`நல்லாட்சி`க் கடற்படை பள்ளிமுனை மீனவர் மீது கத்தி வெட்டுத் தாக்குதல்!

`நல்லாட்சி`க் கடற்படை பள்ளிமுனை மீனவர் மீது கத்தி வெட்டுத் தாக்குதல்!

ENB பத்திரிகை அறிக்கை

நேற்று முன்தினம்  13-02-2016 சனிக்கிழமை அன்று மன்னார் நகர பள்ளிமுனைக் கடற்தொழில் கிராமத்தின் நான்கு மீனவர்கள் இரணைதீவுப் பகுதியில் வழக்கமான மீன்பிடித் தொழில் ஈடுபட்டிருந்தனர். காலை 9.00 மணியளவில் இவர்களை அணுகிய சிங்கள நல்லாட்சிக் கடற்படைச் சிப்பாய்களின் படகில் இருந்த கடற்படை சீருடை அணிந்த சிப்பாய்கள் மீனவர் படகுக்குள் பாய்ந்து, மீனவர்கள் மீது காட்டுமிராண்டித்தனமான கத்தி வெட்டுத்தாக்குதல் நடத்தியுள்ளனர்.இதில் இரண்டு மீனவர்கள் படுகாயமடைய ஏனைய இருவர் பற்றி தகவல் தெரியாதுள்ளது. கத்தி வெட்டுக்களால் காயமடைந்த இருவரில் ஒருவர் மன்னார் வைத்திய சாலையிலும், மோசமாக காயமடைந்த மற்ற மீனவர் மேலதிக சிகிச்சைக்காக (மன்னார் வைத்தியசாலையில் வசதி இல்லாமையால்(!)  அன்னார்) யாழ்ப்பாண வைத்திய சாலையில் அனுமதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாகவும் ஊடகச் செய்திகள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன.

நல்லாட்சியும், நல்லிணக்கமும், ஒற்றையாட்சி சமாதானமும், நாட்டைப் பிளவுபடுத்தாத ஜனநாயகமும் பேசிவரும் சிங்களத்தைக் கட்டிக்காக்கும்,அமெரிக்க ஏகாதிபத்தியமும், இந்திய விரிவாதிக்கமும்,ஐ.நா.சபையும், இந்த முகாமோடு, ஈழப்பிரிவினையைக் கைவிட்டு அணிசேர்ந்த `சம்பந்தனும் நாற்பது திருடர்களும்` நடத்தும் அரசியல் இத்தகைய தாக்குதல்களிலிருந்து ஈழக்கடல்த் தொழிலாளர்களை காப்பாற்றாது.ஈழக்கடல் பரப்பின் மீது பூரண உரித்துள்ள தேசப்பிரிவினையும், சூசைக் கடற்படையுமே இப்பிரச்சனைக்கு நிரந்தரத்தீர்வாகும்.

உடனடித் தீர்வின் பொருட்டு, ரணில் மைதிரிப் பாசிசமே ஈழத்தமிழ் மீனவர் மீது உன் நேவிப் படை நடத்தும் கத்திவெட்டு வெறியாட்டத்தை உடனே நிறுத்து! தாக்குதல் தாரிகளுக்கு `உள்ளக` தண்டனை வழங்கு! என ஒரு சேர முழங்குவோம்.

=============================================இச்சம்பவம் குறித்த நமது ஊடகச் செய்திகள் வருமாறு

மன்னார் பள்ளிமுனையில் மீன்பிடித்து கொண்டிருந்த மீனவர்கள் மீது கடற்படையினர் கத்தி வெட்டு.
Published on February 13, 2016-2:17 pm

மன்னார் பள்ளிமுனை கிராமத்தில் இருந்து இன்று சனிக்கிழமை காலை கடற்தொழிலுக்குச் சென்ற மீனவர்கள் மீது கடற்படையினர் மேற்கொண்ட தாக்குதலில் கடுமையாக பாதிக்கப்பட்ட இரு மீனவர்கள் மன்னார் பொது வைத்தியசாலையில் அனுமதிக்கப்பட்டனர். அவர்களில் ஒரு மீனவர் மேலதிக சிகிச்சைக்காக யாழ்ப்பாணம் வைத்தியசாலைக்கு மாற்றப்பட்டுள்ளார்.

மன்னார் பள்ளிமுனை கிராமத்தைச் சேர்ந்த 4 மீனவர்கள் படகு ஒன்றில் பள்ளிமுனை கடற்கரையில் இருந்து மீன் பிடிக்க கடலுக்குச் சென்றுள்ளனர்.

இதன் போது இந்த மீனவர்கள் 4 பேரூம் இரணை தீவு பகுதியில் மீன் பிடியில் ஈடுபட்டுக்கொண்டிருந்த போது காலை 9 மணியளவில் படகு ஒன்றில் வந்த குழுவினர் அம் மீனவர்களின் படகிற்கு அருகில் தமது படகினை நிறுத்தியுள்ளனர்.

இதன் போது சுமார் 6 பேர் முகத்தை மறைத்தவாறும் ஒருவர் கடற்படையினரின் சீருடையுடனும் காணப்பட்டுள்ளார்.

இந்த நிலையில் கடற்படையினரின் சீருடையுடன் காணப்பட்ட நபர் அம் மீனவர்களின் படகிற்குள் சென்று கதைத்துக் கொண்டிருந்த போது மீனவர்களின் படகிற்குள் காணப்பட்ட கத்தியை எடுத்து ஏசுதாசன் அந்தோனி (வயது-38) மற்றும் ஜேசு ரஞ்சித்(வயது-37) ஆகிய இரு மீனவர்களையும் கண்மூடித்தனமாக வெட்டியுள்ளனர்.

இதன் போது அப்படகில் இருந்த பேதுரூ இரஞ்சன்(வயது-25) மற்றும் ஏ.யூட்சன் டெரன்சியன்(வயது-26) ஆகிய இரு மீனவர்களும் கடலில் பாய்ந்துள்ளனர்.

இந்த நிலையில் காயமடைந்த இரு மீனவர்களும் அவர்கள் சென்ற படகில் பள்ளிமுனை கடற்கரையை வந்தடைந்தனர்.

இதன் போது கடும் வெட்டுக்காயங்களுக்கு உள்ளான இரு மீனவர்களுக்கும் மன்னார் பொது வைத்தியசாலையில் சிகிச்சை வழங்கப்பட்ட நிலையில் ஜேசு ரஞ்சித்(வயது-37) எனும் மீனவர் மேலதிக சிகிச்சைக்காக யாழ்ப்பாணம் வைத்தியசாலைக்கு மாற்றப்பட்டுள்ளார்.

ஏசுதாசன் அந்தோனி (வயது-38) என்ற மீனவர் தற்போது மன்னார் பொது வைத்தியசாலையில் சிகிச்சை பெற்று வருகின்றார்.

