Over 100,000 land issues

Over 100,000 land issues
December 14, 2013

Minister of Lands and Land Development Janaka Bandara Tennakoon says over 100,000 land issues remain to be resolved in the North and East.

Speaking in Parliament today, the Minister however said that addressing most land issues however have been hampered owing to ongoing court cases.

He said that some 22,408 land related issues have already been resolved in the North and East but another 125,950 land issues are yet to be resolved. 

The Minister insisted that his Ministry had taken steps to resolve the land issue but court cases initiated as a result of political influence had hampered those efforts.

(Colombo Gazette)

மண்டேலா வாரிசு ஒபாமாவின் யேமன் ரோன் தாக்குதலில் `திருமண விழாக்கண்ட` பத்துக்கு மேற்பட்ட குடிவாசிகள் படுகொலை!

U.S. drone strike on Yemen wedding party kills 17

YEMEN-UNREST-DRONE

By Zaid Ali and Laura King

December 13, 2013, 12:01 p.m.

SANA, Yemen -- Anger over the American drone campaign against militants in Yemen swelled Friday with word that most of those killed in a strike a day earlier were civilians in a wedding party.

The death toll reached 17 overnight, hospital officials in central Bayda province said Friday. Five of those killed were suspected of involvement with Al Qaeda, but the remainder were unconnected with the militancy, Yemeni security officials said.

U.S. drone strikes have become commonplace in Yemen, where government measures have proven ineffectual against what is considered one of the most virulent Al Qaeda offshoots in the region.

However, civilian deaths like those in Thursday’s strike have inflamed popular sentiment against both the U.S. and the fragile central government.

The Obama administration generally does not publicly disclose individual strikes, though it has acknowledged the existence of the drone campaign. Human rights groups in recent months have called for greater transparency about drone strikes.

The incident is likely to fuel existing concerns in Congress and elsewhere about the White House's stated intention to move most of the drone program under military control. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), for example, said in May that she believed the military had not been as patient or precise in drone strikes as the 

CIA has been.

In Yemen, the stakes are getting higher as violence increases. Al Qaeda-linked militants were suspected in an audacious Dec. 5 attack on the country’s well-fortified defense ministry, in which at least 56 people were killed, including some foreigners. Many of the dead were working at a hospital inside the complex.

Video footage of that attack, aired this week on state television, showed assailants methodically stalking medical personnel, including a wounded nurse. In one chilling scene, an attacker calmly approaches a group of civilians, then hurls a grenade at them, obscuring the camera lens with dust and debris from the 

explosion.

The capital, Sana, has been jittery in the aftermath of the attack on the defense ministry, with checkpoints springing up and international organizations on high alert.

Thursday’s drone attack, southeast of Sana, was the second in a week in Yemen. The remoteness of the area precluded precise immediate reports, but by Friday, security sources said most of the dead were traveling in a convoy of wedding guests.

In the gruesome aftermath, scorched vehicles and body parts were left scattered on the road.The incident illustrated the fact that many of the militants have tribal connections that make them likely to take part in village events, such as wedding celebrations.

Yemen’s struggling government has been battling separate insurgencies in the north and south, as well as unrest over domestic issues including a floundering economy.

Tens of thousands rally in Gaza to mark PFLP 46th anniversary

Tens of thousands rally in Gaza to mark PFLP 46th anniversary
Dec 07 2013 PFLP Web

''There is a decline in the grip of the United States over international affairs, and this weakening of the leader of imperialism and injustice in the world will necessarily mean an increased weakness in the enemy camp that supports and sustains the Zionist aggression on our people, emphasizing that the US is still the primary economic and military power in the world and that there are long years of struggle to come by the people and exploited classes of the world to defeat imperialism and achieve justice and equality.''

Comrade Jamil Majdalawi

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine marked the 46th anniversary of its founding with a mass rally in al-Katiba courtyard in Gaza City, with tens of thousands of participants, including leaders, cadres and members of the Front, women’s, student and youth organizations, with the participation of representatives
of the national and Islamic forces.

 Large images of the General Secretaries of the Front – the founder, George Habash (Al-Hakim), Abu Ali Mustafa, and imprisoned General Secretary Ahmad Sa’adat – adorned the banner at the front of the stage, as well as the image of national martyrs and leaders Yasser Arafat, Fathi Shikaki and Sheikh Ahmad Yassin.

