King MADAPAKSHE Personal Political agenda Screwed up Silly lankans dreams...

Following the Mumbai debacle, the captain, the vice captain and select committee resigned. Bayliss made a startling revelation that cricketers had to put up with things that had nothing to do with cricket. What are these things that got nothing to do with cricket? These are known, at least to friends and family of cricketers. Cricketers have a very large number of friends! Soon these will be well known and people will debate over it. Whatever the denials are, there was political involvement in selection, unfortunately. But it had nothing to do with UNP/SLFP/JVP party politics. It was different kind of politics.

He instructed Sri Lanka Cricket to take into account the need to use cricket world cup to the maximum for reconciliation. In turn the Interim Committee instructed the select committee and players what they should do to achieve maximum reconciliation impact. They were told how multiethnic the Indian team was.

Meanwhile the only non-Sinhalese players in the team, namely, Mutiah Muralitharan and Angelo Mathews were injured and were in doubt for the final. However, that would mean playing a “Sinhala only” team according to influential sections and they instructed to somehow include Muralitharan in the team and they insisted that there is no way a team without either Muralitharan and Mathews could play. Reluctantly Murali agreed. He made his decision clear early, days before the final.

At the same time influential sections were complaining about the inclusion of Ajantha Mendis saying that he is still a serving officer of the army. He playing in the final would “hurt” the reconciliation process because Tamils around the world protested his inclusion in previous matches. For the sake of “reconciliation” he was left out!

This was how the two disastrous decisions were made. Murali was included despite his injuries while Mendis was not included because his involvement may not be acceptable to some Tamils as he is serving in the army. Angered by the stupid decision, a section of the team was furious but had to put these at the back of their minds and continue. Anything that showed disunity in the team at this stage would have been disastrous for the team’s prospects. Some argue that the captain had already given up a day before the final due to these political interferences.

Ultimately the substandard team that played in the final lost mainly due to weak bowling. Mendis was out and Murali was not up to his hundred percent. Early breakthroughs could not be used to build on. Another unfortunate event happened in Hatton after the match. Two groups of people belonging to two ethnic groups clashed over the final match resulting in damages to property. The disastrous outcome at the final caused by a foolish attempt at Personal Political Agenda of reconciliation ended with worse consequences.

For India, Interests of Tamilnadu is more important than interests of Sri Lanka....

Three days after the World Cup final, officials from Sri Lanka are not happy with the level of courtesy extended to their President Mahinda Rajapaksa during his trip to Mumbai to watch the final.

Though no official complaint has been lodged with the Indian government, they have informally conveyed their displeasure at limited tickets made available to Rajapaksa’s entourage, and at the refusal let him meet the teams before the start of the match.

“The tickets for the Sri Lankan president were being organised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). We would have been more happy if we had more tickets for the entourage,” the Sri Lankan Consul-General in Mumbai, Upekkha Samaratunga, told Mumbai Mirror.

Rajapaksa had decided to come to India for the final after Sri Lanka’s semi-final victory over New Zealand in Colombo

A request for 40 tickets was made to the BCCI through the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka.Around the same time, the cricket board got another request for 36 passes from Rashtrapati Bhawan for Indian President Pratibha Patil and her group.

“Since it was not possible for us to accommodate everybody at such short notice, we made 10 passes available to both the leaders in President’s Box at the stadium,” BCCI’s Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty said.

“Since the Indian President is from Mumbai, we made another 20 passes available to her at the Garware pavilion. As for the Sri Lankan President, we could offer him only 10 additional passes in the Garware stand.”

Board officials said that since they were aware that Sri Lanka’s Sports Minister CB Rathnayake had purchased 40 tickets for the Garware stand a few weeks ago, they advised the Presidential entourage to use some of the seats blocked by him.

“In addition to that, I believe the Sri Lankan board president bought 10-15 more seats in the Vithal Divecha stand. But there was no problem,” Shetty said.

A senior official of the Maharashtra government said the Lankans were also upset because Rajapaksa’s request to meet the Sri Lankan players before the start of the match was denied at the last minute.

In the India vs Pakistan semi-final in Mohali, both Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Indian PM Manmohan Singh had the teams before the match began.

Consul-General Samaratunga said that a meeting with the players was scheduled in the President’s programme, but was later changed by Indian authorities.

Further, Rajapaksa was not allowed a picture opportunity with the winning Indian after the final.

When contacted, an MEA official in New Delhi said that Rajapaksa had not been invited by India, he had himself asked to come over.

In Mohali, Gilani was our guest. That’s why he was taken on the field to meet the players. “If there was no on-the-field interaction in Mumbai, it could be because of protocol issues.”

