Is it true ?

This is open chalenge for the Jaffna people,Civil organizations and Political leaders .So can we recahlenge the Minister .So If you have any information please share with us and We will plan to give more details later .

There was no land grab so far during President Rajapaksa’s government in the Jaffna Peninsula – Minister Basil Rajapaksa

Wed, 2013-09-11 11:19 — editor

By K.T.Rajasingham

Colombo, 11 September, (Asiantribune.com):

Not an inch of land has been grabbed in the Jaffna Peninsula after November 2005 – under the presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa, pointed out Basil Rajapaksa.

In a media meet held yesterday at Jaffna, at the Green Grass Hotel Auditorium, Minister for Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa assured that the Northern Provincial Council Election will be free and fair, without the interference of the Army and allayed the fears and concerns of the media personnel who raised this issue.

When responding to a question about the land issue in the Peninsula, Minister Basil Rajapaksa traced the history of the land acquisition. He said it dated back to the period of the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF).

Minister clarified that it was the IPKF who started the acquisition of lands in the Peninsula. He added following the land acquisition by IPKF, it was followed by acquiring lands under Emergency Regulations and under various laws and regulations.

When the Minister told that initially lands were acquired by the Indian Peace Keeping Forces, a journalist took exception.

But Asian Tribune Editor who was one of the media person present at the Press Meet, strongly agreed with the Minister and said most of the journalists who were present in the Press Meet were either not born when the IPKF forcefully took over the lands from the Jaffna civilians or they were toddlers and they were not aware of such forceful appropriation of lands by the IPKF.

When speaking on the Land Issue Minister Basil Rajapaks said this Government would follow the law to the very alphabet and lands if it is needed for development purposes and for security reasons would be taken over by informing the owners of the intention of taking over such land, legal notices would be sent, gazetted and arrangements would be made to pay compensation to such lands according to the value of the intended land that will be taken over by the Government.

Minister Basil Rajapaksa when further responding to a media person’s question as to when the lands belonging to the Vali North people would be returned , he said that Government under Mahinda Rajapaksa has already started giving back lands that are not needed for any government purposes to the rightful owners.

He further said that recently the Election Commissioner has contacted him and pointed out that handing back lands to the owners during the Northern Provincial Council elections constitute violation of election laws and request to desist from handing over lands during the elections. Minister said that returning of lands would continue after 21st September, after the polling to the Northern Provincial Council.

In the meantime Asian Tribune Editor brought to the notice of the Minister that there are more than 2000 acres of Government land available in the Vallai Veli, very close to Palaly and that land could be made use for the construction of an Airport and those lands lie very close proximity to Palaly and the airport too can be called as Palaly.

Minister Basil Rajapaksa said the suggestion of put forward by Editor Asian Tribune has to be studied and actions may be taken in the near future for the same.

Minister continued to explain that the Hhigh Security Zone was erected in the Peninsula due to 30 years of war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and it was mooted initially by the Indian Peace Keeping Forces.

He added after their (IPKF) return to Indi and those appropriated lands were not returned back to the people.

However, he said, the appropriated lands for High Security Zone were not returned back by any of the previous governments . But he said after 2005 during the Presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa not an inch of land has been taken over.

He went on to say that after 2009, the Government has taken measures to gradually return the lands back to people back.

Minister pointed out that lands were continuously appropriated for important projects not only in the North but also in the South.

Already many blocs of lands have been taken over in Endaramula located in the Gampaha district for the construction of the Colombo – Jaffna Expressway. He said that the people of Endaramulla of course are not going to be benefited by the construction of an Expressway, but the people in the Jaffna Peninsula would greatly benefit.

Similarly in Sampur in the East, lands are being acquired for the construction of a coal based Power plant to be constructed by India and agreement for the same with India has been signed way back in 1987.

Therefore, he appealed that appropriation lands for the welfare of the people should not be made an ethnic issue and ethnic color should not be painted and tainted.

Minister Basil Rajapaksa reminded that during the last Pradeshiya Sabah election time, the Tamil National Alliance in its election campaign said that they could develop the North without any assistance and help from the Sri Lanka Government.

He said it was unfortunate that elected TNA Pradeshiya Sabah Councilors were unable to do any development works even with the funds allocated by the government.

He brought to the notice of the media persons that two years ago he spent Rs. 500 million to construct the Chavakachcheri Pradeshiya Sabah building and up to date, it was unfortunate he said, that the completed building was not even declared open by the TNA controlled Pradeshiya Sabah.

When I last visited Chavakachcheri, Minister Basil Rajapaksa said, I found the Fish Market in a very bad condition and I found that it needed urgent renovation. After my visit to the fish market, I provided funds for the same. Unfortunately even today the condition of that fish market remains the same.

When the TNA Pradeshya Sabah Councilors were unable to do any development activities, there is no guarantee that a Provincial Council under the Tamil National Alliance would be able do anything to the people of the North.

Minister Basil Rajapakse says the election manifesto presented by the TNA is not aimed at the northern provincial council election. It is aimed to create a conflict between the public in north and the south.

He said, the TNA tries to arouse racial feelings of the southern people and create a terror situation in the country again. It is another attempt to point out the election internationally as a one that could be used to gain the right to self-governance.

Minister Basil pointed out that it was pity that TNA was unable come up with a Chief Minister candidate – one from the nearly 495 ,000 voters in the Jaffna Peninsula.

He said that he tried to find the address of the TNA candidate in the North voters register and there was no listing of Mr. Vigneswaran’s name.

He said that when he checked the voters list of Colombo Central, he found at 16 C Cambridge Terrace, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo 7 the name of Gnanasabapathy Viswalingham Vigneswaran.

He added that Vigneswaran is one of the elites living in a place like Cinnamon Gardens. How he can understand the problems of an ordinary Tamil of the North, Minister Basil asked.

He said: "The TNA candidate contesting for the Chief Minister's post came to the North only after the war, that too was to hand over his nomination. I have visited the North more than 200 times after the war to solve the people's problems.

Therefore he added The people of the North should take all these things into consideration and the public of the north should cast their vote to the UPFA if they want to fulfill their expectations.

- Asian Tribune -

MONTHLY EVALUATION AND PLANING MEETING

We have evaluation and planing meeting in every month at NAFSO training center.Al the coordinators and animators participated that meeting . So we had that meeting 04 of September

Ampara DIFSO coordinator Isaideen present his progress report   

Mannar Animator present the report 

Trinco -Animator 

  

What is the meaning of development if people are in the CAMP?

Cabinet approves USD 4 bn S'pore investment in Sampur

The Cabinet has approved USD 4 billion Industrial Park in Sampur, Trincomalee by Singapore based Gateway Group.

The proposal will be presented in Parliament today by Minister of Investment Promotion Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, for debate.

The mega project, which would be completed in three phases, within seven years, would facilitate heavy industries, mainly from Singapore and would self-facilitate infrastructure and other requirements for operations without the government having to provide them.

Singapore based Gateway group would invest more than USD 700 million within the first two years, followed by USD 1.3 billion, which would develop infrastructure, education and other facilities to support the industries. That would be followed by a further USD 2 billion capital infusion coming from industries to be set up there.

Minister Abywardena, addressing the media in Trincomalee, said that the project would take off soon and enhance the development of the eastern province, particularly Trincomalee. He said that the government was aiming to capture another mega scale project for the Northern Province as well.

Highlighting the opportunities in the area, he said Trincomalee was the second highest contributor to the national economy since the war ended in 2009 and it had a great potential.

He said the tourism zone in Passikuda, which was located in close proximity to Trincomalee, had made progress and was nearing completion. Ten of the 14 hotels had been completed so far, as well as the infrastructure.

