Monday 30 January 2012

புதிய ஈழத்தில் போலிச் சுதந்திரம் பொசுங்கியே தீரும்!


புதிய ஈழம்

................. ஜனநாயகமும் சுதந்திரமும் சுபீட்சமும்  மிக்க இலங்கை நாட்டைக் கட்டியெழுப்ப, மேற்கண்ட புதிய ஜனநாயக அரசியல்,தேசிய ஜனநாயகப் பொருளாதாரப் பாதையே ஒரே வழியாகும். வேறெந்த வழியும் கிடையாது.மாறாக அந்நிய உலகமயமாக்கல்  பொருளாதாரக் கொள்கையிலும், அந்நிய நிதி மூலதனத்திலும் தங்கியிருக்கும் வரை, நாடு தனது அரைக்காலனிய சுதந்திரத்தையும் இழந்து முழு அடிமை நாடாகிவிடும். இன ஒடுக்குமுறை மேலும் கூர்மையடையும்.இத்தகைய ஒரு போக்கில் ஒடுக்கப்படும் தமிழ்த் தேசிய இனம் ஒடுக்கும் சிங்களத்துடன் `அதிகாரத்தைப் பகிரும்` சீர்திருத்த வழியில் தனது சுதந்திரத்தை உறுதி செய்யமுடியாது.

ஒரு மக்கள் ஜனநாயக குடியரசால் இத்தகைய திட்டத்தை அதன் முதல் ஐந்தாண்டிலேயே  நிறைவேற்றிவிட முடியும்.ஆனால் 64 ஆண்டுகளாக இலங்கையின் ஆளும் கும்பல்கள் நாட்டை விதேசிய திட்டத்தில் வழி நடத்தி  வந்துள்ளனர். அதனால்த்தான் நாடு அடிமைப்பட்டுக் கிடக்கின்றது. இனப் பூசல் தொடர்கின்றது.இதற்குக் காரணம் தமிழர்கள் அல்ல.சிங்கள ஆளும்  கும்பல்களே ஆகும்.   ஆட்சி அதிகாரம் இவர்கள் கையில் உள்ளவரை அதுவே இனியும் தொடரப்போகின்றது.

படியுங்கள்!                                                                                                         பரப்புங்கள்!!

UN Says Ban Will Accept Alleged War Criminal As His Senior Advisor

UN Says Ban Will Accept Alleged War Criminal As His Senior Adviser on Peacekeeping

Matthew Russell Lee Special to Salem-News.com

An alleged war criminal appointed without any push back by Ban Ki-moon to Ban's Senior Advisory Group on Peacekeeping Operations: this is Ban's UN.

(UNITED NATIONS) - Sri Lankan alleged war criminal Shavendra Silva will be accepted onto UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Senior Advisory Group on Peacekeeping Operation, as Ban
disclaims any responsibility and will do nothing to stop it, Ban spokesperson informed Inner City Press on January 28.Acts of Shavendra Silva's battalion in 2009 are described in the UN's own Panel of Experts report on Sri Lanka, and lawsuits have been filed against Silva for war crimes.

On January 27, Inner City Press asked and wrote that in other circumstances, such as Syria's bid to be its regional group's representative on the UN Human Rights Council, efforts have been made at the UN including by the Secretariat to avoid or reverse nominations like this one which would be an
embarrassment and make a mockery of the UN's stated principles.After Inner City Press asked at the UN noon briefing on January 27 if Ban would say or do anything, spokesman Martin Nesirky
said "Matthew, don't press your luck" and that he "might have something a little later."
When nothing came by close of business that day, Inner City Press put the question directly to UN Peacekeeping, including chief Herve Ladsous of France and Susana Malcorra, reportedly
slated to be promote by Ban to his Deputy Secretary General,So far neither UN Peacekeeping official has responded with any comment on how appointing an alleged war criminal to the Senior
Advisor Group would impact the credibility of DPKO or DFS.

Back on October 24, Malcorra told the General Assembly's committee on peacekeeping that Ban
"had taken steps to fulfil his mandate to create a Senior Advisory Group comprising five eminent persons of relevant experience; five representatives from major troop countries; five representatives from major financial contributors; and one member from each regional group... If the Group was to be
appointed, it would be important for Member States to complete their responses to the Secretary-General’s request for nominations."
 
Malcorra asked member states to send Ban "nominations," which to some implies that Ban did not have to accept any and all names submitted, for example that of an alleged war criminal. Would Ban similar put on his Senior Advisory Group the chief of Sudan's military, who has been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court? In fact, Ban's and Ladsous' envoy to Darfur Ibrahim Gambari recently greeted ICC indictee Omar al Bashir at a wedding reception in Sudan. When Inner City Press asked Nesirky if this complied with Ban's UN policy, the belated response was that Gambari greeted the ICC indictee based on "African traditions."

This is Ban's UN.

On January 28, a Saturday, 24 hours after Inner City Press posed the question, the following was received:
“ Subject: Your question From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org Date: Sat, Jan 28, 2012 at 12:43 PM To: Matthew Russell Lee [at] innercitypress.com

The General Assembly instructed the Secretary-General to establish the senior advisory group, stipulating that its membership should comprise five representatives nominated by the troop-contributing countries, five representatives nominated by the financial contributors, and one representative named by each of the five regional groups. The General Assembly specified that five eminent persons of relevant experience should be independently appointed by the Secretary-General
himself. The Secretary-General's responsibility under GA resolution 65/289 related only to the nomination of the five eminent persons that he was asked to selected himself; the 15 other members of the SAG were selected by the TCCs, FCCs and Regional Groups, as prescribed by the General Assembly.”

The response seeks to absolve all responsibility, including for the UN's credibility, from Ban Ki-moon, who already stood smiling as Tamil children at gunpoint sung his name in the internment camps in Northern Sri Lanka in May 2009, and since then yelled at his own staff in front of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

In other cases, Ban has tried to exercise leadership with member states, including to impact his UN's credibility. But not here, it seems; while his two top peacekeeping officials remain silent.
An alleged war criminal appointed without any push back by Ban Ki-moon to Ban's Senior Advisory Group on Peacekeeping Operations: this is Ban's UN.
Source: Salem-News.com

Sunday 29 January 2012

Ambassador Silva, selected to the UN Advisory Group


Ambassador Major General Shavendra Silva, selected to the Special Advisory Group on UN Peace Keeping Operations
Sat, 2012-01-28 13:34 — editor News New York, 28 January, (Asiantribune.com):

Ambassador Major General Shavendra Silva, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations has been selected to the Special Advisory Group on Peace Keeping Operations established by the UN Secretary General to advice on rates of reimbursement to troop-contributing countries and related issues.

This is the first time that a Sri Lankan has been appointed to such a prestigious post relating to peace keeping operations, throughout Sri Lanka’s 50 year long partnership with the Department of Peace keeping. Ambassador Major General Shavendra Silva will represent the Asia-Pacific States in this Body. He joins a group of high ranking diplomats and other eminent personalities who are

members of this key body addressing some of the critical issues related to UN peacekeeping.

Among its members are the former Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and former Deputy Minister of National Defence for Canada, Ms. Louise Frechette ; Former Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Jean-Marie Guehenno; and former Assistant Secretary of State of the United States of America, Mr. James Dobbins. The group is scheduled to commence their first meeting this month to finalize the scope of its work and working modalities.
- Asian Tribune -

புதிய ஈழத்தில் `யார் இந்த TNA?` ஆய்வுக்கட்டுரை.



படியுங்கள்!                                                                      பரப்புங்கள்!

முத்துக்குமரன் நினைவு தினம் 2012

Friday 27 January 2012

Iran Blasts West Over Oil Embargo

By FARNAZ FASSIHI

The Wall Street Journel

BEIRUT—Iran's president attacked Western powers for sanctions against Iran but offered no clear indication on whether his country would return to negotiations on its nuclear program, in
his first public remarks since the European Union agreed to ban Iranian oil imports.

[A handout picture obtained from the Iranian president's office shows Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivering a speech during a visit to the city of Kerman, 1,000km southeast of Tehran.]

In a public rally on Thursday in the southeastern city of Kerman, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied that Iran has been an obstacle to reviving negotiations, but stopped short of offering to restart talks, saying, "Why would we run away from negotiations? Why should the person who is in the right and has logic avoid talks?"

Iran's parliament echoed the defiant tone by saying it would consider an immediate halt of oil exports to Europe to pre-empt the oil embargo, which the EU set to begin on July 1 to give its members time to find alternative supply sources.

Mr. Ahmadinejad declared that the embargo wouldn't hurt Iran's economy, saying other export markets would easily compensate for the loss of sales to Europe, the destination of about a
quarter of Iranian oil exports. The Chinese government, Iran's No. 2 oil buyer after the EU, on Thursday criticized use of sanctions to "blindly pressure" Iran. But the expanding measures are already taking a toll. The value of Iran's currency, the rial, has fallen by nearly 50% against
the dollar in the past month on the black market. The prices of basic food items and other goods are increasing daily, according to Iranian media reports and interviews with Tehran residents.

On Thursday, Iran's central bank devalued the rial by 8% against the dollar and ordered all currency-exchange shops to adhere to the official rate or be shut down, according to Iran's official media.

This week, Mr. Ahmadinejad approved an order that banks increase interest rates to 21%, from between 12.5% and 15%, to encourage Iranians to keep their capital in domestic banks, as
Iranians hoard dollars and gold.

In his speech, he appeared to try to rally the public behind the government and against Western pressure, saying ordinary people would ultimately suffer the most from sanctions. The West is "the enemy of the Iranian people….The bigger the challenge, the stronger is our will," he said.

