Economic War with China Is Everything, North Korea a 'Slideshow'

‘Economic War with China Is Everything,’ North Korea a ‘Sideshow’: White House Chief Strategist and that China is winning.

By Telesur
Global Research, August 18, 2017
teleSUR 17 August 2017

The United States is currently engaged in an “economic war” with China to maintain its position as the world’s top hegemon, and appears to be losing it, White House Strategist and former editor of the right-wing publication Breitbart News, Steve Bannon said in an unexpected interview published Wednesday.

“We’re at economic war with China. It’s in all their literature. They’re not shy about saying what they’re doing. One of us is going to be a hegemon in 25 or 30 years and its gonna be them if we go down this path,” Bannon said to author and professor Robert Kuttner.

“The economic war with China is everything. And we have have to be maniacally focused on that. If we continue to lose it, we’re five years away, I think, ten years at the most, of hitting an inflection point from which we’ll never be able to recover,” he continued.

Bannon indicated that the current tensions and threats surrounding the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), also known as North Korea, are just a “sideshow” for the battle for global hegemony with China. He said he is pressuring within the Trump administration to use the tensions in Korea as a way to impose economic pressure on China.

“We’re going to run the tables on these guys [China]. We’ve come to the conclusion that they’re in an economic war and they’re crushing us,” he said.

Although Trump has repeatedly engaged in beligerant rhetoric toward the DPRK, saying that the U.S.’s arsenal is “locked and loaded” and that the North Korean people will face “fire and fury,” Bannon directly rejected the potential for a military confrontation on the peninsula.

“There’s no military solution [to the DPRK’s nuclear threats], forget it. Until somebody solves the part of the equation that shows me that ten million people in Seoul don’t die in the first 30 minutes from conventional weapons, I don’t know what you’re talking about, there’s no military solution here, they got us,” Bannon said.

The DPRK has continued its program to develop ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons in spite of pressure and threats demanding that they halt the efforts. They claim that the weapons act as a deterrent to a potential U.S. invasion or regime change attempt.

Bannon went on to explain how he was acting withing the Trump administration to push anti-China economic policies, such as the recently announced Section 301 complaint from the 1974 Trade Act targeting China’s alleged “unfair” trade practices. His struggle is within the administration also, where he said he fights “every day” against the “apparatus” to pressure those within the administration to follow his line and sideline those who don’t.

China has been pushing for a “double freeze” plan, which would involve the U.S. halting its military exercises on the Korean Peninsula, which is a key demand of the DPRK, in exchange for Pyongyang stopping its missile tests. On Tuesday, U.S. Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert scoffed at the idea that such a deal would take place. Bannon however, indicated he might consider such a deal, but that such prospects were remote.

Trump is currently embroiled in criticism domestically and internationally for placing the blame for violence on “both sides” of the recent neo-Nazi and white-nationalist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, that resulted in a death and numerous injuries when a white-nationalist drove a car into a group of counter-protesters.

Bannon however, dismissed white nationalists as “a collection of clowns.”

“Ethno-nationalism – it’s losers. It’s a fringe element. I think the media plays it up too much,” he said.

While he rejected “ethno-nationalism” in the interview, he made clear that he was embracing economic nationalism, as embodied in his anti-China crusades. “If the left is focused on race and identity, and we go with economic nationalism, we can crush the Democrats,” he said. “I want them to talk about racism every day.”

As a former editor of the far-right wing publication Breitbart News, Bannon is considered to be a major figure within the U.S. far-right, and a major ideological force within the Trump administration as the White House Chief Strategist.

The original source of this article is teleSUR
Copyright © Telesur, teleSUR, 2017

புதினப்பலகைச் செய்திக்கு ENB கண்டனம்!

PTI வெளியிட்ட செய்தி

Lanka appoints first Tamil Navy chief after four decades

Colombo, Aug 18 (PTI) Rear Admiral Travis Sinniah was today appointed as the chief of Sri Lanka's naval forces, making him the first from the minority Tamil community to head the Navy since the brutal civil war erupted in the country 45 years ago.

Sinniah, who played a decisive role in the destruction of the LTTE warships in deep sea during the height of the civil war, was appointed as the Navy chief by President Maithripala Sirisena.
"Rear Admiral Travis Sinniah, who has served Sri Lanka Navy with immense loyalty for many decades, took office as the Navy Commander today," President Sirisena tweeted.
His services will be effective from August 22.

