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Revealed: UK sells arms to Sri Lanka's brutal regime

Revealed: UK sells arms to Sri Lanka's brutal regime

Exclusive: Government database shows that sales continue despite litany of rights abuses

Jerome Taylor  Monday 18 February 2013 The Independent (UK)

Britain is selling millions of pounds worth of small arms and ammunition to Sri Lanka despite the country’s dire human rights record, The Independent can disclose today.

Figures taken from the Government’s own database show how the authorities in Colombo have gone on a buying spree of British small arms and weaponry worth at least £3m.

Some of the items sold to Sri Lanka include pistols, rifles, assault rifles, body armour and combat shotguns – despite the Foreign Office still classifying the South Asian nation as a “country of concern” for rights abuses.

The sales indicate how far President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government has been welcomed back into the international fold by Britain, despite the behaviour of his armed forces during the brutal last few months of the 2009 civil war.The conflict was the culmination of a 30-year conflict with violent Tamil Tiger separatists and resulted in the deaths of between 60,000 and 100,000 people over a four-month period, most of whom were civilians.

Both sides were accused of human rights abuses and although the Sri Lankan government won a comprehensive victory against the Tigers, it has since resisted international calls for an independent investigation into well-documented allegations that Sri Lankan Army soldiers were involved in rape,
torture, extra-judicial killings and the deliberate targeting of civilians.

The figures on Britain’s most recent arms sales come from the Government’s own Export Controls Organisation, which releases quarterly figures.

They reveal that in the three months between July and September last year, the UK approved export licences worth £3.741m, of which just over £3m were military items.

More than £2m of the sales came under the “ML1” label – a category used by the Government to denote small arms and weapons. Export licences were granted on four separate occasions – once in July and three times in August. In total the Government approved the sale of 600 assault rifles, 650 rifles, 100 pistols and 50 combat shotguns. The sales also included £330,000-worth of ammunition and £655,000 in body armour.

It is not clear whether the sales are a one-off or represent a significant increase in British weaponry heading to Sri Lanka. From the beginning of 2008 to June 2012, the value of export licences to Sri Lanka amounted to just £12m.

Nonetheless there were no licence refusals in the third quarter of last year, despite concerns being raised about human rights in Sri Lanka. At the time, judges in the High Court were granting a slew of last-minute injunctions to stop the Government forcibly deporting failed Tamil asylum seekers due
to clear evidence that some of them risked being tortured on their return.

Human Rights Watch, Freedom from Torture and Tamils Against Genocide have documented at least 40 cases where Tamils who were returned to Sri Lanka from European nations in the past two years have been tortured during interrogation by the Sri Lankan authorities.

The rush of sales came just a month after President Rajapaksa was welcomed to Britain alongside fellow Commonwealth leaders to attend the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations in June. Although the trip involved no declared business deals, Mr Rajapaksa was photographed shaking hands with the
Queen at a lunch for Commonwealth leaders.

His presence there sparked mass protests by British Tamils who were incensed that Mr Rajapaksa – whose brother Gotabhaya was in charge of the Sri Lankan army during the 2009 war – was being so publicly rehabilitated.



Balachandran Prabhakaran after he was captured

A series of photographs taken a few hours apart and on the same camera, show Balachandran Parabhakaran, son of Villupillai Prabhakaran, head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). One of them shows the boy sitting in a bunker, alive and unharmed, apparently in the custody of Sri Lankan troops. Another, a few hours later, shows the boy’s body lying on the ground, his chest pierced by bullets. ===================

A spokesperson for UK Trade and Investment insisted that Britain has some of the most stringent export regulation in the world when it comes to arms.

But Kaye Stearman, from the Campaign Against Arms Trade, said: “Given Sri Lanka’s shameful military record and its continuing abuse of human rights, it seems extraordinary that the Government has approved these export licences for small arms and ammunition. In 2011-12, not a single licence
application for these items was refused, even though the Foreign Office lists Sri Lanka as a ‘country of concern’ for its human rights record.”

Suren Surend-iran, from the Global Tamil Forum, a group based outside Sri Lanka that lobbies for Tamil independence, added: “The Coalition has a lot to answer [for], when especially the recent Foreign Affairs Select Committee report highlights the appalling status of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.”

The final destination of the small arms is not known – but a footnote in the Government’s data suggests some of it may have been intended for “maritime anti-piracy” measures. Sri Lanka is fast turning itself into an anti-piracy hub, centred around the south-western port of Galle where many
ex-navy and army servicemen who fought against the Tamil Tigers are making themselves available for security details on international shipping routes heading towards the pirate-infested waters off the Horn of Africa.



Balachandran Prabhakaran's body with bullet holes

 The authorities always said Parabhakaran’s son was killed in cross-fire, as troops moved in to take the LTTE’s last stronghold, located on a scrap of coastline near Mullaitivu in the north-east of the country.But the images, contained in a new documentary, No Fire Zone, which will be screened at the Geneva Human Rights Film Festival during the UN Human Rights Council meeting in March, suggest the boy was captured alive and killed at a later stage.
A forensic pathologist who examined the later images for the film-makers, said the boy was shot five times in the chest. Furthermore, propellant burns around the wound suggest he was shot at very close range.
=============================

Anti-piracy measures could also include the Sri Lankan Navy, which has a controversial track record especially when it comes to firing on Indian fishermen from the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Over the past few decades hundreds of Indian Tamil fishermen have been shot and killed by Sri
Lankans after they have inadvertently or deliberately strayed into their waters.

Earlier this month, 12 Indian fishermen claimed they were thrashed with sticks by Sri Lankan Navy personnel while fishing near Katchatheevu, an islet ceded by India to its neighbour. The Sri Lankan High Commission did not respond to calls to comment on the sales.

Ms Stearman said researchers have increasingly seen anti-piracy measures being used by the Government to justify arms sales but that the final destination for such weapons is often ambiguous. “Since the licence end-user is not listed, and the notes are often worded ambiguously, we don’t
know which weapons are intended for this use,” she said.

“Given that Sri Lanka is now establishing itself as an anti-piracy centre, with operations staffed by ex-military personnel, there must be questions about who the weapons go to, how they are used, and where they end up. This is an area where greater transparency is badly needed.”
=========================================================

Watch Barack Obama's full 2013 State of the Union Address.

 

பிரபாகரனின் கொள்கைகளை முன்னெடுப்பவர்கள் பயங்கரவாதிகள்: யாழ்.கட்டளைத் தளபதி

புலிகளின் தலைவர் பிரபாகரனின் கொள்கைகளை முன்னெடுப்பவர்கள் பயங்கரவாதிகள்: யாழ்.கட்டளைத் தளபதி

[ புதன்கிழமை, 13 பெப்ரவரி 2013, 12:53.20 PM GMT ]

தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் தலைவர் வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரனின் கொள்கைகளை முன்னெடுக்க அனுமதிக்க முடியாதுபோது அக்கொள்கையை முன்னெடுக்க விரும்புகிறவர்கள் பயங்கரவாதிகள் என்றே கருதப்படுவார்கள் என யாழ். மாவட்ட இராணுவக் கட்டளைத் தளபதி மேஜர் ஜெனரல் மகிந்த ஹத்துருசிங்க தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

இது தொடர்பில் யாழ்ப்பாணத்தில் இடம்பெற்ற செய்தியாளர் மாநாட்டில் அவர் மேலும் தெரிவிக்கையில்,

புலிகளின் தலைவர் இறந்து விட்டார். நாட்டில் இனிமேல் அவர் சம்பந்தப்பட்ட எந்த விடங்களையும் மேற்கொள்ள முடியாது. அவரது கொள்கைகளை யாரும் முன்னெடுக்க முடியாது.

