UNP Contesting Eastern Elections - Keeping humor alive amongst Sri Lankans

The UNP of late has featured more prominently not so much for its merit as an opposition party but for a series of never ending humor presented to the masses. From the poster campaign inaugurated & ending on Valentine's Day to the miscalculated boycott of the Eastern Municipal Polls, the UNP always has added humor to a country that very much is in need of it.

Was it not too long ago that the UNP was shouting from West to East to gather opposition for the recently concluded Eastern Municipal Polls?

Why - they claim that the Government was contesting in tow with a paramilitary group called the TMVP led by the terrorist Pillyalan. If the UNP has identified the TMVP as a terrorist & chose not to contest then we should ask why the UNP chose to contest the Eastern elections when the LTTE was reigning in the East?

In the world of politics every decision is like a rabbit pulled out of a hat .... & the surprises will always continue, which continues the banter surrounding the most recent declaration by the UNP to contest the Provincial Council elections in the East.

Perhaps the Municipal elections were a mere cup of tea for the Grand Old Party to contest that they prefer to take on the Provincial elections instead?

Read more,
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items08/200308-4.html

Are you training Lanka army, CPI asks Centre

The CPI on Tuesday alleged that the Centre was giving secret training to Sri Lankan Army personnel.

Raising the issue during the zero hour in the Rajya Sabha, CPI member D Raja wanted to know whether the government has a policy to train the Sri Lankan Army. He demanded that if there is a policy, the government come out openly with it.

Raja said that the Centre should not give training to the island nation’s army in a clandestine manner and added that he knew about Sri Lankan military officers being brought to the National Defence Academy.

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http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?

Heated debate in the Sri Lanka parliament on the 17th amendment

A heated debate commenced in the parliament yesterday as Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka made a special statement with regard to the reactivation of constitutional council as required by the 17th amendment of the country’s constitution.

Premier said that the President has decided to not to activate the Constitutional Council until the report of the Parliamentary Select Committee on the subject makes its recommendations.

He also pointed out that the appointment of the 10th member to the council has been dragging for over 2 years and therefore it is essential to make suitable alteration to the existing law that is creating problems.

Joining the debate opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe pointed out that the tenure of the present general secretary to the parliament expires at the end of this month and without the council the vacancy will not be able to be filled.

He said that if somebody takes the appointment in the absence of the council it would only create a parliamentary privilege issue and therefore it would be difficult for the parliament to continue its proceeding in the near future.

Read more,
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_08/March1935552JR.html

JVP will contest in the East

The JVP has decided to contest the Provincial council elections for the Eastern Province.

Member of JVP Political Bureau Anura Dissanayake said the JVP will field a team consisting of Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim candidates. The JVP did not contest the local government elections held for Batticaloa District recently.

Extracted from,
http://www.lankatruth.com/

Author Arthur C. Clarke dies

Author Arthur C. Clarke, whose science fiction and non-fiction works ranged from the script for "2001: A Space Odyssey" to an early proposal for communications satellites, has died at age 90, associates have said.

Clarke had been wheelchair-bound for several years with complications stemming from a youthful bout with polio and had suffered from back trouble recently, said Scott Chase, the secretary of the nonprofit Arthur C. Clarke Foundation.

He died early Wednesday -- Tuesday afternoon ET -- at a hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he had lived since the 1950s, Chase said.

"He had been taken to hospital in what we had hoped was one of the slings and arrows of being 90, but in this case it was his final visit," he said.

Read more,
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/03/18/obit.clarke/index.html

President likens Eastern victory to universal franchise

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday likened the democratic exercise in Batticaloa at the recently concluded election to the country obtaining universal franchise for the first time.

The President reiterated that with the successful conclusion of the local polls in Batticaloa, the main focus was directed not only with regard to the Eastern polity but also to the international arena. "The country could now demonstrate to the entire world that we are a Nation which respects democracy".

President Rajapaksa made this observation addressing Members of Local Government bodies from Batticaloa, elected at the recent elections, at the Presidential Secretariat.

He congratulated all elected Local Government members from Batticaloa on their becoming representatives of the people of Batticaloa.

Read more,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/03/19/news01.asp
Photo,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/03/19/main_News.asp

India installs radar system to curb LTTE infiltration and smugglings

The Indian Air Force has installed sophisticated radar with all modern systems available for aerial surveillance. It is reported that the main objective of installing this surveillance system is to prevent smuggling and infiltration operations of the LTTE exploiting the Gulf of Mannar to Sri Lanka.

Southern Air Command, Air Vice-Marshal Y.R. Rane after discussing with the Indian Air Force and Indian Coast Guard officials addressing the media said that that the new radar has eight antennae which could cover the entire Gulf of Mannar region. It had the capability to track objects such as ships, barges, trawlers, small boats and others in the Indian territorial waters off Mandapam coast.

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http://www.news.lk/index.php?