“Life”, the exhibition of the well-known Sri Lankan painter Mr. S.H. Sarath was declared open by Mr. Pierre Le Loarer, the Chief Librarian and President of the Cultural Activities Committee of the United Nations in Geneva and Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva on Tuesday, 22^nd July 2008, at 6.30 P.M. at the United Nations premises in Geneva.

The Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka will hold an exhibition of paintings by the renowned Sri Lankan artist, Mr. S.H. Sarath, from 22^nd July to 05^th August 2008 at the United Nations premises in Geneva.

Lazy summer days at the beach getting a tan are passé as Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Board (SLTPB) is marketing the country as an adventure destination with adventure seekers being identified as a potential growth market.

 “Adventurous holidays are a rapidly growing trend in global tourism and an increasing number of travellers are seeking out new adventures like Sri Lanka having done the usual African Safaris,” said SLTPB Managing Director, Dileep Mudadeniya.

by: Dayan Jayatilleka

Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Patali Champika Ranawaka said that initial studies indicate that there has been an increase in the elephant population in Sri Lanka over the last decade and announced that a new census of elephants will be carried out in August this year.

The Esala Festival of the Ruhunu Maha Kataragama Devalaya which began with the kap planting ceremony on May 20 will conclude on July 19 with the water cutting ceremony at the Menik Ganga, said an official from the Kataragama Devale.

by Dayan Jayatilleka

 Sri Lanka’s most successful Army Commander, serving under Sri Lanka’s militarily most successful Commander-in Chief and President, and most dedicated Defence Secretary, has held an important discussion with Colombo’s foreign correspondents on our most essential topic, the war. That General Fonseka is our most successful army commander may be hotly debated in the subjective and partisan Sri Lankan media, but not by top professionals overseas.

Hikkaduwa Beach Fest ‘08

A fun-filled fiesta for kids, adults, and grandparents!

The world famous southern coastal town of Hikkaduwa, is all agog with preparations, to hold ‘Hikkaduwa Beach Fest’ 08’ an initiative of Sri Lanka Tourism. The sun-kissed beaches of Hikkaduwa will vibrate to the pulsating rhythms of DJs, dancers, and musicians from July 30 - August 3. The event will cater to both local and foreign visitors as well as to persons of all age groups – a family outing – a break from the monotony.

The story of MAS Fabrics and its efforts to present Sri Lanka as the preferred apparel sourcing destination to the world

 When Timothy Speldewinde, CEO - Stretchline Holdings, says that his company manufactures 1.5 million metres of elastic a day, he is not stretching the truth. "That means we make enough elastic each year to wrap around the world 10 times over - and that's without stretching it," he says. This is just another feat at MAS Fabrics and one more chapter in the MAS Holdings success story.

by Dayan Jayatilleka

In 1987, the Sri Lankan armed forces had the initiative, and if the operation was taken to a finish, the Tigers may have been defeated. Instead, by the second half of the year the Sri Lankan army was in barracks and the Tigers were off the hook. Both Sri Lanka and India paid for that turn of events, leaving only Prabhakaran the beneficiary. That tragic turn of events was made possible by a cluster of factors, ranging from a Sri Lankan foreign policy which departed from our traditional Non-aligned stance and sought to ignore India and ally with the West, to the power of the Tamil Nadu factor upon decision-making in Delhi.

All I had to do was ask him if he liked Benny Goodman or Fats Waller or Louis Armstrong. At the time, I knew nothing of his chosen musical confections, for that would have made the writing rather more about the Mervyn I knew, than the one I had to get to know through distance learning.

by Dayan Jayatilleka

If Douglas Devananda did not exist, the democratic system would have had to invent him. Any resolution or even sustainable management of North-South relations in Sri Lanka, any successful attempt at nation-building and conflict transformation, devolution and autonomy, requires the fulfilment of the following four conditions: that the Sri Lankan state have a moderate Tamil partner; that the Sinhalese – especially the Sinhala leadership-- have a Tamil leader they can trust; that the Tamils have a moderate leader who can negotiate with the State as well as the Sinhala community; and that this moderate Tamil leader is capable of survival and standing up to Tiger terrorism.

Ce matin (le 6 juin), les terroristes LTTE ont fait exploser une bombe Claymore à Katubadda, Moratuwa visant un bus bondé. Selon les sources de défense, la bombe qui avait été placée au bord de la route à un endroit situé entre le temple bouddhiste Shailabimbaramya et l'Université de Moratuwa -l’université la plus prestigieuse des étudiants en génie au Sri Lanka.  La bombe a visé un autobus (portant le numéro 29-1885) qui appartient au service de transport public et qui faisait la navette entre Kottawa et Mount Lavinia (numéro de route 255). D’après les sources de la police, l'explosion aurait eu lieu entre 7h30 et 7h45.

Statement on behalf of the Sri Lanka delegation by Mr. O.L. Ameer Ajwad, Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva under agenda item 3: Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to education during the 8^th Session of the Human Rights Council, June 4^th 2008

Sri Lanka notes with sadness the emotional and misleading statements of Pax Romana and Interfaith International during the interactive dialogue. The former is well aware that the situation at Kalimoddai is not at all how he represents it. It is certainly not the Garden of Eden, which had a far more dangerous snake as the good father knows, but it is infinitely preferable to the LTTE controlled areas whence the refugees now housed there have fled. They have fled, as the Norwegian Refugee Council so graphically puts it, from forced and underage recruitment, from a situation where, as a recent UN report has it, marriages are being cancelled so that more youngsters can be forced to fight.