கடந்த காலத்தில் மிகவும் பயங்கரமான ஒரு பயங்கரவாதத்தோடு இராணுவத்தினராகிய நாம் சண்டையிட்டோம். இதற்காக பாரிய ஆயுதங்களையும் நாம் பாவித்தோம்.

தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள் இலங்கைக்குள் ஒரு தனி நாட்டிற்காக போராடினார்கள். அவர்கள் இன்று அழிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளனர்.

ஆனாலும் அவர்களின் சில எச்சங்களும், அவர்களுக்கு ஆதரவான சிலரும் இன்றும் தனிநாட்டிற்காகவே போராடுகின்றனர்.

இலங்கையில் இன்னொரு தனிநாட்டு உருவாவதற்கு அரசாங்கம் ஒருபோதும் அனுமதிக்காது. நாமும் அனுமதிக்க மாட்டோம் என்றார்.

WikiLeaks: LTTE’s Motives For Playing A ‘Surprise Card’ In Oslo Were Two Fold – GoSL To US

WikiLeaks: LTTE’s Motives For Playing A ‘Surprise Card’ In Oslo Were Two Fold – GoSL To US
February 11, 2013 | Filed under: Colombo Telegraph,News,STORIES,WikiLeaks | Posted by: COLOMBO_TELEGRAPH

By Colombo Telegraph -

“Taking an evenhanded tone, Palihakkara stated that he surmised the LTTE’s motives for playing a ‘surprise card’ in Oslo were two fold. First, they wanted to demonstrate to the Tamil diaspora, which in large part funds the terrorist organization either willingly or unwillingly, that the E.U. ban had
neither affected their fundraising and recruitment abilities nor their resolve. Second, Palihakkara contended, the LTTE wanted a well-publicized platform from which to release their clearly premeditated ‘Oslo Communiqu’ of June 9: the document may have presaged LTTE military or other violent action against the GSL.” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.

A Leaked ‘Confidential’ US diplomatic cable, dated June 13, 2006, updated the Secretary of State regarding and a meeting Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead had with Foreign Secretary H. M. G. S. Palihakkara. The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database.
The cable is signed by the US Ambassador to Colombo Jeffrey J. Lunstead.

The ambassador wrote; “Ambassador met with Foreign Secretary Palihakkara on June 13 to discuss the situation after the LTTE scuttling of talks with the GSL in Oslo. Palihakkara said he had opted out of accompanying Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera to Oslo to meet with the Norwegians
June 12 in order to wait for Oslo delegation head and Peace Secretariat chief Palitha Kohona’s debrief upon the latter’s return to Sri Lanka.”

“While Palihakkara admitted the possibility of “nasty” Tiger violence, he said, “My gut feeling is that the LTTE is more posturing than substance. I don’t think there will be a major security problem.” On the issue of LTTE refusal to accept EU nationals as members of the SLMM, Palihakkara
recommended patience. “The LTTE needs the SLMM as much as anyone else.” Similarly, Norway is “correctly facing a lot of criticism by trying to accommodate the LTTE” but “Norway must be given some space” to facilitate.” Lunstead further wrote.

Under the subheading “Devolution Think Tank” he wrote;  ”Palihakkara noted that President Rajapaksa is taking a proactive approach to the peace process following the failure of the Oslo talks. Three initiatives include: the appointment of a bipartisan committee or ‘think tank’ of Sri Lankan
academics to draft a proposal for maximum devolution of power to the North and East; ‘humanitarian focal points’ to deal with displaced persons in the East; and increased political dialog with the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and other Tamil groups. ‘The TNA,’ Palihakkara added, ‘is
also in an impossible situation. They are afraid.”‘(Presumably Palihakkara meant that the TNA has little choice but to toe the LTTE line.)”

Read the relevant part of the cable below;
 VZCZCXRO6947
OO RUEHBI
DE RUEHLM #0998/01 1641136
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 131136Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3660
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 9715
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 6144
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 4179
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 9250
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 3133
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2210
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 3044
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 0254
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 6695
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 4578
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1209 C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000998
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2016
TAGS: PREL PTER PHUM CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: FOREIGN SECRETARY DISCUSSES OSLO,
POSITIVELY RECEIVES AMBASSADOR'S DEMARCHE ON TERRORISM
WORKING GROUPS
REF: A. COLOMBO 990 AND PREVIOUS
     ¶B. STATE 94541
Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey Lunstead.  1.4(b,d) ---------------
The Tiger Card
---------------
¶2. (C) Ambassador met with Foreign Secretary Palihakkara on
June 13 to discuss the situation after the LTTE scuttling of
talks with the GSL in Oslo.  Palihakkara said he had opted
out of accompanying Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera to
Oslo to meet with the Norwegians June 12 in order to wait for
Oslo delegation head and Peace Secretariat chief Palitha
Kohona's debrief upon the latter's return to Sri Lanka.
¶3. (C) Taking an evenhanded tone, Palihakkara stated that he
surmised the LTTE's motives for playing a "surprise card" in
Oslo were two fold.  First, they wanted to demonstrate to the
Tamil diaspora, which in large part funds the terrorist
organization either willingly or unwillingly, that the E.U.
ban had neither affected their fundraising and recruitment
abilities nor their resolve.  Second, Palihakkara contended,
the LTTE wanted a well-publicized platform from which to
release their clearly premeditated "Oslo Communiqu" of June
9: the document may have presaged LTTE military or other
violent action against the GSL.
------------
Gut Feeling
------------
¶4. (C) While Palihakkara admitted the possibility of "nasty"
Tiger violence, he said, "My gut feeling is that the LTTE is
more posturing than substance.  I don't think there will be a
major security problem."  On the issue of LTTE refusal to
accept EU nationals as members of the SLMM, Palihakkara
recommended patience.  "The LTTE needs the SLMM as much as
anyone else."  Similarly, Norway is "correctly facing a lot
of criticism by trying to accommodate the LTTE" but "Norway
must be given some space" to facilitate.
----------------------
Devolution Think Tank
----------------------
¶5. (C) Palihakkara noted that President Rajapaksa is taking a
proactive approach to the peace process following the failure
of the Oslo talks.  Three initiatives include: the
appointment of a bipartisan committee or "think tank" of Sri
Lankan academics to draft a proposal for maximum devolution
of power to the North and East; "humanitarian focal points"
to deal with displaced persons in the East; and increased
political dialog with the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance
(TNA) and other Tamil groups.  "The TNA," Palihakkara added,
"is also in an impossible situation.  They are afraid."
(Presumably Palihakkara meant that the TNA has little choice COLOMBO 00000998  002 OF 003
but to toe the LTTE line.) LUNSTEAD

After North Korean Nuclear Test, China Must Deal With Its Wayward Ally

News Analysis - New York TimesAfter North Korean Nuclear Test, China Must Deal With Its Wayward Ally By JANE PERLEZ
 Published: February 12, 2013

BEIJING — In the aftermath of Tuesday’s nuclear test by North Korea, China will almost certainly join the United States in supporting tougher sanctions at the United Nations, accompanied by sterner reprimands from Beijing against its recalcitrant ally in Pyongyang.

But as impatient as China might be with North Korea, there is little chance that the new Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, will move quickly to change the nation’s long-held policy of propping up the walled-off government that has long served as a buffer against closer intrusion by the United States on the Korean Peninsula.

