Sri Lanka, India leaders eye new era in troubled ties

Sri Lanka, India 
leaders eye new era 
in troubled ties
AFP By Abhaya Srivastava  February 16, 2015 1:29 PM

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shakes hands with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena after a signing agreement ceremony in New Delhi on February 16, 2015

The leaders of India and Sri Lanka vowed Monday to strengthen their relationship after a period of tensions and declared their countries' fortunes were intertwined as they held their first summit in New Delhi.

After signing a deal on nuclear safety, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the new Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena that there was "unprecedented opportunity" to take ties to a new level.

China's growing influence in Sri Lanka over recent years has been a source of disquiet in India, which has long regarded the neighbouring island as within its natural sphere of influence.

But Sirisena's victory over long-time ruler Mahinda Rajapakse in elections last month has been seized on by both sides as a chance for a reboot in relations, fuelled by the new president's decision to make India his first port of call.

"It's an honour that you have chosen India as your first foreign destination," Modi said after hosting talks with Sirisena, who is barely five weeks into his tenure.

"India is the closest neighbour and friend of Sri Lanka. Our goodwill and support will always be with you. I believe that our destinies are interlinked."

"We share very strong relations that span several thousand years," said Sirisena, whose country lies at the southern tip of India.

"The courtesy extended to us on this visit has been very great... this is my first official visit to India and it has been very fruitful.

"I can clearly say that our bilateral relations have been further strengthened."

Under the nuclear deal, India will provide safety training to Sri Lanka where there have been longstanding concerns about how to handle the fallout from a disaster involving the Kundankulam nuclear plant in India's southern Tamil Nadu state.

Official sources in Sri Lanka said the cooperation deal was aimed at training local scientists and did not involve a power generation programme.

"We are not talking about setting up nuclear reactors or anything like that," a foreign ministry source in Colombo told AFP. "We haven't even thought of feasibility studies (on nuclear energy), this is about training our people."

India has long considered Sri Lanka to be within its strategic sphere of influence, sending troops to the island in 1987 to enforce a peace accord it brokered between Colombo and separatist Tamil rebels.

But under Rajapakse, China ploughed huge sums into Sri Lankan infrastructure projects, becoming its biggest foreign financier and enjoying significant political and even military influence.

India was reported to have been furious at the brief appearance last year of two Chinese submarines in Sri Lankan waters.

China has been accused of seeking to develop facilities around the Indian Ocean in a "string of pearls" strategy to counter the rise of its Asian rival India and secure its own economic interests.

While neither leader mentioned China by name, the announcements of memoranda of understanding between the south Asian neighbours on issues such as defence cooperation and energy will have been noted in Beijing.

Modi said he and Sirisena had "agreed to expand our defence and security cooperation" as well as work together on maritime security.

Analysts say the visit's main significance is as a signal of intent from Sri Lanka.

"This visit is very significant because it could very well be a turning point," K.G. Suresh, senior fellow at the Delhi-based Vivekananda International Foundation think-tank, told AFP.

"Suspicions that earlier marked India-Sri Lanka relations could now give way to more confidence and strong ties between the two."

Sirisena is keen to attract greater Indian investment in Sri Lanka, which said last week it was seeking an international bailout of more than $4.0 billion.

China funded much of Sri Lanka's post-war infrastructure under the Rajapakse administration but the new government has said the interest rates charged on the loans averaged between five and seven percent -- much higher than the market rate.

Sirisena is being accompanied by several ministers, including Reconstruction Minister D.M. Swaminathan, who said the government was keen to secure India's support for ethnic reconciliation following the island's decade-long ethnic war that ended in 2009.

Sri Lanka's minority Tamils share close cultural ties with the Tamils in Tamil Nadu.

On Tuesday Sirisena will travel to the Buddhist pilgrimage site of Bodh Gaya and a Hindu temple in Tirupati further south before leaving the next day.