கடலில் குதித்த பேதுரூ இரஞ்சன் (வயது-25) மற்றும் ஏ.யூட்சன் டெரன்சியன் (வயது-26) ஆகிய இரு மீனவர்களும் காணாமல் போயுள்ளனர்.
நன்றி: தினக்கதிர் இணையம்
===========================

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SL Navy brutally assaults Tamil fishermen from Mannaar near Ira'nai-theevu islet
[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 February 2016, 12:32 GMT]

The occupying navy of genocidal Sri Lanka on Saturday severely assaulted two Tamil fishermen who were engaged in sea cucumber fishing near Ira'nai-theevu islet, located west of Naachchik-kudaa, where the SL military has been expanding its military positions targeting Tamil Nadu and India in recent years. One of the four fishermen who are from Pa'l'li-munai in Mannaar has sustained serious injuries and was rushed to Jaffna Teaching Hospital. The fate of two young fishermen is not known while the third one is admitted at Mannaar hospital with cut injuries to his hands. The attacking navy men were armed with automatic rifles. They were aggressive and were using abusive terms in Sinhala while assaulting the two Tamil fishermen with knives, the wounded fishermen told TamilNet. The brutal incident has taken place around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Medical sources at Jaffna Teaching Hospital said fisherman Jesu Ranjith was admitted at the Intensive Care Unit.

Four Tamil fishermen from Pa'l'li-munai in Mannaar set out for sea cucumber fishing in a fiberglass boat northwards towards Ira'nai-theevu islet located near Poonakari division of Ki'linochchi district around 6:00 a.m.

While they were engaged in diving near Ira'nai-theevu, 7 occupying Sri Lanka Navy sailors fully armed with automatic rifles and accompanied with a masked operative, approached the fishing boat near Ira'nai-theevu islet.

Three of the fishermen were engaged in diving to catch sea cucumbers. The fourth one, 37-year-old Jesu Ranjith, who is the helmsman of the fishing boat, was inside the fishing vessel at that time.

The incident took place around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Two armed SL navy personnel, who jumped into the fishing vessel were pointing knives at Jesu Ranjith and wanted to search the fishing vessel for dynamite explosives.

The helmsman, a father of two, who is also known as Robinson, sustained severe injuries when the SL navy personnel brutally assaulted him using knives.

The SL Navy attackers were alleging that the Mannaar fishermen were deploying illegal means to catch sea cucumber using dynamite in the seas off Ira'nai-theevu islet.

One of the three fishermen who were out in the sea noticed the incident and got into the boat to explain their fishing background. 38-year-old Jesuthasan Antony, father of four, who got into the boat, was also attacked. He has sustained injuries at his hand.

The Sinhala navy men who didn't find any trace of dynamite inside their fishing vessel instructed the fishermen to drive the boat towards other fishing vessels. Then, they further attacked them and chased them away.

The two fishermen with injuries had to sail towards Mannaar to reach the hospital.

The seriously injured helmsman, Mr Ranjith (Robinson) has been transferred to Jaffna Teaching hospital while the other fisherman, Mr Jesuthasan is admitted for treatment at Mannaar General Hospital.

The fate of the two other fishermen, 25-year-old Peduru Oranjan and 37-year-old A Jude Deransian are not yet known.

The injured fishermen are worried about their fellow divers.

Einstein சார்பியல் தத்துவம் யதார்த்தமான கருதுகோள்கள்!

Gravitational waves detected

Gravitational waves detected 100 years after Einstein's prediction

Albert Einstein  German:14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955

Gravitational waves detected 100 years after Einstein's prediction
LIGO opens new window on the universe with observation of gravitational waves from colliding black holes

Date:February 11, 2016

Source:LIGO Laboratory

Summary:For the first time, scientists have observed ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves, arriving at Earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe. This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos.

The plots show signals of gravitational waves detected by the twin LIGO observatories. The signals came from two merging black holes 1.3 billion light-years away. The top two plots show data received at each detector, along with waveforms predicted by general relativity. The X-axis plots time, the Y-axis strain--the fractional amount by which distances are distorted. The LIGO data match the predictions very closely. The final plot compares data from both facilities, confirming the detection.

For the first time, scientists have observed ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves, arriving at Earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe. This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos.

Gravitational waves carry information about their dramatic origins and about the nature of gravity that cannot otherwise be obtained. Physicists have concluded that the detected gravitational waves were produced during the final fraction of a second of the merger of two black holes to produce a single, more massive spinning black hole. This collision of two black holes had been predicted but never observed.

The gravitational waves were detected on September 14, 2015 at 5:51 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (09:51 UTC) by both of the twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors, located in Livingston,

Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington, USA. The LIGO Observatories are funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and were conceived, built, and are operated by Caltech and MIT. The discovery, accepted for publication in the journal Physical Review Letters, was made by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (which includes the GEO Collaboration and the Australian Consortium for Interferometric Gravitational Astronomy) and the Virgo Collaboration using data from the two LIGO detectors.

Based on the observed signals, LIGO scientists estimate that the black holes for this event were about 29 and 36 times the mass of the sun, and the event took place 1.3 billion years ago. About 3 times the mass of the sun was converted into gravitational waves in a fraction of a second -- with a peak power output about 50 times that of the whole visible universe. By looking at the time of arrival of the signals -- the detector in Livingston recorded the event 7 milliseconds before the detector in Hanford -- scientists can say that the source was located in the Southern Hemisphere.

According to general relativity, a pair of black holes orbiting around each other lose energy through the emission of gravitational waves, causing them to gradually approach each other over billions of years, and then much more quickly in the final minutes. During the final fraction of a second, the two black holes collide into each other at nearly one-half the speed of light and form a single more massive black hole, converting a portion of the combined black holes' mass to energy, according to Einstein's formula E=mc2. This energy is emitted as a final strong burst of gravitational waves. It is these gravitational waves that LIGO has observed.

The existence of gravitational waves was first demonstrated in the 1970s and 80s by Joseph Taylor, Jr., and colleagues. Taylor and Russell Hulse discovered in 1974 a binary system composed of a pulsar in orbit around a neutron star. Taylor and Joel M. Weisberg in 1982 found that the orbit of the pulsar was slowly shrinking over time because of the release of energy in the form of gravitational waves. For discovering the pulsar and showing that it would make possible this particular gravitational wave measurement, Hulse and Taylor were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1993.

The new LIGO discovery is the first observation of gravitational waves themselves, made by measuring the tiny disturbances the waves make to space and time as they pass through Earth.

"Our observation of gravitational waves accomplishes an ambitious goal set out over 5 decades ago to directly detect this elusive phenomenon and better understand the universe, and, fittingly, fulfills Einstein's legacy on the 100th anniversary of his general theory of relativity," says Caltech's David H. Reitze, executive director of the LIGO Laboratory.