“North Korea’s nuclear test will make the new Xi Jinping

administration angry, and give China a headache.”

The Chinese military, and to a lesser extent the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party, assert strong influence on China’s Korean policy, and both these powerful entities prefer to keep North Korea close at hand, Chinese and American analysts say.

While the People’s Liberation Army does not even conduct military exercises with the North Koreans — the government in the North forbids such contact with outsiders — Chinese military strategists adhere to the doctrine that they cannot afford to abandon their ally, no matter how bad its
behavior, analysts here say.

At the same time, the Chinese Communist Party looks upon the North Korean Communist Party — led by Kim Jong-un, the grandson of the nation’s founder — as a fraternal brotherhood. Indeed, relations between the two countries are conducted largely between the two parties rather than through
the more normal diplomatic channels between the two foreign ministries.

But within this basic contour there could be some adjustments by Mr. Xi, according to Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Peking University, an advocate of a tougher policy by China against North Korea.

“One nuclear test will not make China’s new administration decide to ‘abandon North Korea’ but it will definitely worsen China-North Korea relations,” Professor Zhu wrote in a recent article in the Straits Times of Singapore. “North Korea’s nuclear test will make the new Xi Jinping
administration angry, and give China a headache.”

Mr. Xi, who became head of the Communist Party and military council in November, will ascend to the presidency of the country next month. Already he has shown himself to be more nationalistic than his predecessor, Hu Jintao, displaying China’s determination to prevail in the East China Sea crisis
in which China is seeking to wrest control of islands administered by Japan. He has also displayed considerably more interest in China’s military, visiting bases and troops in the last two months with blandishments to soldiers to be combat ready.

To improve China’s strained relationship with the United States, Mr. Xi could start with getting tougher on North Korea, harnessing China’s clout with the outlier government to help slow down its nuclear program. If Mr. Xi does not help in curbing the North Koreans, perhaps by privately
threatening to pull the plug on infusions of Chinese oil and investments that keep North Korea afloat, he will almost certainly face an accelerated American ballistic missile defense program in Northeast Asia on behalf of Japan and other allies in the region. That would be an unpalatable situation
for China.

The Obama administration excoriated Mr. Hu after North Korea’s second nuclear test in 2009, accusing him of “willful blindness” to that country’s actions.

“With Hu out of the picture, the administration is intent on determining whether Xi Jinping will prove more attentive to U.S. security concerns,” said

Jonathan D. Pollack, director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution.
“How Xi chooses to respond will be an important early signal of his foreign policy priorities and whether he is ready to cooperate much more openly and fully with Washington and Seoul than his predecessor,” he said, referring to South Korea.

A more heightened debate about North Korea is now swirling around China’s foreign policy circles. On one side are those like Professor Zhu who favor some kind of co-operation with the United States in curbing North Korea’s nuclear program. On the other side are the traditionalists in powerful
positions in the army and the party who adhere to the buffer zone theory.

“A lot of people are taking the very old-fashioned belief that North Korea is a strategic buffer,” said Jia Qingguo, a professor at Peking University’s School of International Studies who is also proponent of a new policy toward North Korea. “They still believe American invaders would march over
North Korea to come to China.”

Professor Jia, who visited Washington last month, said China should use wayward North Korea as a starting point for a more cooperative relationship with the United States. “One option is North Korea,” he said. “We have to work together to stop it becoming a nuclear power.”

Professor Zhu said Chinese news media accounts stressing the need for punishing North Korea in a more meaningful way were an encouraging sign.

“They are quite rare signals, and I don’t recall any moment during the past 10 years that Beijing unequivocally and forcefully spoke up against Pyongyang’s nuclear tricks,” he said.

But for all China’s distaste for North Korea — culturally and politically the two governments stand far apart — China should remain a firm ally of North Korea, said Stephanie T. Kleine-Ahlbrandt, North East Asia director and China adviser for the International Crisis Group in Beijing.

“The political relationship between China and North Korea right now is at a low point, but China’s longstanding priorities on the Korean Peninsula of no war, no instability and no nukes remain in that order of priority,” she said.

China was prepared to live with a nuclear North Korea as long as the arsenal remained small and its nuclear status did not result in an arms race, she said.

But the third nuclear test takes take North Korea another step closer to a nuclear weapon that can reach the United States, even though that accomplishment may be years away, said Siegfried S. Hecker, former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and co-director of the Center for
International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University.

He visited North Korea two years ago and was shown the country’s uranium enrichment facilities.
“Threatening a missile-capable warhead with a successful third nuclear test gives the United States, South Korea and Japan good reason to step up their regional ballistic missile defense capabilities,” Mr. Hecker said. “That should give the Chinese government some pause.”

State of the Union 2013: President Obama’s address to Congress (Transcript)

Where necessary, through a range of capabilities, we will continue to take direct action against those terrorists who pose the gravest threat to Americans.

State of the Union 2013: President Obama’s address to Congress Highlights - ENB

* Our economy is adding jobs, but too many people still can’t find full- time employment.

* Tonight, let’s declare that, in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full time should have to live in poverty -- and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour.

*Real reform means strong border security, and we can build on the progress my administration’s already made, putting more boots on the southern border than at any time in our history and reducing illegal crossings to their lowest levels in 40 years.

* Now, even as we protect our people, we should remember that today’s world presents not just dangers, not just threats. It presents opportunities. To boost American exports, support American jobs, and level the playing field in the growing markets of Asia, we intend to complete negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership.

*It’s true, different Al Qaida affiliates and extremist groups have emerged, from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa. The threat these groups pose is evolving. But to meet this threat, we don’t need to send tens of thousands of our sons and daughters abroad or occupy other nations. Instead, we’ll need to help countries like Yemen, Libya, and Somalia provide for their own security and help allies who take the fight to terrorists, as we have in Mali. And, where necessary, through a range of capabilities, we will continue to take direct action against those terrorists who pose the gravest threat to Americans.

* We’ll keep the pressure on a Syrian regime that has murdered its own people and support opposition leaders that respect the rights of every Syrian. And we will stand steadfast with Israel in pursuit of security and a lasting peace.
(APPLAUSE) !!
========================

State of the Union 2013: President Obama’s address to Congress (Transcript)
Updated: Wednesday, February 13, 3:25 AM

Here is a full transcript of President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union address as delivered.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. Please, everybody, have a seat.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, fellow Americans, 51 years ago, John F. Kennedy declared to this chamber that “the Constitution makes us not rivals for power, but partners for progress.”
(APPLAUSE)

“It is my task,” he said, “to report the state of the union. To improve it is the task of us all.”
Tonight, thanks to the grit and determination of the American people, there is much progress to report. After a decade of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home.
(APPLAUSE)

After years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over 6 million new jobs. We buy more American cars than we have in five years and less foreign oil than we have in 20.
(APPLAUSE)

Our housing market is healing, our stock market is rebounding, and consumers, patients and homeowners enjoy stronger protections than ever before.
(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: So, together, we have cleared away the rubble of crisis, and we can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is stronger.
(APPLAUSE)

But -- but we gather here knowing that there are millions of Americans whose hard work and dedication have not yet been rewarded. Our economy is adding jobs, but too many people still can’t find full- time employment. Corporate profits have skyrocketed to all-time highs, but for more than a
decade, wages and incomes have barely budged. It is our generation’s task, then, to reignite the true engine of America’s economic growth: a rising, thriving middle class.
(APPLAUSE)

It is -- it is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country, the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, no matter what you look like or who you love.It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many, and not just the few, that it encourages free enterprise,
rewards individual initiative, and opens the doors of opportunity to every child across this great nation.
(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: The American people don’t expect government to solve every problem. They don’t expect those of us in this chamber to agree on every issue. But they do expect us to put the nation’s interests before party.
(APPLAUSE)

They do expect us to forge reasonable compromise where we can, for they know that America moves forward only when we do so together and that the responsibility of improving this union remains the task of us all.Our work must begin by making some basic decisions about our budget, decisions that will have a huge impact on the strength of our recovery. Over the last few years, both parties have worked together to reduce the deficit by more than $2.5 trillion, mostly through spending cuts, but also by raising tax rates on the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. As a result, we are more than halfway towards the goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction that economists say we need to stabilize our finances. Now we need to finish the job. And the question is: How?