The Ganges: holy, deadly river

பக்ச பாசிசம் ``புதிய` மைத்திரி பாசிசத்தின் அங்கமே!

MR, CBK in SLFP top team to prepare for polls



The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) yesterday appointed a top level committee to advise the party and spearhead the parliamentary election campaign.

The appointments were made during the party’s executive committee meeting.

The committee headed by President Maithripala Sirisena will include former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, former  Prime ministers D.M. Jayaratna and Ratnasiri Wickremanayke, Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, former Minister Vishwa Warnapala and former Governor Alavi Moulana.

Both, Mr. Rajapaksa and Ms. Kumaratunga were not present when the appointments were made. They had excused themselves from the meeting.

Former Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa was named the General Secretary of the SLFP.   Former Minister John Seneviratne was named as the Senior Vice President. Ten other Vice Presidents were also named.

The party also appointed former Minister Susil Premajayantha as the National Organiser, replacing Basil Rajapaksa, while former senior minister S.B. Nawinna was appointed as Treasurer. 

Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna, who was a vice president, was appointed only as a Central Committee member.

மைத்திரி ஆட்சியில் இந்திய விரிவாதிக்க அரசுக்கு இலங்கையில் பொருளாதார மேலாதிக்கம்.

Hopes for strong economic ties with India


President Maithriapala Sirisena will leave for India today on a four-day visit leading a 16-member delegation in his first overseas visit after last month’s presidential election. Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, Power and Energy Minister Champika Ranawaka and Resettlement Minister D.M.

Swaminathan will accompany the President while Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera who is in the US will join the President in India.

President Sirisena will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee tomorrow. He will also meet other political leaders.

The president is also scheduled to visit Buddha Gaya and the Tirupathi temple before he returns on Wednesday. Meanwhile, economists said the warming of relations between India and Sri Lanka with the advent of new leaders in the two countries after a prolonged period of suspicion and distrust, was the ideal platform to revisit stalled negotiations on a proposed economic and trade services agreement.

The visit for talks with Prime Minister Modi on key issues including the peace and reconciliation process in Sri Lanka, should also set the tone for fresh  talks on trade and economic cooperation, they said. “(Prime Minister) Modi has an open mind and is very accommodating. This is the time to restart negotiations on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and also revisit the ongoing FREE TRADE Agreement (FTA),” a senior economist said.

He said the FTA had come to a stage of stagnation and like all trade pacts needed to be fine-tuned to keep in line with modern trends and global changes in trade and commerce.

R.D.S. Kumararatne, Director General of Commerce, said Sri Lanka, at the moment, would focus on the FTA as the CEPA had been stalled for some time.

Negotiations leading to a proposed agreement on the CEPA started during Ranil Wickremasinghe’s previous term as Prime Minister (2002-2004), which the economist said would be a positive factor in restarting talks on the proposed deal.

CEPA talks crashed during former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s 2004-2014 tenure owing to protests by local industrialists and other parties. They claimed the pact would open the doors for Indian professionals and semi-professionals to work in assigned sectors in Sri Lanka, thereby depriving locals of jobs.

These concerns were countered by trade experts and economists working on the Sri Lankan side saying such concerns would be addressed. However, the anti-CEPA lobby was so strong that it led to the former President putting the negotiations on the back burner.

Economists say the FTA also needs review and in both cases, FTA and CEPA, domestic concerns — restricting trade, investment and services in areas where Sri Lankans are building a  base –  could be addressed by the negative list. They said that uncertainty as to whether such concerns would be addressed in the negative list had deepened ANXIETY by local industrialists over the proposed pact.

“But all these concerns can be addressed now,” noted the senior economist, stressing that “India (under) Modi is very generous and reaching out to its neighbours unlike before”.

இந்திய விரிவாதிக்க அங்கீகாரப் பாதையே, மைத்திரி கும்பலின் பிராந்திய வெளிவிவகாரப்பாதை!

