Saturday, January 31, 2015
போர்க்குற்றம் தொடர்பில் உள்ளக விசாரணைகள் இடம்பெறும்: ஜயந்த தனபால
போர்க்குற்றம் தொடர்பில் உள்ளக விசாரணைகள் இடம்பெறும்: ஜயந்த தனபால
ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் மனித உரிமை ஆணையாளர் நாயகம் செயித் ரா´அத் அல் ஹுஸைனை ஜனாதிபதியின் வெளிநாட்டு விவகாரங்களுக்கான சிரேஸ்ட ஆலோசகர் ஜயந்த தனபால சந்தித்து கலந்துரையாடியுள்ளார்.
மேலும் புதிய அரசாங்கத்தின் 100 நாள் வேலைத் திட்டத்திற்கு அமைய ஐ.நா மற்றும் மனித உரிமை பேரவையுடன் இணைந்து செயற்படத்தயார் என அவர் ஐ.நா மனித உரிமையாளர் நாயகத்திடம் எடுத்துரைத்துள்ளதாகவும் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
இதேவேளை பேச்சுவார்த்தைகளை முன்னெடுக்கவும் இணைந்து செயற்படவும் இரு தரப்பினரும் இணக்கம் தெரிவித்துள்ளதாக ஜெனீவாவில் உள்ள இலங்கையின் நிரந்தர வதிவிடப் பிரதிநிதி அலுவலகம் விடுத்துள்ள அறிக்கையில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
மாற்று அரசாங்கம் சர்வதேச விசாரணைகளுக்கு ஒத்துழைக்கும்
புதிய அரசு சர்வதேச விசாரணைகளுக்கு ஒத்துழைக்கும் என பான் கீ மூனின் பேச்சாளர் ஸ்டீபன் டுடாஜரிக் நம்பிக்கை வெளியிட்டுள்ளார்.
உள்ளூர் விசாரணைக்கு அப்பால் போர்க்குற்றங்கள் தொடர்பில் இலங்கையின் புதிய அரசு இந்நடவடிக்கையில் ஈடுபடும். புதிய அரசு ,ஐக்கிய நாடுகளுடன் எவ்வாறு ஒத்துழைக்கும் என்பதை தாம் அறிந்து கொள்ள முயற்சிப்பதாகவும்.
இலங்கையின் போர்க்குற்றம் தொடர்பில் உள்ளக விசாரணைகள் இடம்பெறும் என்றும் தேவையேற்படின் வெளிநாட்டு நிபுணர்களின் உதவிகள் பெற்றுக் கொள்ளப்படும் என்று இலங்கையின் புதிய அரசாங்கம் அறிவித்துள்ளதன் பின்னணியில், இது தொடர்பிலேயே டுடாஜிரிக் இந்தக் கருத்தை வெளியிட்டுள்ளார்.
========================== ``ஊடகச் செய்திகளில் இருந்து...
ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் மனித உரிமை ஆணையாளர் நாயகம் செயித் ரா´அத் அல் ஹுஸைனை ஜனாதிபதியின் வெளிநாட்டு விவகாரங்களுக்கான சிரேஸ்ட ஆலோசகர் ஜயந்த தனபால சந்தித்து கலந்துரையாடியுள்ளார்.
மூன்றுநாள் பயணமாக ஜெனீவாவிற்கு விஜயம் செய்திருந்த ஜயந்த தனபால மனித உரிமை பேரவைக் குழு உறுப்பினர்களை சந்தித்து புதிய ஜனாதிபதி மற்றும் அவரது அரசாங்கத்தின் கொள்கைகள் குறித்து விளக்கமளித்துள்ளதாக தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
மேலும் புதிய அரசாங்கத்தின் 100 நாள் வேலைத் திட்டத்திற்கு அமைய ஐ.நா மற்றும் மனித உரிமை பேரவையுடன் இணைந்து செயற்படத்தயார் என அவர் ஐ.நா மனித உரிமையாளர் நாயகத்திடம் எடுத்துரைத்துள்ளதாகவும் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
இதேவேளை பேச்சுவார்த்தைகளை முன்னெடுக்கவும் இணைந்து செயற்படவும் இரு தரப்பினரும் இணக்கம் தெரிவித்துள்ளதாக ஜெனீவாவில் உள்ள இலங்கையின் நிரந்தர வதிவிடப் பிரதிநிதி அலுவலகம் விடுத்துள்ள அறிக்கையில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
மாற்று அரசாங்கம் சர்வதேச விசாரணைகளுக்கு ஒத்துழைக்கும்
புதிய அரசு சர்வதேச விசாரணைகளுக்கு ஒத்துழைக்கும் என பான் கீ மூனின் பேச்சாளர் ஸ்டீபன் டுடாஜரிக் நம்பிக்கை வெளியிட்டுள்ளார்.
உள்ளூர் விசாரணைக்கு அப்பால் போர்க்குற்றங்கள் தொடர்பில் இலங்கையின் புதிய அரசு இந்நடவடிக்கையில் ஈடுபடும். புதிய அரசு ,ஐக்கிய நாடுகளுடன் எவ்வாறு ஒத்துழைக்கும் என்பதை தாம் அறிந்து கொள்ள முயற்சிப்பதாகவும்.
இலங்கையின் போர்க்குற்றம் தொடர்பில் உள்ளக விசாரணைகள் இடம்பெறும் என்றும் தேவையேற்படின் வெளிநாட்டு நிபுணர்களின் உதவிகள் பெற்றுக் கொள்ளப்படும் என்று இலங்கையின் புதிய அரசாங்கம் அறிவித்துள்ளதன் பின்னணியில், இது தொடர்பிலேயே டுடாஜிரிக் இந்தக் கருத்தை வெளியிட்டுள்ளார்.
========================== ``ஊடகச் செய்திகளில் இருந்து...
பிற்குறிப்பு: செய்தியகம்போர்க்குற்றம் தொடர்பான குறிப்பான பிரச்சனையில் மைத்திரி ஆட்சி போர்க்குற்றவாளிகளின் கூட்டரசாங்கமாகும்.பக்ச பாசிச ஆட்சியைக் காட்டிலும், மைத்திரி ஆட்சி இதில் பல படி மேலானதாகும்.பக்ச பாசிசம் தன்னை `குடும்பத்துக்குள்` சுருக்கிக் கொண்டது, மைத்திரி பாசிசம் அனைத்துக் கட்சிகளையும், இந்திய அமெரிக்க ஆட்சிக்கவிழ்ப்பு ஆதரவில்,விலைக்கு வாங்கி பாசிச ஆதிக்கத்தின் பரப்பை விரிவாக்கிக் கொண்டுள்ளது.
ஐ.நா நீதிக்குப் போராடும் தமிழனுக்கு இரும்பு மூக்கு இருக்க வேண்டும்!==================================================================
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Open to new approach in Geneva: Sri Lanka
Open to new approach in Geneva: Sri Lanka
SUHASINI HAIDAR
The new Sri Lankan government will take a different position from the Rajapaksa regime when it comes to dealing with the international community on allegations of human rights violations, visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has told the Indian government.
“Our government will take a new approach to the U.N. Human Rights Council process in Geneva. We will offer a domestic mechanism for this, which could be supported by international agencies,” he said.
Mr. Sirisena is expected to visit India in February, his first international visit after taking over. Mr. Modi will visit Colombo in March, which would be the first state visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Sri Lanka since 1987. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will travel to Sri Lanka ahead of that and also chair the India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission meeting at the time.
In the new Sri Lankan government’s most detailed explanation so far of its reconciliation policy for the Tamil-majority provinces, Mr. Samaraweera told Indian journalists that the government had already moved on two demands of the TNA government. To begin with, Mr. Sirisena replaced the military governor of the Northern Province with former U.N. official and diplomat H.M.G.S. Palihakkara, a promise the former President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, had made but never delivered.
The government was also identifying people whose land had been in military use. It would reverse their relocation, he said. While ruling out an international inquiry of the kind pushed for by the U.S., and cleared by the UNHRC in 2014, Mr. Samaraweera hoped that some middle ground would be worked out during this year’s meeting in Geneva in March. Much of the acrimony towards Sri Lanka at the UNHRC was “brought upon Sri Lanka by the previous government’s position,” he said. He also said the government was committed to implementing the contentious “13th amendment” of the Constitution on devolution of powers to Tamil-majority areas, but would start discussions with all parties after the next parliamentary elections.
While downplaying concerns about the resurgence of the LTTE among the Tamil diaspora, Mr. Samaraweera said the new government would welcome back all Sri Lankans who had fled the country over the past few years.
SUHASINI HAIDAR
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Mangala Samaraweerain New Delhi on Monday.— PHOTO: PTI |
The new Sri Lankan government will take a different position from the Rajapaksa regime when it comes to dealing with the international community on allegations of human rights violations, visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has told the Indian government.
“Our government will take a new approach to the U.N. Human Rights Council process in Geneva. We will offer a domestic mechanism for this, which could be supported by international agencies,” he said.
Asked if President Maithripala Sirisena, who was the acting Defence Minister for a short period during the end of the LTTE war when most of the atrocities are believed to have occurred, would himself explain the Army’s actions, Mr. Samaraweera said: “My President will cooperate fully with a domestic investigation into the issue.” Speaking to a group of media organisations after his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, Mr. Samaraweera said his meetings in Delhi had been “warm and fruitful,” even as the leaders announced a host of upcoming bilateral meetings.
