Thursday 30 August 2012

காலியில் தாக்கப்பட்ட தமிழ்க் கைதி: தலையில் பலத்த அடி, மூளையில் இரத்தக் கசிவு!


காலியில் தாக்குதலுக்குள்ளான தமிழ்க் கைதியின் நிலை மோசம் நேற்று கொழும்பு தேசிய வைத்தியசாலைக்கு மாற்றப்பட்டார்

மகஸின் சிறைச்சாலையில் தடுத்து வைக்கப்பட்டிருந்த தமிழ் அரசியல் கைதியான சுந்தரம் சதீஸ் நேற்று கொழும்பு தேசிய வைத்திய சாலைக்கு திடீரென மாற்றப்பட்டார்.

வழக்கு விசாரணை ஒன்றுக்காக காலி நீதிமன்றுக்கு அழைத்து வரப்பட்ட சதீஸ் வழக்குத் தவணையின் பின்னர் சுயநினைவற்ற நிலையில் காலி, கராப்பிட்டிய வைத்தியசாலையில் அனுமதிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தார். இந்த நிலையிலேயே அவர் நேற்று கொழும்பு தேசிய வைத்திய சாலையின் 50 ஆவது விடுதிக்கு மாற்றப்பட்டுள்ளார்.

அரசியல் கைதியான சதீஸின் மனைவி தனது கணவரை கொழும்பு தேசிய வைத்தியசாலைக்கு மாற்ற நடவடிக்கை எடுக்குமாறு ஜனநாயக மக்கள் முன்னணித் தலைவர் மனோ கணேசனிடம் கோரிக்கை விடுத்திருந்தார்.

இதனையடுத்து சிறைச்சாலைகள் மறுசீரமைப்பு அமைச்சர் சந்திரசிறி கஜதீரவுடன் மனோ கணேசன் நடத்திய பேச்சின் அடிப்படையில் சதீஸ் கொழும்பு தேசிய வைத்தியசாலைக்கு மாற்றப்பட்டுள்ளார்.

இதேவேளை, கொழும்புக்கு மாற்றப்பட்ட தழிழ் அரசியல் கைதியை மனோ கணேசன் குழுவினர் மற்றும் நாடாளுமுன்ற உறுப்பினரான ஜயலத் ஜெயவர்த்தன ஆகியோர்  நேரில் சென்று பார்வையிட்டுள்ளனர். இதன்போது அரசியல் கைதியான சதீஸின் தலையில் கட்டுப் போடப்பட்டுள்ளதுடன் கண் விழித்திருந்தாலும் வருபவர்களை அடையாளம் காணக்கூடிய நிலையில் அவர் இல்லை எனவும் அவரது கால்களில் சங்கலிப் பூட்டுப் போடப்பட்டுள்ளதையும் அவதானிக்க முடிந்தது.

இதன்போது கடமையில் இருந்த வைத்தியர் ஒருவரிடம் சதீஸின் நிலைமை குறித்துக் கேட்டபோது தலையில் கடுமையாக அடி பட்டுள்ளது. மூளையில் இருந்து இரத்தக் கசிவு ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. இதனால் மூளை தொழிற்பாடு குன்றியுள்ளது எனத் தெரிவித்தார் என்று ஜனநாயக மக்கள் முன்னணித் தலைவர் மனோ கணேசன் உதயனுக்குத் தெரிவித்தார்.
===========  யாழ் உதயன்

Debrief 30 08 2012



சீனத்தலைமையே உன் செங்கொடியில் இருப்பது ஈழத்தமிழர் சிந்திய இரத்தமே!


Sunday 26 August 2012

ஈழத்தமிழர் நிலத்தில் சிங்கள இராணுவமயமாக்கலுக்கு துணை நிற்கும் திருத்தல்வாத சீன ஆளும்கும்பல்.

Inside Norochcholai: Chinese engineers were yesterday desperately trying to repair the machine component which had forced the shutdown of the Norochcholai power plant that authorities say led to the three-hour daily power cuts. Officials said they were hoping to get the plant working within a day or two ahead of the visit to Sri Lanka by China’s Defence Minister.

China to build military housing in North-East
Aid for Defence Services College in Colombo

China is expanding its economic, trade and military ties with Sri Lanka providing US$ 100 million (Rs. 13.2 billion) for army welfare projects initiated by the Ministry of Defence, official sources said.

Plans are afoot to set up accommodation and infrastructure facilities in army camps in the north and east with Chinese assistance.

The maintenance of military camps in strategic locations throughout the country is essential for national security, the Government has long argued despite pressure from some western nations and India to reduce the military presence in the north and east.

The establishment of military camps in locations such as Mannar, Palaly, Elephant Pass, Pooneryn, Thalladi, Karainagar, and Mullaitivu began in the 1950s with a view to enhancing internal security.

Infrastructure and accommodation facilities in these camps will be built for the benefit of security forces personnel, a senior Finance Ministry official said.

The Chinese financial assistance to the military in the north and east comes ahead of a five-day visit starting next Wednesday (August 29) �by Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie together with a high-powered defence delegation. The high ranking minister was Chief of Staff of the People’s Liberation Army from 2002-2007 and later a State Councillor and member of the Central Military Commission of China.

The official said the role of the military in the North and East was to maintain national security and ensure that any remnants of pro-LTTE elements among the resettled population or who were based in other countries did not have the opportunity to destabilise peace and harm Sri Lanka,.

China has also announced a grant of US $1.5 million (Rs. 198 million) for modernisation of the Defence Services College in Colombo for children of security forces personnel and the police.
The college has classes from Grade 6 to 12. This modernization project was part of the army welfare initiative of the Ministry of Defence, he said.

Meanwhile, the government recently signed an agreement with China to buy six MA-60 aircraft at US$ 105.4 million (Rs. 13.8 billion), he revealed, in a deal that is yet to be made public.

Chinese assistance to Sri Lanka is divided into buyer’s credit, preferential buyer’s credit and loans. These are offered via the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of China. China also provides limited grant aid under the Chinese government’s economic and technical cooperation programme, the senior Finance Ministry official said.

The Chinese Defence Minister will visit the Sapugaskande Defence Staff College, the Panagoda army cantonment, Galle and possibly Hambantota, during his stay in the country.

China is financing the Hambantota port development project as well.

Another high-powered delegation here next month

The Chinese People’s Congress’ Vice President U. Bango will arrive in Sri Lanka next month, leading a 96-member delegation, an External Affairs Ministry spokesman said.The delegation will arrive on September 15 and visit Hambantota and the Northern and Eastern provinces.

They will also visit Chinese-funded ventures including road construction projects.

அந்நிய நிதிமூலதனப் பாதையில் எகிப்து.

Egypt seeks $4.8 billion IMF loan for stricken economy

She said the IMF would look at fiscal, monetary and structural issues, promising that the IMF would be a partner in "an Egyptian journey" of economic reform.

 
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde (L) talks with Egypt's Prime Minister Hisham Kandil
during their a news conference at the cabinet headquarters in Cairo, August 22, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Asmaa Waguih

By Yasmine Saleh and Patrick Werr     CAIRO | Wed Aug 22, 2012 6:34pm BST

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt has requested a $4.8 billion (3 billion pounds) loan from the
International Monetary Fund and hopes for a deal by the end of year, officials said during a
visit on Wednesday by IMF chief Christine Lagarde to discuss helping the ailing economy.
Egypt said last week it would discuss a bigger-than-expected loan from the fund, whose support
could help to stave off a balance of payments crisis and rebuild confidence among investors who
fled during 18 months of political turmoil.

Egypt's military-appointed interim government had been negotiating a $3.2 billion package before
it handed power to President Mohamed Mursi on June 30. The deal was not finalised.

"We have officially requested a $4.8 billion loan from the IMF," presidential spokesman Yasser
Ali told Reuters as Lagarde met the president. An IMF official confirmed the request.

During earlier talks, army officials had voiced concerns about extending Egypt's foreign debt
under their watch, while the IMF insisted any accord receive "broad political support".
Mursi's group, the Muslim Brotherhood, at the time declined to support any deal, saying the
government had not shared enough information on how the money would be used. The Brotherhood at that point had nearly half the seats in parliament.

Lagarde's visit signals a fresh determination on both sides to seal a long-awaited accord after
Mursi, who appointed his first government last month.

She said the IMF would look at fiscal, monetary and structural issues, promising that the IMF
would be a partner in "an Egyptian journey" of economic reform.

BROAD POLITICAL SUPPORT

Asked if the IMF wanted any loan accord to be approved by an elected parliament, Lagarde
indicated that an elected president might alone satisfy the condition of broad political
support.

"It's going to take a bit of time and we feel that we have perfectly competent authorities to
negotiate with," she said at a joint news conference with Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil.
She added that talks would continue on Thursday and an IMF team would make further visits to
Egypt.

Kandil said he expected the IMF loan would be for five years with a grace period of 39 months
and interest rate of 1.1 percent, but said details were still being discussed.

"God willing there will be an agreement on a map for work extending to November or the beginning
of December during which the loan will be signed with the IMF," he said.

During 18 tumultuous months since the overthrow of autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak, successive
Egyptian governments negotiated with the IMF to secure emergency funding. An army council took
charge after Mubarak fell on February 11, 2011.

Foreign investors have largely avoided Egypt since the uprising, waiting for the political
situation to stabilise and for the government to get its finances under control.

