Lankamuslim.com

The UPFA convincingly won the southern provincial elections by securing 67.88 of the votes and returning 38 members while the UNP obtained 25.09 votes and returned 14 members to the council. Three JVP members were elected after they secured 6.11 votes.

The UPFA which contested with the JVP in 2004 secured only returned 36 members. The UNP returned 19 members last time.

SOUTHERN PROVINCE – FULL RESULTS

UPFA 804,071 (67.88)
-SEATS-38*
UNP 297,180 (25.09)
-SEATS-14
JVP 72,379 (6.11)
-SEATS-3

SLMC 6,553
(0.55)
United National Alliance
871 (0.07)
United Socialist Party
805 (0.07)
Jathika Sangwardena Peramuna
468 (0.04)
Eksath Lanka Podujana Pakshaya
274 (0.02)
Janasetha Peramuna
239 (0.02)
Eksath Lanka Maha Sabha
110 (0.01)
Socialist Equality Party
95 (0.01)
Left Front
92 (0.01)
Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya
91 (0.01)
Sri Lanka Progressive Front
86 (0.01)
Democratic Unity Alliance
61 (0.01)
Ruhunu Janatha Party
52 -
Nationals Peoples Party
49 -
Patriotic National Front
43 - <

ValidVotes
1,184,511 (97.09)
Rejected Votes
35,531 (2.91)
Total Polled
1,220,042
Regis. Electors
1,761,859

HIGHLIGHTS OF DISTRICT RESULTS

GALLE DISTRICT

UPFA 354,000 (68.34)
Seats-16
UNP 140,175 (27.06)
Seats-6
JVP 19,958 (3.85)
Seats-1
SLMC 2,273 (0.44)

Valid Votes 518,028 (98.97)
Rejected Votes 5,401 (1.03)
Total Polled 523,429
Regis. Electors 761,815

HAMBANTOTA DISTRICT
UPFA 192,961 (66.95)
Seats-8
UNP 62,391 (21.65)
Seats-3
JVP 31,734 (11.01)
Seats-1

Valid Votes 288,231 (95.56)
Rejected Votes 13,403 (4.44)
Total Polled 301,634
Regis. Electors 421,186

MATARA DISTRICT
UPFA 257,110 (67.97)
SEATS – 12
UNP 94,614 (25.91)
SEATS 5
JVP 20,687 (5.47)
SEATS 1
SLMC 4,280 (1.13)

Valid Votes 378,252 (95.77)
Rejected Votes 16,727 (4.23)
Total Polled 394,979
Regis. Electors 578,858 (AD)

A 13-member  group of Journalists representing both print and electronic media will be in Sri Lanka from 28th Sept. to 05th Oct. on a familiarization cum goodwill tour organized by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Kuwait in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) and the Sri Lankan Airlines.

Minister of Education  Susil Premajayantha speaking at the public meeting held recently at the Governors auditorium in Galle said that appointments for moulavi teachers would be given in November this year.

He said although all arrangements had been completed with regard to the appointment of moulavi teachers, it could not be granted due to the southern provincial election propaganda that was taking place.  The minister said that mouvali teachers would be appointed after the election in November this year.

Moulavi teachers would be appointed to schools after a lapse of 20 years.

At least a near 50 per cent turnout  was reported a short while ago at today’s PC elections in the Southern Province after a slow start earlier in the day.

With barely two hours before voting closes officials were predicting a turn out of between 60 to 65 per cent.

The voting is being carried out in a relatively peaceful manner with a few minor incidents of intimidation and obstruction being reported to independent election monitors.

The police are not taking any chances and are maintaining a status of high alert through the province and so far the situation is under control, DIG Gamini Navaratne said

Appointing General  Sarath Fonseka as the secretary to the Ministry of Sports and Recreation is an insult to the Forces and a disrespect to the former Army Commander, JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti said in Parliament on Thursday.

He said that giving an Army Commander who led the final battle against terrorism, a post as a ministry secretary is definitely a measure to insult him.

