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The government has decided that thalassemia testing is a mandatory requirement before marriage. Accordingly, existing laws will be amended to pave the way for this requirement, said news.lk. The test for this genetic disease will be made available at state media institutions free of charge.

Those who have contracted thalassemia will be issued with a rose-coloured card, while for those who haven’t, it will be a blue card. According to the new laws, marriage should not take place between two holders of blue cards.

Statistics indicate around 60 thalassemia births in Sri Lanka a year.

The vehicle carrying Resettlement and Disaster Relief services Minister Rishad Bathihudeen met with an accident at Menik Farm today. The vehicle was badly damaged in the accident in which the Minister sustained minor injuries. The accident had occurred when the driver tried to avoid a child who was crossing the road.

Najah Mohamed

CATARACT SURGERY CAMPS IN NORTHERN SRI LANKA INTIATED BY
SRI LANKA ISLAMIC FORUM UK TRUST

Sri Lanka Islamic Forum UK Trust has initiated a project to conduct cataract operations for 500 people in the North of Sri Lanka which will be done in two stages. The first stage will be to conduct 20 screening camps in the five districts of the Northern Province to identify patients needing surgery. 500 patients will be selected in the second stage for treatment.

The project is the brain-child of Serendib Foundation for Relief & Development, Sri Lanka. It will be implemented by Kuwait Hospital Foundation, Sri Lanka, which has a special unit dedicated for cataract surgeries. Kuwait Hospital Foundation, Sri Lanka, has already treated free of charge more than 4000 cataract patients in other parts of Sri Lanka within the last three years.

The cost for treatment and post surgery care is estimated to be around £50 per patient.

SLIF UK Trust has organized a fund raising event on Saturday, 12th December 2009, from 3.00 to 7.00 pm at the London Muslim Centre, Whitechapel, and London, to collect the fund needed for the project.

Representatives of the three communities, Sinhalese; Tamils & Muslims,  local Councilors, Professionals, Community Leaders, Religious Dignitaries of all faiths, officials from UK Department of International Development, UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office,  Sri Lanka High Commission, and representatives of INGOs and Media personnel are expected to participate in the event.

Organizations and individuals willing to support this humanitarian effort and also for invitations to participate in the Fund Raising event may contact – SLIF UK Trust by E-mail: slif.uk@gmail.com – Najah Mohamed (0044 79 833 41181) -  Marzook (0044 79 405 76701).

Sri Lanka Islamic Forum UK Trust
3rd Floor LMC Business Wing,
38-48, Whitechapel Road
London E1 1JX
United Kingdom

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Furniture were presented to 400 Sinhalese families that were resettled in Vavuniya after 18 years. The function was held under the patronage of Minister of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services Risath Bathiyudeen.

This programme is being carried out under the guidance of the head of the “Uthuru Wasanthaya” Task Force and Senior Presidential Advisor and Parliamentarian Basil Rajapaksa.

Each family was also handed over 25 thousand rupees. The Minister said that the infrastructure of the area would be completed within the coming days. The people expressed confidence of being able to lead normal lives as peace has been dawned.

consequences- Concerns and Recommendations

According to the national census conducted in 1981 a total of 54,205 Muslims lived in the North. In the absence of official population statistics it is assumed that on the basis of calculation of 2% annual growth of population (from 1982 to 1990) there would have been around 63,000 Muslims in the North at the time of expulsion.

The expulsion was successful in the Jaffna, Mullaitivu, and Kilinochchi Districts. In the Mannar District it was a partial success. About 6,000 Muslims braved threats and intimidation and continued to live there. Records show in Mannar the Muslim population dropped (From 26.81% to 5.14%) drastically to less than 6,000 after the expulsion. In the Vavuniya District the entire Muslim population remained intact. (Statistically)-more

An NGO commission appointed  to research on the forcibly evicted Muslims from the five districts of the Northern Province is to submit its report in October next year coinciding with the 20th year of expulsion. The main purpose of the commission is to prepare an authoritative document with regard to the forcible eviction of the Muslims.

Community trust fund together with Peoples Forum and the Rural Development Foundation appointed this commission, as details of the forcibly evicted Muslims were not found in the documents related to the history of Sri Lanka. The heads of Muslim organizations in the North worked hard to expose the problems of the Northern Muslims.

The main purpose of the commission is to prepare an authoritative document with regard to the forcible eviction of the Muslims. The important function of the commission is to find and list out the grievances of the expelled Muslims, trace the history of eviction by conversation with friends, find out the difficulties they underwent for decades since eviction and their expectation and analyze their difficulties in resettling in their old places.