"The visit of Christine Lagarde to Egypt today is perhaps the clearest signal yet that the
country is close to signing a deal with the IMF," Said Hirsh, an economist with Capital
Economics, wrote in a note on Wednesday.

"If this materialises before the end of the year ... it would mark a turning point for Egypt's
economy - and should pave the way for a period of decent growth over the next five years or so,"
he wrote.

RUNNING OUT OF OPTIONS


Egypt's fiscal and balance of payments problems have worsened. The exodus of foreign investors
have left local banks shouldering much of the lending to the state.

The government in the 12 months to end-June also borrowed nearly $12 billion, or about 4.5
percent of GDP, directly from the central bank, an unusual measure indicating it was running out
of options to finance its budget deficit.

Since last year's popular uprising against Mubarak, Egypt also spent well over half its foreign
reserves to support its currency, allowing the pound to weaken only by about 5 percent despite a
sharp drop in tourism and foreign investment, two of Egypt's main sources of foreign exchange.
Egypt as of the end of July had reserves of $14.4 billion, of which only about half were in
liquid cash or negotiable securities, economists say.

Many investors believe the currency is overvalued and have been reluctant to return partly
because they fear a sharp currency devaluation could wipe out any returns.

An IMF deal would help Egypt to add credibility to economic reforms needed to restore investor
confidence.

These include reducing subsidies on energy, which accounted for about 22 percent of all
government spending in the fiscal year to June. The government is also expected to introduce a
value-added tax in the next few months.

Based on government figures, the 2012/13 budget deficit will represent 7.9 percent of gross
domestic product (GDP), down from 8.2 percent a year earlier. But most economists forecast lower
GDP growth than the government's estimate of 4-4.5 percent.

Aid promised by foreign donors last year was largely absent until June, when Saudi Arabia
transferred $1.5 billion as direct budget support, approved $430 million in project aid and
pledged a $750 million credit line to import oil products.

Qatar also promised $2 billion in support this month.

(Writing by Edmund Blair and Patrick Werr; Editing by Stephen Nisbet)

British banks face scandal over toxic insurance products

>> ENB-TENN:தமிழீழச் செய்தியகம்: British banks face scandal over toxic insurance pr...:  
Special Report - British banks face scandal over toxic insurance products
By Matt Scuffham and Myles Neligan LONDON | Wed Aug 22, 2012

"I'm angry day and night," said Reynolds of City Estates Midland about his experience with banks. "To put it in plain English, I hate them."

British banks face scandal over toxic insurance products

 
Special Report - British banks face scandal over toxic insurance products
 By Matt Scuffham and Myles Neligan
LONDON | Wed Aug 22, 2012 7:06pm BST

LONDON (Reuters) - When businessman Colin Jones approached his local bank for a loan in 2007, he had little idea what an "interest rate swap" was, let alone a "structured collar".
Jones wanted 400,000 pounds to buy a small hotel in North Wales and Royal Bank of Scotland said
he could have the money if he also took out a swap - a form of insurance designed to protect him
from a rise in interest rates.

Like a growing number of small business owners in Britain, Jones now regrets signing up. His
hotel was repossessed in July last year after a sharp drop in rates during the financial crisis
pushed charges on the deal to an unaffordable 30,000 pounds a year, the same as the repayments
on his loan.

"I've lost my house, my wife and I have separated, I lost my self respect and I lost the respect
of my local community because they don't see what's going on in the background. People just
assume that you've done something wrong," Jones said.

The 48-year-old is caught up in what could become the UK banking industry's next big scandal. An
increasing number of firms that bought the disputed insurance products are claiming compensation
and their advisers say the bill could run into billions of pounds. UK banks already face paying
8.8 billion pounds in compensation for disputes over other insurance.

Leading lenders Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS agreed to review their interest rate swap sales
in June after the Financial Services Authority (FSA), Britain's banking regulator, said it had
found "serious failings" in the way the instruments were sold to small firms. Seven smaller
banks have also agreed to review their swap sales.

But so far the banks have made provisions for only modest sums: Barclays and RBS, the country's
biggest small business lenders, have set aside 450 million pounds and 50 million pounds
respectively. Others are not so sanguine.

"The banks are underplaying the scale of the problem," said Stuart Brothers, a solicitor at
Newport-based law firm SRB Legal whose clients include firms seeking compensation. Small firms
say the banks did not properly explain the complex products or warn of the risks involved.

Reuters has spoken to banks, former bank employees and small business owners, and been shown
bank emails and phone conversation details. They paint a picture of an aggressive sales culture
where bank staff under pressure to hit targets fell short of their obligation under FSA rules to
provide "clear, fair and not misleading" information about their products.

The disputes threaten to tarnish further the reputation of banks. While UK lenders are now being
accused of starving small businesses of funding in the aftermath of the credit crunch, the swap
claims show some banks were previously only too happy to make loans if they could sell
profitable insurance at the same time.

"A DEAD CERT"

Interest rate hedging products are supposed to protect bank customers against rates going up by
making their future repayments more predictable. They come in many flavours, some called swaps
and others "caps", with the more exotic structured collars allowing the repayment rate to
fluctuate within a specified band.

The more complex products, especially structured collars, had an important catch: if the Bank of
England (BoE) base rate fell significantly, borrowers could suddenly find themselves paying far
more than they expected.

This was to prove costly for businesses that took out such hedges in the run-up to the credit
crunch, which triggered a dramatic 1.5 percentage point cut in base rates in October 2008 as the
BoE scrambled to prop up the economy. Four further cuts brought the base rate down to 0.5
percent, where it has remained.

The accusation that banks did not make clear the consequences of a drop in rates lies at the
heart of many cases of alleged mis-selling among the 28,000 swaps sold to small businesses
between 2001 and 2008. Many aggrieved borrowers also allege that banks did not reveal the size
of the break fees they would have to pay to terminate their hedge contracts early.

Jones says that in April 2007 he verbally agreed to his deal during a telephone call with an RBS
salesman who told him "pretty much the quote has to be done over the phone" because it was a
"live market", according to a transcript of the conversation, made from a recording by the bank
and seen by Reuters.

During the five-minute call the salesman told him a rise in interest rates was "looking like a
dead cert" because of high inflation data published that morning. The salesman told Jones the
swap would "essentially" fix the rate on his loan for five years, without spelling out what
would happen if rates fell instead. He also failed to give Jones a proper indication of how much
it would cost to break the swap early.

Jones is pursuing RBS for redress under the process launched by the FSA in June. RBS declined to
comment on his claim.

Rate swap products were marketed most aggressively between 2005 and 2008, before the base rate
fell sharply. In the final years of the long credit boom, banks were keen to sell more products
to a debt-saturated corporate sector, and the logical next step was to extend lucrative hedging
contracts, previously offered mainly to bigger firms, to small businesses.

"I think the loans were used as loss leaders," said Abhishek Sachdhev, a former Lloyds Banking
Group salesman who left to provide independent advice to businesses through his firm Vedanta
Hedging. "If the bank knows every loan it makes has some sort of hedging attached to it,
profitability goes up."

In the drive to grow the market for rate swaps, bank managers came under pressure to refer small
business clients to their treasury departments, which would try to sell borrowers rate swaps to
hedge their loans. They were pitched as providing security, and in some cases presented as a
condition of getting a loan.

At the same time, sales staff were offered substantial bonuses to encourage them to hit rising
targets.

"The carrot was bonuses. The relationship managers would be incentivised," Sachdev said. "The
stick was that if the relationship manager gave a client a loan for a million pounds, and didn't
introduce anyone to treasury, they would say you haven't hit your target this month, you'll lose
your bonus."

A spokesman for Lloyds disputed that view and said: "Interest rate derivative products were not
products that we sold widely to our SME (small and medium size enterprise) customers." He said
over 90 percent of Lloyds' SME customers chose simple fixed rate loans.

The spokesman added: "We are fully engaged and participating in the review of interest rate
derivative products, which will provide redress to certain customers, as set out by the FSA."

INCOME TARGETS

A sense of the pressures at work is evident in an email chain, seen by Reuters, which shows a
regional sales director at one bank (not Lloyds or RBS) celebrating a deal struck in August 2008
by one of his relationship managers, earning the lender an immediate windfall of 180,000 pounds.
The emails were shown to Reuters on the condition that those involved remain anonymous.
"Could everyone please go and hug (name redacted) because this deal just got us to our full
 year income target!" the sales director says, expressing relief that a deal was done after a client
unexpectedly proved to be a "particularly strong negotiator".

Another executive writes: "This has been one of my more challenging deals to get executed - and
also a very profitable one - all credit to (name redacted) as I know he must have had as many
challenges in getting this client across to (name redacted) bank as I have in engineering the
final combination of cashflows."

The client is seeking compensation, alleging the product was not properly explained to them.
James Ducker, another former Lloyds salesman who now advises small businesses on hedging, said
banks were mesmerised by the high profits they could make on rate swaps, and responded by
ratcheting up sales targets.

"If in year one I made a 200,000 pound profit and in year two my target was 500,000, how do I
make the extra money? And the answer was penetration, i.e. you need to sell more products to
more people, and you need to increase the margins," he said.

"I used to ask on a regular basis where would my individual targets stop. The targets just went
up and up."

A spokesman for Lloyds noted that Ducker and Sachdev have an interest in advising claimants in
swap disputes and said: "We would always suggest that customers with any concerns come to us
direct, as we are keen to resolve them wherever possible."