“We know the level of a Minister and a Ministry Secretary. It is a disgrace if Gen. Sarath Fonseka has to say ‘Sir’ to Vinayaagamoorthy Muralitharan(Karuna Amman) who is now a Minister”, he said.

He said the government should keep in mind that it is the Forces led by Gen. Fonseka who brought an end to terrorism.

A doctor who served in the Jaffna Government Hospital and later joined the LTTE medical team and treated its leader Velpillai Prabakaran and LTTE cadres, who sustained injuries in the conflicts with the forces, have made a voluntary statement on camera before the Colombo Additional Magistrate Ayesha Abdeen today.

The suspect Sivapalan Sinnadurai of Pudukudierrupu, Mullaituvu who is being detained by the CID over his involvement with the LTTE movement and its leader had assented to make a statement in order to reveal vital information to the magistrate.

Three island-wide power  failures occurred in Sri Lanka since early this morning (Oct. 09) after a high voltage cable connecting Biyagama and the Kelanitissa power plant caught fire, Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board, G.A.S. Edirisinghe said.

The power failures were from 1.23 am – 2.15 am, 3.15am – 3.45 am and 4.30 am – 7.30 am.

Mr. Edirisinghe said that power supply has been restored to 80 per cent of the country.

Certain areas of Colombo experienced another power failure later this morning until 11.00am.

Meanwhile, alternate power was supplied to several areas in the Southern Province from the Lakshapana power plant.

Measures are taken  by the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) to monitor all polling booths in the Southern Provincial Council (SPC) Elections scheduled to be held tomorrow (10).

Speaking to Lankapuvath Deputy Executive Director of PAFFREL, Rohana Hettiarachchi said that over 1200 officers will be on duty monitoring the elections and the polling booths. There are over 1485 polling booths. 

Mobile observers numbering 115 would be deployed to monitor election activities at polling booths where observers were not present.

Meanwhile about 152 incidents of election related violence had been reported from the Galle, Matara and Hambantotta districts so far he said.

The Minister of Nation building S.M Chandrasena  inspected this area today (07) and decided to facilitate the development of the Mahaweli system L.

It is decided to add another system under the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka in resettling families providing opportunities by utilizing Mahaweli water.

On April 15, 1985 the boundaries of system L were introduced by special Gazette notification. System L covers an area of 163.393 hectares. System L has four districts Anuradhapura, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Trincomalee. It includes the older Padaviya Scheme, the Welioya Program and other undeveloped areas which have pockets of settlements around village irrigation reservoirs.

The principal stream which virtually bisects System L is called Ma-Oya. According to information on land use, a large number of non-operational small reservoirs are in existence, on the left bank of Ma-Oya.

news.lk

A Muslim religious ceremony to invoke blessings on the Sri Lanka Army on its 60th Anniversary and the upcoming Army Day on October 10, took place at the Devatagaha Jumma Mosque in Colombo recently  Army Chief Jagath Jayasuriya is seen here.

An angry crowd set fire to a bus which ran over a 4-year-old girl at Galbokka junction on the Weligama-Imaduwa main road on Tuesday (6) afternoon. The police identified the victim as Fathima Mariana, a resident of Kohonugamuwa, Weligama.

The police said that the speeding private bus ran over the girl who was walking with her grandmother.

Once Kalif Abbobuckar  Siddeque (R.A.) was served with ‘Halva’ a favourite sweetmeat in the Middle East. The Kalif inquired about the source of the unusual dish for which his wife replied that she had a longing for ‘Halva’ for a long time, for which she saved from the Baithulmal allowance for months and prepared the food. Said the Kalif, “We are not expected to eat luxury food from the Baithulmal fund and immediately ordered the treasury (Baithulmal) to reduce his allowance equivalent to the money saved for the “Halva’.