Nine persons appointed to the commission are all very popular and are from outside the Northern Province. They are Dr. Devanesan Nesaiyha, Dr. M.S.M. Anas, Dr. Catherin Bren, Dr. Kamila Samarasinghe, Dr. Chandrasekaram, Dr. Nimalka Fernando, Professor M.A. Nuhman, Javid Yoosuf and Abdul Majeed.

Further Ms. Shreen Saroor, Ms. Faizun Zakariya, Dr. S.H. Hasbulla, Ms. Juwairya M. Nihmath are appointed as advisors while Dr. (Mrs) Fara Haniffa is appointed as advisor for law and community fund. The commission started its work from August this year and will submit its final report around October 2010.

The report will be submitted to the Sri Lankan government, UN and other non-governmental organizations. Muslims from the north who are willing to express their opinion to the commission are requested to contact Miss. Haneesha Faiz of Community Trust Fund on telephone numbers 011-2691228, 011-2684845.

psm

Eravur Police has arrested a suspect in connection with the murder of 30 years old mother of three children Seiyyadu Mohamed Nafeela of Raakerny, Eravur. It is learnt the Eravur Police is searching two other persons connected to this murder.

Nafeela was killed on Friday and her body was found the following morning with neck cut injuries at the Meerakerny-Savukkady Boundary Road, Munthirikaith Thottam in Eravur. It is said her husband who was taking treatment after an accident at the hospital had returned home.

The murder had taken place when the deceased left home to see her husband at the hospital.

General Sarath Fonseka has been granted permission to retire with immediate effect, Secretary to the President Lalith Weerathunga told www.news.lk a short while ago.

Chief of Defence staff General Sarath Fonseka speaking to reporters a short while ago at the Kelaniya Rajamaha Vihara confirmed that he had handed over his retirment papers and that he will decide if he is entering politics once he officially hands over the uniform.

When asked by reporters if he had an issue with the government General Fonseka said “You have to ask that from the Government”.

Fonseka also said that he had done his best for the country and now he wants to retire from the current position he holds.

dailymirror

A three-week amnesty period to surrender illegal weapons has been announced again by the security forces to armed groups operating in the Eastern Province, according to media reports. According to Edison Gunathilaka, DIG of Police in the East, this move is yet another attempt by security forces to reduce the overwhelmingly large amounts of illegal weapons held by armed forces operating in the area.

A similar amnesty announced in July this year has failed to do so and number of killings, attacks and abduction of people are still on the rise in the East.

Meanwhile, the dead body of a woman with cut injuries on her neck was found on Sunday morning at the Meerankerny-Savukkady Boundary Road, Maramunthirikaith Thottam in the Eravur Police division. The body is identified as that of 30 years old, mother of three children Seiyadu Mohamed Nafeela of Raakerny who had left to Polonnaruwa on Saturday according to a complaint made by her parents to the Police.

psm

Days after a top Muslim body passed a resolution asking the community members not to recite ‘Vande Mataram’, a prominent Islamic organisation which had issued ‘fatwa’ against the national song in 2006, on Monday said the edict cannot be withdrawn.

The fatwa department of Darul Uloom had issued an edict in 2006, describing recitation of ‘Vande Mataram’ as anti-Islamic.

Darul Uloom’s Vice Chancellor Maulana Abdul Khalik Madrasi, however, said: “Fatwa is not an order but a guiding principle. People may abide it or ignore it”.

“We issue fatwas only when someone approaches us to seek guidance,” he said, adding that the seminary cannot withdraw the edict which was issued three years ago.

The cleric, however, made it clear that his organization has no objection to non-Muslims singing the song. On November 3, Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind in its 30th general session in Deoband had passed a resolution asking Muslims not to recite Vande Mataram on the grounds that some verses of the national song are against the tenets of Islam.

Applications to recruit aesthetic graduates will commence next week, official sources disclosed.

These graduates will be recruited to national and provincial council schools, sources said.
Secretary to the Ministry of Education Nimal Bandara   said provincial ministries of education have been instructed to call the applications at provincial level while applications at national level will be called by the ministry.

The graduates will be able to apply for the vacancies in their own provinces. If there are no vacancies in their own province they will be appointed to the schools in the nearest  province. There are about 3000 vacancies for aesthetic teacher’s island wide.  The relevant graduates must   sit for a practical test in addition to the interview.

Meanwhile 900 more graduates will join the teaching service in the central province. Appointment letters will be posted selected graduates today. Provincial Education Minister V.Radakrishnan says they will be recruited to the service from Thursday. Out of this batch 434 are Tamil Medium teachers.

The Indian Department of Meteorology has hinted at the possibility of tropical cyclone development over the southwest Bay around Sri Lanka during November 10 to 16 under the combined impact of the eastward movement of the enhanced precipitation zone from west to east and above-average sea-surface temperatures over equatorial Indian Ocean.