His statements come as Iran's government seeks a show of support in parliamentary elections on March 2 from a public besieged by economic hardships.

Iran has already conceded to allow nuclear inspectors to come to Iran before the end of January. Mr. Ahmadinejad doesn't ultimately hold the key to Iranian concessions: Such decisions are in the hands of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"Ahmadinejad isn't steering Iran's nuclear ship, Khamenei is," said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

European leaders, in announcing sanctions Monday, said they weren't targeting the people of Iran, but the country's leadership. The EU also agreed to freeze the assets of Iran's central bank, the conduit for the country's oil revenue, and ban trade with its petrochemical industry.

The U.S. and EU aim to put pressure Iran to return to negotiations on the country's nuclear program, which the West says is aimed at arms production and Iran contends is for peaceful purposes.

U.S. and EU officials have said Iran hasn't formally responded to a request in October to return to talks with the international community, represented by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany.

Also on Thursday, Iranian lawmakers called on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to intervene against a pledge by Saudi Arabia that it would increase oil supply if needed.
Mr. Ahmadinejad, without mentioning any countries, weighed in on the mounting confrontation with Saudi Arabia in his speech, saying those promising to boost oil output were tools of the
West with a short view of history.

OPEC, which has so far tried to stay away from the Iranian-Saudi feud, hasn't received a formal request from Tehran for an emergency meeting, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The International Energy Agency, which coordinates emergency oil stocks held by countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, sees no need for an emergency
supply release now, the agency's Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said.

China's statement on Thursday underscored the difficulty the West faces in creating a wedge between Iran and one of the largest buyers of Iranian crude.

"To blindly pressure and impose sanctions on Iran aren't constructive approaches," China's Foreign Ministry said, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. The statement said China hopes to solve such disputes through dialogue and consultation.

China's dependence on Iranian oil grew last year, with imports rising more than 30% to 27.8 million metric tons, or nearly 560,000 barrels a day, according to customs data. China consumes more than nine million barrels of oil a day, second only to the U.S. China has joined previous U.N. efforts aimed at getting Tehran to curtail any nuclear-weapons ambitions, but has balked at the U.S. efforts to raise pressure on Iran outside U.N. auspices.

The EU ban could give China more leverage with Iran's state oil company. People familiar with the contract talks between China United Petroleum & Chemicals Co., or Unipec, and the National Iranian
Oil Co. have said the two sides are still haggling over economic terms, in a dispute these people have said is unrelated to the nuclear issue.
 —Carlos Tejada in Beijing and Benoît Faucon in London contributed to this article.WSJ

Thursday 26 January 2012

களுத்துறை மாவட்டத் தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளின் நிலைமை


கவனம் செலுத்தப்பட வேண்டிய களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழ்க் கல்வி


Thursday, 26 January 2012 06:06 Hits: 30

களுத்துறை மாவட்டத் தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளின் நிலைமை, அப்பாடசாலைகளில் கற்கும் மாணவ, மாணவியர் எதிர்நோக்கியுள்ள பிரச்சினைகள், அவற்றைத் தீர்த்து வைக்க மேற்கொள்ளப்பட வேண்டிய செயல் முறைகள் தொடர்பாகக் கவனம் செலுத்த வேண்டிய கட்டாய நிலை இன்று ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. எவராலும் உரிய முறையில் கண்டுகொள்ளப்படாத நிலைமையே களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகள் தொடர்பில் நிலவுகின்றது.

களுத்துறை மாவட்டம் மேல் மாகாணத்திற்குற்பட்டதும், அங்குள்ள சகல தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளும் மேல் மாகாண கல்வி அமைச்சின் நிர்வாகத்திற்குட்பட்டதாகவேயுள்ளன. இம் மாவட்டத்தில் தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகள் முப்பத்தெட்டும் இருமொழிப் பாடசாலைகள் அதாவது சிங்களம், தமிழ் ஆகிய இருமொழிகளில் கற்பித்தல் இடம்பெறுவதான பாடசாலைகள் இரண்டும், முஸ்லிம் பாடசாலைகள் இருபத்தொன்றும் உள்ளன.

களுத்துறை, மத்துகம, ஹொரணை ஆகிய மூன்று கல்வி வலயங்களுக்குள் இப் பாடசாலைகள் அடங்குகின்றன. தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளைப் பொறுத்தவரை சகல பாடசாலைகளும் தோட்டப் பகுதிப் பாடசாலைகளாகவே உள்ளன. கல்வி நிலையில் முன்னேற்றம் கண்டுள்ள மாவட்டமாகத் தேசிய ரீதியில் இம்மாவட்டம் முதன்மைப்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ள போதும் தமிழர் கல்வியைப் பொறுத்தவரை மிகவும் பின்தங்கிய நிலையே காணப்படுகிறது. கவனிப்பாரற்ற நிலையில் பிற்படுத்தப்பட்ட கல்வி நிலைகொண்ட தோட்டப் பாடசாலைகள் என்ற நிலையிலிருந்து மீட்சி பெறாத நிலையே தற்போதைய யதார்த்த நிலையாகவுள்ளது.

களுத்துறை கல்வி வலயத்தில் ஆறு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளும் பதினேழு முஸ்லிம் பாடசாலைகளும் செயற்படுகின்றன. அதேபோல் மத்துகம கல்வி வலயத்தில் பதினாறு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளும் இருமொழிப் பாடசாலைகள் இரண்டும் முஸ்லிம் பாடசாலைகள் இரண்டுமாக இருபது தமிழ் மொழி மூலப் போதனை வழங்கும் பாடசாலைகள் உள்ளன.

ஹொரணை கல்வி வலயத்தைப் பொறுத்தவரை பதினாறு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளும் இரண்டு முஸ்லிம் பாடசாலைகளும் உள்ளன.

கல்விக் கொள்கையடிப்படையில் பாடசாலைகள் நான்கு தரங்களில் வகைப்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ன. கல்விப் பொதுத் தராதரப் பத்திர உயர்தர வகுப்புகளில் கணிதம், கலை, விஞ்ஞானம், வர்த்தகம் ஆகிய நான்கு பிரிவுகளும் கொண்ட பாடசாலைகள் முதற்தரப்பாடசாலைகளாக அதாவது 1 ஏ.பி. (1அஆ) தரத்தில் வகைப்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளன. களுத்துறை மாவட்டத்தில் மேற்படிதரத்தில் ஒரு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலையும் இல்லை. தமிழ் மொழி மூலமும் போதனை நடைபெறும் இருமொழிப் பாடசாலைகள் இரண்டும் 1 ஏ.பி. தரத்தைக் கொண்டவையாக இருந்த போதிலும் அவற்றில் குறிப்பிட்ட பாட நெறிகள் தமிழில் கற்பிக்கப்படுவதில்லை. இரு மொழிப் பாடசாலைகளின் இரண்டில் ஒரு பாடசாலையில், கலை, வர்த்தகப் பிரிவுகள் மட்டுமேயுள்ள போதும் மற்றைய பாடசாலையில் உயர்தர வகுப்புகள் தமிழ் மூலம் நடைபெறுவதில்லை.

கலை, வர்த்தகப் பிரிவுகளை மட்டும் உயர்தர வகுப்பில் கொண்ட ஒரு பாடசாலை மட்டுமே உள்ளது. மத்துகம கல்வி வலயத்திற்குட்பட்ட சென்.மேரீஸ் கல்லூரி அதாவது இருமொழிப் பாடசாலை கலை, வர்த்தகப் பிரிவு கொண்டதாக இருப்பதுடன் ஹொரணை கல்வி வலயத்திலுள்ள மில்லகந்த தமிழ் மகாவித்தியாலயமும் அதே தரத்தைக் கொண்ட மாவட்டத்தின் ஒரே தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலையாயுள்ளது. இப்பாடசாலை பாடசாலைத் தரப்படுத்தலின் கீழ் 1 சீ (1இ) தரத்திலடங்குகின்றது.

கல்விப் பொதுத் தராதரப் பத்திர சாதாரணதர வகுப்புகள் வரை கொண்ட பாடசாலைகள் டீ.2 (கூ.2) தர வரிசையிலும் ஆரம்பப் பாடசாலைகள் டீ.3 (கூ.3) தர வரிசையிலும் அடங்குகின்றன.

களுத்துறை கல்வி வலயத்தினுள்ள தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகள் ஆறில் மூன்று தரம் டீ.2. பாடசாலைகளாகவும் ஏனைய மூன்று டீ.3 தரங் கொண்ட ஆரம்பப் பாடசாலைகளாகவும் உள்ளன. மத்துகம கல்வி வலயத்திலுள்ள பதினாறு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் உயர்தர வகுப்புகள் கொண்ட ஒரு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலையும் இல்லை. இக் கல்வி வலயத்திலுள்ள பதினாறு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் பதின் மூன்று பாடசாலைகள் ஆரம்பப் பாடசாலைகளாகச் செயற்படுவதுடன் ஏனைய மூன்று பாடசாலைகளில் மட்டும் கல்விப் பொதுத் தராதரப் பத்திர சாதாரண வகுப்புகள் வரை நடைபெறுகின்றன.