Kalif Omer Ibnu Abdula Azeez was engaged in conversation with a visitor one evening. Suddenly the Kalif blew out the oil lamp and lit another one in its place. The surprised visitor inquired about the reason for the Kalif’s action. The Kalif replied promptly that “so long as we were engaged on discussing state matter I used the lamp and oil provided by the Baithulmal, when the conversation changed to private matter I have no right to use state property” and pointing to the lit lamp he said, “This is my private property.

Udaya Prabath Gammanpila,  a federal Minister of Sri Lanka government, accused that the US Army raped a large number of women during Vietnam war. He recalled that rape took place right inside the White House as Bill Clinton, the husband of US State Secretary Hilary Clinton was the President.

Western Provincial Council Minister Udaya Prabath Gammanpila made these comments to state-owned Dinamina Sinhala daily participating a petition campaign against US in Colombo. His party, National Heritage Party (JHU), a coalition member of the Sri Lanka government, is collecting a million of signatures for a petition to be handed over to the UN General Secretary denying a recent statement of US State Secretary Hilary Clinton.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, addressing the UN Security Council, on September 30, noted that rape has been used as a weapon of war in the Balkans, Burma, Sri Lanka and elsewhere and that in too many countries and in too many cases, the perpetrators of this violence are not punished, and so this impunity encourages further attacks.

Sri Lanka government member of parliament, Athuraliye Rathana Thero, a member of the JHU, said that Sri Lanka is considering Clinton’s statement as government policy and not as one made in her individual capacity.

U.S. officials called for a possible war crimes investigation for the last leg of the government’s military operation to crush the decades long fight of the minority Tamils for an independent state in the northern and eastern parts of the island.

The Saudi Arabian government has  allowed only 2,800 Muslims from Sri Lanka for Haj pilgrimage this year but the department of Muslim Religious Cultural Affairs expects 5,000 Muslims to perform Haj.  The Director of the department of Muslim Religious Cultural Affairs Y.L.M. Navai said that Minister A.H.M. Fauzi had left for Saudi Arabia to conduct talks with the Saudi authorities to increase this number to 5,300. Minister Fouzi at the meeting he held with the travel agents conducting Haj Pilgrimage last Friday discussed various issues including Haj quota with them.

Nearly 1000 houses were damaged, 500 almost completely, trees uprooted and at least 14 people sustained injuries as a storm lashed Puttalam this afternoon, the Disaster Management Centre in the area said.

The strong winds coupled with heavy rain continued for several hours making recovery efforts difficult for the residents affected by the storm. The injured people were admitted to hospital for treatment.

8 youths have been  arrested by Mannar Police following a clash that took place between Tamil and Muslim youths in Uppukulam, Mannar yesterday. A dispute between two teams playing a cricket match in the area has led to this clash. The Police who were summoned by the locals have arrested some of the youths and now 8 of them (both Muslims and Tamils) are in remand according to sources.

This match had been organized by well wishers to promote amity and goodwill among the two communities. But the purpose is lost on account of this clash which could have been avoided, had both sides restarined themselves, commented an onlooker.

Muslims who were driven out from Mannar in October 1990 by the LTTE along with other Muslims from North have started resettling in small numbers recently. They were in refugee camps in Puttalam and other districts all these years.

Mohammed Ashraf I Arab News

PUTTALAM: Syed Mohammed, 56, was driven out of his northern Sri Lanka home when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) started ethnic cleansing in 1989, killing scores of Muslims, looting their homes, taking over their farmlands and attacking places of worship.

He was a prosperous businessman, with an average daily income of 50,000 Sri Lankan rupees (approximately $435) from his Hotel Taj Mahal and his guests included UN officials. Like tens of thousands of fellow Muslims forced to leave their homes, he has been living in camps for nearly two decades.

One of his sons, S.M. Jinnah, 28, is helping him to make both ends meet by working as a casual mason though jobs are a luxury for the camp dwellers. His other son Shahjahan, 24, and daughter Fasoorya, 20, were in the custody of the Sri Lankan army for the past two years on charges of collaborating with the Tamil separatists. Their release remains uncertain-even after four months since Colombo announced capture of the rebel territories.