The discovery was made possible by the enhanced capabilities of Advanced LIGO, a major upgrade that increases the sensitivity of the instruments compared to the first generation LIGO detectors, enabling a large increase in the volume of the universe probed -- and the discovery of gravitational waves during its first observation run. The US National Science Foundation leads in financial support for Advanced LIGO. Funding organizations in Germany (Max Planck Society), the U.K. (Science and Technology Facilities Council, STFC) and Australia (Australian Research Council) also have made significant commitments to the project. Several of the key technologies that made Advanced LIGO so much more sensitive have been developed and tested by the German UK GEO collaboration. Significant computer resources have been contributed by the AEI Hannover Atlas Cluster, the LIGO Laboratory,

Syracuse University, and the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. Several universities designed, built, and tested key components for Advanced LIGO: The Australian National University, the University of Adelaide, the University of Florida, Stanford University, Columbia University of the City of New York, and Louisiana State University.

"In 1992, when LIGO's initial funding was approved, it represented the biggest investment the NSF had ever made," says France Córdova, NSF director. "It was a big risk. But the National Science Foundation is the agency that takes these kinds of risks. We support fundamental science and engineering at a point in the road to discovery where that path is anything but clear. We fund trailblazers. It's why the U.S. continues to be a global leader in advancing knowledge."

LIGO research is carried out by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC), a group of more than 1000 scientists from universities around the United States and in 14 other countries. More than 90 universities and research institutes in the LSC develop detector technology and analyze data; approximately 250 students are strong contributing members of the collaboration. The LSC detector network includes the LIGO interferometers and the GEO600 detector. The GEO team includes scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute, AEI), Leibniz Universität Hannover, along with partners at the University of Glasgow, Cardiff University, the University of Birmingham, other universities in the United Kingdom, and the University of the Balearic Islands in Spain.

"This detection is the beginning of a new era: The field of gravitational wave astronomy is now a reality," says Gabriela González, LSC spokesperson and professor of physics and astronomy at Louisiana State University.

LIGO was originally proposed as a means of detecting these gravitational waves in the 1980s by Rainer Weiss, professor of physics, emeritus, from MIT; Kip Thorne, Caltech's Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, emeritus; and Ronald Drever, professor of physics, emeritus, also from Caltech.

"The description of this observation is beautifully described in the Einstein theory of general relativity formulated 100 years ago and comprises the first test of the theory in strong gravitation. It would have been wonderful to watch Einstein's face had we been able to tell him," says Weiss.

"With this discovery, we humans are embarking on a marvelous new quest: the quest to explore the warped side of the universe -- objects and phenomena that are made from warped spacetime. Colliding black holes and gravitational waves are our first beautiful examples," says Thorne.

Virgo research is carried out by the Virgo Collaboration, consisting of more than 250 physicists and engineers belonging to 19 different European research groups: 6 from Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France; 8 from the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) in Italy; 2 in The Netherlands with Nikhef; the Wigner RCP in Hungary; the POLGRAW group in Poland; and the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO), the laboratory hosting the Virgo detector near Pisa in Italy.

Fulvio Ricci, Virgo Spokesperson, notes that, "This is a significant milestone for physics, but more importantly merely the start of many new and exciting astrophysical discoveries to come with LIGO and Virgo."

Bruce Allen, managing director of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), adds, "Einstein thought gravitational waves were too weak to detect, and didn't believe in black holes. But I don't think he'd have minded being wrong!"

"The Advanced LIGO detectors are a tour de force of science and technology, made possible by a truly exceptional international team of technicians, engineers, and scientists," says David Shoemaker of MIT, the project leader for Advanced LIGO. "We are very proud that we finished this NSF-funded project on time and on budget."

At each observatory, the two-and-a-half-mile (4-km) long L-shaped LIGO interferometer uses laser light split into two beams that travel back and forth down the arms (four-foot diameter tubes kept under a near-perfect vacuum).

The beams are used to monitor the distance between mirrors precisely positioned at the ends of the arms. According to Einstein's theory, the distance between the mirrors will change by an infinitesimal amount when a gravitational wave passes by the detector. A change in the lengths of the arms smaller than one-ten-thousandth the diameter of a proton (10-19 meter) can be detected.

"To make this fantastic milestone possible took a global collaboration of scientists -- laser and suspension technology developed for our GEO600 detector was used to help make Advanced LIGO the most sophisticated gravitational wave detector ever created," says Sheila Rowan, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Glasgow.

Independent and widely separated observatories are necessary to determine the direction of the event causing the gravitational waves, and also to verify that the signals come from space and are not from some other local phenomenon.

Toward this end, the LIGO Laboratory is working closely with scientists in India at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, the Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, and the Institute for Plasma to establish a third Advanced LIGO detector on the Indian subcontinent. Awaiting approval by the government of India, it could be operational early in the next decade. The additional detector will greatly improve the ability of the global detector network to localize gravitational-wave sources.

"Hopefully this first observation will accelerate the construction of a global network of detectors to enable accurate source location in the era of multi-messenger astronomy," says David McClelland, professor of physics and director of the Centre for Gravitational Physics at the Australian National University.
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Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by LIGO Laboratory. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Journal Reference:

B. P. Abbott et al. (LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration). Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger. Physical Review Letters, 2016; 116: 061102 DOI: 

10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102

LIGO Laboratory. "Gravitational waves detected 100 years after Einstein's prediction: LIGO opens new window on the universe with observation of gravitational waves from colliding black holes." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 11 

February 2016. .

மக்கள் விசாரணைக்கு: ஆனந்தபுர விசவாயுத்தாக்குதல் காட்சிகள்

மக்கள் விசாரணைக்கு: ஆனந்தபுர விசவாயுத்தாக்குதல்

தோழமையுடன் வாசகர்களுக்கு,

முதல் ஈழ யுத்தத்தின் முக்கிய கட்டத்தில் ஆனந்தபுரச் சமர் நிகழ்ந்தது. எதிரிக்கு பேரிழப்பை ஏற்படுத்திய வீரப்போர் இதுவாகும்.இதனால் எதிரி கோழைத்தனமாக விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் இராணுவத் தலைமையை  யுத்த தர்மங்களையும்,சர்வதேச யுத்த நெறிமுறைகளையும் மீறி விச வாயுக்களை வீசி தகர்த்தான்.இந்த எதிரி சிங்களம் மட்டுமல்ல அமெரிக்க குறிப்பாக இந்திய விரிவாதிக்க அரசுமேயாகும்.இதன் விளைவாக முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் இனப்படுகொலை நடந்தேறியது.இதனை யுத்தக் குற்றம் என்றும், நீதி விசாரணை தேவை என்றும் கோரிய   நியாயவாதிகளும், நீதிமான்களும்,ஊடக ஜாம்பவான்களும், முக்கியமாக எப்போதும் நடு நிலையான சிவில் சொசைட்டிகளும் அடங்கிய இச் சர்வதேசப் பரிவாரத்தில்,  எவரும் ஆனந்தபுரத்தை பற்றி கேள்வி எழுப்பவில்லை, எதிரி தொலைந்தான் என்கிற ஆனந்தத்தில், அடியோடு மறந்து விட்டனர்,மறைத்து விட்டனர்,தமிழ் நெற் உட்பட! ஆனால் ஈழ யுத்த விசாரணையில் ஆனந்தபுர விசாரணை மையமானதாகும்.இந்த விசாரணையை மக்களே நடத்தியாக வேண்டும்.