ஹொரணை கல்வி வலயத்திலுள்ள பதினாறு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் மில்லகந்த தமிழ் மகாவித்தியாலயம் மட்டுமே உயர்தர வகுப்புகளில் கலை, வர்த்தக பாடங்கள் கற்பிக்கப்படும் பாடசாலையாகவுள்ளது. ஏனைய பதினைந்து பாடசாலைகளில் பதினொரு பாடசாலைகள் ஆரம்பப் பாடசாலைகளாக இயங்குவதுடன் ஏனைய நான்கு பாடசாலைகளில் மட்டும் கல்விப் பொதுத் தராதரப் பத்திர சாதாரண தர வகுப்புகள் வரை கற்பித்தல் மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டு வருகின்றது.

ஒட்டுமொத்தமாக நோக்குமிடத்து இம்மாவட்டத்திலுள்ள முப்பத்தெட்டு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் இருபத்தாறு பாடசாலைகள் ஆரம்பப் பாடசாலைகளாக இருப்பது வெளிப்படுகின்றது. ஏனைய பாடசாலைகள் பன்னிரெண்டில் பதினொரு பாடசாலைகள் கல்விப் பொதுத் தராதரப் பத்திர சாதாரண தர வகுப்புகள் கொண்டவையாகவும் ஒரு பாடசாலை மட்டும் உயர் தரவகுப்பில் கலை, வர்த்தகப் பிரிவுகள் கொண்டதாகவும் உள்ளன. உயர்தர வகுப்பில் கணித, விஞ்ஞானப் பிரிவுகள் கொண்ட ஒரு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலை கூட இம் மாவட்டத்தில் இல்லை. களுத்துறை மாவட்டத்திலுள்ள தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் எண்ணாயிரம் வரையான மாணவ, மாணவியர் கற்கும் அதேவேளை இரண்டாயிரம் வரையான தமிழ், மாணவ, மாணவியர் முஸ்லிம் பாடசாலைகளில் கற்பதும் கணிப்பீட்டின் மூலம் வெளிப்படுகின்றது. மேலும் கணிசமான எண்ணிக்கையான தமிழ்ப் பிள்ளைகள் சிங்கள மொழிப் பாடசாலைகளில் கற்பதும் குறிப்பிடக்கூடிய அளவினரான தமிழ்ப் பிள்ளைகள் பாடசாலைக் கல்வியை முற்றாகவே நாடாதிருப்பதும் இடை நடுவில் கல்வியைக் கைவிடுவதும் தெரிய வந்துள்ளது. இவ்வாறான நிலையில் களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழர் கல்வியை மேம்படுத்த, உயர்த்த வழிவகை காணப்படுவது அவசியமாகின்றது. நாட்டின் தேசியக் கல்விக் கொள்கைக் கிணங்க உரிய, உயரிய கல்வியைப் பெற்றுக்கொள்ளும் அடிப்படை உரிமை களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழ்ப் பிள்ளைகளுக்கும் உண்டு. இருந்த போதிலும் அவர்களது அடிப்படைக் கல்வி தொடர்பாக எவரும் கவலைப் பட்டதாகத் தெரியவில்லை.

அரசியல் ரீதியாக முற்றாகவே பலமிழந்துள்ள களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழ் மக்கள் அரசியல் ரீதியாகப் பெற்றுக்கொள்ளக்கூடிய எந்தவொரு பயனையும் அனுபவிக்க முடியாதுள்ளனர் என்பதே உண்மை நிலை. பல அரசியல் கட்சிகள் தமது தொழிற்சங்கங்கள் மூலம சந்தா திரட்டும் நடவடிக்கையில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ளனவேயன்றி அடிப்படைத் தேவையான கல்விக்குக் குரல் கொடுப்பதைக் காண முடியவில்லை. தொழிலாளர்களைத் திரட்டிச் சந்தா வசூலிப்பது மட்டுமன்றி அவர்களது அடிப்படைத் தேவைகள் தொடர்பாகவும் கவனம் செலுத்த வேண்டிய பொறுப்பு தமிழர்களைப் பிரதிநிதித்துவப்படுத்தும் தொழிற் சங்கங்களுக்குண்டு. இதை, அதாவது அரசியல் ரீதியாக அனாதரவாகவுள்ள களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தோட்டத் தொழிலாளர் மத்தியிலே இயங்கும் தொழிற்சங்கங்கள் புரிந்துகொள்ள வேண்டும். அது அவர்களது கடமையும் கூட.

களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளைக் கணிக்கும் போது களுத்துறை கல்வி வலயத்திலுள்ள குளோடன் தமிழ் வித்தியாலயமும் மத்துகம கல்வி வலயத்திலுள்ள கலை மகள் தமிழ் வித்தியாலயமும் ஹொரணை கல்வி வலயத்திலுள்ள றைகம் கீழ்ப்பிரிவு தமிழ் வித்தியாலயமும் ஹல்வத்துர தமிழ் வித்தியாலயமும் 1சீ தரப் பாடசாலைகளாக அதாவத உயர்தர வகுப்பில் கலை, வர்த்தகப் பாடங்கள் கொண்ட பாடசாலைகளாகத் தரமுயர்த்தப்பட வேண்டியதுடன் மேற்படி பாடசாலைகளில் ஒன்றான குளோடன் தமிழ் வித்தியாலயம் உயர்தர வகுப்புகளில் கலை, வர்த்தகப் பிரிவுகள் மட்டுமல்லாது கணித, விஞ்ஞானப் பிரிவுகள் கொண்ட பாடசாலையாகவும் தரமுயர்த்தப்பட வேண்டும்.

குளோடன் தமிழ் வித்தியாலயத்திலுள்ள ஆசிரியர் விடுதி, கட்டிட வசதி, இட வசதிகளைக் கருத்திற்கொண்டு மாணவ விடுதியுடன் கூடிய தரமான பாடசாலையாக இப்பாடசாலையை உருவாக்க முடியும். இது தொடர்பில் கல்வித்துறையினர் கவனம் செலுத்த வேண்டும். இது காலத்தின் தேவையாகவும் உள்ளது. மில்லகந்த தமிழ் வித்தியாலயமும் கணித, விஞ்ஞானத் துறைகள் கொண்ட உயர்தரப் பாடசாலையாக மாற்றக் கூடிய வாய்ப்புள்ளது. ஏற்கனவே, கலை, வர்த்தகப் பிரிவுகள் கொண்ட மேற்படி பாடசாலையில் கணித, விஞ்ஞானப் பிரிவுகள் ஆரம்பிக்க நடவடிக்கை மேற்கொண்டால் தமிழ் மாணவ, மாணவியர் பெரும் பயன் அடைவர்.

இரு மொழிப் பாடசாலையாக செயற்படும் மத்துகம சென்.மேரிஸ் கல்லூரியின் தமிழ்ப் பிரிவில் அறுநூறுக்கும் அதிகமான மாணவ, மாணவியர் கற்கின்றபோதும் இட வசதி இன்மை பெரும் பிரச்சினையாகவுள்ளது. மேற்படி தமிழ்ப் பிரிவைத் தனிப்பாடசாலையாக இயக்க அமரர் சௌமிய மூர்த்தி தொண்டமான் காலத்தில் பெருமுயற்சி மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டது. இருந்த போதிலும் தமிழ் மாணவர்களுக்கென்று அதே பாடசாலை வளவில் தனிக்கட்டிடம் நிறுவப்பட்ட போதும் பல வகுப்பறைகள் சிங்கள மொழி மூலமாணவர்களுக்காகத் திறந்து விடப்பட்டுள்ளது. மத்துகம சென்.மேரிஸ் தமிழ்ப் பிரிவு தனிப் பாடசாலையாகச் சொந்தக் கட்டிடத்தில் இயங்கச் செய்ய கல்வித்துறையினர் செயற்படுவார்களேயானால் அது தமிழ் மாணவ, மாணவியரின் கல்வி மேம்பாட்டிற்குப் பெரும் உதவியாயமையும்.

பொதுவாகவே களுத்துறை மாவட்டத் தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் போதிய ஆசிரியர்கள் இல்லாமை தெரிய வந்துள்ளது. தமிழ் மொழிமூலப் பாடசாலைகளுக்கான வளங்கள் தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளுக்கு உரியபடி கிடைக்காமல் திசை திருப்பப்படுவதாகப் பல்லாண்டுகளாகக் குறை கூறப்பட்டு வந்தாலும் அதைச் சீர் செய்ய எவருமே முன்வந்ததாகத் தெரியவில்லை.

ஆரம்பப் பயிற்சி பெற்ற ஆசிரியர்கள், கணிதம், விஞ்ஞானம், தமிழ், இந்து சமயம், வரலாறு, புவியியல், ஆங்கிலம், அழகியற்பாடங்கள், தொழில்நுட்பங்கள் என்று சகல துறைப்பாடங்களுக்குமான ஆசிரிய வெற்றிடங்கள் தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் நிலவுகின்றன. அத்துடன் உயர்தர வகுப்புகள் நடைபெறும் இரு பாடசாலைகளிலும் அவ் வகுப்புகளில் படித்துப் பரீட்சைக்குத் தோற்றும் மாணவ, மாணவியர் கற்கும் பாடங்களுக்குத் தகைமை வாய்ந்த பட்டதாரி ஆசிரியர்கள் இல்லை. அதனால், மாணவ, மாணவியர் உரிய பாடங்களை உரியபடி கற்க முடியாது திண்டாடுகின்றனர். தமிழ் மொழி மூலப் பாடசாலைகளுக்கான ஆசிரிய வளங்கள் உரியபடி பகிரப்படாமையே இதற்கான ஏதுவாயுள்ளது.

