Sri Lanka safe place for tourists - Foreign Ministry

Sri Lanka safe place for tourists - Foreign Ministry

The Foreign Ministry has directed all Sri Lankan missions overseas to persuade the host countries to lift travel advisories on Sri Lanka as the country's situation has rapidly changed with the eradication of terrorism.

According to a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Sri Lankan envoys in foreign missions were directed to initiate a dialogue with the respective Foreign Ministries and convince them that Sri Lanka is a safer place for tourists.

He said they have been asked to highlight that Sri Lanka for the past two years have held a number of international conferences and summits such as SARRC and no incidents of violence or terrorist activities were reported from any part of the country after terrorism was completely eradicated by the Security Forces.

The Foreign missions will also educate the respective Governments on the initiatives taken by the Health Ministry to control epidemics such as swine flu and Dengue, he said.

"International insurance underwriters based in London recently lowered the war risk level of Sri Lanka from 3.4 to 3.0 and changed the Sri Lanka's status from severe to high. The Joint Cargo Committee of London also removed Sri Lanka from the JCC's Air - war \strikes risk list," he said.

Courtesy : Daily News

Read More

Govt. committed to resettle IDPs in six months.....

Govt. committed to resettle IDPs in six months
Sri Lankan delegation assures India

The government reiterated its commitment to resettle in six months all IDPs now staying in relief centres, after their release from being held hostage by the LTTE.
The was conveyed by the high-level Sri Lankan delegation comprising Senior Advisor to the President Basil Rajapaksa MP, the Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and the Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga which met Indian foreign minister S M Krishna yesterday. defence.lk

Read More

Sri Lankan reporter 'kidnapped' .........

Sri Lankan reporter 'kidnapped'


A Sri Lankan journalist says she was kidnapped from outside her home in the capital Colombo and held for a day by people claiming to be the police.
Krishni Ifam, a Tamil reporter who works for media development NGO Internews, said the men had warned her to give up journalism altogether.
She said she was then released in the central city of Kandy late on Wednesday with a tiny amount of cash.
Police in Sri Lanka could not be reached for comment.
Unmarked vans
Ms Ifam has been speaking about her ordeal on a private television station and, separately, to the BBC.
She said men who said they were policemen forced her to get into their vehicle outside her Colombo home early on Wednesday and drove for several hours while keeping her blindfolded.
She said they had taken her belongings, asked if she was writing articles for foreign media outlets and warned her to give up journalism altogether before releasing her.
Ms Ifam used to write for a prominent Tamil-language newspaper.
Separately, a columnist who usually covers astrology was picked up late on Wednesday by men with identity cards from the Criminal Investigation Department. His wife said he was still being held 24 hours later.
In both these cases the vehicles used were said to be unmarked white vans, which have become notorious in Sri Lanka as a means of abduction and sometimes disappearance.
The Sri Lankan government insists that the media here are free.
But many journalists say they do not feel free to write or broadcast what they want - many have been physically attacked and others have fled into exile.
BBC News, Colombo

Read More

Michael Jackson, 50, legendary 'King of Pop' dead in Los Angeles

Michael Jackson, 50, legendary 'King of Pop' dead in Los Angeles

Pop icon Michael Jackson died Thursday after being taken to a Los Angeles hospital in cardiac arrest, officials said. He was 50.
The "Thriller" superstar was unconscious and not breathing when Fire Department paramedics were summoned to Jackson's Bel Air home by a 911 call at 12:26 California time.
They desperately tried to resuscitate the faded King of Pop as a cherry-red ambulance sped him to UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
"You've got to save him!" aides to the star screamed as he was wheeled into the hospital on the stretcher, the Web site TMZ.com reported.
Jackson's mother and his sister LaToya were seen rushing into the hospital, apparently after he had already died.
The cause of death was unknown. The Los Angeles County coroner said an autopsy would be performed Friday.
Jackson's ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, said through her lawyer she was "inconsolable" at the news.
"I lost my little brother today and part of my soul went with him," music mogul Quincy Jones said as tributes began pouring in.
In a sign of Jackson's enduring magnetism, crowds of mourners gathered outside the hospital within minutes of the news breaking.
Rev. Al Sharpton flashed a 25-year-old snapshot of Jackson and himself during a press conference outside the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
"We thought we'd see him moonwalk one more time," Sharpton said.
Jackson's death capped a life of dizzying superstardom and bizarre scandal and ended his bid to make a comeback with 50 sold-out concerts planned for London this summer.
He was training for the upcoming gigs with Lou Ferrigno, the star of the TV show The Incredible Hulk.