இதற்கு துணையாக அண்மையில் நாம் அறிந்த விசாரணைக்குரிய தகவலை இங்கே பரிமாறுகின்றோம்.

https://www.facebook.com/enb.tenn?pnref=story

இந்த வீடியோ இணைப்புக்கு நாம் உரித்துடையவர்கள் அல்லர் ஆதலால் அந்த பிறர் இணைப்பு நீக்கப் பட்டால் ஒளிப்படத்தைக் காண இயலாமல் போகக் கூடும்.

ஒளிப்பட நாடாவின் நிழல் பட காட்சி தொகுப்பு. 
காட்சிக் குறிப்புகள் நமது கணிப்புகள். ENB

பெரும்பாலும் இது பலாலி விமான நிலையம்

சிறீ லங்கா தேசியக் கொடி பொறித்த தலைக்கவசத்துடனும் சீருடையுடனும் இரு இராணுவ அதிகாரிகள்

இராணுவப் பொறுப்பாளர்கள் இறக்குமதி ஆயுதங்களை பார்வையிடப் பயணம்

படைக்கல சிற்றூழியர்களுக்கு தலைமை அதிகாரி கடமை விளக்கம்

நாசகாரக் குண்டுகள் போர் பயண விமானத்தில் இணைப்புக்குத் தயாராக

இணைக்கக் காவிச் செல்லும் படைக்கலச் சிற்றூழியர்

                                 இணைப்புக் கடமையில் படைக்கலச் சிற்றூழியர்

`கடமைக்கு` த் தயார்!

சாதாராண குண்டு வீச்சு

விசவாயுக் குண்டு வீச்சு

Sri Lanka to ink oil exploration deal with France's Total

Sri Lanka to ink oil exploration deal with France's Total
By Devan Daniels
Feb 09, 2016

ECONOMYNEXT - Total S.A., of France, one of six 'super major' oil and gas firms, will sign an agreement next week with the Sri Lankan Government to explore for offshore oil and gas, an official said.

Cabinet approval was granted to the Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat to ink the deal early February which could see Total commence off shore exploration activity off the eastern coast in April or May this year.

"They will start by investing about 10 million dollars to acquire seismic data off the East Coast of Sri Lanka,” Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat Director General Saliya Wickramasuriya said.

Oil companies are cutting costs and jobs as they bleed red ink all over their financial reports with oil down 70 percent from 2014 highs.

Total’s earnings for the first nine months of 2015 fell 40 percent from a year earlier.

British Petroleum has lost 4.5 billion sterling (6.5 billion dollars) and US-based Exxon Mobil announced plans to slash spending by 25 percent this year.

But Wickramasuriya says Total will make use of the slump to invest in new assets.

"With the global oil industry in a slump Total will be able to make use of lower prices for services and equipment to get a lot more done," he said.

Halliburton, a company that provides oilfield services, lost 666 million dollars in 2015, and plans to cut 4,000 jobs.

Sri Lanka will sign a 'joint-study agreement' with Total, where the firm will get three years of exclusivity for the data it acquires after which it can be viewed by other oil companies.

The government will own the data from the point of acquisition.

If it finds a commercially viable oil or gas reserve Total has the right to negotiate a production sharing agreement.

If the discussions are unsuccessful within a stipulated period, the Government may open the reserve to other bidders and here again Total has the right to match the highest bidder for a specified period.

All residual rights will lapse after 51 months.

After signing the agreement with Total, Sri Lanka is planning to launch a marketing campaign for the gas reserves that Cairn India had discovered and abandoned.

It found gas in two wells sunk in the Mannar basin but the firm was trying to sell the gas to Sri Lanka's domestic market and could not finalize a price.

"The opportunity we are offering is not just in exploration but in the linkages that follow from the emergence of an entire natural gas industry in Sri Lanka, which decouples risk with the rest of the world," Wickramasuriya said.

Japan and Korea have expressed interest in Sri Lanka’s potential for developing a domestic gas industry.

Cairn India had invested 240 million dollar on exploration activities with around 10 percent of this spent on Sri Lankan companies for support services.

A national gas policy is being drafted to feed the domestic energy and transport sectors. 

Zeid Statement at the end of his mission to Sri Lanka

Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, at the end of his mission to Sri Lanka

Colombo, 9 February 2016

Good afternoon, and thank you for coming.

I come to you shortly after wrapping up my visit here with meetings with President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Leader of the Opposition, in which we discussed a wide range of issues that will have an important bearing on the future of Sri Lanka. Since arriving here on Saturday, I have also met the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Justice, National Dialogue, and Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, as well as the Defence Secretary, Chief of Defence Staff, Army and Air Force Commanders and the Chief of Staff of the Navy.

In addition, here in Colombo, I visited the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, and the Task Force that will lead the forthcoming National Consultations on transitional justice. I also met a number of Sri Lanka’s finest thinkers and analysts, including members of its vibrant civil society organizations.

On Sunday, I visited the Northern and Eastern Provinces, where I met the Chief Ministers and members of the Provincial Councils as well as the Governors, and yesterday morning I was honoured to visit the revered Sri Dalada Maligawa, or Temple of the Sacred Tooth in Kandy, where I was graciously received by the Mahanayakas (Chief Monks) of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters. I am very grateful to them for according me this great privilege, as well as to the members of the Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities I met in Colombo, Jaffna and Trincomalee.

This has been a much more friendly, cooperative and encouraging visit than the one my predecessor endured in August 2013, which as you may recall was marred by vituperative attacks on her integrity, simply because she addressed a number of burning human rights issues that any High Commissioner for Human Rights would have raised at that time.

I am aware that some of the same people have given me a similar welcome — I’ve seen the posters — but I am pleased that in the new environment in Sri Lanka, all voices, including the moderate voices of civil society, can at last be heard, even if sometimes the voices of hatred and bigotry are still shouting the loudest, and as a result are perhaps being listened to more than they deserve.

Sri Lanka has come a long way in the past year, as you, the media, are only too aware — given the much greater freedom you now have to write what you wish to write, and report what you feel you should report. The element of fear has considerably diminished, at least in Colombo and the South. In the North and the East, it has mutated but, sadly, still exists.