பாடசாலை அதிபர்களாகத் தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளில் வேற்று சமூகத்தவர்கள் பலர் செயற்படுவதும் குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது. தமிழ் மொழியில் போதிய பரிச்சயம் அற்றவர்களால் எவ்வாறு தமிழ்ப் பாடசாலைகளை நிர்வகிக்க முடியும் என்பது புதிராகவுள்ளது. புரிந்துகொள்ளப்படாமலுமுள்ளது.

களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழ்க் கல்வியின், தமிழர் கல்வியின் பின்னடைவுக்கான காரணங்கள் உரிய முறையில் சரியாக ஆராயப்பட்டு தீர்வுகள் எட்டப்பட வேண்டும். இது ஒரு சமூகப் பிரச்சினை என்பது மட்டுமல்ல தேசியப் பிரச்சினை என்பதையும் கவனத்திற் கொள்ள வேண்டும். கல்வித் தரத்தில் முன்னிலை வகிக்கும் ஒரு மாவட்டமாகக் கொள்ளப்படும் மேல் மாகாணத்தின் களுத்துறை மாவட்டத்தின் தமிழர் கல்வியின் அடிப்படைத் தேவைகள் உரியபடி வழங்கப்பட்டு அவர்களின் உரிமையான கல்வியைப் பெற்றுக்கொள்ள வழிவகை செய்ய கல்விப் புலத்தில் அக்கறை கொண்டோர் தயங்காது, தவறாது முன்வர வேண்டும். இதுவே, தமிழர் சமூகத்தின் ஒரு அங்கமான களுத்துறை மாவட்ட தமிழ் மக்களுக்குச் செய்யும் சேவையாகும்.

நன்றி: தினக்குரல்

Tuesday 24 January 2012

மகசின் சிறையில் கைதிகள் ஆர்ப்பாட்டம்.


 
கைதிகளின் கலகத்திற்கு போதைப்பொருள் தடுப்பு நடவடிக்கையே காரணம்; 7.5 மில்லியன் ரூபா இழப்பு

புதன்கிழமை, 25 ஜனவரி 2012 17:47  (சுபுன் டயஸ்)

மகஸின் சிறைச்சாலையில் உணவுப்பொதி மூலம் கைதிகளுக்கு போதைப் பொருட்கள் கொண்டுவரப்படுவதை தடுக்கும் நடவடிக்கையே அச்சிறைச்சாலையில் நேற்று இடம்பெற்ற கலகத்திற்கு பிரதான காரணம் என பொலிஸ் அதிகாரிகள் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.

நேற்று செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை இடம்பெற்ற கலகத்தில் பங்குபற்றியோர் , போதைப்பொருள் தொடர்பான குற்றங்களுக்காக விளக்கமறியலில் வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளவர்கள் என சிறைச்சாலை அதிகாரி ஒருவர் கூறினார்.

விளக்கமறியல் கைதிகளுக்கு வெளியிலிருந்து உணவு கொண்டு
வரப் படுவதற்கு அனுமதி வழங்கப்படுகிறது.

இந்நிலையில் போதைப் பொருள் கொண்டுவரப்படுவதை தடுப்பதற்கான பாரிய நடவடிக்கையை சிறைச்சாலையின் புதிய அத்தியட்சகர் தலைமையிலான அதிகாரிகள் ஆரம்பித்ததுடன், கைதிகளுக்கு குடும்ப அங்கத்தவர்களால் கொண்டுவரப்படும் உணவுப் பொதிகளையும் சோதனையிட்டதாக அவர் கூறினார்.

இந்த கலகத்தினால் 7.5 மில்லியன் ரூபா பெறுமதியான சேதம் ஏற்பட்டுள்ளதாக அவர் கூறினார்.

'மகசின் சிறைச்சாலை கலவரத்தில் தமிழ் அரசியல் கைதிகளுக்கு பாதிப்பு இல்லை'

புதன்கிழமை, 25 ஜனவரி 2012 11:07

'மகசின் சிறைச்சாலையில் நேற்று இடம்பெற்ற கலவரம் கட்டுப்பாட்டிற்கு கொண்டுவரப்பட்டுள்ளதாக கொழும்பு தெற்கு பொலிஸ் அத்யட்சகர் சஞ்சீவ தர்மரட்ண தனக்கு தெரிவித்ததாகவும் மேலும் இக்கலவரத்தில் தமிழ் அரசியல் கைதிகள் சம்பந்தப்படவில்லை எனவும் அவர்களுக்கு எவ்வித பாதிப்பும் இல்லை என தன்னிடம் தெரிவித்ததாகவும்' ஜனநாயக மக்கள் காங்கிரஸ் தலைவரும் கொழும்பு மாவட்ட நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினருமான பிரபா கணேசன் தெரிவித்தார்.

இது தொடர்பில் அவர் விடுத்துள்ள அறிக்கையில் மேலும் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாவது,

புதிதாக கடமையேற்றிருக்கும் உதவி பொலிஸ் அத்யட்சகர் எழில் ரஞ்சன் தனது கடமைகளை பொறுப்பேற்ற பின் கொழும்பு மகசின் சிறைச்சாலைக்கு வரும் உறவினர்களின் பொதிகளை கடுமையாக சோதனை செய்ததன் விளைவாக ஏற்பட்ட முரண்பாடு காரணமாகவே கைதிகளுக்கும் சிறைச்சாலை அதிகாரிகளுக்கும் கைகலப்பு ஏற்பட்டதாக சிறைச்சாலை புணர்வாழ்வு அமைச்சின் ஆலோசகர் எஸ்.சதீஸ்குமார் தெரிவித்தார்.

பொலிஸ் அத்யட்சகருடன் தொடர்புகளை ஏற்படுத்தி நிலைமைகளை கேட்டறிந்த பொழுது இச்சிறைக் கைதிகளின் தாக்குதலில் எந்த தமிழ் அரசியல் கைதிகளும் சம்பந்தப்படவில்லை எனவும் தெரிவித்தார். இருப்பினும் கண்ணீர்ப் புகைக்குண்டுவீச்சில் தமது இருப்பிடங்களும் பாதிக்கப்பட்டதாக தமிழ் அரசியல் கைதிகள் என்னிடம் தெரிவித்தனர்.

அதேநேரம் தம்மையும் இந்த நடவடிக்கையில் பங்குபற்றுமாறு ஏனைய கைதிகள் அழைத்தும் தாம் அதில் பங்குபற்றவில்லை என தெரிவித்தனர். அதனால் தமக்கு பாதுகாப்பு ஏற்பாடுகள் செய்யுமாறும் வேண்டுகோள் விடுத்தனர். இது சம்பந்தமான ஏற்பாடுகள் செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளன.

தமிழ் அரசியல் கைதிகளின் விடுதலை சம்பந்தமாக முழுமையான முறையிலே நான் ஈடுபட்டுக் கொண்டிருக்கும் பொழுது இப்படியான சட்டவிரோத செயல்களில் இவர்கள் ஈடுபடாமலிருந்தமை பாராட்டக்கூடிய விடயமாகும். ஏற்கனவே பூசா முகாமிலுள்ள 15 தமிழ் கைதிகள் புணர்வாழ்வு நிலையத்திற்கு அனுப்பிவைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளமையும் குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

இதேபோல் ஏனைய கைதிகளின் விடுதலைக்கும் ஏற்பாடுகள் நடைபெற்றுக்கொண்டிருக்கும் பொழுது இவ்வாறான செயல்பாடுகளில் இவர்களை ஈடுபட வேண்டாம் என கேட்டுக்கொள்கின்றேன்' என்று அவ்வறிக்கையில் மேலும் குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

தமிழ் மிரர் (Daily Mirror)

Hidden hand behind bloody prison riot?
* 26 inmates, 5 jail guards injured
January 24, 2012, 9:14 pm
By Norman Palihawadane

Thirty one including five jail guards and 26 inmates were injured yesterday at the Welikada New Magazine prison in a bloody clash.

The injured had been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital, prison sources said.

Hospital sources described the condition of two of the injured as serious and said that all 19 inmates admitted to the hospital following the clash had suffered injuries below the knee.

According to sources trouble began when a group of inmatesstaged a protest demanding that their rights be granted and some prisons officers be replaced. As more inmates joined the protesters they resorted to hurling bricks and other missiles at the jailers.

Commissioner General of Prisons, P. W. Kodippili said the advancing protesters had not heeded the warnings and the prison officers had fired into the air to stop them. The mob overpowered the jailers and some were hurt.

Police and army had to be summoned to quell the riot. Police used tear gas to disperse mobs of inmates armed with clubs and bricks. However, the inmates who climbed on to the roof continued their protests while some others engaged in hurling brick bats targeting security personnel.

Meanwhile, some inmates set the RC Branch which stored records of the inmates on fire. The fire brigade had to be deployed to douse the fire. Though the fire was doused, most of the records had been destroyed.

The Commissioner General said that copies of those documents could be obtained from court record rooms.

The Baseline Road was closed from Dematagoda station to the Borella Junction.

All LTTE suspects in the Prison had been transferred to other prisons as a security measure, Commissioner General said. A total of 180 LTTE suspects were at the Magazine prison and they had all been transferred after the riot broke out. The inmates were transported in buses escorted under heavy security.

Commissioner General Kodippili said that former Army commander Sarath Fonseka was being held at the Welikada prison and not at the Magazine prison where the riots took place.

Kodippili said that investigations had been commenced to ascertain whether the inmates had any assistance from some prison officials to mount the protest. Separate investigations were being conducted by the intelligence units of the prisons and the police, he said. The process of recording statements from the inmates commenced yesterday itself and prison security was beefed up.
The Island

Magazine prison riots due to crackdown on drugs, Rs.7.5mn
damage
Wednesday, 25 January 2012 15:56

Prison officials said that the main cause for the riots which took place at the Magazine remand prison was due to the crackdown on drugs being smuggled into the prison through meals brought from outside.

