Lanka News Web

A protest with the participation of Tamil from all over the world has been organized by the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) in Geneva on February 27th when the sessions of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) are to commence.

Details are now being unraveled about the reason for the abduction of 34 year old Sathyaseelan Sathyarajan from the Trincomalee high security zone (HSZ) in a white van at 5.30 a.m. on January 22nd. Sathyaseelan works as Sinhala-Tamil translator in parliament on a contract basis.

Sri Lankan and international news outlets have reported that Shavendra Silva—a former military general in the Sri Lankan army who stands accused of war crimes and torture—has been selected for a position in U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Advisory Group on Peacekeeping Operations.

Shrine of the Innocents (The Shrine), a memorial made for those lives lost in 1988-1991 massacres in the south of Sri Lanka, is being erased. I as the designer and maker of this monument thought I should record my thoughts on this DIS]APPEARANCE of the Shrine, which in a way, is actually a [RE] APPEARENCE of a monument which is much more relevant, and symptomatic of the civil and political society of Colombo| Sri Lanka or of Sri Lanka in general.

The Sri Lankan economy is dragged out – the country is over-borrowing, underperforming and leading into a debt crunch, claims United National Party Colombo District Parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake. Karunanayake accuses the Rajapaksa administration of damaging the country’s social fabric, which he says is Sri Lanka’s biggest asset.

- Dr. Arujuna Sivananthan

Fast eroding foreign exchange (forex) reserves and a ballooning trade deficit has led to internecine warfare between Sri Lanka’s two economic policy setting organs; i.e. its Treasury and Central Bank (CB) such that the latter was kept in the dark when President Rajapakse announced the unanticipated 3 percent devaluation in the rupee-US dollar (USD) exchange rate to 113.89/90 during his budget speech.

There exists a direct connection between the attack on the Viluthugal office at 3, Torrington Avenue, Colombo 7 and the Sri Lankan army intelligence, according to the GTN intelligence reporter.

One of the President’s financial racketeers, Asanga Seneviratne is to officially take over The Sunday leader newspaper on February 10th.

A private company that has commenced a domestic flight service has employed inexperienced pilots, a senior official from the Civil Aviation Authority said.

The country is beginning to suffer as a result of the political decision to take over private entities under the hurriedly-passed expropriation act, with most entrepreneurs turning their back on the unfriendly investment climate in the country.

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa says that he would stand by Minister Mervyn Silva in the face of the allegations leveled against him since Mervyn fearlessly came forward to safeguard the government in crucial times.

Three senior officials at the Board of Investments (BoI) have handed their resignation letters to Finance Ministry Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera on the 16th.

Several lands with a high commercial value that was acquired by the government through the Expropriation Act have reportedly been assigned to the Urban Development Authority (UDA).

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has asked Power and Energy Ministry Secretary, M.M. C. Ferdinando to give a report on the JHU members who have been employed at the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) by Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka.