Jan 8 (Independent) As far as we Tamils are concerned, this is not the right time for any sort of election, regardless of who the candidates are. Those in the traditional homeland are still recovering from the woes of the war; there has been no time for proper healing, rehabilitation or reconstruction. Most do not know where their loved ones are and whether they are still living or dead. more..

Jan 8 (UCAN) More than 40 priests, nuns and laypeople have banded together in a campaign of voter education ahead of the Jan. 26 presidential election. "Elections are an opportunity to educate voters, communities and churches on their civic responsibility," Oblate Father Rohan de Silva told a recent meeting of the group in Colombo. The group, headed by Father de Silva, is urging bishops to issue a pastoral letter to more..

Jan 8 (TC) The Tamil Solidarity (TS) steering committee met on Friday 18 December 2009 to discuss future plans. One of the most important items on the agenda was the question of what the TS position on the upcoming presidential election should be. The following is a summary of the discussion and points agreed which we would like to propose as a document for the election. more..

Jan 8 (LBO) A refugee resettlement program backed by a 65 million US dollar World Bank emergency credit will begin this month, reaching over 100,000 people in Sri Lanka's north, the government said. "The project is to support for re-settlement and the re-establishment of the livelihood in the conflict affected people in the North," information minsiter Anura Yapa told reporters. more..

Jan 8 (AT) JHU, an allied party to the UPFA, has pointed out that the TNA was still in the LTTE’s ideology even after the disastrous LTTE was defeated by this government. JHU’s MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera, said the decision of Sampanthan faction of the TNA to support Gen. Sarath Fonseka at the forthcoming presidential election shows that they did not like the government’s move of defeating the LTTE. more..

Jan 8 (AN) Mgr Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo Archbishop, made an appeal to voters yesterday to make their choice in the upcoming presidential election of 26 January according to their conscience, inspired by the notions of justice, equality and democracy, so that the country can return to an era of "true peace and development". more..

Jan 8 (HT) Not many in Trincomalee town are willing to talk about it but in the minds of many, the killing of five Tamil students during an outing on the beach is numbingly fresh. On the evening of January 2, 2006, the five had gathered on one of the more popular beach fronts here, when following a grenade attack on the crowd, they were allegedly rounded up and shot dead by members of the special task force (STF). more..

Jan 8 (AT) The Government of Sri Lanka and UNICEF officially commissioned yesterday a new water supply scheme in Ampara district. The Thirukkovil Water treatment plant will provide safe drinking water to 38,000 people in the Thirukkovil area. In doing so the 1.66 billion rupee project, funded by UNICEF, will play a critical role in safe guarding the health of the region’s children, more..

Jan 8 (AT) Thiruvekkadam Velupillai(86), father of slain LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, who died on Tuesday night in military cantonement in Panagoda on the outskirts of Colombo after a brief illness, was a loyal government servant and a man of peace though with a political conviction of his own, very much unlike his son who led an armed struggle for over 25 years for more..

Jan 8 (Guardian) One year ago today, my uncle Lasantha Wickrematunge – one of Sri Lanka's best-known journalists – was assassinated. For 15 years his paper, the Sunday Leader, was the strongest liberal democratic voice in the country. Despite frequent attacks on its staff and offices, it produced impartial reporting on the brutal civil war and high-level corruption, and thwarted censorship to expose human rights violations. more..

Jan 8 (Times) Accusations of fakery and political bias have been Sri Lanka’s stock in trade in the face of allegations of serious war crimes. When The Times reported the estimated civilian death toll of 20,000, based on unofficial United Nations figures, the Government responded by claiming that not one non-combatant had perished. When The Times published aerial photographs that had been analysed by defence experts depicting how civilians were more..

Jan 8 (RSF) “A year has gone by without any progress in the investigation into his murder,” Lal Wickrematunge said today to Reporters Without Borders, on the eve of the first anniversary of the fatal shooting of his brother, Lasantha Wickrematunge, the Sunday Leader’s well-known managing editor. It is Lal who has replaced him at the helm of investigative weekly, more..

Jan 8 (HT) Presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka could not have asked for better news on Wednesday as he arrived at the eastern coastal town of Trincomalee, some 260 km from Colombo, to address his first election rally in this centre for Tamil culture. The TNA, an umbrella group of Tamil parties with 22 members in parliament formally announced that it would support him in the January 26 Presidential polls. more..

Jan 8 (CPJ) Even by Sri Lanka’s standards, January 2009 was a brutal month for journalists. On January 6, on a quiet road on the outskirts of Colombo, the country’s main independently owned TV station, Sirasa TV, was raided at 2:05 a.m. by 15 to 20 masked armed men working with military precision. At 2:35:31 they detonated an explosion, possibly a claymore mine, a military-style antipersonnel mine set off by an electrical charge through wires leading to the device. more..

Jan 8 (Xinhua) The United Nations is considering whether to establish a group of experts to help Sri Lanka address allegations of human rights abuses during the final offensive against the Tamil rebels and its aftermath. "The secretary-general has informed the government of Sri Lanka that he is considering the appointment of a commission of experts to advise him further and more..

Jan 8 (GV) The year 2010 has dawned with two elections round the corner. As voters who are going to write the destiny of the politicians of this country, our day-to-day conversations are becoming more and more centred on what is going to happen on the 26th of January and later on in the Parliamentary election. My casual dialogues with my Sinhala speaking friends help me see that the Tamils are not the only people who have serious problems in this country. more..

Jan 8 (TN) Around 55 Tamil political prisoners, arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and Emergency Regulation (ER) and detained in Trincomalee prison for a long time without any legal action, have launched a hunger strike since Wednesday, sources in Trincomalee said. The prisoners on hunger strike have appealed to the relevant authorities to release them, in a letter sent to the media, the sources added. more..

Jan 8 (GDI) Despite fighting a war, President Mahinda Rajapaksa embarked upon a journey to eradicate the menace of liquor, drugs and narcotics to save the people and the majority community at the correct time, said Professor Carlo Foneska today. He said the President established the Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol upon assuming office to combat the menace. more..

Jan 8 (GDI) Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition has taken steps to purchase 2000 MT of locally produced Soya Beans to uplift the Triposha productions. The Triposha Programme has been launched by the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition with the objective of elimination of Child and Maternal Malnutrition. Specially, the supplementary food is offered to reduce under nutrition condition of pregnant and more..

Jan 8 (GDI) President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that the 350 rupee fertilizer concession granted to the paddy farmers will be extended to other cultivations as well. The President made this observation at a meeting held at the residence of Minister Mahinda Amaraweera at Angunakolapelessa. The President stressed that many concessions will be granted to the farmers, those who pursue higher education and artistes. more..

Jan 8 (MoD) There are only 79,965 IDPs remaining in eight welfare centers in Vavuniya while 1,349 IDPs are in Jaffna, Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe said yesterday. In addition, a total of 19,683 have used the freedom of movement granted by the government begining December, while 2705 are yet to return to welfare centers on the days given by them, he noted. more..

Jan 8 (GDI) The health standard of Sri Lanka is better than any other country in the world especially in the South Asia and high progress was achieved by the public health sector during the past four years, more than ever before, even while a war was fought in the North and East, said Dr. Prasanna Cooray at the 'Asi Disi Vidvath Hamuwa held at the Ministry of Mass Media and Information today (08). more..

Jan 8 (GDI) General Sarath Fonseka on the instruction of Ranil Wicramasinghe has begun to divide this country, said Professor Mendis Rohanadeera today at the "Asi Disi Vidvath Hamuwa" media briefing held at Government Information Department today (08). He said that sections of TNA cloud not achieve their plans from President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the President never favored a division of this country. more..

Jan 8 (LP) The first-ever International English medium Encyclopedia of Buddhism is now complete, says its Chief Editor Dr. W.G. Weeraratne. The Encyclopaedia of Buddhism project launched by the Government in 1955 to commemorate the 2500th Buddha Jayanthi, under the direction of the pioneer Editor-in-Chief Professor Emeritus G.P. Malalasekera, will be completed before the end of 2010. more..

Jan 8 (GDI) Forty thousand retired employees of the cooperative sector will be provided with pensions. The pension policies , brainchild of President Mahinda Rajapaksa were to benefit the recipients today. The Cooperative Employees Commission and the Sri Lanka Social Security Board jointly implemented the programme with the assistance of Finance Ministry, Central Bank and the Ministry of Social Services and Welfare. more..