Remand prisoners are allowed by prison authorities to get meals from outside. A prison officer of the Magazine remand prison said that prisoners who were involved in the riot on Tuesday were in remand for narcotic related offences.

Under the leadership of the new Superintendent of Prisons (SP) the authorities launched a massive crackdown and even checked their lunch packets brought to them by their family members.

The new Superintendent was brought to the Magazine remand prison for his excellent record during his tenure at the Kalutara Prison.

The damage due to the riots is said to be worth Rs.7.5 million. Meanwhile the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) is conducting investigations into the riots as they had damaged state property. A probe into the clash and the protest has been initiated by the Prisons Department. (Supun Dias)
Daily Mirror

World faces a 600 million jobs challenge, warns ILO




Global Employment Trends 2012: World faces a 600 million jobs challenge, warns ILO


The world faces the “urgent challenge” of creating 600 million productive jobs over the next decade in order to generate sustainable growth and maintain social cohesion, according to the annual report on global employment by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Press release
24 January 2012

GENEVA (ILO News) – The world faces the “urgent challenge” of creating 600 million productive jobs over the next decade in order to generate sustainable growth and maintain social cohesion, according to the annual report on global employment by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

“After three years of continuous crisis conditions in global labour markets and against the prospect of a further deterioration of economic activity, there is a backlog of global unemployment of 200 million,” says the ILO in its annual report titled “Global Employment Trends 2012: Preventing a deeper jobs crisis”. Moreover, the report says more than 400 million new jobs will be needed over the next decade to absorb the estimated 40 million growth of the labour force each year.

The Global Employment Trends Report also said the world faces the additional challenge of creating decent jobs for the estimated 900 million workers living with their families below the US$ 2 a day poverty line, mostly in developing countries.

“Despite strenuous government efforts, the jobs crisis continues unabated, with one in three workers worldwide – or an estimated 1.1 billion people – either unemployed or living in poverty”, said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. “What is needed is that job creation in the real economy must become our number one priority”.

The report says the recovery that started in 2009 has been short-lived and that there are still 27 million more unemployed workers than at the start of the crisis. The fact that economies are not generating enough employment is reflected in the employment-to-population ratio (the proportion of the working-age population in employment), which suffered the largest decline on record between 2007 (61.2 per cent) and 2010 (60.2 per cent).

At the same time, there are nearly 29 million fewer people in the labour force now than would be expected based on pre-crisis trends. If these discouraged workers1 were counted as unemployed, then global unemployment would swell from the current 197 million to 225 million, and the unemployment rate would rise from 6 per cent to 6.9 per cent.

The report paints three scenarios for the employment situation in the future. The baseline projection shows an additional 3 million unemployed for 2012, rising to 206 million by 2016. If global growth rates fall below 2 per cent, then unemployment would rise to 204 million in 2012. In a more benign scenario, assuming a quick resolution of the euro debt crisis, global unemployment would be around 1 million lower in 2012.

Young people continue to be among the hardest hit by the jobs crisis. Judging by the present course, the report says, there is little hope for a substantial improvement in their near-term employment prospects.

Global Employment Trends 2012 says 74.8 million youth aged 15-24 were unemployed in 2011, an increase of more than 4 million since 2007. It adds that globally, young people are nearly three times as likely as adults to be unemployed. The global youth unemployment rate, at 12.7 per cent, remains a full percentage point above the pre-crisis level.

The report’s main findings also include:

There has been a marked slowdown in the rate of progress in reducing the number of working poor. Nearly 30 per cent of all workers in the world – more than 900 million – were living with their families below the US$2 poverty line in 2011, or about 55 million more than expected on the basis of pre-crisis trends. Of these 900 million working poor, about half were living below the US$1.25 extreme poverty line.

The number of workers in vulnerable employment2 globally in 2011 is estimated at 1.52 billion, an increase of 136 million since 2000 and of nearly 23 million since 2009.

Among women, 50.5 per cent are in vulnerable employment, a rate that exceeds the corresponding share for men (48.2).

Favourable economic conditions pushed job creation rates above labour force growth, thereby supporting domestic demand, in particular in larger emerging economies in Latin America and East Asia.

The labour productivity gap between the developed and the developing world – an important indicator measuring the convergence of income levels across countries – has narrowed over the past two decades, but remains substantial: Output per worker in the Developed Economies and European Union region was US$ 72,900 in 2011 versus an average of US$ 13,600 in developing regions.
“These latest figures reflect the increasing inequality and continuous exclusion that millions of workers and their families are facing”, said Mr. Somavia. “Whether we recover or not from this crisis will depend on how effective government policies ultimately are. And policies will only be effective as long as they have a positive impact on peoples’ lives”.

The report calls for targeted measures to support job growth in the real economy, and warns that additional public support measures alone will not be enough to foster a sustainable recovery.

“Policy-makers must act decisively and in a coordinated fashion to reduce the fear and uncertainty that is hindering private investment so that the private sector can restart the main engine of global job creation”, says the report.

It also warns that in times of faltering demand further stimulus is important and this can be done in a way that does not put the sustainability of public finances at risk. The report calls for fiscal consolidation efforts to be carried out in a socially responsible manner, with growth and employment prospects as guiding principles.
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For more information, please contact the ILO’s Department of Communication and Public Information on +4122/799-7912, communication@ilo.org

1 A person who has decided to stop looking for work because they feel they have no chance at finding a job is considered economically inactive (i.e. outside the labour force) and is therefore not counted among the unemployed. This also applies to young people who choose to remain in schooling longer than they had hoped and wait to seek employment because of the perceived lack of job opportunities.

2 Vulnerable employment is defined as the sum of own-account workers and unpaid family workers.


Tag: employment
Regions and countries covered: Global
Unit responsible: Communication and Public Information
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ILO LINKS:
Global Unemployment Out Look
Global Employment Trends 2012
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IMF: Euro Crisis Could Spark New Global Slump


IMF: Euro Crisis Could Spark New Global Slump
6:26pm UK, Tuesday January 24, 2012

The International Monetary Fund has warned the world faces a new recession this year if the eurozone debt crisis gets worse.

The global economic watchdog has cut its world growth estimate to 3.25% from its previous forecast of 4%.

Forecasts for UK growth were cut by 1% to 0.6% - although the country is still expected to outperform Germany and France.

The IMF predicted the economy to grow 2% in 2013, down from 2.4%, the IMF said, as "intensifying strains" in the euro area affect the rest of the world.

IMF chiefs fear the eurozone debt crisis could worsen during 2012


It said global output will expand by 3.25% this year, a downward revision from 4%, as countries including Italy and Spain see their economies shrink and pull the rest of the single-currency bloc into recession.

The amended forecasts come ahead of the publication on Wednesday of the UK's eagerly-awaited gross domestic product (GDP) figures for the fourth quarter of 2011.

The IMF said the world's greatest economic challenge was putting "an end to the crisis in the euro area by supporting growth" while restoring public finance balance sheets and sustaining economic recovery.


Germany and France will enjoy smaller growth than the UK in 2012 according to the organisation, with projected figures of 0.3% and 0.2% respectively.

Meanwhile, it is forecast the US will grow by 1.8% while Japan will grow by 1.7%.

The downward revision to forecasts in the euro come as the cost of financing sovereign debt surges and eurozone governments try to clamp down on spending, the IMF said.

It warned austerity measures in Japan and the US - or a lack of - posed a threat to the global outlook in the medium term.

Gaddafi supporters seize control of Libyan town


Gaddafi supporters seize control of Libyan town


By Taha Zargoun
Reuters
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Supporters of ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi seized control of the town of Bani Walid on Monday after clashes with a militia loyal to the new government in which four people were killed, witnesses told Reuters.

A resident of Bani Walid, about 200 km (120 miles) south-east of Tripoli, said the sides fought using heavy weaponry, including 106 mm anti-tank weapons, and that 20 people were wounded.

Another witness told Reuters the fighting had now stopped but that Gaddafi loyalists were in control of the town centre, where they were flying green flags, a symbol of allegiance to the ousted administration.

"They control the town now. They are roaming the town," said the witness, a fighter with the 28th May militia which was fighting the Gaddafi loyalists.

Bani Walid, base of the powerful Warfallah tribe, was one of the last towns in Libya to surrender to the anti-Gaddafi rebellion last year. Many people there oppose the country's new leadership.

The uprising in Bani Walid could not come at a worse time for the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC). It is already reeling from violent protests in the eastern city of Benghazi and the resignation of its second most senior official.

An air force official told Reuters that jets were being mobilised to fly to Bani Walid. In Tripoli, there were signs of security being tightened, Reuters reporters in the city said.

FIGHTERS "MASSACRED"

The violence in Bani Walid was sparked when members of the May 28 militia arrested some Gaddafi loyalists.

That prompted other supporters of the former leader, who was captured and killed in October, to attack the militia's garrison in the town, said the resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"They massacred men at the doors of the militia headquarters," said the resident.

During Libya's nine-month civil war, anti-Gaddafi rebels fought for months to take Bani Walid.

Local tribal elders eventually agreed to let NTC fighters enter the town, but relations have been uneasy since and there have been occasional flare-ups of violence.

In November last year, several people were killed in Bani Walid when a militia group from Tripoli's Souq al-Juma district arrived in the town to try to arrest some local men.

