Mahinda before fire in the North

Mahinda Rajapaksa's role in establishing opposition PC in the South

Upul Joseph Fernando

When former President D.B. Wijetunga met people at his retirement home in Kandy, he used to say that his engagement with the Southern Provincial Council was a folly. UNP was never strong in the South. The UNP strategy at the Southern Provincial Council election finally paved way for Chandrika to come to power. But Wijetunga did not understand it at that moment. In warfare also it is advised to lure the enemy into a field in which you are strong. It is always foolish to engage with the enemy on the ground where he is strong.

Subinay Nandy, UN Resident Coordinator in Colombo couldn't provide a responsible answer - Wigneswaran

Subinay Nandy, UN Resident Coordinator

Wigneswaran gets ‘UN Lesson’ on Sri Lankan ‘Unitary State’

The UN Resident Coordinator in the island, who also assumes the role of Humanitarian Coordinator of the UN System, has recently neglected the request by Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran to partner with the Northern Provincial Council ‘Government’ to conduct a comprehensive Need Assessment Report on the requirements of the war-affected population in North and instead entered into an agreement with the Colombo Government Ministry to conduct the same project.

Sri Lanka: Tamil, Muslim, Up country leaders team up at EPRLF Conference

The 34th Conference of the EPRLF (Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front) is  to be held on 20 July 2014, at Weerasingham hall Jaffna. TNA leader R. Sampanthan, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader and Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem and Upcountry People Front leader Radhakrishnan, Party leaders  Selvam Adaikkalanathan, Dharmalingam Siddartan, Democratic People Front leader Mano Ganesan, Nava Sama Samaja Party Secretary Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne, United Socialist Party secretary Siritunga Jayasuriya will attended the conference, Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran said.

Ramaphosa returns home form Sri Lanka mission disappointed?

The South African Peace Envoy and that country's Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, who was here on the much publicized visit, returned home after talks with the government authorities and the TNA leaders. According to some political observers Ramaphosa who came with full of hope over his country's peace initiative left this country disappointed and disillusioned.

TNA willing to cooperate with South Africa – Suresh Premachandran

Suresh Premachandran

The TNA claimed that foreign delegates including the South African special envoy Cyril Ramaphosa who visited Sri Lanka recently have met the TNA to discuss the Tamil national issue which shows that internationally the TNA is recognised as the representative of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. TNA MP Suresh Premachandran told  that as the elected representatives of the Tamil people, they are willing to cooperate with the South African government if they mediate between the government and the TNA to resolve the Tamil national issue.

TNA Will Be The First Party To Meet Cyril Ramaphosa

The Tamil National Alliance will be the first party  to meet Cyril Ramaphosa,  South African envoy to Sri Lanka who will be visiting Colombo tomorrow for discussions pertaining to the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Speaking to Asian Mirror,  TNA spokesman Suresh Premachandran said they would be meeting Cyril Ramaphosa in a hotel in the capital city of Colombo soon after the latter's arrival. At the meeting, the two parties will discuss the post-war issues and the path to reconciliation process .

Anti-India Hysteria in Sri Lanka

V Suryanarayan.                                                                

Colombo is witnessing anti-India demonstrations in an unprecedented scale. Chauvinist elements among the Sinhalese demonstrated outside the Indian High Commission, shouted slogans against prime minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa and demanded that India should stop interfering in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka.

The demonstration was spearheaded by the National Freedom Front, a chauvinist Sinhala organisation which is a partner in the ruling coalition government.

TNA PC Shivajilingam writes to Modi requesting Federal soulution

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Northern Provincial Council (NPC) member M.K. Shivajilingam says the Tamil people do not believe that the 13 Amendment to the constitution could lead to an equitable political solution that meets the aspirations of the Tamil people.

In a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shivajilingam says India should push Sri Lanka to work towards a solution which can, at the minimum, offer a true federal autonomy to the Tamils in a single merged North-East special region.

Protest against PM Modi and CM Jayalalitha in Colombo - Picture story

A protest was held this morning in front of the  Indian High Commission in Colombo against Indian PM Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha Jayaram , by Sinhala nationalists groups and government supporters. s The protestors carried placards of  ''Modi, dont be a fool''   ''Modi - a asoka or Chola'' ''Modi - dictator or a democrat?'' '' We condemn arm twisting by India''

The protest was organised  against the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s demand to hold a referendum in the North and East and India’s interference in the Sri Lankan internal matter, according tot he media reports.