Courtesy : President Media Unit

Open letter to visiting UN human rights commissioner

War crimes and dispossession in Sri Lanka: Open letter to visiting UN human rights commissioner

BY 

VARIOUS

| AUGUST 26, 2013

Dear Dr. Pillay,

With your visit to Sri Lanka from August 25th-­31st, we urge you, as global citizens concerned with the deteriorating situation in the island, to investigate militarization, settlements, and the systematic rape of Tamil prisoners of war. These three issues, the most immediate threats to peace and justice today, lay new seeds of dispossession, inequality and bitterness. Ultimately, an international investigation cannot delink the 2009 massacres from the ongoing suffering of the Tamil people in the here and now.

The Sri Lankan army is building military bases throughout the Tamil peoples' lands. The Sri Lankan army presence of 85,000-­86,000 in the North and East is contrary to peace building and amounts to a Tamil civil society under occupation. According to ground reports, armed soldiers control every area of civilian life from schooling to public meetings; soldiers even place restrictions on humanitarian, developmental and psychiatric work for the war ravaged Tamil people. [1]

Through the occupation, the Sri Lankan Armed Forces seize land from Tamil civilians while settlers from the South are brought in to colonize the land. From the Jaffna Peninsula in the North to the Trincomalee harbour and beyond in the East, the traditional homeland of the Tamil Nation is subjected to occupation and settlements. This situation exacerbates socio-economic deprivation, for Tamil people are denied the ability to cultivate their appropriated lands and must compete for fishing with the superior technology of Sinhalese settlers.

With Tamil villages renamed in Sinhala and Buddhist Stupas emerging where none were before, Sri Lankan's 'reconciliation' program is triumphalism over a people under siege. We deeply suspect that the Sri Lankan state's land-grab scheme is part of a much more insidious agenda: a slow and relentless genocide that seeks to eradicate the Tamil Nation and render them without their traditional territory. In fact, land-­grabs are simply a continuation of an age-­old state policy that lies at the heart of Tamil grievances in their homeland. [2]

Finally, we call for an international mechanism to protect the rights of Tamil prisoners of war from persecution and rape, which the government hides with its rhetoric of reconciliation and rehabilitation. Sri Lanka has a long history of prison brutality. In June 2012, the Special Task Force attacked a group of Vavuiya prisoners, which left 15 people seriously injured, and one dead from critical injuries [3], but even Tamil prisoners released from internment continue to endure persecution. Doctors and social workers on the ground report that many of the released ex-­LTTE cadres are subjected to a systematic program of harassment, sexual abuse and rape. [4] If the International Community is serious about the rehabilitation of ex-­LTTE cadres, then it must pressure the Sri Lankan government to immediately stop its brutal treatment of ex-­LTTE cadres who are attempting to rebuild their lives.

We believe that these matters must be addressed to ensure peace and stability, and urge you to investigate them in Sri Lanka. We -- the undersigned organizations and individuals -- hope to hear about these urgent issues at your oral report to the UNHRC in September.