Mr. Sirisena is expected to visit India in February, his first international visit after taking over. Mr. Modi will visit Colombo in March, which would be the first state visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Sri Lanka since 1987. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will travel to Sri Lanka ahead of that and also chair the India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission meeting at the time.
In the new Sri Lankan government’s most detailed explanation so far of its reconciliation policy for the Tamil-majority provinces, Mr. Samaraweera told Indian journalists that the government had already moved on two demands of the TNA government. To begin with, Mr. Sirisena replaced the military governor of the Northern Province with former U.N. official and diplomat H.M.G.S. Palihakkara, a promise the former President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, had made but never delivered.
The government was also identifying people whose land had been in military use. It would reverse their relocation, he said. While ruling out an international inquiry of the kind pushed for by the U.S., and cleared by the UNHRC in 2014, Mr. Samaraweera hoped that some middle ground would be worked out during this year’s meeting in Geneva in March. Much of the acrimony towards Sri Lanka at the UNHRC was “brought upon Sri Lanka by the previous government’s position,” he said. He also said the government was committed to implementing the contentious “13th amendment” of the Constitution on devolution of powers to Tamil-majority areas, but would start discussions with all parties after the next parliamentary elections.
While downplaying concerns about the resurgence of the LTTE among the Tamil diaspora, Mr. Samaraweera said the new government would welcome back all Sri Lankans who had fled the country over the past few years.
Monday, January 19, 2015
வெளியுறவுக் கொள்கையில் இந்தியாவுக்கே முன்னுரிமை: மங்கள சமரவீர
சர்வதேச விவகார அமைச்சர் மங்கள சமரவீர 18 ஜனவரி 2015
இந்தியாவிற்கு விஜயம் மேற்கொண்டுள்ள இலங்கையின் புதிய வெளிவிவகார அமைச்சர் மங்கள சமரவீர அந்த நாட்டின் வெளிவிவகார அமைச்சர் சுஷ்மாசுவராஜை சந்தித்து பேச்சுவார்த்தைகளை மேற்கொண்டுள்ளதுடன் புதிய அரசாங்கத்தின் திட்டங்கள் குறித்து விபரித்துள்ளார்.
பிரதமர் நரேந்திர மோடியின் தலைமையிலான இந்தியாவை இலங்கை ஓரு வரப்பிரசாதமாக கருதுவதாக மங்களசமரவீர குறிப்பிட்டார் என இந்திய வெளியுறவு பேச்சாளர் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்
மேலும் பதவி ஏற்று ஐந்து நாட்களில் தான் இந்தியாவிற்கு விஜயம் மேற்கொண்டுள்ளமை இலங்கை வெளிவிவகார கொள்கைகளில் இந்தியாவிற்கே முன்னுரிமை அளிப்பதை புலப்படுத்துவதாகவும் மங்களசமரவீர தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
இன்றைய சந்திப்பின்போது மீனவர்கள் விவகாரம், தமிழர்கள் நல்வாழ்வு, வர்த்தகம் உள்ளிட்ட பல்வேறு விவகாரங்கள் குறித்து விவாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.
அதே சமயத்தில் இலங்கையில் தெரிவாகியுள்ள புதிய ஜனாதிபதி மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேனவின் இந்தியப் பயணம் குறித்தும் அப்போது ஆலோசனைகள் நடைபெற்றதாகவும் கூறப்படுகிறது.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Sri Lanka Elections: Was India's RAW Behind Rajapaksa's Defeat?
Sri Lanka Elections: Was India's RAW Behind Rajapaksa's Defeat?
By Neha Singh January 18, 2015 12:22 IST
Sri Lanka has 'expelled' the Colombo station chief of India's spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for allegedly plotting against former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the 2015 presidential elections that eventually led to his defeat.
Though a spokesperson for India's external affairs ministry denied expulsion and preferred to call it a 'routine decision', political and intelligence sources in both countries said otherwise.
The sources said that in December last year, India was asked to recall the agent who allegedly was instrumental in encouraging the present Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena to quit Rajapaksa's cabinet and defect from the Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP), Reuters reported.
The agent also played a pivotal role in putting up Sirisena as the joint opposition candidate, Reuters added.
A 28 December report in Sri Lanka's Sunday Times newspaper also said that the agent lost his job in Colombo due to his "links with the common opposition."
The agent was also accused of convincing former prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe not to enter the fray and instead support somebody who stood a good chance of defeating Rajapaksa, said an Indian official and a Sri Lankan lawmaker.
The agent was also keeping touch with the country's former president Chandrika Kumaratunga.
"They actively were involved, talking to Ranil, getting those things organised, talking to Chandrika," the lawmaker told Reuters and confirmed that the RAW agent was asked to leave.
Wickremasinghe's spokesperson said that he met the agent "two or three times" but was probably not aware of the agent's real identity. RAW agents are given diplomatic cover during their overseas assignments to enjoy immunity.
Rajapaksa preferred not to comment on RAW's role in his defeat and said "won't suspect anybody until I get my real facts."
Rajapaksa's China tilt irked India
Analysts attribute India's manoeuvres against Rajapaksa's pro-China stance and India's perceived security concerns.
An Indian official said that matters reaching a flashpoint when Sri Lanka allowed Chinese submarines to dock in Sri Lankan waters twice last year without informing India, in violation of an agreed maritime pact.
"The turning point in the relationship was the submarines. There was real anger," the Indian security official said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also raised the issue with Rajapaksa at a meeting in New York.
India moves quickly
India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Y.K. Sinha met Sirisena to greet him after the results were announced on 9 January, indicating signs of shifting allegiances. It is worth highlighting here that the China's ambassador was only able to meet the new president six days later.
Sirisena has already said that India is the first, main concern" of his foreign policy and that his first foreign visit next month will be to his country's largest neighbour in South Asia.
By Neha Singh January 18, 2015 12:22 IST
Sri Lanka has 'expelled' the Colombo station chief of India's spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for allegedly plotting against former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the 2015 presidential elections that eventually led to his defeat.
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| Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Reuters File |
The sources said that in December last year, India was asked to recall the agent who allegedly was instrumental in encouraging the present Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena to quit Rajapaksa's cabinet and defect from the Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP), Reuters reported.
The agent also played a pivotal role in putting up Sirisena as the joint opposition candidate, Reuters added.
A 28 December report in Sri Lanka's Sunday Times newspaper also said that the agent lost his job in Colombo due to his "links with the common opposition."
The agent was also accused of convincing former prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe not to enter the fray and instead support somebody who stood a good chance of defeating Rajapaksa, said an Indian official and a Sri Lankan lawmaker.
The agent was also keeping touch with the country's former president Chandrika Kumaratunga.
"They actively were involved, talking to Ranil, getting those things organised, talking to Chandrika," the lawmaker told Reuters and confirmed that the RAW agent was asked to leave.
Wickremasinghe's spokesperson said that he met the agent "two or three times" but was probably not aware of the agent's real identity. RAW agents are given diplomatic cover during their overseas assignments to enjoy immunity.
Rajapaksa preferred not to comment on RAW's role in his defeat and said "won't suspect anybody until I get my real facts."
"There are certain things you don't talk about... there were clear signs of a deep campaign by foreign elements," said a close associate of the Rajapaksa family.
Rajapaksa's China tilt irked India
Analysts attribute India's manoeuvres against Rajapaksa's pro-China stance and India's perceived security concerns.
An Indian official said that matters reaching a flashpoint when Sri Lanka allowed Chinese submarines to dock in Sri Lankan waters twice last year without informing India, in violation of an agreed maritime pact.
"The turning point in the relationship was the submarines. There was real anger," the Indian security official said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also raised the issue with Rajapaksa at a meeting in New York.
India moves quickly
India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Y.K. Sinha met Sirisena to greet him after the results were announced on 9 January, indicating signs of shifting allegiances. It is worth highlighting here that the China's ambassador was only able to meet the new president six days later.
Sirisena has already said that India is the first, main concern" of his foreign policy and that his first foreign visit next month will be to his country's largest neighbour in South Asia.
Insight: Indian spy's role alleged in Sri Lankan president's election defeat - Reuters
BY JOHN CHALMERS AND SANJEEV MIGLANI
COLOMBO/NEW DELHI Sun Jan 18, 2015 10:22am IST
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| Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa reacts during his final rally ahead of presidential election in Piliyandala January 5, 2015. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanaw |
An Indian foreign ministry spokesman denied any expulsion and said that transfers were routine decisions. Rajapaksa, voted out of office in the Jan 8 election, told Reuters he did not know all the facts while the new government in Colombo has said it is aware of the reports but cannot confirm them.
But several sources in both Colombo and New Delhi said India was asked to recall the agent in December for helping gather support for joint opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena after persuading him to ditch Rajapaksa's cabinet.
A sketchy report in Sri Lanka's Sunday Times newspaper on December 28 said that "links with the common opposition" had cost India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) station chief his job in Colombo.
India has often been involved in the internal politics of the small island nation off its southern coast - it sent troops there in 1987 in a botched effort to broker peace between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels.
Rajapaksa's unexpected defeat after two terms in office coincided with growing concern in India that it was losing influence in Sri Lanka because of the former president's tilt toward regional rival China.