Taking back control of the town will be challenging because it has natural defences. Anyone approaching from the north has to descend into a deep valley and then climb up the other side, giving defenders an advantage.

It was this landscape, in part, that prevented anti-Gaddafi militias from taking the town during the civil war, despite the fact they were heavily armed and had superior numbers.

(Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

Monday 23 January 2012

ஈரானின் குரல் வளையை நெரிக்கும் EUவின் எண்ணெய் விற்பனைத் தடை.


"We will paralyze the economic activity of Iran and deprive the country of part of its resources. I know you can be skeptical about sanctions…but it avoids going to war,"
          French Minister of Foreign Affairs Alain Juppé

EAST NEWS JANUARY 23, 2012, 5:51 P.M. ET

EU Embargoes Iranian Oil

By JOHN M. BIERS , LAURENCE NORMAN and BENOIT FAUCON

BRUSSELS—European Union foreign ministers approved an embargo on oil imports from Iran, moving past an internal debate over the economic burden on some members and imposing the bloc's strongest measures yet to press the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program.

The EU also placed sanctions on Iran's central bank and petrochemical industry, according to a statement by the Council of the European Union.


"Our message is clear. We have no quarrel with the Iranian people," the leaders of France, Germany and the U.K. said in a statement. "But the Iranian leadership has failed to restore international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program. We will not accept Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon."

Adding to efforts by the U.S. and the EU to starve Iran's government of revenue, the U.S. on Monday sanctioned Iran's third-largest bank, Bank Tejarat, closing off one of Tehran's few remaining conduits for trade with the West.


Treasury Department officials said they sanctioned the bank for its alleged role in financing Iran's nuclear program and for helping other banks and companies evade international sanctions.

The move follows President Barack Obama's move last month to ban any American dealings with Iran's central bank.

The Obama administration welcomed the EU's decision Monday in a joint statement by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The EU and U.S. each said they were continuing with a "dual track" approach in which sanctions are intended to put pressure on Iran to engage in talks with the international community on its nuclear program.

Tehran has yet to respond to an offer made in October to return to talks, the U.S. statement said.

The EU's move is already causing adjustments in the oil market. Refiners in Spain and Italy have already begun to phase out some Iranian oil purchases in anticipation of the embargo. Some European countries said they have contacted Saudi Arabia to replace the Iranian oil.
Although the embargo was largely in line with expectations, oil prices rose slightly at news the EU had agreed to the policy—and rose again as Iran reiterated a threat to retaliate by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping lane through which one-fifth of the world's traded oil passes. Crude for March delivery closed at $99.58 per barrel in New York trading Monday, up $1.25, or 1.27%.
The EU decision is likely to further squeeze an Iranian economy already under pressure from the effect of Western sanctions. Iran's currency, the rial, fell 10% to a record low on Monday following the EU decision, Reuters reported.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparastdeemed the ban "unfair" and "doomed to fail."
An Iranian official acknowledged the embargo will hinder the country's largest revenue source. "It will make things tougher at this end" by restricting the choice of crude buyers, the official said.
The embargo could cost Iran $5 billion to $10 billion in oil revenue for 2012, and more in subsequent years, said Trevor Houser, a partner at New York-based economic-research firm Rhodium Group.
The sanctions put a freeze on the assets within the EU of Iran's central bank, which clears the country's oil sales. The EU also barred imports of petrochemical products, the export of equipment and technology transfer in the sector to Iran, and new investment in Iranian petrochemical companies and joint ventures.
The International Energy Agency said Monday that consumers of Iranian oil in the EU will have time to find replacement crude supplies, since the embargo wouldn't affect supplies until the middle of the year.
The EU imports about 600,000 barrels of Iranian oil daily—close to a quarter of Tehran's exports of 2.6 million barrels a day—according to the IEA. But those imports fall unevenly, with some of Europe's most-stressed economies—Greece, Italy and Spain—among the biggest customers.
Greece has been particularly critical of the embargo, arguing that a slower implementation was needed to ensure that its economy wouldn't be excessively burdened.
Under Monday's agreement, the EU said it will undertake a review of the policy's effects on member states by May 1, bowing to a condition sought by Greece. However, any move to reverse or delay the embargo would require the unanimous decision of the EU's 27 members, officials said.
Diplomats said EU foreign ministers would promise to take all necessary measures to ensure member states would continue to have access to oil supplies.
EU foreign-policy chief Catherine Ashton said the May review would ensure that the embargo won't have an "adverse" impact on the European economy.
Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said the impact of the oil embargo on the Italian economy will "be negligible, almost zero."
Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Demas said Greece benefited from favorable financing terms in its Iran purchases, and that it will need help not only to find new suppliers but to also get the favorable financial terms they enjoyed from Iran. Greece has been buying 35% of its oil from Iran. Mr. Demas said Greece has held talks with Saudi Arabia to replace the Iranian supply.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Garcia-Margallo also said Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers had guaranteed supply to offset Iranian oil "at the same price."
The move comes as U.S. officials also apply pressure on consumers of Iranian oil, including China, India and other Asian countries, to trim Iranian imports.
The effectiveness of an oil embargo will be limited as long as Iran is still able to sell some oil on the international market, says Joseph Nye, a Harvard University political scientist.
China has rejected calls to halt its consumption of Iranian oil. India's Oil Minister Jaipal Reddy said Monday that his country will keep buying crude oil from Iran and is trying to find a mechanism to settle payments despite new restrictions on financial transactions with Iran,
French Minister of Foreign Affairs Alain Juppé acknowledged some of the skepticism about the effectiveness of the sanctions, but said the EU package would meaningfully hit Iran. "We will paralyze the economic activity of Iran and deprive the country of part of its resources. I know you can be skeptical about sanctions…but it avoids going to war," he said.
Source: The Wall Street Journal

மூன்றாவது உலகப் பொருளாதாரப் பெருமந்தம் 2012

Turbulent Year Ahead for Global Economy

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Global Economic Prospects 2012 predicts turbulent year ahead

* Developing world will still lead global growth,but at slower pace

* ‘Second wave’ of financial crisis will take a toll on developing countries
----------------------------------------------------------------

Washington, DC, January 18, 2012—The world economy in 2012 is set to grow by just 2.5 percent, weighed down by ripple effects from the 2008 financial crisis, says the World Bank's latest Global Economic Prospects (GEP) 2012, published today.

The sovereign debt crisis in Europe, which took a turn for the worse in August 2011, coincides with slowing growth in several major developing countries (Brazil, India and, to a lesser extent, Russia, South Africa and Turkey), mainly reflecting policy tightening begun in late 2010 and early 2011 to combat rising inflationary pressures from overly-fast growth.

As a result, developing country growth for 2012 is now forecast at 5.4 percent, the second lowest over the past 10 years. The Bank has also lowered its growth forecast for high-income countries in 2012 to 1.4 percent and -0.3 percent for the high-income Euro Area.

Reflecting the growth slowdown, world trade, which expanded by an estimated 6.6 percent in 2011, will grow by only 4.7 percent in 2012, before strengthening to 6.8 percent in 2013.

Risk aversion stemming from the Euro Area debt crisis has spread to both developing countries and other high-income countries. Yields on the sovereign debt of developing countries have increased by an average of 117 basis points (bps) between July-end 2011 and early January 2012, as have those of most-all Euro Area countries, including France (86 bps) and Germany (36 bps), and those of non-Euro Area countries such as the United Kingdom (18 bps).

Capital flows to developing countries have weakened sharply as investors withdrew substantial sums from developing-country markets in the second half of 2011, with gross capital flows to developing countries plunging to $170 billion, only 55 percent of the $309 billion received during the same period in 2010.

Developing-country stock markets have lost 8.5 percent of their value since July-end. This, combined with the 4.2 percent drop in high-income stock-market valuations, has translated into $6.5 trillion, or 9.5 percent of global GDP, in wealth losses.

The GEP urges developing countries to preparing for further downside risks, while there is still time, by assessing their vulnerabilities and preparing for contingencies by pre-financing budgetary deficits, prioritizing spending on social safety nets and infrastructure spending to assure longer-term growth, and stress-testing banks to avoid an eruption of domestic banking crises.

The report’s Regional Annexes provide an in-depth analysis of the outlook for each developing region, identifying region-specific vulnerabilities and risks, and offering broad policy recommendations for mitigating the effects of a crisis that, the GEP says, will spare no-one.

In the East Asia and Pacific region, affected by flooding in Thailand and the turmoil in Europe, regional GDP growth is estimated to have slowed to 8.2 percent in 2011, and is projected to ease further to 7.8 percent for both 2012 and 2013. Growth in China was an estimated 9.1 percent in 2011 and is expected to dip to 8.4 percent in 2012.

Europe and Central Asia grew by an estimated 5.3 percent in 2011. However, the expected slowdown in high-income Europe, still troublesome inflationary pressures in the region, and reduced capital flows due to the Euro Area crisis may slow regional growth to 3.2 percent in 2012, before firming to 4.0 percent by 2013.

Latin America and the Caribbean grew by an estimated 4.2 percent in 2011, but this is expected to ease to 3.6 percent growth in 2012, before picking up to 4.2 percent in 2013. Weaker global growth, uncertainty arising from the Euro Area debt crisis, slower growth in China, and a policy-induced deceleration in domestic demand are weighing on the region’s growth prospects.

Dramatic political changes in the Middle East and North Africa have disrupted economic activity substantially, but selectively, across the region, while a deteriorating external environment slowed growth to an estimated 1.7 percent in 2011.