Sincerely,

Academy of Tamil Studies
Action for Human rights in Tamil Eelam and Sri Lanka
Angela Regnier, Canadian Association of University Teachers Bashana Abeywardane -­‐ Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka Belgium Tamil Forum
Bruce Haigh, author and former Australian diplomat to Sri Lanka
Canadian Peace Alliance
Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (University of Sydney)
Centre of Education. Research and Development (CEDAR) Child Development Initiative
Chris Nash, Professor, Monash University (Melbourne) Coalition for Tamil Rights 
Council of Temples Malaysia
Country Council of Eelam Tamils-­‐Germany
Danish Tamil Forum
Dr Krishnasamy -­‐ Puthiya Tamilakam Tamil naadu India
Dr. Cheran Rudhramoorthy, poet, journalist, professor (University of Windsor) Dr. Jude Lal Fernando, lecturer and research fellow, Trinity College (Dublin) Dutch Tamil Forum
Federation of Indian Non-­‐Governmental Organisations
Group of Concerned Citizens
Imperial College Tamil Society
Indian Malaysian Active Generation (IMAGE)
International Council of Eelam Tamils
Italy Council of Eelam Tamils
Jake Lych, Director for Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies
Johor Tamizhar Sangam
Julian Burnside, AO QC, Australian barrister, human rights and refugee advocate, author Kuala Lumpur Indian Entrepreneurs and Professionals
London Metropolitan University Tamil Society
London School of Economics-­‐Tamil Society
Maison du Tamil Eelam, France
Malaysia Indian Progressive Educational Society
Malaysia Tamil Artiste Association
Malaysian Association of Indian University Graduates
Malaysian Dravidian Association
Malaysian Hindu Youth Council
Malaysian Indian Business Association
Malaysian Indian Development & Unity Association
Malaysian Indian Entrepreneurs and Professionals
Malaysian Indian Historical Association
Malaysian Indian Youth Development Foundation
Malaysian Selangor Tamil Sangam
Marie George Buffet, Member of Parliament, France
Mauritius Tamil Temples Federation
Meena Kandaswamy, author, poet, activist
Mr Maruthappa Natarajan Editor Puthiyapaarvai Tamilnaadu India National Council of Canadian Tamils
Nationwide Human Development And Research Centre
Neethan Shan, activist and educator
Norweigian Council of Eelam Tamils
Selangor Indian Entrepreneurs and Professionals
Semparuthi Iyakkam Selangor
Solidarity Group for Peace & Justice in Sri Lanka (South Africa) Stephen Gatignon, Maire de Serren France
Suaram Malaysia
Sydney Peace Foundation
Tamil Cultural Organization-­‐Belgum
Tamil Forum Malaysia
Tamil Refugee Council
Tamil Solidarity
Tamil Youth Organization Germany
Tamil Youth Organization UK
University of Birmingham Tamil Society
Viraj Mendiz, Internationaler Menschenrechtsverein Bremen e.V Wendy Bacon, Professorial Fellow, University of Technology, Sydney World Tamil Federation – Malaysian Chapter
York University Tamil Students Association

Popular Manual on Tenure Guidelines

People have to think on the food sovereignty of the world.So many civil organizations prepared guide lines for protecting the small scale produces and the resources.We can see the document but there is challenges for the civil organizations how to motivate and educate the people.So NAFSO and WFFP[World  fisher forum]organized the south Asian regional workshop on VGGT with particular focus on Fisheries 26 and 27 August 2013 at Negombo in  NAFSO training center .Participants from the India ,Bangladesh,Pakistan and SriLanka joint this WS and finally they could prepare draft Manual for the future actions.            

Herman Kumar [NAFSO convener] and Mohommed Ali Sha [General secretary -WFFP]
Explain the background and objectives of the WS  

Facilitating on the VGGT and  CSO [Monika from India ]

Explain North situation 

Add caption

Explain East situation 

Explain Pakistan situation  

Group work explain from Bangladesh participant 

Group presentation from Sri vimukthi organization  leader 

Closing remarks 

People start to prepare a village development plan

We can here the slogan on 'PEOPLE PARTICIPATION' for the preparing the local government year plan but these things are only the words.So village leaders of the ten villages who closely work with NAFSO decide to prepare village development plan [VDP] and hand over the Local government and DS office.Citizen forum of Trinco District also involving for that process.Leaders of the Vilankulam and Kirikunchamali had discussion for the VDP preparation 29 of August 2013 .

Citizen forum Chairman express his idea 

Kirikunchamali leaders discuss their issues 

Housing ,Drinking water ,Tenure for the land and
 road are the main issues on their discussion 

     