The concern turned to alarm late last year when Rajapaksa allowed two Chinese submarines to dock in Sri Lanka without warning New Delhi as he should have under a standing agreement, the sources said.
Sirisena, the new president, has said he will visit New Delhi on his first foreign trip next month and has said India is the "first, main concern" of his foreign policy.
An Indian official said the RAW agent was recalled after complaints that he had worked with Sri Lanka's usually fractious opposition parties to agree on a joint contender for the election. Then, he was accused of facilitating meetings to encourage several lawmakers, among them Sirisena, to defect from Rajapaksa's party, the official said.
The agent was accused of playing a role in convincing the main leader of the opposition and former prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe not to contest against Rajapaksa in the election and stand aside for someone who could be sure of winning, said the officer and a Sri Lankan lawmaker who also maintains close contacts with India.
The agent was also in touch with former president Chandrika Kumaratunga, who was a key player in convincing Sirisena to stand, said the officer and the lawmaker, who also confirmed that the agent had been asked to leave.
"They actively were involved, talking to Ranil, getting those things organised, talking to Chandrika," the lawmaker told Reuters.
"CERTAIN THINGS YOU DON'T TALK ABOUT"
Wickremasinghe, who is now prime minister again in Sirisena's government, met "two or three times" with the man identified as the agent in the months before the vote, as well as with the Indian high commissioner, or ambassador, the prime minister's spokesman said.
"They discussed the current political situation," Wickremasinghe's spokesman said, but he denied that the Indians had advised him. "He does not know if he advised other politicians."It was not clear if Wickremasinghe was aware at the time that he was meeting with an intelligence official. India's RAW officers are usually given diplomatic posts when assigned to foreign missions.
Former president Kumaratunga did not respond to requests for comment.
Rajapaksa declined to confirm the involvement of India in the campaign against him.
"I don't know, I won't suspect anybody until I get my real facts," he said at his party headquarters.
"There are certain things you don't talk about," a close associate of the Rajapaksa family said, but added that "there were clear signs of a deep campaign by foreign elements."
Sri Lanka's then defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa - a brother of the former president - complained about the agent's activities to Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in November when Doval was visiting the island nation for a defence seminar, the Indian official said.
Another Indian official, who monitors the region for security threats, said New Delhi had been watching Beijing's growing influence and heavy investments in Sri Lanka under Rajapaksa, who visited China seven times since becoming president in 2005.
But India was stunned and angry last year when the Chinese submarines docked in Sri Lanka on two separate occasions, a step New Delhi saw as part of Beijing's "string of pearls" strategy to secure a foothold in South Asia and maritime access through the Indian Ocean.
"The turning point in the relationship was the submarines. There was real anger," the Indian security official said.
Indian military officials said that New Delhi reminded Sri Lanka it was obliged to inform its neighbours about such port calls under a maritime pact, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue with Rajapaksa at a meeting in New York.
In a possible sign of shifting allegiances, India's top envoy in Colombo, High Commissioner Y.K. Sinha, presented Sirisena with a large bouquet of flowers just hours after the results were announced on Jan 9. China's ambassador was only able to meet the new president six days later.
(Additional reporting by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Former Prisoner Fonseka claims: MR sent 2000 troops in an attempt to stage a coup.
Fonseka claims 2000 troops sent
January 16, 2015 18:44
Sarath fonseka Former army chief General Sarath Fonseka has claimed that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had moved 2000 troops into Colombo three days before the election results in an attempt to stage a coup.
In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Fonseka said that troops brought in from the Northern Command were deployed in and around Colombo in two circles – one in the metropolitan area around Temple Trees, Rajapaksa’s official residence; and an outer circle that covered the Election Commission office.
“If any security is needed the Inspector General of Police has to be informed by Election Commissioner,” said Fonseka. But no rules were followed in this case, he said.
Fonseka, who was arrested by Rajapaksa for sedition in 2010, says the new government has proof of this and that they ordered the troops back into their garrisons after the results came out.
Mangala Samaraweera, the Foreign Minister and a close aide to the new President told NDTV that Rajapaksa held a meeting at Temple Trees in the late hours of January 9, as votes were being counted, attended by his brother Gotabhaya, the Foreign Minister and the Chief Justice among others.
“At around 4 am, the Attorney General was summoned along with the army chief and IG of Police,” said Samaraweera.
But, the Attorney General refused, stating that this amounted to treason. The security chiefs were also reluctant to go ahead with the plan.
“It was because of their courage, that Sri Lanka’s democracy survived,” said Samaraveera.
The government has ordered the CID to conduct an inquiry into the incident. But many have been suspicious of its intentions after President Sirisena took over leadership of the SLFP, Rajapakse’s party, this morning, effectively making it an SLFP-led government.
Both Fonseka and Samaraweera have maintained that the inquiry will be fair and action taken.
“If there is sufficient evidence, then the law will take its course,” said Samaraweera at his office in the Ministry.
மைத்திரி ஆட்சிப்பாதை-சீன முதலீடு தொடரும்!
இருதரப்பு ஒப்பந்தங்களைத் தொடர்ந்தும் முன்னெடுக்கவுள்ளதாக இலங்கைக்கான சீனத் தூதரகம் தெரிவிப்பு
Jan 16, 2015 Bella Dalima
இலங்கையுடன் காணப்படுகின்ற இருதரப்பு ஒப்பந்தங்களைத் தொடர்ந்தும் முன்னெடுக்கவுள்ளதாக இலங்கைக்கான சீனத் தூதரகம் தெரிவித்துள்ளது.
இலங்கைக்கான சீனத் தூதுவர் மற்றும் பிரதமர் ரணில் விக்ரமசிங்கவுடனான சந்திப்பின் பின்னர் வெளியிட்டுள்ள அறிக்கையிலேயே இந்த விடயம் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
சீனத் தூதுவர் ஜீயெங்ஹோ மற்றும் பிரதமர் ரணில் விக்ரமசிங்க ஆகியோர் சந்தித்து இருதரப்பு ஒத்துழைப்புகள் தொடர்பில் கலந்துரையாடியதாக சீனத்தூதரகம் தெரிவித்துள்ளது.
இரு தரப்புகளுக்கு இடையில் மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டுள்ள அபிவிருத்தித் திட்டங்களுக்கான நிவாரணங்கள் மற்றும் ஒப்பந்தங்களைத் தொடர்ந்தும் முன்னெடுக்க இதன் போது தீர்மானிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
அத்துடன், இரண்டு நாடுகளுக்கு இடையில் நிலவும் நீண்டகால தொடர்புகளை மேலும் வலுப்படுத்தி பல துறைகளில் முதலீடுகளை மேற்கொள்ள பிரதமர் ரணில் விக்ரமசிங்க உத்தேசித்துள்ளதாக சீனத் தூதரகம் வெளியிட்டுள்ள அறிக்கையில் குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.
இதன் பிரகாரம், சீன முதலீட்டாளர்கள் பலர் எதிர்வரும் காலங்களில் இங்கு தமது வியாபார நடவடிக்கைகளை முன்னெடுக்கவுள்ளதால் இரு நாடுகளுக்கும் நன்மை கிட்டும் எனவும் தூதரகம் வெளியிட்டுள்ள அறிக்கையில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
M.I.A's Channel 4 Interview
Maya Arulpragasam, the Sri Lankan Tamil recording artist, spoke to Channel 4 News following the defeat of Rajapaksa, a man accused of presiding over war crimes at the end of Sri Lanka's civil war, in Sri Lanka's election.Rapper M.I.A. tells Channel 4 News that though she still wants former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa to face a war crimes trial, the priority is getting the country's Tamils their basic needs.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Release Tamil political prisoners TO strengthen the relationship between Tamils and Sinhalese -SP
The release of Tamil political prisoners with a general pardon would pave the way for reconciliation, says Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Spokesman and Parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran
Ceylontoday, 2015-01-13 02:00:00 By Mirudhula Thambiah.
"Tamil people have shown their goodwill by voting for the new government. They have cast their votes, placing trust in the new government, when the TNA campaigned in the North and East to vote for a change, without any precondition," he said.He added that the new government has received an opportunity to express its goodwill to the people of the North and East.
"These political prisoners have been spending almost 10-15 years in the prisons without any proper cases filed against them or investigations conducted. There are a large number of young women and men, who have been political prisoners for many years. No proper action had been taken," he said.
Premachandran therefore urged the new government to take the necessary steps to release these prisoners on a general pardon.
"This will bring in a favourable beginning for the positive agreement between the TNA and new government.
"The new government should take action to release the political prisoners and resettle those who are remaining in welfare centres. The new President secured victory as the result of the votes cast by the minorities," he said.
He also said this will strengthen the relationship between Tamils and Sinhalese. Therefore, the new President and Prime Minister should take it into consideration and act accordingly.
Premachandran expressed his views in Jaffna on Sunday (11).
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ENB-TENN:தமிழீழச் செய்தியகம்: Charlie Hebdo Cartoon, After Attack
ENB-TENN:தமிழீழச் செய்தியகம்: Charlie Hebdo Cartoon, After Attack:
விமர்சனத்தைக் கண்டு நாம் அஞ்சுவதில்லை! புதிய ஈழப்புரட்சியாளர்கள்.
விமர்சனத்தைக் கண்டு நாம் அஞ்சுவதில்லை! புதிய ஈழப்புரட்சியாளர்கள்.