It is not just former salesmen taking the banks to task. Conservative lawmaker Guto Bebb, who
represents businessman Jones in the UK parliament, first became aware of interest rate swaps
when Jones approached him during his weekly meeting for constituents in Aberconwy, north Wales.
Bebb has since campaigned vigorously on behalf of small businesses who claim they were mis-sold
the products.

"There was a drive to get these products sold, and sold to businesses where I would say the
banks knew full well they were not sophisticated enough to understand what was being offered,"
Bebb told Reuters.

Another unhappy customer is Paul Reynolds, general manager of Birmingham-based property
developer and estate agent City Estates Midland Limited, who says a hedge his firm bought from
HSBC alongside a 4.3 million pound loan has turned into a financial straitjacket.

The cost of the swap soared after the unexpected drop in interest rates in 2008; the company has
so far paid 1.2 million pounds, according to Reynolds. The financial burden has forced the firm
to shed staff and sell property at "firesale prices", he says.

City Estates was not explicitly warned about the consequences of rates falling, and was not told
clearly how much it would cost to exit the arrangement early, alleges Reynolds.

"We've had to make two people redundant and we had planned to hire another nine - that's 11
people claiming (welfare) benefit instead of working," he said.

HSBC declined to comment on the case, citing customer confidentiality, but said it hoped to find
a satisfactory resolution through the FSA review process.

It added: "We believe that interest rate protection products are appropriate tools to help
businesses to manage the impact of interest rate fluctuations, a view shared with the Financial
Services Authority and the UK Government, in a recent white paper on banking reform."

SCALE OF EXPOSURE

Britain's battered banks already face paying 8.8 billion to compensate customers who were
encouraged to buy insurance covering repayments on mortgages and other loans if borrowers lost
income through unemployment or illness. The banks sold the insurance to many people who were
ineligible for it - the policies often did not cover the self-employed, for example - or who did
not realise they were getting insurance along with a loan.

The industry is also reeling from investigations into claims that it rigged Libor, the London
interbank rate, a scandal that has cost Barclays 290 million pounds.

The final cost of compensation for interest rate swap mis-selling is hard to quantify. Although
small firms bought just 28,000 of the contracts, while millions of consumers bought payment
protection insurance (PPI), the average cost of settling swap mis-selling cases is likely to be
far higher.

Compensation payouts for PPI policies typically run to hundreds or a few thousand pounds; but
payouts on interest rate swaps can run to millions. Bebb said he is aware of one firm in his
constituency that received an out-of-court settlement worth 16 million pounds after claiming it
had been mis-sold a swap.

Chris Hale, a solicitor at Bracewell Law, another legal firm advising small businesses which
bought the products, estimates the affair will cost the banks between three and six billion
pounds, citing steady growth in his client list.

"The last month has been our busiest in terms of new clients and approaches to us," he said.
If small businesses pursue lenders through the courts rather than the FSA process, the banks'
costs could rise substantially if courts make awards for "consequential losses" - business
opportunities missed as a result of being locked into expensive swap contracts. The bill could
also be pushed up by claims management companies, which carry out legal paperwork in return for
a cut of any compensation payout. Such firms are widely seen as encouraging more claimants to
come forward.

Against this, payouts on swaps could be mitigated by the process instituted by the FSA. Only
"non-sophisticated" customers who bought structured collars qualify for automatic compensation
under the scheme. They are defined narrowly as businesses with less than 6.5 million pounds of
sales, fewer than 50 employees, or assets worth less than 3.26 million pounds.

Companies deemed to be "sophisticated" and those sold products other than structured collars
must have their cases assessed in a process monitored by an independent reviewer. If they don't
agree with the eventual decision, they can challenge it in court.

The FSA has also said banks will be allowed to compensate wronged customers by offering them
replacement products, a cheaper option than reimbursing them.

Some experts say those measures explain why banks are making relatively modest provisions; they
also warn that the FSA process could delay cases coming to court.

The hedging contracts were generally subject to a six-year statute of limitation, leaving a
closing window of opportunity for companies to contest rate swap deals through legal channels.
As most of the hedges were sold before the base rate began its steep fall in 2008, businesses
which believe they were misled only have until 2014 to lodge their claims.

In the meantime, thousands of small business people may be left to rue the day they allowed
their banks to talk them into transactions they didn't properly understand.

"I'm angry day and night," said Reynolds of City Estates Midland about his experience with
banks. "To put it in plain English, I hate them."

(Editing by Richard Woods, Simon Robinson and Sara Ledwith)

Sri Lanka's foreign reserves had risen to 7.1 billion US dollars

 
பக்சபாசிஸ்டுக்களின் சிங்களத்தை ஊட்டி வளர்க்கும் அந்நிய நிதி மூலதனம்!
 

Reserve Track
25 Aug, 201209:06:38

Sri Lanka forex reserves US$7.1bn by July 2012
Aug 25, 2012 (LBO) -
Sri Lanka's foreign reserves had risen to 7.1 billion US dollars by end July 2012 from 6,045 million US dollars in June, helped by a loan from the International Monetary Fund and other inflows, the Central Bank said.
 
 Sri Lanka received 414 million US dollars as final tranche under a 2.5 billion US dollar loan, which goes directly into the country's foreign reserves by passing the domestic monetary system.
 The state also sold a billion US dollar sovereign bond of which about 500 million US dollars have to be retained to repay an earlier loan maturing in September.

A part of the rest was purchased by the Central Bank for rupees, which when used by the domestic monetary results in the eventual loss of the foreign reserves, unless the monetary authority is prepared to accept further weaknesses in the currency peg.

The central bank said earnings from tourism grew 24.3 percent to 460 million US dollars, worker's remittances grew 12.1 percent to 17,4 percent to 2.94 billion US dollars.

Foreign direct investments were estimated at 452 million US dollars in the first six months and portfolio inflows were 187 million US dollars.

Foreigners had also bought 842 million US dollars of government securities while capital inflows to the state, was 1,084 million US dollars.

When remittances, tourism receipts and foreign borrowings are spent by those that receive then a trade deficit is created as services and capital account inflows are greater than inflows through the goods account (merchandise exports).
 In the first six months of the year Sri Lanka has recorded a trade deficit of 4.7 billion US dollars.

Last year's trade deficit was also worsened by nearly 200 billion rupees of printed money poured into the economy to sterilized foreign exchange sales by the central bank triggering a one off unsustainable 'stimulus' of imports.

Saturday 25 August 2012

இலங்கையில் என்றுமில்லாத வரட்சி.

 

* கிளிநொச்சி பூநகரி பிரதேசசெயலக பிரிவில் பாரிய நீர்த் தட்டுப்பாடு காணப்படுகின்ற நிலையில் அங்கு ஒரு லீற்றர் நீர் ஒரு ரூபாவுக்கு விற்பனை செய்யப்படுகின்றது.
*மன்னார் மாவட்டத்தின்  கட்டுக்கரைக்குளம் நீரின்றி வரண்டிருக்கின்றது. இதனால் அதன் கீழுள்ள  648 குளங்களும் வற்றிக்கிடக்கின்றன.
* இலங்கையின் வடக்கு, வடமத்திய, வடமேல் மாகாணங்களில் வரட்சியினால் 150,000 ஏக்கர் நிலத்தில் பயிரிடப்பட்டுள்ள பயிர்கள் முற்றாக அழியும் ஆபத்தில் இருப்பதாக விவசாய அமைச்சர் மகிந்த யாப்பா அபேவர்த்தன தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
 * கொத்மல, பொல்கொல்ல நீர்த்தேக்கங்களில் இருந்து நீரைப் பெறும் விவசாய நிலங்களும் கடுமையான பாதிப்பை எதிர்நோக்கியுள்ளன.
* பொலன்னறுவயில் 7500 ஏக்கரில் பயிரிடப்பட்ட பயிர்கள் கைவிடப்பட்டுள்ளன. மேலும் 15 ஆயிரம் ஏக்கர் நெல், 50 ஆயிரம் ஏக்கர் ஏனைய பயிர்களும் அழியும் ஆபத்தில் உள்ளன.
* மழை பெய்யாது போனால் நீர் மின்உற்பத்தி முற்றாக தடைப்படும் ஆபத்து ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது.

Sri Lanka's devastating drought hits paddy fields
21 August 2012
Sri Lanka are being devastated by a drought which farmers say is the worst they can remember.
Rice paddy fields dependent on irrigation have been severely affected, as have the livelihoods of fishermen.
The government is discussing compensation measures but some villagers are blaming officials for poor water management.
The BBC's Charles Haviland reports from Colombo.


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கிளிநொச்சியில் கடும் வரட்சி! ஒரு லீற்றர் தண்ணீர் ஒரு ரூபாய்க்கு விற்பனை
August 21, 2012 யாழ்ப்பாணம்

இலங்கையின் கிளிநொச்சி பிரதேசத்தில் நிலவி வருகின்ற கடும் வரட்சி காரணமாக மக்கள் குடி நீர் உள்ளிட்ட நீர்த்தேவைகளுக்காக பெரும் துன்பங்களை சந்தித்து வருகின்றனர்.