In 2011, Congress passed a law saying that if both parties couldn’t agree on a plan to reach our deficit goal, about a trillion dollars’ worth of budget cuts would automatically go into effect this year. These sudden, harsh, arbitrary cuts would jeopardize our military readiness, they’d devastate
priorities like education and energy and medical research. They would certainly slow our recovery and cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs. And  that’s why Democrats, Republicans, business leaders, and economists have already said that these cuts -- known here in Washington as “the sequester” -- are a really bad idea.

Now, some in this Congress have proposed preventing only the defense cuts by making even bigger cuts to things like education and job training, Medicare and Social Security benefits. That idea is even worse.
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Yes, the biggest driver of our long-term debt is the rising cost of health care for an aging population. And those of us who care deeply about programs like Medicare must embrace the need for modest reforms. Otherwise, our retirement programs will crowd out the investments we need for our
children and jeopardize the promise of a secure retirement for future generations.
But we can’t ask senior citizens and working families to shoulder the entire burden of deficit reduction while asking nothing more from the wealthiest and the most powerful.
(APPLAUSE)

We won’t grow the middle class simply by shifting the cost of health care or college onto families that are already struggling or by forcing communities to lay off more teachers and more cops and more firefighters. Most Americans -- Democrats, Republicans and independents -- understand
that we can’t just cut our way to prosperity. They know that broad-based economic growth requires a balanced approach to deficit reduction, with spending cuts and revenue, and with everybody doing their fair share.

And that’s the approach I offer tonight. On Medicare, I’m prepared to enact reforms that will achieve the same amount of health care savings by the beginning of the next decade as the reforms proposed by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles commission.
(APPLAUSE)

Already, the Affordable Care Act is helping to slow the growth of health care costs.
(APPLAUSE)

And -- and the reforms I’m proposing go even further. We’ll reduce taxpayer subsidies to prescription drug companies and ask more from the wealthiest seniors.
(APPLAUSE)

We’ll bring down costs by changing the way our government pays for Medicare, because our medical bills shouldn’t be based on the number of tests ordered or days spent in the hospital. They should be based on the quality of care that our seniors receive.
(APPLAUSE)

And I am open to additional reforms from both parties, so long as they don’t violate the guarantee of a secure retirement. Our government shouldn’t make promises we cannot keep, but we must keep the promises we’ve already made.
(APPLAUSE)

To hit the rest of our deficit reduction target, we should do what leaders in both parties have already suggested and save hundreds of billions of dollars by getting rid of tax loopholes and deductions for the well-off and the well-connected. After all, why would we choose to make deeper cuts to
education and Medicare just to protect special interest tax breaks? How is that fair? Why is it that deficit reduction is a big emergency, justifying making cuts in Social Security benefits, but not closing some loopholes? How does that promote growth?
(APPLAUSE)

Now is our best chance for bipartisan, comprehensive tax reform that encourages job creation and helps bring down the deficit.
(APPLAUSE)

We can get this done.
(APPLAUSE)

The American people deserve a tax code that helps small businesses spend less time filling out complicated forms and more time expanding and hiring, a tax code that ensures billionaires with high- powered accountants can’t work the system and pay a lower rate than their hard-working secretaries, a tax code that lowers incentives to move jobs overseas and lowers tax rates for businesses and manufacturers that are creating jobs right here in the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)

That’s what tax reform can deliver. That’s what we can do together.
(APPLAUSE)

I realize that tax reform and entitlement reform will not be easy. The politics will be hard for both sides. None of us will get 100 percent of what we want. But the alternative will cost us jobs, hurt our economy, visit hardship on millions of hardworking Americans. So let’s set party interests aside and work to pass a budget that replaces reckless cuts with smart savings and wise investments in our future. And let’s do it without the brinksmanship that stresses consumers and scares off investors.
(APPLAUSE)

The greatest nation on Earth -- the greatest nation on Earth cannot keep conducting its business by drifting from one manufactured crisis to the next.
We can’t do it.
(APPLAUSE)

Let’s agree -- let’s agree, right here, right now, to keep the people’s government open and pay our bills on time and always uphold the full faith and credit of the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)

The American people have worked too hard, for too long, rebuilding from one crisis to see their elected officials cause another. Now...
(APPLAUSE)

... most of us agree that a plan to reduce the deficit must be part of our agenda. But let’s be clear: Deficit reduction alone is not an economic plan.
(APPLAUSE)

A growing economy that creates good, middle-class jobs, that must be the North Star that guides our efforts.
(APPLAUSE)

Every day, we should ask ourselves three questions as a nation: How do we attract more jobs to our shores? How do we equip our people with the skills they need to get those jobs? And how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living?

OBAMA: A year-and-a-half ago, I put forward an American Jobs Act that independent economists said would create more than 1 million new jobs. And I thank the last Congress for passing some of that agenda; I urge this Congress to pass the rest. But...
(APPLAUSE)

... tonight I’ll lay out additional proposals that are fully paid for and fully consistent with the budget framework both parties agreed to just 18 months ago. Let me repeat: Nothing I’m proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a single dime. It is not a bigger government we need, but a smarter
government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth.
(APPLAUSE)

That’s what we should be looking for.
(APPLAUSE)

Our first priority is making America a magnet for new jobs and manufacturing. After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three. Caterpillar is bringing jobs back from Japan. Ford is bringing jobs back from Mexico. And this year,
Apple will start making Macs in America again.
(APPLAUSE)

There are things we can do, right now, to accelerate this trend. Last year, we created our first manufacturing innovation institute in Youngstown, Ohio.

A once-shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the art lab where new workers are mastering the 3-D printing that has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything. There’s no reason this can’t happen in other towns.

So tonight, I’m announcing the launch of three more of these manufacturing hubs, where businesses will partner with the Departments of Defense and Energy to turn regions left behind by globalization into global centers of high-tech jobs. And I ask this Congress to help create a network of 15 of
these hubs and guarantee that the next revolution in manufacturing is made right here in America. We can get that done.
(APPLAUSE)

Now, if we want to make the best products, we also have -- have to invest in the best ideas. Every dollar we invested to map the human genome returned $140 to our economy. Every dollar. Today, our scientists are mapping the human brain to unlock the answers to Alzheimer’s. We’re
developing drugs to regenerate damaged organs, devising new materials to make batteries 10 times more powerful. Now is not the time to gut these job-creating investments in science and innovation. Now is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of the space
race. We need to make those investments.
(APPLAUSE)

Today, no area holds more promise than our investments in American energy. After years of talking about it, we’re finally poised to control our own energy future. We produce more oil at home than we have in 15 years.
(APPLAUSE)

We have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas and the amount of renewable energy we generate from sources like wind and solar, with tens of thousands of good, American jobs to show for it. We produce more natural gas than ever before, and nearly everyone’s energy bill is
lower because of it. And over the last four years, our emissions of the dangerous carbon pollution that threatens our planet have actually fallen.
But for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change.
(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Now...
(APPLAUSE)

Now, it’s true that no single event makes a trend. But the fact is, the 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last 15. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods, all are now more frequent and more intense. We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in
decades, and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence. Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science and act before it’s too late.
(APPLAUSE)

Now, the good news is, we can make meaningful progress on this issue while driving strong economic growth. I urge this Congress to get together, pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago.
But if Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will. I will direct...
(APPLAUSE)

I will direct my cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.