Charlie Hebdo Cartoon, After Attack
விமர்சனத்தைக் கண்டு நாம் அஞ்சுவதில்லை!
புதிய ஈழப்புரட்சியாளர்கள்.
Monday, January 12, 2015
New Defence Secretary Basnayake Replaces Gotabhaya
New Defence Secretary Basnayake Replaces Gotabhaya
Saturday, 10 January 2015 15:32Secretary of the Ministry of Environment B.M.U.D. Basnayake has now been appointed as the Secretary of Defence, replacing former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
It was speculated before the election that former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka will be appointed as the Defence Secretary under Maithripala Sirisena’s rule.
Bansanayake is a member of the Sri Lankan administrative service.
It is learnt that the Ministry of Defence will be kept under President Maithripala Sirisena.
Facing arrest KP has fled Lanka
By admin
January 10, 2015 16:25
KPFormer LTTE chief arms procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP), who was facing arrest by the new Sri Lankan Government, has reportedly fled Sri Lanka, Parliamentarian Rajitha Senaratne said.
He said that the Government received information KP fled Sri Lanka using the VIP lounge at the airport and that an investigation has been launched.
KP is wanted in India over the murder of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the UNP has been consistently questioning the freedom given to KP by the former government here despite all the allegations remaining against his name.
“A UNP govt will explore these allegations through the normal legal channels in the country,” Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had said just before the Presidential elections.
Recently the Indian media reported that India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had approached Interpol to expedite its request to question Kumaran Pathmanathan for the assassination of Gandhi.
வட முதல்வர் பொறுமைக்கும் நம்பிக்கைக்கும் வேண்டுகோள்!
January 10, 2015 10:07
Northern Province Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran today called for patience and trust as President Maithripala Sirisena took office and Tamils placed hope on him for a political solution.
Wigneswaran said that he has complete confidence that democracy will be established under Sirisena and believes that the foundation for a just solution to the problems of the Tamil Speaking Peoples, which have remained unresolved for more than sixty years, will be laid under his regime.
“I wish to state that we remain committed to providing him with our co-operation and assistance in this regard,” he added.
Wigneswaran said he believes that as a son of the soil Sirisena will not neglect or ignore the needs and welfare of minorities. He said that several heavy responsibilities have been assumed by Sirisena and the obligations are manifold and include the obligation to provide relief to the inhabitants of the Northern, Eastern and the Upcountry regions who have suffered due to natural calamities in the recent past; the obligation to protect and reassure the Muslims who have been subjected to attacks by religious fanatics; and the obligation to restore and transform the livelihoods and lives of the inhabitants of the Northern and Eastern provinces, who are suffering from the presence and interference of a disproportionately large military despite the end of the war.
“I have no doubt in my mind that he would give those issues the necessary consideration. Patience, trust and empathy are all vital to sustain democracy and . We have sowed the seeds for a democratic revolution today by committing ourselves to those attributes. We have done our duty. We have done so in the midst of varied intimidations, travails and dangers. We believe that the new leadership would enable our lives to flourish. May the future usher in a new era! May those who rule the country understand our needs and empathise with our aspirations,” he added.
இரண்டு கதிரைகளுக்கு இடையில் இருக்கும் தமிழ் நெற் ``சிவில் சொசைற்ரி``
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| ஈழ NGO குரு |
KUMARAVADIVEL GURUPARAN
The Tamil people are skeptical about Mr. Sirisena delivering on any of the key Tamil demand, says Kumaravadivel Guruparan
I interpret the heavy voter turn out in the Tamil majority areas of Sri Lanka as a negative vote cast against Mahinda Rajapaksa. The vote was a condemnation of his conduct of the war and his anti-Tamil policies in the post-war context. I do not think that the Tamil vote can be understood as a positive endorsement of Maithripala Sirisena's candidacy.
The Tamil people are skeptical about Mr. Sirisena delivering on any of the key Tamil demands - a political solution to the ethnic conflict beyond the unitary state, accountability for crimes committed during the war, demilitarisation, release of Tamil political detainees, return of land taken over by the military etc. Sirisena during the campaign had taken positions contrary to Tamil interests.
The Tamil Civil Society Forum in its statement on the presidential elections hence took up the position that they cannot explicitly support the Mr. Sirisena's candidacy. It, however, noted categorically that there could be no vote for the incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa. This was not a call for a boycott. What the Tamil Civil Society Forum did was to give expression to the radical inadequacies of the agenda of the political parties in the South to bring about real change in the lives of the Tamils. We left the Tamils to decide their vote by their own conscience. That conscience has spoken definitively in its desire to oust Rajapaksa.
The Tamil National Alliance decided to explicitly call for a vote for Mr. Sirisena and there is much responsibility now on its shoulders to hold the Sirisena Presidency to account for the support that they extended without conditions. The International Community also has to recognize that despite the change of guard in Colombo that the Tamils believe that domestic mechanisms would not work and that the search for accountability through international processes will have to continue.
( Kumaravadivel Guruparan is spokesperson, Tamil Civil Society Forum & Lecturer in Law, University of Jaffna)
Sunday, January 11, 2015
மைத்திரி அரசே பாசிச ஜனாதிபதி ஆட்சிமுறையை நீக்கு!
இந்திய அமெரிக்க,
அந்நிய ஆட்சிக் கவிழ்ப்பில்
தமிழ் வாக்குகளால் அரியணையேறிய மைத்திரி அரசே, பாசிச ஜனாதிபதி ஆட்சிமுறையை உடனே நீக்கு!
ஈழத்தமிழின தேசிய சுய நிர்ணய உரிமையை அரசியல் அமைப்பில் உத்தரவாதம் செய்!
New President in Sri Lanka Puts China’s Plans in Check
ASIA PACIFIC
New President in Sri Lanka Puts China’s Plans in Check
By ELLEN BARRYJAN. 9, 2015 NYT
NEW DELHI — On a Sunday four months ago, a vessel pulled unannounced into Sri Lanka’s Colombo harbor: the Chinese Navy submarine Great Wall No. 329, which is designed to carry torpedoes, a cruise missile and a 360-pound warhead.
Sri Lanka’s defense minister shrugged it off as an “operational good-will visit.” But anxiety was already radiating as far as New Delhi, where the visit was seen as a clear declaration that China had arrived in India’s backyard — with the blessing of Sri Lanka’s president at the time, Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Whatever China’s long-term plans were for strategically important Sri Lanka, they met with a sudden obstruction on Friday morning, when Mr. Rajapaksa was voted out of office in a startling upset.
Maithripala Sirisena, who won Sri Lanka's presidential election Thusday, has taken rhetorical aim at foreign-backed development projects.For China, a New Leader in Sri Lanka May Herald a Change in Ties
David Brewster, a visiting fellow at the Strategic and Defense Studies Center at the Australian National University, said that was the price to be paid for dealing with a government that had increasingly centralized power. “You think you only need to deal with one guy,” he said, “and then if you lose that one guy, it has a serious impact on the relationship.”
Sri Lanka’s new prime minister has said he will cancel a $1.5 billion “port city” being built by China on the waterfront in Colombo, the capital. Credit Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/Agence France-Presse
Sri Lanka’s alliance with China built gradually, during the years when Western nations excoriated Mr. Rajapaksa over his human rights record and China soothed him with billions of dollars in loans for new ports and roads. The relationship seemed to intensify in recent months, prompting fears in neighboring India that, despite vigorous official denials, Mr. Rajapaksa was ready to break with tradition and allow Sri Lankan territory to be used for Chinese military activity.
Chinese-funded infrastructure projects were among Mr. Rajapaksa’s central accomplishments.
Gleaming modern cranes stand in a row at the waterfront in Colombo, the capital, where, in September, President Xi Jinping of China began construction of a $1.5 billion “port city” including malls, hotels and marinas, part of a constellation of Chinese investments that represent an estimated $4 billion in loans. So many Chinese construction crews have begun work in Sri Lanka that one newspaper reported a surge of interest in studying Mandarin by locals who hope to land work as interpreters.
But the Chinese projects are also the focus of irritation. Ahead of Mr. Xi’s September visit, The Sunday Times, a Colombo-based newspaper, wrote that secrecy and the rapid pace of Chinese building “fuel conspiracy theories and genuine fears alike that, to put it mildly, Sri Lanka is in China’s pocket.” Voters complained that, grand as they appear, the building projects were largely carried out by Chinese workers. Opposition leaders warned their audiences about the country’s mounting debt to China.
Maithripala Sirisena, who was sworn in as president on Friday evening, warned during the campaign that Sri Lanka would “become a colony, and we would become slaves” if Mr. Rajapaksa’s policies continued for another six years.
“The land that the white man took over by means of military strength is now being obtained by foreigners by paying ransom to a handful of persons,” he wrote in his manifesto.
Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main storyContinue reading the main story
Last month, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was sworn in as prime minister on Friday, said he would cancel the planned $1.5 billion port city, and Harsha de Silva, economic affairs spokesman for the opposition United National Party, said the new government planned to review all major infrastructure projects for “irregularities.”
This position, he said, does not indicate “any misgivings or bad blood with China.”
“We consider China a good friend; it just happens that many of these projects in question happened to be Chinese,” he said. “We will have a balanced approach between India and China, unlike the current regime, which was antagonizing India almost by its closeness to China.”