குளங்களின் நீர் மட்டமும் என்றுமில்லாத வகையில் குறைவடைந்துள்ள நிலையில் நிலத்தடி நீரும் குறைவடைந்துள்ளமையால் குடிநீர் உள்ளிட்ட அனைத்து தேவைகளுக்கும் நீரினை பெற்றுக்கொள்ளும் பொருட்டு நீண்ட தூரங்களுக்கு அலைந்து திரியும் அவலம் நாளாந்தம் இடம்பெற்றுவருகிறது.

குறிப்பாக கிளிநொச்சி பூநகரி பிரதேசசெயலக பிரிவில் பாரிய நீர்த் தட்டுப்பாடு காணப்படுகின்ற நிலையில் அங்கு ஒரு லீற்றர் நீர் ஒரு ரூபாவுக்கு விற்பனை செய்யப்படுகின்றது மக்கள் தங்களது அன்றாட அனைத்து நீர்த்தேவை களுக்காகவும் நீரினை பணம் கொடுத்தே பெற்று வருகின்றனர்.

பூநகரி பிரதேச சபையினரும் குடிநீர் விநியோகத்தில் ஈடுபட்டு வருகின்ற போதிலும் அது எல்லா பிரதேசங்களையும் சென்றடையவில்லை என்பதோடு மக்களின் எல்லாத் தேவைகளுக்கும் போதுமானதாகவும் இல்லை என மக்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றனர்.

இது இவ்வாறு இருக்க முழங்காவில் பிரதேசத்திலும் மக்கள் குடிநீர் பிரச்சினைக்கு முகம்கொடுத்து வருகின்ற நிலையில் முழங்காவில் பிரதேசத்தில் உள்ள ஒரு குழாய் கிணற்றிலிருந்து கடற்படையினர் நாளாந்தம் பாரிய நீர்த்தாங்கிகள் மூலம், இலட்சக்கணக்கான நீரை முழங்காவில் பிரதேசத்திற்கு அருகில் உள்ள பிரதான கடற்படை முகாமுக்கு எடுத்துச் செல்கின்றனர்.



இந்த குழாய் கிணற்றிலிருந்து இராணுவத்தினரால் பெறப்படும் நீர் நாளாந்தம் இராணுவத்தின் அனைத்து தேவைகளுக்கும் பயன்படுத்தப்படுகின்ற அதேவேளை முகாமிலுள்ள நீச்சல் தடாகத்தினை நிரப்புவதற்கும் பயன்படுத்தப்படுவதாக மக்கள் சுட்டிக்காட்டுகின்றனர்.

நிலத்தடி நீர் விரைவாக குறைவடைவதால் கடல் நீர் உள்வரும் அபாயம் ஏற்படுவதற்கான வாய்ப்புக்கள் அதிகம் காணப்படுகிறது.

முழங்காவில் பிரதேசத்தினை சுற்றியுள்ள பிரதேசங்களின் நீர் நிலைகள் இவ்வாறு உவர் நீராக மாறியுள்ளதாகவும் மக்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றனர்.

மக்கள் குடிப்பதற்கு நீர் இன்றி தவிக்கும் நிலையில் குளிப்பதற்கு நாளாந்தம் பெருமளவு நீர் எடுத்துச்செல்லப்படுவது நியாயமற்ற செயலாகவே மக்களால் பார்க்கப்படுகிறது.

இலங்கையில் கடும் வரட்சி -அழிவின் விளிம்பில் பயிர்கள்!
 [ 2012-06-26]

பருவமழை தாமதமாவதால் இலங்கையில் கடும் வரட்சி ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. நீர்த்தேக்கங்கள் வற்றியுள்ளதால், விவசாயம், நீர் மின்உற்பத்தி என்பன கடுமையாகப் பாதிக்கப்படும் நிலை ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது.

 இதையடுத்து மகிந்த ராஜபக்ச நேற்று அலரி மாளிகையில், அவசர கூட்டம் ஒன்றை நடத்தியுள்ளார்.இந்தக் கூட்டத்தில் அரசின் முக்கிய அமைச்சர்கள் மற்றும் திறைசேரி செயலர் ஆகியோரும் விவசாய அமைப்புகளின் பிரதிநிதிகளும் பங்கேற்றுள்ளனர்.

இலங்கையின் வடக்கு, வடமத்திய, வடமேல் மாகாணங்களில் வரட்சியினால் 150,000 ஏக்கர் நிலத்தில் பயிரிடப்பட்டுள்ள பயிர்கள் முற்றாக அழியும் ஆபத்தில் இருப்பதாக விவசாய அமைச்சர் மகிந்த யாப்பா அபேவர்த்தன தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

கொத்மல, பொல்கொல்ல நீர்த்தேக்கங்களில் இருந்து நீரைப் பெறும் விவசாய நிலங்களும் கடுமையான பாதிப்பை எதிர்நோக்கியுள்ளன.

சிறிய குளங்கள், நீர்த்தேக்கங்கள் முற்றாக வற்றி வறண்டு போயுள்ளன.பாரிய நீர்தேக்கங்களின் நீர்மட்டம் வேகமாக குறைந்து வருவதாக நீர்ப்பாசனத் திணைக்கள அதிகாரிகள் கூறியுள்ளனர்.பொலன்னறுவில் 7500 ஏக்கரில் பயிரிடப்பட்ட பயிர்கள் கைவிடப்பட்டுள்ளன. மேலும் 15 ஆயிரம் ஏக்கர் நெல், 50 ஆயிரம் ஏக்கர் ஏனைய பயிர்களும் அழியும் ஆபத்தில் உள்ளன.

இதற்கிடையே, நீர்த்தேக்கங்களின் நீர்மட்டம் குறைந்துள்ளதால் நீர்மின் உற்பத்தி கடுமையாகப் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.மழை பெய்யாது போனால் நீர் மின்உற்பத்தி முற்றாக தடைப்படும் ஆபத்து ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது.நிலைமையை சமாளிக்க அனல் மின் உற்பத்தி மூலமே மின்சாரத் தேவை ஈடுசெய்யப்படுகிறது.

இதனால் விரைவில் கடுமையான மின்வெட்டு, நீர்வெட்டு என்பன நடைமுறைக்கு வரும் என்றும் எச்சரிக்கை விடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

வட-இலங்கை வறட்சியால் ஆயிரக் கணக்கான மக்கள் பாதிப்பு
கடைசியாக பிரசுரிக்கப்பட்டது: 22 ஆகஸ்ட், 2012 - 15:52 ஜிஎம்டி
 

வட இலங்கையில் ஒருபோதும் இல்லாத வகையில் இந்த ஆண்டு ஏற்பட்டுள்ள கடும் வறட்சி காரணமாக வவுனியா, மன்னார், முல்லைத்தீவு, கிளிநொச்சி ஆகிய மாவட்டங்களில் கிட்டத்தட்ட 30 ஆயிரம் குடும்பங்கள் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாக அதிகாரிகள் கூறுகின்றனர்.

நீர்நிலைகள் வறண்டு காணப்படுவதால் மக்கள் தண்ணீருக்காக தூர இடங்களுக்கு அலைய நேரிட்டிருக்கின்றது. வறட்சியினால் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட மக்களுக்கு அரசாங்கம் பவுசர் வண்டிகள் மூலம் தண்ணீர் விநியோகம் மேற்கொண்டு வருகின்றது.

இருப்பினும் போதிய அளவு நீரைப் பெற முடியாதிருப்பதாக பாதிக்கப்பட்ட மக்கள் கூறுகின்றார்கள்.

வன்னியில் மல்லாவி போன்ற கிராமிய-நகரப் பகுதிகளிலும் தண்ணீருக்குப் பெரும் பற்றாக்குறை நிலவுவதாகவும், இதனால் பணம் செலவழித்து தூர இடங்களில் இருந்து தண்ணீரைப் பெற வேண்டியிருப்பதாகவும் அங்குள்ள வர்த்தகர்கள் கூறுகின்றனர்.

'பவுசர் மூலம் குடிநீர் விநியோகிப்பதிலும் உள்ளூராட்சி மன்றங்களுக்கு சிரமம்'

கிளிநொச்சி மாவட்டம் பூநகரி பிரதேசத்தில் வரட்சியினால் கிணறுகள் வற்றியிருப்பதுடன் பல கிணறுகள் உப்பு நீராகியிருப்பதனால் அங்கு நிலைமை மோசமாகியிருப்பதாகத் தெரிவிக்கப்படுகின்றது.

மக்கள் 4 கிலோ மீட்டர் தூரம் வரை சென்று தண்ணீர் எடுத்து வர வேண்டியுள்ளது.

அதிகாரிகள் பவுசர் வண்டி மூலமாக அங்கு நீர் விநியோகம் செய்து வருகின்ற போதிலும் நிலைமை சிரமமாக இருப்பதாக அங்குள்ளவர்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றனர்.

விவசாயிகளும் மீனவர்களும் கவலை

மன்னார் மாவட்டத்தின் பெரிய குளமான கட்டுக்கரைக்குளம் நீரின்றி வரண்டிருக்கின்றது. இதனால் அதன் கீழுள்ள பெரும் எண்ணிக்கையான குளங்களும் வற்றிக்கிடக்கின்றன.

1400 ஏக்கர் பயிர்ச் செய்கை பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கின்றது. நன்னீர் மீன்பிடி தொழில் பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருப்பதனால் பல குடும்பங்கள் வறுமை நிலைமைக்குத் தள்ளப்பட்டிருப்பதாக இடர் முகாமைத்துவ நிலையத்தின் மன்னார் மாவட்ட உதவிப் பணிப்பாளர் மொகமட் ரியாஸ் தெரிவித்தார்.