Jan 8 (LP) The Government of Sri Lanka has decided to release 713 rehabilitated LTTE cadres tomorrow. Among the rehabilitated LTTE cadres are ex LTTE Child soldiers as well. The LTTE cadres who will be released are those from Walikanda and Ambepussa Rehabilitation centres. The government has launched a programme to rehabilitate more than 11000 LTTE cadres with the assistance of the more..

Jan 8 (GDI) The Government has succeeded in granting all privileges enjoyed by the civilians of the rest of the country to the people of the North and East. President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that he was committed to further improving the living standards of the entire nation. The President made this statement while addressing a meeting held at Medamoolana with SANASA members yesterday. more..

Jan 8 (wsws) Like virtually every other party in Sri Lanka, the plantation trade unions, which also function as political parties, are lining up in the January 26 election behind either the incumbent, President Mahinda Rajapakse, or the opposition’s “common candidate,” General Sarath Fonseka. Their stance is a further indictment of organisations that claim to speak for half a million, mainly Tamil-speaking workers, more..

Jan 8 (SLW) A JVP organization calling themselves the ‘Brotherhood of 71’ who were serving jail sentences for being involved in the 1971 insurrection have come forward to support President Mahinda Rajapakse in the upcoming Presidential election. When met at the Mahaweli Centre yesterday (07) the group voiced their concern saying that they treat all those who go against a national hero as traitors and more..

Jan 8 (DN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa should be given a chance to show his capability to develop the economy in the same way he totally eradicated terrorism from the country. During the war in 2008, foreign investments in Sri Lanka reached US $ 800 million and Sri Lanka can do much better in the future, Investment Promotion Minister Navin Dissanayake said. more..

Jan 8 (LG) The most thrilling phase of a major election in the country has been the manifesto time; a time when the best promises are made, promises to be defiled as vigorously as they are publicly declared, of course, with absolute impunity. The General’s manifesto is out. It is fresh; fresh because it comes from the General. President Rajapakse’s biggest calamity now would be his already four-year old stale Mahinda Chintanaya’s barefaced inability to compete the more..

Jan 8 (LT) A massive protest campaign organized by the Inter University Teachers’ Alliance, Inter University Student Federation and Inter University Bhikku Federation was held today (7th) demanding the release of Senior Lecturer on Archeology Ven. Dhambara Amila Thero who has been arbitrarily arrested for petty political interests of the government. The demonstration commenced from University of Sri Jayawardenepura and more..

Jan 8 (MoD) Ambassador of the United States of America Patricia Butenis called on the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe at the Naval Headquarters. She was accompanied by the American Defence Attach‚ Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence Smith III. The American ambassador and Commander of the Navy held discussions on matters of bilateral importance and mutual interests. more..

Jan 8 (LG) Lasantha Wickramatunga - the founder and editor of the heroic newspaper Sunday Leader was assassinated by the state’s death squad on 8 January 2009. The Sunday Leader has gone through trials and testing times during its existence for the past fifteen years. During this period, it stood with the purpose as a guiding force to overtly expose the failures and excesses of the successive governments and more..

Jan 8 (LT) Reliable sources confirm that a group of top Government men are ready to leave the country in secret– among these are key media personalities of the Government. As of now, they are in the process of sending personal funds out of Sri Lanka, these sources further confirm. The recently introduced relaxation of restrictions on foreign exchange has been done in anticipation of the rogue elements planning to leave Sri Lanka. more..

Jan 8 (TC) VALID VOTES EQUAL TO ONE HALF (50%) * Number of valid votes equal to one-half (50%+1) is increasing by 110,000 every year. * Average voters turn out is higher than other national elections; it was recorded 75%-80% in several districts in the past elections. * Because of massive voters’ drop out in North and Eastern Provinces, the all island average voters’ turnout was 73.73% in 2005. more..

Jan 8 (LNP) Both President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Sarath Fonseka wooed the TNA but the latter managed to secure its support. TNA leader R. Sampanthan, MP has said that he and his colleagues had discussions with the two candidates but decided to back Fonseka as they found him more agreeable to their agenda than Rajapaksa. The TNA and the Diasporic Tigers have, by siding with the former army chief who claims the credit for wiping out the LTTE leadership, shot themselves in the foot in style. more..

