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FM Asks Donors to Go beyond Tsunami
Bandula Jayasekara in Colombo,
LT 10.30 P.M Tuesday 14 March 2005.
By Bandula Jayasekara in London -Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar
requested the donors here to go beyond Tsunami affected areas and help
develop the Sri Lankan economy. He told the Disaster Emergency
Committee(DEC) which comprises of several humanitarian organisations in the
UK that it would help the nation in a big way as industries such as fishing
and agriculture is interlinked. Kadirgamar said We must ensure not to
create a new imbalance in our society. We must at all costs avoid creating a
situation where Tsunami affected communities would become a privileged
community in comparison to others. When reconstructing damaged areas the
country must move in to the 21st century with modern infrastructure.
Kadirgamar also requested the group to consider utilising some of the funds
to help the internally displaced people from the armed conflict in Sri
Lanka. The group was receptive to the request of the Lankan foreign
minister though final decision was not made.
Kadirgamar also told the group that the Sri Lankan government was willing to
support and extends its fullest cooperation to working with them and it was
important for them to work together in the huge task of reconstruction that
lies ahead. DEC has received £ 350 million from the public in the UK and it
has already allocated 40 million £ to be used in Sri Lanka in 2005 itself.
The group will come out with a three year plan to help Sri Lanka.
Kadirgamar also called for transparency and accountability in project
implementation and disbursement of donor funds though the government will
not interfere in things such as calling for tenders, identifying contractors
or micro manage these organisations. He said that the government would fully
encourage the participation of non governmental organisations and all
projects must be within the master plan. He said All will have to work
within that plan. Kadirgamar is expected to meet British Foreign Secretary
Jack Straw later this evening. He is expected to tell Straw to take matching
steps to ensure transparency and accountability as far as the British non
governmental organisations when providing assistance to Sri Lanka.
Published: Mon Mar 14 17:32:38 EST 2005
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Army says normalcy returning in Trincomalee
Munza Mushtaq in Colombo,
March 14, 2005, 6.29 p.m..
Normalcy was fast returning to Trincomalee town by mid-day today after a gathering led by an organization called Trincomalee Tamil Forum, backed by LTTE, staged a protest over alleged tsunami discrimination, the army said.
Protesters claimed that authorities were pursuing discriminatory and partial policies in dealing with Tsunami relief work. They also agitated that alleged atrocities of the Security Forces in Jaffna be halted.
All Tamil shops have been ordered to put up their shutters by organizers who were expecting a mammoth crowd, but were disappointed by the reportedly poor turnout.
Some of them staged sit-in protests on main roads while others obstructed passage on Nilaweli road after placing fishing boats across.
However, District Secretary for Trincomalee listened to their complaints and promised to resolve them as early as possible.
Normalcy has now returned and all shops and businesses remain open as usual, the Army added.
Published: Mon Mar 14 07:34:02 EST 2005
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Whoddunit at the Big Match?
Charles Pathirana in Colombo,
March 15, Tuesday 1.10 a.m SLT.
There is a great deal of speculation among concerned circled in Colombo --
to say the least – about who caused the incident that led to the injuries
suffered by Sinhalse Sports Club (SSC) security men at the Royal Thomian
cricket match concluded on Saturday.
The incident had all the potential of going wildly out of control, because
even police officers were subjected to assault by men who had earlier got into
a ferocious fight with security guards at the match.
Though speculation was that the men belonged to the security detail of a
Minister, nobody still knows – and if they know they are not telling.
Members of the Royal Thomian match Organising Committee say they are not
aware who these men were -- though they offered some idea why they
started the fight. These men wanted to get into the members only SSC bar
area, but were stopped by security men and were infuriated as a result, said
some members of the Committee.
The incident is reminiscent of many in which bodyguards of Ministers and
Ministers’ sons ran amok during the previous (UNP) regime. This sort of
behaviour was ridiculed by the now ruling UPFA in their campaign
advertisements at the April election last year -- and the advertisements
seemed to go a long way in ejecting the UNP from power as people were made
aware of how Ministers sons and their security staff sere allowed to run
amok.
But this time around there are more questions and answers, and though there
was some speculation that these men belonged to a government Minister,
nobody is sure, least of all the Match committee who was involved.
Published: Mon Mar 14 14:32:50 EST 2005
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Police attack tsunami protest in East