கிளிநொச்சி மாவட்டத்தின் வரட்சி நிவாரண நடவடிக்கைகளுக்கென 39 லட்சம் ரூபா நிதி அரசாங்கத்தினால் ஒதுக்கப்பட்டிருப்பதாகவும் அந்த நிதியைப் பயன்படுத்தி வறட்சியினால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள குடும்பங்களுக்கு குடிநீர் விநியோகிக்கப்படுவதாகவும் மன்னார் மாவட்டத்தின் இடர் முகாமைத்துவ உதவிப் பணிப்பாளர் சுகுணதாஸ் கூறுகின்றார்.

முல்லைத்தீவு மாவட்டத்தில் வறட்சியினால் பெரிதும் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள துணுக்காய் பிரதேசத்தில் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள மக்களுக்கு குடிநீர் வழங்குவதில் பெரும் சிரமங்களை எதிர்நோக்கியிருப்பதாக துணுக்காய் பிரதேச சபை உறுப்பினர் செல்லையா அமிர்தலிங்கம் தெரிவித்தார்.

நிலவு மனிதன் நீல் ஆம்ஸோர்ங்: பிரியாவிடை

Astronaut Neil Armstrong's historic first footprint on the moon July 20, 1969.
 
Armstrong said: "“That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."
First man on moon Neil Armstrong dead at 82
By Mary Slosson
Sat Aug 25, 2012 6:36pm EDT

(Reuters) - U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong, who took a giant leap for mankind when he became the first person to walk on the moon, has died at the age of 82, his family said on Saturday.
Armstrong died following complications from heart-bypass surgery he underwent earlier this month, the family said in a statement, just two days after his birthday on August 5.

As commander of the Apollo 11 mission, Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969. As he stepped on the dusty surface, Armstrong said: "“That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."

Those words endure as one of the best known quotes in the English language.
The Apollo 11 astronauts' euphoric moonwalk provided Americans with a sense of achievement in the space race with Cold War foe the Soviet Union and while Washington was engaged in a bloody war with the communists in Vietnam.


Neil Alden Armstrong was 38 years old at the time and even though he had fulfilled one of mankind's age-old quests that placed him at the pinnacle of human achievement, he did not revel in his accomplishment. He even seemed frustrated by the acclaim it brought.

"I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks but for the ledger of our daily work," Armstrong said in an interview on CBS's "60 Minutes" program in 2005.

He once was asked how he felt knowing his footprints would likely stay on the moon's surface for thousands of years. "I kind of hope that somebody goes up there one of these days and cleans them up," he said.

A VERY PRIVATE MAN

James Hansen, author of "First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong," told CBS: "All of the attention that ... the public put on stepping down that ladder onto the surface itself, Neil never could really understand why there was so much focus on that."


The Apollo 11 moon mission turned out to be Armstrong's last space flight. The next year he was appointed to a desk job, being named NASA's deputy associate administrator for aeronautics in the office of advanced research and technology.

Armstrong's post-NASA life was a very private one. He took no major role in ceremonies marking the 25th anniversary of the moon landing. "He's a recluse's recluse," said Dave Garrett, a former NASA spokesman.

Hansen said stories of Armstrong dreaming of space exploration as a boy were apocryphal, although he was long dedicated to flight. "His life was about flying. His life was about piloting," Hansen said.
Born August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio, Armstrong was the first of three children of Stephen and Viola Armstrong. He married his college sweetheart, Janet Shearon, in 1956. They were divorced in 1994, when he married Carol Knight.

Armstrong had his first joyride in a plane at age 6. Growing up in Ohio, he began making model planes and by his early teens had amassed an extensive aviation library. With money earned from odd jobs, he took flying lessons and obtained his pilot's license even before he got a car license.
In high school he excelled in science and mathematics and won a U.S. Navy scholarship to Purdue University in Indiana, enrolling in 1947. He left after two years to become a Navy pilot, flying combat missions in the Korean War and winning three medals.

===================================

He once was asked how he felt knowing his footprints would likely stay on the moon's surface for thousands of years. "I kind of hope that somebody goes up there one of these days and cleans them up," he said.

=================================

FLYING TEST PLANES

After the war he returned to Purdue and graduated in 1955 with an aeronautical engineering degree. He joined the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA), which became NASA in 1958.
Armstrong spent seven years at NACA's high-speed flight station at Edwards Air Force Base in California, becoming one of the world's best test pilots. He flew the X-15 rocket plane to the edge of space - 200,000 feet up at 4,000 mph.

In September 1962, Armstrong was selected by NASA to be an astronaut. He was command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission and backup command pilot for the Gemini 11 mission, both in 1966.
On the Gemini 8 mission, Armstrong and fellow astronaut David Scott performed the first successful docking of a manned spacecraft with another space vehicle.

Armstrong put his piloting skills to good use on the moon landing, overriding the automatic pilot so he and fellow astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin would not have to land their module in a big rocky crater.

Yet the landing was not without danger. The lander had only about 30 seconds of fuel left when Armstrong put it down in an area known as the Sea of Tranquility and calmly radioed back to Mission Control on Earth, "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

Aldrin, who along with Armstrong and Michael Collins formed the Apollo 11 crew, told BBC radio that he would remember Armstrong as "a very capable commander and leader of an achievement that will be recognized until man sets foot on the planet Mars."

Armstrong left the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) a year after Apollo 11 to become a professor of engineering at the University of Cincinnati.

NASA remote camera file image shows the July 16, 1969 launching of Apollo 11, the first manned mission to land on the Moon, from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex in Florida.
Credit: REUTERS/NASA/Handout/Files
DECLINES OFFERS TO RUN FOR OFFICE

After his aeronautical career, Armstrong was approached by political groups, but unlike former astronauts John Glenn and Harrison Schmitt who became U.S. senators, he declined all offers.
In 1986, he served on a presidential commission that investigated the explosion that destroyed the space shuttle Challenger, killing its crew of seven shortly after launch from Cape Canaveral in January of that year.

Armstrong made a rare public appearance several years ago when he testified to a congressional hearing against President Barack Obama administration's plans to buy rides from other countries and corporations to ferry U.S. astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

Armstrong also said that returning humans to the moon was not only desirable, but necessary for future exploration -- even though NASA says it is no longer a priority.

He lived in the Cincinnati area with his wife, Carol.

"We are heartbroken to share the news that Neil Armstrong has passed away," the family said in their statement. "Neil was our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend."

His family expressed hope that young people around the world would be inspired by Armstrong's feat to push boundaries and serve a cause greater than themselves.

"The next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink," the family said.

Obama said that Armstrong "was among the greatest of American heroes - not just of his time, but of all time. ...
"Today, Neil's spirit of discovery lives on in all the men and women who have devoted their lives to exploring the unknown - including those who are ensuring that we reach higher and go further in space. That legacy will endure - sparked by a man who taught us the enormous power of one small step."

Glenn, an original NASA astronaut with Armstrong, spoke of his colleague's humble nature. "He was willing to dare greatly for his country and he was proud to do that and yet remained the same humble person he'd always been," he told CNN on Saturday.

The space agency sent out a brief statement in the wake of the news, saying it "offers its condolences on today's passing of Neil Armstrong, former test pilot, astronaut and the first man on the moon."
Armstrong is survived by his two sons, a stepson and stepdaughter, 10 grandchildren, a brother and a sister, NASA said.

Some controversy still surrounds his famous quote. The live broadcast did not have the "a" in "one small step for a man ..." He and NASA insisted static had obscured the "a," but after repeated playbacks, he admitted he may have dropped the letter and expressed a preference that quotations include the "a" in parentheses.

Asked to describe what it was like to stand on the moon, he told CBS:
"It's an interesting place to be. I recommend it."

(Writing by Philip Barbara, editing by Bill Trott and Christopher Wilson)

Friday 24 August 2012

Japan: Exports Collapse

Japan: Exports Collapse
August 22nd, 2012
in econ_news, syndication

Econintersect: Weak demand from China and Europe are badly hurting Jpan's export numbers which fell at an annual rate of 8.1% in July. Expectations had been for a much smaller decline of 2.9%, according to Reuters.  Excports are an important component of Japan's GDP which has been weakening in spite of increased spending over the past year in the recovery and rebuilding efforts after the March 11, 2011 megaquake and tsu

The slump in exports created a negative current account balance of $6.5 billion which is a subtraction from GDP.  Economists have projected that Japan's GDP growth will be 2.2% for the fiscal year ending March 2013.  This may be hard to achieve.  Just a week ago the preliminary GDP growth estimate for the quarter ending in June came in at an unexpectedly low 1.4%.  That was with a small positive contribution from trade which has now turned negative.

According to Reuters other Asian countries are also suffering from reduced exports:

Data from South Korea and Taiwan suggested little let up in the exports pressure.

In the first 20 days of August, South Korea's exports fell 12.4 percent from a year earlier, leaving a $4.5 billion trade deficit for the period.

Orders for Taiwan's exports, a forward indicator of demand, slumped 4.4 percent in July over the previous year, far more than expected.

John Lounsbury

Sunday 19 August 2012

தெரிவுக் குழுவில் ததேகூ சேருவதுதான் வழி!