When contacted, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India, Prasad Kariyawasam, confirmed that no complaint had been lodged with the Indian government on the issue, the Mumbai Mirror reports.

Sinhala Lanka is following Chinese/Pakistan Agenda of keeping Tamilnadu Restless....

Indian government summons Sri Lankan High Commissioner to object to the Premier’s statement

The Indian government is displeased with the statement made by Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne in parliament during the debate on the extension of emergency regulations that three LTTE training camps were secretly operating in Tamil Nadu and the Indian External Affairs Ministry has summoned the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Indian Prasad Kariyawasam to express its displeasure at the comment, diplomatic sources said.

Director General of Tamil Nadu Police, Latika Saran has told Chennai Online that she rejected the statement made by the Prime Minister and that there are no training camps in Tamil Nadu.

The Director General has added that the LTTE did not have any connection to the recent attack on

the Maha Bodhi and that the suspects have been arrested.

Is Sinhala Lanka trying to restrict "TOURISTS" from Tamilnadu to prevent Integration of Tamils ?

Lanka to restrict tourist arrivals on capacity constraints

Sri Lanka is planning to restrict the number of tourists arriving in to the country, officials said. This comes soon after the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) paid former English cricketer Tony Greig US$ 10,000 to be the tourism ambassador for six months.

SLTDA, Chairman, Dr. Nalaka Godahewa told the Island Financial Review that the tourism ministry would endorse a restriction on the number of arrivals.

He said taking into consideration the available room capacity and the 1,500 rooms under refurbishment, the ministry has decided to restrict the number of arrivals for this year. Dr. Godahewa did not elaborate.He also said the country is facing difficulties with insufficient lodging capacity and requested the community to play an active role in creating the needed rooms to cater to this growth.

The Island Financial Review recently reported that former England cricketer Tony Greig was appointed Sri Lanka Tourism ambassador for US$ 10,000 for a six-month period to promote Sri Lanka as a favourable destination.

The government has also encouraged star-class hotels in the island to increase their rates in a bid to attracting high-spenders.

 

France Recognises the Libyan Rebels Interim Governing Council..TGTE Stand a good chance if they forge alliance with TNA & declare Unilateral Declaration of Independence for Eelam...

France First to Formally Recognize Libyan Rebels Govt

France is formally recognizing the Libyan opposition's Interim Governing Council as the "legitimate" representative of the Libyan people - the first country to do so.

France said Thursday it plans to exchange ambassadors with the council, based in the eastern city of Benghazi. Rebels took control of the city in a deadly uprising against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

The French announcement comes as NATO members begin two days of talks on Libya to discuss the possibility of imposing a no-fly zone to stop air attacks by pro-Gadhafi forces.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is attending the talks in Brussels. A senior U.S. official says Gates will tell the ministers about U.S. preparations for possible emergency response operations and humanitarian relief in Libya.

Western officials have expressed concern that a no-fly zone over Libya would have a limited impact on stopping the violence. But NATO diplomats say there is strong support for such a move if the Libyan government escalates attacks on civilians.

European Union ministers are also meeting in Brussels to discuss Libya.

The Libyan deputy foreign minister, Mohamed Tahir Siala, is in Athens Thursday discussing Libya's crisis with his Greek counterpart, Dimitris Dollis, ahead of the EU meeting. The Greek foreign ministry says the meeting in Athens was approved by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Diplomats from Portugal have held similar talks with Libyan officials.

Britain and France are drafting a United Nations resolution authorizing a no-fly zone. Top advisers to U.S. President Barack Obama met Wednesday to assess the situation in Libya and consider remaining options, including the option of working with international partners to impose a no-fly zone.

Gadhafi has said Libyans would take up arms against Western nations if they imposed such a zone.

Also Thursday, Russia announced it will ban all weapons sales to Libya.

And Germany has ordered a freeze on all bank accounts held by the Libyan central bank and the Libyan Investment Authority.

 

World needs to hold the Damocles sword against Mahinda head..FOREVER

U. S. Assist. Secretary of State for South and Central Asian affairs , Robert Blake last week issuing a warning to the Sri Lanka (SL) Govt. stated, ‘UN Security Council reporting Libya to the International criminal court last week was a signal of global concern over human rights,’ he added. He was not comparing Sri Lanka with Libya, but the Security Council’s unanimous decision against Libya over the weekend underscored the resolve of the international community regarding crimes against humanity. What Blake implied was, if SL Govt. does not conduct its own war crime investigation, a war crime Tribunal will have to take over that investigation. 


It is the perception of the SL Govt. that, since the war crime issue will never go before the UN Security Council, SL need entertain no fears about an international investigation. The Govt. is of the view that as long as its friends , China and Russia are in the Security Council, America  will not be able to take up SL’s war crime issues at the Security Council in view of the fact that China and Russia will block such an attempt.