This is in turn attributed to the strong MJO (Madden-Julian Oscillation) wave over the equatorial Indian Ocean, a periodical upper air wave transiting from the west to the east and which magnifies weather happening under its foot print. (Hindu Busines)

JHU this week requested Speaker to place the proposed Anti Convention Bill on the Parliamentary order paper soon. The JHU parliamentary group leader the Ven. Aturaliye Ratana Thera made this request in the House, consequent to death of two born Buddhists at a healing service conducted by a non Buddhist religious body at Viharamahadevi Park, in Colombo recently.

The JHU said in Parliament yesterday that the faith healing services conducted by a certain religious sect would create problems with regard to religious harmony in the country.

The JHU leader told the House, that two persons who were Buddhists by birth had died during a healing service conducted at Viharamahadevi Park. The Ven. Ratana Thera said that the mainstream Roman Catholic Church was not involved in such controversial healing services.

“Earlier, a girl died in Medirigiriya at a healing service conducted by this very same sect. Unfortunately, there was no proper public debate on this mysterious missionary activity. Some media institutions remained silent,” he said. The JHU requested the government to arrest the person who conducted this healing service and take action against him.

“Pictures of the Buddha have been pasted on the doors of toilets of the prayer centres belonging to this religious cult. Converted persons have been asked to spit on the pictures of the Buddha,” he said.

The JHU requested Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara to place the proposed Anti Convention Bill on the Parliamentary order paper soon. The Ven. Aturaliya Ratana Thera tabled the necessary documents and a CD containing information about these healing services.

psm

Around 300 Sri Lankans are waiting outside their consulate office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia seeking their repatriation.Most of them are over-stayers and those who have fled their sponsors, ‘Arab Times’ reported.These people have been visiting the consulate for assistance to return home, as they are without travel documents.


Two boys aged 13 and 14 were taken into custody over a rape of a ten year old girl in Bolgoda, Bandaragama,  police spokesman DIG Nimal Mediwaka said.

According to him, the girl who was returning from a nearby shop had been dragged to a remote place and raped.

Special investigation on this incident is being conducted by the Bandaragama police under the supervision of SSP in charge of Panadura, Sumith Edirisinghe.

sundaytime

Minister Nandana Gunathilaka said   he resigned as the General Secretary of the National Freedom Front as the party was not following their political strategy and all attempts to rectify it has not succeeded. Gunathilaka said this during a ceremony in Agalawatte today.

dailymirror

Two people were injured in a drive by shooting at Thimbirigasaya this morning. According to police the two victims were shot when they had come out of a club and were about to get into their car by gunmen who had passed by in another car. The victims were admitted to hospital for treatment. The motive of the shooting is not known.

It is expected to solicit Technical Corporation from the International Automatic Energy Agency (IAEA) through the Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Science and technology.

According to the Ministry, it is expected to set up a Steering Committee and to authorize the Steering Committee to co-opt suitable experts from the relevant line Ministries and Agencies to the Project Implementation Committee and set up a Project Implementation Committee.

At present 436 nuclear power reactors are operating in 30 countries supplying 16% of the world electricity generation.

Sri Lanka and Kuwait signed the Investment Promotion & Protection Agreement (IPPA) on Thursday (5) November,marking Sri Lanka’s first such agreement with Gulf countries which includes Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.  At a simple ceremony held at the Ministry of Finance of Kuwait, Khalifa M. Hamada, Undersecretary to the Ministry of Finance signed the agreement on behalf of Kuwait while Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Kuwait Sarath Dissanayake signed for Sri Lanka. The negotiations on the IPPA have been concluded in June 2009.

Speaking on the occasion, Undersecretary to the Ministry of Finance, Khalifa M. Hamada expressed the hope that this agreement will pave the way to open new vistas of opportunities in Sri Lanka thereby enable Kuwait to become an important partner in Sri Lanka’s socio-economic development. In particular, he said that with the dawn of peace to Sri Lanka there is enormous potential for foreign investors to benefit in a variety of sectors including tourism, hospitality, construction, infrastructure, agriculture and other booming sectors which will bring fortunes to all. Ambassador Sarath Dissanayake in his remarks said that under the agreement the Government of Sri Lanka will safeguard the interest of foreign investors and will offer them attractive incentives and tax benefits. He also noted that the IPPA signed between the two countries will facilitate Kuwait investors to take advantage of the conducive atmosphere and emerging opportunities in the country. It is expected that the investment agreement will further strengthen  Sri Lanka – Kuwait mutually rewarding partnership for mutual benefit. The Ministry of Finance of Kuwait and the Sri Lankan Embassy expressed their interest to promote Sri Lanka as a sought after investment destination for Kuwait entrepreneurs.  The Kuwaiti side was represented by the Undersecretary, Ministry of Finance, Khalifa M. Hamada, together with senior officials from the Ministry while Sri Lanka’s Ambassador Sarath Dissanayake was accompanied by Mr. Sunil Premaratna, First Secretary at the signing ceremony.