One reason Mr. Rajapaksa drew so close to China was that the country’s traditional donors, like the United States and Canada, had harshly criticized his government’s conduct in its war against Tamil rebels, and cut back on aid. As the West drew back, China, stepped in, both rich and easygoing on human rights.
Maithripala Sirisena, center, took the oath as Sri Lanka’s new president on Friday night after he upset the longtime incumbent, Mahinda Rajapaksa. Credit Ishara S.Kodikara/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
It was also eyeing a much greater role in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka is a linchpin in one of Mr. Xi’s key foreign policy projects, a maritime trade route intended to connect China and Europe, known as the “Silk Road.” The plan, backed by a $40 billion fund, is viewed nervously by India as an encircling strategy that could undermine its own dominance in the region and conceivably culminate in the construction of Chinese military facilities.
India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, reacted to the election’s outcome with notable enthusiasm on Friday, placing a congratulatory call to Mr. Sirisena before the votes were all counted.
Chinese analysts, for their part, said they did not expect Mr. Rajapaksa’s defeat to disrupt Chinese plans in Sri Lanka.
“Many politicians say one thing before elections and do another thing after they are elected,” said Wang Dehua, a specialist in South Asia at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. As for the port city project, he said: “I believe that it brings benefits to Sri Lanka, so why would they cancel it? I think the possibility of cancellation is small.”
In fact, China has repeatedly weathered similar waves of populist resentment in some other countries where it invested heavily, said Jonathan Holslag, the head of research at the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies, who has studied China’s response to coups in five African countries.
Typically, China responded to those political transitions by maintaining a low profile for several months, then approaching the new leadership with proposals for joint initiatives, he said. It almost always worked, even with opposition leaders
who had harshly criticized China.
“They all, in one way or another, turn to China, because it was the only player ready to help them finance infrastructure and public spending,” he said. “I assume that this is going to happen with Sri Lanka.”
He added, though, that discomfort with Chinese loans is likely to spread throughout Asia, as people register “the difference between credit and real aid.”
With the swearing-in of a new president in Sri Lanka, various governments will see an opportunity to reset their relationship with the island nation. Among them is the United States, which “really dealt themselves out of” any kind of influence in Sri Lanka by taking a tough line on rights abuses during the civil war, and would have remained marginalized “for many, many years to come” had Mr. Rajapaksa won, said Mr. Brewster from the Australian National University.
This time, he said, Washington should be prepared, perhaps with its own investment program.
“There has been an underestimation of the power of Chinese money, the simple and pure power, and how much of it they are willing to throw around the region,” he said. “I talk to people in the strategic community within these countries,
people who tend to be well disposed toward the West, and they simply regard the U.S. as nothing.”
“It’s simply that money talks,” he said.
Bree Feng contributed reporting from Beijing, and Dharisha Bastians from Colombo, Sri Lanka.
===================================================
New President in Sri Lanka Puts China’s Plans in Check
By ELLEN BARRYJAN. 9, 2015 NYT
NEW DELHI — On a Sunday four months ago, a vessel pulled unannounced into Sri Lanka’s Colombo harbor: the Chinese Navy submarine Great Wall No. 329, which is designed to carry torpedoes, a cruise missile and a 360-pound warhead.
Sri Lanka’s defense minister shrugged it off as an “operational good-will visit.” But anxiety was already radiating as far as New Delhi, where the visit was seen as a clear declaration that China had arrived in India’s backyard — with the blessing of Sri Lanka’s president at the time, Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Whatever China’s long-term plans were for strategically important Sri Lanka, they met with a sudden obstruction on Friday morning, when Mr. Rajapaksa was voted out of office in a startling upset.
Maithripala Sirisena, who won Sri Lanka's presidential election Thusday, has taken rhetorical aim at foreign-backed development projects.For China, a New Leader in Sri Lanka May Herald a Change in Ties
David Brewster, a visiting fellow at the Strategic and Defense Studies Center at the Australian National University, said that was the price to be paid for dealing with a government that had increasingly centralized power. “You think you only need to deal with one guy,” he said, “and then if you lose that one guy, it has a serious impact on the relationship.”
Sri Lanka’s new prime minister has said he will cancel a $1.5 billion “port city” being built by China on the waterfront in Colombo, the capital. Credit Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/Agence France-Presse
Sri Lanka’s alliance with China built gradually, during the years when Western nations excoriated Mr. Rajapaksa over his human rights record and China soothed him with billions of dollars in loans for new ports and roads. The relationship seemed to intensify in recent months, prompting fears in neighboring India that, despite vigorous official denials, Mr. Rajapaksa was ready to break with tradition and allow Sri Lankan territory to be used for Chinese military activity.
Chinese-funded infrastructure projects were among Mr. Rajapaksa’s central accomplishments.
Gleaming modern cranes stand in a row at the waterfront in Colombo, the capital, where, in September, President Xi Jinping of China began construction of a $1.5 billion “port city” including malls, hotels and marinas, part of a constellation of Chinese investments that represent an estimated $4 billion in loans. So many Chinese construction crews have begun work in Sri Lanka that one newspaper reported a surge of interest in studying Mandarin by locals who hope to land work as interpreters.
But the Chinese projects are also the focus of irritation. Ahead of Mr. Xi’s September visit, The Sunday Times, a Colombo-based newspaper, wrote that secrecy and the rapid pace of Chinese building “fuel conspiracy theories and genuine fears alike that, to put it mildly, Sri Lanka is in China’s pocket.” Voters complained that, grand as they appear, the building projects were largely carried out by Chinese workers. Opposition leaders warned their audiences about the country’s mounting debt to China.
Maithripala Sirisena, who was sworn in as president on Friday evening, warned during the campaign that Sri Lanka would “become a colony, and we would become slaves” if Mr. Rajapaksa’s policies continued for another six years.
“The land that the white man took over by means of military strength is now being obtained by foreigners by paying ransom to a handful of persons,” he wrote in his manifesto.
Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main storyContinue reading the main story
Last month, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was sworn in as prime minister on Friday, said he would cancel the planned $1.5 billion port city, and Harsha de Silva, economic affairs spokesman for the opposition United National Party, said the new government planned to review all major infrastructure projects for “irregularities.”
This position, he said, does not indicate “any misgivings or bad blood with China.”
“We consider China a good friend; it just happens that many of these projects in question happened to be Chinese,” he said. “We will have a balanced approach between India and China, unlike the current regime, which was antagonizing India almost by its closeness to China.”
One reason Mr. Rajapaksa drew so close to China was that the country’s traditional donors, like the United States and Canada, had harshly criticized his government’s conduct in its war against Tamil rebels, and cut back on aid. As the West drew back, China, stepped in, both rich and easygoing on human rights.
Maithripala Sirisena, center, took the oath as Sri Lanka’s new president on Friday night after he upset the longtime incumbent, Mahinda Rajapaksa. Credit Ishara S.Kodikara/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
It was also eyeing a much greater role in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka is a linchpin in one of Mr. Xi’s key foreign policy projects, a maritime trade route intended to connect China and Europe, known as the “Silk Road.” The plan, backed by a $40 billion fund, is viewed nervously by India as an encircling strategy that could undermine its own dominance in the region and conceivably culminate in the construction of Chinese military facilities.
India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, reacted to the election’s outcome with notable enthusiasm on Friday, placing a congratulatory call to Mr. Sirisena before the votes were all counted.
Chinese analysts, for their part, said they did not expect Mr. Rajapaksa’s defeat to disrupt Chinese plans in Sri Lanka.
“Many politicians say one thing before elections and do another thing after they are elected,” said Wang Dehua, a specialist in South Asia at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. As for the port city project, he said: “I believe that it brings benefits to Sri Lanka, so why would they cancel it? I think the possibility of cancellation is small.”
In fact, China has repeatedly weathered similar waves of populist resentment in some other countries where it invested heavily, said Jonathan Holslag, the head of research at the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies, who has studied China’s response to coups in five African countries.
Typically, China responded to those political transitions by maintaining a low profile for several months, then approaching the new leadership with proposals for joint initiatives, he said. It almost always worked, even with opposition leaders
who had harshly criticized China.
“They all, in one way or another, turn to China, because it was the only player ready to help them finance infrastructure and public spending,” he said. “I assume that this is going to happen with Sri Lanka.”
He added, though, that discomfort with Chinese loans is likely to spread throughout Asia, as people register “the difference between credit and real aid.”
With the swearing-in of a new president in Sri Lanka, various governments will see an opportunity to reset their relationship with the island nation. Among them is the United States, which “really dealt themselves out of” any kind of influence in Sri Lanka by taking a tough line on rights abuses during the civil war, and would have remained marginalized “for many, many years to come” had Mr. Rajapaksa won, said Mr. Brewster from the Australian National University.
This time, he said, Washington should be prepared, perhaps with its own investment program.
“There has been an underestimation of the power of Chinese money, the simple and pure power, and how much of it they are willing to throw around the region,” he said. “I talk to people in the strategic community within these countries,
people who tend to be well disposed toward the West, and they simply regard the U.S. as nothing.”
“It’s simply that money talks,” he said.
Bree Feng contributed reporting from Beijing, and Dharisha Bastians from Colombo, Sri Lanka.
