Sri Lankan lawyer brutally assaulted by Buddhist monks for appearing for suspects of a killing of two monks

A Sri Lankan lawyer has complained to Mirihana police that he was manhandled by a group of persons including Buddhist monks.

The lawyer, Sumith Silva, appeared for the suspects of a double murder in which two Buddhist monks were killed by two thieves in a temple in Kotte. He faced the inhuman attack on March 23 right in front of the Gangodawila magistrate court.

The suspects were remanded by the magistrate until April 05.

The group led by Buddhist monks poured a spittoon filled with saliva over the head of the lawyer and beat him, the lawyer complained to police.

According to sources, the mob has included some white clad lay women also who claim to be the ardent devotees of Buddhism, which is originally a strictly non-violent faith.

The mob also robbed the  mobile phone of the lawyer, the victim complained.

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Wijeweera family vs. Prabakaran’s family

By Uvindu Kurukulasuriya

Talking to The Sunday Leader on June 20, 2004, Wijeweera’s wife said; “The late President Ranasinghe Premadasa did a lot for us. He took us into his care at a time when we needed to be looked after. He promised to come and see us in the Trincomalee navy camp on his way to the opening of a university in Batticaloa in June but he died in May that year.”

However we still do not know what exactly happened to Prabhakaran’s  wife and children except Charles Anthony. British forensic expert Professor Pounder believes he has identified the first of the shots to be fired at the boy: “There is a speckling from propellant tattooing, indicating that the distance of the muzzle of the weapon to this boy’s chest was two to three feet or less. He could have reached out with his hand and touched the gun that killed him.”


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Central Bank of Sri Lanka warns of the use of word ‘finance,’ financing’ or ‘financial’ by companies

Central Bank of Sri Lanka today issued a notice to entities using the word ‘finance,’ financing’ or ‘financial’ as part of its name or description warning them with the improper use.

In terms of section 10 of the Finance Business Act, no entity other than a licensed finance company shall use the words ‘finance’, ‘financing’ or ‘financial’ as part of its name or description, says the Central Bank in its statement.

Accordingly, any entity other than a licensed finance company which uses the words ‘finance’, financing’ or ‘financial’ or any of its derivatives or its transliterations or their equivalent in any other language as part of its name or description shall remove such words from its name and description on or before 09 May 2012.

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Sri Lanka police emergency call centers to be decentralized

 Inspector General of Sri Lanka police N.K. Illangakoon says that the police emergency call centers will be decentralized.

Accordingly, police emergency call centers will be established at provincial level, the police chief says.

Two new rooms of the police emergency call service were opened today at Mirihana police station by the Inspector General of Police.

Police emergency call center received 5491 emergency calls in 2004, the year it was opened. However, the number of calls increased to 437,253 by 2011. Police say that the emergency call center recievs around 3450 calls per day .

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Sri Lanka Marxst JVP to collect signatures for a petition seeking increase of registered price for paddy

Sri Lanka Marxist People's Liberation Front (JVP) has planned to collect signatures of the farmers seeking increase of registered price of a kilo of paddy.


The JVP demands the government to increase the registered price of a kilo of paddy to Rs. 40. Presently, the government registered price for paddy is Rs. 30 for a kilo of Samba and Rs. 28 for a kilo of Nadu.


JVP MP Anura Kumara Disanayaka said that the petition will taken to all farmer settlements to collect their signatures.


He said that amid the boasting of the government, the farmers are facing difficulty in selling their products.


The MP further said that the farmers have failed to find at least the production cost of a kilo of paddy which is Rs. 24.50 as the selling price in the open market.
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Sri Lanka to establish a Kithul Development Board

Sri Lanka Minister of Technology and Research Pavithra Wanniarachchi revealed the hopes of the government to establish a Kithul palm development board. 

The Minister expressed these views at a function held in Rathnapura district Secretariat to distribute aids to 140 persons engaged in Kithul tapping.

Sri Lanka has development boards for similar palms like coconut and palmyrah. The idea of establishing a Kithul Development Board is discussed tome to time however without realizing.  

Kiithul is also known as Solitary fishtail palm, Toddy palm, Wine palm or Jaggary Palm. Its botanical name is Caryota urens and it grows in tropical rain forests.

Sap tapped from the flowering shoot of Kithul tree is used to make toddy, honey, juggrey and the tree has medicinal ornamental timber uses as well.

Tapping Kithul tree is a traditional industry of Sri Lanka. A large number of rural villagers make living from Kithul products that find a good market now.

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Sri Lanka's indigenous people clash with wildlife officials for the rights of jungle life

Sri Lanka's indigenous Veddah community chief Uruwarige Wanniaya asks who belongs the wilds if his jungle community is dispossessed of it.

Veddahs accuse that the wildlife officials shot and killed one of their members and three more have disappeared following the shootout.

A tense situation erupted on March 15 as a 24 year old indigenous man was shot and killed near the wildlife office of Hennanigala, a village of the indigenous people.

The man named Thalawarige Sunila was killed in the shooting that took place in the midnight of March 14, the indigenous community say.

150 strong police force was deployed to normalize the tension and discussions were held between police and Veddah community chief Uruwarige Wanniyaleththo.

Veddah is an indigenous hunting community that lived in jungle before modernization. The government has resettled them in villages and expect them to give up their age old life linked to the jungle.

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Sri Lanka Marxist rebels to form a new party

The rebel group os Sri Lanka Marxist People's Liberation Front has decided to form a new political party, a spokesman of the group said.

The new party named as New People's Liberation Front (NJVP) will be launched on April 09 at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium.

