15 april - 2010
Transcription
15 april - 2010
AN E K ANFAREEo L I T n.aer ka SREST AN n a l .sri B AR w w GUon w Where do you want to go? Book online at k clic www.srilankan.aero You're our world Airlines WE CARRY THE BROADEST SELECTION OF NEWS NEWSLANKA Established since 1991. FREE,WEEKLY NEWSPAPER. THURSDAY - APRIL 15 - 2010 T: 020 7978 9030 E: [email protected] NEWSLANKA ISSUE 958 We wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous Sri Lankan New Year Historic win for UPFA By Shamindra Ferdinando, Franklin R. Satyapalan, Vipul Sivakumaran, Lal Gunasekera and Norman Palihawadana Front (UNF) and its erstwhile ally, the JVP, suffered a humiliating defeat. The President pledged that a victory for the UPFA would give a turbo-boost to development efforts in the wake of armed forces’ FOC triumph over the 2010 LTTE. The JVP turned the election into a referendum on Services provided the arrest of • Acceptance of applications for New Passports, former Army Renewal of Passports, Alterations, Certification Commander, Gen. (retd) • Registration of Births Sarath Fonseka • Matters related to Dual Citizenship on conspiracy (www.island.lk) - President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who spearheaded the UPFA campaign, secured an overwhelming mandate at the April 8 General Election, whereas the UNP-led United National SRI LANKA HIGH COMMISSION - UK Mobile Service in Birmingham • Visas to Sri Lanka Time - 10am to 1pm • Matters related to Saturday, Sri Lankan Pensioners 24th April, 2010 • Trade and Investment Opportunities in Sri Lanka Birmingham Buddhist Maha Vihara 216, New John Street West, Hockley, Birmingham, B19 3UA Sunday 11th July 2010 www. festival ofcricket .org Taprobane Travel A T L A S S H I P P I N G TT Great offers on flights & hotels. See page 3. THE COLOMBO COLUMN With Newslanka Editor REGGIE FERNANDO See next week Sea & Air Cargo Car & Container Shipping Pay your Freight Charges at Colombo See P9 charges. Both said that their victory would help secure the release of Fonseka. The UPFA comprised the SLFP, CP, LSSP, CWC, NFF, EPDP, Upcountry People’s Front and MEP and a few smaller parties not represented in Parliament. Some dissidents of the TNA, too, threw their weight behind the ruling coalition. The UNF included the SLMC, whereas the JVP went it alone. At the last election in April 2004, the JVP, which contested on the UPFA ticket, won 39 seats, including three National List slots, though a section subsequently switched its allegiance to President Rajapaksa. The relatively peaceful election was marred by incidents in the Nawalapitiya and Trincomalee electorates, which prompted the Election Secretariat to suspend the release of results of the two electorates. Government sources said that supporters of government ministers had been accused of causing mayhem on the day of the election in both electorates. The Election Secretariat said that the results of the Nawalapitiya and Trincomalee Districts would not be released until a re-poll was conducted within the next two weeks. A senior spokesman said that the final district results of Mahanuwara and Trincomalee Districts as well as the overall results, too, could not be released for the time being. According to him, this would prevent political parties from naming their National List members. Of the 22 electoral districts, the Election Secretariat released results of 20 districts pending the release of Mahanuwara and Trinco ... SEE P2 Don’t interfere, UPFA tells world By Kelum Bandara (www.dailymirror.lk) - The UPFA which won the April 8 election stressed that the ‘international forces’ should respect the massive mandate given to it by the people at the April 8 election, and not disturb them in governing the country accordingly for the next term. Addressing the first press conference after the election victory, Former Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said that ELECTION RESULTS PROVINCES CENTRAL - P10 EASTERN - P12 NORTH CENTRAL - P13 NORTH WESTERN - P14 SABARAGAMUWA - P15 SOUTHERN - P16 WESTERN - P19 UVA - P19 there were local and foreign elements that attempted to sabotage the government’s activities in the past. He said that these threats were still looming, and therefore requested all those elements not to disturb or disrupt his party in running the affairs of the country for the next period. “They must respect the people’s mandate reflected through this election results. We kindly request them not to disturb us,” Mr. Alahapperuma said. Analysing the election results, the former Minister said that his party received the largest ever parliamentary majority under the present Proportional Representation System. “The UNP has declined to its lowest ebb. They have got only 29 percent of votes. However, we have polled over 60 percent of votes. The SLFP never suffered such a defeat in history. When we were subjected to a crushing defeat in 1977, we were able to get more than 30 percent of votes. During this election campaign, we never saw the UNP actively participating in the election. Yet, the SLFP, as an opposition party, campaigned vigorously even during the 1989 terror period against the UNP,” Mr. Alahapperuma said. Commenting on the low voter turnout, the former Minister said ... SEE P2 CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE& OUR ARCHIVES AT See P5 Most Trusted and Reliable Name in the Trade WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET LET YOUR FRIENDS KNOW GET LISTED, FREE OF CHARGE, AT OUR ONLINE EVENT CALENDER. PAGE 02 NEWSLANKA 15 APRIL - 2010 Election Cont from p1 Tight security for Nawalapitiya battle By Yohan Perera Tension prevailed in Nawalapitiya yesterday as candidates were planning to resume the election campaign for the repoll fixed for April 20. Security was tightened in the area with several police teams including Special Force Task personnel being deployed to maintain law and order. UPFA candidate and former Minister D.M. Jayaratne said the candidates would begin their campaign soon, probably after the National New Year. He said candidates should not be obstructed from carrying out their normal election campaigning. UNP candidate Mano Ganesan said they had already started house to house campaigning despite obstructions from their opponents. Several supporters of Mr. Ganesan and of his colleague Lakshman Kiriella were attacked during the pre election period. The latest incident in Nawalapitiya was reported on Sunday when vehicles of UNP candidate A.R. M. Abdul Cader were attacked. However Mr. Cader told Daily Mirror the incident was a minor one. Meanwhile the Elections Secretariat said the candidates could campaign for the repoll but would have to stop 48 hours prior to the day of elections. The department also said candidates could go ahead with the normal campaigning process including media advertisements and house to house canvassing. The Secretariat said 600 officers would be deployed at polling stations and counting centres. In addition 50 officers will be deployed at the Kumburupitiya polling station in Trincomalee. Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake annulled the results of 34 polling booths in Nawalapitiya on April 8 and called for a re-poll on April 20. It was reported that party agents and election officers were chased away from these polling booths in Nawalapitiya. The result of one polling station in the Trincomalee district was also annulled due to malpractice. and formed their own party during the January Presidential elections was denied entry into India even last December. During the recent General Elections the party was highly critical of India and even its election manifesto did not favor the Indian administration. (KB) Faces tell it all India deports former TNA MP "One World One People" We are working for a greener, peaceful, democratic and socialist world. Campaign for natural justice based on redistribution of wealth. Visit Peoples-International www.peoples-international.com Former TNA Member of Parliament (MP) M.K Sivajilingam was denied entry into India today at the Chennai airport and is due to return to Sri Lanka later tonight, former MP N. Sri Kanta told Daily Mirror. M.K Sivajilingam, who had defected from the TNA together with N. Sri Kanta Opposition big wigs in a bewildered state at the post election news briefing at the opposition leader’s official residence at No. 30, Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha yesterday (Pix by Ishara S. Kodikara) World CONT FROM P1 that it is a normal situation in a country with political and social stability though the opposition attributes it to a waning democracy. “At this election, the winner was pretty obvious for voters. There was peace in this country. It is the reason for this low voter turnout. The voter turn out is always low in countries such as the United Kingdom and Switzerland where they claim that democracy is flourishing. At the US Presidential Election, the turnout was a little more than 57 percent. It too was due to the entry of Barrack Obama. Otherwise, it is normally around 50 percent in that country,” he said. SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena, meanwhile, requested the opposition parties team up with the UPFA in leading the country towards a new era. Mr. Sirisena said that the opposition should learn from their past mistakes and take such a decision in the greater interest of the country. “In 2006, the UNP signed a Memorandum of Understanding with us. Had they remained committed to it, they could have shared the credit of war victory with us. We hope the UNP will learn at least now and take decisions in the national interest of the country,” he said. CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE & OUR ARCHIVES AT ... districts results. The government emerged the clear winner by raking in 117 seats against 46 obtained by the UNP. The TNA and the DNA secured 12 and 5, respectively. Four MPs will be elected from Trincomalee and 12 from Mahanuwara. In addition to the 196 elected members, 29 will be appointed from the National List. Parliament, which was earlier scheduled to meet on April 22, may not be able to reconvene for the new session on that day due to mayhem caused by UPFA politicians. The ruling SLFP-led coalition secured the Hambantota electoral District by polling 174,808 votes and winning 5 seats, while the UNP obtained 83,027 and secured 2 seats. The JVP-led Democratic National Alliance (DNA) came a distant third with 19,186 votes. Former JVP MPs Nihal Galapatthi and Nihal Jayaweera failed in their bid to retain their seats. At the last election, the UNP secured two seats, whereas the UPFA had five, including the two seats won by the JVP. Namal Rajapaksa topped the preferential votes with a staggering 147, 566 votes. Sajith Premadasa polled 74,467 to lead the UNP list. The UPFA secured the Matara electorate comfortably in a one-sided contest leaving the DNA without a seat. The ruling party secured six out of eight seats by polling 213,937 votes, while the UNP won the remaining two. The UNP and DNA polled 91,114 and 20,465 votes, respectively. Former National Cricket Captain Sanath Jayasuriya polled 74,352 to beat several veteran politicians and came first. National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa’s brother, Sarath, who contested from Matara on the UPFA ticket, failed to be returned. Southern Province Opposition Leader Buddhika Pathirana and Mangala Samaraweera secured first and second slots in Matara respectively. Political sources alleged that an attempt had been made to deceive the Matara electorate by giving two or three different numbers as Pathirana’s preferential vote. Sources said that the Pathirana’s camp had acted swiftly to alert the people to the ‘sinister’ move. At the last election, the UPFA won five seats. Among them were two JVP nominees, Jinadasa Kitulegoda and Premasiri Manage. The UNP won three seats, though two of them later switched their allegiance to President Rajapaksa, leaving Sagala Ratnayake the solitary UNP representative in Matara. The then UPFA candidate Mangala Samaraweera, who topped the preferential vote at the last election, contested the 2010 General Election on the UNP ticket. The UPFA bagged the Moneragala electorate by securing four seats against the UNP’s one. The UPFA polled a formidable 120,634 votes, while the UNP and DNA received 28,892 and 9,018 votes, respectively. The DNA suffered a humiliating defeat. At the last election, the UNP won two out of five seats. The UPFA secured the rest. The Opposition suffered a debilitating loss in the Badulla District, where the UPFA polled 203,689 votes to secure six seats. The UNP managed to secure two. The UNP and the DNA polled 112,886 and 15,768 votes respectively. At the last election, the UNP and UPFA shared the eight seats, with the latter taking three, including one secured by the JVP. UNP sources told The Island that a damaging row over the alleged alteration of the Moneragala nomination list by UNP District leader Ranjith Manduma Bandara contributed to the heavy defeat. The UPFA obtained a staggering ISSUE 958 percentage of 75.64 per cent against the UNP’s 18.12 per cent. Interestingly, Bandara was the only successful UNP candidate, though UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe publicly denounced him. One of the major shocks at Thursday’s election was the unexpected defeat suffered by Galle District UNP leader Vajira Abeywardena, who failed to retain his seat. Of the ten seats in the electoral district, the UPFA won seven with Nishantha Muttuhettigama topping the list, while the UNP had to be satisfied with two seats. UNP rebel Lionel Premasiri, who contested on the UPFA ticket lost his re-election bid. Former JVP MP G. H. Ajith Kumara, who contested on the DNA ticket, won a place in the Galle list, though his colleagues Chandrasena Wijesinghe and Thilakaratne Withanachchi failed in their re-election bid. Actress Geetha Kumarasinghe one of the surprise nominees of the UPFA lost her bid despite a high profile campaign. Minister Piyasena Gamage, who led the UPFA in Galle was pushed to fourth position with a lowly 66,301 preferential votes. Former SLFP stalwart Richard Pathirana’s son, Dr. Ramesh came second to Muttuhettigama with 90,317 preferential votes and Deputy Minister Gunaratne Weerakoon third. Sachin Vas Gunawardena was among the winners. The UPFA secured the Matale electoral district by polling 131,069 votes against UN P’s 55,737. The UPFA won four seats and the UNP ended up with one, though it had two seats at the last election. Former JVP MP Sujatha Alahakoon, who contested on the DNA ticket failed to retain her seat. The DNA polled a poor 7,636 votes in Matale. The UPFA scored a stunning victory in Kurunegala by polling a staggering 429,316 to win ten seats. The UNP took the remaining five seats. The JVP, which contested Kurunegala at the last election, won three slots. But this time around, JVP nominees, Bimal Ratnayake and Namal Karunaratne, who contested on DNA ticket failed to be returned. Anura Kumara Dissanayake, former Kurunegala district MP is on the DNA National List. The UNP and the DNA polled 213,713 and 26,440 votes in Kurunegala respectively. At the last election, the UFPA/JVP combine won nine seats against UNP’s seven, though three of them switched their allegiance to President Rajapaksa. In Ratnapura, too, the UNP and DNA experienced a humiliating defeat, with the UPFA polling an impressive 305,327 votes to win seven seats. The UNP managed to take the remaining three seats. The UNP and DNA obtained 125,076 and 11,053 votes. The UPFA and UNP shared nine seats in Kegalle, with the former taking seven. The UPFA, UNP and DNA polled 242,463, 104925 and 13,518, respectively. Former Sri Lankan top sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe, who contested on the UPFA ticket ran out. Of the ten seat-Katutara electoral district, the UPFA secured seven, UNP two and the remaining seat to DNA’s Arjuna Ranatunga, the second National Cricket Captain to enter parliament at the 2010 General Election. The UPFA scored an impressive victory in Gampaha by securing 12 seats against the UNP’s 5. The DNA managed to get just one seat, though it campaigned heavily in Gampaha to pressure the government over the detention of defeated presidential election candidate, Gen. (retd) Sarath Fonseka. The UPFA polled 589,476, while the UNP and DNA managed 266,523 and 69,747 votes respectively. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. NEWSLANKA ISSUE 958 1977 33 2009 AN NI VERSARY PAGE 03 Taprobane Travel/Sri Lanka Tours L VE TAP BANE TRA RO 15 APRIL - 2010 TT The reliable agent - Number 1 for flights to Sri Lanka since 1977 Now celebrating a 30 year partnership with SriLankan Airlines CASH PLUS MILES OFFER FROM £260* + TAXES. (VALID FOR TRAVEL 10APR-25JUN10) PLUS 10,000 FLYSMILES COLOMBO INDIA FAR EAST £390*+ TAXES FROM £310*+ TAXES FROM £320*+ TAXES FROM *conditions apply ETIHAD AIRWAYS £289* + TAXES. - LONDON/COLOMBO/LONDON (validFROM till 15jul /11aug-10dec10/25dec10-31dec10) TO COLOMBO Flights from London to Colombo on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays London-Abu Dhabi EY 12 0920 -2020 Abu Dhabi –Colombo EY 266 2140 -0330+1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS RETURNS TO COLOMBO IN JANUARY 2010. Flights from Colombo to London on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays AND Saturdays Colombo - Abu Dhabi EY267 0430-0745 Abu Dhabi - London EY17 1320 - 1730 MANCHESTER/COLOMBO/MANCHESTER FARE FROM £359*+TAXES (valid till 15jul /11aug-10dec10/ 25dec10-31dec10) Flights from Manchester to Colombo on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays Flights from Colombo to Manchester on, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays Manchester- Abu Dhabi EY16 0825-1935 Abu Dhabi / Colombo EY266 2140-0330 +1 Colombo - Abu Dhabi EY267 0430-0745 Abu Dhabi - Manchester EY21 1010 - 1415 OMAN AIR TO COLOMBO FROM £168* +TAXES (valid from 12 april to 15 june) SCHEDULE FROM 5TH APRIL TO 29TH OCTOBER 2010 LONDON –MUSCAT WY 102 2235 -0905 (NON STOP) FLIGHTS FROM LONDON HEATHROW MUSCAT - COLOMBO WY 381 1030-1815 (VIA MALE) TERMINAL 3 ON MONDAYS AND FRIDAYS FLIGHTS FROM COLOMBO TO LONDON ON WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAYS COLOMBO/MALE FROM £410*+TAXES (valid from 06apr-15jul 10 & 11aug10 -30Nov10) INDIA FAR EAST (VALID from 06APR 10- 15 Jul10/11Aug-30Nov 10) MELBOURNE & BRISBANE FROM £340* + TAXES FROM £395* + TAXES FROM £545* + TAXES (STOPOVER IN COLOMBO PERMITTED IN BOTH DIRECTIONS) *Conditions apply FROM £545* + TAXES SYDNEY Hongkong £395 + TAXES Bangkok, Sin/Kl Jakarta £405 + TAXES BUSINESS CLASS COMPANION FARE TO COLOMBO/MALE FROM £1510*+TAXES (2 passengers must travel together) KUWAIT AIRWAYS COLOMBO –MUSCAT WY 371 0720 -1145 (VIA MALE) MUSCAT- LONDON WY 101 1400-1905 (NON STOP) SEAT SALE TO COLOMBO Business class special to Colombo FROM £900* +taxes(valid till 30JUN10). £210 COLOMBO CHENNAI TRIVANDRUM/COCHIN BOMBAY/DELHI BANGKOK/KUALA LUMPUR FROM +TAXES FROM £220 +TAXES FROM £220 +TAXES FROM £170 +TAXES FROM £270 + TAXES From HEATHROW/GATWICK from £201 BOMBAY from £208 CHENNAI/TRIVANDRUM from £255 DELHI from £188 BUSINESS CLASS FARE TO COLOMBO MELBOURNE FROM + taxes (VALID TILL 30 JUN 10) + taxes + taxes + taxes from £1200 + taxes 391* +TAXES (valid till 30jun10) (valid till 30jun10 )Day restrictions/Conditions apply Tickets are issued within 24 hours receiving cleared funds. YOU MAY SPEAK TO OUR STAFF IN ENGLISH, SINHALESE OR TAMIL Competitive rates at Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Cinnamon Lakeside, Galle Face Hotel, Mount Lavinia Hotel on request. Reservations & Enquiries, please call Kamini, Lucky or Vishni 020 7434 3921/020 7437 6272 Office Opening hours Monday to Friday 0930 to 1800. Saturday 1100 to 1300 hrs Immediate travel only 07860 439483 www.srilankatours.co.uk/www.srilankans.com 19 Golden Square, London W1F 9HD GET LISTED, FREE OF CHARGE, AT OUR ONLINE EVENT CALENDER. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. PAGE 04 NEWSLANKA 15 APRIL - 2010 campaign. "They only harassed their own party supporters. My cut outs were burnt, I was not allowed to paste posters, I was threatened with death, they instigated people to throw stones at me, they did everything possible against me." Controversial former provincial councillor, Nishantha Mutuhettigama received most preferential votes in Galle district while the district leader, former minister Piyasena Gamage, was the fifth among seven elected candidates. (BBC Sandeshaya) Probe poll incidents says EU The European Union (EU), while welcoming the fact that the General Elections in Sri Lanka took place in a largely calm atmosphere, noted that there were reports of incidents on election day and trusts that the authorities will take appropriate action to ensure that these are properly investigated and resolved. Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, in a statement congratulated President Rajapaksa and the UPFA on their success and added that the EU looks forward to working with the newly elected Sri Lankan government in the implementation of its ambitious political agenda including national reconciliation. “I also welcome the fact that these elections took place in a largely calm atmosphere. The EU has noted reports of incidents on election day and trusts that the authorities will take appropriate action to ensure that these are properly investigated and resolved,” She said. (Daily Mirror online) Police take action against DNA leaders By Lakmal Sooriyagoda President appeals for national unity President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his New Year message said yesterday it was necessary to bring prosperity to the nation if the joy of New Year was to be meaningful. He said New Year festivities should seek to further unite Sri Lankans in heart and mind and the participation by Sinhalese and Tamils in the celebrations strengthens the bonds of kinship. He said: “This is the first New Year being celebrated in harmony and contentment since the motherland was unified. It is my belief that these New Year festivities should seek to further unite our people in heart and mind. The New Year celebrations by Sinhalese and Tamils alike are most appropriate in recognizing the kinship among us. This is the continuance of strong cultural traditions that strengthen the bonds among the people of our land. The government has done what is necessary to bring the joy and meaning of the New Year closer to the people. We have sought to bring prosperity to the nation through agricultural development with the encouragement to live an ethical way of life. The true spirit of the New Year should be felt mostly by our children who make up the future generation. It is our responsibility as a nation to teach them the best values and traditions preserved through thousands of years and bestow upon them the cultural heritage that has enriched our nation. It is my wish that every household will carryout the New Year traditions with hope of auspicious beginning for the future. I trust that this Sinhala and Tamil New Year which reflects the unity and pride of our nation will be celebrated by all in the spirit of joy, peace, sharing and contentment which will lead us to a future prosperity. I wish you all a Happy New Year Geetha takes UPFA to court A veteran film actress defeated in the recent parliamentary polls says she is considering legal action against her own party leaders. Geetha Kumarasinghe, a ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidate for the Galle district, told BBC Sandeshaya that she was initially among the winning candidates but by the end of counting, she has lost the election. But she refused to reveal the names of the culprits. "It was all done by my own party people. But unfortunately it is difficult for me to reveal the names," she said. She was forced to send independent monitors to counting centres as she was not allowed to appoint her own polling agents, Ms. Kumarasinghe said. There was nobody to monitor the counting process at the time her preferential votes were counted, according to the popular film star. Ms. Kumarasinghe said she was threatened and harassed by the regional leaders of President Rajapaksa's UPFA since she launched the election CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE & OUR ARCHIVES AT A Court yesterday ordered Democratic National Alliance (DNA) activists including Vijitha Herath, Sunil Handunnetti, Arjuna Ranatunga, Lakshman Nipunaarachchi and detained General Sarath Fonseka’s wife Anoma to make a statement to the Fort police Fort police officers told Colombo Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne that the DNA had violated election laws by holding a public meeting opposite the Fort Railway Station 48 hours before Thursday’s general election to call for the immediate release of General Fonseka from detention. Police said the public meeting had obstructed the movement of people at the Fort railway station on April 6 and that the DNA had committed an offence under section 70 of the Parliament Election Act No 1 of 1981 and moved Court to issue notice on them. Further inquiry was postponed for April 23. Ratnasiri tipped to be PM again; no portfolios for new comers Namal to remain an ordinary MP New ministers for Health, Education Former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka will be appointed Prime Minister of the new UPFA government to be formed on April 21, The Island reliably learns. Although there are several contenders for the post, including former Minister D. M. Jayaratne, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to reappoint Wickramanayake PM because he is acceptable to all SLFPers and the appointment of someone else is likely to lead to resentment among aspirants for the second most powerful position in country, according to sources close to the President. President Rajapaksa would limit his new Cabinet to 35-40 members with an equal number of deputies in spite of pressure mounting on him to accommodate many more and none of the first timers in Parliament would be appointed as either ministers or deputy ministers, sources said. That rule would apply to the President’s eldest son, Namal Rajapaksa as well, they said. Namal polled the highest number of preferential votes (147,566) in the Hambantota District beating all party seniors in the fray including his paternal uncle Chamal Rajapaksa, who is a former senior minister. Sources quoted President Rajapaksa as having told his confidantes yesterday that the number of preferential votes or family ties would not be the basis on which ministerial appointments were made. ISSUE 958 Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva would not get the Health portfolio in the new Cabinet. Instead, he would get some other ministry, sources said. The education sector would also get a new minister and former Minister of Education Susil Premjayantha would be given a different ministry, they said. Weakened JVP asks supporters to help it gain one more seat Question mark over parliamentary group leader By Shamindra Ferdinando The JVP, now down to five MPs, pending the release of final results of Mahanuwara and Trincomalee electoral districts, yesterday said that it could secure one seat from Kandy if the party received several thousand votes at the re-poll scheduled for April 20. Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake ordered a re-poll following the disruption of polling in the Trincomalee and Nawalapitiya electorates at the April 8 election. Former JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday told The Island that about 6,000 votes in Kandy would give them another seat. He expressed confidence that with one from Kandy and another through the national list, the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) could increase its tally to seven. Responding to a query raised by The Island at a JVP media briefing yesterday, former MP Lal Kantha declined to comment on the possibility of defeated presidential candidate, General (retd) Sarath Fonaseka being their (read as DNA) parliamentary group leader. He said that a decision would be taken by the DNA parliamentary group shortly. The JVP, which contested the 2010 general election on the DNA ticket, won three seats (Vijitha Herath in Gampaha, Sunil Handunetti in Colombo and Ajith Kumara in Galle) whereas Fonseka (Colombo) and Arjuna Ranatunga (Kalutara), too, were elected. The JVP tally would increase to five if the party won one seat in Colombo and also secured one national list slot, Dissanayake told The Island. Dissanayake and Lal Kantha urged the media not to sideline the JVP. They said that a section of the media was in the habit of self-censorship, but that should not be the attitude of the media, they said. Dissanayake said that they had a very important role to play, though being less in numbers in parliament. Whatever the challenge, the JVP, they said had the strength to sustain anti-government campaign. An irate Dissanayake said that nothing could be as bad as the recent proposal by a former UPFA MP to a move an amendment to the Constitution to pave the way for incumbent President to go for a third term. He said that it was unfortunate successive governments had introduced amendments to appease individuals at the expense of public interest. He accused UPFA propagandist, Dallas Alahapperuma of talking with a forked tongue. A smiling Dissanayake said that Alahapperuma was not the man he pretends to be. Accusing him of taking refuge in the US in 2001 with the help of the then UNP heavyweight Milinda Moragoda, the JVPer said that he did not even throw his weight behind the Rajapaksa camp until the presidential election in November 2005. Alahapperuma was nothing but an opportunist masquerading as a patriot. “I will not step down” – Ranil By Tharindu Prematillake Untied National Front (UNF) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said that he has no intention of stepping down as party leader despite the continued defeats his party has faced. He expressed these views at a press briefing held in Colombo. When Wickremesinghe was asked whether he was facing pressure to resign from the leadership, he responded, “I am not resigning from the leadership. There is no reason for me to do so. We know from sources that people still have faith in me as the leader. I face no pressure to give up this post.” Wickremesinghe said that the opposition lost the election as the people had boycotted the polls because of their lack of faith in the executive, legislature and the electoral system. “If you look at general elections from 1994 to 2004 on average there has been a ...CONT ON P8 WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. ISSUE 958 NEWSLANKA GET LISTED, FREE OF CHARGE, AT OUR ONLINE EVENT CALENDER. 15 APRIL - 2010 PAGE 05 WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. PAGE 06 NEWSLANKA 15 APRIL - 2010 ISSUE 958 Celebrity winners and losers By Natasha Fernandopulle Susanthika Jayasinghe Ranjan Ramanayake (www.sundaytimes.lk) - A host of movie stars, sports personalities and journalists contested in the recently concluded seventh Parliamentary General Election and managed to secure a seat in Parliament while a few were unable to do so. Among the sports personalities who contested at the election were Sanath Jayasuriya and Susanthika Jayasinghe while Upeksha Swarnamali, Ranjan Ramanayake and Geetha Kumarasinghe were among the movie stars who contested. Some of the country’s prominent journalists also contested in this year’s election and among them were Sudarman Radaliyagoda, Buddhika Pathirana, Manusha Nanayakkara, Sri Ranga Jayaratnam, E. Saravanabavan, Buddadasa Withanarachchi, Susil Kidelpitiya and Sri Gajan. Sri Ranga Jayaratnam Sanath Jayasuriya Among the candidates who won a seat in their respective electorates are: United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA): Sanath Jayasuriya – Matara District United National Front (UNF) Ranjan Ramanayake – Ratnapura District Buddhika Pathirana – Matara District Manusha Nanayakkara – Galle District Sri Ranga Jayaratnam – Nuwara Eliya District Upeksha Swarnamali – Gampaha District Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) E. Saravanabavan – Jaffna District The candidates who were unable to win a seat this time around were: UPFA: Geetha Kumarasinghe Geetha Kumarasinghe – Galle District Susanthika Jayasinghe – Kegalle Distrcit Sudarman Radaliyagoda – Colombo District Buddhadasa Withanarachchi – Kegalle District UNF: Susil Kidelpitiya – Colombo District ITAK: Sri Gajan – Jaffna Disrict “I conducted a good campaign and people were very cooperative with me,” Geetha Kumarasinghe said adding, “I know this was not the correct result.” Ms. Kumarasinghe said that she had a lot of support from the people in her electorate and confirmed she will continue to work for them. IMMIGRATION SOLICITORS The Wimbledon Effect Solicitors 165 The Broadway Wimbledon SW19 - UK Border Agency Approved immigration lawyers Employers now need a sponsor licence to recruit foreign skilled workers. Our services are approved by UKBA. We can help if you have been given a Civil Penalty for employing illegal workers We can assist you with: •Sponsorship Licensing (For employers) •Tier 1 General – Highly Skilled Migrants •Tier 1 – Entrepreneurs (Businessmen) •Tier 2 Skilled Workers (Work Permits) •Students •Dependent family members •Domestic workers •Appeals, Administrative/Judicial Reviews (All aspects of Immigration Law & Procedure) Contact: Nilmini Roelens LLM , Principal Solicitor www.wimbledoneffect.co.uk Tel : 020 8544 8002 Fax: 020 8544 8003 E-mail: [email protected] CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE & OUR ARCHIVES AT WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. ISSUE 958 NEWSLANKA GET LISTED, FREE OF CHARGE, AT OUR ONLINE EVENT CALENDER. 15 APRIL - 2010 PAGE 07 WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. PAGE 08 NEWSLANKA Jaffna HSZs to be dismantled soon: Devananda Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) leader Douglas Devananda who secured the highest number of preferential votes in the Jaffna district, yesterday assured that as there was no longer a security threat; the High Security Zones (HSZ) in the peninsula would be gradually dismantled. He told Daily Mirror online that President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s vision was that the people in the North should also experience the kind of freedom enjoyed by the people in the South. “The high security zones were set up because of the threat posed by the LTTE. But no such threats exist now that the LTTE has been defeated and therefore these high security zones will be completely dismantled in stages,” Mr. Devananda told Daily Mirror online. The issue of high security zones had continued to dominate Tamil politics during the conflict with several demands for them to be dismantled and the civilian population to be resettled in their original places of residence. When asked whether the EPDP consider working with other political parties that contested the general elections in the North, Mr. Devananda £420* £355* said he would respect the mandate given £378* £335* to him by the people. “As a party we not fully £482* £350* satisfied by our performance at the polls but I £478* £335* got the highest number of preferential votes and I am £240* £350* about Bombay happy that and will £230* seek to work £350* with other political parties Bangalore to implement £365* £250* my mandate,” Mr. Devananda £270* £295* said. Mr. Devananda said the election in the £480* £335* North was free and fair but accused some political parties £335* £430* and Tamil media *All fares are including airport taxes institutions in Jaffna for attempting to sling mud at him and his party. “They believe in Hitler’s theory 15 APRIL - 2010 that by repeatedly lying to people, at some point they begin to believe in them. By voting for me the people in Jaffna have shown they have not been misled,” he said. In the Jaffna District, Mr. Devananda topped the list of preferential votes with 28,585 votes followed by Mavai Senathirajah of the Illangai Thamil Arassu Katchi (ITAK) with 20,501 votes and ITAK’s Suresh Premachandran with 16,425. (ER) (DM online) 'Action' against religious attackers The Attorney General (AG) in Sri Lanka has informed the Supreme Court that disciplinary action has been launched against a group of police officers for failing to investigate an attack on a Christian devotee. The AG was responding to a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition field by Pradeep Sanajana Kumara, a resident of Kirindiwela, Gampaha district. The petitioner has accused the police of failing to take action against a group that attacked his house accusing him of maintaining a prayer centre for Christian devotees. In his petition Pradeep Sanajana Kumara says that he bought to house in Kirindiwela and being a Christian devotee, regularly prayed at his home. But a group of villagers have attacked his house accusing him of maintaining a prayer centre. Although he provided the details of the attackers, the petitioner says, the police failed to take any action against them. He seeks a ruling by the court that his right to religion is violated by the police inaction. The AG has also informed the Supreme Court that steps are underway to file charges against the attackers. Hillary greets post war Lanka US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has greeted Sri Lankan around the world as they celebrate the first post war Sinhala and Tamil New Year. In a message released by the US State Department, Clinton said that every year the celebration brings the hope of new beginnings and fresh promise, but this year it carries added resonance. “For the first time in decades, Sri Lankans from all parts of the island can celebrate together in a peaceful and united country. This is an opportunity for Sri Lankans of all backgrounds, living inside and outside the country, to renew their bonds and work together to build a