Growth is expected to remain subdued in 2012, at 2.3 percent, rising to an expected 3.2 percent in 2013.
Growth in South Asia slowed to an estimated 6.6 percent in calendar year 2011, reflecting a sharp slowdown in the second half of the year in India as well as external headwinds. The region’s GDP growth is projected to ease further to 5.8 percent in 2012, before strengthening to 7.1 percent in 2013.

Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa remained robust in 2011 at 4.9 percent. Excluding South Africa, growth in the rest of the region was even stronger at 5.9 percent in 2011, making it one of the fastest growing developing regions. Growth for the region is projected to accelerate to 5.3 percent in 2012 and 5.6 percent in 2013.
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World Bank Link: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1322593305595/8287139-1326374900917/GEP_January_2012a_FullReport_FINAL.pdf

Sri Lanka News Debrief - 23-01-2012


Sri Lanka News Debrief - 23.01.2012

நேற்றோ நிறுவிய நவீன காலனிய பொம்மை அரசை எதிர்த்து லிபியாவில் கிளர்ச்சி!


“Everywhere there have been sit-ins and demonstrations” against the council, said Mohamed Benrasali, a spokesman for the Misurata council. People are “accusing it of no transparency and dragging its feet and not taking any actions for transitional justice and many, many issues,” he said, adding, “We feel that the head of the regime has changed, but the rest of the regime is in place.”
January 22, 2012

Libya Protests Spur Shake-Up in Interim Government
By LIAM STACK

Libya’s post-Qaddafi transitional government faced a political crisis Sunday after protesters ransacked its offices in Benghazi, highlighting growing nationwide unease with its leadership and triggering a shake-up in which the governing council’s No. 2 official resigned and several members were suspended.

For months, youth groups with a range of complaints have been protesting against the Transitional National Council in Benghazi, the eastern city whose protests sparked the nine-month revolt and which once served as the rebel capital. Protests have cropped up elsewhere, too, including in Tripoli, the capital, where activists have erected a small tent city across from the prime minister’s office.

Protesters are demanding more transparency from the transitional council, which holds executive power and is tasked with overseeing the election of a constituent assembly to draft a new Constitution. It is dominated by figures from the eastern rebel movement, much to the suspicion of other regional factions, and there are accusations, too, that many of its members are tainted by past ties, real or suspected, with the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

On Saturday night, those frustrations boiled over when a crowd of mostly young men attacked the council’s offices in Benghazi, tossing a grenade, smashing windows and forcing their way into the building while the council’s chairman, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, was inside.

The spark appeared to be the online release of a draft election law to govern the selection of the 200-member constituent assembly. Activists said it was prepared without consultation or public oversight and that its winner-take-all rules would encourage Libyans to vote along tribal lines or for rich or prominent citizens in their region, and undercut those seeking to form new parties.
Seeking to contain the fallout from the attack, Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, the transitional council’s deputy chief, resigned Sunday, telling the Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera, “My resignation is for the benefit of the nation and is required at this stage.”

Speaking to reporters in Benghazi on Sunday, Mr. Abdel-Jalil warned that continued protests could lead the country down a perilous path and pleaded with protesters to give the government more time.

“We are going through a political movement that can take the country to a bottomless pit,” Reuters quoted Mr. Abdel-Jalil as saying. “There is something behind these protests that is not for the good of the country.

“The people have not given the government enough time, and the government does not have enough money,” Mr. Abdel-Jalil said. “Maybe there are delays, but the government has only been working for two months. Give them a chance, at least two months.”

The interim government suspended several members from Benghazi and announced that it would form a council of religious figures to investigate government officials and council members accused of corruption or ties to the Qaddafi government. It also delayed the official release of the election law.

Both the incident itself and the leadership’s response were met with widespread anger in Benghazi, according to Salwa Bugaighis, a lawyer and political activist who was a leading figure in the uprising against Colonel Qaddafi.

“We are worried,” she said. “We are afraid that maybe it becomes worse.”Ms. Bugaighis said that the protesters in Benghazi were particularly angry about allegations that millions of dollars — and possibly billions — in government money was unaccounted for.

“They want transparency. They want people from the Qaddafi regime to go,” she said. “If there’s
no transparency, everything will collapse.”A transitional council member from Benghazi, Fathi Baaja, denied that he or anyone else had been suspended, despite widespread reports to the contrary. He said an Islamist faction — “religious groups and mosque preachers” — on the Benghazi local council had pushed for the suspensions but said that “they have no right to suspend us.”

Saying he was among those who had set up the council, Mr. Baaja accused the Islamist rivals of being Qaddafi sympathizers.“They used to convince people they had no right to revolt against Qaddafi, the father of the country. They said we had no right to go against the head of state, the caliph,” Mr. Baaja said.

“I never heard their voices say no to Qaddafi, and I never put myself in the same place as them.”
Protests have taken place in the city of Misurata as well, which is run by a rival leadership faction and where officials said they were planning to hold elections for a new local council in February, without the blessing of the national council.

“Everywhere there have been sit-ins and demonstrations” against the council, said Mohamed Benrasali, a spokesman for the Misurata council. People are “accusing it of no transparency and dragging its feet and not taking any actions for transitional justice and many, many issues,” he said, adding, “We feel that the head of the regime has changed, but the rest of the regime is in place.”

Both Saturday’s protest and its political fallout demonstrated the challenges Libya faces, said Fred Abrahams, a special adviser on Libya for Human Rights Watch.

“Ousting Qaddafi will prove more straight-forward than getting a representative and transparent
government to replace him,” he said.

Critics of the interim government also complain that its performance has faltered on even the nuts-and-bolts level.

Basic services have yet to be restored in some areas, while towns seen as sympathetic to Colonel Qaddafi, like Surt and Bani Walid, remain in ruins after months of fighting.

The interim government has struggled to exert authority even in Tripoli, where the streets are largely controlled by a patchwork of regional militias whose members defer to their own commanders, not government security forces.

Mr. Abdel-Jalil also accepted the resignation of the head of the Benghazi Local Council, Saleh el-Ghazal, an appointed figure whose replacement he pledged would be elected.

But on Sunday, authorities postponed the planned unveiling of the country’s election law, which has been mired in controversy. A draft of the law released on Jan. 2 was criticized for barring dual-nationals from running for office, in a country where scores of political activists were forced into exile.

It also set a 10 percent quota for women in Parliament, which feminist activists called “insulting.” Rather than raise the quota, a revised draft released last week announced that the quota would be abolished entirely.

Source: New York Times
David D. Kirkpatrick contributed reporting from Cairo, Kareem Fahim from Damascus, Syria, and
Yusef Sawie from Tripoli, Libya.

வளைகுடாவில் படைக்குவிப்பு-2


British, French ships join US carrier in Strait of Hormuz

AFP – 2 hrs 50 mins ago
British and French ships joined a US carrier group in a six-strong flotilla of warships which passed through the sensitive Strait of Hormuz, Britain's Ministry of Defence said Sunday.

The ministry said a Royal Navy frigate, HMS Argyll, was part of a US-led carrier group to sail through the waterway which Iran has threatened to close over Western moves to impose new sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme.

A spokesman said: "HMS Argyll and a French vessel joined a US carrier group transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, to underline the unwavering international commitment to maintaining rights of passage under international law."

He said Britain maintained "a constant presence in the region as part of our enduring contribution to Gulf security".

British warships have been patrolling in the Gulf continuously since the 1980s.The Strait of Hormuz is a key transit route for global oil supplies.

European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday are expected to agree to sanction Iran's central bank and announce an embargo on buying Iranian oil.

The United States, France, Britain and Germany accuse Iran of seeking to build a nuclear bomb,
but Tehran says its nuclear drive is peaceful.

Sunday 22 January 2012

வளைகுடாவில் படைக்குவிப்பு!



U.S. aircraft carrier enters Gulf without incident

By David Alexander
Reuters – 2 hours 2 minutes ago  

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. aircraft carrier sailed through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Gulf without incident on Sunday, a day after Iran backed away from an earlier threat to take action if an American carrier returned to the strategic waterway.

The carrier USS Abraham Lincoln completed a "regular and routine" passage through the strait, a critical gateway for the region's oil exports, "as previously scheduled and without incident," said Lieutenant Rebecca Rebarich, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

The Lincoln, accompanied by strike group of warships, was the first U.S. aircraft carrier to enter the Gulf since late December and was on a routine rotation to replace the outgoing USS John C. Stennis.

The departure of the Stennis prompted Iranian army chief Ataollah Salehi to threaten action if the carrier passed back into the Gulf."I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf. ... We are not in the habit of warning more than once," he said.


aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) sails in the Indian Ocean near Indonesia, February 3, 2005. REUTERS/U.S. Navy/Timothy Smith-Handout


The threat led to a round of escalating rhetoric between the two sides that spooked oil markets and raised the specter of a military confrontation between Iran and the United States.Iran threatened to close the strait, the world's most important oil shipping gateway, while the United States warned such a move would require a response by Washington, which routinely patrols international sea lanes to ensure they remain open.

Iran appeared to ease away from its earlier warnings on Saturday, with Revolutionary Guard Corps
Deputy Commander Hossein Salami telling the official IRNA news agency that the return of U.S.
warships to the Gulf was routine and not an increase in its permanent presence in the region.

"U.S. warships and military forces have been in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East region for many years and their decision in relation to the dispatch of a new warship is not a new issue and it should be interpreted as part of their permanent presence," Salami said.

Pentagon officials declined to comment directly on Salami's remarks, but reiterated that continued U.S. presence in the region reflected the seriousness with which Washington takes its security commitments to partner nations in the region and to ensuring free flow of international commerce.