Longtime Jackson family lawyers Brian Oxman accused unnamed "enablers" of pushing the star too hard physically as he prepared for the tour.
The music legend burst onto the pop scene as a child star with the Jackson 5 nearly four decades ago. The group from Gary, Ind., produced hits like "ABC" and "I Want You Back."
He became the world's most popular musician when he went solo in the '70s. Once a sure-fire hit machine, he holds the record for the biggest-selling album with "Thriller."

He also wowed fans with monster hits like "Billie Jean" and "Beat It."
Millions of fans imitated his famed moonwalk dance and he was known worldwide as the Gloved One for his trademark handwear.
But personal and professional woes have eclipsed his talent for years.
He was acquitted in 2005 of molesting a young fan at his Neverland Ranch and caused an uproar by dangling one of his three children out of a Berlin hotel window in 2002.

His latest recordings suffered from tepid sales and a rumored comeback album never materialized.
Jackson's first wife was Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis, whom he married in 1994.
It was a match made in showbiz heaven but they split less than two years later.
He later married Australian Debbie Rowe and they had two children, Prince, 12 and Paris, 11, though she gave up her parental rights.
A third child, Prince Michael II, was reportedly born with the help of an anonymous surrogate mother.
Jackson had faced serious financial problems in recent years as sales wilted. Some reports said he was as much as $500 million in debt.
He faced certain foreclosure on Neverland until he managed to refinance the mortgage on the 270-acre spread.

Some analysts said he could make more than $200 million from this summer's concerts in Britain.
Jackson moved with his kids to Bahrain in the Persian Gulf after his molestation trial, but returned to Los Angeles in recent months. www.nydailynews.com

Read More

Sri Lanka to resettle war refugees soon: official

NEW DELHI (AFP) — A Sri Lankan official delegation visiting India said on Wednesday Colombo was working to resettle tens of thousands of civilians displaced by fighting on the island.
The team said Sri Lanka was also working for the "democratisation" of the country's north, where fierce fighting earlier this year led to the rout of the separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas.
"We are getting all the assistance to start their livelihood programmes like agriculture, fisheries and livestock," Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse told reporters after meeting Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna.
"I think we can resettle the bulk of the people within a 180-day programme," he said, adding that Colombo had already begun rebuilding roads and bridges damaged in the fighting.
Nearly 300,000 civilians who fled Sri Lanka's war zone are detained in temporary shelters which the government calls "welfare villages".
The official said Colombo would "very soon" conduct elections to local government bodies in the north.
"For the last 30 years we did not have any representive in the grassroot level in local government or municipal councils there," he added.
Lalith Weeratunga, secretary to Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse, is also part of the visiting delegation meeting Indian officials in New Delhi.

Read More

Lanka ssures India tamils..........

Lanka assures India Tamils will return home from camps


Sri Lanka on Wednesday assured India that it would ensure that Tamils, displaced during the military operations against LTTE, return to their homes after their camps are dismantled within six months.
The assurance was conveyed by a high-level Sri Lankan delegation which included Basil Rajapaksa, President's Special Envoy and G B Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary, which met foreign minister S M Krishna here.
Krishna told reporters later that India would assist in the resettlement and rehabilitation process of the displaced persons. New Delhi also remains committed to demining activity to ensure their safe return.
The Sri Lankan government's commitment to devolve "considerable power" to its provinces was also reaffirmed by the delegation, according to the minister.
He said the delegation had agreed to India's suggestion to allow the ship "Captain Ali" to off-load the relief material meant for displaced persons in Northern Sri Lanka. These items will now be routed through the Red Cross.
Earlier describing his discussions with Krishna as very "positive", Basil Rajapaksa said "we have given a positive reply to the Indian government and most of the requests have been approved. I should not mention what is going to be... but definitely it will be for the people in the camps."
On whether the ship will be allowed to off-load, Basil said "we have fulfilled the requirements".
Rajapaksa said he also had useful talks with the Indian delegation, especially regarding a programme to resettle all internally displaced persons who are now in relief camps.
"We have a 180-day programme. First how to do demining. The Indian government had earlier agreed to send four teams but now on the request made to them, they are trying to increase the number by 8. That will be helpful to resettle these people," Rajapaksa said.
Krishna said he also told the Lankan delegation about the need to "strictly adhere" to the understanding reached in October last on matters relating to fishing.
"The Sri Lankan government clarified that it does not contemplate putting up any structures at Katchchativu islet," the minister added.
The reported move by the Sri Lankan Navy to set up a base in Katchchativu had drawn the ire of a cross-section of people and parties in Tamil Nadu.
timesofindia

Read More

Uthuru Vasanthaya....

Uthuru Vasanthaya :Rs. 1,058m worth projects for displaced children's education

Concurrent to the Uthuru Vasanthaya Northern Development Program launched by the Government to bring normality to the lives of people displaced from terrorism in the North, the Government has launched projects worth Rs. 1,058 million to provide higher education facilities to children of the displaced funded by the ADB and the World Bank. -defence.lk

Read More

Colombo reporters....

Colombo reporters decry new body

Critics say press freedom is under attack in Sri Lanka The main media organisations in Sri Lanka have urged the government not to re-establish a body that can fine and imprison print journalists.
They say that self-regulation, introduced six years ago, is working.
Seven media bodies, headed by the Editors' Guild which groups the main newspaper editors, have written to President Rajapaksa.
They say that the reactivation of the Press Council fills them with deep concern and disappointment.
The reporters say that media culture should not be based on charging, fining and jailing journalists and added that Mr Rajapaksa himself had spoken up in favour of an independent press while in opposition seven years ago.
For the past six years a self-regulating Press Complaints Commission has fielded any readers' grievances.
The writers of the letter said this mechanism had the overwhelming support of those working in newspapers.
The old council was reactivated earlier this month by the government.
Staffed with government appointees, it adjudicates complaints against newspapers and has the power to imprison and fine journalists.
Contacted by the BBC, the media minister declined to comment on the matter.
In a separate development, lawyers who were defending a newspaper accused of defaming the Sri Lankan Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, have withdrawn from the case.
The defence ministry website said they had decided not to oppose the defence secretary "due to his dedication for the country". -BBC News, Colombo

Read More

Sri Lanka 'agree' to unload ship .......

Sri Lanka 'agree' to unload ship


India says Sri Lanka 'kindly agreed to our suggestion' The Indian government says Sri Lanka has agreed to accept a cargo of relief aid brought by Tamil expatriates in Europe and meant for people displaced by the now ended war in northern Sri Lanka. Earlier this month the Sri Lankan authorities had turned away the ship carrying the aid.
The news that the vessel, the Captain Ali, will after all be allowed to offload nearly 900 tonnes of food and medicine, came after talks in Delhi between India’s foreign minister, S.M. Krishna, and a high-level Sri Lankan delegation.
Indian Red Cross
Mr Krishna said in a communique that he had asked the Sri Lankans, as a humanitarian gesture, to let the boat unload the aid and that the visitors had “kindly agreed to our suggestion”.
He said the goods would be routed to Sri Lanka through the Indian Red Cross.
A crew member told the BBC he believed they would unload the cargo in Chennai, the Indian port near which they are currently anchored, and that the Red Cross would then take it on to the island.
A Tamil group called Mercy Mission to Vanni sent the aid on its journey from Britain and France two months ago and was accused by the Sri Lankan government of trying to help the now defeated Tamil Tiger rebels.
But Mercy Mission says its aims are purely humanitarian.
It has thanked India for its intervention and help.-BBC News, Colombo

Read More