. (And on that particular paper, the working day begins at 5.30am and often lasts 12 hours. Don't feel sorry for them, though - they get paid a LOT of money!) | | | |
| Q. | What is Gothabaya Rajapaksa BSing about now? | Related Search:
Current Events | | | " Actually, if we could do that it would be good, however as a third world country we don’t have that facility. But in all other developed countries they monitor emails, telephone conversations, SMS and people in the streets. So they have a lot of monitoring systems and also all their systems are integrated. Unfortunately, ours is not. All security agencies in these countries could, by simply giving a number; can obtain all the details of a person. But we don’t have that facility and in fact we have to develop such a system."
When Gotabaya has himself revealed in media more than 8 months back that Colombo is on CCTV and that all mobile, internet and landline connections have security features including banking kiosk etc. he cannot hope to come back just a few months later and say it is not so - especially since the operations were under his purview. The problem with the NIC cards that have also been funded several times but are deficient is also a direct fault of his as apparently now he is stating that service does not come under the Home Office but again through his ministry. Before there is additional funding or materials available for this the implementation of the 17th amendment is needed to see where these funds went. Through SLBC, the state media apparatus, the needed connections were made intraisland and there is no further requirement for such as the entirety of Colombo has been complaining about how the utterly illegal practices of Gotabaya using these services to conduct personal vendettas has been complained about repeatedly.
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If valuable information has been obtained through KP then that information should be appropriately shared with "western" security apparatus such as Interpol and there must be a real brain drain at the Rajapaksa camp because after they have been told repeatedly what the correct process was to gain such assistance or information they still neither follow procedure or provide information in a manner that is acceptable to Interpol. Calling this western based racism is just a pat excuse for not properly formatting information to continue to hide people that the Rajapaksa administration does not want to be found such as key individuals involved in the Seylan/Gold Key/SLIC scams.
| | A. | He BS's about everything | | | |
| Q. | Is it correct that 5 acres at Peliyagoda will be used for waste disposal & a portion of the remaining for UDU? | Related Search:
Government | | | UDU is undisclosed usages - The population at Peliyagoda is protesting because they have multi-million rs. fish market slated for that area within hundreds of meters of the dump site. The people would rather make money selling fish in a cooperative atmosphere - where real earnings enter their pocketbooks than working at a dumpsite next to a sausage factory owned by a multi-national that takes all the earnings out of the country and is a civic non-performer. Considering Burns abominable management of the dump at Bloementhal as well as spotty performance in picking up and disposing of waste why would we want to continue a 1B US contract with them or give another venue to mismange, cause health hazards, and remove a billion dollars from Sri Lanka? In Sri Lanka we do not give billion dollar sausage factories to conglomerates that have overcharged and deprived our citizens of their fundamental rights to earn a living, turn their neighborhoods to slums and not protect their health and well being. Burns had an adequate opportunity to prove their capacities and failed dismally.Cancelling the contract for non-performance is a much better option than having it subcontracted back to the city. You effectively own all Burns assets due to non-performance and certainly do not need to enter into a sub-lease to utilize such for the collection, maintenance and disposal of refuse. A fish market at Peliyagoda that meets ISO22000 standards will not only support sales to consumer and commercial interests in Colombo but also, being near the rails support sales to other areas.You need to work with Champika on this matter. The peoples will be very dismayed to hear how these UNP ventures aim to keep local people destitute while earmarking billions for development of multi-national companies that do not perform, provide horrible working conditions and are able to funnel over a billion dollars out of the country based specifically on their non-performance. We do not care if Jaliya's friends in Congress are upset because I fully well know that whether this matter has to be exposed in Chennai, California or North Carolina that People who have kicked these same environmental offenders out of their areas will support the same actions in Sri Lanka. The area of Pamungada has also proven to be a haven for LTTE elements as well as lands that had been illegally encroached upon during previous UNP/PA administrations. There have been repeated discovery of arms and explosives at encroached lands. For matters of national security a complete village revitalization program has been slated for the area
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This is why that a billion dollar project that allegedly provided 50 jobs and consists of large tracts of land where explosives and weapons caches can easily be hidden is not the direction that Sri Lanka needs at this or any juncture.
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When you consider who provides transparency in matters of land reclamation and who operates in subterfuge and recall that Ranil has not only allowed war-like equipment to be shipped to the LTTE though foreign sources but is also intimately involved in many of these multi-billion dollar multi-national operations that have gone belly up or proved to be major non-performers. Dulles has been trying to get Burns to clean up their act for months but having that come to fruition should not be based on a sub-contract deal between Burns and the City - when it can be easily based on the City pulling Burns contact and assets for non-performance and the City moving forward with a scope of work/change of venue that protects public interests in the outlying areas. What I know is that for every company that breaks the public trust there are another two or three that wish to perform within legal and ethical standards that respect our environmental concerns, truly want to be civic members of our soceity and are willing to support the Public Good and maintain the Public Trust. I am proud of the peoples of Gampaha area because they are not demanding things unreasonable but are defending the earmarked projects that extend their sustainability, provide opportunities for personal enrichment, develop commerce at a grassroots level and grow their communities with a sense of inclusiveness as well as protect opportunities for current and future prosperity. I have a question for the UNP - what is the name of "The National Air Carrier" of Sri Lanka?
| | A. | Yes, it's correct. | | | |
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