Virtually everyone agrees there has been progress, although opinions differ markedly about the extent of that progress. The ‘white van’ abductions that operated outside all norms of law and order, and — as intended — instilled fear in the hearts of journalists, human rights defenders and others who dared criticise the Government or State security institutions, are now very seldom reported. The number of torture complaints has been reduced but new cases continue to emerge — as two recent reports, detailing some disturbing alleged cases that occurred in 2015, have shown — and police all too often continue to resort to violence and excessive force.

Several recent highly symbolic steps have been taken that have had a positive impact on inter-communal relations, including the decision taken to sing the national anthem in both Sinhala and Tamil on Independence Day, for the first time since the early 1950s. The following day, in a reciprocal gesture, the Chief Minister of the Northern Province paid a respectful visit to a Buddhist temple in Jaffna. And in January, the President pardoned the convicted LTTE prisoner who once plotted to assassinate him. These are significant steps on the path of reconciliation between these two communities, both of which bear their own deep scars from the years of conflict. I was pleased to learn that some major inter communal events are planned in the North and East to bring together large numbers of young people from all across Sri Lanka. In both provinces, the Governors are now civilians, which is another key improvement.

One of the most important long-term achievements over the past year has been the restoration of the legitimacy and independence of Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission. The appointment of new leadership of great integrity, through the proper constitutional process, offers a new start to revitalise this all-important national institution. I hope the Government will now swiftly provide it with the resources, and above all the institutional respect it needs, to enable it to fulfil its great potential, not only to provide human rights protection for all Sri Lankans, but also to offer expert advice on laws and policies from a human rights perspective.

Despite these advances — and others I have not mentioned — after nearly 30 years of conflict and acrimony, that not only cost tens of thousands of lives but also eroded so many vital components of the State, Sri Lanka is still in the early stages of renewal.

During this visit, I have met Sinhalese, Muslim and Tamil victims of the ruthless LTTE and other paramilitary groups. Family members of those who were assassinated. Mothers of children who were abducted or recruited. Muslims from the north who were forcibly evicted and expelled from their homes. Mothers of soldiers who never returned, and some of the many thousands of war widows from both sides. I am all too conscious of the suffering and fear that the years of bombings, killings and other abuses inflicted on this society.

I also met the mothers and wives of people who were apprehended, or surrendered to the security forces, and then disappeared. I have met relatives of people who have been in detention for years, without being charged with any crime, or who were charged solely on the basis of allegedly forced confessions. I met one woman carrying the emotional scars of her rape by security forces nearly 30 years ago during the JVP insurgency. Her pain, and that of all these victims and their families is terrible to behold, and it is cruel to prolong it if ways of alleviating it are available.

Distracted by this conflict, Sri Lanka has also failed to address critical issues facing women, people with disabilities, people with different sexual orientations, and other groups suffering discrimination such as the Plantation Tamils in Central Sri Lanka. I hope that these and other neglected or discriminated-against groups and minorities will now receive the attention they deserve, not least in the constitutional reform process.

Repairing the damage done by a protracted conflict is a task of enormous complexity, and the early years are crucial. If mistakes are made, or significant problems are downplayed or ignored during the first few years, they become progressively harder to sort out as time goes on. While the glass is still molten, if you are quick and skilful, you can shape it into a fine object that will last for years. Once it starts to harden in misshapen form, it becomes more and more difficult to rectify. Likewise if any of the four key elements of post conflict resolution — truth-telling, accountability, reparations and institutional reform — are neglected or mishandled, unresolved resentments will fester, new strains will emerge, and a tremendous opportunity to establish long-term stability, which in turn should result in greater prosperity, will be lost.

In the case of Sri Lanka, large parts of the country have been physically, politically, socially and economically separated from each other to a greater or lesser degree for much of the past three decades, and the effort to rebuild trust in the State, and between communities, will take years of political courage, determination and skilled coordination and planning.

When you visit Colombo, you see a bustling city, a mass of construction sites, clean streets, and flourishing businesses. You see a thriving tourist industry.

When you visit the North and the East, you see, in patches at least, damaged and depressed areas, poverty and continued displacement.  Signs of physical development, certainly. And positive vision and ambitions among the elected representatives. But also more ominous signs of hopes that are not yet bearing fruit, and optimism that is already showing some signs of souring.

While there is much support for the very important proposed Constitutional reform, which should ensure that the rights of all Sri Lankans are fully recognised, there are also fears that at a later stage this may be achieved at the expense of other equally important processes such as truth-telling, justice and accountability.

While the Task Force appointed to lead the National Consultation process includes high quality representatives of civil society, there are concerns — including among the TaskForce members themselves — that the process is too rushed and has not been properly planned or adequately resourced.

There are some measures that could be taken quickly which would reverse this trend of draining confidence. First of all, the military needs to accelerate the return of land it has seized and is still holding to its rightful owners. While some land has been returned in the Jaffna and Trincomalee areas, there are still large tracts which can and should be swiftly given back. Once the land has been given back, the remaining communities of displaced people can — if given the necessary assistance — return home, and a lingering sore will have been cured once and for all. In parallel, the size of the military force in the North and the East can be reduced to a level that is less intrusive and intimidating, as a first step in security sector reform.

The Government must also quickly find a formula to charge or release the remaining security-related detainees. In addition, the Prime Minister’s recent statement that nearly all the disappeared persons are dead has created great distress among their families, who until then still had hope. This statement must be followed by rapid action to identify precisely who is still alive and who has died or been killed, properly account for their deaths — including whether or not they were unlawful — identify the location of their remains, and provide redress.

High on the agenda in every meeting I have had here, of course, were issues relating to the implementation of the resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council on 1 October last year, a resolution that was co-sponsored by Sri Lanka and agreed with the consensus of all 47 Member States of the Council. The resolution laid out an eminently sensible pathway for the country to follow, and my Office was charged with following up on its implementation, including by reporting back to the Council on progress — or lack of it — next June, and again in March 2017.

The Human Rights Council resolution, and the comprehensive report on which it was based, and which it endorsed, aim to promote reconciliation, accountability and human rights. The release of the report, and the ensuing resolution, unleashed a great surge of hope that finally we were all turning a corner in terms of starting to fully recognise what happened during the final years of Sri Lanka’s hugely corrosive and tragic conflict.

The Human Rights Council resolution was in many ways a reflection of the reform agenda that Sri Lankans had voted for in last year’s Presidential and Parliamentary elections. It sets out some of the tough steps that must be taken to achieve reconciliation and accountability and, through them, lasting peace.