தெரிவுக் குழுவில் ததேகூ சேருவதுதான் வழி: தென்னாப்பிரிக்கா
பி.பி.சி.தமிழோசை கடைசியாக பிரசுரிக்கப்பட்டது: 19 ஆகஸ்ட், 2012 - 17:12 ஜிஎம்டி

இலங்கை வந்து அரச தரப்புடனும், தமிழ் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பினருடனும் பேச்சுக்களை நடத்தியிருக்கும் தென்னாப்பிரிக்க குழு, இலங்கையில் இனப்பிரச்சினைக்கு அரசியல் தீர்வு காண்பதிலே ஏற்பட்டுள்ள முட்டுக்கட்டை நிலைக்கு தமிழ் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு ஜனாதிபதியால் நியமிக்கப்படும் நாடாளுமன்றத் தெரிவுக் குழுவில் இடம்பெறுவதுதான் வழியாகத் தெரிகிறது என்று கூறியுள்ளது.

அரசுக்கும் தமிழ் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்புக்கும் இடையேயான பேச்சுவார்த்தைகள் கடந்த எட்டு மாதங்களாக தடைபட்டுள்ள நிலையிலேயே தென்னாப்பிரிக்காவின் இந்தக் கருத்துக்கள் வந்துள்ளன.

தடைபட்டுள்ள இந்தப் பேச்சுவார்த்தைகள் மீண்டும் தொடங்க தென்னாப்பிரிக்கா அனுசரணையாளராக இருக்க முன்வந்துள்ளதாக தமிழ் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பினர் கூறுகின்றனர்.

"மத்தியஸ்தம், அனுபவங்களை பகிர்தல் மட்டுமே"

ஆனால் இலங்கை விஷயத்தில் மத்தியஸ்தராகவோ அல்லது அனுசரணையாளராகவோ பங்காற்ற தாங்கள் முயலவில்லை என்று தென்னாப்பிரிக்காவின் சர்வதேச உறவுகள் மற்றும் ஒத்துழைப்புக்கான துணை அமைச்சர் இப்ராஹிம் இப்ராஹிம் பிபிசியிடம் தெரிவித்தார்.

"தென்னாப்பிரிக்கா போன்றோரின் மூன்றாம் தரப்பு மத்தியஸ்தம் அவசியம்"


அரசுக்கும் தமக்கு இடையே ஏற்பட்ட பேச்சுவார்த்தைகளில் எந்தவிதமான முன்னேற்றமும் இல்லாத சூழலில், ஒரு மூன்றாம் தரப்பு அனுசரணையாளரின் உதவி இன்றியமையாதது என்றும் அதை கூட்டமைப்பு வரவேற்கிறது எனவும் அதன் நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் சுரேஷ் பிரேமச்சந்திரன் கூறுகிறார்.

இலங்கை சென்ற தென்னாப்பிரிக்க குழுவினர் அரச தரப்பையும், கூட்டமைப்பினரையும் சந்தித்து பேசியுள்ளனர். அதன் போது இருதரப்புமே தமது நிலைப்பாட்டில் உறுதியாக இருப்பதை தாங்கள் அறிந்து கொண்டாதாக இப்ராஹிம் சுட்டிக்காட்டினார்.

நாடாளுமன்றத் தெரிவுக் குழுவுக்கு கூட்டமைப்பினரும் வர வேண்டும் என்றும், அதன் மூலமே தீர்வு காண முடியும் எனவும் அரசு கூறுகிறது.
கூட்டமைப்போ அரசுக்கும் தமக்கும் இடையே ஒரு உடன்பாடு ஏற்பட்ட பிறகு தெரிவுக் குழுவில் பங்கேற்பது குறித்து முடிவு செய்யலாம் என்று கூறுகிறது.

இதன் காரணமாகவே பேச்சுவார்த்தைகள் ஸ்தம்பிதம் அடைந்துள்ளன.
அரச தரப்பிடம் பேசிய பிறகு இரண்டாவது முறையாக கூட்டமைப்பினரை தாங்கள் சந்தித்து பேசிய போது அவர்கள் தெரிவுக் குழுவில் பங்கேற்பது என்கிற யோசனையை பரிசீலனை செய்வது போலத் தோன்றுகிறது என பிபிசியிடம் கூறினார் தென்னாப்பிரிக்க அமைச்சர் இப்ராஹிம்.

கிழக்கு மாகாண சபைக்கான தேர்தல் முடிந்த பிறகு இது தொடர்பிலான அடுத்தகட்ட பேச்சுவார்த்தைகள் தென்னாப்பிரிக்காவில் இடம்பெறக் கூடும் என்று கூறிய சுரேஷ் பிரேமச்சந்திரன், கொழும்பிலுள்ள அந்நாட்டு தூதரகத்தின் அழைப்பின் பேரிலேயே இந்தச் சந்திப்புகள் நடந்தன எனவும் சுட்டிக்காட்டினார்.

லண்டன் ஈக்குவடோர் தூதரகத்தில் ஜூலியனைக் கைது செய்யும் முயற்சி, மக்கள் காவலால் முறியடிப்பு.

"On Wednesday night, after a threat was sent to this embassy, the police descended on this building. You came out in the middle of the night to watch over it, and you brought the world's eyes with you. 
 "Inside this embassy in the dark, I could hear teams of police swarming up inside the building through its internal fire escape. But I knew there would be witnesses, and that is because of you. If the UK did not throw away the Vienna Conventions the other night, it is because the world was watching. And the world was watching because you were watching."-Julian Assange
 


Assange demands end to 'witch-hunt'
Press Association .

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks from inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has made his first public appearance since seeking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London - and issued a defiant call to Washington to "renounce its witch-hunt" against his organisation.

The Australian appeared on the embassy's balcony - the first time he has been seen for two months - and urged the US government to "reaffirm the revolutionary values it was founded on".

Mr Assange, who is wanted in Sweden for questioning on sexual assault allegations, thanked Ecuador for taking a "stand for justice" in giving him political asylum.

The decision has led to a diplomatic stand-off involving Ecuador, Sweden and the British Government, which insists it is legally obliged to hand him over. Foreign Secretary William Hague has made it clear Mr Assange will not be allowed safe passage out of the country.

Mr Assange denies the allegations and fears being transferred to America if he travels to contest them. He enraged the US government in 2010 when WikiLeaks published tranches of secret US diplomatic cables.

Earlier, his legal adviser Baltasar Garzon said Mr Assange had instructed his lawyers "to carry out a legal action" to protect his rights. He told media representatives: "He demands that WikiLeaks and his own rights be respected. Julian Assange has instructed his lawyers to carry out a legal action in order to protect the rights of WikiLeaks, Julian himself and all those currently being investigated."

Mr Assange, who entered the building seeking asylum on June 19, thanked supporters who went to the embassy on Wednesday night, when it emerged that Britain had warned the Ecuadorian government that the diplomatic status of the embassy could legally be revoked.

He said: "On Wednesday night, after a threat was sent to this embassy, the police descended on this building. You came out in the middle of the night to watch over it, and you brought the world's eyes with you.

"Inside this embassy in the dark, I could hear teams of police swarming up inside the building through its internal fire escape. But I knew there would be witnesses, and that is because of you. If the UK did not throw away the Vienna Conventions the other night, it is because the world was watching. And the world was watching because you were watching."

"So the next time that somebody tells you that it is pointless to defend those rights that we hold dear, remind them of your vigil in the dark before the embassy of Ecuador. Remind them how, in the morning, the sun came up on a different world, and a courageous Latin American nation took a stand for justice."

Saturday 18 August 2012

சூரியன் அஸ்தமிக்காத பாசிசத்தைத் தோற்கடிக்க ஒன்றுபடுவோம்!


Assange: Ecuador's President In Warning To UK
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has warned UK authorities not to enter the country’s embassy in London, saying that to do so would amount to a violation of international law.

Speaking during his weekly address in the Ecuadorian capital Quito, Mr Correa said if UK authorities did enter the Ecuadorian embassy, it would "destroy" all diplomatic ties between the two countries.
His comments come amid an on-going dispute over the fate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Mr Assange, 41, took shelter in the Ecuadorian Embassy on June 19 after he exhausted all routes of appeal in the UK to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over alleged sexual misconduct.

காவல்: விக்கி லீக்ஸ் ஜூலியன் அசான் அடைக்கலம் கோரி தங்கியுள்ள ஈக்குவடோர் தூதரகத்தைப் புடைசூழ்ந்துள்ள லண்டன் பொலிஸ் படை.

Mr Assange and his supporters claim the Swedish case is merely the opening gambit in a Washington-orchestrated plot to make him stand trial in the US over his work with WikiLeaks - something disputed by both Swedish authorities and the women involved.

The dispute escalated in recent days when Britain appeared to suggest it could invoke a little-known law to strip Ecuador's embassy of diplomatic privileges, meaning police would be free to move in and detain Mr Assange.

But diplomats have since repeated assurances that Britain was simply setting out the country's legal options, not making a specific threat to storm the nation's mission.

South American foreign ministers were due to meet in Quito on Saturday to discuss the stand-off, and Mr Assange is expected to make a statement from the embassy on Sunday.

Speaking from Quito, Sky News correspondent Dominic Waghorn said Mr Correa’s comments showed that he was not willing to bow to UK pressure over the issue.