Now, four years ago, other countries dominated the clean-energy market and the jobs that came with it. And we’ve begun to change that. Last year, wind energy added nearly half of all new power capacity in America. So let’s generate even more. Solar energy gets cheaper by the year. Let’s drive
down costs even further. As long as countries like China keep going all-in on clean energy, so must we.

Now, in the meantime, the natural gas boom has led to cleaner power and greater energy independence. We need to encourage that. That’s why my administration will keep cutting red tape and speeding up new oil and gas permits.
(APPLAUSE)

That’s got to be part of an all-of-the-above plan. But I also want to work with this Congress to encourage the research and technology that helps natural gas burn even cleaner and protects our air and our water.
In fact, much of our newfound energy is drawn from lands and waters that we, the public, own together. So tonight, I propose we use some of our oil and gas revenues to fund an Energy Security Trust that will drive new research and technology to shift our cars and trucks off oil for good.
If a nonpartisan coalition of CEOs and retired generals and admirals can get behind this idea, then so can we. Let’s take their advice and free our families and businesses from the painful spikes in gas prices we’ve put up with for far too long. I’m also issuing a new goal for America: Let’s cut in half the energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the next 20 years.
(APPLAUSE)

We’ll work with the states to do it. Those states with the best ideas to create jobs and lower energy bills by constructing more efficient buildings will receive federal support to help make that happen.
America’s energy sector is just one part of an aging infrastructure badly in need of repair. Ask any CEO where they’d rather locate and hire, a country with deteriorating roads and bridges or one with high-speed rail and Internet, high-tech schools, self- healing power grids.

The CEO of Siemens America -- a company that brought hundreds of new jobs to North Carolina -- has said that if we upgrade our infrastructure, they’ll bring even more jobs. And that’s the attitude of a lot of companies all around the world. And I know you want these job-creating projects in
your district; I’ve seen all those ribbon- cuttings.
(LAUGHTER)

So, tonight, I propose a “Fix-It-First” program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country.
(APPLAUSE)

And to make sure taxpayers don’t shoulder the whole burden, I’m also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most: modern ports to move our goods; modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern schools worthy of our
children.
(APPLAUSE)

Let’s prove there’s no better place to do business than here in the United States of America, and let’s start right away. We can get this done.

OBAMA: And part of our rebuilding effort must also involve our housing sector. The good news is, our housing market is finally healing from the collapse of 2007. Home prices are rising at the fastest pace in six years. Home purchases are up nearly 50 percent. And construction is expanding again.
But even with mortgage rates near a 50-year low, too many families with solid credit who want to buy a home are being rejected. Too many families who have never missed a payment and want to refinance are being told no. That’s holding our entire economy back. We need to fix it.
Right now, there’s a bill in this Congress that would give every responsible homeowner in America the chance to save $3,000 a year by refinancing at today’s rates. Democrats and Republicans have supported it before. So what are we waiting for? Take a vote and send me that bill.
(APPLAUSE)

Why are -- why would we be against that?
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Why would that be a partisan issue, helping folks refinance? Right now, overlapping regulations keep responsible young families from buying their first home. What’s holding us back? Let’s streamline the process and help our economy grow.

Now, these initiatives in manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, housing, all these things will help entrepreneurs and small-business owners expand and create new jobs. But none of it will matter unless we also equip our citizens with the skills and training to fill those jobs.
(APPLAUSE)

And that has to start at the earliest possible age. You know, study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road. But today, fewer than three in ten 4-year-olds are enrolled in a high-quality preschool program. Most middle-class parents can’t afford
a few hundred bucks a week for private preschool. And for poor kids who need help the most, this lack of access to preschool education can shadow them for the rest of their lives.
So, tonight, I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every single child in America.
(APPLAUSE)

That’s something we should be able to do.
(APPLAUSE)

Every dollar we invest in high-quality early childhood education can save more than seven dollars later on, by boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime. In states that make it a priority to educate our youngest children -- like Georgia or Oklahoma -- studies show
students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade level, graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable families of their own. We know this works. So let’s do what works and make sure none of our children start the race of life already behind. Let’s give our kids that chance.
(APPLAUSE)

Let’s also make sure that a high school diploma puts our kids on a path to a good job. Right now, countries like Germany focus on graduating their high school students with the equivalent of a technical degree from one of our community colleges, so those German kids, they’re ready for a job
when they graduate high school. They’ve been trained for the jobs that are there.
Now at schools like P-TECH in Brooklyn, a collaboration between New York public schools and City University of New York and IBM, students will graduate with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree in computers or engineering. We need to give every American student opportunities like this. And four years ago...
(APPLAUSE)

Four years ago, we started Race to the Top, a competition that convinced almost every state to develop smarter curricula and higher standards, all for about 1 percent of what we spend on education each year.

OBAMA: Tonight, I’m announcing a new challenge, to redesign America’s high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy. And we’ll reward schools that develop new partnerships with colleges and employers, and create classes that focus on science, technology, engineering and math, the skills today’s employers are looking for to fill the jobs that are there right now and will be there in the future.

Now, even with better high schools, most young people will need some higher education. It’s a simple fact: The more education you’ve got, the more likely you are to have a good job and work your way into the middle class. But today, skyrocketing costs price too many young people out of a higher education or saddle them with unsustainable debt.

Through tax credits, grants, and better loans, we’ve made college more affordable for millions of students and families over the last few years. But taxpayers can’t keep on subsidizing higher and higher and higher costs for higher education. Colleges must do their part to keep costs down, and it’s
our job to make sure that they do.
(APPLAUSE)

So, tonight, I ask Congress to change the Higher Education Act so that affordability and value are included in determining which colleges receive certain types of federal aid.
(APPLAUSE)

And -- and tomorrow, my Administration will release a new college scorecard that parents and students can use to compare schools based on a simple criteria: where you can get the most bang for your educational buck. Now, to grow our middle class, our citizens have to have access to the education and training that today’s jobs require. But we also have to make sure that America remains a place where everyone who’s willing to work -- everybody who’s willing to work hard has the chance to get ahead.

Our economy is stronger when we harness the talents and ingenuity of striving, hopeful immigrants.
(APPLAUSE)

And right now, leaders from the business, labor, law enforcement, faith communities, they all agree that the time has come to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Now’s the time to do it.
(APPLAUSE)

Now’s the time to get it done.
(APPLAUSE)

Now’s the time to get it done.
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Real reform means strong border security, and we can build on the progress my administration’s already made, putting more boots on the southern border than at any time in our history and reducing illegal crossings to their lowest levels in 40 years.