Banners were draped on the walls, calling for Palestinian national unity, and resistance, and saluting the Front’s history over 46 years. Performers played national Palestinian and PFLP songs and danced dabkeh, traditional Palestinian dance.

Comrades Hani Thawabteh and Shireen Abu Oun chaired the rally, at which Comrade Jamil Majdalawi delivered the keynote address. He saluted the martyrs, the prisoners, and the masses of Palestinians at home and in exile, particularly those in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria facing continued repression and new
displacement, and to our people in the Naqab who are confronting the Prawer plan, the new Zionist scheme to displace Palestinians.

Majdalawi said that over the years, the harvest of the Palestinian national movement has not reached the great sacrifices or the goals of our people, and all of our forms of resistance have been weaker than they should be and can be, which only exacerbates the imbalance of power in favor of the Zionist enemy.

He described internal Palestinian division and lack of national unity as devastating to the Palestinian movement. In addition, the Palestinian Authority’s return to the dangerous and futile negotiations with the Zionist enemy in open rejection of Palestinian national consensus is particularly damaging.

Instead of negotiations, what is needed is resistance in all forms and the implementation of our people’s rights to return, self-determination and national liberation, Majdalawi said.

He saluted the ongoing steadfastness of the Palestinian people, which will be what secures the victory of our people over the criminal enemy. He particularly saluted the steadfastness of our people in Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine, in all of its forms to confront the enemy and its continuous plans. Support for the

struggle of our people is growing inside and outside Palestine; hundreds of international activists confront soldiers and illegal settlers beside the steadfast Palestinian people and various levels of political, cultural and economic struggle are taking place around the world.

Majdalawi highlighted the ongoing siege on Gaza which is denying access to the most basic necessities including food, medicine, building materials and fuel, causing an electricity crisis in the sector, and transforming the area into a massive prison due to the ongoing, prolonged and repeated closure of the Rafah
crossing, the only exit for the Palestinians of Gaza to the outside world. This comes in addition to mass unemployment and the drinking water crisis, attacks on fishers at sea, and the retreat in services by the UNRWA, when refugees are over two-thirds of the population in Gaza.

Majdalawi said that there is a decline in the grip of the United States over international affairs, and this weakening of the leader of imperialism and injustice in the world will necessarily mean an increased weakness in the enemy camp that supports and sustains the Zionist aggression on our people, emphasizing that theUS is still the primary economic and military power in the world and that there are long years of struggle to come by the people and exploited classes of the world to defeat imperialism and achieve justice and equality.

On the Arab level, Majdalawi expressed support for the democratic process in Tunisia and the importance of protecting pluralism in Tunisia, warned of the dangerous exclusivity taking place in Egypt that must be discarded in favor of pluralism and democracy for all, and expressed his standing with the Syrian people in
the struggle for a united Syria, with democratic freedoms and equal rights for all Syrians and their political and social forces without discrimination, in addition to our stand against external interference which aims to destroy the potential of the country’s future and sink the country into the morass of obscurantism, as
supported by the U.S. imperialists and their allies.

Majdalawi announced that the Front has just completed its seventh national conference. Several historic leaders of the Front have stepped down from their positions and did not put their names forward in the elections at the conference, in order to support renewal in the organization and to prevent ossification and
bureaucracy, including comrades Abdel Rahim Mallouh, Younis al-Jalou, Abdelaziz Abu Al-Qaraya and himself, Jamil Majdalawi.

He concluded by calling for progressive and democratic Palestinian forces to come together to build resistance and unity and mobilize the people towards victory.

US mulls sanctions against Ukraine

US mulls sanctions against Ukraine

White House "appalled" by Ukrainian government's crackdown on massive protests at Kiev's Independence Square.

Last updated: 12 Dec 2013 02:23

 Ukraine has been gripped by weeks of demonstrations after the government rejected an EU trade deal [Reuters]

The United States may impose sanctions against Ukraine if security forces intensify a crackdown on anti-government demonstrators in the capital's Independence Square.

US lawmakers said on Wednesday they were considering legislation to deny visas to Ukrainian officials or to freeze their American assets if violence escalates at the central protest camp.

White House deputy spokesman Josh Earnest said the US was "appalled" at how the government has handled the political crisis.

"The Ukrainian government's response to peaceful protests over the last two weeks has been completely unacceptable... The right to peaceful protest and assembly must be respected," Earnest said.

Kiev has been gripped by weeks of demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of people against President Viktor Yanukovich's decision to reject a European Union trade pact and steer Ukraine closer to Russia.

