Subramanian Swamy reveals about true post war conditions in Sri Lanka - English Subtitles

Subramanian Swamy talks after visiting Sri Lanka - Subramanian Swamy talks after visiting Sri Lanka, after returning from Sri Lanka. In an exclusive interview Subramanian Swamy warns Eelam supporters, that they will be arrested. He also accuses Karunanidhi, Sonia Gandhi and LTTE Movement.

Subramanian Swamy reveals  about true post war conditions in Sri  Lanka Part 1

Subramanian Swamy reveals  about true post war conditions in Sri  Lanka Part 2

Courtesy - RED PIX

Boston marathon bombing evokes memories of Jeyaraj Fernandopulle

Explosions at the iconic Boston Marathon Event in the US have sent shock waves causing the Western media to focus intensively on the global phenomenon described as terrorism. In Sri Lanka there was a feeling of Déjà vu as the Island nation had also experienced bomb blasts at a Marathon event five years ago.

It was on April 6, 2008 that a suicide bomber of the LTTE targeted a marathon race event at Weliweriya in the Gampaha district killing 15 people and injuring more than 90 others. The Boston blasts resulted in three deaths and 132 injured. It was this overt similarity of a marathon race event being targeted in the US that evoked sentiments of a common experience in Sri Lanka.

There are however some differences between both explosions. In Sri Lanka it was a lone suicide bomber who exploded himself whereas in the US two brothers were involved in placing and triggering off the bombs. In the US the explosions occurred at the conclusion of the race while in Sri Lanka it happened just before the marathon started. Also while the number of deaths in Sri Lanka was more the number injured was less than that of the US.

Crucially the important difference between the two tragic events was in the nature and objectives of the perpetrators. In Sri Lanka the attack was identified as the handiwork of the then powerful LTTE whereas in the US there is little evidence so far to indicate whether those responsible are part of an organisational or not.
In Boston there were no specific human targets singled out deliberately. The event by itself was the target with the victims being people in general. The terror unleashed was random in nature. In Weliweriya the Marathon race was not the direct target but only an avenue to eliminate a particular individual. The aim of the Tigers was to assassinate the then minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and the marathon provided an opportunity. All the other victims were from a Tiger perspective “collateral damage”.
Jeyaraj Fernandopulle was a minister in President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Government and held the portfolios of Trade, Commerce, Consumer Affairs & Marketing Development and Highways. The senior Gampaha district MP was also the Chief Government Whip.

Read More : http://warcrimesrilanka.blogspot.com/p/explosions-at-iconic-boston-marathon.html

Fully furnished houses for the homeless

Soon after the war on terrorism ended the army commenced its humanitarian operation of rescuing two hundred and ninety three thousand (293,000) people and gave them food, shelter and protection for several months. Finally, a majority of them were able to settle down in their hometowns.

During the rescue operation around 12,000 ex-LTTE cadres either surrendered or were arrested by the security forces. All of them are now rehabilitated, and we do not use the term LTTE cadres any more because they are fully rehabilitated.

These remarks were made by Major General Udaya Perera, the Security Forces Commander, Kilinochchi in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Observer.

Soon after the war on terrorism ended around three hundred thousand people who came to the army controlled area needed to be cared for and treated kindly. Due to the trauma they underwent at the hands of the LTTE a majority of them were depressed and needed some form of rehabilitation and counselling. The army and the security forces performed an admirable task in handling this humanitarian problem, he said.

Major General Perera said, the army and the security forces were able to win over the displaced people because they disliked the LTTE and the TNA. This is due to the TNA taking a confrontational stand which could be an obstacle for peace and reconciliation. The people of the North want peace and a peaceful life. Therefore, they fully cooperated with the forces.

He said when the army wished to recruit female soldiers from the Kilinochchi district the young girls in the area, disregarding and rejecting the false propaganda and obstacles put forward by the TNA enthusiastically applied for jobs. We received over five hundred applications from them. The Major General said they are proud because they were able to select around one hundred female soldiers from Kilinochchi which was badly devastated by the war.

These girls are recruited to the volunteer force. If they are willing they can work for the next fifteen years for the army. They are being paid Rs. 32,000 per month and in addition they will be given 18,000 rupees worth food, shelter and uniforms including medical facilities, he said.

He said, since the majority of the female recruits are from poverty stricken families they do not even have a house to live in. Therefore, the army built 20 houses at a cost of Rs. 500,000. The whole construction work was handled by Army personnel. Now these houses are valued at Rs. one million. The houses will be handed over to 20 female army recruits within the next few weeks.

The female soldiers come under Major Shyamin Perera. She said the female soldiers will be initially engaged in civilian work such as the eradication of Dengue and the spread of infectious diseases. They will also be involved in foster care, clerical duties and handling of computers.

