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| | Archives Jul-Aug 2009 |
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| | | “Peace” and “rebuilding of society” are
fundamental conceptual paradigms that we must gain a common understanding of and evolve consensus on” - Minister Samarasinghe
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“Our ultimate goal is the return of IDPs to the areas in which they originally resided.
The process requires ensuring that these areas must be rendered safe, free of mines and other
unexploded ordnance. The areas of return must be cleared of the vast caches of weapons that our forces
are recovering on a day-to-day basis. To facilitate this process, basic infrastructure must be put
in place which will sustain the restored communities. Economic life must be restarted. A return to
traditional livelihoods must be enabled. Income generating activities from small and medium industry,
services, agriculture and fisheries must be recommenced. If people in the conflict affected areas are
to face the future with any degree of confidence, the public facilities and institutional edifices
providing essential services must be available and on par with those in the rest of Sri Lanka.
It is also necessary to enable and empower them to take charge of their own lives and not be
continuously dependent on humanitarian assistance and relief. These are challenges that
the Government of His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapakse has taken on and is determined
to meet and overcome” said Hon Mahinda Samarasinghe MP, Minister of Disaster
Management and Human Rights at the Seminar on “Winning the War to Winning
the Peace: Post-war Rebuilding of Society” organized by the Regional Centre
for Strategic Studies (RCSS) on Friday, 28 August 2009.
Read more...
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| | | Minister Samarasinghe provides update to Parliament on displaced persons
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“We have completed registration of 144,000 persons. 100,000 identity
cards have been issued to the Police for distribution and 75,000 cards
have reached the intended recipients. I am also happy to inform this
House that we have managed to ensure the construction of 112 child
friendly spaces in the camps. These are especially necessary to enable
children to have some space to relax and interact. We have also taken
steps to create service protection centres on the basis of one for
every 5,000 IDPs to enable them to access the range of services that
are made available by the Government. We have taken steps to release
approximately 9,000 persons including the elderly, pregnant women and
lactating mothers and children. We have also been able to resettle
4,500 persons from camps in Vavuniya in Jaffna, Trincomalee, Kantale
and Batticaloa. These processes are on going” said Hon Mahinda
Samarasinghe MP, Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights,
while addressing the current developments related to the displaced
persons in the North of Sri Lanka, in parliament on 19th August 2009.
Read more...
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| | | Northern Province Elections: a milestone in restoring democracy in the North
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Local Government elections for the Jaffna Municipal Council & Vavuniya Urban Council were held on 08th of
August 2009, after a lapse of 10 years, marking another milestone in
the restoration of democracy in the North.
Read more...
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| | | “All necessary measures must be taken to ensure the welfare of
the Internally Displaced Persons” Minister Samarasinghe
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Keeping in mind that this a unique situation where a population of over 280,000
IDPs in Vavuniya, Jaffna, Mannar and Trincomalee Districts are being housed and cared for
in the aftermath of a historic operation to rescue them from a ruthless terrorist organization, all
necessary measures must be taken to ensure not only their welfare but also the welfare of the general
populace of Sri Lanka in those areas and in the rest of the country” said Hon Mahinda Samarasinghe,
Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights, in Parliament on 22 July 2009
during the Adjournment Debate on Internally Displaced Persons.
Read more...
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| | | Ambassador Aryasinha says EU should re-calibrate its relationship with Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU Ravinatha Aryasinha has said,
the rejection by European voters of those who campaigned on a pro-LTTE platform
at the recently concluded European Parliamentary elections, should encourage the EU
to “re-calibrate its relationship with Sri Lanka” and “engage in a constructive manner in the post-LTTE context”.
Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha made this observation when he
addressed the cross-party ‘Friends of Sri Lanka’ group of the European
Parliament, held on the sidelines of the inaugural session of the newly
elected European Parliament in Strasbourg last week.
Read more...
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| | | Sri Lanka now looks to future with renewed hope and enthusiasm - President at NAM
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For 27 long years my people were gripped by mortal fear. A great
sigh of relief has now swept across the entire nation being finally released
from the grip of the fear of terrorism. The Sri Lankan Nation now looks to
the future with renewed hope and enthusiasm. We have faith that all our
friends who stood by us in our hour of need will continue to stand by us and walk
with us in our journey to develop Sri Lanka for the benefit of all our people,
said President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his statement at the 15th summit of the
Non-Aligned Movement being held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt today July 15.
Read more...
The full text of the Speech
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| | | President Rajapaksa gave practical scope and depth to non-alignment - Minister Bogollagama |
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Speaking at the NAM Ministerial Meeting at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on 13
July Foreign Minister Bogollagama praised Sri Lanka’s heroic security forces
for defeating the world’s deadliest terrorist group and rescuing civilians and
securing fully the north and the east of Sri Lanka. “This achievement was possible
because of the single-minded commitment, vision and perseverance of President Mahinda
Rajapaksa, who has reunified Sri Lanka under one flag, further strengthening its
territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty,
as well as the liberties of people in the north and the east.”
Read more...
The full text of the Speech
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| | | LTTE pressured us to give false reports of civilian casualties - Northern doctors |
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It was under the pressure of the LTTE that we were giving exaggerated and
contradictory figures about the civilian casualties. There were civilian casualties
and deaths in the final stages of the battle. But not the exaggerated numbers of
civilian deaths and casualties we were forced to give under pressure of the LTTE,
said five doctors who were serving in the No Fire Zone on the final
days of the military operation to free Tamil civilians.
Read more...
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| | | Historic unity for Development and Reconciliation |
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A historic meeting of all political parties represented in Parliament,
and others too, to discuss the development and reconciliation needs of Sri Lanka,
following the defeat of terrorism, took place in Colombo today.
Leaders and representatives of 22 political parties from all communities
met at the invitation of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a groundbreaking move
to create consensus among political parties for the tasks of development and
reconciliation, giving priority to the speedy resettlement and rehabilitation
of nearly 290,000 civilians at present in relief centers in the North of the island.
This was the first time since the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka erupted into armed
conflict more than 30 years ago, when all democratic parties across the political
spectrum met to discuss national issues.
Read more...
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