Jan 8 (AT) Sri Lanka charged that the UN Special Rapporteur Phillip Alston has failed to follow normal diplomatic practice. Minister for Foreign Affairs, Rohitha Bogollagama stated that the UN Special Rapporteur has flouted diplomatic norms by making public the findings of a 3 member panel probing the controversial Channel 4 video even before Sri Lanka could respond to the revelations. more..

Jan 8 (DN) Sri Lanka needs a strategic marketing arm to brand and to build and consolidate Lanka’s country’s position in the global scenario. The Colombo Port is the best Port in South Asia. The Shipping and port sector is looking at a bright future beyond 2010, Asian Shippers’ Council Secretary General Rohan Masakorala said. Sri Lanka is anticipating a de-listing from the war risk surcharges with the expected visit by more..

Jan 8 (DN) Development of infrastructure facilities and promotion of production capability are one of the most important factors for the growth of the Sri Lanka economy. Agriculture, handicrafts, fisheries, poultry, and diary are the primary contributors to uplift the rural economy in the province. The Negenahira Navodaya program introduced by the Government for the development of Eastern province has been a major step towards more..

Jan 8 (DN) President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday reiterated that he would not allow the betrayal of the Nation, its people, Security Forces and the triumph over terrorism at sacrifice to lives, with the use of secret pacts, once again. Addressing a massive election rally in Moneragala, the President stressed that no one had the right to betray the victory we have won as a nation. more..

Jan 8 (Island) The Government yesterday said that a section the TNA led by R. Sampanthan threw its weight behind Opposition Presidential candidate General (Retd) Sarath Fonseka to avenge the annihilation of the LTTE last May. inister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said Sampanthan sided with the former Army Chief as he knew it was President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who made Sri Lanka’s victory over the LTTE possible. more..

Jan 8 (GV) Lasantha Wickremetunge, the Editor of the Sunday Leader and one of Sri Lanka’s best known and most senior journalists, was killed in broad daylight one year ago. As we noted on the site a year ago, Lasantha was 50 at the time of his assassination. No group to date has claimed responsibility. In a tremendously powerful and moving editorial published posthumously the Sunday after he was killed, Lasantha notes that more..

Jan 8 (TC) These are politically-charged weeks, with a presidential election just three weeks away. These politically intense days would have excited Lasantha to no end. Being a political animal known for his explosive political column written under the pseudonym Suranimala, he always got activated during elections, more so during decisive elections like a presidential or a general. Lasantha used to get a high planning election pages, making them diverse and adding a tiny scoop whenever possible. more..

Jan 8 (Island) The Oppositions Common Presidential Candidate Gen (Rtd) Sarath Fonseka said yesterday that he will bring about change that would benefit all Sri Lankans and not just one family when elected President on January 26. Speaking at the launch of his Presidential Election Manifesto entitled ‘Vishvasaneeya Venasak’ – Reliable Change, in Colombo, he said that more..

Jan 8 (Island) "This is the most fitting occasion to show our gratitude to the hero of our times General Sarath Fonseka, who has to his credit an unblemished military carrier spanning forty years, by electing him as the President to put an end to the obnoxious UPFA regime," A. J. M. Muzammil, President of the Muzammil Foundation, said at a ceremony organized to the distribute 240 wheelchairs to the needy people. more..

Jan 8 (Island) A. H. M. Azwer, Presidential Advisor, in a statement issued to the media, says it is an insult to the Tamil speaking people when the word Poda is used when addressing another person. Using such uncultured word in public is not done. It is surely unbecoming of a political leader to use such ugly terms when addressing public gatherings, he says. "This unpleasant language used by Mr. Wickremesinghe has left a very bad taste and more..

Jan 8 (AD) Ven. Dambara Amila Thera who was arrested by CID on December 27 has been released by the Horana Magistrate a short while ago. He was arrested by the CID over an alleged foreign employment racket. The magistrate released the thero on Rs. 25,000 cash and 200,000 surety bail. He was ordered to present himself to the CID on the last Sunday of every month. more..

Jan 8 (UNP) Sampath Katiyarachchi, media Secretary to the Minister of Textiles, Mahinda Rathnatileke resigned his post yesterday. He handed over his resignation to the Minister. Mr. Kaityaarachi had declared that he relinquished the post in order to support Gen. Fonseka at the up coming elections. It is reported that as the elections campaign is hotting up, a number of Ministry media Secretaries are expected to resign their posts.