If he continues to use bulldozers and batons to break up peaceful demonstrations, there could be consequences.Chris Murphy, Democratic Senator

Several dozen people were injured in the early hours of Wednesday when riot police and Interior Ministry special forces moved against the demonstrators' last stronghold in Independence Square.

Security forces initially tore down makeshift barricades but were eventually forced to retreat amid cheers from the demonstrators, whose ranks swelled through the night.

US Senate and House of Representatives aides cited discussions at the staff level about Congress responding to the unrest in Ukraine with legislation along the lines of the Magnitsky Act, which bars Russian officials believed to be involved in human-rights abuses from entering the United States.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who chairs the Senate's Europe subcommittee, said lawmakers would be closely monitoring Yanukovich's conduct in the days ahead.

"If he continues to use bulldozers and batons to break up peaceful demonstrations, there could be consequences, real consequences, from the Congress," Murphy said.

The US State Department said it was considering all options, including sanctions.

Talks rejected

Ukraine's police have been criticised by the West for heavy-handedness in dealing with protests even before the latest crackdown, with dozens of demonstrators injured in clashes last week.

Yanukovich has vowed that the authorities would never use force against peaceful protests, and urged the opposition to sit down for talks.

"For the sake of achieving compromise I am calling on the opposition not to reject [talks], not to follow the path of confrontation and ultimatums," Yanukovich said in a statement on Wednesday.

But the opposition, which earlier ruled out any negotiations until he dismissed the government and punished riot police for crushing a smaller protest on November 30, vowed to do everything to topple the president.

"With what happened last night, Yanukovich closed off the path to any kind of compromise," opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko told a news conference, adding they "had planned to have talks with Yanukovich. We understand that Yanukovich has no wish to talk to the people and only understands physical force, which he uses against the protesters."

An estimated 5,000 pro-EU demonstrators were camping out in Independence Square on Wednesday night, reinforcing barricades with snow and sand bags.

U.S. Suspends Nonlethal Aid to Syrian Rebels in North

U.S. Suspends Nonlethal Aid to Syrian Rebels in North

The decision was made after moderate Syrian rebel forces reporting to Gen. Salim Idris, the nominal head of the rebel Free Syrian Army, came under attack last week from fighters aligned with Al Qaeda, according to an account provided by an American official.

The Islamic Front, an alliance of rebel fighters that has broken with General Idris’s moderate opposition but opposes the Qaeda affiliate in Syria, joined the fray, the American official said.

After the dust cleared, the Islamic Front appeared to have taken control of warehouses in Atmeh that contain equipment and supplies provided by the United States, added the American official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was discussing internal reports.

The first reports of military actions are often confused and inexact. But it seems clear that American officials are concerned that some aid has indeed fallen into the wrong hands.

“We have seen reports that Islamic Front forces have seized the Atmeh headquarters and warehouses,” a State Department official said.

“As a result of this situation, the United States has suspended all further deliveries of nonlethal assistance into northern Syria,” the official added. “The humanitarian aid to the Syrian people is not impacted by this suspension.”

The episode illustrates two trends that pose major challenges for the Obama administration’s goal of strengthening the moderate Syrian opposition and persuading President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to yield power.

One is the growing strength of Qaeda-affiliated forces, including the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The other is the fracturing of the Assad opposition, which has led some commanders to break away from General Idris’s Supreme Military Council, which the United States is backing, to form their own coalitions.

Since suspending aid, American officials have begun an inventory to determine how much of the nonlethal equipment and supplies are controlled by forces reporting to General Idris.

Under the Obama administration’s division of labor, the State Department is in charge of supplying nonlethal aid, like radios, vehicles and food rations. The C.I.A. runs a covert program to arm and train Syrian rebels. There was no indication that the nonlethal-aid suspension would affect that program.

“We are working with General Idris and the S.M.C. to inventory the status of U.S. equipment and supplies provided to the S.M.C.,” the State Department official said, referring to the Supreme Military Council. “We are gathering the facts and consulting with friends of the Syrian opposition on next steps in support of the
Syrian people.”

