New Delhi (PTI): Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived in New Delhi late Tuesday on a three-day visit during which he is expected to apprise Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the steps being taken by his government to safeguard the interests of ethnic Tamils in that country.

Rajapaksa, who is in New Delhi for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit on Thursday, was received at the airport by Minister of State for Home Shakeel Ahmed.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sri Lankan Holidays, the leisure arm of Sri Lankan Airlines, has come up with four exciting tours to the island nation to attract children and their parents to explore the beautiful country.Valid from November to January, the tours are marketed as ‘Holiday in Colombo,’ ‘Holiday on the beach,’ ‘Holiday in Negombo’ and ‘Holiday in Kandy.’Two children below of the age of 12 can accompany a minimum of two adults purchasing the holiday packages that are on offer out of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Goa, Kochi, Coimbatore, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli and Hyderabad.

Hon. Mahinda Samarasinghe, MP, Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights during the debate on the second reading of the 2009 Budget Parliament of Sri Lanka, Sri Jayawardenepura-Kotte, Monday, 10 November 2009

Mr. Speaker, It is an honour and a privilege to address this House this morning on the occasion of the debate on the Budget proposals for 2009, presented four days ago by His Excellency the President in his capacity as the Hon Minister of Finance & Planning. The 4th consecutive Budget, presented by President Mahinda Rakapaksa, marks a significant milestone in the journey towards prosperity and a better tomorrow for all.

It is a journey envisioned in the “Mahinda Chinthana: A vision for a new Sri Lanka” and spelt out in more specific detail in the 10 year horizon development framework, 2006-2016. As His Excellency pointed out, Sri Lanka stands at a major crossroads in our modern history. He stated: “The humanitarian operation to relieve the country from the grips of terrorism has reached its final phase. A democratic environment for a political solution in which the power of all people will be amply strengthened is emerging. A revival of religions, cultural and moral values has taken place. We have reached a decisive juncture in our journey towards peace and development.”

This Budget, therefore Mr. Speaker, is an opportune time for reappraisal of the progress made towards the fundamental transformation in so many facets of our country’s fortunes that the present administration pledged to achieve in 2005. We have a solid base to build on. His Excellency outlined our strengths in terms of our consistent GDP growth since 2006 and rising per capita income. Our Government has ensured that our development priorities are capable of being met with five out of eight Millennium Development Goals and are being on track for achievement, and two more are being designated as achievable by 2015. The eighth does not depend on national factors alone. In terms of Human Development, we are ahead of all other countries in the South Asian sub-region.

New Delhi, (IANS) A special tribunal Monday upheld the government s notification of banning the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for another two years.The notification, declaring the LTTE as an unlawful association, was issued by the union Home Ministry May 15 this year.Delhi High Court judge Justice Vikramjit Sen, who was heading the special tribunal constituted under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, said there was sufficient evidence against the Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebels to justify the extension of ban.

By C. Bryson Hull

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's government on Monday rejected a reiterated Tamil Tiger offer of a cease-fire out of hand, saying surrender or defeat are the only options left now for their opponents in a 25-year-old war.Analysts say the military is making gains and has the unflinching support of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in its mission to wipe out one the world's most ruthless and effective insurgent groups. Here are some scenarios of what could happen next:

FLANKING THE TIGERS: The military for the last month has said it was on the edge of the rebel capital of Kilinochchi, 330 km (205 miles) north of the capital Colombo. The fighting is heavy at several points encircling the town, and the rebels appear to be dug in well behind a maze of trenches and defences. But while the world's focus has been on that target -- the capture of which would provide a strategic advantage and a morale boost for the military -- soldiers have battled hard up the north-western coast. Troops broke through Nachikkudah, a base for the rebel "Sea Tiger" naval units, a few weeks ago after more than a month of sustained, bloody combat. That cleared the way for soldiers to sweep rebels out of the Devil's Point area north of Nachikkudah while simultaneously heading for Pooneryn.

COLOMBO (AFP) – Government forces in Sri Lanka have wrestled control of a small town from Tamil Tiger rebels in an ongoing military offensive, the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

Troops fighting to secure a strategic road along the coast to the northern peninsula of Jaffna have faced stiff resistance from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).The ministry said that the soldiers had taken Palavi, a small town on the road. It described the town as an LTTE "strongpoint."

COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops were close to capturing a key road to the northern peninsula of Jaffna after months of heavy fighting, the defence ministry said Sunday. Heavily armed units have pushed along the coastal road to Jaffna, which had been cut off from the rest of the island by Tamil Tiger rebels in control of the area to the peninsula's south, the ministry said.

"The military surge continues with strong determination to liberate the strategically important 90-kilometre (56-mile) coastal stretch," the ministry said in a statement. Military sources said fighting raged overnight in the region with both sides suffering casualties, though no details were available. Jaffna, an area of 2,300 square kilometres (900 square miles) was taken from the Tigers in 1995, but the lack of land access meant that it has had to be supplied via expensive sea and air routes.

President Mahinda Rajapakse last week urged the Tigers to surrender, saying they would be brought to their knees unless they stopped fighting.

There is a widespread belief that India is forcing a ceasefire in Sri Lanka, the chief minister of the eastern province said.

Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, widely known as Pillayan, told a gathering in Kalmunai that such a scenario would create a 'disastrous' situation in the east. "The details of the development in the eastern province are not being brought to the notice of the Indian politicians and the lack of complete understanding by politicians in India, the changes that are taking place in the East are not being projected properly.

In this background, there is a big expectation that a ceasefire has to be announced due to the pressures from Indian people or other outside forces," he said. The chief minister was addressing a cultural festival organised by the province's education ministry.Politicians in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu earlier called upon the Indian government to broker a truce between the LTTE and Sri Lankan government. However, Tamil Nadu politicians did not implement the threat to resign from parliament in the event of the central government failing to broker a deal.

As Sri Lanka makes headway against Tamil Tiger rebels, Tamil lawmakers urge India to intervene in the name of Tamil civilians caught in the crossfire, but New Delhi feels its hands are tied, Ravi Prasad writes for ISN Security Watch.

By Ravi Prasad in New Delhi for ISN Security Watch

Sri Lanka is pressing ahead with its military campaign in the north of the Indian Ocean island nation to vanquish the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The troops have made considerable progress and are almost knocking on the doors of LTTE's political headquarters, Kilinochchi, a town almost 300 kilometers north of the capital, Colombo.

Colombo (PTI): A wary Sri Lankan police has cautioned the public against LTTE female suicide bombers disguised as harmless looking pregnant women, beggars or old people in the Island country. This comes months after the Sri Lankan intelligence warned of LTTE cadres planning to smuggle in explosives by concealing them in the ice-cream boxes fixed to bicycles.

LTTE suicide bombers in the guise of pregnant women, beggars, women carrying children, old persons have been deployed to carry explosions in the Colombo city, Police Intelligence warned the public.

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI, Associated Press Writer  

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka's government said Monday that Tamil separatists must lay down their arms before cease-fire negotiations can begin, as the military continued heavy ground and air attacks on the guerrilla de facto state in the north."We can't trust them with arms in their hands," government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said, accusing the Tamil Tiger rebels of using a previous truce to rebuild their strength.

On Sunday, a rebel-affiliated Web site reported that the Tigers were willing to consider a cease-fire. The government has recently stepped up an offensive aimed at ending the group's 25-year-old civil war, which has killed more than 70,000 people.

By: Shanika Sriyananda

She could have breathed her last in few minutes or would have been tucked with other dead bodies of her colleagues. Found among 17 dead bodies, she sustained serious injuries in the stomach and the left arm, yet had the luck to live, thanks to the keen eyes of a soldier, who is fighting a battle to liberate thousands of Tamils from the brutal clutches of LTTE.

The fighting escalated at 5.30 am, as the LTTE was still holding ground at the A 32 Road towards Pooneryn. An eight man team of the Delta Company of the 11th Sri Lanka Light Infantry at the Task Force 1, led by Captain Lalantha Kollurage was taking their maximum effort to capture the LTTE bunkers at Paddaruyal Villu between the 10th and 11th mile posts which is three and half km East of the Ponneryn - Mannar main road. After hours long heavy fighting using RPG attacks, the team managed to gain control of the location in the wee hours of November 1, killing 17 LTTE cadres.

