Govt kicks off two-year fund raiser worth Rs. 14 b with Rs. 1,000 ‘Uthuru Mithuru’ tickets for restoration of Yal Devi link to Northern peninsula; First target is Rs. 400 m mobilisation in 3 months

By Nizla Naizer

The government this week launched an ambitious campaign to raise Rs. 14 billion required to construct the Yal Devi railway track from Vavuniya to Kankesanthurai (KKS) within the next two years through ‘Uthuru Mithuru’ – a ticket from the heart’.

Secretary General Prof Rajiva Wijesinha has written to The Toronto Star in response to its coverage of the decision to prevent Canadian politician Bob Rae from entering Sri Lanka last week.  His letter is carried below.

Senior Advisor to the President and Chairman, Presidential Task Force for the Development of the North, Basil Rajapaksa, MP, said that while offering a political solution to the peoples of the North who have been liberated from the grip of terrorism, steps are being taken to develop the province according to home-grown strategy by the name of ‘Uthuru Wasanthaya’ (Northern Spring).

COLOMBO, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's once troubled Eastern Province has reached near normalcy with a drastic drop of disappearances of people and fewer security road blocks, a one-man commission reported here Tuesday 

The retired judge Mahanama Thilakaratna, who heads a one-man commission of Inquiry to look into disappearances, abductions and murders, told reporters that rights violations in the Eastern Province had recorded a drop of around 90 to 95 percent this year compared with Jan-May period of 2008.

President's Myanmar visit pays dividends  

President Mahinda Rajapaksa on a two-day state visit to Myanmar had discussions with senior leaders of Myanmar including State Peace and Development Council Chairman Senior General Than Shwe and Prime Minister General Thein Sein.

Having just written an article on the pronouncements of the so-called independent media, I was not entirely surprised to discover that the Associated Press had deliberately misrepresented my answer with regard to the winding up of the Commission of Inquiry into several cases of violence over the last few years. The article described the cases as those of human rights abuses, whereas they dealt with a number of high profile killings, including the murders of some politicians, most prominently that of the Sri Lankan Tamil Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar.

Chaminda Perera

The Government yesterday initiated a special educational program for the students of displaced families who are sitting for the G.C.E. Advanced Level examination this year under the directive of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Sri Lanka - Myanmar sign MoU on tourism promotion:  

President Mahinda Rajapaksa currently on a State visit to Myanmar said that his latest challenge is to rehabilitate the war torn region and bring normalcy to the lives of the people. The 30 year old cruel war against terrorism cost 100,000 lives, he said. 

Expressing satisfaction at being able to successfully conclude the humanitarian operation against terrorism, the President said his visit to Myanmar is the first one after the victory.

(June 15, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) President Mahinda Rajapaksa has sent a message of congratulations to Dr. Mahmoud Ahmedinejad on his re-election as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

The re-election of President Ahmedinejad is joyous news for all Sri Lankans because he is considered to be a close friend of this country, the message states.

Here is the text of the President’s message:

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Ever since he was appointed as the Permanent Representative of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the United Nations at Geneva, Dayan Jayatilleka has been making headlines with his brand of diplomacy which has been both applauded and criticised. While he is basking in the recent victory at the recently held UNHRC special sessions The Nation met him to question about the underlying frictions that usually accompany such ‘victories’

The University Teachers for Human Rights has issued yet another report on the situation in Sri Lanka which, as with its previous reports, merits serious attention. I have always admired their commitment and efforts  at objectivity and, even when I disagree with what they say, I have noted their sincerity. It should also be noted that they are amongst the few such organizations to admit it when they have been mistaken, as with their accounts of what happened to the ACF workers in Muttur. Their assertion that inquiries into that event and similar ones should be expedited cannot be challenged. Though I have pointed out that delays have arisen because of the prejudging that has taken place elsewhere, as well as the bad faith of some of the assistants to the International Eminent Persons, I too hope very much that the Commission of Inquiry will produce a report soon on the cases they have dealt with, and that action is taken as appropriate.

Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapakse paid an official visit to Burma on Sunday to cement ties between the two countries. 

Burma was the first country to be visited by President Mahindra Rajapakse after his government defeated the Tamil Tigers guerrilla forces in May. 

Inside sources in Burma said that Burmese military leaders who recently launched a military offensive against Karen rebels in eastern Burma were impressed by Mahindra Rajapakse’s military strategy used against the Tamil tigers.

by Dayan Jayatilleka 

The warning about the risk of triumphalism came days before the 65th anniversary celebration of D Day, by the leaders of the US, UK and France. In the USA there are annual re-enactments of the battles of the American Revolution – the War of Independence against Britain—and of the Civil War against the Secessionist Confederacy. While the risk of triumphalism does indeed exist and must be cautioned against, I think there is yet another risk, an opposite one, which we must avoid. The USSR which triumphed over the bulk of the Nazi fascist army, collapsed without a shot being fired, and that collapse was preceded by an ideological surrender in which everything positive in its history was turned upside down and held up for derision. In the recovery of its self-respect under President Putin, one of the first steps was to restore pride in the wartime achievements of the Red Army.

COLOMBO (AFP) — Sri Lankan troops have recovered the first submarine believed to have been used by the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels, the military has said.

Troops found the 24-foot (7.2-metre) submersible on the coast of the northeastern district of Mullaittivu, where the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were defeated last month, ending decades of ethnic conflict.

By Rajiva Wijesinha

I rarely watch television in Colombo, but in the ghastly hotel rooms of Geneva, where even setting up a laptop is complicated, I often have recourse to the wretched thing. Needless to say, my preferred poison is British, which means usually BBC World, because most small hotels offer little else in English.

Zacki Jabbar

Colombo—Once the “dust of war and recrimination settles down”, Japan could help raise international funding for reconstruction of Sri Lanka’s war ravaged North and East, visiting Japanese Special Peace Envoy, Yasushi Akashi said.

Response of Prof Rajiva Wijesinha, Secretary to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, in responding to an intervention by United Nations Watch in the General Debate on the Universal Periodic Review Process. 

Mr President, the intervention of United Nations Watch raises some issues which this Council would do well to address. In a rather sad effort at sarcasm, it was endeavouring to denigrate the UPR process, and suggested that countries it loathes are incapable of making judgments except on the grounds of self interest.