Major General Perera said, the army has introduced a scholarship for the children from poor families. The scholarship scheme begins from Grade five to the University entrance class. The yearly scholarship ranges from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 10,000. They are paid from funds collected from army personnel on a voluntary basis.

Courtesy : http://www.news.lk/news/sri-lanka/4936-fully-furnished-houses-for-the-homeless

Mine clearing in North almost completed

Ninety-five percent of the Confirmed Hazardous area has been cleared of mines, according to the National Mine Action Center which was established in the Economic Development Ministry after the war. The remaining confirmed hazard area (CHA) is only 96 square kilometers as at the end of March 2013. Most of this area is covered with shrubs and jungle.

The massive pace of demining has helped the Government to resettle all IDPs.

The Mine Action Centre's programme still continues with the support of UNDP, UNICEF, donor community, the Sri Lanka Army's Engineering Brigade and national and international de-mining organizations to clear the hazardous area of land mines, anti-personnel mines, booby traps and unexploded ordinance (UXOs) the LTTE had laid during the course of the war

Since the gravity of the problem has gradually been reduced, some of the demining organizations such as Sarvatra, Horizan and MMIPE have already moved out since their jobs have been completed. The remaining organizations are still continuing the tasks assigned to them. After they complete their operations the Army Engineering Brigade, which has the biggest resources pool comprising manual, mechanical mine detection techniques and mine Detecting Dogs (MDD), will take over the responsibility in case the need for more mine clearing arises.

In June 2009, a month after the defeat of LTTE terrorism the Government with the support of donor communities such as, Australia, Japan, China, India, EU, USA, etc, UNDP, UNICEF, national and international mine action operators implemented a comprehensive and rapid de-mining programme to clear the affected areas estimated to be 2064 square kilometers.

Courtesy: http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=Mine_learing_in_North_almost_completed_20130429_07

Ambulances, equipment to Northern hospitals

by A.S.M. Irshad-Colombo Cor.

A ceremony to distribute ambulances and medical equipment was held at the Northern Province Governor’s Secretariat recently. Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Douglas Devananda and Governor of the Northern Province G.A. Chandrasiri participated as chief guests and distributed the ambulances and medical equipment.

The Line Ministry of Health had donated six ambulances to the Northern Province. They were distributed to Point Pedro, Tellipalai, Chavakachcheri and Cheddikulam Base Hospitals, Vavuniya General Hospital and Mannar Divisional Hospital.

The United Nations Population Fund had donated medical equipment worth Rs. 32 million to hospitals in the province. CTG machines, informers and ultra-sound scanners are some of the equipment donated by the Fund.

Courtesy : http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2013/04/28/new24.asp

No proof of Bala’s murder: Indian MP

Cuddalore MP K S Azhagiri raised doubts over Prabhakaran’s son Balachandran’s death and claimed that there was no video evidence on the killing by the Sri Lankan armed forces.

The Congress MP made the statement while addressing a public meeting arranged by the youth Congress at Cuddalore Old Town on Sunday night.

“Some parties were playing politics by taking up the issue of 12-year-old Balachandran’s death. However, there was no video evidence available on how Balachandran was killed. It was a practice among the terrorists that in order to avoid being caught by the enemy they either consume cyanide or shoot each other. It was an unlawful act to kill a child,” he said.

On the ongoing Sri Lankan issue, he said that the Sri Lankan Tamils and the LTTE objectives were completely different.

He said, “Independent Tamil Eelam is the demand of the LTTE alone, but that not of the Sri Lankan Tamils. Elected Tamil leaders in Sri Lanka are not asking for an independent Eelam.

Only the LTTE and its supporters in Tamil Nadu are repeatedly raising this demand.”

Explaining the Congress’ move to pass a resolution in Parliament on the Sri Lankan issue, he said, “When an all-party meeting was held in New Delhi to discuss the draft resolution, no other national or regional parties except the AIADMK, the DMK and the Congress supported the resolution.”

“The CPI in Tamil Nadu had been demanding that an anti-Lanka resolution be passed in Parliament, but the party’s MP Gurudas Dasgupta categorically opposed the move during the all-party meeting. This shows the gravity of matter at the all-India level,” he added.

“Political parties in Tamil Nadu had failed to garner the support of those at the national level on the Lankan issue. Instead, they were blaming Congress party in this matter,” the Congress MP added. (Source: The New Indian Express)

Courtesy :- http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/27580-no-proof-of-balas-murder-indian-mp.html

Sinhala Muslims Clashes - Response of Buddhist Monks

I found some videos how Buddhist monks are responding to the current situation of Sri Lanka

Part 1