"There’s no sign at all of him backing down. If anything he’s hardening his position. He is daring the British now it seems to go into the embassy and seize Assange.

"This row is showing no sign at all of easing."

Friday 17 August 2012

Marikana Mine Massacre - Video

Marikana Mine Massacre: 34 Miners Killed in South Africa Strike

Marikana Mine Massacre: 34 Miners Killed in South Africa Strike

'' The police, in order to protect their own lives and self-defence, were forced to engage the group with force''

Marikana Mine Massacre: 34 Miners Killed in South Africa Strike

Lonmin Marikana Mine: South African Police Kill 34 Striking Miners

The ongoing strike at the Marikana platinum mine in South Africa has turned even bloodier, as police have shot and killed 34 miners on August 16, 2012. 78 more have been injured, and 256 arrested so far. The overall death toll in the weeklong strike is 44.

Some of the striking miners are armed, and there is little recognized leadership among them. Police Chief Mangwashi Victoria Phiyega, responsible for the armed response to the mine strike, said that this was "no time for pointing fingers". Many South Africans would disagree: the miners were penned in by barbed wire and police vehicles when they were shot.

You can see video footage of the Lonmin Marikana mine massacre below: it is graphic.
Marikana Mine Massacre: Video


Steven Friedman, director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at Rhodes University and the University of Johannesburg, said that the police were at fault, mainly because they don't know what they're doing: "It is not a question of being tougher. [The police] are not adequately trained. If you put guns and bullets in the hands of these people, who are not trained properly, you have a problem."

This has been the bloodiest police action since the days of Apartheid. President Jacob Zuma's own ANC party is rebelling on the issue, with the ANC Youth Wing calling for mines to be nationalized. The rationale is that all South Africans should share in the nation's mineral wealth. As it stands, a large segment of the white population and a small segment of the black population are thriving, while the rest live in poverty.

Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) is blaming management for ignoring its demands, and also rivals National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) for the escalation of the strike.

For its part, Lonmin, which owns the Marikana mine, issued a "statement of regret" (pdf) that mainly served to frame the massacre as a public-order issue rather than a labor-management issue. Lonmin is so very sorry, but doesn't want to accept any responsibility.
===========================================
'' That's what Marikana means. It has raised this unmitigated crudeness as if to awaken us to the reality of the time bomb that has stopped ticking - it has exploded!''
 Source: sowetanlive.co.za

TN takes 70% pie in pharma exports to Sri Lanka!

TN takes 70% pie in pharma exports to Sri Lanka

The New Indian Express By P K Balachandran - COLOMBO
17th August 2012 09:45 AM

Tamil Nadu-based companies account for 60-70% of India’s export of pharmaceuticals to Sri Lanka, according to P V Appaji, Director General of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India.
Currently in the island to do the spade-work for setting up an Indo-Lankan export-oriented pharmaceutical manufacturing hub here, Appaji said that four of the 25 companies which were part of the Pharmexcil delegation were based in Tamil Nadu.

Speaking to Indian correspondents after talks with Lankan Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa, and Deputy Minister of Commerce Jayarathna Herath, Appaji said that his team had already visited a prospective site for the manufacturing hub near Colombo airport.
=====================================
"Whether it is Sri Lanka's exports or imports, wholesale
business or investment in land and hotels, it is India which is
the main power involved. It is only India which is involved in
the telecom sector too," he said, adding that Sri Lanka will
not hurt India's interests in the region and that any such fear
was unfounded.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's TOI Interview-100812
=====================================

India’s pharma exports to Lanka increased by 15.95% in 2011 to touch $ 126.9 million, he said. Of this, 93% were formulations, followed by bulk drugs (7%) and herbal drugs (0.15%). India accounted for 24.8% of the bulk drugs and 58 .3% of the formulations in Sri Lanka.

Noting a ‘huge gap’ between the domestic demand and supply, Secretary to Sri Lankan Ministry of Commerce Anura Siriwardene said that the Lankan pharma market was worth $190 million, with local manufacturers’ contributing $38 million to it.

“The arrival of the Indian team is a big eye opener for us. Nobody here believed that we can produce pharmaceuticals for the massive global market, but now we have realised otherwise,” said Premakumar Weyhenage, Director, Healthcare and Consumer Division of CIC Holdings.

Wednesday 15 August 2012

President Mahinda Rajapaksa's TOI Interview-100812



India needs to take relook at dealings with neighbours: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa

Sachin Parashar, TNN Aug 10, 2012, 11.07PM IST

COLOMBO: In the strongest reaction yet to India's contentious support to a US sponsored resolution at the UNHRC against Sri Lanka earlier this year, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has broken his silence by calling upon the Indian government to have a relook at its dealings with its neighbours.

In a freewheeling interaction with TOI at his Temple Trees residence in Colombo, his first full-length interview since India's vote for the resolution in March, Rajapaksa suggested that India could be abdicating its leadership role in the region.

Rajapaksa, in fact, did not fully agree with India's contention that it had helped tone down the resolution against alleged human rights abuses, saying that if India had continued with its support to Sri Lanka, there may not have been any resolution against his country at all.

 "Any good intentions and actions are always appreciated. But I must add that if India stood by us and supported Sri Lanka's request for more time and space, who knows, there may not have been a resolution at all," the president said when told how PM Manmohan Singh had himself intervened to make the resolution "non-intrusive".

 "The region looks up to India but India must examine itself whether or not it is doing the right thing in dealing with its neighbours... what they are doing is the best thing or not," Rajapaksa said. This was in reply to a question about India's vote and how it seemed to have fuelled an anti-India sentiment in the island nation. "All I can say is that we are not a nation and people without feelings. India and Sri Lanka share common cultural and historic values and so we can feel deeply about such moves," he elaborated.

 However, he stressed that the two countries needed to move on, saying that he didn't see the vote as changing the dynamics of ties between the two countries. "Past is past, let's look at the future now," he said, reiterating his comment in the past that Indians will remain like "relations" and that the two countries remain "much more than good neighbours''.

 The president also brushed aside the issue of growing Chinese involvement in Sri Lanka, one of New Delhi's pressing concerns, describing it as paranoia. In fact, taking a swipe at India for its own burgeoning trade ties with China, the president said, "The way India is doing business with China, Sri Lanka is not."

 "Whether it is Sri Lanka's exports or imports, wholesale business or investment in land and hotels, it is India which is the main power involved. It is only India which is involved in the telecom sector too," he said, adding that Sri Lanka will not hurt India's interests in the region and that any such fear was unfounded.

 Rajapaksa, however, did not give any assurance on whether or not the Chinese will be given operational control of projects like Hambantota port and airport which they are building. It is well known that Hambantota was first offered to India but the president confirmed that even in the case of Colombo port, the contract for which went to a Hong Kong-based company, it was India which did not show any interest.

 "India could have participated in the tender but it did not. These are commercial interests and not a sign of any Sri Lankan strategic drift," he said.

However, he acknowledged the help from the Chinese in decisively ending the conflict in 2009. "When we had to fight the most brutal terrorist outfit in the world, we had to buy arms and ammunition from legal entities that were ready to sell them to us at the best terms," he said.
 "It is important to look at things in the right perspective and not rush to conclusions. India has undertaken to build the northern Kankesanturai harbour as China builds at Hambantota in the south. India is also rebuilding Palaly airport in the north," he said. He described India's decision to allow the sacred Kapilavastu relics to travel to Sri Lanka for the first time since 1978 as a gesture that will be regarded with highest esteem and gratitude.


 Following is the full interview:

 The end of the conflict in May 2009 was described by both countries as a historic opportunity to work towards genuine national reconciliation. After 18 rounds of dialogue with the TNA, the negotiations have ended abruptly. Could you please tell us who, according to you, is responsible for the current stalemate?

The fact that we have had so many rounds of dialogue shows our commitment to reach a suitable consensus. We are always ready to continue the dialogue with the TNA and any others who may have views that could be expressed and shared. We have categorically stated that all these discussions could be had at the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) and the TNA must make every effort to come to the PSC.

As late as May 2011, when your foreign minister came to India, a joint statement issued by the 2 countries said that a devolution package, building upon the 13th amendment, would create conditions for genuine reconciliation. But the insistence on PSC is being seen by India as another flip-flop by your government over the issue.

You have given the answer in your question, when you referred to the reference in the joint statement of May 2011 that "building upon the 13th Amendment, would create conditions for genuine reconciliation." That is what we are seeking to achieve through the Parliamentary Select Committee. One must not forget that we are in a functioning democracy, and that Parliament is the supreme legislature. Whatever discussions we have with the TNA or any others, the final decision will have to be taken by Parliament. That is why we consider it best to arrive at a solution through a Parliamentary Select Committee, which will make it a more genuine and workable consensus.

You said on Sri Lanka's Independence Day this year that all parties should participate in PSC and not rely on "imported solutions'' and "foreign influences''. Is India not justified in believing that your commitment to the 13th amendment is wavering despite TNA leaders having declared they want a solution only within the framework of a united Sri Lanka.

 There is no justification for any consideration that our commitment to the 13 Amendment is wavering. I am glad that the TNA now speaks of wanting a solution within the framework of a united Sri Lanka. But their thinking and strategy as shown at their most recent conference at Batticaloa was a call for its old agenda, when the LTTE was dictating terms to them. These matters must be clarified. That I believe is the democratic approach.