Colombo, (IANS) Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to brief Indian leaders on the progress made by an all-party committee on devolution of powers to the provinces during his visit to India to attend the second BIMSTEC summit starting Nov 13.The All Party Representative Committee (APRC) was set up in 2006 by Rajakapsa and is tasked to suggest a system of devolution of powers to end Sri Lanka's bloody ethnic war.The state-run Sunday Observer, quoting APRC chairman Tissa Vitharana, said that Sri Lanka was happy with the progress made by the committee and the Indian leaders would be briefed about it.

by: DAYAN JAYATILLEKA 

"…change this country, and change the world!" – Barack Obama

"He is a transformational figure coming onto the world stage"- Colin Powell

History sometimes hits a high note, sweet and soaring, clean and clear, as if from Satchmo’s horn. The most intelligent, interesting and inspirational of contemporary political personalities is about to be the President of the most powerful nation on the planet. Things will never be the same again. Obama will "electrify the world" predicted Colin Powell.

Obama’s achievement, in and of itself, already changes the world; is a step forward in socio-political achievement. No country however idiosyncratic or culturally narcissistic can live outside the stream of world history. This is more so in the Information Age— the era of "interconnectivity", as Obama terms it. The Obama Effect will be globalized, albeit unevenly. We shall all feel its push and pull factor.

Colombo, (IANS) Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Thursday unveiled next year's budget that proposes to hike defence spending by nearly seven percent, demanding that the Tamil Tigers surrender their weapons to avoid making the military do so.This is the fourth budget to be presented by President Rajapaksa, who is also the minister of finance, after he was elected to office November 2005.“Even at this decisive moment, I request the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) terrorists to lay down their weapons and enter the democratic process. If they do not do so, our troops will take steps to bring them to their knees,” Rajapaksa, also the minister of defence and commander-in-chief of the armed force, said while making the budget speech.

Given below are extracts from a collection of articles and speeches made by Dr. Jayatilleka (from March 2008 up to now) in which he has made direct references to Barack Obama.  

• Extract taken from a speech given at the UN: Take Barack Obama’s historic speech as example in approaching racism, racial discrimination, appeals Sri Lankan ambassador Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka at UN Human Rights Council (26th March 2008)

  “A new way which puts us on a far higher analytical and ethical vantage point. A new way has opened up to regard and discuss these problems. I refer to the historic speech made by Barack Obama, confronting honestly but not aggressively, these phenomena in his own society, but with a far wider relevance than purely to his society alone. My appeal is that our own discussions, our search, our strivings in the inter-governmental working group, in other Durban related spaces, and in any discussion of this interrelated scourges, we must take into account and seek to emulate that example of Senator Obama which I personally consider to have opened up a new paradigm, may be even a new episteme, in discussing this subject.” 

Web link: Take Barack Obama’s historic speech as example in approaching racism, racial discrimination, appeals Sri Lankan ambassador Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka at UN Human Rights Council

The president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has expressed great pleasure at the success of the US president-elect Senator Barack Obama at the Tuesday’s elections.

The Sri Lankan president said he has been following Mr. Obama’s election campaign ‘closely’."I have been impressed by the freshness and candour that you introduced to the US political landscape and the hope that you generated in the United States, in particular, and the wider world, in general.

I am convinced that under your leadership, the United States, which has always been a beacon to the world on many an issue, will continue to provide that leadership in a re-invigorated manner,” a statement issued by the presidential secretariat quoted Mr. Rajapaksa.

by: Dr. Tissa Abeysekara

“Behind the fear were the hunger and the thirst, and behind the hunger and the thirst was fear again.”

Much has been said of how DA followed SWRD Bandaranaike across the well of the House of Parliament when the latter crossed-over into the Opposition ranks. For me there was a deep significance in that move. In that historic photograph, which I first saw as an unknowing little boy, D.A. Rajapaksa seems to follow Bandaranaike, effortlessly.

For him, it was coming home. Perhaps he was never easy within the ranks which represented the privileged class. With that memorable line opens Leonard Woolf’s novel, Village in the Jungle, which according to the great Chilean Poet Pablo Neruda is a masterpiece ‘both true to life and literature’. Woolf’s line as quoted above sums up with almost clinical precision the harsh and brutal nature of life in the arid deep south of Sri Lanka at the turn of the last century.

New York (IANS): A top US military official Wednesday commended the Sri Lankan military for its recent successes against the Tamil Tigers, whom Washington has designated as a terrorist group.'We are hopeful that the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) would be a decreasingly important factor of much less reach than they are and have been in the past,' Admiral Timothy Keating, Commander of US Pacific Joint Command, told foreign correspondents in New York.As head of the US Pacific Command, with its headquarters in Hawaii, Keating is responsible for the US military operation ranging from Australia and New Zealand to China, Taiwan and Japan to India and Sri Lanka.