prosperous, democratic nation defined by tolerance and respect for human rights,” she said. Ranil Cont from p4 ... voter turnout of 75.9%. Even during the 1989 riots there was a voter turnout of 63%. However, this time only 56.9% have voted. Therefore, even though a Parliament has been elected, it does not have the mandate of the country,” he said. Furthermore, Wickremesinghe stated that the voting and counting at the election was largely free and fair. “We had continuous discussions with the Elections Department to ensure that what happened in the Presidential election is not repeated this time. As a result, apart from the incidents that took place in certain polling stations in Kandy and Trincomalee, the rest of the voting process took place without any problems. There CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE & OUR ARCHIVES AT were no issues even in the counting process.” However, the UNP Leader refused to declare the entire election as free and fair because, “A lot of election laws were violated by the government candidates before the election, and there was nothing the Police or the Elections Commissioner could do.” Also, Wickremesinghe said that the opposition will pressure the government to implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), establish media freedom, and lead the way to a more transparent form of governance. Names of MPs gazetted By Indika Sri Aravinda The names of the Members of Parliament elected at the recent General Elections, apart from those from the Kandy and Trincomalee districts were to be gazetted tonight. The Elections Department said that the names of 117 UPFA members, 46 UNP members, 12 TNA and 5 from the DNA of General Sarath Fonseka were to be gazetted tonight. Meanwhile the results of the Kandy and Trincomalee Districts are yet to be released owing to malpractices in some electorates. A re-poll in these areas will be held of 20 April. Investigations continue into death of Lankans abroad Investigations are continuing into the death of a Sri Lankan in Venice Italy. Foreign Ministry sources told the Daily Mirror that the Sri Lankan Embassy in Italy was looking into the matter to identify the individual and release details to the family. The 27-year-old was found dead at his home, according to Italian Police who said the man was shot dead just outside his home. His body had been found by police who were alerted by other Sri Lankans in the area. Initial investigations revealed the man had crawled into his home after being shot. This is the second such incident during the space of a week in Italy. Two Sri Lankans were stabbed by a third near a restaurant near Florence Italy on April 4. The killing was believed to have resulted due to a personal dispute between H.A.C.A. Kumara and N.N. Kamal and J.M.S. Rohana. Kumara after being taken into custody by law enforcement authorities had confessed to the crime and investigations are ongoing. Meanwhile, a Sri Lankan was killed in a clash between two groups in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The two groups of Sri Lankans and Indonesians are believed to have been taking refuge under the Kandahar Bridge. A number of others had been injured in the clash and Saudi officials have begun investigations into the matter. Mashoor Moulana new Kalmunai Mayor By B.M. Murshideen Former Senator Mashoor Moulana is to be appointed Mayor of the Kalmunai Municipal Council following the incumbent Mayor H.M. Haris being elected to Parliament at the April 8 General Election, SLMC General Secretary Hassan Ali said. Ali said the decision to this effect was taken at the SLMC High Command meeting held in Colombo on Sunday evening. Once the current Deputy Mayor Moulana is appointed mayor the vacancy created by his ISSUE 958 promotion would be filled by Councillor M. Basheer, Hassan Ali said. One of the senior politicians in the country, Mashoor Moulana was an activist in the UNP for a long time before he joined the SLMC towards the end of the nineties, when the party was headed by its founder leader M.H.M. Ashraff. Hassan Ali added that a decision is yet to be taken on the post of Opposition Leader in the Eastern Provincial Council, a vacancy created by the election of Basheer Segu Dawood to Parliament on behalf of the SLMC under UNF’s elephant symbol. New pro-Tiger political party in TN TO BE FORMED A pro-LTTE political party, which closely resembled the Sri Lankas Tamil Tiger insignia — barring the twin rifles in the background, is to be formed by in Tamil Nadu by an Indian film director, the Indian Express reported. The latest entrant from the Tamil cinema is an ardent LTTE supporter Sebastian Seeman, who on Saturday unveiled the Naam Tamilar (We the Tamils) party’s flag, which closely resembled the rebels’ Tiger insignia — barring the twin rifles in the background. Naam Tamilar, now functioning as a social outfit, aims to toe the hardline abandoned by other Dravidian parties over the years on issues ranging from the situation in Sri Lanka to Mullaiperiyar and seek a better deal for Tamils and Tamil Nadu. The organisation was formed during the last days of the Lankan conflict when Tamil Nadu witnessed a string of protests. Seeman had himself faced charges, including those under the National Security Act, and was even deported from Canada for speeches that propagated extreme views. The proposed date of the political party’s launch is also not a coincidence. “May 18 is a black day; a day Tamils can’t forget that easily,” Seeman’s online announcement states. A year ago that day, the Sri Lankan army had gunned down the remaining leadership of the rebels along with the last of its fighters, bringing the decades-long bloody conflict to a violent end. Since the vanquish of the rebel forces, its once vociferous supporters, Vaiko’s MDMK, Lok Sabha MP Thirumavalavan’s VCK and a string of others became less virulent. It is this space that the new outfit is eyeing even as it expands its attention to water rows with neighbouring states. “The DMK and AIADMK do not have the welfare of the Dravidians on their agenda. We will take it up. This is a long-term plan,” he said on Saturday. A self-proclaimed lover of Tamil language and culture, the director even made a movie, Vazhthugal (Greetings), in which apparently the only word in non-Tamil was ‘August’ (the month) as it could not be replaced. Naam Tamilar is a fringe outfit that had so far attracted a section of the youth dissatisfied with the response of the mainstream parties to the Lankan war. However, what it lacks in size, it makes up with controversial and hardline views and actions. Most recently, its few members were arrested for attacking Tamil-Malayalam actor Jayaram’s residence over his allegedly disparaging comment about Tamil women. “We are not a secessionist or chauvinistic organisation. On the other hand, we are supporters of the integrity of the nation. We only demand fairness when it comes to issues concerning Tamils,” said Seeman. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. ISSUE 958 NEWSLANKA 15 APRIL - 2010 ATLAS SHIPPING Our experience is your peace of mind Fast, Efficient, Reliable and Professional. Best Prices and Best Service. Sea & Air Cargo Car & Container Shipping Pay your Freight Charges at Colombo Tea Chest from £10 1x20 Container £ 750 PAGE 09 Fly to Colombo from £260 One t/chest to Sri Lanka door to door £30.00 t free packing material t free boxes t free tapes t professional packing service t service storage facility t free storage for one month F vehicle shipping from £750.00 F special rates for used motor spare parts F car breaking facilities F full & part containers e e Fr ction le l o C Contact : Ajantha g n i d Loa 0 days 1 y r eve 020 8459 6633 / 020 8459 0001 079 4914 3535 E mail: [email protected] 430 High Road, Willesden, London NW10 2DA (Opst:Homebase) Express Service to CANADA, AUSTRALIA, USA, INDIA & PHILIPPINES GET LISTED, FREE OF CHARGE, AT OUR ONLINE EVENT CALENDER. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. PAGE 10 NEWSLANKA 15 APRIL - 2010 CENTRAL PROVINCE - KANDY DISTRICT ISSUE 958 CENTRAL PROVINCE - MATALE DISTRICT THE FULL RESULT FOR THE KANDY DISTRICT CANNOT BE PROVIDED. THE ELECTION IN THE NAWALAPITIYA WAS ANNULLED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF ELECTIONS. HE CITED ELECTION MALPRACTICES AT 37 POLLING BOOTHS. THE RE-POLL WILL BE HELDO ON TUESDAY 20TH APRIL. Final District Result PARTY NAME United People's Freedom Alliance United National Party Democratic National Alliance VOTES 131,069 55,737 7,636 % 66.96% 28.47% 3.90% SEATS 4 1 0 Preferential Votes CENTRAL PROVINCE - NUWARA-ELIYA DISTRICT Final District Result PARTY NAME United People's Freedom Alliance United National Party Up-Country People's Front VOTES % 149,111 56.01% 96,885 36.39% 13,189 4.95% SEATS 5 2 0 Preferential Votes Let the past be left behind, and the future be bright - ACHC “We welcome the New Year in the hope that the period of tension and suffering prevailing in the country should not continue. The scar created by the unfortunate experiences our people had for more than the last 25 years still remains. Let the past be left behind, and the future be bright. With that belief and in that hope, we welcome the New Year," the All Ceylon Hindu Congress said in its New Year message. The message continues: "Everybody's prayer is that a bright future should dawn with the New Year. The Tamil people should live in peace and with self respect and freedom. The atmosphere for that should be created and that should remain forever. "All Ceylon Hindu Congress (a CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE & OUR ARCHIVES AT Federation of Hindu Religious Associations and Trusts in Sri Lanka) has been rendering whatever assistance it could to our brothers and sisters during the period of turmoil which prevailed in the last three decades. At the same time we were never reluctant to intercede on their behalf. "When our people were internally displaced and had to face untold hardships during the last few months, we have been helping them in various ways. "When those internally displaced undergraduate students moved to the North and East we have been helping them to establish themselves with financial assistance. We must mention with gratitude and assistance of London Shri Kanaga Thurkai Amman Temple and the Manitha Neyam Trust which enabled us to perform this noble task. "All those Hindus who had been assisting us in our humanitarian and social projects in helping our brothers and sisters who were affected in many ways, should continue to extend the same assistance and cooperation to our Congress. While we thank all of them we pray for His Almighty's blessings on them. "We pray to His Almighty Sivakami Samedha Nadaraja Peruman to bestow His blessings on our people to be relieved of the suffering which they had been going through and to have a bright future with the dawn of the New Year. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. ISSUE 958 NEWSLANKA GET LISTED, FREE OF CHARGE, AT OUR ONLINE EVENT CALENDER. 15 APRIL - 2010 PAGE 11 WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. NEWSLANKA PAGE 12 15 APRIL - 2010 EASTERN PROVINCE - DIGAMADULLA DISTRICT Preferential Votes Final District Result SP & Company EASTERN PROVINCE - BATTICALOA DISTRICT Chartered Management Accountants & Tax Consultants We have over 10 years experience in dealing with HMRC, Companies House and other Govt. agencies. We provide following servicesv Business Start Up - Self-employed and Partnerships v Company Incorporation and Company Secretarial Services v Self-employed and Partnership Accounts v Company Accounts v Self-Assessment and Corporation Tax v Payroll Management, PAYE & NIC v Bookkeeping, VAT & Construction Scheme-CIS 25 v IHT, CGT and other UK Capital Taxes v Income certification, Business support etc. Preferential Votes Final District Result NAME, VOTES, %, SEATS Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi 66,235 36.67% United People's Freedom Alliance 62,009 34.33% United National Party 22,935 12.70% NAME, VOTES, %, SEATS. United People's Freedom Alliance 132,096 51.41% 4. United National Party 90,757 35.32% 2 Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi 26,895 10.47% 1 ISSUE 958 3 1 1 EASTERN PROVINCE -TRINCOMALEE DISTRICT THE FULL RESULT FOR THE TRINCOMALEE DISTRICT CANNOT BE PROVIDED. THE ELECTION WAS ANNULLED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF ELECTIONS. HE CITED ELECTION MALPRACTICES. THE RE-POLL WILL BE HELD ON TUESDAY 20TH APRIL. Final District Result NAME, VOTES ,%, SEATS Seruwila Mutur UNP UPFA ITAK Others Valid Rejected Total Regis 21,963 18,576 8,068 1,074 49,681 3,246 52,927 85,401 44.21% 37.39% 16.24% 2.02% 93.87% 6.13% 61.97% UPFA UNP ITAK Others Valid Rejected Total Regis 22,765 6,936 3,297 2,224 35,213 2,854 38,067 69,047 64.62% 19.70% 9.36% 5.84% 92.50% 7.5% 55.13% NORTHERN PROVINCE - VANNI DISTRICT Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi 41,67338.96%3 United People's Freedom Alliance 37,52235.07% 2 United National Party 12,783 11.95% 1 Preferential Votes We cover England, Wales & Scotland. Principal: Prasanna Dalu Godage ACMA Mobile: 07835 322 923 (24/7) Tel/Fax 01932 835 433 Email: [email protected] Prasanna Dalu Godage P O Box 670, Weybridge, Surrey KT13 8NB NORTHERN PROVINCE - JAFFNA DISTRICT Final District Result Preferential Votes NAME, VOTES, %, SEATS Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi, 65,119, 43.85%, 5. United People's Freedom Alliance, 47,622, 32.07%, 3. United National Party, 12,624, 8.50%, 1. SEND YOUR STORIES TO [email protected] CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE & OUR ARCHIVES AT WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. EWSLANKA N Just 10 women in Parliament 15 APRIL - 2010 ISSUE 958 PERMA INTERNATIONAL – a disappointing showing By Satarupa Bhattacharjya (www.sundaytimes.lk) - Ten women have been elected to the seventh Parliament, a disappointing showing considering that there were 12 women members in the previous Parliament. And these 10 women represent only eight out of the 22 electoral districts: Colombo, Gampaha, Digamadulla, Hambantota, Ratnapura, Anuradhapura, Jaffna and Moneragala. The Kandy and Trincomalee results are still to come, as a re-election has been ordered in those two districts. Going by the Pavithra Upeksha results Wanniarachchi Swarnamali received so far, it would be safe to assume that the more than 500 political parties and independent groups that took part in Nirupama Thalatha the polls would Rajapaksa hav Athukorala e nominated not mor e than 50 women in the first place. Rosy Senanayake, former Mrs. World and Western Provincial Council United National Party (UNP) leader, has been elected from Colombo district. Although not a career diplomat, Mrs. Senanayake served as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Malaysia from 2002 to 2004. The sixth Parliament that opened in 2004 and was dissolved a few weeks ago did not have a single woman member from Colombo. Dr. Sudarshani Fernandopulle, widow of the late minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, has been elected as the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidate, collecting the second highest number of preference votes for Gampaha district, where Basil Rajapaksa topped the preferential list. TV actor Upeksha Swarnamali, who added a touch of glamour to her election campaign, is another Gampaha district choice. She received 81,350 votes, becoming the second most preferred United National Front (UNF) candidate for that district. Ruwan Wijewardena was the most preferred opposition candidate, with 88,850 votes. A. R. Anjan Umma of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) was the only woman MP from Gampaha in the last Parliament. Meanwhile, Rajapaksa family member Nirupama was re-elected as the lone woman Parliamentarian from Hambantota. With 39,025 votes, Nirupama Rajapaksa emerged the fourth most popular UPFA PARTY NAME United People's Freedom Alliance United National Party Democratic National Alliance VOTES 221,204 80,360 18,129 candidate in the ruling alliance list for Hambantota. Sumedha Jayasena, who was Minister of Child Development and Women’s Empowerment in the last government, was re-elected from Moneragala district, with 45,837 votes. Sumedha was the third most preferred UPFA candidate there. Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Minister of Youth Affairs in President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s earlier government, retained her seat from Ratnapura district with 110,220 votes. She was one of the highest vote earners for the UPFA Rosy S. Fernandopulle at the recent Parliamentary Senanayake general election. She is expected to emerge as the woman candidate with the highest number of votes cast at these polls. Chandrani Sumedha Bandara Thal Jayasena atha Athukorala of the UNF has also retained her seat in Parliament from the same district. Chandrani Bandara Jayasinghe, the UNP’s female Member of Parliament from the Anuradhapura district in the sixth Parliament, has been re-elected as the opposition’s most preferred candidate in that district. She collected 29,884 votes. From the Jaffna District, Vijayakala Maheshwaran, widow of slain UNP MP, T. Maheswaran will be the only Tamil woman to be elected to the next parliament. Among the more high-profile women losers from the ruling alliance were Ferial Ashraff, from Digamadulla, actress Geetha Kumarasinghe, from Galle, and Olympic athlete Susanthika Jayasinghe, from Kegalle. Film star Malini Fonseka, who has campaigned for the UPFA, is understood to be in the reckoning for Parliament from the National List. Analysts have expressed disappointment in the performance of women in politics in this country. They feel there should be many more than 10 women in a Parliament of 225 seats in 21st century Sri Lanka, considering that Sri Lanka gave the world its first woman head of state when Sirimavo Bandaranaike became prime minister in 1960, and because women are generally in the majority in the country’s electorates. PERCENTAGE 67% 24% 6% PAGE 13 Pioneering Sri Lankan Shipping Agent (PERCY JAYAWARDENE) AIR FREIGHT 42 S AR E YE RVIC SE ROAD TRANSPORT Shipping to Sri Lanka & all Worldwide Destinations by SEA - AIR - ROAD SEA FREIGHT Where we lead, others follow 020 ~ PART / FULL LOADS ~ COLLECTIONS, PACKING ~ INSURANCE, STORAGE 8452 6750 FAX: 020 8452 3882 MOB: 07977 864 956 e-mail: [email protected] Range-Bandara brutally assaulted By Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe Puttalam district UNP parliamentarian Palitha Range Bandara was in a critical condition last evening after he was assaulted and hacked by a gang allegedly led by a fellow defeated UNP candidate in Chilaw, Police said. Mr. Bandara was meeting party supporters in Chilaw when the gang entered the premises and assaulted him severely using iron rods and swords. The gravely injured Mr. Range Bandara was rushed to Colombo National Hospital. Deputy Inspector General Daya Samaraweera said the gang had also grabbed a T56 weapon from a policeman before escaping from the scene. However, the police arrested five persons including the defeated UNP candidate, and recovered the T56 rifle. Another person injured in the same incident was admitted to Chilaw hospital. NORTH CENTRAL PROVINCE Anuradhapura District SEATS 7 2 0 PREFERENTIAL VOTE NAME UPFA UNP DNA VOTES % 221,204 67% 80,360 24% 18,129 6% SEATS 7 2 0 POLONNARUWA DISTRICT PREFERENTIAL VOTE GET LISTED, FREE OF CHARGE, AT OUR ONLINE EVENT CALENDER. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. NEWSLANKA PAGE 14 Sri Lankan stocks hit new high, end up 2.34points Sri Lankan stocks rallied across the board Tuesday with the All Share Price Index (ASPI) reaching a new high, passing the previous high of 3,844.80 points on March 12, 2010, brokers said. Colombo's ASPI closed at 3,870.35, up 88.45 points, while the Milanka index of more liquid shares gained 2.12 percent (92.17 points) to close at 4,441.12. Turnover was 1.2 billion rupees, according to stock exchange provisional figures. Brokers said the Milanka Index passed its previous high of 4,439.60 points on March 15, 2010. “Today we saw the market bounce back after a dull spell dominated largely by retail investors,” Rakshitha Perera, research manager at Bartleet Mallory Stockbrokers said. “With the fiscal year ended it will be interesting to see how some of the companies have fared for the full year as the future growth numbers have not been factored in. Hence some of the shares are trading at a fair bit of discount relative to peers.” Aitken Spence closed at 460.00 rupees, up 26.25, John Keells Holdings closed at 186.00 rupees, up 25 cents, Hayleys closed at 236.75 rupees, up 5.50 and Hemas Holdings closed at 120.00 rupees, up 1.75. Brokers said 50,000 National Development Bank shares changed hands in a private off-the-floor deal at 216.00 rupees per share. It closed at 218.50 rupees, up 8.50. DFCC Bank closed at 191.75 rupees, up 8.25. Commercial Bank closed at 227.00 rupees, up 8.00, Hatton National Bank closed at 205.00 rupees, up 15.75, Sampath Bank closed at 229.75 rupees, up 5.75 and Seylan bank closed at 49.50 rupees, up 2.25. Bukit Darah closed at 3,347.50 rupees, up 147.50, and Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka, an alcohol producer closed at 122.00 rupees, up 4.00. There were 164 gainers and 26 losers at end of trade, Tuesday, brokers said. STANLEY & CO SOLICITORS (ESTABLISHED 1991) We deal in all aspects of Civil Law including EConveyancing EPersonal Injuries ECivil Litigation EFamily Law EImmigration EProbate Open Late Evenings We also do some Legal Aid Work For a fast & Friendly service, please call 020 8903 7864, 020 8903 9669 020 8903 0211 Fax 020 8903 7128 18 Beresford Avenue, Wembley HA0 1YP NAME UPFA UNF DNA VOTES 429,316 213,713 26,440 THE GRAPHICS ARE TAKEN FROM THE NATION NEWSPAPER AT % 64% 32% 4% NAME UPFA UNF DNA ISSUE 958 Unit holders exceed 23,000; 564 million units: Unit trust value tops Rs. 11 billion Charumini DE SILVA The Net Asset Value (NAV) of the unit trust industry has reached Rs 11 billion by February this year. It was Rs 6.7 billion in 2008 December. There are 564 million units and over 23,000 unit holders now. Around 65 percent of the NAV has been invested in equities while the balance is invested in fixed income, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Director General Channa de Silva said. The unit trust industry today indicates a sharp increase in the NAV. The investor confidence has enhanced steadily with the restoration of Nawaloka blocks plan to convert Galadari debt to equity of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Director General Channa de Silva the best approaches for household investors as they receive a diversification to their portfolio,” he said. An investor can enter into the unit trust market with a small amount of capital. Even The Nawaloka Group of companies has blocked a for a small investor it is easy to enter into the move by Galadari Hotels (Lanka) PLC of paying market since the investor need not have to off a portion of its heavy debts to the Sri Lanka select in which company the investment Government and the Galadari Brothers Company should be made and need not have a (GBC), the biggest shareholders of one of frequent knowledge about the capital market. Colombo’s early five-star hotels, by converting These funds are managed by fund debt to equity. managers. The fund managers are under the Although Nawaloka, with slightly under 25% of the purview of the SEC. New listings in the IATA Agents’ Association of Sri Lanka launched company, has been described as the single market and free float will support the their new logo at the Ceylon Chamber of biggest shareholder of the company in a Stock industry. Therefore, unit trust is a well secure Exchange filing last week, analysts explained that Commerce Auditorium yesterday. The Association mechanism to invest, de Silva said. decided to revamp their previous logo, as they the Galadari Brothers, through different entities He said the nature of the unit trusts was not were using the official IATA logo. Here, IATA have more than a controlling 50% interest. understood by the investors due to the reasons Agents’ Association Immediate Past President of not widely marketed. Investors did not At a board meeting on June 25, 2009, the Galadari Rizmi Reyal, IATA Agents’ Association President understand the concept and it is a long-term directors resolved to convert debt of Rs. 534.2 million owning to the government and over Rs. 1.2 Bernard Wijetunge and IATA Agents’ Association investment. This is why unit trusts were not as Vice President Rodney Koelmeyer. Picture by popular as shares,” he said. billion to GBC by converting loans to equity at Rs. Saliya Rupasinghe 10 per share. “There is much potential for the fund managers peace. This arrangement to part-pay what the company to manage the pension industry and high The Director General said describes as ``significant long term debt’’ network fund managers. These funds could be they are targetting a higher number of unit trust burdening it, Nawaloka has now changed its converted from savings to investments through holders. “It is a preferred mechanism for stance even as various brokers are working on the professional fund managers,” de Silva said. householders to invest in the stock market or in possibility of selling off the hotel. debt market through unit trusts. Unit trust is one But given the improved outlook for tourism in the country as well as ...CONT ON P24 NORTH WESTERN PROVINCE SEATS 10 2 1 VOTES 167,769 81,152 8,792 15 APRIL - 2010 KURUNEGALA DISTRICT % 65% 31% 3% SEATS 6 2 0 PUTTALAM DISTRICT WWW.NATION.LK ALSO FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES NEWSPAPER AT WWW.SUNDAYTIMES.LK CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE & OUR ARCHIVES AT WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. NEWSLANKA ISSUE 958 15 APRIL - 2010 PAGE 15 Travel & Tours Ltd 'WE KEEP OUR PROMISES' Colombo - from £200 + Taxes until 30th September Blackout periods for travel apply between 27May-01Jun & 01 Jul-22Aug outbound & 02 Jun- 07 Jun & 15Aug - 05 Sep inbound Main Agents for following airlines Tel: 0208 434 0411 Fax: 0208 434 0415 Mobile: 07887 608 553 KUWAIT AIRWAYS E-mail:- [email protected] Web:- www.paradisetravels.co.uk 6204 1 Olympic Way, Wembley, Middlesex, HA9 0NP. Sri Lanka state power, petroleum utilities could be listed: Central Bank We accept all major Credit / Debit cards. Apr 13, 2010 (LBO) - Units of Sri Lanka's state petroleum and power utilities could be listed in the Colombo Stock exchange to broad base their ownership and make them more transparent and accountable, the Central Bank has said. Last year the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation had lost 12.3 billion rupees partly due to subsidizing Ceylon Electricity Board, the state power utility. "[A] profit centre concept covering various key activities of the CPC, such as refinery, agro chemicals, and aviation fuel supply may be implemented to improve the financial viability of the CPC," the Central Bank said. "With a view to improving the accountability and transparency of operations, these business units could be diversified, through a possible offering of certain minority stakes of shares to the general public, in order to broad base the ownership through a listing in the Colombo Stock Exchange." The CPC is overstaffed but generates large volumes taxes for the government through energy sales. Its losses primarily come from arbitrary government interference in retail prices and its inability to raise NAME UPFA UNF DNA VOTES 305,327 125,067 11,053 % 71% 28% 3% prices to match import costs. A periodically adjusted price formula was needed to match international prices, the Central Bank said. The CPC also has a weak governance structure with both the chairman and chief executive being politically appointed. In 2008 it defaulted on an oil derivative, whose losses are estimated at around 600 million US dollars, it entered in a bid to fix prices. The Ceylon Electricity Board, a state power monopoly had lost 7.4 billion rupees in 2009, down from 33.3 billion in 2008. Already a profit centre concept for key areas such as hydropower, thermal power, transmission and distribution have been identified. "The profit centre concept will help to improve productivity and achieve maximum efficiency, cost saving and thereby improve the profitability of the CEB," the Central Bank said. "With the improvement of the balance sheet of the CEB and to enhance the accountability and transparency of its operations the authorities may consider listing the CEB in the Colombo Stock Exchange to broad base its ownership and provide the general public the opportunity to hold a minority stake of its share capital. "At the same time, CEB’s financial management system need to be strengthened with an improved ment system. "Access to data in a timely manner would improve the decision making process of the CEB." CEB's losses stem primarily from being overly dependant on high cost liquid fuel power plants for base load. The government is now building a coal power plant with Chinese financing to reduce generation costs over the long term. SABARAGAMUWA PROVINCE fin ancial manage KURUNEGALA DISTRICT NAME UPFA UNF DNA VOTES 242,463 104,925 13,518 % 67% 29% 5% SEATS 7 2 0 SEATS 7 3 0 RATNAPURA DISTRICT Kolona GET LISTED, FREE OF CHARGE, AT OUR ONLINE EVENT CALENDER. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. NEWSLANKA PAGE 16 15 APRIL - 2010 ISSUE 958 Preferential Votes SOUTHERN PROVINCE - GALLE DISTRICT Final District Result PARTY NAME United People's Freedom Alliance United National Party Democratic National Alliance VOTES 305,307 120,101 33,663 PERCENTAGE 66.17% 26.03% 7.30% SEATS 7 2 1 CAPITAL LEGAL SOLICITORS We offer a comprehensive range of Legal Services: *Family- Divorce, Children Act Proceedings * Domestic Violence & Injunctions * Immigration ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Tier 1 Highly Skilled/Post Study, Tier 2 Working Visas, Tier 4 Students, Dependant applications, Entry clearance for all categories, British Nationality & Citizenship, Marriage, Business & Visitors Visa, Appeals- Tribunal & Judicial Review matters. Home Office Same-Day Service Applications SOUTHERN PROVINCE HAMABANTOTA DISTRICT PARTY NAME United People's Freedom Alliance United National Party Democratic National Alliance VOTES 174,808 80,027 19,186 PERCENTAGE 63% 30% 7% SEATS 5 2 0 * Civil Litigation * Housing * Wills & Probate * Change of name deeds/Power of Attorneys Please call for an appointment: Regus Building, Highbridge Estate, Oxford Road Uxbridge, UB8 1HR Tel: 01895 876 534 Fax: 01895 876 434 Member of Law Society Immigration Law Panel Member of Law Society Family Law Panel, Member of Resolution SOUTHERN PROVINCE MATARA DISTRICT DEVINUWARA POLLING DIVISION NAME UPFA UNP DNA VALID REJECTED TOTAL REGIS. VOTES 26,177 9,535 3,086 39,019 1,473 40,492 74,601 % 67.09% 24.44% 7.91% 96.36% 3.64% 54.28% PARTY NAME United People's Freedom Alliance United National Party Democratic National Alliance CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE & OUR ARCHIVES AT VOTES PERCENTAGE 296,155 65% 91,114 28% 20,465 6% SEATS 7 2 0 WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. NEWSLANKA ISSUE 958 15 APRIL - 2010 WESTERN PROVINCE Your hard earned pounds COLOMBO DISTRICT Final District Result NAME UPFA UNP DNA VOTES 480,896 339,750 110,683 PAGE 17 can earn you more % SEATS 51% 10 36% 7 12% 2 Free of charge money transfers to Sri WWW. NATION .LK Lanka To BOC accounts NRFC Savings and Deposit Accounts For Sri Lankan passport holders High interest rates No withholding tax on interest Account balance & transaction verifiable via Internet Withdrawal via ATM's worldwide Low-interest sterling loans against deposits Standing orders for regular payments Free life insurance cover Worldwide transferability OFFSHORE Deposit Accounts For non-Sri Lankan passport holders Minimum balance 2500 Negotiable interest rates No withholding tax on interest Account balance & transaction verifiable via Internet Low-interest sterling loans against deposits Worldwide transferability Security of a State Bank with 'AA (Sri)' Fitch Rating REMITTANCES to Sri Lanka Cheapest and safest way to send money to Sri Lanka through and accepted banking channel and get a valid exchange certificate for your fund transfers from Bank of Ceylon. Bank of Ceylon 1 Devonshire Square London EC2M 4WD Telephone: 020 7377 1888 Fax: 020 7377 5430 Email: [email protected] Website: www.boc.lk 24hr easy withdrawal via 500 ATM service points Islandwide (including North & East) Credit following Bank of Ceylon Accounts electronically and Contact us: HSBC Sort Code: 40-05-15 Natwest Sort Code: 60-00-04 Barclays Sort Code: 20-32-53 A/C No. 00491624 A/C No. 04607732 A/C No. 80113859 Get full details from our London Branch Manager Central Bank profits up 766 percent, after 2008 loss By Devan Daniel New currency amounting to Rs. 31.4 billion issued in 2009 Advances to government down 3.2 percent The Central Bank made a profit of Rs. 33.6 billion in 2009 up more than 766 percent from a loss of Rs.5.044 billion made during the previous year on foreign currency revaluation gains, the Annual Report of the bank showed. In 2008, the Central Bank made a loss amounting to foreign currency revaluations amounting to Rs. 22.81 billion but last year the bank made a gain amounting to Rs. 8.84 billion. Although it made Rs. 20 billion from foreign currency assets in 2008 which dropped 65 percent to Rs. 7 billion last year, the net gain from foreign investments recorded a gain of Rs. 14 billion in 2009 GET LISTED, FREE OF CHARGE, AT OUR ONLINE EVENT CALENDER. from a loss of Rs. 4 billion the previous year. Interest incomes from local currency transactions increased significantly to Rs. 28 billion, up 300 percent from Rs. 7 billion the previous year. Interest expenditure increased 400 percent to Rs. 2.5 billion from Rs.500 million and net income of local currency financial assets increased 292 percent to Rs. 25.5 billion from Rs. 6.5 billion. Therefore, the net operating income of the Central Bank in 2009 increased by 1,335.7 percent to Rs. 40.2 billion from Rs. 2.8 billion the previous year. The bank’s operating expenses decreased by 16.9 percent to Rs. 4.9 billion from Rs. 5.9 billion. Total foreign currency assts increased 79.59 percent to Rs. 598.4 billion from Rs. 333.2 billion while total local currency assets fell 49.68 percent to Rs. 120.6 billion from RS. 239.7 billion. Advances to the government fell 3.27 percent to Rs. 73.8 billion from Rs. 76.3 billion. According to the Monetary Law Act, the Central Bank is allowed to make direct provisional advances to the government repayable within six months as long as the total outstanding at a given time does not exceed 10 percent of the estimated revenue of the government for the given year. The Central Bank said the advances to government fell within these criteria. Total assets increased to Rs. 819.7 billion from Rs. 597 billion, an increase of 37.3 percent. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT . PAGE 18 NEWSLANKA 15 APRIL - 2010 WESTERN PROVINCE GAMPAHA DISTRICT ISSUE 958 Final District Result NAME VOTES % SEATS UPFA 589,476 63% 12 UNF 266,523 29% 5 DNA 69,747 8% 1 WWW. NATION .LK Final District Result UPFA 313,836 VOTES-64%-7 SEATS, UNF 266,523 VOTES-28%-3SEATS, DNA 36,722-8%-0SEATS WESTERN PROVINCE - KALUTARA DISTRICT WWW. NATION .LK CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE & OUR ARCHIVES AT WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. NEWSLANKA ISSUE 958 15 APRIL - 2010 PAGE 19 TRICO FREIGHT UK LTD ALLOWING YOUR GOODS TO ARRIVE FASTER AND SAFER THAN ANYONE ELSE!!! WITH FREE COLLECTION WITHIN THE M25 AND WEEKLY SAILINGS TO SRI LANKA YOU CAN NOT GO WRONG! NATIONWIDE COLLECTION - GREAT NEWS FOR STUDENTS AND PEOPLES LIVE OUTSIDE LONDON POSTCODES WE COLLECT FROM ANY POSTCODE IN ENGLAND AND WALES. (SCOTLAND AND IRELAND - CALL US FOR A QUOTATION) COLLECTION FEE IS £1.00 PER KG UP TO 20 KGS (Minimum of 20 kgs). We Wish All Our Clients EACH PACKAGE SHOULD NOT WEIGHT MORE THAN 25 KGS ALL BOXES MUST BE PACKED AND SEAL READY FOR COLLECTION A Happy and Prosperous Sinhala & Tamil New Year ANOTHER GREAT SERVICE FROM TRICO… DOOR TO DOOR SHIPMENTS TO SRI LANKA!! THE CHOICE IS YOURS! BOOK NOW! DON'T DISAPPOINT YOUR LOVED ONES IN SRI LANKA! TRICO HAS BEEN SERVING THE SRI LANKAN COMMUNITY SINCE 1976 TRICO THE HOUSEHOLD NAME FOR SHIPPING FOR SRI LANKANS ALL OVER THE WORLD re ywhe n a Trico Freight UK Ltd rom lect f eland. l o c 555 White Hart Lane w r and I an no We c in the UK or a quote London N17 7RP f e call fax: 020 8889 5445 Pleas email- [email protected] DOOR DELIVERED - 1 T CHEST - £30.00 INCLUSIVE OF FREIGHT, CUSTOMS CLEARANCE AND DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR ANYWHERE IN SRI LANKS EXCEPT JAFFNA (EXCLUDING TAXES AND DUTIES AND PACKING CASES) 1 T CHEST TO WAREHOUSE - £10.00 FREIGHT ONLY TO COLLECT FROM COLOMBO, GALLE AND KURUNEGALA (EXCLUDING PACKING CASES AND DOCUMENTATION) CALL US NOW FOR A QUOTE ON 020 8888 8787 OR EMAIL US ON [email protected] UVA PROVINCE MONERAGALA DISTRICT Final District Result NAME VOTES % SEATS UPFA 120,634 76% 4 UNF 28,892 18% 1 DNA 9,018 6% 0 GET LISTED, FREE OF CHARGE, AT OUR ONLINE EVENT CALENDER. BADULLA DISTRICT Final District Result NAME VOTES % SEATS UPFA 203,689 58% 6 UNF 112,886 32% 2 DNA 15,768 5% 0 WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. PAGE 20 NEWSLANKA 15 APRIL - 2010 ISSUE 958 ANANDA COLLEGE NOTICE Dear all, The Management Company of Feltham Assembly Hall informed us that due to unforeseen circumstances they have to cancel the booking on 18 April 2010. She quoted "health and safety" reasons and there was a need for urgent repair. After contacting many places for availability for 18 April, the only place we managed to get was "Kingsbury High School." This place is known among Sri Lankans as the venue Kingsbury Temple used to organise its Avurudu until few years ago. Please inform all friends who bought the tickets of change of venue. The same tickets are valid for the new place as we do not have time to print new tickets. The address is : Kingsbury High School Princes Avenue London NW9 9JR (Entrance via Stag Lane) The entrance is via Stag Lane. Please come along Stag Lane to find the main entrance. We are very sorry for the inconvenience occurs due to change of the venue. MAKE SURE YOUR EVENT DOES NOT FALL ON THE SAME DAY AS OTHERS. CHECK OUR EVENTS CALENDAR. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET Sri Lankan Football Association UK Sponsorship Secretary Mr. Asoka Welmillage Football Tournament Coordinator Mr. Ranjith Katuwana We are an established law firm based in Solicitors & Commissioners for oaths North London, specialising in: SHANTHI & CO ? Immigration - Asylum, Human Rights Claims, Visas, Work Permits, HSMP/PBS, Appeals, etc. ? Residential/Commercial Conveyancing ? Landlord & Tenant ? Divorce ? General Litigation (Sale of Goods, Services, Debts etc.) ? Employment Law ? We also offer comprehensive services on legal matters in Sri Lanka Aiming to provide a reasonable, flexible, accessible and effective service to all 206 Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park, London N4 3NX. Tel: 020 7561 9494 Fax: 020 7561 9495 Emergency: 07956 129 642 Email: [email protected] Visit our website at www.shanthi-law.com Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE & OUR ARCHIVES AT WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. ISSUE 958 NEWSLANKA 15 APRIL - 2010 PAGE 21 Sinhala and Tamil New Year Celebrations 2010 at the High Commission GET LISTED, FREE OF CHARGE, AT OUR ONLINE EVENT CALENDER. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. PAGE 22 NEWSLANKA 15 APRIL - 2010 ISSUE 958 PAST PUPILS ASSOCIATION OF VISAKHA UK (PPA) FOUNDERS DAY. PPA Visakha celebrated their Founder's Day with a Mal Pahan Puja at the London Buddhist Vihara in Chiwick on Sunday 28th March. Ninety three years ago on the 26th March 1917, Mrs Celestina Jeremias Dias launched the Buddhist Girls' School later called Visakha Vidyalaya. Visakhians, their families and friends participated in the event. This was also an auspicious beginning for a new year in the Association's Calendar with the new President Indramala Dhanaratne and the committee. The Pahan Puja began to the strains of devotional songs led by Lakshmi Perera. The beautifully arranged flowers, the floating lights and incense were passed in traditional style from hand to hand. After the puja, the President (speaking in Sinhala), thanked everyone who has been supporting the PPA over many years by collecting funds for school projects, and supporting other charities in Sri Lanka, as well as for sponsoring scholarships. Ruki Shillam presented an eloquent history of Visakha and the role played by its founder Mrs Dias and her family. This was followed by an interesting sermon by Ven Bandula Thero on Karma. “For large, complex immigration cases, why think of going anywhere else?” Are you a student? Do you know new rules from 3/3/2010?Do you want to apply or extend your work permit/HSMP(Tier1)? New rules From 6/04/2010? Get ready now. Do you want to apply spouse visa, settlement, British citizenship, Asylum, Or Entry clearance. What you need to do is, CALL US NOW. IT IS simple. Give your immigration headache to us. We will sort out. YOU just RELAX. Do you want to, appeal to the Asylum & Immigration Tribunal, we will assist you. What you need to do, bring your problems. Ven Seelawimala Mahanayaka Thero explained the school motto 'Pannaya Parisujjathi'. After the chanting of Pirith by Maha Sanga, Chithra Perera thanked everyone present and expressed her heartfelt appreciation of the association to the Patron Mrs Indira Jayasinghe the wife of the Sri Lankan High Commissioner for sponsoring the evening meal for everyone. If Mrs Dias was alive today she would have been very proud to see the girls nurtured at Visakha playing an important role not only in the nationalist revival in the early 21st century, but in the life of an independent Sri Lanka. Today Visakha is the leading girls' school in the country and is much sought after by parents. Each year there is a record number of admissions to higher education which subsequently leads to Visakhians in positions of authority in all fields and all walks of life all over the world. The founder's dreams have indeed been more than realised. For more information on the Association visit our website www.ppavisakha.org.uk or call Joint Secretaries: Dilini Samaraweera (0208 551 8416) or Chandani Rekers (0208 668 2112). Photos by Vithanage Dhanaratne & Gerhard Rekers We will advise you the next steps. Our motto is, to assist you to solve your immigration headache. Don't delay. YOU CAN BRING YOUR FAMILY HERE. (your mother, father or children). They can stay with you permanently. Contact us before changing the immigration rules. Don't wait until last minute. CALL US NOW. Why us? Because, our service is great and Quick, Evening Appointments and also Fixed Fee and CONFIDENTIAL too. We also deal with civil and family (divorce) matters. You want to buy a new house? CALL US NOW. We will assist you, until you move to new home. We also assist you to sell your old house in Sri Lanka or England. We are your solicitors, qualified to Answer. CALL NOW : INDIKA K. KOMMALAGE, LLB, LLM, SOLICITOR (England & Wales) PHONES : 078 284 50 776 (Hot line) FAX : 020 7998 7262 E mail: [email protected] Srinivasans Solicitors, 169 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0SY (Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority) CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE & OUR ARCHIVES AT WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. Mass Global Shipping By Pandula Ranatunga Freight Forwarding & Ticketing Sea, Air, Over Land nitie mmu n Co a k n a S ri L the l l a MASS GLOBAL SHIPPING r g vin s Shipments Every Monday Most professional Sri Lankan Shipping Company in UK WE OFFER THE BEST SERVICES THAN ALL THE OTHERS IN THE TRADE! FREIGHT ONLY £10.00 FREIGHT AND BOX £15.00 (volume 4.5Cu.ft) 4 Collection Points Harrow, Watford, City SW1X0LG, Croydon Out of London With in M1 up to Coventry Local Collection Charge £15.00 All other area's we will offer the best rates Special rates for Containers and Machinery * Conditions apply Hot Line 24/7 079 4010 8177 08 2 0 ll a C 14 Vijiragnana, was remembered with respect as he was the moving spirit behind the initial setting up of the Dhamma School; from its small beginnings it has grown to accommodate just over 150 students today. It was a certainly an enjoyable and memorable day for the children of LBV Dhamma school. As they glided onto the stage like a cloud of milky white butterflies in their white mini half saris and national dresses they sang the school song, Rahula Podi Hamuduruwo, to their hearts' content. Later, in their colourful costumes, they sang, acted and danced in front of their distinguished audience and took their bows just the way they were told, but their imaginations were allowed to roam free. In their minds, some turned in to monkeys, some to birds, some became farmers, some in to ogres and devils, to rural people, to kings, to paupers and some in to Kandyan dancers but they all looked at ease in their new-found characters and showed great affinity with the stage. In the end everybody was happy; teachers were relieved, parents beamed and the priests were contented. Overall it was a proud day not only for the parents of the children but also those teachers who worked hard instilling the Dhamma and the cultural aspects of the Sri Lankan people in the students. The final item of the day which was distribution of Dhamma Certificate and the prize giving to the children was done by the High Commissioner Justice Mr. Nihal Jayasinghe and his wife Mrs Indira Jayasinghe. The event was compeered by Dr. Nanis Subesinghe and assisting him were Samadhi Galpayage, Jayanaka Attanayake and Heshani Gadakanda Arachchige. Se From the singing of Jayamangala Gatha to the National Anthem the students of London Buddhist Vihara Dhamma School exuded great confidence and affinity with each other and their audience at the Rahula Dhamma Day, the annual Children Variety Show and Prize Giving. Organised by the teachers and parents of Dhamma School, it was a colourful event consisting of plays that depicted the life of Buddha and his teachings, with readings from the scriptures and poetry, devotional songs, and dances that reflected the essence of Sinhala culture. Students of Pubudu Dham Pasala from North London who took part regularly at this event also contributed to the programme. The event, held at the Dharmapala Building, was filled to the brim with parents and well wishers. The Chief Guest of the event was the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the Court of St. James Justice Mr. Nihal Jayasinghe, and accompanied by his wife Mrs Indira Jayasinghe. Speeches were given by the Head Monk of the Vihara Ven. Seelawimala Nayakathera, the Principal of the Dhamma School Ven. Thawalama Bandula, the High Commissioner Justice Mr. Nihal Jayasinghe and Dr. Lucky Panagoda from the Vihara Management Committee. They all spoke of the importance of passing the Dhamma to the younger generation and the sense of discipline that comes with it. They also spoke of unity among the Sri Lankans living in the UK and the need for expatriate Sri Lankans living here to savour their national identity. The previous Head monk, the late Dr. Medagama PAGE 23 6 23 Rahula Dhamma Day 15 APRIL - 2010 8 NEWSLANKA ISSUE 958 3 Warehouse address: Safestore Self Storage 1 Bradfield Road (Off Field End Road), Ruislip HA4 0NU E-mail:- [email protected] Web :- www.massshipping.com Warning: No hidden charges. No bogus promotions MAKE SURE YOUR EVENT DOES NOT CLASH. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. GET LISTED FREE OF CHARGE. PAGE 24 NEWSLANKA Aries(the Ram) 21st March-20th April Don't let people take you for a sucker. Qualify more for further promotions. Your lover may take you for a ride. Trust no one with your savings and home. Lucky day Saturday. Taurus(the Bull) 21st April - 20th May Stop building castles in the air. Spend your time doing better things. Your imagination is running riot, get hold of yourself. You'll get some unexpected cash. Lucky day Tuesday. Gemini(the Twins) 21st May - 20th June Help only those who really deserve. Study well before taking on anyone. Use your panache and compassion to win over people. Be genuine and honest. Lucky day Friday. Cancer(the Crab) 21st June - 20th July 15 APRIL - 2010 ABEYSINGHE - IROMI MARINA ABEYSINGHE - P.A. BUDDHADASA - 114/8, Lionel Jayatilaka Mawatha, Kanadulla, Kuliyapitiya. ANANDAPPA - TIDDY ANTHONIPILLAI - DOROTHY DARLEY - No.22, St. Lucia's Lane, Kotahena ARULIAH - GNANAM BALASURIYA - EDMUND WIJENAYAKE - 43, Ward Place, Colombo 07. BOTEJU - BEATRICE - No. 122, Rawathawatte Road, Rawathawatte, Moratuwa COOMARASWAMY - REGINA - 38, Fife Road, Colombo 5. DE FONSEKA - NIRUPAMAL - 113, Issipathana Mawatha, Colombo 5. DE SILVA - SUJATHA DE SILVA - U.D. DIAS MILLIE M. - Hilarians, 127, Galle Road, Dehiwala FERNANDO - K. LILY MARGARET - “Sri Niwasa”, Dehiyagatha, Ja-ela. HARISCHANDRA - KARUNA - No.T1, Anderson Flats, Narahenpita. ILLUKUMBURE - UPALI - 147/6, Anniwatte, Circular Road, Kandy at 3 pm. JAYAMAHA - MR DON EPHREM LLEWELYN “Pearl Cliff” Wellaboda, Uswetakeiyawa JAYASINGHE - PIYAR MANJULA - 85/27, “Neralu Uyana”, Battaramulla. JOSIAH - SAMUEL - Alayadicholai Cemetery, Batticaloa. LAFEER - M.M. - No.96/4, Kithulwatta Road, Borella, Colombo 08. (Near Kanatte Junction LAKSHMANASINGHAM - JAYARANEE MENDIS W. DAISY - No.31, 5th Lane, Koralawella, Moratuwa. MOSES - FAITH ERMA NADARAJAH - NAGESWARI PATHMA SELLAYAH PEIRIS - MALKANTHI PERCY - “Malmalee” Janapriya Mawatha, Payagala North PEREIRA - MOHINI PERERA - DONA CHARLOTTE PERERA - IRANGANI PERERA - JOYCE - No. 266, Negombo Road, Wattala PERERA - NALINI - 110 - 2/1, Havelock Road, Colombo 5. Aquarius(the Water Carrier) 21st Jan -19th Feb Your ability to add that posh touch will help you reach top people. Work out a plan that will satisfy both of you. Listen to your elders and all will be fine. Lucky day Sunday. Pisces(the Fishes) 20th Feb - 20th March Be ready to face domestic problems this week. Your sly affairs will be found out soon. Be careful with your savings. A kind will person seek your love. Lucky day Thursday. OBITUARIES PERERA - SARATH MARCUS - No. 106, Negombo Road, Kandana PONNIAH - FRANCIS - No.125/14B, Thimbirigasyaya, Hendala, Wattala RATNAYAKE - PHYLLIS - No. 111/2, Pirivena Road, Ratmalana. SABAPATHY VELAYUTHAPILLAI SAMA - TUAN ENDRA - 37, Mount Mary Road, Nuwara-Eliya SELVARATNAM - JOTHY - 3A, Deanstone Place, Colombo 03 SENARAT NANDADEVA - WELLAWATA ARATCHIGE BETRAM COLIN - “Silvermere” 126, W.A. Silva Mawatha, Colombo 6 SHAMSDEEN - AL HAJ M.M. - 21/1, Hamer's Avenue, Wellawatte. THE REVD. CANON MALINI DEVANANDA “Nisansala”, 23/3, Senanayake Mawatha, Nawala WIJETUNGA - MRS WANSHAWATHI - No.30/48, Birds' Park, Birds' Park Corner, Madiwela, Pitakotte Religions come together with hopes for New Year COLOMBO (UCAN) — Christians celebrated the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year with Buddhists and Hindus by organizing activities focusing on peace and reconciliation after years of civil war. “We have organized cultural games with Buddhist and Hindus to promote religious harmony in Ratnapura diocese,” said Bishop Cletus C. Perera of Ratnapura. “We had New Year Masses in some parishes today,” said the bishop, who is also chairman of the National Commission for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue. The Sinhalese and Tamil New Year is an important national holiday for both Sinhalese Buddhists and Tamil Hindus. This year’s celebrations carry added meaning as all Sri Lankans can now celebrate the occasion in peace. “This is an opportunity to renew bonds and work together to change hearts and heal the wounds of suffering people,” Bishop Perera told UCA News. “New Year festivities should further unite the hearts and minds of Sri Lankans … in the search for permanent peace and reconciliation,” the bishop said. “I trust that this New Year … will lead us to a future of prosperity,” said a nun who works with displaced people in the former war zone. “Every year this celebration brings new hope, but this year carries added meaning. For the first time in decades, all parts of the country can celebrate New Year together,” the nun added. Nisantha Kurera, a human rights activist, agreed, saying, “It is the ideal time to mend ties which were broken due to a number of reasons.” In his New Year message, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa also noted that this is the first New Year being celebrated in peace since the civil war ended in May 2009. He said it is strong cultural traditions that bond Sri Lankans. Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo conveyed his greetings to all Sri Lankans. He said he prays that all communities would join hands together to develop the country. CB wdYs¾jdo mQcd CONT FROM P14 Y%S ,xldfõ iqm%isoaO Ydia;%fõÈkshlf.a fiajh ... changed economic conditions, the Galadari Brothers prefer to retain their investment although they are not able to put up the USD 8 to 10 million Investments will be worth it. Assist your elders to a required for refurbishing the property to meet the expected surge in tourist better living. Give some time before making any decisions. Don't let your emotions get out of hand. arrivals. Lucky day Tuesday. The Galadari share traded on the CSE last week between Rs. 24 and Rs. 26.50 gaining Rs. 2.25 to close at Rs. 26.25. Leo(the Lion) 21st July - 19th / 22nd Aug GBC are owners of the Khaleej Times, the biggest English language newspapers in the UAE where recent profit growth has been modest. Thus Alter your ways and you'll be happy. Unknown folks may GBC will not be able to invest significantly on the Colombo property until make unreasonable demands. You may be somewhat conditions look up. emotional concerning a rather private matter. The local management has been advised to do their best to invest whatever Lucky day Sunday. operational profits that can be made in improving the property for Well informed sources said that among the parties interested in buying the Virgo(the Virgin) 20th / 23rd Aug - 22nd Sept hotel are interests connected to the government of a Middle Eastern country. The company has informed the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) that at a Do not trust new found friends. Avoid arguments and all meeting held on March 4,a representative of Nawaloka, the company’s single will be OK. Your quick anger will create family problems. largest shareholder "expressly affirmed" that he will not vote in favour of the The love you - so live with them. special resolution that must be passed to effect the proposed private Lucky day Saturday. placement of shares to convert the company’s debt to equity. Libra(the Scale) 23rd Sept - 22nd Oct Although the rest of the board members of the company favoured continuing with this proposal on which a board decision had been taken in June last year (to convert the company’s two biggest debts to GBC and the GOSL) this For heavens sake stop promising the 'impossible'. single shareholder had objected. Take part in affairs that will make you a better person both physically and mentally. Love is in the air. The company has now informed the CSE that due to "this expressed Lucky day Monday. objection" by the single largest shareholder of the company, there was no reasonable prospect of passing the resolution to convert debt to equity with Scorpio(the Scorpion) 23rd Oct - 21st Nov the approval of 75% of the company’s shareholders present and voting at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM). Do not argue with your boss. Take life as it comes and This required to go ahead with the resolution to reduce the company’s debts act wisely. Do not forget your love in life helping the and its debt service and repayment obligations. needy. Have your forgotten your God? The company had therefore decided to refrain from proceeding with the EGM Lucky day Wednesday. and placing this resolution before it as this could ``tarnish the company’s reputation in the market’’ and would involve the incurring of what the company Sagittarius(the Archer) 22nd Nov - 20th Dec called "further unproductive expenditure in that regard." The board has therefore resolved not to proceed with the private placement of It is time you took a holiday alaone. Look after your cash, shares to the government and GBC and informed the CSE that it was not some one is after it. You must not over work and ruin proceeding with its plans of converting the previously mentioned debt to your health. An old flame will be yours. equity "due to circumstances beyond the company’s control." Lucky day Saturday. The board has acknowledged that the company’s balance sheet must be Capricorn(the