===================================================
New Defence Secretary Basnayake Replaces Gotabhaya
New Defence Secretary Basnayake Replaces Gotabhaya
Saturday, 10 January 2015 15:32
New Defence Secretary Basnayake Replaces Gotabhaya
Secretary of the Ministry of Environment B.M.U.D. Basnayake has now been appointed as the Secretary of Defence, replacing former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
It was speculated before the election that former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka will be appointed as the Defence Secretary under Maithripala Sirisena’s rule.
Bansanayake is a member of the Sri Lankan administrative service.
It is learnt that the Ministry of Defence will be kept under President Maithripala Sirisena
Saturday, 10 January 2015 15:32
New Defence Secretary Basnayake Replaces Gotabhaya
Secretary of the Ministry of Environment B.M.U.D. Basnayake has now been appointed as the Secretary of Defence, replacing former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
It was speculated before the election that former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka will be appointed as the Defence Secretary under Maithripala Sirisena’s rule.
Bansanayake is a member of the Sri Lankan administrative service.
It is learnt that the Ministry of Defence will be kept under President Maithripala Sirisena
Saturday, January 10, 2015
அமைச்சரவையில் த.தே.கூ பங்கேற்பது குறித்து தீர்மானிக்கவில்லை ;
புதிய ஜனாதிபதியின் தலைமையில் உருவாக்கப்படவிருக்கும் அமைச்சரவையில் தமிழ்த் தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பு பங்கேற்பது குறித்து இன்னமும் தீர்மானிக்கவில்லை என நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் சுரேஸ் பிரேமச்சந்திரன் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
அமைச்சர்களாக 60 பேர் நாளையதினம் பொறுப்பேற்கவுள்ளதாக தகவல்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்ற அதேநேரம் கூட்டமைப்பின் நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினரும் அமைச்சர் ஆகின்றார் என்ற செய்தியும் வெளியாகியுள்ளது.
இந்தநிலையில் அமைச்சரவையில் தமிழ்த் தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பு அங்கத்துவம் பெறுகின்றதா என எழுப்பப்பட்ட கேள்விக்கு பதிலளிக்கும்போதே அவர் மேற்கண்டவாறு தெரிவித்திருக்கின்றார்.
அவர் மேலும் தெரிவிக்கையில்,அமைச்சரவையில் தமிழ் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு பங்கேற்பது குறித்து எந்தவிதமான பேச்சுகளும் இன்னமும் மேற்கொள்ளப்படவில்லை.
``தமிழர் அரசியல் வரலாற்றில் தமிழரசு கட்சியாக இருக்கட்டும், தமிழர் விடுதலை கூட்டணியாக இருக்கட்டும், பின்னர் வந்த தமிழ்த் தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பாக இருக்கட்டும், அனைவருமே தமிழ் மக்களுடைய உரிமைகளுக்காக போராடினோமே தவிர, அமைச்சுக்களுக்காக போராடவில்லை.``
நாங்கள் அவ்வாறு அமைச்சுக்களை பெற்றுக்கொண்டு நக்குண்டார் நாவிழந்தார் போல மாறினால் நாளை தமிழ் இனமே எம்மை தூற்றும் நிலை நிச்சயமாக உருவாகும்.
எனவே இந்த விடயத்தில் தமிழ்த் தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பு என்ன முடிவினை எடுக்கப்போகின்றது. என்பது தொடர்பில் கூட்டமைப்பிற்குள் எவ்விதமான பேச்சுக்களும் நடத்தப்படவில்லை.
அவ்வாறு பேச்சுக்கள் நடத்தப்பட்டதன் பின்னர் அது குறித்து உண்மையான நிலைப்பாடு தொடர்பில் தெரியப்படுத்துவோம் என்றார்.
இதேவேளை, நாளை மறுதினம் திங்கட்கிழமை தமிழ் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பிற்கும் புதிய ஜனாதிபதி மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேவிற்கும் இடையில் பேச்சுவார்த்தை ஒன்று நடைபெறவுள்ளதாக நம்பிக்கையான வட்டாரங்கள் தெரிவித்துள்ளன.
யுத்தத்தை முடித்த கௌரவம் மகிந்தவுக்கு என்றும் இருக்கும்; ரணில்
யுத்தத்தை முடித்த கௌரவம்
மகிந்தவுக்கு என்றும் இருக்கும்; ரணில்
30 வருட கால யுத்தத்தை முடிவுக்கு கொண்டுவந்த முன்னாள் ஜனாதிபதி மகிந்த ராஜபக்சவுக்கான கௌரவம் என்றும் இருக்கும் என புதிய பிரதமர் ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
புதிய ஜனாதிபதியாக மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேன தெரிவுசெய்யப்பட்டதையடுத்து கருத்துத் தெரிவிக்கும் போதே மேற்கண்டவாறு தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
அவர் மேலும் தெரிவித்ததாவது,
மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேனவை ஜனாதிபதியாக்கிய அனைவருக்கும் எமது நன்றிகள். மக்கள் எதிர்பார்க்கும் அரசியல் மாற்றம் நிச்சயமாக ஏற்படும்.
தேர்தலுக்குப் பின்னரான காலங்களில் மக்கள் அமைதியாக செயற்பட வேண்டும் . அவற்றை மீறினால் சட்ட நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்படும் .
அத்துடன் மகிந்த ராஜபக்சவை நான் சந்தித்து கலந்துரையாடினேன். அப்போது அவர், மக்களின் தீர்ப்புக்கு தான் தலைவணங்குவதாக என்னிடம் தெரிவித்தார்.
எனினும் கடந்த 30 வருடகாலமாக இருந்துவந்த யுத்தத்தை இல்லாதொழித்த மகிந்த ராஜபக்சவுக்கு என்றுமே எமது கெளரவம் இருக்கும்.
எனினும், மக்கள் தற்போது மாற்றம் ஒன்றையே எதிர்பபார்க்கின்றனர். புதிய அரசியல் கலாசாரம் ஒன்று உருவாக வேண்டும் என்று நினைக்கின்றனர்.
எனவே அதற்கிணங்க, நாம் அவர்களின் எதிர்ப்பார்ப்பை நிச்சயமாக பூர்த்தி செய்வோம். அதேநேரம், எந்தவொரு பிரஜையும் சட்டத்தை கையில் எடுக்கக் கூடாது என்றும் நாம் கேட்டுக் கொள்கிறோம்.
மேலும் வெற்றி தோல்வியை அமைதியான முறையிலேயே எதிர்கொள்ளவேண்டும். இதனை மீறுவோருக்கு எதிராக பொலிஸார் கடுமையான சட்ட நடவடிக்கைகளை மேற்கொள்வர் என்றும் அவர் மேலும் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
மகிந்தவுக்கு என்றும் இருக்கும்; ரணில்
30 வருட கால யுத்தத்தை முடிவுக்கு கொண்டுவந்த முன்னாள் ஜனாதிபதி மகிந்த ராஜபக்சவுக்கான கௌரவம் என்றும் இருக்கும் என புதிய பிரதமர் ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
புதிய ஜனாதிபதியாக மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேன தெரிவுசெய்யப்பட்டதையடுத்து கருத்துத் தெரிவிக்கும் போதே மேற்கண்டவாறு தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
அவர் மேலும் தெரிவித்ததாவது,
மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேனவை ஜனாதிபதியாக்கிய அனைவருக்கும் எமது நன்றிகள். மக்கள் எதிர்பார்க்கும் அரசியல் மாற்றம் நிச்சயமாக ஏற்படும்.
தேர்தலுக்குப் பின்னரான காலங்களில் மக்கள் அமைதியாக செயற்பட வேண்டும் . அவற்றை மீறினால் சட்ட நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்படும் .
அத்துடன் மகிந்த ராஜபக்சவை நான் சந்தித்து கலந்துரையாடினேன். அப்போது அவர், மக்களின் தீர்ப்புக்கு தான் தலைவணங்குவதாக என்னிடம் தெரிவித்தார்.
எனினும் கடந்த 30 வருடகாலமாக இருந்துவந்த யுத்தத்தை இல்லாதொழித்த மகிந்த ராஜபக்சவுக்கு என்றுமே எமது கெளரவம் இருக்கும்.
எனினும், மக்கள் தற்போது மாற்றம் ஒன்றையே எதிர்பபார்க்கின்றனர். புதிய அரசியல் கலாசாரம் ஒன்று உருவாக வேண்டும் என்று நினைக்கின்றனர்.
எனவே அதற்கிணங்க, நாம் அவர்களின் எதிர்ப்பார்ப்பை நிச்சயமாக பூர்த்தி செய்வோம். அதேநேரம், எந்தவொரு பிரஜையும் சட்டத்தை கையில் எடுக்கக் கூடாது என்றும் நாம் கேட்டுக் கொள்கிறோம்.
மேலும் வெற்றி தோல்வியை அமைதியான முறையிலேயே எதிர்கொள்ளவேண்டும். இதனை மீறுவோருக்கு எதிராக பொலிஸார் கடுமையான சட்ட நடவடிக்கைகளை மேற்கொள்வர் என்றும் அவர் மேலும் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
Move To Bring Mahinda Back To Parliament As "Alternate" Prime Minister!
Saturday, 10 January 2015 14:08
Move To Bring Mahinda Back To Parliament As "Alternate" Prime Minister!
A group of Sri Lanka Freedom Party Parliamentarians have explored the possibility of bringing former President Mahinda Rajapaksa back to the Parliament and position him as the ‘alternate’ Prime Minister.