Sirisena-Modi Talks: Lankans Urge Cautious Approach to Ties With India

By P.K.Balachandran Published: 15th February 2015 04:32 PM Last UPDATED: 15th February 2015 04:32 PM

COLOMBO: As Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena prepares to have talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday,

Opinion makers in Lanka have urged him to be cautious in his bid to improve ties with India, even as they endorsed his policy of recognizing India’s pre-eminent position in the South Asian region.

“President Sirisena’s visit must essentially be a goodwill visit. It must be devoid of joint statements which the Indian MEA will draft. They see things with their heads, not their hearts. It is too early for the Sri Lankan government to get into the crux of substantive bilateral issues on such a visit. This can be left to a subsequent visit by the Prime Minister or during a reciprocal visit by the Indian PM to Colombo,” said Sunday Times.

Pointing out that the Indian side will raise the issue of fully implementing the 13 th.Amendment (devolving power to the provinces), the paper said that India should not be allowed to treat the Tamil areas of the North as an Indian “enclave” or “colony”.

Saying that the MEA is “led by southern Indians” the paper urged the Lankan mission in New Delhi to go above them and cultivate the Central political leaders to stop Tamil Nadu trawlers from massively poaching in North Lankan waters.

The paper charged that Indian taxes block the entry of Lankan goods into the Indian market, despite the existence of a FREE TRADE Agreement. It also pointed out that while India had stated its agenda for the talks, Lanka had not.

Sunday Leader urged India not to push for further devolution of power to the Tamils as that might “create a conflagration”. Ceylon Today appealed to Delhi not to do anything that might upset Sirisena’s plans to usher in a new order in Lanka.

The Tamils have urged Sirisena to firmly reject the Indian proposal to repatriate 100,000 Lankan refugees from Tamil Nadu.“There should be no repatriation till all the lands appropriated by the Lankan armed forces are returned to the people,” said Suresh Premachandran, spokesman of Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

Mangala’s U.S. talks “successful”

Mangala’s U.S. talks “successful”

By admin
February 15, 2015 11:04

The Government says the just concluded visit to the United States by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, was successful.

Samaraweera was in the US to brief US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon on the efforts being taken by the new Government to address human rights concerns.

The Minister also sought to mend ties with the US, which had been strained after the former Government refused to work with the US on the human rights issue.

The External Affairs Ministry said that the visit by Samaraweera, which was his first to the US capital since assuming office as the Minister of Foreign Affairs followed the visit of US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal to Colombo earlier this month and coincided with the completion of 30 days in office of the new Government in Sri Lanka.

During the two day visit, the Minister held a range of meetings including with Secretary of State John Kerry, National SECURITY Adviser Susan Rice, co-chairs of the Sri Lanka Caucus in the US Congress, Chris Van Hollen and Robert Aderholt, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Ed Royce and Ranking Member of the Committee, Congressman Eliot Engel.

Inviting Secretary Kerry to visit Sri Lanka at an appropriate time, Minister Samaraweera stressed that he looks forward to working closely with the Secretary of State and other important partners in the United States to enhance relations between the two countries to a state of excellence.

Addressing a full house at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the oldest international affairs think-tank in the US, after warm welcome remarks by its newly appointed President, the former US Deputy Secretary of State Ambassador William J. Burns, the Minister spoke at length on the post-Presidential election developments in the country including steps being taken for reconciliation, strengthening democracy and good governance and also set out foreign policy objectives of the Government.

Speaking on Sri Lanka-US Relations at the National Press Club, the Minister observed that SHARED values and commitment to democratic ideals gives much scope for the two countries to work together and that the Sri Lanka – US partnership must take into account the island’s strategic geographic location.
(Colombo Gazette)

Trade Unionist demands report on FTZ worker’s killing in May 2011

Trade Unionist demands report on FTZ worker’s killing in May 2011

By Leon Berenger
View(s): 32

A leading TRADE unionist yesterday called on the new government to release without further delay, the report compiled by former High Court Judge Mahanama Tillekeratne who probed the killing of young factory hand, Roshen Chanaka on May 31, 2011, during a labour protest.