Though the war is over, several members of the Muslim families are still in the custody of the security forces, accused of collaborating with the LTTE forces during the war.

Last week, hundreds of Muslims were out on the streets of Colombo protesting police atrocities and “encounter” killings while the authorities branded those who got killed by the security forces as “gangsters.”

This reporter met several people at the camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Puttalam district, where parents and close relatives of Minister for Resettlement Disaster Relief Rishad Bathiudeen, 37, also live. Some 80,000 people are living in the Puttalam camps alone.

A couple of years back his ministry had initiated an ambitious project to rehabilitate 18,240 families living under inhuman conditions in these camps, 90 percent of them Muslims.

Funds started pouring in from Gulf countries and international aid agencies, thanks to his relentless efforts.

As the LTTE menace is over, most of these people want to return to their native towns and villages vacated by the LTTE fighters despite the government offer of descent two-bedroom houses in the newly-built townships like the Al-Qasimi City (funded by the ruler of Sharjah Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi) with good roads, sanitation, utility services and schools.

The city was opened in April and the residents enjoy all the basic amenities there.

Five hundred houses under the project have been handed over and another 500 are getting ready. “We plan to build 14,000 houses in a phased manner,” said a confident Bathiudeen, adding that it would take many more months to clear tens of thousands of land mines planted by the LTTE.

“I want to go back and start my business all over again,” says Mohammed. “I also want to secure the release of my other children picked up by the government troops. We’re trapped between the deep sea and the devil.” Mohammed returned to his hometown with his family in 2003 when the slain LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran formally apologized for the expulsion of Muslims and asked them to return. Then the Sinhalese forces started targeting them as suspected collaborators.

“My children were left with no option when the armed men came and asked them to get into their vehicle at gunpoint. They were branded as informers and ultimately they landed up in jail. Life was miserable once again and I had to leave with the rest my family,” he said. Similar is the case of Madeena, 36, who lives with her jobless husband and six children in a nearby tent in the Salton Sairam 1 camp along with 118 more families. Her brother, Hussein Kasmi, is in jail for the past one year and three months. She wants to return to Jaffna to secure his release.

“They were asked to leave within 48 hours or face death. They took away all our jewelry and money and whatever valuables we had. We were reduced to begging,” says Madeena who came from Vavuniya.

But going back is not that easy. A few families who went home during the peace talks between 2002 and 2005 had to come back to this camp as they could not have access to their lands which were now occupied by Tamil families. Others left because their homes were turned to rubbles by the three decades of war. “During the summer of 1990, the LTTE started the ethnic cleansing by launching mass killings in the North and East and forcing us to flee. Numerous mosques were attacked and dozens of pilgrims returning from Haj were killed,” S.R.M. Mohamed Irshad, a Gulf-returnee who works as a community volunteer in Puttalam, tells us. But the actual human casualty is believed to be much higher. Even the authorities could not provide the total number of dead and missing from all communities. The number of missing persons from the families in Puttalam camps alone is estimated to be 178. The parents of Bathiudeen was among the families who were driven out from Vavuniya in Northern Province by the LTTE. The young minister heads the influential All Ceylon Muslim Congress which has four ministers in the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. His ministry last week sent back 10,000 war-displaced Tamil people in the former LTTE strongholds back to their villages in the north and east and vowed to return 80 percent of the 280,000 recently displaced people being held in refugee camps soon.

ArabNews

A doctor attached  to the Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital, who is alleged to have sexually abused a young mother, who had been admitted to the Hospital for her first confinement, was remanded by the Nugegoda Magistrate till October 9. Police told the Court though it was mandatory for a male doctor to examine a female patient in the presence of a female nurse, the suspect had ignored the procedure. He had approached the young mother to be, who was in labour around 3.30 a.m. and on the pretext of examining her, sexually abused her, Police said. The mother had delivered a baby around 7.30 a.m. the same day. Police said the mother had been admitted to hospital the previous night at 11.30.

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