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the internally displaced Muslim women at the Temple Trees, Colombo

The displaced Muslims of the North are to be soon resettled in their original places in the Northern Province.

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa while addressing the internally displaced Muslim women assured that all Muslims who were driven out of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and Mannar in the Northern province would be resettled in their homes soon.

The Muslims who lived for centuries in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Mannar were expelled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the internationally declared terrorist organization, in October 1990.

The Tamil terrorist group forcibly evicted nearly 100,000 Muslims from the Northern Province, to achieve their unsuccessful goal of mono ethnic Tamil state.

These Muslims who are evicted from the North are at present languishing as internally displaced person, since 1990, in the Puttalam district.

No measures were undertaken by the previous governments to resettle the displaced Muslims back in their homes in the North.

But yesterday, Sri Lanka President invited about 1,000 displaced Muslim women to the Temple Trees and had lunch with them and later addressed them.

He told the displaced Muslim women, as the Government was able to defeat the LTTE and end terrorism in the country, now a conducive situation has emerged to resettle the displaced Muslims back in the Northern Province.

He told the Muslim women who participated in the meeting held in the Temple Trees to consider him as their own brother and one amongst them.

He said that he will start the process of their resettlement soon.

In the meeting held at the Temple Trees, Alavi Moulana, Governor of the Western Province, Abdul Risath Bathiyutheen – Minister of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services, A.H.M Azwer, Advisor to Sri Lanka President and several others participated.

Kuchchavei, the densly populated Muslim majority DS division in Trincomalee district will soon have number of star class hotels. Residents express fear of reduced fishing activities and cultural invasion in the event although they welcome promotion of tourism in their coast. EP Chief Minister Chandrakanthan is also not happy with the project prepared by the UDA at the request of the Tourism Ministry as he has repeatedly argued that alienation of lands is a devolved subject under the 13th Amendment.

More than 60 prospective investors have applied to build hotels in the newly proposed 8-kilometre tourism zone on the Kuchchaveli coast, Tourism Ministry sources said. Most of the applicants are joint venture  with foreign investors, it is learnt. Secretary to Tourism ministry said a crucial meeting among all stakeholders in the proposed project, expected to inject hundreds of millions of dollars in investment into Trincomalee District will take place at the Trincomalee Kachcheri on 9th November.

Those invited, he said included the prospective investors, Chief Minister Sivanesaturai Chandrakanthan, District Secretary, Land Commissioner, Tourism Development Authority, UDA, Coast Conservation Department, Environment Ministry, RDA, CEB, the Water Supply and Drainage Board and SLT. Though, the Chief Minister is invited, the conference is likely to be chaired either by the Governor or the Tourism Ministry Secretary.

A few months ago the government halted all ad hoc state land alienations done in the Trinco disitrict amidst allegations that it was happening amidst much corruption. There is a severe demand for coastal land in the district with unspoilt beaches for tourism with the ending of the war in May.

The new tourism zone will come up on approximately 500 to 600 acres of state land. The UDA plan includes public and recreational areas and new roads. TDA, the successor to the former Tourist Board will undertake the development of public areas.

Secretary to the Chief Minister Ranjini Nadarajapillai, said they had not received any invitation to the conference. The Tourism Ministry Secretary said there was neither acquiring of anyone’s land nor anyone walking away with any land and whatever investment there would be for the benefit of the hitherto undeveloped areas and most of the jobs created would also go to the people of the region.

The central government, he said was involved inthe project only to ensure standards are maintained and approvals are done according to the rules more in a consultative approach, while the actual allocation of land for each hotel project can be done by the Provincial Council, the GA and the Land Commissioner.

The team which arrived  this week  visited the Parliamentary Complex yesterday. They met Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake and had a cordial discussion. The Iranian team agreed to further strengthen bilateral ties in various sectors, including investments.

The visiting team also met the Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara. They will be in the island until Saturday the 07th They are also due to call on the President.

Ministry sources, said ownership will be granted to them before  November 19 ,the  day the President completes the fourth year in office. Each housing unit consists of two bed  rooms at acost Rs. two million.

The aim of the Government under Mahinda Chinthanaya concept is to provide decent houses to all slum and shanty dwellers in the country, sources added.