According to the constitution of Sri Lanka, the person who can draw the support of the majority of Parliamentarians in the house should be appointed as the Prime Minister of the country.
President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday appointed UNP National Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister, minutes after taking oaths as the President of Sri Lanka. However, Wickremesinghe has to draw the support of at least 30 more MPs to form a majority in the country’s legislature.
Speaking to his supporters at his ancestral home in Medamulana, former President Rajapaksa said he came to Medamulana for a “holiday” and would continue to represent them in the country’s politics. He also said he had relinquished presidential powers and had handed over the country’s administration to the newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena.
Meanwhile, another school of thought emerging from the ruling party claim that Leader of the House Nimal Siripala de Silva should be positioned as the alternate Prime Minister.
However, when contacted by Asian Mirror, Navin Dissanayake, a key Parliamentarian who played a prominent role in the Common Opposition said, the UNP National Leader would be in a position to draw the support of the majority of Parliamentarians.
Without the support of a majority, President Maithripala Sirisena will have to dissolve Parliament and seek another mandate from the people.
Friday, January 09, 2015
'Sirisena's election an opportunity for a fresh foreign policy' - THE HINDU
'Sirisena's election an opportunity for a fresh foreign policy'
JAYANTHA DHANAPALA
Sri Lanka can now return to its traditional non-aligned foreign policy maintaining friendly relations with its Asian neighbours, especially with India.
The election of President Maithripala Sirisena in a peaceful democratic process is a welcome opportunity to forge afresh a coherent,consistent and balanced foreign policy based on the permanent national interests of Sri Lanka and executed with professional competence.
Sri Lanka can now return to its traditional non-aligned foreign policy maintaining friendly relations with its Asian neighbours, especially with India with whom we have been closely linked through geo-politics, history and culture. Asia is the new centre of gravity in global political and economic relations and Sri Lanka can develop her economic potential with even-handed and mutually beneficial ties with India, China, Pakistan, Japan and the ASEAN countries using its strategic location. At the same time important economic partners in trade, investment and tourism remain in the West with whom we have had longstanding ties thorough the Commonwealth, the United Nations and other multilateral organisations working together for international peace and security.
The values of good governance, democracy, the rule of law and human rights will be upheld in domestic and foreign policy ensuring that the ethnic and religious diversity of the country is respected and protected . It follows therefore that Sri Lanka will engage in a positive dialogue with the international community on human rights fulfilling its commitments to the international human rights instruments it has signed and ensuring that credible domestic processes are launched for their implementation.
Sri Lanka must also rebuild traditional foreign policy institutions especially a professional diplomatic service with recruitment through a competitive examination and training at all levels minimising political appointees .
(Jayantha Dhanapala is a former diplomat in Sri Lanka, who has held key posts in Beijing, Washington and Geneva)
Sri Lankan President Concedes Defeat After Startling Upset
ASIA PACIFIC
Sri Lankan President Concedes Defeat After Startling Upset
By ELLEN BARRY and DHARISHA BASTIANSJAN. 8, 2015
NEW DELHI — After a startling upset in Sri Lanka’s presidential election, President Mahinda Rajapaksa conceded defeat on Friday morning, bringing an abrupt end to a larger-than-life, increasingly controlling presidency that he had hoped to extend into a third six-year term.
Mr. Rajapaksa left his residence, Temple Trees, shortly after 6 a.m. “to allow the new president to assume his duties,” a presidential spokesman announced. Before daybreak, the president met with Ranil Wickramasinghe, the leader of the opposition United National Party, to offer his cooperation. His opponent, former Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena, was scheduled to take the oath of office on Friday evening.
Mr. Rajapaksa’s defeat is remarkable because he had an overwhelming advantage going into the election, which he decided to hold two years ahead of schedule. During nearly a decade in office, he had built close ties with China, begun a campaign of “megadevelopment” and sharply centralized power in one of Asia’s oldest democracies.
His image is ubiquitous in Sri Lanka’s public spaces. His campaign rallies were lavish, well-funded affairs, where he addressed a sea of voters bused in from surrounding villages. Mr. Sirisena, unable to book stadiums, spoke to people gathered in vacant lots.
On Friday, Sri Lanka’s Election Commission announced that Mr. Sirisena had won about 51.3 percent of the vote, with 47.6 percent going to Mr. Rajapaksa. The margin was just under 450,000 votes.
Mr. Rajapaksa’s son Namal wrote on Twitter that his family had accepted the election results.
“Thank you to everyone who supported us through these years,” he said. “We respect the voice of the people and Sri Lanka’s great democracy.”
Over the past several years, Mr. Rajapaksa had steadily tightened his grip on power, amending the Constitution to eliminate term limits and dismissing a Supreme Court justice who resisted his changes. But he did so under favorable circumstances, riding a wave of popularity among majority Sinhalese after crushing a long-running Tamil insurgency in the north in 2009. Since that victory, Sri Lanka has benefited from a thriving tourist industry and had the highest economic growth rate in the region, leading many to conclude that voters would tolerate his consolidation of power.
Thursday’s vote called that calculus into question, said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Center for Policy Alternatives in Colombo. “Basically, the electorate has turned its back on misgovernance and the dynastic project, as well as authoritarianism,” he said.
After counting began on Thursday night, he said, the president must have quickly understood that he had lost the election, and been encouraged to concede by army and police officials.
“I think he saw the writing on the wall,” Mr. Saravanamuttu said. “He would have realized there was a swing. His representatives within the arms of the state would have told him, ‘Look, we are not going to buck the popular will.’”
Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main storyContinue reading the main story
The upset introduces significant uncertainty. Mr. Sirisena has promised to abolish the strong presidency introduced by Mr. Rajapaksa and return the country to a parliamentary system, but the coalition around him is a sprawling, diverse one, including Buddhist nationalists, Marxists and center-right politicians, among others. Dayan Jayatilleka, a former diplomat who had supported Mr. Rajapaksa’s re-election bid in recent weeks, said late Thursday that he expected some turbulence to emerge in the coming months.
“The opposition will certainly have a transition plan, and chances of instability are small, because the state machinery will switch to the winner,” he said. “Instability will set in later, if at all, when the executive presidency is abolished and multipolarity has set in.”
A central question is whether Sri Lanka will begin to distance itself from China, which had become a major ally under Mr. Rajapaksa, extending billions of dollars in loans for the construction of new ports and highways. That trend was worrying to India, which formally complained in recent months after Chinese military submarines made unannounced visits to the Colombo port.
In his manifesto, Mr. Sirisena promises to establish “equal relations” with India, China, Pakistan and Japan, and criticizes his predecessor for incurring heavy foreign debts.
“The land that the White Man took over by means of military strength is now being obtained by foreigners by paying ransom to a handful of persons,” the manifesto says. “If this trend continues for another six years, our country would become a colony, and we would become slaves.”
Harsha de Silva, economic affairs spokesman for the opposition United National Party, said the new government would review all major infrastructure projects, withdrawing support from those that appeared to be “white elephants.” If officials discover irregularities, including any involving Mr. Rajapaksa’s family members, he said, “we will hand it over to the authorities to investigate and then put it before an independent judiciary.”
This position, he said, does not indicate “any misgivings or bad blood with China.”
“We consider China a good friend; it just happens that many of these projects in question happened to be Chinese,” he said. “We will have a balanced approach between India and China, unlike the current regime, which was antagonizing India almost by its closeness to China.”
Indian analysts warned against expecting radical policy changes from Mr. Sirisena, who shares a political background with Mr. Rajapaksa and relies on the same core support group, ethnic Sinhalese Buddhists. That group has, historically, been hostile to demands from northern Tamils for demilitarization of the north and restoration of power to elected Tamil leaders.
The contest became surprisingly close in November, when Mr. Sirisena, a longtime loyalist from Mr. Rajapaksa’s own party, suddenly defected and declared himself a challenger. He was followed by other defectors who focused their campaigns on Mr. Rajapaksa’s vulnerabilities, especially allegations that his relatives, who occupy dozens of government posts, have enriched themselves at the expense of ordinary citizens.
Ellen Barry reported from New Delhi, and Dharisha Bastians from Colombo, Sri Lanka.
A version of this article appears in print on January 9, 2015, on page A3 of the New York edition with the headline: Sri Lankan President Appears to Lose Election. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
For China, a New Leader in Sri Lanka May Herald a Change in Ties
By BREE FENG JANUARY 9, 2015 8:33 AM January 9, 2015 8:33 am Comment NYT
Last January, Sri Lanka’s health minister, Maithripala Sirisena, joined his colleagues in toasting the Chinese New Year at a red-lantern-festooned gala featuring performances of the songs “Love My China” and “Mother Sri Lanka” and hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Colombo, the capital.
But today, with Mr. Sirisena the surprise victor in Sri Lanka’s presidential election, Chinese leaders are likely to be watching with some unease to see if he follows through on a campaign promise to scrap a major Chinese investment project.
China in recent years has become a leading investor and trading partner for the strategically situated island nation, which is roughly 40 miles off the southeastern coast of India. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was defeated in the vote, had welcomed Chinese investment. And China, which has been expanding its naval abilities and reach, seemed to have found a good friend in the Indian Ocean. But in the early hours of Friday, Mr. Rajapaksa was forced to admit defeat after results showed he was trailing his former aide.