“We have already written to the office of President Maithripala Sirisena in this regard, as the earlier administration had apparently kept the report in limbo for the last several years.
The family of the dead factory worker in particular and the public in general, need to know the findings, following the incident that also left some 260 other factory workers injured, including 14 in a critical condition,” Apparel FREE TRADE Workers’ Union member Anton Marcus told the Sunday Times.

The factory hand was shot dead allegedly by the police who had stormed into the Katunayake FREE TRADE Zone to break up workers agitating against government moves to replace the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) with a private pension scheme.

Mr Marcus who led the protest at that time, in his submissions to the Mahanama Tillekeratne Commission said he had provided material evidence that linked regional politicians in the Gampaha District to the disturbances which fuelled the situation that led to the police charge on the workers inside the FTZ, and the eventual death.

He said that, these same politicians had also promised monetary and other relief to the victim’s parents, but subsequently fell short of these obligations with the passage of time.
The proposed private pension scheme was subsequently withdrawn and the present EPF system allowed to CONTINUE.

US tells Zeid to decide on Lanka

US tells Zeid to decide on Lanka

February 14, 2015 07:04

Jen-Psaki

The United States says it is upto the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein to decide on the report on the investigations over the war in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is seeking a postponement of the report which is scheduled to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council during its session next month.

US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said that the issue was discussed during meetings Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera had with the US Government this week.

However she said it is a matter for the UN High Commissioner to determine and the US has absolute confidence in him and in the process.

Samaraweera met US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday as part of his official visit to the US and Psaki said that Kerry underscored the United States and international commitment to accountability and reconciliation after nearly 30 years of war, and expressed ongoing support for a Sri Lanka that is peaceful, democratic, prosperous, inclusive, and unified.

“Well, let me first do just a quick readout. The Secretary and the foreign minister met yesterday to discuss our bilateral relationship and other regional issues. The Secretary reiterated our commitment to the people of Sri Lanka after the historic January 8th elections and for the ongoing effort to strengthen democratic institutions in Sri Lanka. The Secretary reiterated support for the new government and its 100-day plan. He also underscored the United States and international commitment to accountability and reconciliation after nearly 30 years of war, and expressed ongoing support for a Sri Lanka that is peaceful, democratic, prosperous, inclusive, and unified,” she said.

Psaki said that the focus of the United States and the focus of its partners in the international community is supporting accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

“We’re determining the best way forward to address these issues,” she added.

Asked if Kerry had accepted an invitation to visit Sri Lanka, the US State Department spokesperson said that Kerry would like to visit Sri Lanka at an appropriate time.

(Colombo Gazette)

Sri Lanka’s Duty on War Crimes NYTimes

The Opinion Pages | EDITORIAL
Sri Lanka’s Duty on War Crimes
By THE EDITORIAL BOARDFEB. 10, 2015

It was just one month ago that Sri Lanka surprised the world by electing opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena as president, rejecting the authoritarianism, corruption and dynastic politics of the administration of the incumbent, Mahinda Rajapaksa. President Sirisena has moved swiftly to usher in a new chapter of hope for Sri Lanka.

So as not to reopen old wounds too soon, his government is now seeking a delay in the release of a report that is scheduled to be presented next month on a United Nations inquiry into war crimes and other human rights abuses committed during Sri Lanka’s civil war that ended in 2009. The government is also lobbying for support from the United States and the United Nations for a proposed domestic tribunal on abuses. The United Nations says as many as 40,000 Tamil civilians may have been killed during the last months of the war. Mr. Rajapaksa had flatly refused to cooperate with the United Nations inquiry.

