New Defence Secretary Basnayake Replaces Gotabhaya

New Defence Secretary Basnayake Replaces Gotabhaya

Saturday, 10 January 2015 15:32


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.

Facing arrest KP has fled Lanka

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!

Wigi calls for patience and trust

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``

ஈழ NGO குரு

"Anti-Rajapaksa vote, not pro-Sirisena"

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)