Real reform means establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship, a path that includes passing a background check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty, learning English, and going to the back of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally.
(APPLAUSE)

And real reform means fixing the legal immigration system to cut waiting periods and attract the highly skilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will help create jobs and grow our economy.
(APPLAUSE)

In other words, we know what needs to be done. And as we speak, bipartisan groups in both chambers are working diligently to draft a bill, and I applaud their efforts. So let’s get this done. Send me a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the next few months, and I will sign it right away.
And America will be better for it.
(APPLAUSE)

Let’s get it done. Let’s get it done.
(APPLAUSE)

But we can’t stop there. We know our economy is stronger when our wives, our mothers, our daughters can live their lives free from discrimination in the workplace and free from the fear of domestic violence. Today, the Senate passed the Violence Against Women’s Act that Joe Biden originally wrote almost 20 years ago. And I now urge the House to do the same.
(APPLAUSE)

Good job, Joe.
(APPLAUSE)

And I ask this Congress to declare that women should earn a -- a living equal to their efforts and finally pass the Paycheck Fairness Act this year.
(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We know our economy’s stronger when we reward an honest day’s work with honest wages. But today, a full-time worker making the minimum wage earns $14,500 a year. Even with the tax relief we’ve put in place, a family with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below
the poverty line. That’s wrong. That’s why, since the last time this Congress raised the minimum wage, 19 states have chosen to bump theirs even higher.
Tonight, let’s declare that, in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full time should have to live in poverty -- and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour.
(APPLAUSE)

We should be able to get that done.
(APPLAUSE)

This single step would raise the incomes of millions of working families. It could mean the difference between groceries or the food bank, rent or eviction, scraping by or finally getting ahead. For businesses across the country, it would mean customers with more money in their pockets.
And a whole lot of folks out there would probably need less help from government. In fact, working folks shouldn’t have to wait year after year for the minimum wage to go up, while CEO pay has never been higher. So here’s an idea that Governor Romney and I actually agreed on last year: Let’s tie the minimum wage to the cost of living, so that it finally becomes a wage you can live on.
(APPLAUSE)

Tonight, let’s also recognize that there are communities in this country where, no matter how hard you work, it is virtually impossible to get ahead -- factory towns decimated from years of plants packing up, inescapable pockets of poverty, urban and rural, where young adults are still fighting for
their first job.

America is not a place where the chance of birth or circumstance should decide our destiny. And that’s why we need to build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class for all who are willing to climb them. Let’s offer incentives to companies that hire Americans who’ve got what it
takes to fill that job opening, but have been out of work so long that no one will give them a chance anymore. Let’s put people back to work rebuilding vacant homes in rundown neighborhoods.
And this year, my administration will begin to partner with 20 of the hardest-hit towns in America to get these communities back on their feet. And we’ll work with local leaders to target resources at public safety and education and housing. We’ll give new tax credits to businesses that hire and
invest. And we’ll work to strengthen families by removing the financial deterrents to marriage for low- income couples and do more to encourage fatherhood, because what makes you a man isn’t the ability to conceive a child, it’s having the courage to raise one. And we want to encourage that.
We want to help that.
(APPLAUSE)

Stronger families. Stronger communities. A stronger America. It is this kind of prosperity -- broad, shared, built on a thriving middle class -- that has always been the source of our progress at home. It’s also the foundation of our power and influence throughout the world.

Tonight, we stand united in saluting the troops and civilians who sacrifice every day to protect us. Because of them, we can say with confidence that America will complete its mission in Afghanistan and achieve our objective of defeating the core of Al Qaida.
(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Already we have brought home 33,000 of our brave servicemen and women. This spring, our forces will move into a support role, while Afghan security forces take the lead. Tonight, I can announce that, over the next year, another 34,000 American troops will come home from Afghanistan. This drawdown will continue. And by the end of next year, our war in Afghanistan will be over.
(APPLAUSE)

Beyond 2014, America’s commitment to a unified and sovereign Afghanistan will endure, but the nature of our commitment will change. We’re negotiating an agreement with the Afghan government that focuses on two missions: training and equipping Afghan forces so that the country does not again slip into chaos and counterterrorism efforts that allow us to pursue the remnants of Al Qaida and their affiliates.

Today, the organization that attacked us on 9/11 is a shadow of its former self.
(APPLAUSE)

It’s true, different Al Qaida affiliates and extremist groups have emerged, from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa. The threat these groups pose is evolving. But to meet this threat, we don’t need to send tens of thousands of our sons and daughters abroad or occupy other nations. Instead, we’ll need to help countries like Yemen, Libya, and Somalia provide for their own security and help allies who take the fight to terrorists, as we have in Mali. And, where necessary, through a range of capabilities, we will continue to take direct action against those terrorists who pose the gravest threat to Americans. Now...
(APPLAUSE)

... as we do, we must enlist our values in the fight. That’s why my administration has worked tirelessly to forge a durable legal and policy framework to guide our counterterrorism efforts. Throughout, we have kept Congress fully informed of our efforts. And I recognize that, in our democracy, no one should just take my word for it that we’re doing things the right way. So, in the months ahead, I will continue to engage Congress to ensure not only that our targeting, detention and prosecution of terrorists remains consistent with our laws and system of checks and balances, but that our efforts are even more transparent to the American people and to the world. Of course...
(APPLAUSE)

... our challenges don’t end with Al Qaida. America will continue to lead the effort to prevent the spread of the world’s most dangerous weapons. The regime in North Korea must know, they will only achieve security and prosperity by meeting their international obligations. Provocations of the sort we saw last night will only further isolate them, as we stand by our allies, strengthen our own missile defense, and lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats.
Likewise, the leaders of Iran must recognize that now is the time for a diplomatic solution, because a coalition stands united in demanding that they meet their obligations. And we will do what is necessary to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon.
(APPLAUSE)

At the same time, we’ll engage Russia to seek further reductions in our nuclear arsenals and continue leading the global effort to secure nuclear materials that could fall into the wrong hands, because our ability to influence others depends on our willingness to lead and meet our obligations.
America must also face the rapidly growing threat from cyber attacks.
(APPLAUSE)

Now, we know hackers steal people’s identities and infiltrate private e-mails. We know foreign countries and companies swipe our corporate secrets. Now our enemies are also seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions, our air traffic control systems. We cannot look
back years from now and wonder why we did nothing in the face of real threats to our security and our economy. That’s why, earlier today, I signed a new executive order that will strengthen our cyber defenses by increasing information-sharing and developing standards to protect our national security, our jobs, and our privacy.
(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: But now -- now Congress must act, as well, by passing legislation to give our government a greater capacity to secure our networks and deter attacks. This is something we should be able to get done on a bipartisan basis.
(APPLAUSE)

Now, even as we protect our people, we should remember that today’s world presents not just dangers, not just threats. It presents opportunities. To boost American exports, support American jobs, and level the playing field in the growing markets of Asia, we intend to complete negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership. And tonight, I’m announcing that we will launch talks on a comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union, because trade that is fair and free across the Atlantic supports millions of good-paying American jobs.
(APPLAUSE)

We also know that progress in the most impoverished parts of our world enriches us all, not only because it creates new markets, more stable order in certain regions of the world, but also because it’s the right thing to do.You know, in many places, people live on little more than a dollar a day. So the United States will join with our allies to eradicate such extreme poverty in the next two decades, by connecting more people to the global economy, by empowering women, by giving our young and brightest minds new opportunities to serve and helping communities to feed and power and educate themselves, by saving the world’s children from preventable deaths, and by realizing the promise of an AIDS-free generation, which is within our reach.
(APPLAUSE)

You see...
(APPLAUSE)

You see, America must remain a beacon to all who seek freedom during this period of historic change. I saw the power of hope last year in Rangoon, in Burma, when Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed an American president into the home where she had been imprisoned for years, when thousands of
Burmese lined the streets, waving American flags, including a man who said, “There is justice and law in the United States. I want our country to be like that.”

