Monthly archive

In what appears as an efforts to mend their widening rifts, leaders of the two main coalition partners, Unified CPN (Maoist) and CPN-UML, have agreed to form a high-level investigation into the murder of UML-affiliated Youth Force (YF) cadre Prachanda Thaiba in Butwal, small town based in southern part of the country, last week. The CPN-UML, which has decisive number of seats in Constituent Assembly to topple the government, had warned of pulling out of the Maoist-led government following the murder of its cadre Thaiba. The party also boycotted cabinet meeting scheduled on Friday and staged mass demonstration across the country against the Maoist on Saturday.

By Quintus Perera – Asian Tribune

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) has organized a Forum for Public-Private Sector Dialogue which facilitates the clarification of issues between its members and the Public sector officials/authorities. The Forum has also given an opportunity to the Public sector officials to be informed of the constraints faced by private sector entities and to provide solutions where possible or explain to the Private sector why the issues cannot be resolved immediately. Thus the Forum facilitates strengthening of the relations between the Public and Private sectors.

Sri Lanka Governmnet has categorically stated that they will not enter into any ceasefire agreement or a pause in their hostile campaign, as long as the non-state actor LTTE free the entire innocent Tamil civilians held hostages and surrender arms. This was the latest response of the Government of Sri Lanka to the statement by the LTTE Political Headquarters. The statement said "Our organization wishes to reiterate our agreement to an immediate ceasefire." A Government spokesman told Asian Tribune, the word "Ceasefire" is not the right parlance at this juncture. He told that LTTE is not a state actor to enter into any ceasefire agreement. It is a terrorist organization proclaimed by India, United States, United Kingdom, Canada and also by the European Union.

"No military operation to defeat terrorism in the world is conducted without difficulty to the civilian population in the afflicted area. In the achievement of our military dominance over the LTTE, the civilian, held at gunpoint by the LTTE have been the centre of our concerns. In the past 2 months, the Security Forces have held back their strength, even at the cost of suffering causalities themselves. The ground reality has unfortunately been disregarded in the European’s Parliament Resolution of March 12 and makes several unsubstantiated assertions which the Government of Sri Lanka finds objectionable". These observations were made by Ms. Saroja Sirisena, charge d’ Affaires of the Sri Lanka Embassy in Belgium, accredited to the European Union.

By Ravi Ladduwahetty- Sri Lanka Editor- Asian Tribune

Troops of the 5th Vijayaba Regiment killed 12 Tigers and destroyed a bus and motor cycle in which they were traveling in Pudukudirippu West yesterday, top military sources in the battle front told Asia Tribune. Troops have also been able to recover a haul of cannons, parts of 80 mm mortars, two suicide jackets and two T-56 weapons after the attack on Pudukudirippu West which is north of the Mullaitivu- Paranthan Road, the A 35 trunk road.

A Commentary by L. Jayasooriya

This railroad which will bring many benefits both to the people in the North and the South is eagerly awaited by the President and all of us. I have seen on television how the track is being laid. The concrete sleepers are laid on bare ground with no ballast (stones on the railway track) underneath. This is not the way to lay a railway track. It will cause derailments especially in wet weather and along curves. I will now explain how the rail track works so that the readers whom I assume are laymen could see how smartly the track is being sabotaged right under the nose of the President.

By Nathalie Gricorciuk

Officially inaugurated on 31 March 1889, and opened to the public on 15 May the same year, the Eiffel Tower celebrated its one hundred and twentieth anniversaries. Disparaged in its early days, it has today become one of the major symbols of France in the world’s collective unconscious. A "tour de force" that owes nothing to chance. Its instantly recognisable silhouette is the stuff of dreams the world over. Yet what critics it had in its early days! In a joint letter, the likes of Guy de Maupassant, Charles Gounod and Alexandre Dumas junior vilified "the useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower", "the dishonour of Paris". A "hole-riddled suppository" in the view of Huysmans, an "ungainly skeleton" as Maupassant saw it… But Gustave Eiffel was not to be discouraged. The engineer responded to the artists: "the Tower will have its own beauty".