Sinniah succeeds Vice Admiral Ravi Wijegunaratne who has retired.

He is the second Tamil to head the Lankan Navy after Rajan Kadirgamar, who was the commander in the late 1960s.

Sinniah is the first from the Tamil community to head the Navy since the outbreak of the civil war in the north and east of the island in 1972.

He successfully commanded a mission in 2007 to destroy the LTTE's weapons smuggling ships in international waters off Indonesia and Australia, that is considered as Sri Lankan Navy's biggest achievement, media reports said.

Sinniah, who joined the Navy in 1982, was the senior most Naval officer to be in active combat operations at sea during the conflict with the LTTE separatists.

It was also announced that Wijegunaratne would be appointed as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
The LTTE waged a war with the government to carve out a separate Tamil homeland in the regions with the conflict ending in 2009. Tamils in the country claim discrimination at the hands of the Sinhala majority.

According to UN figures, up to 40,000 civilians were killed by security forces during Rajapaksa's regime that brought an end to the brutal civil war with with the defeat of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009.

http://ptinews.com/news/8992734_Lanka-appoints-first-Tamil-Navy-chief-after-four-decades.html

புதினப் பலகை வெளியிட்ட செய்தி:

அரை நூற்றாண்டுக்குப் பின் சிறிலங்கா கடற்படைத் தளபதியாக தமிழருக்கு வாய்ப்பு

Aug 19, 2017 | 2:22 by சிறப்புச் செய்தியாளர் in செய்திகள் 
சிறிலங்காவில் கிட்டத்தட்ட அரை நூற்றாண்டுகளுக்குப் பின்னர் தமிழர் ஒருவரை படைத்தளபதிகளில் ஒருவராக, சிறிலங்கா அதிபர் மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேன நியமித்திருப்பதாக அனைத்துலக ஊடகங்கள் செய்தி வெளியிட்டுள்ளன.

சிறிலங்கா கடற்படையின் 21 ஆவது தளபதியாக, றியர் அட்மிரல் ட்ராவிஸ் சின்னையா நேற்று சிறிலங்கா அதிபரால் நியமிக்கப்பட்டார். இவர் ஒரு தமிழரராவார்.

1970ஆம் ஆண்டுக்குப் பின்னர், சிறிலங்காவின் தனிநாடு கோரிய தமிழ் மக்களின் ஆயுதப் போராட்டம் உருவான பின்னர், தமிழர்கள் எவரும், முப்படைகளின் தளபதியாக சிறிலங்கா அரசாங்கத்தினால் நியமிக்கப்படவில்லை.

சிறிலங்கா ஆயுதப்படைகளில் சிங்களவர்களே பெரும்பாலும் அங்கம் வகித்திருந்த போதிலும், உயர் அதிகாரிகளாக இருந்த தமிழர்கள் சிலர், முப்படைகளுக்கும் தலைமை தாங்கும் தளபதியாக நியமிக்கப்படக் கூடிய வாய்ப்புகளைப் பெற்றிருந்தாலும், அந்த வாய்ப்புகள் அவர்களுக்கு மறுக்கப்பட்டிருந்தன.

இந்த நிலையில், 1970 களுக்குப் பின்னர் முதல் முறையாக தமிழரான றியர் அட்மிரல் ட்ராவிஸ் சின்னையாவை, சிறிலங்கா கடற்படைத் தளபதியாக நியமித்துள்ளார் சிறிலங்கா அதிபர் மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேன.

இவர் சிறிலங்கா கடற்படையின் தளபதியாக பொறுப்பேற்கும் இரண்டாவது தமிழர் ஆவார்.
இதற்கு முன்னர், அட்மிரல் ராஜநாதன் கதிர்காமர் சிறிலங்கா கடற்படைத் தளபதியாக பதவி வகித்திருந்தார்.1960 நொவம்பர் 16ஆம் நாள் தொடக்கம், 1970 ஜூலை 30ஆம் நாள் வரை, சுமார் 10 ஆண்டுகள் அவர் சிறிலங்கா கடற்படைத் தளபதியாக பதவியில் இருந்தார்.