Time Magazine's PERSON OF THE YEAR 2013

December 6, 2013 12:05 pm
The scandal at the Vatican bank
By Rachel Sanderson
An 11-month FT investigation reveals the extent of mismanagement at the €5bn-asset bank
©Reuters

On June 28 this year, Italian police arrested a silver-haired priest, Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, in Rome. The cleric, nicknamed Monsignor Cinquecento after the €500 bills he habitually carried around with him, was charged with fraud and corruption, together with a former secret service agent and a ­financial broker. All
three were suspected of attempting to smuggle €20m by private plane across the border from Switzerland.
Prosecutors alleged that the priest, a former banker, was using the Institute for Religious Works – the formal name for the Vatican’s bank – to move money for businessmen based in the Naples region, widely regarded in Italy as a haven of organised crime. Worse still, Scarano (who, together with the other men, has
denied any wrongdoing) had until only a month earlier been head of the accounting department at the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, the treasury of the Vatican.

The arrest, and the headlines that screamed across the Italian press, was the latest shock for the Holy See. The year had already witnessed an emotional upheaval in the church with the resignation in February of the aged Pope Benedict XVI – the first time in 700 years a pope had stepped down voluntarily. But this new
crisis demanded cold, hard resolve. For regulators and politicians in Europe who had pushed for change in the Vatican’s scandal-plagued bank over the previous four years – from the Bank of Italy under Mario Draghi to officials in Mario Monti’s government and in Brussels – it served as evidence of their concerns.

Those worries also jolted a number of international financiers determined to press for reform.
In early July, Peter Sutherland, non-executive chairman of Goldman Sachs International and the former attorney-general of Ireland, flew into Vatican City. His mission – although described by some insiders as simply a “bit part” in the wider drive for change – was an illuminating one. Sutherland, a practising Catholic and an unpaid consultant to the Vatican’s treasury, had been asked by reformers in the church to speak with the council of cardinals, the most senior advisers to the pope. His message to the men who filed into a room near Doma Santa Marta, the plain-fronted residence of Pope Francis, was respectful but direct.
The banker, who declined to comment for this story, added his voice to the many in and outside the church asking the world’s smallest city-state to change its ways. “Transparency is important and necessary,” Sutherland said, according to two people who were informed of proceedings in the closed-door meeting.
The cardinals, known for long, contemplative consultations, were surprisingly receptive, said one of those informed. After a decade of paedophilia scandals, the allegations of financial impropriety seemed set to unleash another storm of criticism and had to be addressed. Outside auditors as well as financial risk
consultants were already coming into the Vatican but the arrest of Scarano made the case for reform unavoidable. “We cannot have any more scandal. It is so shameful,” a senior member of the Vatican’s financial administration said.

The Financial Times has investigated the extent of the mismanagement at the Vatican bank. In this audio slideshow, find out how the scandal erupted and what has been done to help strengthen the bank.
How God’s bank ended up as a financial penitent this year is a bracing chapter in the history of financial reforms that have swelled up in the aftermath of the 2008 credit crisis. Untouchable havens such as Switzerland and Liechtenstein were forced to open their chocolate-box palaces to the probes of international regulators. This year the power of the popes was challenged.

''I am one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela's life'' US President Obama.

The Independent Cartoon

''I am one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela's life. My very first political action, the first thing I ever did that involved an issue or a policy or politics, was a protest against apartheid. I studied his words and his writings. The day that he was released from prison gave me a sense of what human beings can do when they’re guided by their hopes and not by their fears. And like so many around the globe, I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that Nelson Mandela set, and so long as I live I will do what I can to learn from him.'' 

US President Obama

"தமிழர்" என்ற சொல்லை நீக்குமாறு முதலமைச்சர் சி.வி.விக்னேஸ்வரன் தெரிவித்தார்.

வட மாகாண ஆளுநரான முன்னாள் இராணுவ இனப் படுகொலையாளனை அகற்றுவதன் பேரால் ஏகாதிபத்திய NGO க்களுக்கு வழி திறந்து விட முயல்கின்றது வடக்கு மாகாணசபை.

சிவில் சமூகத்தை சேர்ந்தவரை ஆளுநராக நியமிக்கவும்: வட மாகாண சபையில் பிரேரணை

செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை, 10 டிசெம்பர் 2013 12:38 0 COMMENTS
-குணசேகரன் சுரேன், எஸ்.கே.பிரசாத்

சிவில் சமூகத்தை சார்ந்தவரும் மனித உரிமைகள் தொடர்பான பூரண அறிவுடையவருமான ஒருவரே வட மாகாண ஆளுநராக நியமிக்கப்பட வேண்டும் என தீர்மானமொன்று நிறைவேற்றப்பட்டுள்ளது.

