Terrorism anywhere is terrorism, help us fight it

- says Mahinda at G-11-

Addressing the G-11 summit in Amman, the capital of Jordan, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said Sri Lanka which had suffered heavily was not only seeking to defeat terrorism but was also trying to liberate the people who had become victims of terrorism.

In this exercise, we are fully committed to safeguarding human rights and democracy. Political negotiations and constitutional reforms have been initiated to address concerns of all communities,” said Mr. Rajapaksa.

“We all are at a critical juncture in our development process. Despite the many challenges posed by terrorism, rising oil prices and natural disasters, all of us are on the verge of becoming Middle Income Economies. In fact our situation is very peculiar. We don’t belong to the Least Developed category and therefore are not recipients of specific assistance granted to those countries. We also do not belong to the Middle Income Category and do not have the per capita income levels to fuel our path of development” the President said.

“This then is the significance of the G-11 Initiative. It creates a platform for LMICs to present their case to the developed world and particularly to the G-8. What we are asking for is ‘targeted help’ and ‘result oriented assistance’ to accelerate the implementation of homegrown development programmes.
“In the 10 year Development Framework under the Mahinda Chintanaya, we have outlined several programmes to address the issues of the rural sector, placing emphasis on roads, electricity, irrigation and water supply, housing and livelihood assistance. We have launched an unprecedented rural development initiative within the medium term development framework.
It is only with a stable political environment that sustainable development can be achieved. In this context, we must deal with the menace of terrorism. Many around the table today have first hand experience of the havoc caused by terrorism.
“Although confronted by many challenges, Sri Lanka sustained an economic growth in excess of 7.2 percent during 2006 – a further improvement from the growth of 6.2 percent in 2005. Unemployment declined to 6 percent. Exports grew by around 8 percent. We have attracted overseas remittances of over 2 billion US Dollars. We managed to attract foreign investment in excess of 600 million US Dollars.

“My request to you, here today, is for the G-11 to emphasize the strong bond that unites us all in responding to the challenge of terrorism. All terrorist attacks whether on Amman, Islamabad, London or Colombo, are acts that must be vehemently condemned. There can be no differentiating between them. Terrorism anywhere is terrorism. “Unfortunately, some in the developed world tend to view certain terrorist organizations with a degree of tolerance. At times, these terrorists are viewed as rebels or fighters against discrimination, as long as they do not create violence in those countries. Also some countries have permitted terror organizations to have front offices, institutions, lobby groups and charities based on the premise of democracy. By this, they have shown their indifference to terrorism,” said President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

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'NO TO AID'

-President Rajapakse says-

President Mahinda Rajapakse says Sri Lanka government would not be dependent on foreign aid.

The president said that the government is prepared to accept aid but will not be dependent.
"If we are offered genuine aid we will take it; if not we will forget about aid and do our job", said President Rajapakse.
When asked for his views on the reported stopping of aid by the UK Government, President Rajapaksa said this could be a reference to post-tsunami aid offered to Sri Lanka.
“We will use our own money. We cannot wait for assistance from any sources to carry out our responsibilities”, the President added.

“Today, we use our own money for the resettlement work. We did not wait till the INGOs came with their money", he said.
President Rajapaske said the resettlement work is going on successfully'and the governement is providing electricity to the people being resettled.
New roads are being built in these areas. These are the causes for delays, but they are not reported”, he added.

President Rajapaksa said he had instructed officials carrying out resettlement work that there should be no difference in treatment for people from the South and the North and East.
“”The work of resettlement, whether the tsunami displaced or those displaced due to the conflict is the responsibility of the Government. We will discharge this obligation whether we get aid or not”, the President said.

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Venezula to Withdraw From IMF
-Venezula President Hugo Chavez -

Venezula President Hugo Chavez says he want to pull his country out of the International Monetary Fund & The World Bank

In Speech to mark 1 May ,Mr Chavez said he wanted the move to take effect as soon as possible.As the country has settled its IMF debt,the withdrawal is largely a symbolic gesture,correspondent say.

President charvez also announced an almost 20% increase in the minimum monthly wage.
“we don’t need to be going up to Washington …. We are goint to get out,”Mr chavez said. “We are going to withdraw before they go and rob us,”he went on.

The president said he had order financial minister Rodrigo Cabezas to begin formal proceeding to withdraw from the two international bodies.
Mr Chaves said Venezula would seek repayment of money owed to it by the IMF and world bank -presumably a reference,correspondent says ,to contributions which member countries pay. “We still have a few bucks there,” he said.

President Charvez has spoken of his ambition to set up what he call a Bank of the South,backed by Venezuelan oil revenues,which would finance projects in South America.
Ecuador ,led by another Left-wing president,Rafael Correa ,has also spoken of leaving the IMF, and recently expelled world bank representatives from the country.

-When we will get this kind of leader to rule my motherland-

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UNP trying to whitewash LTTE
- JHU Leader

"Politicians trying to obstruct the Government's efforts to save the country from the present national crisis will end up in the dustbin of history," JHU Leader Parliamentarian Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Nayaka Thera said.

