by O. L. Ameerajwad    

1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) – a brief history 

Today the world celebrates the 60^th Anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) has come to be regarded as possibly the single most important document created in the twentieth century and as such, the accepted world standard for human rights. The UDHR draws life-preserving messages from the past and is seen as an essential foundation for building a world in which all human beings can, in the centuries to come, look forward to living in dignity and peace.

COLOMBO, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels on Thursday said they had killed 89 troops in two battles around their headquarters town but the military said 20 soldiers and 27 insurgents died in the clashes.

Defence website blasts "BBC Sinhala Service"  

World Food Program (WFP) country director for Sri Lanka, Mr. Adnan Khan today (Dec 10) apologised to the Sri Lankan government over a story filed by the BBC Sinhala service quoting a WFP official, John Cambell, who said IDPs in Sri Lanka live in conditions similar to those in Somalia.

by Shanaka Jayasekara

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is known to have an active presence in several informal sectors such as credit card cloning, money laundering and human smuggling in Europe and North America. However, the LTTE has emerged as a formidable force and influence within the informal arms market and as such has attracted collaborative arrangements with other terrorist groups. The LTTE has developed close relationships with several Islamist groups operating in such networks in a mutually beneficial manner.

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan military on Monday claimed that three “senior LTTE cadres” who fought for the outfit for more than a decade have surrendered to Army.

The Defence Ministry said here the three LTTE cadres aged between 25-30 years showed themselves up to soldiers operating in the Pooneryn area and laid down their weapons.

5 December 2008  

Continuing commitment to social services islandwide

Because of multiple displacement for various reasons over the last two decades, discussion on the status of Internally Displaced Persons in Sri Lanka has suffered from a number of complications. These have not affected the delivery of assistance to the displaced, since the Government of Sri Lanka has acted on the assumption that it was best to provide assistance without any stinting. Thus it has provided relief to the largest possible number declared to be in need.

Monday, December 08,2008

COLOMBO: The main objective of SAARC is the promotion of the welfare of the people of South Asia as a whole and the improvement of the quality of their lives, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

Colombo, Dec 8 (Prensa Latina) Solidarity groups formed by women, trade unions and political forces constituted the National Organizing Committee for the celebration of activities for the 50th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in Sri Lanka in 2009.

The first activity will be a meeting on January 9, in which different topics of the Cuban reality in these 50 years of revolution will be discussed, together with their impact in the whole world.

December 08,2008 

COLOMBO: Rs. 79.8 million has been collected as fines from Alcohol and Tobacco Act (ATA) violators this year, a Health Ministry release said.

Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala during a discussion to review the progress made under the Mathata Thitha programme in keeping with the Alcohol and Tobacco Act implementation 2008 at the Ministry recently, said the Act was implemented to minimise the use of alcohol and tobacco in the country.

By Ranga Sirilal

COLOMBO, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's military said on Monday soldiers had resumed attacks on the outskirts of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) self-declared capital of Kilinochchi.

Conveys felicitations of President Rajapaksa to Hillary Clinton

Minister of Export Development and International Trade, Prof. G. L. Peiris, who is in Hong Kong conveyed to former President Bill Clinton the warm felicitations of President Rajapaksa on the nomination of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as United States Secretary of State.

 Mahaveera, Mumbai & the Madrasi Mad Max mode 

Though there was much tut-tutting by the so-called peace lobby in Colombo, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga never spoke a truer word than when she described Velupillai Prabhakaran as a megalomaniac. The man is quite plainly mad, as evidenced by this claim early on in his Mahaveera speech this year: “…the sacrifices they made have no parallel in the history of the world. No country but ours had at any time encountered such wonderful dedication as expressed in the actions of our valiant heroes.” 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his discussions with Turkey’s President Abdul Gul in Ankara, emphasized the necessity to implement a global mechanism to eliminate terrorism. The two leaders also discussed trade between the two countries. A MoU on the exchange of prisoners between the two countries was signed, the Presidential Media Unit said yesterday.

 A spokesman for the unit told The Island that Rajapaksa had stressed the historical significance of the two countries and invited Turkey’s people to visit Sri Lanka to see its ancient cities.

The Chief Minister of the Eastern Province has approved plans for an inter-provincial sports and cultural festival to be held in Batticaloa.  This is the latest in a series of events being organised by the Peace Secretariat to promote interaction between young people from different communities and regions of the country under the Sports for Peace initiative. 

The festival will include cricket, football and volleyball competitions, as well as dance and musical shows. It will be held around the time of the Thai Pongal.

Sea Tigers lose another strategic location

MULLAITIVU: Troops engaged in the Wanni liberation operation yesterday achieved yet another victory with 59 Division troops capturing the strategically important Alampil area 10 Kilometres south of Mullaitivu whilst Task Force II troops captured the key junction town Puliyankulam north of Omanthai on the Jaffna Kandy A-9 highway, Military officials said yesterday.  

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara confirmed to the Daily News that troops of the 59 Division reached the strategically important Alampil in the North of Nayaru lagoon and were in the process of consolidating their positions in an area where LTTE had their major Sea Tiger base.  

Colombo, Dec 02: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has assured Pope Benedict XVI that the famous 400-year-old Madhu Catholic Church, which suffered damages in the war with LTTE, has been restored to its original glory. 

The visiting Lankan President met the Pope in the Vatican City on Monday and appraised him about current developments in Sri Lanka. He said the church has been cleared of the Tamil Tiger rebels who had besieged it and restored, making it possible for the faithful to pray there.