Nov 27 (TC) Reproduced here are the letter sent by Gen.(Retd) Sarath Fonseka requesting enhanced security and the letter sent in response by secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga: Reference the discussion I had with His Excellency the President and Secretary to the President today. 1. As agreed upon by H.E., the President it is kindly requested that the following officers/soldiers and vehicles be made available for security duties. more..

Nov 27 (LG) The study was done in January 2008 and the data was processed during April and May 2008 at the AHRC office in Hong Kong. The idea and outline of the study was developed by Basil Fernando of the Asian Human Rights Commission and the processing and analysis of the data and the writing of the report was completed by Morten Koch Andersen of RCT. The study seeks to explore the routine use of torture by the police and illuminate the widespread violence and more..

Nov 27 (TC) Questions were raised as to the letter of resignation sent by Gen Sarath Fonseka at a press conference on November 13th. Anticipating such questions, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe had obtained a copy of the letter. We had had several instances of subtly changed documents being circulated, obviously for political purposes. The two different versions of the Internal Self Governing Authority (ISGA) with the LTTE were foremost in my mind, more..

Nov 27 (LT) Gen. Sarath Fonseka contesting the presidential election as a common candidate is a party to an international conspiracy to take the country towards a war situation again and pave the path to get down a UNO force to Sri Lanka says Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera who was elected to Parliament through JHU but acts as an independent MP in the Parliament. Ven. Dhammaloka Thera said he had no frame of mind to tie ‘pirith’ thread for Gen. Sarath Fonseka. more..

Nov 27 (LT) The Executive Committee of the UNP met this morning (26th) and decided to support Gen. Sarath Fonseka if he comes forward as the common candidate at the forthcoming presidential election. This was a majority decision as internal sources of the UNP state three members of the Executive Committee were not in favour of the decision. Messrs Johnston Fernando, Indike Bandaranayake and Assad Sally have opposed the decision to support Gen. Fonseka. more..

Nov 27 (AT) Sri Lanka has been elected by acclamation as a member of the FAO Council at the election of the members of the Council, during the 36th Session of the FAO Conference, held at the FAO headquarters in Rome from 18th to 23rd November 2009. Sri Lanka returns to the FAO Council six years after it was elected to the 2001-2003 term. China, Japan, The Philippines, South Korea and Thailand, all belonging to the Asia Group of the FAO, more..

Nov 27 (AT) The intelligence wing of the LTTE has cautioned the Tamil people not to give credence to any speech one of its intelligence operatives may give on Martyrs Day on Friday as he is now in the custody of the Sri Lankan army. A press release e-mailed by one Kathirkamathambi Arivazhagan, in charge of external intelligence of the LTTE, says the Sri Lankan armed forces are planning to use Ram, more..

Nov 27 (LG) This is truly an honest opinion express by the government, which should draw the attention of all the people of Sri Lanka. People should ask themselves what are the so-called characteristics recognized as “proper” in the today’s politics and found in the present day leaders. The so-called “people’s leaders” produced by the main two main political parties, particularly since 1977 commonly possessed the following qualities. more..

Nov 27 (GDI) With the post conflict process now underway in Sri Lanka, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith agreed to consider providing more assistance to Sri Lanka for the ongoing resettlement and reconstruction programmes when he met Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. Australian Foreign Minister during the meeting stated that he welcomed the early resettlement of the IDP from the welfare villages and more..

Nov 27 (Times) Gordon Brown is to block Sri Lanka’s bid to host the next Commonwealth summit because of the conduct of its military campaign against the Tamil Tigers. Sri Lanka is one of several countries wanting to hold the next summit in 2011. Mr Brown plans to tell the current summit opening today in Trinidad that Sri Lanka should not be considered. The summits are held every two years and hosting them is a very prestigious honour. more..

Nov 27 (DNA) LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran's death is finally sinking in, on his birthday. Sri Lankan refugees in 115 camps across 25 Tamil Nadu districts were hopeful of his resurrection. They initially denied he was killed, strongly believing he would resurface on November 27, which the LTTE observed as Maaveerar Naal (Heroes' Day) following his birthday on November 26. However, the refugees are slowly coming to terms with the fact that Prabhakaran will not resurface. more..

Nov 27 (PTI) As Sri Lanka braces for a tough fight in the upcoming presidential elections, a campaign to run down former Army Chief and war hero Sarath Fonseka appears to have begun with allegations made that he dithered to accompany President Mahinda Rajapaksa on a visit to Kilinochchi frontlines in the thick of war. An official website claimed that after Lankan troops had cleared Tamil Tigers from Kilinochchi, Rajapaksa wanted to tour the city and asked Fonseka to accompany him. more..