Ven. Medhananda Nayaka Thera in a statement issued yesterday said a limited section of the UNP led by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe were making a hue and cry here and abroad calling for the removal of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa from the Defence Secretary's post and making allegations of human right violation in the country when foreign delegations who have visited the country have dismissed such claims.

The UNP today was like a derelict house on the verge of collapse. The UNP Leader unable to protect it, was making wild allegation against the Government like a mentally deranged person.
Ven. Medhananda in his statement alleged that the UNP Leader and his band were trying to whitewash the barbaric LTTE by making such utterances.
To them he wished to remind a saying of Greek writer Sophocles namely "God (Zeus) first drives mad people whom he wanted to destroy.
The statement said the LTTE was strengthened financially and militarily during the tenure of Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister under the CFA.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa as soon as he assumed office extended the hand of friendship to the LTTE and invited it to the negotiation table.
The LTTE cunningly evaded those gestures and launched a spree of killings violating the CFA at its will. The LTTE thereafter forcibly closed the Mavil Aru anicut denying irrigation and drinking water facilities to over 50,000 people. When repeated requests to re-open the sluice gates fell on deaf ears the President was compelled to order a humanitarian operation to liberate the Mavil aru anicut from LTTE clutches.

The subsequent retaliatory attacks on the LTTE had now severely weakened the organisation. Almost 99 per cent of the Eastern Province has now been liberated from the LTTE and the UNP instead of revealing the barbaric acts of the terrorists to the outside world was trying to whitewash it through sheer jealousy against the Government's ability to debilitate the Tigers.

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British High Commissioner keeps indoors

A group of JVP Parliamentarian went to the British High Commission office to hand over a petition, put the High Commissioner has not come out to accept it. This petition was intended to protest against the debate in British parliament on the National Question in Sri Lanka and the appointment of committee for involvement in internal affairs in Sri Lanka.

A large crowd of JVP members with their parliamentarians marched to the British High Commission in procession but the police stopped them out side the High commission office. Thereafter JVP propaganda secretary, MP Wimal Weerawanse, parliamentarians Anura Dissanayake, Vijitha Herath, Sunil Handunnetti went in to hand over the petition.

The security guard did not allow them to go into the office and he requested them to give the petition to him. The MP’s refused to give it to him. Then the security guard went in to the office and come out to say that the High commissioner was not there and the acting officer refused to meet the MP’s. Thereafter the MP’s hung the petition they took on the door and went on protesting.

Speaking to the media after the protest, JVP propaganda secretary Mr. Wimal Weerawanse said that they refuse to meet MP’s duly elected by the people of Sri Lanka, but they go to meet Tigers with their back cringed before them. That shows the double standard adopted by them. He emphasized that Sri Lanka is no more a British colony and is a quoted below is the letter the JVP was to hand over to the British High Commissioner.

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UK accused of 'neo colonialism'

UK accused of 'neo colonialism


SLPM leaders accused UK of undermining Sri Lanka's sovereignty
Sinhala nationalists in Sri Lanka have accused Great Britain of engaging in 'neo colonialism'.
Sri Lanka Patriotic Movement (SLPM) said the British government is a threat to Sri Lanka's sovereignty.
A group of British MPs formed an All Party Committee in an attempt to help Sri Lanka to find a solution to the national question.

Parliamentarian Keith Vaz, a former deputy minister of foreign Affairs, said the group's aim is to organise a peace summit in London.

National question 'British creation'

Prof. Nalin de Silva, a leader of the SLPM, said Sri Lanka's national question, if there is any such problem, was created by the British imperialists centuries ago.
"Can Sri Lanka form a parliamentary group to focus on any of the United Kingdom's issues? What will happen then?" Prof. De Silva queried.
He accused Great Britain of trying to push for a solution preferred by the British authorities.
Prof. WM Karunadasa accused UK authorities of double standards.
British authorities who openly criticise Sri Lanka's human rights record failed to condemn the air attacks by the Tamil Tigers, according to Prof. Karunadasa.
"There is an international conspiracy against Sri Lanka," he said.
Sri Lanka does not need aid that comes with conditions attached to intervene in internal affairs, the SLPM said.
Elle Gunawansa thero, leader of the SLPM, said the organisation is ready to fight against any form of 'neo colonialism'.

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lions Came Back

Grand welcome as Sri Lanka World Cup cricketers arrive

Sri Lanka's World Cup cricketers returned to the island this morning with a grand welcome from fans and government officials.

After being stranded in London following the cancellation of their Emirates flights to Colombo, the team arrived here in a Qatar Airways flight. The team, led by skipper Mahela Jayawardane, was received at the VIP lounge of the Bandaranaike International Airport where Buddhist monks, Hindu and Catholic priests, and Muslim clerics conducted services to bless them.
A series of welcoming ceremonies was held along the road from Katunayake to Colombo’s Independence Square, where a grand welcoming ceremony was held. Sri Lanka lost to Australia in Saturday's final in Barbados.

The success of Sri Lanka’s cricketers has united the country in unprecedented ways. Even the Tigers stopped their attacks to watch the matches.

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