Photos of the protest published by SL media follows:

PSC, an utter waste of time; implement 13A, says UNP

*Will respond only to govt.’s written solution to ethnic issue -Kiriella

Following President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s recent assurance to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he was willing to implement the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution with the exception of police powers, the UNP yesterday urged the government to match words with action without wasting more time on yet another Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) process.

Minister DEW to quit PSC re finding a political solution

Communist Party Leader, D.E.W. Gunasekera, said he has decided not to participate in future proceedings of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), appointed by the government to find a solution to the ethnic problem, as there was nothing more to discuss among ministers.  However, he said he would participate only if the TNA and SLMC became involved in the discussions. Gunasekera also invited all Opposition political parties to participate in the discussions. They are duty bound to find a solution to this cancer, which has caused immense damage to this country during the last 30 years, he said.

Sri Lanka: 13A is not an Appendix - M.A. Sumanthiran

In an interview with Ceylon Today, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian, M.A. Sumanthiran, said the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is not an Appendix. "The government should abide by the Constitution and ensure the full implementation of the Amendment before thinking of revisiting it to consider devolving police powers to the provinces.

 Following are excerpts:

Sri Lanka tells India devolving powers to provinces not possible

Modi: what are the options

 PTI

Sri Lanka today said it had made it clear to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that devolving police powers to the provinces, including the Tamil-dominated areas, was not possible saying "it has nothing to do with ethnic considerations". G L Peiris, the external affairs minister, was speaking in parliament today apprising the house on the bilateral talks between India and Sri Lanka held in New Delhi last week when President Mahinda Rajapaksa attended the swearing-in of Modi.

UNP opposes move to create Eelam through referendum; committed to devolution within a unitary state

Eelam map

The UNP yesterday rejected Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalaitha Jayaram’s call for a referendum among Tamils in Sri Lanka including those currently living abroad to decide on the establishment of a separate state (Eelam). National List UNP MP Eran Wickremeratne told a news conference in Colombo that the UNP was committed to preserving the unitary status and territorial integrity of the country and there could be no compromise on that score.

Sri Lanka again rejects devolving police powers to ease tension with Tamils

(Reuters) - Sri Lanka on Wednesday again rejected devolving police powers to the provinces as requested by new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and required by the constitution as a means to ease tension with minority Tamils.Sri Lanka agreed with India in 1987 to devolve powers, including over police and land, to a regional level as a means to improve relations between Tamils and majority Sinhalese.

No problem giving Police powers to the North – Senior Minister of Human Resources DEW

Senior Minister of Human Resources, D.E.W. Gunasekera said yesterday while he had no problem with the government deciding to give Police powers to the Northern Province, he felt giving the same powers to the other Provinces was not advisable due to the ill repute of politicians. Gunasekera added that the 13th Amendment should be implemented with Police powers given to a Central Police Commission and land given to the Land Commission through a land policy.

13 amendment and Indian pressure: The Rajapaksa government is apparently in a tight spot

''Last Wednesday Senior Minister and House Leader Nimal Siripala de Silva in a statement said Sri Lanka was a sovereign country and no other country had a right to dictate terms to it. But with the powerful and popular Mr. Modi insisting that urgent action be taken to find a political solution and reconciliation essentially through the implementation of the 13th Amendment plus and beyond, the Rajapaksa government is apparently in a tight spot.''

Press release diplomacy puts Lanka in a mess  - Editorial, Daily Mirror

Govt. doesn't seriously apply itself to tackling N-E problem – Minister Prof. Tissa Vitarana

Five years after the end of the armed conflict in the North and East, legitimate political aspirations of the Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka still remain to be fulfilled. The newly-elected Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, during his impromptu talks with Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has insisted on the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution as an acceptable solution to the issue.

Sri Lanka: NFF, JHU against full implementation of 13 Amendment

Two main coalition partners of the government, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and the National Freedom Front (NFF), strongly oppose the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, as is being insisted by India.
JHU Leader, Ven. Omalpe Sobhitha Thera, said the Sri Lankan Government has already put itself in a difficult position as a result of acting on the instructions of India, and warn if the government continues to take instructions from India, it will push the government towards a worse position.

Sri Lanka rejects Indian PM's request: 13 A will not be implementd in full

Govt. sticks to PSC despite Indian pressure; . ready to cooperate with India in all fields except internal issues

Close on the heels of a meeting between newly elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Mahinda Rajapaksa in New Delhi, where the former called for early and full implementation of the 13th Amendment and to go beyond, the government yesterday said that it was only the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) that could decide on the matter.