சிறிலங்கா கடற்படையின் தளபதியாக நீண்டகாலம் பதவியில் இருந்தவர் இவரேயாவார்.
அதேவேளை, சிறிலங்கா இராணுவத்தின் முதலாவது தளபதியாக, மேஜர் ஜெனரல் அன்ரன் முத்துக்குமாரு,  1955 பிப்ரவரி 09 தொடக்கம், 1959 டிசம்பர் 31 வரை பணியாற்றியிருந்தார்.
போர் முடிவுக்கு வந்து 8 ஆண்டுகளுக்குப் பின்னர், சிறிலங்கா கடற்படைத் தளபதியாக, தமிழரான, றியர் அட்மிரல் ட்ராவிஸ் சின்னையா நியமிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளமை தொடர்பான செய்திக்கு, அனைத்துலக ஊடகங்கள் முக்கியத்துவம் அளித்துள்ளன.

றியர் அட்மிரல் ட்ராவிஸ் சின்னையா, முன்னைய ஆட்சிக்காலத்தில் கோத்தாபய ராஜபக்சவினால், அமெரிக்காவின் முகவர் என்று குற்றம்சாட்டப்பட்டவராவார்.

அரசியல் பழிவாங்கல் அச்சுறுத்தலால் சிறிலங்காவில் இருந்து வெளியேறி, அவுஸ்ரேலியாவில் தஞ்சமடைந்திருந்தார். ஆட்சி மாற்றத்துக்குப் பின்னரே அவர் நாடு திரும்பினார் என்பதுது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

http://www.puthinappalakai.net/2017/08/19/news/25351

ENB இனத்துக்குள்ளும், சாதிக்குள்ளும் வர்க்கம் உண்டு!

Mr.A. Amirthalingam Leader FP

 A. Amirthalingam in 1977, a Tamil has been chosen Leader of the Opposition.

SAID

``இந்திய அமைதி காப்பு படையின் துப்பாக்கிகள் சட்டபூர்வமானவை``

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

Lanka appoints first Tamil Navy chief after four decades

Colombo, Aug 18 (PTI) Rear Admiral Travis Sinniah was today appointed as the chief of Sri Lanka's naval forces, making him the first from the minority Tamil community to head the Navy since the brutal civil war erupted in the country 45 years ago,

Sinniah, who played a decisive role in the destruction of the LTTE warships in deep sea during the height of the civil war,

was appointed as the Navy chief by President Maithripala Sirisena.

"Rear Admiral Travis Sinniah, who has served Sri Lanka Navy with immense loyalty for many decades, took office as the Navy Commander today," President Sirisena tweeted.
His services will be effective from August 22.

Sinniah succeeds Vice Admiral Ravi Wijegunaratne who has retired.

He is the second Tamil to head the Lankan Navy after Rajan Kadirgamar, who was the commander in the late 1960s.

Sinniah is the first from the Tamil community to head the Navy since the outbreak of the civil war in the north and east of the island in 1972.

He successfully commanded a mission in 2007 to destroy the LTTE's weapons smuggling ships in international waters off Indonesia and Australia, that is considered as Sri Lankan Navy's biggest achievement, media reports said.

Sinniah, who joined the Navy in 1982, was the senior most Naval officer to be in active combat operations at sea during the conflict with the LTTE separatists.

It was also announced that Wijegunaratne would be appointed as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
The LTTE waged a war with the government to carve out a separate Tamil homeland in the regions with the conflict ending in 2009. Tamils in the country claim discrimination at the hands of the Sinhala majority.

According to UN figures, up to 40,000 civilians were killed by security forces during Rajapaksa's regime that brought an end to the brutal civil war with with the defeat of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009.

By  Ayshwarya Yapa
 ===============
Eastern Naval Commander Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah has been appointed as the new Commander of Sri Lanka Navy.

He will accordingly be taking over the reigns from his predecessor Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, who formally assumed his duties as Navy Commander on July 11, 2015.

His tenure is scheduled to end on August 22, 2017, and the new Commander will accordingly assume his duties on the same day.

Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah will become the 21st Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy.
He received his letter of appointment from President Maithripala Sirisena at the President’s Official Residence, today (18), the President’s Media Division reported.

Secretary to the President Austin Fernando and Defense Secretary Kapila Waidyaratne had also been present on this momentous occasion.