வட மாகாண சபையின் மாதாந்த அமர்வு இன்று செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை காலை முதல் நடைபெற்று வருகின்றது. இதன்போதே ஜனாதிபதிக்கு முன்வைக்கப்பட்டிருந்த பிரேரணை சபை உறுப்பினர்களினால் ஏகமனதாக நிறைவேற்றப்பட்டது.

சிவில் சமூகத்தைச் சேர்ந்த வட மாகாண தமிழர் ஒருவரே ஆளுநராக நியமிக்குமாறு ஜனாதிபதியிடம் பரிந்துரைக்கப்பட வேண்டும் என்ற பிரேரணையொன்றை மாகாண சபை உறுப்பினர் எம்.கே.சிவாஜிலிங்கம் சபையில் முன்வைத்தார்.

இந்த பிரேரணையை ஆறுமுகம் கந்தையா சர்வேஸ்வரன் வழிமொழிந்தார். எனினும் இந்த பிரேரணையில் மாற்றத்தை ஏற்படுத்துமாறு எதிர்க்கட்சி உறுப்பினர் செனவிரத்ன எ.டி. தர்மபாலா வேண்டுகோள் விடுத்தார்.

இதனையடுத்து, குறித்த பிரேரணையிலுள்ள "தமிழர்" என்ற சொல்லை நீக்குமாறு முதலமைச்சர் சி.வி.விக்னேஸ்வரன் தெரிவித்தார். தமிழர் என்ற சொல் வேண்டாம் என்றால் வட மாகாணத்தை சேர்ந்த ஒருவர் என்பதையும் நீக்க வேண்டும் என மாகாண சபை உறுப்பினர் கனகரத்தினம் விந்தன தெரிவித்தார்.

இறுதியாக சிவில் சமூகத்தை சார்ந்தவரும் மனித உரிமைகள் தொடர்பான பூரண அறிவுடையவருமான ஒருவரே வட மாகாண ஆளுநராக நியமிக்கப்பட வேண்டும் என்ற பிரேரணை சபையில் முன்வைக்கப்பட்டது. இது அனைத்து உறுப்பினர்களினாலும் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப்பட்டதையடுத்து ஏகமனதாக சபையில் பிரேரணை நிறைவேற்றப்பட்டது.

அத்துடன் வடக்கில் இராணுவத்தை அகற்றி சிவில் சமூகம் உருவாக்கப்பட வேண்டும் என்ற  பிரேரணையும் மாகாண சபை உறுப்பினர் எம்.கே.சிவாஜிலிங்கத்தினால் முன்வைக்கப்பட்டது. இதனை மாகாண சபை உறுப்பினர் கனகரத்தினம் விந்தன் வழிமொழிந்தார். இப்பிரேரணையும் ஏகமனதாக நிறைவேற்றப்பட்டது.

குறிப்பு:

வட மாகாண ஆளுநரான முன்னாள் இராணுவ இனப் படுகொலையாளனை அகற்றுவதன் பேரால் ஏகாதிபத்திய NGO க்களுக்கு வழி திறந்து விட முயல்கின்றது வடக்கு மாகாணசபை.

காணி நிலம் வேண்டும்! இராணுவம் நில்லாத காணி நிலம் வேண்டும்!!

Tribunal rules government guilty: (Colombo Gazette)

Tribunal rules government guilty
December 10, 2013
1386057538_PPT tribunal

The Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) which concluded its second hearing on Sri Lanka in Bremen, Germany today, found the Government guilty of committing grave human rights abuses and also found that India, Britain and the US were complicit in those crimes.

An eminent panel of jurors were assembled by the PPT to hear charges made against Sri Lanka by the International Human Rights Association (IMRV) in Bremen and the Irish Forum for Peace in Sri Lanka (IFPSL).

The charges were that the British, US and Indian states are guilty of complicity in the allegations raised against the Sri Lankan government.

The first phase of the Tribunal, which was held in January 2010 in Dublin, was the first ever international effort to investigate the allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the final stages of the protracted conflict in Sri Lanka.

The second phase was held this week with the participation of direct victims as well as expert witnesses from Europe and several other countries.

In addition to this, reports and documents compiled by different international and local organisations and human rights groups since 2009 were also submitted to the Panel.

Among those who spoke at the tribunal are members of the Tamil Diaspora and ‘No Fire Zone’ Director Callum Macrae.

Rulings by the people tribunal are usually are sent to major international bodies and many have been discussed by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva so the ruling on Sri Lanka is likely to be passed on to the Council ahead of its March 2014 session. (Colombo Gazette)