Speech by UN High Commissioner

* UN Rights Chief recognizes Sri Lanka's achievements, but calls for 'holistic approach' for reconciliation 
Sat, Aug 31, 2013, 08:06 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Aug 31, Colombo: Sri Lanka's achievements in resettlement, reconstruction and rehabilitation in the relatively short period since the armed conflict ended in 2009 are indeed impressive but physical reconstruction alone will not bring reconciliation, dignity, or lasting peace, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said today.
Addressing a press conference in Colombo at the conclusion of her week-long visit to the island on a fact-finding mission, Pillay said a more holistic approach is needed to provide truth, justice and reparations for people's suffering during the war and offered the assistance of her office in these areas.
"I am deeply concerned that Sri Lanka, despite the opportunity provided by the end of the war to construct a new vibrant, all-embracing state, is showing signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction," she said.
Taking offensive in calling her a supporter of the defeated terrorist group Liberations Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Pillay said the accusation has reached an "extraordinary crescendo" during her visit to the country with at least three Government Ministers also joining to label her.
The Human Rights Chief denouncing the LTTE as a "murderous organization that committed numerous crimes and destroyed many lives," called on the diaspora not to glorify the terrorist outfit.
"Those in the diaspora who continue to revere the memory of the LTTE must recognize that there should be no place for the glorification of such a ruthless organization," she said.
She thanked the government for its invitation and its excellent cooperation during the planning and conduct of this "very complex" mission. Despite few disturbing incidents she was free to go anywhere, and see anything she wished to see, Pillay affirmed.
Sympathizing with all the Sri Lankans who have lost a loved one during the war, whether civialn or soldier, Pillay said it is important for everyone to realize that, although the fighting is over, the suffering is not.
The UN official said she was moved by the profound trauma of the people she has seen among the relatives of the missing and the dead, and the war survivors, in all the places she has visited, as well as by their resilience.
Pillay warned of specific factors impeding normalization which according to her if not quickly rectified, may lead to future discord.
She explained that the curtailment or denial of personal freedoms and human rights, or linked to persistent impunity and the failure of rule of law are factors impeding the achievement of true peace and reconciliation after the war.
The Rights chief stressed that her office wants to see progress in the implementation of the recommendations made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and proper investigation of the many outstanding allegations and concerns.
Recognizing that LLRC report contains a broad range of excellent recommendations regarding concrete improvements on human rights, Pillay said she expects to receive a briefing on the extent of the implementation of some of those recommendations from the Secretary to the President.
The UN official welcomed the forthcoming elections to the Northern Provincial Council and expressed hope that elections will proceed in a peaceful, free and fair environment, and usher in an important new stage in the devolution of power.
Pillay expressed concern over military's involvement in civilian activities such as education, agriculture and tourism and the acquisition of the land by the military for these activities.
"Clearly, the army needs some camps, but the prevalence and level of involvement of soldiers in the community seem much greater than is needed for strictly military or reconstruction purposes four years after the end of the war," she noted.
She urged the government to speed up the up its efforts to demilitarize the two war-affected provinces in North and East.
Expressing concern over vulnerability of women and girls, especially in female-headed households, to sexual harassment and abuse Pillay urged the authorities to rigorously enforce a zero tolerance policy for sexual abuse.
She asked the government to expedite the cases of remaining detainees, either by bringing charges or releasing them for rehabilitation.
She said she was disappointed to learn that the new Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances will only cover disappearances in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and asked the government to broaden the Commission's mandate to include the "white van" disappearances reported in Colombo and other parts of the country in recent years.
She requested the Sri Lankan Government to ratify the International Convention on Disappearances, and invite the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances to visit Sri Lanka, ideally before she reports back to the Human Rights Council in March.
Pillay, speaking of the Courts of Inquiry appointed by the army to further investigate the allegations of civilian casualties and summary executions, said unless there is a credible national process, calls for an international inquiry are likely to continue.
Mentioning reports of human rights activists who spoke to her being harassed by security personnel, the UN official asked the government to issue immediate orders to halt this treatment of human rights defenders and journalists who face this kind of harassment and intimidation on a regular basis.
She stressed that the UN takes the issue of reprisals against people seriously because they have talked to UN officials, and said she will be reporting those that take place in connection with this visit to the Human Rights Council.
The UN official will provide an oral update to the Human Rights Council in Geneva in late September, and a full written report in March next year on her visit to Sri Lanka.
Full Speech by UN High Commissioner