Travis Sinniah joined the Sri Lanka Navy in 1982, and has been awarded a number of medals, including the Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya, Rana Wickrama, Ranashura (three times) and Uttama Seva.
============
India Elects ‘Untouchable’ President From Lowest ‘Dalit’ Caste
by Alastair Jamieson

Ram Nath Kovind, India's 14th president. Amit Dave / Reuters

"I respect the Indian constitution and no political interest can be above the rule enshrined in the rule book,"

LONDON — India chose an “untouchable” as its next president Thursday after the first contest in which both candidates were from the lowest tier of the country's caste system.

Ram Nath Kovind, nominated by the ruling BJP party, had been clear favorite for the largely ceremonial post, which is decided by 4,800 lawmakers across the country.

Under India’s constitution, the prime minister and his ministers wield executive power but the president sometimes plays a role such as deciding which party should form a government if a general election is inconclusive.

Kovind, 72, is not the first president to be “Dalit,” a term that means “oppressed” in Sanskrit and refers to members of the lowest caste. Kocheril Raman Narayanan took office in 1997 more than half a century after Gandhi pledged to end the country’s ancient system of discrimination.

 Image: Ram Nath Kovind, India's new president, is presented with a garland as part of a nation-wide tour in Ahmedabad

It is, however, the first time since India gained independence from Britain in 1947 that both the final candidates were Dalit — former diplomat Meira Kumar was also low-caste — and it is also the first time that the upper-caste dominated BJP has nominated a Dalit for the job.

One-fifth of all parliamentary candidates must be Dalit under decades-long affirmative-action laws introduced to improve representation and outlaw discrimination. Dalits are also guaranteed a proportion of college places and government jobs.

But while social mobility has improved, particularly in India’s fast-growing cities, rural areas still often witness members of lower castes forced to live in separate areas or prevented from using communal facilities such as water fountains.

Caste campaigner Behan Mayawati called Thursday’s result “a huge victory.”

James Chiriyankandath, a senior research fellow at the University of London’s Institute of Commonwealth Studies, said the real significance was not about caste but rather the expanding influence of the BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and its brand of Hindu nationalism.
Related: Why Cow Urine Can Be as Valuable as Milk in India

“Caste still plays an important role in electoral mobilization but the religious divide between Hindus and non-Hindus, particularly Muslims, has become one of the main fissures in Indian politics,” he told NBC News.

“It is the most explosive division in India today. Tensions could be built up with the pursuit of policies such as bans on the slaughter of cows.”

He said BJP lawmakers in northern areas of India has “ratcheted up the tension on these religious lines.”

One-sixth of India’s population — about 200 million out of a total 1.35 billion — is Muslim, Chiriyankandath said. Much smaller minorities include Christians, Sikhs and Buddhists.

India will next month elect a vice-president. Another victory for the BJP would give it unprecedented influence in parliament — and potentially a role in deciding the outcome of the 2019 general election if the result is inconclusive.

“These elections are important in terms of consolidation of BJP’s grip on power,” Chiriyankandath said.

Since the rise of the BJP, India has seen a rise in Hindu nationalism, including the emergence of “cow vigilante” attacks on people accused of eating beef or slaughtering cows, which are sacred to Hindus.

Modi last month called on India’s states to quell the attacks, following the follow the stabbing to death in June of a 16-year-old boy accused of possessing beef on a train.

India's Supreme Court on July 11 overturned a government decree on the trade of cattle for slaughter, an order that threatened the country's multi-billion dollar meat and leather industry dominated by Muslims, Reuters reported.

Kovind previously said he was committed to India's status as a secular democratic republic.
"I respect the Indian constitution and no political interest can be above the rule enshrined in the rule book," he told Reuters earlier this month.
===============


After A. Amirthalingam in 1977, this is the second time a Tamil has been chosen Leader of the Opposition.

 

 “we are loyal to this country and people of this country”. It was his party’s “primary duty” to ensure that there was a “fair and acceptable” settlement of the Tamil issue.

After a gap of over three decades, a Tamil lawmaker has become the Leader of the Opposition in the Sri Lankan parliament.

As soon as the House met on Thursday morning, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that Tamil National Alliance leader R. Sampanthan had been made the Leader of the Opposition and said no other name had been proposed.