When the presidential campaign began last year, Mr. Rajapaksa seemed headed for an easy victory. But the surprise defection of Mr. Sirisena and several other aides two months ago turned the election into a tight race, with the opposition criticizing Mr. Rajapaksa for placing family members in government posts and consolidating power.
More significantly for China, Mr. Sirisena, who was to be sworn in Friday evening, also took aim during his campaign at major foreign-backed investment projects — including one that President Xi Jinping personally inaugurated during his visit to the country in September. That $1.5 billion project, funded by China Communications Construction Company, would build a new port city on hundreds of acres of reclaimed land in Colombo. Crucially, the new port has been included in China’s “Maritime Silk Road,” one of two major foreign policy initiatives by Mr. Xi in 2013 envisioning a series of regional infrastructure and other projects that analysts say are aimed at bolstering China’s influence.
Mr. Sirisena and the incoming prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said during the campaign that they would scuttle the Colombo Port City project, along with a planned Australian-backed casino. But the incoming leaders have also suggested that they were seeking balance and would not shun China altogether. In an interview published on Thursday, Mr. Wickremesinghe told The Hindustan Times, an Indian newspaper, that if his side won, Sri Lanka would seek better ties with India, “but that doesn’t mean we will be hostile to China.”
Anit Mukherjee, an assistant professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said on Friday, “It’s hard to take a guess” on whether Mr. Sirisena will follow through on his promises and cancel the two projects.
Given that Mr. Sirisena emphasized claims of corruption and nepotism against Mr. Rajapaksa, he “will be keen to distinguish and maintain his clean image,” Mr. Mukherjee said. “What we do know is that both deals will attract scrutiny, and if not outright cancellation, they will most probably be investigated for corruption.”
It would not be the first time in recent years that a large-scale Chinese project was abruptly canceled by a foreign leader seeking to build domestic support. In 2011, Myanmar’s president, Thein Sein, scrapped a major Chinese-funded dam project after it drew substantial protest.
On Friday, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hong Lei, said that China congratulated Sri Lanka on its elections and was “willing to make joint efforts with Sri Lanka to continue to promote the China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership.”
China has other large projects in the works in Sri Lanka, including a plan to turn the town of Hambantota into a major new port, as well as a $1.2 billion coal power plant that the state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua said would meet half of the country’s total demand. China’s Export-Import Bank says it has invested $1.6 billion in more than 20 projects in Sri Lanka, mostly involving shipping and transportation.
During Mr. Xi’s recent visit, the two sides also signed an agreement to establish a second Confucius Institute, one of the Chinese language and cultural centers that have come under criticism at some Western universities because of their connections to the Chinese government.
China’s growing footprint in South Asia has worried India, which has significant cultural and historical ties with Sri Lanka. In particular, New Delhi has expressed concern about Beijing’s increasing naval abilities, worries that were exacerbated when two Chinese submarines docked in Colombo last year for the first time.
Sri Lankan officials have suggested that they had no choice but to turn to China as a partner. Mr. Rajapaksa has said that he first offered the Hambantota project to India, which he said turned it down.
Mr. Mukherjee said that he believed there would be no “major tectonic shifts” in ties between Sri Lanka and China, but that Mr. Sirisena might, “without rejecting Chinese investments, bring about a correction on Sri Lanka’s seeming ‘tilt’ towards China.”
“The most likely outcome is that Chinese military activity in the island state, like the recent visits of its submarines, will be curtailed,” he said. “This will, of course, be welcomed by the Indians.”
Chinese president congratulates Sri Lanka's Sirisena
Chinese president congratulates Sri Lanka's Sirisena
IANS India Private Limited/Yahoo India NewsBy Indo Asian News Service | IANS India Private Limited/Yahoo India News – 35 minutes ago
Beijing, Jan 9 (IANS) Chinese President Xi Jinping Friday sent a congratulatory message to Maithripala Sirisena on his election as Sri Lanka's new head of state, pledging to promote the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.
In the message, Xi said China and Sri Lanka were traditional friendly neighbours, and relations between the two countries have withstood the test of time since the establishment of diplomatic ties, becoming a paradigm of friendly coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation between neighboring countries, Xinhua newes agency reported.
He said that, in recent years, China and Sri Lanka have set up a strategic cooperative partnership featuring sincere mutual assistance and friendship from generation to generation.
The two countries have kept expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, bringing tangible interests to the two peoples, he said, noting that China regarded Sri Lanka as a trustworthy friend and partner.
"Attaching great importance to the development of relations with Sri Lanka, I am willing to make concerted efforts with the Sri Lankan side to keep lifting the China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership to higher levels," Xi said.
Sirisena, a former health minister, defeated incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa in Thursday's presidential election.
Maithri To Take Oaths As President This Evening
Maithri To Take Oaths As President This Evening: Ranil Likely To Be PM From Tomorrow
Friday, 09 January 2015 10:00
Common Candidate of the opposition Maithripala Sirisena will take oaths as the new President of Sri Lanka this evening, sources close to him told Asian Mirror.
The swearing in ceremony will take place at Independence Square at 6 pm.
After taking oaths, he will extend an open invitation to every members of Parliament, including the UPFA MPs, to join his 100 day programme to introduce much needed democratic reforms to the country.
It is learnt that he will appoint UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister tomorrow. Also, the new President will appoint a multi-party cabinet as part of his 100 day programme.
Early next week, the new President will appoint an Advisory Council to devise constitutional amendments to ensure democracy in the country. The council will have the representation of members of political parties and civil organization.
The Parliament will be convened following the setting up of the Advisory Council.
A spokesperson of then opposition told Asian Mirror that every step made by the Common Candidate will be in accordance with the 100 day programme presented to the public by the Common Opposition prior to the presidential election
Sri Lanka's strongman president voted out after decade in power
Sri Lanka's strongman president voted out after decade in power
Reuters By Shihar Aneez and John Chalmers
COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa lost his bid for a third term on Friday, ending a decade of rule that critics say had become increasingly authoritarian and marred by nepotism and corruption.
Opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena, a one-time ally of Rajapaksa who defected in November and derailed what the president thought would be an easy win, took 51.3 percent of the votes polled in Thursday's election.
Rajapaksa got 47.6 percent, according to the Election Department.
Celebratory firecrackers were set off in the capital, Colombo, after Rajapaksa accepted the victory of Sirisena, who has vowed to root out corruption and bring constitutional reforms to weaken the power of the presidency.
Sri Lanka's stock market climbed to its highest in nearly four years.
"We expect a life without fear," said Fathima Farhana, a 27-year-old Muslim woman in Colombo.
"I voted for him because he said he will create equal opportunities for all," she said of Sirisena, a soft-spoken 63-year-old from the rice-growing hinterlands of the Indian Ocean island state.
Like Rajapaksa, Sirisena is from the majority Sinhala Buddhist community but he has reached out to ethnic minority Tamils and Muslims and has the support of several small parties.
His allies say he will rebalance the country's foreign policy, which tilted heavily towards China in recent years as Rajapaksa fell out with the West over human rights and allegations of war crimes committed at the end of a drawn-out conflict with Tamil separatists in 2009.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was quick to welcome the successful election and commended Rajapaksa for accepting the verdict of the nation's 15 million voters.
"I look forward to working with President-elect Sirisena as his new government works to implement its campaign platform of a Sri Lanka that is peaceful, inclusive, democratic, and prosperous," Kerry said in a statement.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Sirisena to congratulate the new leader of "a close friend and neighbor".
Sri Lanka is just off India's southern coast and has historically had mixed ties with its much larger neighbor. Rajapaksa had cold-shouldered New Delhi in recent years but Sirisena told an Indian newspaper this week that "we will revert to the old, non-aligned policy".
"India is our first, main concern. But we are not against Chinese investment either. We will maintain good relations with China too," he told the Hindustan Times.
MOTLEY COALITION
Sirisena is expected to be sworn in at Colombo's Independence Square at 6:00 p.m. (7.30 a.m. EST).
The results showed Rajapaksa remained popular among Sinhala Buddhists, who account for about 70 percent of the country's 21 million people, but Sirisena earned his lead with the support of the ethnic Tamil-dominated former war zone in the north and Muslim-dominated areas.
Rajapaksa won handsomely in the last election in 2010, surfing a wave of popularity months after the defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels.
But critics say he had become increasingly authoritarian, with several members of his family holding powerful positions. Although the economy had blossomed since the end of the war, voters complained of the high cost of living.
Rajapaksa had called this election two years early, confident that the usually fractured opposition would fail to come up with a credible candidate. But he did not anticipate the emergence of Sirisena, who shared a traditional Sri Lankan dinner with him one evening and turned on him the next day.
Sirisena will lead a motley coalition of ethnic, religious, Marxist and center-right parties, which analysts say could hamper economic reform and encourage populist policies.
He has pledged to abolish the executive presidency that gave Rajapaksa unprecedented power and hold a fresh parliamentary election within 100 days.
He has also promised a crackdown on corruption, which would include investigations into big infrastructure projects such as a $1.5 billion deal with China Communications Construction Co Ltd <601800 .ss=""> to build a port city.
It is not clear if the port, to be built on land reclaimed from the sea in Colombo, will be canceled.
However, Sirisena's backers have said a casino license given to Australian gambling tycoon James Packer's Crown Resorts Ltd will be withdrawn.
(Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Robert Birsel)
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