Mr. Sirisena’s government has taken other positive steps to begin the healing process. It has pledged to free hundreds of detained ethnic Tamils and to restore to Tamil owners land seized by the military for commercial development projects. It has also appointed a new civilian governor for the ethnic Tamil-populated Northern Province and lifted a travel ban on foreigners to the area.

Mr. Rajapaksa and his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who, as defense secretary, oversaw some of the worst abuses during the civil war, are still national political forces. One of the new government’s concerns is the outcome of upcoming parliamentary elections.

However noble its motives, the Sirisena government must deal with the legacy of the past. Any delay in the release of the United Nations report must be brief. And the United Nations must remain involved. This is not a rebuke to Mr. Sirisena’s welcome intentions. It is simply the best way to guarantee that the inquiry is swift and independent, that witnesses are adequately protected and that perpetrators are finally punished.

இலங்கையில் இடம்பெற்றது இனப்படுகொலையே : வடமாகாண சபை

இலங்கையில் இடம்பெற்றது இனப்படுகொலையே : அரசு நிராகரிப்பு 

 இனப்படுகொலை நடைபெற்றதாக வடமாகாண சபை நிறைவேற்றிய தீர்மானத்தை ஏற்க முடியாது எனக் கூறி, அரசு நிராகரித்துள்ளது.

இனப்படுகொலை இலங்கையில் நடைபெற்றது என்பதை ஏற்றுக்கொள்ள முடியாது என அமைச்சரவை பேச்சாளர் அமைச்சர் டொக்டர் ராஜித்த சேனாரத்ன  தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

இறுதிக் கட்டப் போரின் போது ஏராளமான தமிழர்கள் பாதுகாப்பு படையினரால் காப்பாற்றப்பட்டார்கள் என்பதை அனைவரும் அறிவதாக அமைச்சர் கூறியுள்ளார்.

போர் இடம்பெற்ற காலப் பகுதியில் சிலர் அட்டூழியங்களைச் செய்திருந்தாலும் அவற்றை இனப்படுகொலை என கூற முடியாது என அவர் வலியுறுத்தியுள்ளார்.

இனப்படுகொலை என்ற வார்த்தைக்கு என்ன அர்த்தம் என்பதை வடமாகாண முதலமைச்சர் சி.வி விக்கேஸ்வரனுக்கு நன்றாகவே தெரியும் என கூறியுள்ள அமைச்சரவை பேச்சாளர், கடந்த முறை இதே தீர்மானம் சமர்ப்பிக்கப்பட்டபோது அதனை ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளாத முதலமைச்சர் தற்போது எவ்வாறு அதனை ஏற்றார் எனவும் கேள்வி எழுப்பியுள்ளார்.

இறுதிக்கட்ட போரின் போது நடைபெற்றதாக கூறப்படும் சில அட்டூழியங்கள் குறித்து விசாரிக்க சர்வதேச நடைமுறைக்கு அமைய உள்நாட்டிலேயே இலங்கை அரசு விசாரணை நடத்தவுள்ளதாகவும் டொக்டர் ராஜித்த ஹேனாரத்ன கூறியுள்ளார்.

``தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள் பொது மக்களை போரில் மனித கேடயங்களாக பயன்படுத்தியதே இறுதிக் கட்ட போரின் போது ஏற்பட்ட பெருமளவு உயிரிழப்புக்கான காரணம்.`` 

மைத்திரி அமைச்சரவை பேச்சாளர் அமைச்சர் டொக்டர் ராஜித்த சேனாரத்ன  

வடக்கு மாகாண சபையில் இன அழிப்பு தொடர்பிலான பிரேரணை நேற்று ஏகமனதாக நிறைவேற்றப்பட்டுள்ளது.

மாகாண சபை உறுப்பினர் எம்.கே சிவாஜிலிங்கத்தினால் 06 மாதங்களுக்கு முன்னர் இந்த பிரேரணை சபையில் முன்வைக்கப்பட்டிருந்தமை குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.