A. Amirthalingam of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) was the first Tamil to hold the post between 1977 and 1983.

Mr. Sampanthan, who, in 1956, joined the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (also known as Federal Party), was first elected to Parliament from Trincomalee in 1977 on the ticket of the TULF when the general elections were held under the 1972 Constitution.

After resigning as MP along with other members of the TULF in 1983, Mr. Sampanthan returned to the Parliament in July 1997. Since 2001, he has been heading the TNA, which now comprises the ITAK, the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) and the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE). According to records of the Parliament, Mr. Sampanthan has served as MP for more than 22 years.

Later, speaking on a motion to increase the number of Cabinet Ministers to 48 and that of State Ministers and Deputy Ministers to 45, Mr. Sampanthan told the Parliament that his party would work closely with everyone to resolve the Tamil question while “we are loyal to this country and people of this country”. It was his party’s “primary duty” to ensure that there was a “fair and acceptable” settlement of the Tamil issue.

Tabled by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the motion was adopted by the House with 143 voting in favour of and 16 against the resolution. Sixty-three members including the that of the TNA were absent at the time of division. While the Speaker did not take part in the voting, S.C. Mayadunne, who was made MP through the national list of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), resigned his membership earlier in the day and the third person had not yet taken oath as MP.
The approval of the Parliament was required as the 19th Constitutional Amendment fixed the ceiling of the Cabinet Ministers at 30 and other categories of Ministers at 40.

 

சமரன்: நக்சல்பாரி புரட்சியாளர் தோழர் பச்சியப்பன் நினைவேந்...

சமரன்: நக்சல்பாரி புரட்சியாளர் தோழர் பச்சியப்பன் நினைவேந்...:   நக்சல்பாரி புரட்சியாளர் தோழர் பச்சியப்பன் அவர்களின் நினைவேந்தல் கூட்டம்   20-08-2017 திங்கள் - மாலை 5:00 மணி  பாலக்கோடு பேருந...

சமரன்: GST எதிர்ப்பு கழக மறியல் பிரச்சார தெருச் சுவரொட்டி...

சமரன்: GST எதிர்ப்பு கழக மறியல் பிரச்சார தெருச் சுவரொட்டி...:      

போலிச் சுதந்திரம் பொசுங்கியே தீரும் !

 

 

 

அமெரிக்காவில் வெண் பயங்கரம்!

Order issued to evacuate Eastern Uni students

Order issued to evacuate Eastern Uni students
2017-08-11 19:46:36
An evacuation order was issued by the Eravur Magistrate’s Court today  following a request made by the Eravur Police, the University’s Vice Chancellor said.

A tense situation was prevailing at the Eastern University from Tuesday when a large group of students surrounded the university's administrative building 'Senate House' and held it's Vice Chancellor captive, making a number demands.

(??????????????????????????????????????????????? ENB )

The students had ignored a request made by the police to release the VC and move out of the premises.

Vice Chancellor Prof. T. Jayasingam told Daily Mirror that the university authorities would be forced to shut down the university temporarily if the students refused to obey the Court order.

According to the Eravur Police, some 200 second year students were continuing to surround the 'Senate House'.

(Chaturanga Pradeep and Thilanka Kanakarathna)

White supremacists, white nationalists, and neo-Nazis marched on US

 “You will not replace us” and “White lives matter.”

A group of racist protesters gathered in Charlottesville with tiki torches, chanting “you will not replace us” and “white lives matter.”

Updated Aug 12, 2017, 11:43am

 

On Friday night, a group of about 100 white supremacists, white nationalists, and neo-Nazis marched on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Virginia, carrying tiki torches, giving the Nazi salute, and chanting slogans including “you will not replace us” and “white lives matter.”

At one point, the torch-wielding group of mostly white men surrounded a smaller of group of counterprotesters standing at the base of a statue of Thomas Jefferson, and a brawl broke out. Counterprotesters reported being hit with pepper spray by marchers; according to the Washington Post, one counterprotester also used a “chemical spray” against marchers. “They completely surrounded us and wouldn’t let us out,” local activist Emily Gorcenski told the Guardian.

Organizers affiliated with the white nationalist alt-right called the march in advance of a larger protest scheduled for Saturday to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in a park in Charlottesville.

