President Mahinda Rajapaksa in an interview with Italy’s Le Figaro daily newspaper focusing on wide range of contemporary issues of the country emphasized that the Western bloc should stop criticizing the country over alleged human rights violations and should assist in its endeavor to rebuild the nation that is now entirely liberated from the grip of terrorism.

The resettlement of the internally displaced spearheaded by Special Presidential Adviser and MP, Basil Rajapaksa,Chairman of the Northern Task Force yesterday (11 September)  released 9900 internally displaced persons housed at the Menik Farm in Vavuniya to their hometowns, these IDPs were provided transport through state buses to reach their homes by the authorities.

Hon. Speaker,

As we all are aware having remained victims of terrorism for over 27 years, the people of Sri Lanka have just crossed over to a new epoch of peace and development. 

If encountering the brutal terror of a ruthless enemy in the military front required a great deal of commitment and dedication on the part of all those who were involved in it, from the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces to the soldiers, facing the obstacles in the political front which surfaced in innumerable guises both locally and internationally required, by no small measure, sheer far-sightedness and resolve on the part of His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his government. I need not emphasize how various forces tried, in vain, to stop the government in its march to victory. The story is long and now history, which is no secret to any of us, anymore.

Another batch of nearly 9,000 Internally Displaced Persons now living in the welfare villages of Vavunia will be resettled in their own villages in the North and East today, senior official sources told the Daily News yesterday. 

Buses to take the IDPs back to their villages have been arranged by the Rehabilitation and Disaster Relief Ministry with lunch and dinner provided by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

The attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is drawn to several recent media reports alleging that Sri Lankan leaders and senior government officials have been denied visas by some of the Diplomatic Missions in Colombo.

The Hony Consul General for Sri Lanka in Madrid has informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka of a fraudulent scheme that offers lucrative jobs for foreigners including Sri Lankans in Spain. Part of the fraud is collecting purported legal fees for expediting the visa. According to the Hony Consul General for Sri Lanka in Madrid, this is a racket which is operated through mobile phones making it extremely difficult for the Spanish police to nab them.

Hosting the Ifthar (breaking fast) for the 3^rd consecutive year, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama stated that he began the tradition of hosting Ifthar during the holy month of Ramadhan following his appointment as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He also stated that this tradition of celebrating important festivals and observances associated with the four major religions practised in Sri Lanka will continue.

The Foreign Ministry has so far made payments in compensation totalling Rs. 140 million to next of kin (NOK) of affected families during the year 2009.  Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama made this observation at a ceremony held at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations & Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) on 07 September 2009 when he handed over compensations among the next of kin of those Sri Lankan nationals who had passed away under tragic circumstances in the Middle East.

At the request of Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Saudi Arabian Embassy has issued free visas to 100 Sri Lankan Muslims proceeding on Umrah pilgrimage during the month of Ramazan for the first time.

Press Release issued by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights

Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe met with the UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon on Thursday 3 September at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on the sidelines of the World Climate Conference.   

Referring to the comments made by the UN Secretary-General’s Spokeswoman Ms. Marie Okabe in the UN press release dated 3 September 2009, Minister Samarasinghe stated that he took the opportunity to brief the UNSG on a wide variety of issues concerning IDPs as well as plans of the Government to resettle them as soon as possible. Minister Samarasinghe reiterated the commitment of H.E the President to care for the IDPs and to re-settle them as soon as the de-mining process is completed and infrastructure and basic services are restored.

The Government of Sri Lanka is concerned over an increasing number of comments from some sections of the international community, on an unauthenticated video footage telecast on Channel 4 Television in the UK on 25th August 2009, which contains alleged atrocities being committed against Tamils by the Sri Lankan Forces.

Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe addressed the High Level Segment of the World Climate Conference-3 which is being held in Geneva, delivering a policy statement on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka. The week-long conference, which began on 31 August, will conclude its deliberations on Friday 4 September with a High Level Declaration which was also adopted by consensus today.

Chamikara WEERASINGHE  

The Free Trade Agreement between Sri Lanka and Pakistan will be further expanded to services and investment in keeping with the bilateral discussions between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, yesterday.  

President Rajapaksa, who is on a visit to Libya to participate at the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Al-Fateh Revolution on the invitation of Libyan leader Colonel Khaddafi , was met by Prime Minister Gilani in the sidelines of the anniversary celebrations to discuss bilateral relations and other regional and international matters of mutual interest.

"Without development, there won't be peace; we must develop the economy, I don't want to just be the liberator, I want to be the leader who brings permanent peace and development to this country and reconciliation with Tamil communities in the North and the East", said President Mahinda Rajapaksa in an extensive interview with the ‘Forbes’ Magazine.

"The war is over," he said. "Now we have no excuses. We have to start working and develop this country."

Some sections of the international community have regrettably thought it fit to criticize the verdict given on 31^st August 2009 by the High Court on the case of J.S. Tissainayagam, bringing into question the judicial process and integrity of judicial officers in Sri Lanka.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a message of congratulations to Dr. Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan states “its victory is a clear demonstration of the confidence the people of Japan have placed in your leadership and vision for a new era for Japan”.