Libyan Leader Gaddafi too had a similar conviction  and pinned great hopes on it banking on the support  and strength  China  and Russia could give him. He was of the opinion that if the Libyan issue goes before the UN Security Council, China  and Russia would forestall it.  To Gaddafi’s consternation that fervent hope did not materialize. The Security Council including China  and Russia took an unanimous decision against the Libyan Leader. Indeed, Blake while requesting  SL to conduct a war crime investigation within SL had warned it to take a lesson from Libya. In other words he was pointing out not to neglect the war crime investigation depending on China and Russia.

The SL Govt. which is reposing confidence in China, Russia and its other friendly countries is flaunting its strength overly before America and the Western countries . Yet, it has become obvious following the Libyan people’s  rebellion, neither China nor Russia will be able to come to the rescue of SL in a crucial and decisive moment. Libyan leader Gaddafi was also one of those leaders who placed tremendous amount of faith and hope on countries like SL apart from China and Russia. At the 40th Anniversary celebrations of the Libyan revolution, Gaddafi invited the leaders of his friendly countries. Among them he recognized  four  international ‘true friends’ : one of them was SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa; others were, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani, Venezualan President Hugo Chavez Frias and the Philippine  President Arroyo. But, to Gaddafi’s deep consternation, at the moment when he was in deep turmoil and trouble, none of his ‘true friends’ could lend him a hand. When Gaddafi spoke to SL President Mahinda, the latter too had told him to restore peace in Libya. Similarly he ought to have spoken to Pakistan, China, Russia   and Venezuela leaders. Yet , today none of them is in a position to assist him.

At home, the SL Govt. is reposing great hope and confidence  in Pakistan and Venezuela. Wherever Venezualan President goes ,  his favourite pastime is castigating America and the Western countries – the only option he has. In the event of an uprising against him, he would also have to meet with the same fate  as Gaddafi. The view of the SL Govt. is that it can with the help of the countries constituting China’s ‘string of pearls’ including Pakistan, surmount any critical situation in the UN security Council by pressurizing China into supporting SL. Pakistan, China and Russia are countries which backed SL during the ethnic war. Nevertheless after the recent  Libyan people’s uprising it has become clearly manifest that they are not in a position to render assistance to SL on the war crimes issue. These countries are well aware that they cannot afford to antagonize America and the Western countries, as they  do not want to  plunge their own countries into financial  straits and economic crises by offending them. Indeed, they supported SL during the war but that was  because of their motive  to  develop  their own economy – they sold arms and accumulated profits.. Hence, they cannot be expected to help SL on the war crime issue since  their  objective is  to safeguard their  own economic fronts.

This is the bitter truth. Therefore it is well for the SL Govt. to realize this bitter but stark truth and seriously heed Blake’s warning. It is only India which can change the tough attitude of America and Western countries towards war crime charges. It is true India is a ‘big brother’. It is also true that  in a family too a big brother bullies a ‘smaller brother’. By trying to flaunt his superiority he goes even to the extent of bickering with him. He even expects  his smaller brother to act according to his wishes and needs. But when problems mount from outside he safeguards his younger brother nevertheless. This is precisely why he is considered a ‘big brother’. Thus the only country which can ultimately provide support to SL is India . India too is well pleased when the war crime issue against SL snowballs internationally, for , it is only then SL will be disabled from taking a tough stand in relation to India when aligning itself with  Pakistan and China. India can demonstrate its ‘big brother’ role only in those circumstances. Mahinda once told the Indian media that India should not act like a ‘big brother.’ But as far as India is concerned it has to necessarily and  compulsorily show that it is a ‘big brother’ to Mahinda.

SHOULD TNA continue talking with Murderers ?

Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian from Vanni, S. Sritharan, narrowly escaped from a group of attackers who lobbed two hand grenade targeting his vehicle and fired at the vehicle using pistols from behind Monday evening around 6:00 p.m. at Nochchiyaagama in Anuradhapura, TNA parliamentarians told media. The parliamentarian was on his way from Vavuniyaa to Colombo to attend the Tuesday sittings in SL parliament. No one was hurt in the attack, SL Police in Anuradhapura said.
The armed men fled the site when the security guard of the parliamentarian opened fire in self-defense, the sources further said.

The MP has complained to the Sri Lankan Police hierarchy and has sought refuge at a secure place.
The assassination attempt on Mr. Sritharan comes 3 years after TNA MP for Vanni Mr. Sivanesan was assassinated in a targeted Claymore attack allegedly by Sri Lanka Army Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) inside the then LTTE controlled Vanni.