Nov 27 (UCAN) A multi-faith gathering that included environmentalists, students and diplomats has outlined the personal and religious responsibilities that people all have to protect the natural world. The four-day workshop on the theme "Saving Planet Earth," held on the outskirts of Colombo, covered the main issues to be raised at the world leaders' Climate Change Conference to be held in Copenhagen next month. Buddhist, Christian, Muslim and Hindu leaders all said environmental protection is close to the heart of more..

Nov 27 (Sowetan) Among the 112 Miss World contestants is a special candidate who has already worked for 10 years as a community worker, since the age of 13: She is Miss Sri Lanka 2009, Gamya Wijayadasa. Miss World organisers say that among the projects she has helped are: - A Laser Vision Eyesight Project, to restore sight of people suffering from cataracts; and - A welfare appeal which raised goods to help people displaced by war in northern Sri Lanka more..

Nov 27 (DBS) Sebastian Seeman: Question mark over Great heroes day meetings in Canada on Nov 26th & 27th to be addressed by Seeman as Tamil film director is now detained. Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu tiger supporters go to different countries to address Great heroes day (Nov 27th) meetings organized by Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora. See the world!: Support the LTTE and see the world! P. Nedumaran goes to Australia, Vaiko to Britain, Thirumavazhavan to Denmark & Seeman to Canada. more..

Nov 27 (BN) Commercial Bank, Sri Lanka’s biggest private lender by assets, plans to expand in the island’s northern and eastern regions by the end of 2011, anticipating loans will grow as the economy recovers. The Colombo-based bank also plans to expand into retail banking in Bangladesh, introducing its own credit card and adding branches and teller machines, Managing Director Amitha Gooneratne said in a speech in Singapore today. more..

Nov 27 (GV) In previous presidential elections, although the (generally) two primary candidates were far from satisfactory, one was generally the lesser of the two evils. The question whether President Rajapakse or General Fonseka is the the lesser of the two evils cannot be convincingly answered. Dr. Saravanamuttu, in his latest Groundviews post, aptly used the cliché, “between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea”. more..

Nov 27 (TC) Real Common candidate: Mahinda Rajapaksa says he is the REAL Common presidential candidate as he is supported by 28 political parties representing all ethnicities. Political stance: Sarath Fonseka explains his political stance. There is a majority and minority communities who must all live together as a single nation. Majority and minorities: Sarath Fonseka says it is wrong to say there are no minority communities in the country. more..

Nov 27 (LBO) The Sri Lanka Ports Authority will issue a request for proposals for investments in a new port being built in the island's southern Hambantota region by the second week of December, an official said. SLPA chairman Priyath Wickrama said business opportunities in the new port range from cement grinding and bagging, fertiliser bagging, and warehousing to vehicle transhipment, ship repair and ship supplies like food and water. more..

Nov 27 (LBO) South Asian telecommunications regulators have decided to ask phone companies in the region to reduce international call charges, an official said. Priyantha Kariyapperuma, Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Sri Lanka, said the move, at a Colombo meeting of regional regulators, is intended to make overseas calls cheaper. All regulators agreed on the need to make IDD calls more affordable to improve connectivity of people more..

Nov 27 (NP) Canadian immigration officials arrested an Indian man in Toronto on Thursday after he gave a fiery speech at an event where the flag of the outlawed Tamil Tigers rebels was flown. Sebastian Seeman, who was in Canada on a speaking tour, was taken into custody by Canada Border Services Agency officers and questioned before agreeing to leave the country immediately. more..

Nov 27 (wsws) The government announced last Saturday that it would grant “freedom of movement” from December 1 to hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians held inside military-controlled detention camps. It also announced that all camps would be closed and civilians “resettled” in their home villages and towns by January 31. The decision, taken in the face of mounting criticism internationally and in Sri Lanka of the detention centres, is utterly hypocritical. more..

Nov 27 (TN) After supporting the federal aspiration of Eezham Tamils in the 1956 elections, now for the first time left political parties led by Sinhala leaders have come forward to field a common presidential candidate, Dr. Vikramabahu Karunaratne, with a main programme recognising Tamil Nation, its homeland in the north and east, its right to self-determination and autonomy as solution for the unity of the island. more..