The images from the march offer a stunning glimpse at just how real white supremacy still is in America. Here are five of the most evocative:

The protesters carried tiki torches — yes, there is some irony here — as they marched to the University of Virginia

    Zach Roberts/NurPhoto via Getty Images

 Anti-racism and anti-fascist counterprotesters were surrounded by the demonstrators at the base of a statue of Thomas Jefferson

 

 Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images          

 

Some of the racist protesters were very passionate and angry — leading to a brawl that police broke up later in the night

 

 Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The protesters marched through the University of Virginia, which quickly condemned the torch-wielding demonstrations and the violence they caused

          Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

         

During a brawl, protesters and counterprotesters were hit with pepper spray. Here, one white supremacist helps another clean it off.

Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

 

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TNA calls on US to ensure GoSL fulfils its Geneva commitments
August 11, 2017, 10:20 pm

 

Sampanthan shaking hands with Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen

 

The United States has been urged to ensure that Sri Lanka fully implemented the Geneva Resolution 30/1 co-sponsored by Colombo on Oct 1, 2015.

The Geneva resolution has proposed setting up of a hybrid war crimes court including foreign judges among other things.

A statement issued by the Office of the Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan quoted the veteran politician as having told a visiting delegation of US Congressmen accompanied by US Ambassador in Colombo Atul Keshap that their government should hold the Sri Lankan Government responsible the commitments they had made to the international community, particularly with regard to the Geneva Resolution.

MP Sampanthan said "Sri Lankan Government cannot shirl its responsibilty for fulfilling its commitment to the international community".

Sampanthan and Jaffna District MP and TNA spokesman M.A. Sumanthiran in Colombo met the delegation on Aug 10.The Congress delegates led by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (Republican -New Jersey)     Chairman, House Appropriations Committee, comprised Rep. Henry Cuellar (Democrat - Texas)   Member, House Appropriations Committee and other Officials.

Briefing on the progress of the framing of new Constitution Sampanthan alleged there was undue delay in this process as both the UNP and SLFP held on to their political future than looking at the interest of the country.  Further, he said that after obtaining the majority in Parliament the new Constitution must be approved by the people at a referendum. Sampanthan highlighted that the opportunity should not be missed and "I am not speaking only on behalf of Tamils but for the whole Sri Lanka and its people", he added.

Speaking further Sampanthan stressed that the Sinhala political leaders should go out and campaign on the new Constitution which was based on a united, undivided and indivisible Sri Lanka, if they did so not only this process would end in success but also it would clear all the unwarranted doubts that a section of the people had in their minds, he said.

"Over fifty per cent of the Tamil population has left the country due to this unresolved national question, and if we don’t find a reasonable solution more people will leave, we don’t want that to happen," he added.

 Sampanthan urged the delegates to bring to the notice of the Government hierarchy that uncertainty in the matter could not be continued and they should come together and resolve the national question by enacting a new Constitution which will have the maximum possible consent of both the people and the political parties. 

Speaking on the issues faced by the Tamil People, Sampanthan highlighted that the Issue of the missing persons must be addressed without any further delay. He noted that though the Office of the Missing Person Act had been passed in Parliament it had not been operationalized yet. By setting up the Office of the Missing Persons and conducting credible investigations truth should be ascertained in the cases of missing persons and the Families of the missing persons should be provided with the relevant information as to what happened to their loved ones.

On the question of release of Lands, Sampanthan highlighted that the military in the occupation of those lands had been engaged in cultivation and they sell the produce to the owners of the same land. He said the situation was very disturbing as people had been deprived of their fundamental right to live in their land even after eight years since the war came to an end. Though the Government had taken certain steps in that regard the process was not rapid enough, Sampanthan added.

He said "I cannot let my people suffer indefinitely on these matters and this Government must realize that these fundamental issues must be addressed early as possible to avoid adverse situations emerging in the future".

Speaking on the unemployment among the youth, Sumanthiran highlighted that Government seemed to have no concrete plans to create jobs. The unemployment issue had also been the root cause for many social issues faced by the young people in the country, he added. Sampanthan requested the delegates to initiate proposals in that regard and to support the young people of the country.

The congressional delegation thanked Sampanthan and said "We salute your courage and perseverance over two decades on these matters and assured that they would certainly take up his concerns when they meet with the Members of the Government"
 

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