The spokesman further said that the elusive leader of the JVP rebel group Premakumar Gunarathnam will also appear in public at this meeting.

The JVP rebel group so far appeared as the People's Struggle Movement.

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Sri Lanka to call for bids for several oil blocks

Sri Lanka government has decided to call bids for several identified petroleum deposits in Mannar and Kaveri Basins of Indian Ocean, says the Director General of Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat.

The official said that the government expected an investment of US dollars two billion from this investment.

When the radio journalist asked about the share Sri Lanka will receive from the excavated product, the official said calculating and deciding it was extremely difficult and he could not answer it.

Speaking to a local radio, the official further said that the government had identified 10 petroleum deposits in Mannar Basin and five deposits in Kaveri Basin.

He added that the Cairn Company of India is in the final stage of mining in its 3000 square kilometer block. Share this article

However, it is still to be verified the commercial viability of these oil deposits.

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Sri Lanka court acquits Fonseka from fraud charge

Given up?

Sri Lanka High Court Judge Sunil Rajapaksa dismissed a case against former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka and acquitted him from all charges pertaining the case.

Following the judgement is delivered Fonseka commended the judge stating that he was happy that at least there was a single judge who had backbone.

Fonseka was framed charges against frauds conducted in supplying equipment to Army through a company called Hicorp that was linked to his family.

However, the judge postponed the hearing of the case against Danuna Thilakarathna, the son-in-law of Fonseka until May 03. The judge ruled that two cases could not be filed in Sri Lanka's judiciary system under same charges.

Fonseka was found guilty for the same charges by a Court Martial and he is now spending the prison term imposed on him.

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Sri Lanka Ministers' wars against US

Sri Lanka Minister of Power and Energy Champika Ranawaka said that his party had decided to join with any country to fight against US being the hammer instead of anvil.

The Minister expressed these views addressing a seminar organized by his party Jathika Hela Urumaya in Sri Lanka Foundation Institute on 12th.

The Minister said that Sri Lanka is under siege of the global imperialists since the country defeated terrorism.

The Minister stated that the terrorism of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) was a part of US imperialism and defeating it was a challenge to US.

Monister Champika Ranawaka charged that the US manipulated LTTE politics of India and Sri Lanka. He said that US wants to control the sea route from Iran to India and it wants to be the power of Indian Ocean.

He warned not to engage politics with US blood stained money in the guise of human rights.
Meanwhile Sri Lanka Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities, Wimal Weerawansa urged the countrymen to boycott American products to protest US sponsored resolution in Geneva.

The Minister said that the Sri Lankans should boycott American products in order to show the strength of the nation so that the US would feel the effects of Sri Lankans' actions.

The Minister further said that he also used a gmail account and he would stop using it.
The Minister expressed these views addressing a public meeting in Hyde Park corner, Colombo on 13th.

The theme of the rally was protecting the peace achieved while defeating western conspiracies and their operations.

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Sri Lanka's ruling party local politician of Rathnapura district arrested for abhorrent murder

Sri Lanka police spokesman Superintendent of Police Ajith Rohana said that a local government member of Godakawela Pradeshiya Sabha has been arrested by Criminal Investigation Department in connection with an abhorrent killing of a school girl and her mother.

The local government member is also a coordinating secretary of Minister of State Administration and Home Affairs John Senevirathna. The Minister dropped him from his staff following the local politician's brother and sister-in-law were arrested for the murder.

Unconfirmed police sources say that the politician was arrested following thorough investigations and he is found involved in the murder.

The suspect is to be produced in court tomorrow. Share this article

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Protest in Sri Lanka's hill country to protest mysterious killing

Shops were closed in Sri Lanka's Uva Province Passara plantation town today in protest of a mysterious killing.

Police Media Spokesperson SP Ajith Rohana said traders had closed shops and several black flags were hoisted to protest the killing of a youth opposite the Pradeshiya Sabha building yesterday.

A 20-year-old youth was murdered opposite the Passara Pradeshiya Sabha premises last night.

No arrest has been made and Passara police is investigating the incident.

The body of the deceased had been placed at the Passara Hospital for a postmortem.

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Postal voting of two local councils of Sri Lanka's Northern Province postponed

Sri Lanka Elections Secretariat announced today that postal voting for the Pudukudirippu and Maritimepattu local government Pradeshiya Sabhas has been postponed indefinitely.

The postal voting for these two local councils were to be held on March 15 and 16.

The Election Secretariat sources said that the decision to postpone the postal voting was due to an anticipated outcome of petitions filed against the elections of these two local councils.

Two cases filed against holding of elections of these two local government bodies are scheduled to be taken up by judiciary tomorrow.

Pudukudirippu and Maritimepattu local councils are situated in the Northern Province Mullaithivu district. They are the areas where the final battles against the Tamil rebels were fought and still a large number of residents of the areas have not been resettled. The elections were postponed several times due to problems related to de-mining and resettlement.

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Sri Lanka major opposition to probe Deputy Leaders statement against party position

Sri Lanka major opposition party General Secretary Thissa Attanayaka said that the Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa will be asked to show cause pertaining to a statement reported by media as he made.

The Deputy Leader of the United Ntional Party (UNP) has urged the public to oppose the resolution mooted at the UN Human Rights Council session regarding Sri Lanka.

The General Secretary stated that the party leader had expressed the position regarding the resolution clearly in the parliament.

The party official further said that the UNP had firmly decided to permit only a few MPs that are studying the situation to issue statements regarding the issue and Premadasa's statement is against the party stand.

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