Nov 27 (TN) Ministry of Defence Thursday lifted the travel restriction on IDPs brought from Vavuniyaa camps to Jaffna who were not allowed to leave Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, it is reported that Ministry of Defence will be allowing private sector buses in Jaffna to operate Jaffna-Vavuniyaa travel service through A9 route. The government, in view of the forthcoming presidential election, has begun to announce concessions to the people of Jaffna peninsula, more..

Nov 27 (GDI) The wholesale price reduction of commodities is passed on to the people. Consumers throughout the country will benefit by the decline in the prices. Consumers are now benefiting by these price reductions. There is a possibility of obtaining commodities without a shortage, the Minister Bandula Gunawardena said. The Government initiated action to bring down the wholesale prices of several essential commodities from midnight on the 10th of this month. more..

Nov 27 (GDI) SLFP General Secretary and Minister,Maithripala Sirisena today (27) told a news briefing at the Colombo Mahaweli Centre that Gen.Sarath Fonseka had got caught to a trap laid by the Opposition which is aided by international agencies to conspire against the government. He added that the current trend of developments by the opposition only pleased the LTTE supporters overseas. more..

Nov 27 (GDI) "At height of the war, the opposition UNP claimed that General Sarath Fonseka, then Army Commander was not even suitable to be the Commander of the Salvation Army. But, now they are making him that so called opposition common candidate in the post war period to contest President Mahinda Rajapaksa", said the Minister of Transport, Dullas Alahaperuma at a media briefing held at the Mahaweli Center today. more..

Nov 27 (GDI) Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe addressing 'Asidisi Vidwath Hamuwa' told the media today at a briefing held at the Minister the war against the LTTE ended up in victory as a collective responsibility of the Armed Forces and the people. "It is not fair for any individual to take credit for a national action perform unitedly", said Brigadier Samarasinghe. more..

Nov 27 (GDI) NFF leader ,Wimal Weerawansa today threw an open challenge to the UNP and JVP to conduct a joint media briefing with their common candidate. Weerawansa described Ranil / Tilvin / Mano /Mangala gang as a syndicated that contributed to by a bottle of Arrack, poured it in to four glasses and sat at four different tables to enjoy the drink. "This is an alliance that can not sit together at one table", Weerawansa opined. more..

Nov 27 (PSM) President Mahinda Rajapaksa has issued a warning prohibiting alienation or transfer of state owned lands and property to any party during the election period. It has been revealed that certain parties were planning on selling and transferring state owned property. “This is a good move taken by the government but should have been done much earlier than this since it is a long prevalent problem. more..

Nov 27 (LG) Shanmugalingam Sivashankar, also known as Pottu Amman is a Sri Lankan Tamil Militant,v currently in the wanted list of Interpol for terrorism further, indicted by the Indian government's Jain Commission for involvement in the assassination of the former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Though India made a request to the Sri Lankan Government soon after the military crushed the LTTE in the Wanni in May for the death certificates of Tiger Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran more..

Nov 27 (MoD) Student of Hartley College, Point Pedro, Jaffna, Anton Cricus Jonniraj scored the second highest marks in the country at the GCE Advanced Level examination in 2009. Anton Cricus scored 3.2498 Z score marks in Maths stream and the Advanced Level examination results released by the Department of Examinations yesterday, 26 November. It has been reported that many students in welfare villages had faired well in the examination. more..

Nov 27 (AT) The TNA is awaiting the official announcement of former Chief of Defence Staff Sarath Fonseka as a presidential candidate, if at all, before deciding its support to him. There has been much speculation over the chances of minority Tamil and Muslim parties supporting Fonseka in the upcoming presidential race as he is being largely projected as a tough army commander. more..

Nov 27 (GV) I have taken up anthropology. It is I, your potato farmer. In previous posts, I told you the story of my farm, my trial and my poultry venture. I now want to study the differences between the T-tribe and the S-tribe in our island paradise, in order to answer a fundamental question about genetics and behavior. Experts say that the genomic variation within members of either tribe is as high as that across. more..

Nov 27 (GV) The ongoing “Rajapaksa-Fonseka battle” is a blessing in disguise for the Tamil-speaking people and the Sinhalese despite its immediate appearances; because the upcoming debates are bound to change the confused Sinhala consciousness on an unprecedented scale. The JVP’s decision to back the General as a tactical move to get rid of the utterly corrupt Rajapaksa-regime is sensible indeed, to say the least. more..

Nov 27 (DN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said he had no other alternative other than increasing the number of Cabinet Ministers to form a stable Government which was a key factor in the elimination of terrorism and bringing peace to the country. President Rajapaksa said his target of achieving peace by eradicating terrorism could not have been achieved if he had gone for a fresh General Election. more..