There are many myths and misconceptions about the resolution, and what it means for Sri Lanka. It is not a gratuitous attempt to interfere with or undermine the country’s sovereignty or independence. It is not some quasi-colonial act by some nebulous foreign power. The acceptance of the resolution was a moment of strength, not weakness, by Sri Lanka. It was the country’s commitment to both itself and to the world to confront the past honestly and, by doing that, take out comprehensive insurance against any future devastating outbreak of inter communal tensions and conflict.

The world wants Sri Lanka to be a success story. It has seen the opportunity for lasting success in Sri Lanka, and that is why it has invested so much time and energy into providing that pathway laid down in last October’s Human Rights Council resolution. I urge all Sri Lankans to make an effort to understand what that resolution and the report underpinning it actually say, and I urge all those in a position to do so, to make a greater effort to explain why the recommendations are so important, and why the United Nations and all those individual States — Sri Lanka included — endorsed them. Then perhaps the siren voices, who wish to undermine all reforms, all attempts to provide justice, accountability and reconciliation, will get less traction. The people who are trying to undermine confidence in these crucial initiatives are playing a game that is endangering the future peace and stability of this country.

For a country to be stable, to be a success, it needs to have a strong, impartial and credible justice system. The security services and the judiciary must function in the interests of all its citizens. And it was in these areas, that the country’s key institutions were seriously corroded and corrupted during three decades of conflict and human rights violations, including through its reliance on the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act and other emergency powers. And it is the integrity of these institutions, which depends on having the trust of the population, that the international community is trying hard to help Sri Lanka restore through the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report and in the resolution.

Sri Lanka has many excellent judges, lawyers, and law enforcement officials. But over the years the system they depended on, and which depends on them, became highly politicised, unbalanced, unreliable. The country’s history over the past few decades is littered with judicial failures. Virtually all Sri Lankans recognise this, and the Prime Minister commented on it at great length, and with admirable candour, during a 27 January debate in Parliament. Virtually every week provides a new story of a failed investigation, a mob storming a court-room, or another example of a crime going unpunished. Sexual violence and harassment against women and girls is particularly poorly handled by the relevant State institutions — especially when the alleged perpetrators are members of the military or security services — and, as a result it remains all too widespread.

It is for these reasons that the report and the Human Rights Council resolution suggest international participation in the accountability mechanisms set up to deal with international crimes and gross human rights violations committed by individuals on both sides. This is a practical proposal to solve the very real and practical problems I mentioned earlier. But it is only one aspect — albeit a very important one — of the broad range of measures outlined in the 2015 UN report and resolution, and the extent to which it has been allowed to dominate the debate in Sri Lanka in recent days is unfortunate. Extreme nationalistic tendencies lay at the heart of Sri Lanka’s conflict, and they should not be allowed to undermine the country’s long term chances of recovery once again.

Only a year ago, large numbers of Sri Lankans voted for change, for reconciliation, for truth, for justice. It would be a great shame if a minority of extreme voices — on both sides — who are bent on disruption, were allowed to prevail by creating fear where there should be hope. Sri Lanka needs a serious debate about these very serious issues, on which its future depends. This needs to start with a thorough, frank and honest discussion of the detailed findings of the September 2015 UN report, as it is important that all Sri Lankans rally behind the process and better understand the point of view of all the victims on all sides.

The Government has shown the will to make great changes. But from the victims in the North and in the East, and also from some of the wisest analysts here in Colombo, I have heard fears that the Government may be wavering on its human rights commitments. I was therefore reassured this morning to hear both the President and the Prime Minister state their firm conviction in this regard.

Let me make it as plain as I can: the international community wants to welcome Sri Lanka back into its fold without any lingering reservations. It wants to help Sri Lanka become an economic powerhouse. It wants Sri Lanka’s armed forces to face up to the stain on their reputation, so that they can once again play a constructive role in international peace-keeping operations, and command the full respect that so many of their members deserve.

But for all that to come to fruition, Sri Lanka must confront and defeat the demons of its past. It must create institutions that work, and ensure accountability. It must seize the great opportunity it currently has to provide all its people with truth, justice, security and prosperity. I, for my part, will do all in my power to help that come about, and will continue to offer the services of my Office to accompany Sri Lanka through this very difficult process.

Thank you

ENDS
==============================
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உள்ளக விசாரணையில், `வெளியக` நீதிபதிகளையும் கை விட்டது ஐ.நா!

Sri Lanka war crimes investigation must be impartial with or without foreign judges: 

U.N. official

Reuters By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal


COLOMBO (Reuters) - The United Nations will not force Sri Lanka to accept a role for international judges in investigating possible war crimes during the 26-year Tamil insurgency but any process must be impartial and independent, the U.N. human rights chief said on Tuesday.

Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, ending a four-day visit to Sri Lanka to assess the investigation, commended some efforts by President Maithripala Sirisena's government but said much still needed to be done.

The United Nations says the Sri Lankan military and Tamil Tiger rebels were both likely to have committed war crimes during the war, which ended with a military victory in 2009.

A U.N. resolution calls for all alleged war crimes to be investigated and tried in special courts by international judges.

Zeid's visit followed comments by Sirisena that foreign participation was not needed for an impartial inquiry.

"We are not forcing anything on the government of Sri Lanka," Zeid told Reuters. "The president has stated his preference, his position. We have stated our preference."

Many Sri Lankans oppose foreign involvement and supporters of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa believe the U.N. resolution aims to punish the military unfairly.

Rajapaksa rejected international pressure for a U.N. war crimes investigation and main political parties as well as Buddhist leaders remain opposed to any external involvement.

Zeid said the U.N. human rights body believed that victims would not have confidence in a national mechanism as those tried before have left them disappointed.

"If whatever Sri Lanka decides upon has the support of the victims on all sides, that is okay with us. If the mechanism is impartial and independent that is okay with us," he said, sitting in the U.N. office in the capital Colombo.

"Our preference was initially and our preference still is a hybrid type mechanism with international participation."

(Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Ranil Interview by N.Ram

N. Ram, Editor of The Hindu

'We have tremendous issues to resolve, more than our personal or political rivalries’
N. RAM

The Sri Lankan political situation has taken an interesting turn with the fairly narrow victory of the United National Party in the general election, its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe being sworn in as Prime Minister for the fourth time, and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two main parties, the UNP and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, paving the way for a ‘unity’ or national government. A day after he assumed office, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe spoke to The Hindu in the Prime Minister’s office at Temple Trees on a wide range of issues, including the project of working out a new Constitution for Sri Lanka, finding an enduring political solution to the Tamil question, and livelihood, development, and human rights issues. 

Excerpts from the interview by N. Ram:

Prime Minister, you announced a very ambitious task: working out a new Constitution for Sri Lanka. The last Constitution of course was in 1978 – you also were part of that process – and before that in 1972. There is a lot of experience going into this. But will this not take a long time?