In defense of freedom, we’ll remain the anchor of strong alliances, from the Americas to Africa, from Europe to Asia. In the Middle East, we will stand with citizens as they demand their universal rights, and support stable transitions to democracy.
(APPLAUSE)

We know the process will be messy, and we cannot presume to dictate the course of change in countries like Egypt, but we can -- and will -- insist on respect for the fundamental rights of all people.

We’ll keep the pressure on a Syrian regime that has murdered its own people and support opposition leaders that respect the rights of every Syrian. And we will stand steadfast with Israel in pursuit of security and a lasting peace.
(APPLAUSE)

These are the messages I’ll deliver when I travel to the Middle East next month.
And all this work depends on the courage and sacrifice of those who serve in dangerous places at great personal risk: our diplomats, our intelligence officers, and the men and women of the United States armed forces. As long as I’m commander-in-chief, we will do whatever we must to protect those who serve their country abroad, and we will maintain the best military the world has ever known.
(APPLAUSE)

We’ll invest in new capabilities, even as we reduce waste and wartime spending. We will ensure equal treatment for all servicemembers, and equal benefits for their families, gay and straight.
(APPLAUSE)

We will draw upon the courage and skills of our sisters and daughters and moms, because women have proven under fire that they are ready for combat. We will keep faith with our veterans, investing in world-class care, including mental health care, for our wounded warriors...
(APPLAUSE)

... supporting our military families, giving our veterans the benefits and education and job opportunities that they have earned. And I want to thank my wife, Michelle, and Dr. Jill Biden for their continued dedication to serving our military families as well as they have served us.
(APPLAUSE)

Thank you, hon. Thank you, Jill.
(APPLAUSE)

Defending our freedom, though, is not just the job of our military alone. We must all do our part to make sure our God-given rights are protected here at home. That includes one of the most fundamental rights of a democracy, the right to vote.
(APPLAUSE)

Now...
(APPLAUSE)

When...
(APPLAUSE)

When any American -- no matter where they live or what their party -- are denied that right because they can’t wait for five or six or seven hours just to cast their ballot, we are betraying our ideals. So...
(APPLAUSE)

So, tonight, I’m announcing a nonpartisan commission to improve the voting experience in America. And it definitely needs improvement. I’m asking two long-time experts in the field -- who, by the way, recently served as the top attorneys for my campaign and for Governor Romney’s campaign -- to lead it. We can fix this. And we will. The American people demand it, and so does our democracy.
(APPLAUSE)

Of course, what I’ve said tonight matters little if we don’t come together to protect our most precious resource, our children. It has been two months since Newtown. I know this is not the first time this country has debated how to reduce gun violence, but this time is different.

Overwhelming majorities of Americans -- Americans who believe in the Second Amendment -- have come together around commonsense reform, like background checks that will make it harder for criminals to get their hands on a gun. Senators...
(APPLAUSE)

Senators -- senators of both parties are working together on tough new laws to prevent anyone from buying guns for resale to criminals. Police chiefs are asking our help to get weapons of war and massive ammunition magazines off our streets, because these police chiefs, they’re tired of seeing their guys and gals being outgunned. Each of these proposals deserves a vote in Congress.
(APPLAUSE)

Now...
(APPLAUSE)

If you want to vote no, that’s your choice. But these proposals deserve a vote, because in the two months since Newtown, more than a thousand birthdays, graduations, anniversaries have been stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun. More than a thousand.

One of those we lost was a young girl named Hadiya Pendleton. She was 15 years old. She loved Fig Newtons and lip gloss. She was a majorette.

OBAMA: She was so good to her friends, they all thought they were her best friend.
Just three weeks ago, she was here, in Washington, with her classmates, performing for her country at my inauguration. And a week later, she was shot and killed in a Chicago park after school, just a mile away from my house.Hadiya’s parents, Nate and Cleo, are in this chamber tonight, along with more than two dozen Americans whose lives have been torn apart by gun violence. They deserve a vote.
(APPLAUSE)

They deserve a vote.
(APPLAUSE)

They deserve a vote.
(APPLAUSE)

Gabby Giffords deserves a vote.
(APPLAUSE)

The families of Newtown deserve a vote.
(APPLAUSE)

The families of Aurora deserve a vote.
(APPLAUSE)

The families of Oak Creek, and Tucson, and Blacksburg, and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence, they deserve a simple vote.
(APPLAUSE)

They deserve -- they deserve a simple vote.

Our actions will not prevent every senseless act of violence in this country. In fact, no laws, no initiatives, no administrative acts will perfectly solve all of the challenges I’ve outlined tonight. But we were never sent here to be perfect. We were sent here to make what difference we can -- to secure
this nation, expand opportunity, uphold our ideals through the hard, often frustrating, but absolutely necessary work of self-government.

We were sent here to look out for our fellow Americans the same way they look out for one another, every single day, usually without fanfare, all across this country. We should follow their example.
We should follow the example of a New York City nurse named Menchu Sanchez. When Hurricane Sandy plunged her hospital into darkness, she wasn’t thinking about how her own home was faring. Her mind was on the 20 precious newborns in her care and the rescue plan she devised that kept
them all safe.

We should follow the example of a North Miami woman named Desiline Victor. When Desiline arrived at her polling place, she was told the wait to vote might be six hours. And as time ticked by, her concern was not with her tired body or aching feet, but whether folks like her would get to have
their say. And hour after hour, a throng of people stayed in line in support of her, because Desiline is 102 years old. And they erupted in cheers when she finally put on a sticker that read “I Voted.”
(APPLAUSE)

You know...
(APPLAUSE)

There’s Desiline.
(APPLAUSE)

We should follow the example of a police officer named Brian Murphy. When a gunman opened fire on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, Brian was the first to arrive, and he did not consider his own safety. He fought back until help arrived and ordered his fellow officers to protect the safety of the
fellow Americans worshiping inside, even as he lay bleeding from 12 bullet wounds.

And when asked how he did that, Brian said, “That’s just the way we’re made.” That’s just the way we’re made.

We may do different jobs, and wear different uniforms, and hold different views than the person beside us. But as Americans, we all share the same proud title: We are citizens. It’s a word that doesn’t just describe our nationality or legal status. It describes the way we’re made. It describes what we believe. It captures the enduring idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations; that our rights are wrapped up in the rights of others; and that well into our third century as a nation, it remains the task of us all, as citizens of these United States, to be the authors of the next great chapter in our American story.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless these United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)

END

முஸ்லிம்களுக்கு எதிராக வறக்காபொலவில் சிஹல ராவய அமைப்பு ஆர்ப்பாட்டம்

முஸ்லிம்களுக்கு எதிராக வறக்காபொலவில் சிஹல ராவய அமைப்பு ஆர்ப்பாட்டம்
By Nirshan Ramanujam
2013-02-09 19:45:31

வறக்காபொல நகரில் முஸ்லிம்களுக்கு எதிரான கோஷங்களை எழுப்பியவண்ணம் சிஹல ராவய அமைப்பினர் இன்று பிற்பகல் பாரிய ஆர்ப்பாட்டம் ஒன்றை மேற்கொண்டனர்.