 LLRC, which was set up by your own government to look into allegations of war crime from 2002 to 2009, made some very positive recommendations for national reconciliation but again your government has done little to move forward. Why are these recommendations not been implemented?

This shows a wrong understanding of the actual situation. We appointed the LLRC in May 2010, just one year after the armed conflict ended. Few other countries, if any, have acted so fast in on such an issue. The LLRC submitted its report last November and in December, just a month later, the same was submitted to Parliament. We have also made it available to the whole world by placing it on the web. A Task Force headed by the Secretary to the President was appointed by the Cabinet in May this year to prepare an action plan to monitor the implementation of the 285 recommendations contained in Chapter 9 of the LLRC report. The Task Force presented their action plan to the Cabinet on 19th July 2012 and the Cabinet has approved this plan. It has also been made available to the media, the diplomatic missions and also placed on our websites. We are giving priority to those that can be implemented soonest. Surely, how can it be said that the recommendations are not being implemented? Are we not entitled to due process in this matter? Does any country implement such a wide ranging report the moment it is presented, without proper study as to how best it has to be and can be done? The LLRC was appointed on the basis of restorative justice, instead of retributive Justice. We must ensure that this restorative process does take place.

 Why are you not doing enough for the demilitarization of northern Sri Lanka? Almost 70 per cent of your forces are still stationed there. What are you doing about sensitive issues like high security zones, list of missing people and election in the Northern Province?

To say that almost 70 percent of our forces are still deployed in northern Sri Lanka is what the LTTE rump disseminates in their malicious propaganda against the Govt of Sri Lanka. It certainly is not true. Also, I think this is not a well thought out use of the word "demilitarization". We are recovering from a ruthless armed conflict, carried out by terrorists that lasted three decades. We have steadily reduced the number of troops in the North. In December 2009, the troop strength in Jaffna was 27,000. The current figure, as at June this year is 15,000.This could hardly be the sign of continuing militarization. This is in fact a studied lowering of military presence as conditions and circumstances permit. I believe you are not aware of the numbers still engaged in de-mining activities? Why do you not look at the role they play in development work in the North, to keep up with our massive investment in infra-structure in that region? Are you not aware of the large amounts of hidden arms still being found in the North? Also, are you not aware of the incitement to violence that is being done by the pro-LTTE groups who are living abroad, especially in the West? Are we not entitled to be cautious of what these well-funded groups may do, looking at the experience of the past three decades?I must add that if not for the Armed Forces personnel, the massive post conflict development would not have taken place.

India's leader of opposition in the lower House, Sushma Swaraj, who led a parliamentary delegation to Sri Lanka this year, said the opposition and government in India, as indeed the people of India, are together over the issue of political settlement. She also expressed concern over the lack of development on the issue of reconciliation. Does your government realize that what is happening in your country is no longer an emotive issue only for a particular state in India?

 I had a good exchange of views with Hon. Sushma Swaraj. If you say that the people of India, with the many regional and other problems they have, are together over the issue of a political settlement here, I must say that the people of Sri Lanka are also together on the same issue. The observations she made to the media here were most encouraging. We are moving towards reconciliation. I have already told you about the LLRC. It would be good to know the progress we are making in the area of bringing the Tamil language to the administration. There is a marked increase in numbers of Tamils and Tamil speaking Muslims in the Police Service, especially in the North & East. This is so in the Civil Defence Force too, and many Tamils are also showing eagerness to join the armed forces. These are all aspects of reconciliation. Our governmentis fully aware of the feelings in India and we are most aware that it is an emotive issue that is strongly manipulated by the political forces in a particular state thatyou did not, or preferred not to mention.

 Did it hurt when India voted for the US backed resolution at the UN Human Rights Council and why do you think India did it?

All I can say is that we are not a nation and people without feelings. India and Sri Lanka share common cultural and historic values, so we can feel deeply about such moves. But it does not alter our friendship and good relations. I trust there is no change in the dynamic of the relations between our two countries. The visit of Indian Ministers and key officials including the National Security Advisor did not show that in any way. Our position was that Sri Lanka needed time and space to resolve issues that have accumulated due to a long drawn conflict that became the hurdle for our development.

 While India voted in favour of the resolution, truth is that PM Manmohan Singh himself took interest in ensuring that the language of UNHRC the resolution was diluted making it ``non intrusive'' and that it wasn't a monitoring mechanism. Also, do you think India is being influenced heavily by the US in conducting its foreign policy?

I think it is best to move away from this resolution, which is done and over. What is necessary is to go beyond that. Any good intentions and actions are always appreciated. But I must add that if India stood by us and supported Sri Lanka's request for more time and space, who knows, there may not have been a resolution at all. The region looks up to India and India must examine itself whether or not it is doing the right thing in dealing with its neighbours...what they are doing is the best thing or not.

There is a concern within the Indian establishment that Colombo, whose growing proximity to China is no secret, may now decide to have what it believes is a more realist policy orientation rather than non-aligned.

I think it is necessary to state very clearly that Sri Lanka remains fully committed to being a non-aligned state. Non-alignment is a policy that we shall follow, even in the absence of the old power blocs, and also taking the new geo-political realities into consideration. We recognize that India is a land of considerable importance to Sri Lanka. But I think the many fears that the Indian establishment may be having, as you state, about Sri Lanka's growing relations with China are unfounded. Yes, there is increased Chinese investment in Sri Lanka. These are all commercial transactions. We need to catch up with our lost development opportunities of a three decade period and we need to explore funding sources that make low cost funds available to us.

China is building not just Hambantota port but also Colombo terminal, roads, railways and power plants. Many in India believe that this is aimed at undermining India's natural influence in the region and that it can be a long-term economic and security threat for India. What assurances can you give to India, if at all, about not hurting India's interests in the region with this strategic drift towards Beijing?

 China's recent investments in Sri Lanka far preceded the UNHRC vote. It is necessary to look at these matters in the correct perspective and not rush to conclusions. India has undertaken to build the northern Kankesanturai Harbour, while China builds at Hambantota in the Southern extreme. India will be rebuilding and expanding the Palaly Airport in the North. India is investing in the Sampur Coal Fired Power Plant in the East. India is also building the railways in the North and South. Who undertakes development in the Colombo Port that is much needed, has been decided on a global tender, and it is a Hong Kong based company that won the contract. It is wrong to say that Sri Lanka offered these contracts to China. India too could have participated in this tender. But they did not. Let me tell you that these are commercial interests and not in any way related to a "strategic drift" that you mention. When we had to fight the most brutal terrorist outfit in the world, yes, we had to buy arms and ammunition from legal entities that were ready to sell them to us at the best terms. Sri Lanka has no reason to do anything that would hurt India's interests in this region. There is no rationale for us to do such things, and we also believe that India also would not do anything that would harm Sri Lanka. Our best neighbourly relations will remain, and there are many more areas for investment that India could be interested in.

 What is your response to concerns in India about your allowing other countries to explore oil and gas in the region? China already has many oil survey ships operating in the region.

Our energy requirements keep increasing and to find oil within in our own ocean region will be a great boon. I see no reasons whatever for concern by India at our allowing other countries to explore for oil in this region. The company that is doing the initial work now is one that has a large presence in India, too. One must not forget that we did make the first offer of oil exploration sites in the Mannar Basin to India. So what is the need for any concern?

 India and Sri Lanka were the first to sign a free trade agreement in South Asia in the late 90s and so it is strange that the proposal for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) has not yet come into effect. India, in fact, continues to wait for you to make up your mind. What are the constraints which are preventing you from going ahead?

 I do not think that is a correct assessment. Discussions at the official level have been going on for quite some time. There are areas which are very complex and such matters take time to be resolved. I think anything hurried will not yield desired results. There must be in depth analysis of all possible issues that may not surface now, but many years later. Then only any agreement becomes meaningful to both stakeholders.

 There have been some talks recently in Sri Lanka about lowering of imports from India.
There is no official policy on these lines, specific to India. There is always talk of lowering imports, this is inevitable. Like any other country Sri Lanka will look at the possibilities of import substitution. This will not apply to India alone. We must narrow our trade gap. We must produce in our country what we can best produce. In fact India may be able to help us in this, to mutual benefit. There is nothing in our thinking of lowering imports from India alone.

India's line of credit to Sri Lanka is close to a billion dollars. It has also given about $ 350 million in grants and aids apart from making massive reconstruction and development efforts in the north and east. As a goodwill gesture, it has decided to allow the sacred Kapilavastu relics to travel to Sri Lanka later this year. It has rarely made an exception like that for any other country. Do you think India has done enough to fulfil Sri Lanka's expectations from its, geographically at least, most significant neighbour?

India has done a great deal in this regard. Its contributions in fulfilling Sri Lanka's expectations are many. Allowing the sacred Kapilavastu relics to be brought to Sri Lanka is a gesture that will always be regarded with the highest esteem and gratitude. I am glad that my request to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during my last visit to India bore fruit. This underscores our close relations through the centuries, especially the links through Buddhism. India's grants and aid for construction and development especially in the conflict affected areas is most encouraging and helpful in our efforts to move on the path of development in peace and reconciliation. All of this emphasises India's role as our closest and most significant neighbour, to use your own words.
==================================
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-10/south-asia/33136838_1_hambantota-unhrc-resolution-non-intrusive

இலங்கைத் தமிழரும் இந்தியக் குடியுரிமையும்.

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