The Lincoln's arrival in the Gulf was unrelated to Iran's statement on Saturday.Tensions between Iran and the United States have been escalating in recent weeks as President Barack Obama prepares to implement new U.S. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear enrichment program, which Tehran says is for energy production but the West believes is aimed at producing atomic weapons.

The EU is preparing to intensify sanctions against Tehran with an embargo on Iran's oil exports and possibly freezing the assets of Iran's central bank. Obama is preparing new U.S. sanctions that target foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran's central bank.

Both sides tried to scale down the rhetoric last week. The White House emphasized the United States was still open to international talks on Iran's nuclear program, even as it denied Iranian assertions that discussions were under way about resuming a dialogue.

The White House would not confirm or deny Iranian reports that Obama had sent a letter to Iranian leaders, but spokesman Jay Carney said any communications with Tehran would have reinforced the statements Washington has made publicly.

The United States supports talks between Iran and the so-called P5 + 1, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - Russia, China, France, England and the United States - plus Germany.

Carney urged Iran to respond to the letter sent in October on behalf of the P5 +1 by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton."If the Iranians are serious about restarting talks, then they need to respond to that letter," Carney told a White House briefing. "That is the channel by which ... the restarting of those
talks would take place."

(Reporting By David Alexander; Editing by Peter Cooney and Stacey Joyce)

Saturday 21 January 2012

சர்வதேச நாணய நிதியத்துக்கு நாட்டை விற்கும்


New arrangement with the IMF


CB considering commitment fee programme to draw money later

Sri Lankan authorities are considering a possible arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) where the balance dues from the US$2.6 billion facility could be drawn at a later stage, officials said.

While the Central Bank is most likely to opt for a surveillance agreement with the IMF which is standard practice after a programme is over and as a follow up arrangement, an option being considered is a ‘commitment fee’ arrangement. “Under such a programme, the Central Bank pays a commitment fee to the fund to hold the balance of $800 million for a period of time and then draw this amount later,” a senior bank official, who declined to be named, said, adding, “we then can decide either to draw this money or not.”

An IMF team led by Sri Lanka mission leader Brian Atkin is due tomorrow on a week-long review mission aimed at finalizing the last two installments of the fund facility approved in July 2009 as balance of payments support. The Central Bank, the executing agency of the facility, has so far drawn $1.8 billion from the $2.6 billion with another $800 million due. “The final draw-down of $800 million will be at a higher rate of interest – over 3 % compared to 1.1/4 % from the amount received so far - because we received 400 % of Sri Lanka’s quota in the IMF when each country is generally entitled to 300% of their quota,” the official noted.

He said whenever a country’s quota is exceeded the interest rate goes up and in this context, one question arises, “should we get credit at a highest cost since our foreign reserves are at a comfortable level?” He said this would be one of the key issues discussed during meetings with the IMF team. The official said Sri Lanka’s reserves are comfortable at the moment at over $6 billion as against an average 3 ½ months (worth $4-5 billion) that is generally required. “We need to take a call whether we actually need to draw the final installments at a higher cost when we have enough reserves,” he said.

Other sources in the banking industry said with interest rates mixed internationally, recycling these reserves to earn a better return instead of keeping the funds idle is also not an economically, viable proposition. Some economists and Opposition MPs like economist Harsha de Silva have been critical of the Central Bank and its policies relating to accumulation of foreign reserves through bonds while other sources are foreign remittances and IMF funds. There has been wide criticism of the Bank’s use of some $1billion to support a sagging Rupee and keep it steady against the dollar. In the 2012 budget, the Government announced a 3 % devaluation much to the surprise of the Central Bank which has been resisting any devaluation and has been adjusting the Rupee in a marginal way through open market operations.
Source: Sunday Times LK

Thursday 19 January 2012

இந்திய இராணுவம்

ஜனாதிபதி முன்னிலையில் ஒன்பது Qatar உடன்படிக்கைகள் கைச்சாத்து

வீரகேசரி இணையம் 1/16/2012 6:28:43


உத்தியோகபூர்வ விஜயமொன்றை மேற்கொண்டு இலங்கைக்கு வந்துள்ள Qatar - கட்டார் எமிர் ஷேக்
ஹமாட் பின் கலீபா அல் தானிக்கும் ஜனாதிபதி மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷவுக்குமிடையில் இன்று காலை கலந்துரையாடலொன்று இடம்பெற்றுள்ளதாக ஜனாதிபதி செயலகம் விடுத்துள்ள அறிக்கையில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

இக்கலந்துரையாடலின் பின்னர் இரு நாடுகளுக்குமிடையில் ஜனாதிபதி முன்னிலையிலேயே ஒன்பது புரிந்துணர்வு ஒப்பந்தங்கள் கைச்சாத்திடப்பட்டுள்ளதாகத் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

உயர்கல்வி மற்றும் விஞ்ஞான ஆய்வுகளுக்கான புரிந்துணர்வு ஒப்பந்தம், பொருளாதார வர்த்தகம் உட்பட ஏனைய உடன்படிக்கைகளிலும் கையெழுத்திடப்பட்டுள்ளதாகத் தெரியவருகின்றது.

Company to formed by Army to undertake projects

Army Company!

Thursday, 19 January 2012 04:40

Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya said that the Army will form a separate company within its management to carryout development and construction projects at a low cost by following the tender procedure of the government.

He said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has also given the directions and the necessity to form a separate institution in the army for this purpose.

“A committee has been set up to come up with proposals in establishing an institution of this sort,” he said. But it is more likely to come out as a separate directorate within the Army.

The Army has also able to save more than Rs.300 million to the government by carrying out such projects ranging from constructing houses to road construction projects, the Commander said.

Currently the Army engineers supported by a large number of soldiers from every regiment are engaged in a large number of infrastructure projects implemented by the government in all parts of the country mainly in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

They are engaged in road construction projects in Trincomalee and Batticaloa. A large number of bridges, buildings, playgrounds and parks are also being built by the Army.

The Army was also involved in certain aspects in the construction of the Suriyawewa International Cricket Stadium while the Diyagama Sports Stadium was also constructed by the Army. (Supun Dias)

Sri Lanka at risk from global slowdown: World Bank

LBO>>Economy
Rising Risk
19 Jan, 2012 07:21:35

Sri Lanka at risk from global slowdown: World Bank

Sri Lanka's post-war economic rebound is slowing and financial problems in key Western markets could reduce demand for the island's exports and hit earnings from worker remittances and tourism, the World Bank said.

It has also lowered its forecast for economic growth in the island, saying Sri Lanka is now expected to grow at 6.8 percent in 2012 and 7.7 percent in 2013. Earlier this month, Sri Lanka's central bank said Sri Lanka's
economy is projected to grow at 8.0 percent in 2012 after having grown at about 8.3 percent in 2011. The forecast was lowered from the earlier forecast of nine percent in 2012.

The World Bank said in a new report on global economic prospects that the global slowdown has been taking its toll on South Asia, with merchandise export volumes which had been growing very strongly in the first part of 2011, declining almost as quickly in the second half.

" . . . year-over-year exports in October are broadly unchanged from a year ago," it said.
"A deepening of the Euro Area crisis would lead to weaker exports, worker remittances and capital inflows to South Asia," the World Bank said.

"The EU-27 countries account for a significant share of South Asia merchandise export markets, although not as much as for some developing regions."

Moreover, the bank said, export financing from Europe, an important component of the region‟s trade credit, is particularly vulnerable to drying up, as was the experience during the 2008 financial crisis.

"At the country level, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka are particularly exposed to a downturn in European demand for merchandise," the World Bank said. "With respect to services, tourism sectors could be especially hard hit in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, although greater diversification (with booming arrivals from Asia) should provide a buffer.

However, the World Bank noted that there could be some "countercyclical benefits" for goods exporters - the so-called 'Walmart effect' - for some sectors such as for Bangladesh's garment industry.

The bank also said that a slowdown in global activity would likely translate into lower oil prices that would ease pressures on current account and fiscal balances for the oil import-dependent nations like Sri Lanka.

"Worker remittances inflows could slow markedly through second round effects of weakened domestic demand in migrant host-countries, largely located in the Arabian Gulf," the report warned.

Worker remittances inflows were the equivalent to 7 percent of  GDP in 2010.

"Despite a waning of the post-conflict rebound effects, GDP in Sri Lanka is estimated to have grown 7.7 percent in the 2011 calendar year, slightly below the 2010 pace of 8 percent," the report said.

"While growth was strong at the start of 2011, a deceleration became apparent in the second half of the year, on heightened uncertainty and weakening external demand, as reflected in a modest slowdown in industrial production growth." Given the possibility of further weakening in the global economy, efforts at greater revenue mobilization particularly in countries like Sri Lanka could pay dividends by allowing governments to maintain critical social and infrastructure programs, the World Bank said.

Governments should also look at further improving the targeting of its safety nets and capacity to respond to a crisis to improve efficiency of social safety net programs, it said.

"With markets in the United States and Europe expected to experience prolonged weakness, South Asian countries have the opportunity to re-think and pursue new sources of growth for their countries," the World Bank said.

இலங்கைத் தமிழரும் இந்தியக் குடியுரிமையும்.

இலங்கைத் தமிழரும் இந்தியக் குடியுரிமையும்!  பேரா.எஸ்.இசட்.ஜெய்சிங் ஜனவரி 2, 2020 தீக்கதிர் 1955ஆம் ஆண்டு கொண்டு வரப்பட்ட குடியுரிமைச் சட்டத்...