முஸ்லிம்களின் சனத்தொகை அதிகரித்து வருவதாகவும் அவர்களுடைய உணவகங்களில் உணவு உண்ணுவதை தவிர்த்துக்கொள்ளுமாறும் இதன்போது கோரிக்கை விடுக்கப்பட்டதாக எமது வாசகர் ஒருவர் தெரிவித்தார்.

வறக்காபொலை நகரில் சுமார் 25 பிக்குமார் சகிதம் இருநூற்றுக்கும் அதிகமானோர் ஆர்ப்பாட்டத்தில் கலந்துகொண்டுள்ளனர்.

முஸ்லிம்களின் உணவகங்களில் உண்ண வேண்டாம், ஹலால் சான்றிதழ் பொறிக்கப்பட்ட உணவுகளை வாங்க வேண்டாம் உள்ளிட்ட தகவல் அடங்கிய துண்டுப்பிரசுரங்களை ஆர்ப்பாட்டக்காரர்கள் விநியோகித்துள்ளனர்.
இத்தகவலை ஸ்ரீலங்கா தௌஹீத் ஜம்மாத் உறுதி செய்தது.

இது தொடர்பாக வறக்காபொல பொலிஸ் நிலையத்துடன் தொடர்புகொண்டு கேட்டபோது ஆர்ப்பாட்டம் ஒன்று இடம்பெற்றதாக தகவல் தெரிவித்தனர்.

நன்றி: வீரகேசரி

இராமதாஸ் கும்பலின், தாழ்த்தப்பட்டோருக்கு எதிரான “அனைத்து சமுதாய மக்களின் பாதுகாப்பு முன்னணியை” முறியடிப்போம்! தமிழகம் தழுவிய கழகத்தின் ஜனநாயக அரசியல் பிரச்சார இயக்கம்!

இராமதாஸ் கும்பலின், தாழ்த்தப்பட்டோருக்கு எதிரான “அனைத்து சமுதாய மக்களின் பாதுகாப்பு முன்னணியை” முறியடிப்போம்!
தமிழகம் தழுவிய கழகத்தின் ஜனநாயக அரசியல் பிரச்சார இயக்கம்!

 கடந்த வருடம் (2012) நவம்பர் 7ல், தருமபுரியில் நடத்திய சாதிவெறியாட்டத்தை  இராமதாஸ் கும்பல் கடலூர், விழுப்புரம் மாவட்டங்களிலும் தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட மக்களுக்கு எதிராக கட்டவிழ்த்தது. குறிப்பாக கடலூர் மாவட்டத்தில் மேலிருப்புக் கிராமத்தில் தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட மக்கள்மீது கொலைவெறித் தாக்குதல் நடத்தியதோடு, அவர்களின் வீடுகளையும் தீவைத்துக் கொளுத்தினர். தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட மக்கள் மீதான வன்கொடுமைகள் தொடர்கின்றன. தர்மபுரி கலவரத்திற்கு பின்பு பா.ம.க நிறுவனர் இராமதாசு தாழ்த்தப்பட்டசாதி மக்களுக்கு எதிராக பிற்படுத்தப்பட்ட சாதிகளின் அமைப்பு ஒன்றை உருவாக்கி தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட மக்களுக்கு எதிராக அனைத்து மாவட்டங்களிலும் கூட்டங்கள் நடத்துகிறார்.

இந்த “அனைத்து சமுதாய மக்களின் பாதுகாப்பு முன்னணி” ஜனநாயக விரோத எதிர்ப்புரட்சிகர முன்னணியே! என அம்பலப்படுத்தி, இதனை முறியடிக்க அனைத்து சாதி உழைக்கும் மக்களையும் ஜனநாயக சக்திகளையும் உள்ளடக்கிய ஒரு மக்கள் முன்னணியை உருவாக்கவேண்டும் என முழங்கி தமிழகம் தழுவிய ஜனநாயக அரசியல் பிரச்சார இயக்கத்தை கழகம் முன்னெடுத்து வருகின்றது.

விரிவான பிரசுரத்தைப் படிக்க : arhttp://saman1917.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/blog-post.html

Sri Lankan Leader Seems to Reject Greater Autonomy for Tamils

February 4, 2013

Sri Lankan Leader Seems to Reject Greater Autonomy for Tamils
By GARDINER HARRIS

NEW DELHI — The president of Sri Lanka appeared to rule out greater political autonomy for the country’s Tamil ethnic minority on Monday, despite promising for years to support the idea in the wake of a bloody civil war.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa traveled to Trincomalee, a city on Sri Lanka’s east coast that was once claimed by Tamil separatists, and delivered an Independence Day speech that both rejected new power for Tamil-dominated provincial councils and warned foreign governments not to interfere in the country’s internal affairs.

“When the people live together in unity, there are no racial or religious differences,” Mr. Rajapaksa said in the speech. “Therefore, it is not practical for this country to have different administrations based on ethnicity. The solution is to live together in this country with equal rights for all communities.”

The statement ran counter to promises Mr. Rajapaksa had made to Tamil groups and to foreign governments that he would devolve considerable authority to the country’s provinces, including those with Tamil majorities in the north and east. Indeed, the 13th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s Constitution requires such a devolution of authority, and Mr. Rajapaksa had promised to “build on” that amendment.

In a joint statement with the secretary general of the United Nations in 2009, for instance, Mr. Rajapaksa “expressed his firm resolve to proceed with the implementation of the 13th Amendment, as well as to begin a broader dialogue with all parties, including the Tamil parties in the new circumstances, to further enhance this process and to bring about lasting peace and development in Sri Lanka.”

And as recently as a year ago, the external affairs minister of India, S. M. Krishna, said that Mr. Rajapaksa had, in a meeting, “assured me that he stands by his commitment to pursuing the 13th Amendment-plus approach.”

Two weeks later, though, Mr. Rajapaksa denied giving any such assurances, and his government has sent clear signals in recent months that it had no intention of building on the 13th Amendment and may move to repeal it.

When the Sri Lanka Supreme Court struck down a law in September 2012 because it violated the 13th Amendment, the ruling infuriated Mr. Rajapaksa, and soon led to impeachment proceedings against the chief justice. In October, the president’s brother, Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, called for the amendment’s repeal.

“This speech makes even more clear that the Rajapaksas don’t have any interest in sharing power,” said Alan Keenan, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

The United States has expressed concerns about the impeachment of the chief justice, and the United Nations Human Rights Council is expected in March to ask Sri Lanka about its progress on measures meant to heal the conflict with the Tamils, including investigation of alleged human rights violations during the civil war and greater autonomy for Tamil areas. About 18 percent of Sri Lankans are Tamils; most of the rest are Sinhalese. Tamils also account for a major part of the population of southeastern India.

Mr. Rajapaksa’s speech came nearly four years after his government defeated the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels after decades of bloody struggle. The United Nations has estimated that 80,000 to 100,000 people were killed during the war; other estimates put the number higher.

The Tamil National Alliance, the main ethnic Tamil political party in Sri Lanka, said in a statement that the United Nations Human Rights Council must take “stern action” against the Sri Lankan government, which it said had not investigated abuses in good faith, The Associated Press reported.

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice released a joint statement on Monday calling on Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations to “recognize the continuing deterioration of democracy, human rights and rule of law in its totality” in Sri Lanka.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/world/asia/sri-lankan-leader-seems-to-reject-greater-autonomy-for-tamils.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print