Well, the SLFP [Sri Lanka Freedom Party] thinks it will take one year and we [the United National Party] think it should take six months. The main issue will be the new system of elections. We are all agreed that it should be a mixed proportional system. But we still haven’t agreed on the break-up between the constituencies and those who come on the general list. There is also the issue of the presidency, with the citizens’ group wanting the executive presidency to be abolished completely while the SLFP is opposed to it. So we said we would have to review the whole thing and then see how we strengthen Parliament. The more we strengthen Parliament… the executive presidency will be whittled away. But we also have to look at the Provincial Councils and how we make them really work. There is a general feeling that it is a white elephant but we have to make them work. Those are the main issues we will have to go into.

So you are confident it can be done within this time-frame?

I think the areas are narrow. If we want to, we can do it. If we get over the issue of electoral representation, then I think we can put the other things into place.

Do you have any strong, clear views on electoral representation?

It has to be a mixed-member proportional system. We will have to bridge the gap between the two main parties which are looking at stability and the smaller parties which want to increase their share, so they will have a bigger say. 

But the general trend at this election seems to be working towards a three-party system, two major parties and maybe one smaller party.

You have seen what has happened in Nepal, where there was a lot of promise and then they have got stuck on this Constituent Assembly. But you can do it differently?

I think we can. We have a Constitution. It’s a question of replacing it. Nepal had no Constitution. And there’s agreement [here] that we have to change the system. But when you go to change the electoral system, the different interests come into play – regional parties, small parties, big parties.

On Cabinet formation: you have a limit of 30.

It is now 30, unless there is a national government. When we brought this 19th Amendment in and we limited the size to 30, some of us – I was one of them – said, ‘Look, we may try to form a unity government, in which case the reality is that 30 won’t suffice.’ So Parliament went into this and added the provision that if you have a national government, then you can exceed 30 but Parliament will fix the number. So we will exceed 30 and now we are negotiating on the number.

The key posts will be Finance, Foreign Affairs, Justice…

There are many Ministries that are important. But the development Ministries are the ones that people will look at.

The international community will be looking to you to provide strong leadership, particularly on the economy.

I think we will go ahead and do well. But I would like to get a consensus – because then it will stay on long after we finish politics.

There is a feeling that the present political situation provides an opportunity to move fairly quickly towards a political solution to what is regarded as your principal national question – the Tamil question in the North and East. 

You have been emphasizing the need for this over a long period. You have supported devolution. What are the prospects of making progress towards a permanent political solution? A lot of time was lost after the war ended in 2009.

There have been a lot of administrative barriers, which have to be removed. Secondly, there has been a request by some of the Provincial Councils that as far as the powers exercised jointly, by both the Centre and the Provinces, concurrent powers, are concerned, some of it could be transferred to the Provinces. Those are the main issues and we have to work this out. We have to discuss this, the two main parties and the TNA [Tamil National Alliance], the third one. They will be the three key players in formulating [the proposals].

And the SLMC [Sri Lanka Muslim Congress]?

The SLMC will come along. They will look at how they are going to protect the interests of the SLMC and the ACMC [All Ceylon Muslim Congress], Muslims in the East and the North.

Over a long period, the Tamils have been emphasizing the need to empower the Provincial Council or Councils with respect to land and police powers. There were efforts to resolve these issues but nothing came of them.

I think a lot of people are satisfied with land. The real issue in the North and the East now is re-settlement of people who got evicted from their land – in Jaffna and in the East. We say that subject to the main issues of national security, we will release the land. The services, the armed forces, are working out the modalities. As far as police powers are concerned, I think there is a lot of re-thinking going on – on the politicisation of the police and that we should not allow that. So let the Independent Police Commission be strengthened further and look at this, then see what role the Provincial Councils play. 

To take one example, it is quite possible that had the 13th Amendment operated in full in respect of police powers, the TNA might have got locked up in the Eastern Province and there was little we could have done! 

We all have had our experiences – the politicisation of the police under President [Mahinda] Rajapaksa. We will all work at it. We accept the fact that the Provincial Council must have a say in the law and order situation, no going back on that. 

But at the same time, how do you work this out in a practical way so that the police are freed from political influence and the Inspector-General of Police can lay down national policy and insist and ensure that law and order is enforced? And he has to report to Parliament.

As for the issue of merger of the North and the East, that was struck down [in 2006] by the judiciary, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Has it come on to the agenda?

That was a temporary merger; there was no permanent merger. The Constitution provides that two Provinces or more can be merged if it is passed by the Provincial Councils and accepted at a referendum held in the respective Provinces separately. So that formula stays as it is.

The terminological gap remains. One side speaks of a ‘federal’ solution. Earlier the demand was for a separatist solution, a separate state, but the real, longstanding demand on the Tamil side has been federalism. The Constitution on the other hand provides for a ‘unitary’ state. Is it not possible to avoid getting caught in a terminological dispute but instead concentrate on the substance of what you call ‘devolution’ or what perhaps can be called ‘a substantial measure of self-administering opportunities within a united and undivided Sri Lanka’? As you know, the Indian Constitution doesn’t mention federalism at all. It is a Union of States. Is it not possible to get round that issue and focus just on the substance?

Substance is what we have to look at. Actually even today, the devolved powers in Sri Lanka are sometimes more than the powers given in federal Constitutions. So let us look at how we could work this whole system out and go ahead. The formula which was accepted by India also, let’s see how we work it out within the 13th Amendment, maximise it. Let’s build on this. That’s what we are talking about now.

Some far-going constitutional proposals were made during the Chandrika Kumaratunga presidency. Do they hold something worthwhile, you think?

There has been a lot of discussion behind the scenes in the last few years. It is a question now of putting that together and how we work it out.

So you are confident about making progress?

I think we should be able to do that.

And on the human rights issues, there is a demand for an international investigation. But clearly there is a consensus in Sri Lanka that the investigation should be domestic.

We have agreed it is domestic for the simple reason that we did not sign the Statute of Rome. The commitment that was given by the Rajapaksa administration to the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in 2009 could be interpreted in many ways. At one stage they were moving towards international investigation. But we always said, the UNP, that there was no legal basis for international investigation within Sri Lanka; it had to be domestic. 

The reason some of the people have been calling for international investigation is the loss of confidence in the judiciary. We’ve had this problem before, in the North and in the South. People did not question the independence of the judiciary and of the law enforcement machinery. But that machinery ceased to function properly. The call has come for international investigation. We would like to put forward a domestic mechanism which would be within the four corners of our Constitution but would also be acceptable to all the communities in Sri Lanka plus the international community.

So that would be the key difference between your approach and the approach of the previous administration?

We would look at a strong, independent internal judicial mechanism. Independent and one that is acceptable to all ethnic groups in Sri Lanka and to the international community. This is also a way for us to build up independence of the judiciary within Sri Lanka.

What kind of role do you see former President Kumaratunga playing at this juncture?

She heads the Office for National Unity. She is also now playing a leading role in the SLFP. And she chaired the Committee which drafted the MoU from their side. President Maithripala Sirisena and the former President Kumaratunga have a moderating influence in the SLFP and I think they are spearheading a movement to revive the SLFP brand, as we call it. We the UNP never gave up identity; we may have alliances but we never gave up identity. The SLFP is suffering the consequence of submerging their identity in the UPFA and having their personality cults.

She can also play in helping forge a political solution [to the Tamil question in the North and the East]. When she was President, there were some good ideas in the constitutional proposals made at that time.

She has. She and Rev. Maduluwave Sobitha [Thero] have been working in one group. We have one group. Others have different views. So let’s look at common meeting points. I have tried to keep the UNP position flexible so that we can bridge the differences.

The plantation Tamils have made a real difference to the election outcome, contributed substantial votes to the UNP victory. Some of them told me they were a little disappointed that they didn’t get even one preference seat, a seat on your national list.

They are well represented. The Tamils living in the hill country will have their own communities to live with, and they get integrated with the communities. I think they have made a lot of advancement in the last few months compared to earlier. But we have to go ahead. I prefer to call them Sri Lankan Tamils living in the hill country rather than plantation Tamils, because I don’t know how long this plantation system can carry on. From a few schools which did A-level science in the Tamil medium, we have added 25 more. In the next ten years, with more and more people going towards the science and the maths stream, there will be a reluctance to be involved in the plantation system. We have to accept the fact that the plantation system as we know it now may not be there. To call them the plantation community will be like trying to identify a ghetto. Many of them will move out into other areas, to Colombo and some other developed areas. And that’s the way it should be. Finally, all the people in the hill country, whether those who worked earlier in the plantations or those who worked in the villages, are all citizens of Sri Lanka.

There was an attempt in the recent general election campaign to send out the message to voters that this political change was the work of the minorities, ganging up, and that if you allowed it to go further, there would be a threat of the revival or return of the LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]. Did that make an impact on the elections?

I don’t think so. It may have catered to the hard core of the Rajapaksa supporters. But anyway they would have voted for Rajapaksa. I think communal issues ceased to be an item in this election. They did their best; some of them tried it and finally found it very, very embarrassing. When they accused us of dividing the country, we told them, ‘Look, in the event of the LTTE returning, we have the best Defence Minister available, and that is the President who is your leader!” They had no answer to that. They would have got suspended from their party for accusing their leader! There is enough evidence on how the former regime, President Rajapaksa and others, had contact with the LTTE. I always said, ‘I prefer to go into defeat and spend ten years in the wilderness rather than come to any electoral arrangement with [Velupillai] Prabakaran.’ 

I had a ceasefire, which was signed formally by me, not with Prabakaran but with the Norway government. 

I was not willing to enter into any electoral agreement.

Did it cost you victory in the 2005 presidential election?

It cost me ten years.

Is it clear there was a deal?

There was a deal. That is accepted; they have not rejected it. Money was passed, two hundred million [Sri Lankan] rupees initially, well over two billion rupees finally, which went out of government funds, for restoring houses damaged by the tsunami. But no houses had been restored. Payments had gone on till about until the end of 2006 – early 2007.

You are putting all this behind you, are you?

We have put it behind us. Unless someone brings it up, we are not going to raise this subject.

The former President may have surprised some people by coming to your swearing-in [as Prime Minister]. We saw you shake hands and chat with him warmly. What will be his role in the new dispensation?

Mine has been a political rivalry with him. And I said I was going to oppose him for the simple reason I didn’t agree with the way the country was run, especially with regard to national unity and democracy. Other than that, he has got to determine what his role is. I think it will take him some time. As he gets moving, he may want take a back seat and only speak out on the main issues. It is up to him to decide and I think different people are giving him different types of advice.

But there will be a line of communication between him and you as Prime Minister?

Oh yes, I speak to him, he speaks to me, we speak over the telephone. I say it is a political rivalry, nothing personal between the two sides.

What would you say is the main difference, in terms of characterisation of the parties, between the UNP and the SLFP as they stand today?

It has all changed now. General elections are campaigns between the UNP and anti-UNP groups. But in the presidential election in January, because of what President Rajapaksa did, it became a campaign between pro--Mahinda Rajapaksa and anti--Mahinda Rajapaksa groups. In this [parliamentary] election, there was confusion within the SLFP fold. Some of them, having opposed Mahinda Rajapaksa, came over to the UNP, those who would otherwise not have joined with the UNP. There ceased to be an anti-UNP bloc. And within the UPFA (United People’s Freedom Alliance), one group was a strong Mahinda Rajapaksa group, the other was not with Mahinda Rajapaksa. It’s a question of how the numbers play out. But the President’s leadership has not been challenged.

The arrangement that you have initiated, that you and the President perhaps have initiated, rules out what would have been unseemly defection, some MPs breaking away from the SLFP to join you. Was that ever on? There was speculation in the media about this.

We decided that wouldn’t be the way. We could have got ten or fifteen people over from the other side but then again, it would have put the President in a very, very embarrassing position. But if we could cooperate with the SLFP, that was far more advantageous to us than getting fifteen of them over. Because we are trying to set a national framework for at least the next ten years. We will try and work this out.

Will this arrangement, which needs to be firmed up, send a positive message to the Tamils? Will they be reassured by this?

I think they will be re-assured.

Not worried by this?

We didn’t have an overall majority in Parliament. But then we had to have a working system. Now, if you look at India, the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] has an overall majority, a clear majority, in the Lok Sabha but they are in a minority in the Rajya Sabha. So everything is divided, nothing is moving. I didn’t want to come to that state or to be fighting for every piece of main legislation. It’s better we agree and get this through and see how it works out. If it succeeds, every one will be on board. If it doesn’t succeed, people will go their own way. But I am a hundred per cent confident that we can succeed. We have tremendous issues to resolve, more than our personal or political rivalries. The employment issue; how you are going to fit into the international economy; restoring national democracy; working on national unity; upgrading our system of education; free education, free health; and the national debt. Instead of shouting at who was responsible, let’s see how we get out of where we are.

Finally, on international relations. There were problems earlier. Relations with western powers deteriorated. There were some issues in relations with India. Is there going to be a real change in approach now?

A lot of people are unhappy about the approach taken by President Rajapaksa. I think that was a mistake; we shouldn’t have antagonised the west. Our approach is: we get back to having the close relations we had with the west and with India while maintaining our relationship with China, which has also been a longstanding one. And looking at our own role in the region and what stand we will take on some of the main international issues.

Since there is so much on your plate by way of domestic issues, will you be able to devote time to some of your favourite projects, like the land bridge between Sri Lanka and India? Or will that take some time?

We will first have to get the country moving – that’s the priority – and then to look at all other issues.