Goat) 21st Dec - 20th Jan strengthened by the reduction of its current debt burden and committed itself "to explore all other possible options during the next few months" to identify the best strategy enabling the company to achieve this objective. Start your own business and you'll be a rich person. You can make changes towards a better life. Be open in all what you do but beware of your partner. Lucky day Thursday. ISSUE 958 Newslanka Notice It is a condition of acceptance of advertisement orders that the proprietors of Newslanka do not guarantee the insertion of any particular advertisement on a special date or at all, although every effort will be made to meet the wishes of advertisers: further they do not accept liability for any loss or damage caused by an error or inaccuracy in the printing or nonappearance of any advertisement. They also reserve the right to classify correctly any advertisement, edit or delete any objectionable wording or reject any advertisement. Newslanka does not accept any responsibility whatsoever for any services or goods offered by the advertisers. CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE & OUR ARCHIVES AT Blessing Puja^Lucksri UK fj;ska& Services of Sri Lanka's famous astrologer foajdYs¾jdofhka Ydia;%lSu iy ish¿u foaj mQcd bgqlr fokq ,efí' Blessings of God - astrology and pujas to the Gods will be fulfilled v Ok ,laIaó mQcd Dhanalakshmi Pujas v iriaj;S mQcd Saraswathie Puja v wfkl=;a ish¿ foaj mQcd v wfkl=;a fiajd All other Pujas All other services ,smskh# NO 60, BELMONT ROAD, HARROW, HA3 7PN ÿrl:k# 020 8863 4485 / 079 5863 7224 E-mail: [email protected] First Indian Guru Rishi Ji From India IN THE SPIRIT OF TRUE SPIRITUALISM Who writes your problems before you speak A CLASSICAL FANTASY IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD --------- DOCTRINE IN TANTRA -------Practising since 1973 World-wide (No consultation fees) By using the tools of Ancient Indian Tantra: Juju, Black Magic, Evil effects of any kind etc. are removed. Financial, love, health problems etc. are rectified. To give this message worldwide we requested Rishi Ji to allow his followers to advertise. For appointment ring: 020 8518 2201 / 020 8554 2177 50 Vaughan Gardens, Gants Hill, Ilford, Essex IG1 3PD EDITED BY REGGIE FERNANDO JP(All Island) LONDON CORRESPONDENT - LAKE HOUSE (ANCL) PUBLISHED BY NEWSLANKA LTD P. O. BOX 27429, LONDON SW9 7WH TEL: 020 7978 9030, FAX: 020 7326 0065 e-mail address:[email protected] Registered at the post office as a newspaper FIRST CLASS NEWSPAPER RATE PRINTED BY MORTONS PRINT LTD Newslanka SUBSCRIPTION 52 ISSUES=£35 UK - £35, Europe - £60, USA & Canada - £100 Please send name and address with postcode & payment to the address given below to receive your weekly copy. Please make cheques payable to Newslanka Ltd. Send your name & address to: Newslanka, P0 Box 27429, London, SW9 7WH DEADLINE PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COPY-EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING SHOULD ARRIVE IN OUR OFFICE BY THE MONDAY 6PM PRIOR TO THE DAY OF PUBLICATION (WEDNESDAY) WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. ISSUE 958 NEWSLANKA 15 APRIL - 2010 PAGE 25 A walk down Galle Face Green The Avurudu holiday season is already upon us. This time, after nearly 30 years, Avurudu comes at a time of peace, in the absence of the war with the LTTE. Travel restriction for civilians has eased and most areas in Colombo, such as the Galle Face Green is open for the general public to enjoy their time of leisure in a terror free environment. The Nation took a walk down Galle Face Green to see the bustling activities happening there, in this season of joy and celebration… By Sarasi Paranamanna (www.nation.lk) - What is the most ideal way to spend an evening, if you are living in Colombo? Some would say that going to the beach would be fun and others would say that going out to dinner is more convenient. However, if we go to the beach with our friends or family we have to go to dinner somewhere else because after all the wading and playing at the beach, I’m sure everyone is looking for a completely fulfilling meal. If we go to a classy elegant restaurant to have dinner we will miss all the fun of being free and happy outside, somewhere like in a beach. So, the next time you are planning a jaunt with your family or friends make sure you choose a place where you can freely spend sometime and have a heart warming meal. The grassy promenade, the sea breeze, lashing of the waves and the starry skies amplifies the blissful effect of the night and the natural setting gives us all the more reason to go out and enjoy to our hearts’ content. One might wonder whether one can afford a place like this and adding to that whether they would be able to afford a family dinner in a place as such. Galle Face gives the perfect solution to your problem because being the only public free area in Colombo with an appealing setting and the easy access to eatables invites all the fun lovers to enjoy a pleasurable evening. No more barricades The removal of barricades after the dawning of peace, enabled the public to go to Galle Face and enjoy the evenings once again without fear or hesitation and it being the only outdoor area in Colombo which can be visited without an entrance fee, Galle Face has now become a popular site for all people who are looking forward to spend some time in peace with their loved ones after long days of work. Even the weather seemed to be blessing the crowd because the kite flyers were having a terrific time as the breeze was cheering up the lazy lifeless kites and it was indeed a delight to watch as various shapes were dancing amidst the redpurple sky. The vista was indeed a soothing treat for all the weary minds. Not only the children, even the elderly were enjoying the activity of kite-flying and it certainly created a joyous atmosphere. The kite sellers are definitely making a good profit out of it because especially the younger crowd could not be kept off the lawn as they were running about with colourful kites in their hands and the little children are amusing themselves with balloon animals and glow-in-the-dark toys, which added more colour and vibe to the evening. The sea waves and the beautiful panorama are all entertaining and enjoyable, but the most happening feature in Galle Face is the food stalls that are set up along the pavement down the grassy lawn. The vendors become very busy after 6 p.m. as most crowds step down from the lawn and we can see hot steam going up from the stalls in the lantern lit light as delicacies are prepared with haste to meet the demand of the crowd. Galle Face is especially known for its special food for a long time and still some people just go to Galle Face to have a bite of the scrumptious ‘isso vade’ (prawn vade). Famous isso vade ‘Isso vade’ has a history in Galle Face. Saravanmuththu, also known as Mony in the Galle Face area, is a vendor who has been doing the trade since 1966 and from then onwards he has been selling ‘isso vade,’ but the demand for this scrumptious food has never gone down. This crunchy eatable is made out of kadala (chickpeas) flour, and wheat flour is used to stick the fried prawns to the ‘vade’ and one ‘vade’ usually contains about three crunchy golden brown prawns. Even though Mony’s specialty is selling ‘vade,’ if you go near his stall you will get the warm smell of kadala being fried in oil together with spices. The spicy kadala together with diced onions and Prawn Fried Rice Ginger Curry carrots are wrapped up with rotti to serve the eager onlookers who are gathered around his cart under the hot lantern light. Working busily Mony did not take much time to give me several ‘isso vades’ as well. These tasty eatables are homemade and only the frying is done at the stall. According to Mony, 3-4 litres of oil per day are needed for his preparations. While serving his customers he shared some of the hardships he experiences while in this business with us. “A litre of coconut oil costs about Rs.240 these days and it is very difficult to run the business as very little profit is left after we pay for the rent and supplies,” he said. According to Mony, each small-scale stall has to pay a rent of Rs.2,500 to the harbouring authorities and if there are rainy days the crowd is less and these vendors have to go through so many difficulties, if their goods aren’t sold daily. Then they will count the days for the weekend or any holidays to make their ends meet, because many customers are expected during holidays and weekends. Well-arranged eateries Not only small stalls, but there are vendors who run bigger stalls as well. Tables and seats are arranged near these stalls and I could see that most of the tables are filled with families and they were enjoying their meals heartily. One of the families which were seated nearby said that they come to Galle Face every week with their kids, after the removal of barriers and that they never forgot to have a meal from the Nana stall. The “Nana” stall had been established in 1989. This almost looked like a mini restaurant as I could see one person ushering the customers and arranging them seats and several others were busy cooking. There were about 10 people in the crew in the Nana stall. Speaking to one of the employees I found out that it was the oldest stall in the Galle Face walk. Here apart from ‘isso vade,’ it offers a variety of delectable items. Ranging from barbeque chicken to koththu you can taste many tasty dishes if you step into Nana stall. Normal koththu and string hopper koththu are both available with various curries. Not only that, you will be able to taste the appetising salads, biriyani, cuttlefish parata, tandoori chicken if you visit the Nana stall. The person cooking inside the stall was skilfully tossing and turning the koththu together with the other ingredients while I was waiting for my order and the warm smell of koththu frying in the hot woks was definitely mouth watering. There were several Nana stalls and each one is run by the owners and sons, and one other Nana stall coconut mix to it along with the tamarind. Add 2 cups of water and enough salt. Boil well till the gravy thickens. is managed by an ex-employee who had worked in the oldest Nana stall. Rauf who runs another Nana stall said, that he has being doing this business since he was 21 years. This eating place also had a variety of food items including crab vade, cuttlefish, parata and all these are halal food. The taste could be guessed by the smell of cooking and Rauf demonstrated how to prepare barbeque chicken. This delectable food item is prepared by marinating the chicken with spices and mayonnaise sauce and the chicken is place on top of the sizzling barbeque tray to be cooked. Taste of ‘gilli’ chicken While turning the chicken back and forth I could see Rauf, sprinkling chilli flakes and because of this it is called chilli barbeque chicken, however, the name has transformed within the customers into ‘gilli’ chicken. Now all the customers order the chicken delicacy as gilli chicken; inquiring the reason behind this creative naming I got to know that gilli is a name of a famous Tamil movie and they have named the dish accordingly. Moving on, I came near another small-scale stall which had crab vade that was as yummy and crispy as the isso vade I tasted before. The vendor was also selling various kinds of pickles, but the one which had the most authentic taste was the manioc pickle. It sweetness was mixed with a tinge spiciness making me to lick my fingers after tasting it! CONT ON P26 Sri Lankan Recipes Pepper Chicken Rice Prawn Cinnamon Onion Cumin seeds Red Chilies Cloves Garlic Oil for frying Salt 2 Cups 250 Grams (Cleaned) 2 Pieces 2 Medium sized, Sliced 1 Tablespoon 6 4 6 Pods To taste Grind onion, jeera, red chilies, and garlic with salt. Apply it on prawns and keep aside. Fry cinnamon and cloves in 2 tablespoons of ghee. Add sliced onions and fry till golden brown. Add rice and continue frying for another 6 minutes. Add 4 cups of boiling water and salt and fully cook. Shallow fry the prawn without allowing them to become crisp. Now spread the prawns with masala on top of rice. Keep aside for 10 minutes. Mix well and serve with onion curd salad. Ginger 25 gm Turmeric ½ tea spoon Green chili 2 Red chili (dried one) 3 Tamarind One lemon size (soaked in one cup water) Coconut ½ - grated Oil 4 table spoon Curry leaves 2 sprig Mustard ½ teaspoon Coconut ½ cup (cut into very small pieces) Salt to taste Remove the skin of the ginger, wash well and then cut into very small pieces. Heat ½ teaspoon oil in a pan and fry grated coconut and red chili till it becomes red in color. Add turmeric powder, mix well and remove from fire. Grind this in a mixer without adding any water. Again heat 3 table spoon of oil in a pan and add mustard. When it splutters add green chili, curry leaves, ginger pieces and the coconut pieces to fry well for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ground Coconut Chutney Broiler chicken 1 Kg Cumin Seeds½ Teaspoon Garlic 2 Flakes Pepper A Handful Ginger 3 Piece Butter 150 Gm Vinegar 2 Teaspoons Coriander 1 Teaspoon Roast all the ingrediants and grind it with salt and vinegar. Mix it with 5 gm of butter. Apply on chicken pieces. Keep aside for ½ an hour. Grill chicken till half done. Sprinkle powdered pepper and smear butter. Grill again till fully cooked. Best served hot with sliced onions Grated coconut 1 cup Channa (Kadala) dhal ¼ cup (soaked for ½ hr.) Green chilies 3 (small) Garlic 1 pod Ginger ½ cm cube Tamarind 1 small size Curry leaves A few Salt ½ teaspoon Seasoning Mustard ½ teaspoon Red chilies 2 Curry leaves 1 sprig Oil One tablespoon Grind all the ingredients other than those for seasoning into a fairly fine paste. Mix well. Heat oil, add mustard. When it pops add red chilies, curry leaves. Lower the fire and add the ground chutney. Mix well. Dilute with water into the consistency of thick sauce. Keep on stirring and cook for 4 minutes. MAKE SURE YOUR EVENT DOES NOT CLASH. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. GET LISTED FREE OF CHARGE. PAGE 26 NEWSLANKA 15 APRIL - 2010 ISSUE 958 NEWSLANKA NOTICE DO YOU GET NEWSLANKA IN YOUR LOCAL AREA? IF NOT, PLEASE ASK YOUR LOCAL SRI LANKAN / INDIAN / PAKISTANI / WHATEVER NATIONALITY GROCER / NEWSAGENT / RESTAURANT IF THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO RECEIVE NEWSLANKA ON A FREE WEEKLY BASIS. IF THEY WOULD LIKE THE PAPER, EITHER THEY OR YOU COULD GET IN TOUCH WITH US WITH THEIR NAME AND ADDRESS. CALL US ON 020 7978 9030 [email protected] CLASSIFIEDS Payment & wording have to be in our office by Monday 12.00 pm for publication in that weeks paper. We post all replies back to you, every Friday, free of charge. Newslanka, P. O. Box 27429, London SW9 7WH UP TO 30 WORDS = £7.05 (inc VAT) 5 WEEKS = £29.38(inc VAT) 59p(inc VAT) per each extra word per week Please make cheques payable to: NEWSLANKA LTD 9 Perches in desirable residential part of Dehiwela seaside less than 3 minutes' walk from sea and Galle Road. Close to Mount Lavinia Beach. Tel 020 7794 9830 85 Perches, land is on sea side between Pamunugama and Negombo Perch for 1 Lak. Contact: Sri Lanka: 009411236374 or 0717851372 England:01933 272343 A respectable and a popular Sri Lankan journalist, divorced, living with 8 year old son in Sri Lanka, looks for a kind hearted Sri Lankan lady aged between 32 to 38 for acquaintance leading to marriage. Cast not material. Please reply directly on [email protected] or call on +94777265318 expected. Please apply simple. Ref 663 English male medium build age 52 seeks Sri Lankan girl friend maybe marriage but much later age between 28 to 40. I do cleaning for a living but never been out of work. I am working class. Phone Andy weekends after 7pm. Tel 07594 557 418. Ref 648 SGB UK Parents seek partner for daughter 32, 5'4'' pretty, professionally qualified in stable employment in London. Reply with horoscope details and photo. Ref 656 MAKE SURE OF YOUR COPY. NEWSLANKA SUBSCRIPTION 52 ISSUES = £35 Rent: Long term (USD.1,200/-) per month Short term (USD.490/-) per week (Fully furnished) Contact: Dr.H.D.Wijesinghe 0094 11 2859157 0094 11 2859199 0094 777328242 For Sale - 11.20 Perches in desirable residential part of Dehiwela land facing Quarry Road with 2/3 bedroom old house. Clear title. Contact 0208 330 0944 G/B Parents in UK seek a suitable partner Flat at Crescat below 30 for their professionally qualified son 31, 5''7' working in a multi national company in London Ref 660. E-mail: [email protected] Home away from home 3 bedroom, fully furnished house on rent / lease in close proximity to Colombo. Hot/cold water, air conditioning and other facilities. Contact Dimithri 07985 747 464 Visit: www.dimithrishouse.com Male Sri Lankan British educated divorced single living working Greater London 55 years Respectable GB parents seek a kind husband for 34 yr good looking daughter ox-bridge educated Phd. in Bio chemistry. Interested in classical music. horoscope to Ref 652. [email protected] Single Burgher dual nationality graduate sixties 5'10', slim, fair, young looking seeks cultured lady 45 to fifties for partnership / marriage no children third parties. Phone no., address or photo. Ref 662 Sinhala Buddhist professional parents seek partner for 27 yr old professionally qualified daughter working in London. Born and bred in UK. Ref 655. E-mail [email protected] Sinhalese Catholic parents seek a pretty, educated, preferably under 25 years old daughter for their UK born 27 years old, 5'11'' tall, professionally qualified son. Ref 661. E-mail: [email protected] Smart, slim and highly qualified Hindu Smart, slim and highly qualified Hindu Gujarati gentleman, 50, UK citizen, working as international policy adviser in a major British government department in London, divorced, 5'-8" tall, vegetarian, nonsmoker and non-drinker, and living independently, invites early marriage with a cultured and Small Box Ads only £10 per week Holiday Flat for Rent E L P Luxury Flat Colombo 5 3 Bedrooms, Furnished M A S 01962 881256 [email protected] YOU CAN SEE THIS PAGE ONLINE. TELL YOUR FRIENDS. ALSO SEE OUR ARCHIVES. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND YOUR STORIES TO [email protected] professional South Indian or Sri Lankan girl strictly between 28-38 years of age. She must be over 5'5" tall, slim in build and without issues Please call for initial discussion on 07947 919599 evenings only. Strict confidentiality assured and expected. Serious enquiries only. Ref 657 [email protected] old looking for friendly caring lady 40/52 for Two Bedroom flat, 5th floor, Crescat Residencies relationship then marry, no special qualifications overlooking the swimming pool Centrally Air REPLIES TO CLASSIFIEDS Conditioned It is a luxury & spacious apartment Please take the usual care when arranging meetings with reference number of the ad on the outside of the envelope. We will consisting of two spacious bed rooms including prospective partners, etc... then forward it to the advertiser. If you receive replies and are not a master bed room with an attached bathroom, Please note that replies to classifieds are posted once a week. To interested, then it would be nice to say no-thank-you to the people reply to the classified ads, just write down all the details you wish who write to you. Please try to return photo's when sent with a it also consists of a spacious sitting & dinning to mention & post to the Newslanka P.O.Box address. Write the stamped self addressed envelope. room area with a magnificent view of the city & evening and they have to stay until at least around line Sinhalese nationalist parties, Democratic the swimming pool, an elegant pantry with Galle Face 11 p.m. to make a fair profit and their main difficulty National Alliance and the monk party Jathika Hela fitted cupboards, Fully furnished ADSL PEOTV seemed to be the rising prices in their supplies and Urumaya (JHU) experienced a significant loss in Cont from p25 24 hour security Reserved Car Bay. Available for While speaking to us, the vendors were sharing the bigger stalls have to give rent of Rs.12,500. the elections. "I think that's a quite telling and important result their hardships and difficulties as well. According to However, despite the difficulties they have been short or long term. the vendors they come to Galle Face by 4:30 in the doing the business for quite some time and the crowd which come to Galle Face will always look forward to enjoy the delicious eatables sold by these vendors as it is a wonderful experience to enjoy the simple “street food” in a free area with the eternal sound of waves, continually visiting the shore. Sri Lankan government will probably get the two-third majority Blake Apr 13, Colombo: The results of the Sri Lanka parliamentary elections held last week should really open the way for President Mahinda Rajapaksa to take important action to unify the country and get it back on a path of growth, a high ranking U.S. official said The Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake made these remarks in response to a question on Sri Lanka elections during a media briefing to discuss his upcoming trip to Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. Blake, former U.S. Ambassador to Colombo, said the Sri Lankan government now has an important opportunity to make progress on the issues of reconciliation, power sharing, and accountability. The Assistant Secretary noted that the hard- because these particular parties had opposed any kind of power sharing with the Tamils and with the Muslims," he said. Blake pointed out that the Sri Lankan government has a very significant majority and expressed confidence that it will get the two-third majority it needed to change the Constitution. "They probably will be able to get a two-thirds majority when all the dust is settled. And again, that gives them the power to amend the constitution and proceed with a lot of these steps that I've just described. So we do think this is an important opportunity that should be seized," he said. When questioned about the humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka, Secretary Blake said he believes the United States has been the leading donor of humanitarian assistance to the North. He said the U.S. is proud of the steps it has taken to provide food assistance primarily to the displaced Tamils in the North, and will continue to provide that assistance. However, he said the need is to restore the political rights of the displaced and the Sri Lankan government is taking measures in that direction and planning to hold elections for the Northern Provincial Council later this year. Secretary Blake emphasizing on the reconciliation process said the government needs to take steps towards reconciliation, an important part of which would be steps on accountability. "The Tamils in particular have suffered a great deal from some of the human rights abuses of the last few years, so we believe it's very important for that to be part of the reconciliation process that will occur," he stressed. MAKE SURE YOUR EVENT DOES NOT CLASH. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. GET LISTED FREE OF CHARGE. ISSUE 958 NEWSLANKA 15 APRIL - 2010 Kandy (583 points) take top berth at Masters Athletic championships PAGE 27 by Upananda JAYASUNDERA Welcome for the meet ... Champion veteran 70 yearold K.M. Karunaratne (right) - the President of the Central Province Veterans Athletic Association, welcomes the chief guest on the opening day - M/s Shiromi Weerakoon, the Secretary of the Central Province Sports and Industries with two other officials H.M. Karunaratne and W. Wijesinghe also in attendance. Pictures by Upananda Jayasundera MASTERS ATHLETICS: Kandy District's K. M. Karunaratne became champion in the under 70 age group at the Sixth Masters Athletic Championships held at the Bogambara Stadium over the weekend. There were over 450 athletes participated at the meet. The evergreen Karunaratne very actively participated and who is also the President of the Another husband and wife Central Province Veterans champion combination Athletic Association. In the R.A. Chandradasa (winner of competition, Kandy District 80 metres hurdles for under 70 years age group who also came second in 300 metres hurdles with wife K.G.G. Manike of Ratnapura who was the champion in the 60 year age group, in the 80 metres hurdles, 300 metres hurdles, 100 and 200 metres events. came on top with 583 points. Colombo District were second with 464 points and Gampaha were third with 394 points. Kegalle fourth with 214 points and Ratnapura fifth with 74 points. The opening ceremony was held with Ms Shirmi Weerakoon, Secretary of the Central Province Sports and Industries as chief guest while awards were distributed on the final day by DIG Pujith Jayasundera. Winner of a hat-trick in the 50 year age group S. Weerasinghe (Colombo District) at left. She won the Shot Putt, Javelin Throw and Discus Throw. On right is P. Navaratne from Kandy who came second in all three events. Never too old to compete ... E. Jayasekera from Kandy District was a willing competitor at the age of 85 years at the meet. The champion couple ....Janath Wijesinghe from Kandy District won the 400 metres for men in 45-age group and Mrs. Wijesinghe came first in 100 and 200 metres for women in 35-year age group. Kodikara scores hurricane double century Remembering ‘Thamba’ A thanksgiving service will be held on Sunday, April 25 at the Holy Trinity Church at St. Lawrence’s Road, Wellawatte (Colombo 6) to mark the 100th birth anniversary of the late Mr. M.T. Thambapillai, Master-inCharge of Rugby Football at Royal College, Colombo from 1947 to 1970. Mr. Thambapillai was a popular figure with at least two generations of Royalist rugby players from a period just prior to Independence until his retirement. The Thanksgiving Service will commence at 5 p.m. GET LISTED, FREE OF CHARGE, AT OUR ONLINE EVENT CALENDER. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. PAGE 28 NEWSLANKA 15 APRIL - 2010 ISSUE 958 All-Island Inter-School Cricket Champions 1976 S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia The Thomian team of 1976 led by the right handed opening bat and third year coloursman Sasi Ganeshan was unique in the sense that it consisted of six left hand batsmen and five right handers, four left arm bowlers and four right armers. The bowling armory included a left arm pacie Ishy (later represented Sri Lanka at Cricket and Hockey) and a right arm pacie Sali (went on to represent Sri Lanka at cricket), two left arm leggies, a right arm offy, a right arm leggie, right arm medium pacie and a left arm dual purpose bowler Miky (who later represented Sri Lanka at Rugby). To add to it all the wicket keeper of the side Guy went on to represent Sri Lanka cricket as well. Four members of a schools cricket team going on to represent the National side in three different disciplines of sport must surely be a record! The strength of the side was such that the selectors had no alternative but to leave out a coloursman from the previous year in naming the final XI. The side consisted of Sasi Ganeshan (Sas), Ajit Ganeshan (Aji), Lalith Ratnayake (Raty), Dayal de Silva (Daiya), Dayalan Supramaniam (Supps), Saliya Ahangama (Sali), Lakmaal de Zoysa (Laki), Michael Jayasekera (Miky), Ishak Sahabdeen (Ishy), Guy de Alwis & Suraj Dandeniya (Dan) with Pelham Jurianz, Arittha Wikramanayake, Githanjal Rajapakse and Ajith Amarasekera being the reserves. The team had somewhat of an inauspicious start to the season, with the skipper not being able to lead the team, due to a decision taken by the Warden. The unity that prevailed in the team and what was in store during the rest of the season was well reflected when the entire team walked into the Warden’s office with a plea to change his decision. However the Warden stood firm and Sasi’s brother, who was the vice-captain led the team to trounce St. Sebastian’s at Mount in the opener. The next game against Prince of Wales was washed off and having missed out on a certain win against Mahinda at Galle due to poor umpiring, the third term ended with another out right win against Zahira. The first term commenced with an easy outright win against Thurstan followed by convincing wins against Nalanda, St. Sylvester’s and Wesley. Unlike in the present era where over 20 matches are played during a season, only 14 matches were played in 1976 and the champion side won six of them outright and drew the rest, winning all matches on first innings other than against Ananda where the first innings deficit was a mere six runs the team did not depend on individual that too as a result of a sporty declaration. performances but relied on sheer team work for This was in spite of having to take on the might of Trinity and St. Joseph’s with a depleted team in the success. The other aspect was that the side was led by a absence of Ishy, Aji and Raty who toured Pakistan very positive captain who wanted to win every with the Sri Lanka Schools Under-19 side for the game and was willing to take calculated risks to Ali Bhutto Trophy. achieve this. The moral and unity of the team was In fact the Trinitians were bowled out for just 82 runs in the first innings with two bowlers bagging 5 unbelievable and hard work was the key to success. The motto of this superbly knit, fun loving wickets a piece for 14 and 10 runs. team was "all for one and one for all". Incidentally, the following teams were shot out for Hundred or more during the season: Raty (100 n.o. less than 100 during the season: vs St. Benedict’s), St. Sebastians Laki (100 vs St. 83, Mahinda 86 Sylvester’s), Sasi (73 for 7 in the (101 vs St. Peter’s) second five or more wickets innings), Zahira per inning: Ishy (7 26 and 57, for 19 vs Wesley & Thurstan 57 5 for 7 vs Zahira), and 94, Daiya (7 for 39 vs Nalanda 81, St. St. Benedict’s, 5 for Sylvester’s 45, 10 vs Trinity & 5 for Wesley 91 and 14 vs Mahinda), Trinity 82. Sali (6 for 17 vs Ranjan Zahira & 5 for 14 vs Madugalle Trinity), Ajit (6 for 35 saved the day vs Mahinda). for Royal after In the "Observer" being forced to awards short follow on. Standing Left to Right: Ishak Sahabdeen, Michael listings Raty was Having to get Jayasekera, Saliya Ahangama, Surimal Wijesinghe, Guy among the top 10 130 to avert an de Alwis, Ajith Amarasekera, Pelham Jurianz, Lakmaal de selected to decide innings defeat, Zoysa, Suraj Dandeniya, Arittha Wikramanayake. Seated on the School Boy Royal were Left to Right: Dayalan Supramaniam, Lalith Ratnayake, Mr. Cricketer of the struggling at Lassie Abeywardena, Sasi Ganeshan (Captain), S. J. year in addition to tea on the Anandanayagam (Warden), Ajit Ganeshan, Dayal de Silva. being selected second day of among the best 3 the two day fielders. Sali and encounter with Daiya were also selected among the best nine the scoreboard reading 74 for 6. A rare missed opportunity off Ranjan soon after tea bowlers whilst Sas was one of the best 16 batsmen selected, in recognition of their allowed Royal to get off the hook and manage a draw. The Mustangs Trophy limited over encounter performances during the season. against Royal was won with ease. Aji was selected Although none from the team won individual awards, being awarded the Lifebuoy Shield as the as Man of the Match and Best Batsman while Ishy best ALL ISLAND SCHOOLS CRICKET TEAM, won the Best Bowler and Best Fresher. The team was unfortunate to lose to St. Joseph’s in the semi was the best reward for the hard work during the season and the unity that prevailed within the - final of the Exide Trophy limited over tournament team. that followed by a mere 13 runs. Highlight of this None of the above would have been possible if not match was the hurricane knock of 87 by Miky, the for the focus and commitment of the Master-inaforementioned dual purpose bowler, who was also an outstanding left- handed number four bat in Charge Mr. Lassie Abeywardena, who virtually carried out the function of a coach as well. He addition to his skills in the field of Rugby. He was encouraged every player to play his natural game unfortunately run out when in full cry and looking with bat or ball and did not try to change batting certain to carry the side to victory. techniques or bowling actions, which they were Even though the side produced three national used to through proper guidance and coaching of cricketers, the following statistics go to show that S Thomas’ College - Mount Lavinia 1st XI Cricket Team 1976 Nipun and Dilhara strike in New Delhi By Rangi Akbar Nipun Seneviratne and Dilhara Salgado gave Sri Lanka a lot of hope for contesting at the 2012 Olympic Games to be held in London by achieving the required standards at Dilhara Salgado Nipun Seneviratne the Commonwealth Games Festival in New Delhi. Mr. H.U. Silva, the President of the Sri Lanka Archery Association speaking to the Sunday Times said that the two archers have enough time to train for the competition and improve their CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE & OUR ARCHIVES AT standard. Both Nipun and Dilhara excelled in their pet distances at the archery contest in New Delhi. The Sri Lanka Archery team also competed in the Archery Grand Prix in Bangkok, Thailand where they were unable to achieve any notable performances. Dilhara Salgado, is a beautician by profession and was a Bronze Medalist at the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games held in Bangladesh. Eighteen-year-old Nipun Senevirate of the Sri Lanka Air Force is the current National Champion. He bagged this title for the first time in 2004 and since then has been keeping it with him with hawkeye performances. coaches in the caliber of Mr. Orville Abeynaike & Mr. George Ponniah, at junior levels. He emphasized the importance of fielding and concentrated in motivating the players to give 100% at all times. The familiar shout of "hey you monkey" in response to a bad shot, a poor delivery or a fielding lapse, keeps ringing in the ears of players even after 35 years. Greats of yesteryear Mr. P. I. Peris, Mr. Neil Chanmugam and Mr. H. S. M. Peiris are others the team cannot forget for having spent valuable time with the team in spite of their busy job schedules, to give the required guidance and encouragement. In fact Lassie, Pipa, Neil and Holman as affectionately known to the team were involved with the Thomian teams from 1975 - 1977, during which 3 seasons STC had the proud distinction of winning outright against St. Sebastian’s (1976 and 1977), Moratu Vidyalaya (1977), Zahira (1976), Thurstan (1975,1976 and 1977), St. Benedict’s (1977), St. Sylvester’s (1976), Ananda (1975), Nalanda (1976), Wesley (1976 & 1977) and St. Peter’s (1977). What a stunning record! The only teams to escape outright defeats were Prince of Wales (play curtailed due to bad weather in all three years), Dharmapala (131 for 8 in their second essay needing 153 to avert an innings defeat in 1975), Trinity (managed a draw in 1976 after being all out for 82 in the first innings), St. Josephs (very lucky to escape certain defeat in 1975 due to a poor umpiring decision in the final over of the match when 9 wickets were down), Royal (the lucky escape in 1976). STC did not lose a single match outright during the said three seasons and led on the first innings in all matches other than a couple. This achievement is even more impressive given the contemporary opposing players such as Sidat Wettimuny, Thilan Wijesinghe, Piyal Perera (Ananda), The late Wirantha Fernando and Premalal Fernando (Prince of Wales), Anura Ranasinghe, Yohan Goonasekera, Susantha Karunaratne, Hemantha Devapriya (Nalanda), Trevor Croner, Rohan Wijesinghe, Dushan Soza (St. Joseph’s), Dilrukshan de Alwis, Russel Kern (Wesley), Prasanna Kariyawasam, Ranjan Madugalle (Royal), Reynold Anandappa, Angelo Wickramaratne (St. Peter’s), Rohan Perera, Ravi Ratnayake (Trinity). The sudden loss of ‘Raty’ 10 years ago and the demise of ‘Lassie’ not so long before, came as a shock to the rest of the team members who continue to be in close touch with each other even as at date. ESTO PERPETUA! Kandy - Cont from p27 ... skipped the game due to Kandy Sports Club’s Cup Final Priyantha became the first Sri Lankan to lead the Asian Barbarians. In the first game against the Hong Kong under-24 team, which had some topnotch players, they were able to beat Hong Kong by 46 points to 35. Then in the main game they met the Hong Kong Dragons and won by 26 points to nil. Priyantha ended up as the President of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union, where he had Dilroy Fernando as his secretary at the start and did a good job. He coached Kandy SC, when Harris Omar was captain, and helped the club to win the inter-club sevens for the first time. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. ISSUE 958 NEWSLANKA Sooriyawew International Cricket stadium 15 APRIL - 2010 PAGE 29 PAPAYA Sri Lankan & South Indian Restaurant Ealing Rayners Lane 020 8579 1662 020 8866 5582 15 Village Way East, Rayners Lane, Harrow HA2 7LX 161 Northfield Avenue, London, W13 9QT www.papaya-uk.com Lanka Women confident ahead of World T20 An aerial view of the International Cricket stadium in Sooriyawewa which will get its baptism at the forthcoming ICC World 2011 to be staged in Sri Lanka next year. Picture by Chandana Perera MAKE SURE YOUR EVENT DOES NOT FALL ON THE SAME DAY AS OTHERS. CHECK OUR EVENTS CALENDAR. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET Taking the rough with the smooth MCG announces more details about Fastcash Festival of Cricket 2010 Applications invited from cricket teams in the UK Fastcash Financial Services, sponsors of the eagerly anticipated Fastcash Festival of Cricket 2010, have announced a new partnership with the Kent and Medway Sri Lankan Association. The company partnered with the Association in 2009 to stage the inaugural Kent Sri Lankans Cricket Festival which was a massive success. This year, the Association will lends its' organizational expertise and combine with the financial prowess of Fastcash and the Mike Cooke Group of Companies to stage the inaugural Fastcash Festival of Cricket 2010. Organizers have also now called for applications from Sri Lankan Cricket teams across the country – from Old Boys Associations to other amateur and semiprofessional cricket clubs – to enter the 24team tournament. Participating teams will be required to provide their basic details in the form shown above and, in the space provided, give an introduction about the club and its' activities over the past few years. A panel consisting of Fastcash executives and members of the Kent and Medway Sri Lankan Association will then shortlist the 24 teams for the knockout tournament. The Mike Cooke Group announced the launch of the new 6-a-side cricket festival last month, aimed at attracting the participation of all segments of the Sri Lankan community in the UK. Unlike other cricket festivals however, the Fastcash Festival of Cricket will offer cash prizes for winners; what's more, the event will not be limited to teams from Old Boys Associations as with festivals such as the Festival of Cricket. As a result, amateur cricketers who play with friends and family on the weekend will be able to take part alongside more established OBA teams in the 24-team tournament. While Fastcash will become the main sponsor of the event, the company will also invite other major corporate partners both in the UK and Sri Lanka to participate at the event with one leading Sri Lankan bank already expressing interest in becoming a co-sponsor. Initial reports have suggested everything from the usual fare of food, drink and entertainment to VIP guests mingling with the crowds, several Lankan cricket stars flow in especially for the event, dancers and entertainment for children. To receive an application form, email [email protected]. GET LISTED, FREE OF CHARGE, AT OUR ONLINE EVENT CALENDER. who were given false hopes that performances in the domestic tournaments counted towards selection. Many have been the times in the past that selectors have played a different tune to get out of tight situations. On certain occasions they say they picked the team on current form, other times they say it was based on experience or a third, because the performances at domestic level could not be ignored and the player deserved a break. What a motley lot these guys make. As for Kulatunga the best advice one can give is ‘forget playing in the national team and concentrate your energies and try to earn a few bucks By Dhammika Ratnaweera The Sri Lanka women’s cricket team led by Chamani Seneviratne will leave for the West Indies today to take part in the Women’s World T20 cricket tournament. They are scheduled to play two one-day games and three T20 matches prior to the World Cup tournament. Speaking toThe Nation before their departure Seneviratne said: “This time we are full of confidence for the World Cup and the West Indies match series gives us a big boost to adjust to the conditions before the World Cup. Our first target is to reach the semi-finals and we are planning game by game. We are in the same group with India, Pakistan and New Zealand and our aim is to win against Pakistan and India to enter the semi-finals. In the last T-20 World Cup Sri Lanka, without four senior players including myself, beat Pakistan and this time our team is at full strength.” Seneviratne pointed out that the tour was also a challenge for their new coach Harsha de Silva. He was appointed to the post at the last moment but in that short period he has got the team together. “I think he is a very advanced coach and is giving us all the guidance. He has taught us how to build up our mental as well as physical fitness to face any opponent. This time we are focused on the T20 matches and I am very happy to say that we beat Gampaha District under 19 boys team in a T20 game during our practice matches,” said Seneviratne. “We have some weaknesses in our batting department compared to the fielding and bowling. However the coach was able to handle this very well and ensure all three departments were fully utilised.” The team: Chamani Seneviratne (captain), Dilani Manodara (vice-captain), Inoka Galagedera, Sashikala Siriwardena, Suvini de Alwis, Chamari Attapattu, Eshani Lokusuriya, Sandamali Dolawatta, Sripali Weerakkody, Udeshika Prabodini, Deepika Rasangika, Dedunu de Silva, Hiruka Fernando, Chandi Wickremasinghe. Standbys - Chamari Polgampola, Gayathri Kariyawasam, Rose Fernando and Sumudu Fernando. Harsha de Silva (coach), Dinendra Jayasinghe (trainer), Indrani Ariyaratna (manageress). playing cricket in England before you run out of time’. He is not the first to undergo such harsh treatment at the hands of the selectors and he won’t be the last. There have been many before him and plenty more to come after him. So take the rough with the smooth and move on. You have made your mark and shown what you are capable of as a cricketer, but if the breaks don’t come at the right time just put it down to simply bad luck. Some are born lucky others are not. One hopes with a new cabinet to be sworn in, a new Sports Minister would be appointed and he in turn selects a new set of selectors for there are a few in the present committee who need to be replaced if fresh thinking is to be injected into selections ahead of the 2011 World Cup. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. NEWSLANKA PAGE 30 i Travel 15 APRIL - 2010 KUWAIT AIRWAYS Third Eye Travel Eye for professionalism in travel “Fly Srilankan to Colombo & get free Extensions!” Fares to Colombo from £163 + taxes Third Eye Travel Ltd 0208 438 0330 / 0208 438 0672 Meanwhile Sri Lanka’s No.1 team consisting Pubudu Ekanayake and Sampath Peiris suffered an unexpected defeat at the hands of New Zealand and India in both matches they played and therefore missed the chance of proceeding to the next round in the competitions. Ruggerites brimming with confidence Email - [email protected] Web - www.3itravel.com Ten shuttlers by Anushka WITHANAGE Sri Lanka will field a formidable eight member team of shuttlers for the Asian Badminton Championship to be held in New Delhi, India from April 12 to 18 left the island yesterday. They are accompanied by two officials. Around 330 shuttlers from twenty countries are expected to participate this year. Besides Sri Lanka, the participating countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Iraq, Indonesia, India, Japan, Korea, Macau, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Turkmenistan and Vietnam. Sri Lanka's best hopes for a medal will be Niluka Karunaratne in the men's category and Chndrika de Silva and Achini Rathnasiri in the women's section. The championship is an important one for Sri Lanka to further bolster the country's advancement at international level. The Badminton Federation of Sri Lanka has selected five men and three women shuttlers from the selection trials conducted recently. The team Men: Niluka Karunarathne, Diluka Karunarathne, Hasitha Chanaka, R.S. Dahanayake and Lasitha Menake. Women: Chandrika de Silva, Achini Rathnasiri, and Upuli Samanthika. Under-15 ‘A’ Division Basketball Unbeaten Bens regain cager title by Roshen Steelman The narrow defeat in the final of the under-15 Colombo North Zonal final at the hands of St. Joseph’s College, Darley Road a fortnight ago came as a bitter experience for St. Benedict’s College, Kotahena for they were easily the best team in that age group in the island. But they set aside the disappointment by winning the ‘A’ Division Championship that concluded at school premises on Wednesday, beating Royal College, Colombo by nine points, the final providing a thrilling encounter than the scoreboard suggests. The victory was all the more memorable as it was St. Joseph’s they beat in the semi-final to avenge their previous defeat and what’s more that was done in style with a massive win with Praveen Ganlath starring for the winners with 41 points. On their way to the title victory, the Bens beat St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa, Maris Stella College, Negombo and Kegalle Central College before beating Colombo International School in the quarter-final and basketball arch-rivals St. Joseph’s in the semi-final. The Colombo North Zone tournament exposed the inability of St. Benedict’s players to overcome tight situations when they are put under pressure. The knockout stage consisted of all pressure games and this time they held their nerve to clinch the title. The biggest upset in the tournament was St. Sebastian’s surprise win over S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia, Colombo South Zone champions, in a quarter-final game. St. Sebastian’s were down and out with a 27 point deficit at the end of the first half and stunned one of the pre-tournament favourites with a 68-61 win. This was a game that was replayed after rain had spoilt the original quarter-final fixture between these schools a day before. In that game, S. Thomas’ were leading by over 20 points with four minutes to go for the final whistle. St. Sebastian’s settled for fourth place while St. Joseph’s secured the third spot having won the consolation final. The final, meanwhile, was a keenly contested affair with Royal College extending their lead over ten points either side of half-time. They did have an opportunity to put the game beyond St. Benedict’s reach, but missed some comfortable baskets allowing the hosts to bounce back. St. Benedict’s managed to hang in there until the final quarter and came all guns blazing in the last few minutes to secure the title. Praveen Ganlath was adjudged the Best Player while captain Fredrick Morais, the younger brother of another top St. Benedict’s and Air Force basketball player – Frank Morais was named the Best Offensive Player. Royal College’s Julian Munasinghe was named the Best Defensive Player. Sri Lanka duo thrashes Asian runners-up Mahesh and Wasantha emerge victorious in Beach Volleyball by Indrajith Subasinghe in Patthalung, Thailand Sri Lanka’s No.2 team created the biggest upset so far in the 8th Loma International Beach Volleyball Championship now being held at Patthalung, Thailand with the participation of 42 teams from the Asia Pacific region, by outplaying the second best team of the region, Kazakhstan, on Friday (9). The Lankan team comprising Mahesh Perera and Wasantha Ratnapala thus marked the first instance where a Lankan team defeated a Kazakhstani side in the history of international beach volleyball. The losing Kazakhstan duo of Yakovlev and Kulinich were none other than the runner–up combination of the Asian Championship held in China last December. China is the current world champions. Without giving any opportunity to surpass them, both Perera and Ratnapala recorded a straight 2-0 win in the match. Once trailing the opponents by 8-10, the Lankans went on to win the first round 21-18. Then a resilient Kazakhstan were leading 12-8 at one stage in the second round but they had to bow down due to an array of dashes from Ratnapala and a fine display of play by Perera. Sri Lanka has always competed neck-and-neck against Kazakhstan but HOTEL had never beaten them in the history of the RESTAURANT sport o far. BAR The pain of the loss has had left a telling impact on the Kazakhstani players as they spent about two hours after the match in a corner of the arena apparently trying to overcome the bitterness of their Live Piano on Friday & Live Music on Saturday & Sunday night. unexpected defeat. Sri Lanka were to meet a strong New Zealand combination in their bid to enter the Super 8 1.00pm to 4pm, Saturday and Sunday round of the Dinner Buffet: Championship. 6.30pm to 11pm, Friday, Saturday, Sunday - Only £9.95 Sri Lanka no.1 team 138 Greenford Road, Sudbury Hill, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 3QL loses RISING SUN 020 8422 2575 Traditional Sri Lankan Buffet with a choice of freshly made Hoppers & Sambols. New Lunch Time Buffet: Only £8.50 CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE & OUR ARCHIVES AT Ranjeeva SENEVIRATNE The Sri Lanka rugby team will be brimming with confidence when they confront Chinese Taipei in the semi-final of the Asian Five Nations Division One Tournament at the National Stadium, Singapore on April 14 (Wednesday). With the lifting of the ban on the 15 players from Kandy SC and CH and FC, Sri Lanka will be fielding its strongest team for the tournament. “We have been training hard for the last four days under the watchful eyes of national coach Johan Taylor and are confident of emerging victorious in this tournament,” said skipper Pradeep Liyanage on the eve of the team’s departure to Singapore yesterday. The Lankan team is a blend of youth and experience. Seasoned campaigners Ashen Karthelis, Senaka Bandara, Dushanth Lewke, Achala Perera, Fazil Marija, Saliya Kumara and skipper Pradeep Liyanage will play alongside talented youngsters of the calibre of Ishan Noor, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, Roshan Weeraratne, Gayan Weeraratne, Nuwan Hettiarachchi and Sajith Saranga. Last year Sri Lanka lost to Chinese Taipei (24-36) in the semi-finals played in Dubai but scored a resounding 51-17 win over Thailand in the third place play off. A victory over Chinese Taipei would not only help them to avenge last year’s defeat but will also give them a place in the final on April 17 in which they will confront the winners of the other semi-final between Malaysia and Singapore. The Sri Lanka squad: Prop Forwards - Henry Terrence (CR and FC), Kishore Jehan (Kandy SC), Eranga Swarnatillake (Kandy SC). Hookers - Rajiv Perera (Havelocks), Achala Perera (Kandy SC). Lock Forwards - Ashen Karthelis (CR and FC), Ishan Noor (CR and FC), Senaka Bandara (Kandy SC), Dinesh Sanjeewa (CH and FC). Flankers - Sean Wijesinghe (Kandy SC), Yoshitha Rajapaksa (Navy), Dilip Selvam (Kandy SC). Number Eight - Dushanth Lewke (CR and FC), Sajith Saranga (Kandy SC). Scrum Halves - Zulki Hamid (CR and FC), Roshan Weeraratne (Kandy SC). Fly Halves - Fazil Marija (Kandy SC), Ashan de Costa (CR and FC), Samantha Lakshan (Navy). Centres - Pradeep Liyanage (captain, Kandy SC), Gayan Weeraratne (Kandy SC). Wingers - Vishwamithra Jayasinghe (CR and FC), Nuwan Hettiarachchi (Navy). Full Back - Saliya Kumara (Kandy SC). Coach - Johan Taylor. Manager - Rohan Guneratne. Isipatana - contender for League Title Isipatana College with no less than 12 coloursmen in their ranks will be a strong contender for the schools under 20 division one league rugby title this year. "This year we field a formidable outfit and our aim is to clinch the division one league title which has eluded us for several years," said the Chairman of Isipatana rugby, Hassan Singhawansa. "We have a powerful set of forwards and a speedy set of three quarters and our aim is to win the league title and make amends for our disappointing display last year, said Singhawansa. Isipatana finished fifth in last year's league and went down fighting to S. Thomas by 21-22 in the Milo knock-out final. This year the lads from Havelock Town will be led by centre Ashan Gallage and will have the services of seasoned campaigners deputy skipper Tharindu Siriwardena (No. 8), flankers Deshanth Subashana, Sajid Suhayb, lock forward Muksheed Kuthdoos, prop Danushka Suriyarachchi, scrum half Mohamed Rizwan, fly half Prasad Devinda, centre Mohamed Ali, wingers Yuresh Fonseka and Prashan Attanayake and full back Malik Jamath. The Isipatanians are training hard under the ISSUE 958 watchful eyes of their coaches Shamly Nawaz and Sajith Mallikarachchi with Tavou Alailima as the fitness trainer. But the Isipatanians will face a strong challenge from St. Peter's and S. Thomas. The Peterites who won the Rugby Sevens title by overcoming Trinity in the final will be led by fly half Keith Gurusinghe and will have the services of coloursmen No. 8 Shenal Dias, prop forward Steve Nelson, scrum half Rizwan Meedin, centres Bhanuka Nanayakkara and Danushka Ranjan and fly half Anish Fernando. The Peterites will clash with Isipatana in the curtain-raiser of the tournament at Havelock Park on April 24. The star studded Thomian outfit led by No. 8 Rajindra Gunasekera will take on last year's division two champions Wesley College at Mount Lavinia on the same day. The Thomians who will have the services of 12 senior players will have outstanding ruggerites of the calibre of Anuruddha Wilwara, Jeremy Fernando, Shehan Muthutantri and last year's skipper Shaveen Kapuwatte. Trinity led by hooker Damith Dissanayake will lock horns with Dharmaraja at Pallekelle on April 24 while on the same day home town rivals Kingswood and St. Anthony's will clash at Nittawela. Last year's champions Royal led by centre Duminda Attygalle will play host to Prince of Wales at the Royal Sports Complex on April 24. Weerasekera elected The newly elected President of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka Sarath Weerasekera scored a winning goal when he was elected to the Parliament at the recently concluded General Elections from the Digamadulla District. Weerasekera who entered the fray for the first time has won the hearts of all to top the preferential votes from the district. Former Rear Admiral Weerasekera's victory will be of immense help to strengthen the Government under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and also the game of Football in Sri Lanka. The Football Family in Sri Lanka sends its congratulations to Weerasekera. Lions outplay Sylvestrians 110-0 S.M. Jiffrey ABDEEN Trinity College trounced St. Sylvester's College, Kandy by the huge margin of 110 points (5 goals, 15 tries) to nil in a friendly pre-season rugby encounter played at Pallekelle on Saturday. At half time lions 38-0. The Trinitians were earlier scheduled to play a side from the Army but this did not come off and a match against the Sylvestrians was hurriedly arranged. It must be said that the Sylvestrians were not really ready to 'Kick off' but they agreed to the request by the Trinitians. This match turned out to be a one sided affair with the lions dominating in all departments of the game which resulted in them moving the ball with gay abandon and a glut of tries were produced. Skipper and hooker Damith Dissanayake showed pleasing form and made in roads into the defence of the Sylvestrians to score four tries and vice captain No. 8 Shenon Armstrong in addition to stopping the Sylvestrians from entering the lions territory also put up a fine performance to plant four tries. This perhaps was too much for the Sylvestrians and they succumb to pressure after the turn around allowing the lions to cut loose in the second half to score as many as 72 points. The other try scorers were Kanchana Ramanayake (3), Akila Dissanayake (2), S.I. Perera (2), Duminda Nayaratne (2), Rehan Weerakoon (1), Asif Ainaf (1), Mohamed Shashar (1), Rukmal Dodantenna (1). Nimesh Yatawara added the extra points to five of the tries. Gerald Rasiah refereed. Mahamaya girls softball champs by Upananda JAYASUNDERA CRICKET: Mahamaya Girls College, Kandy - the only girls school in Kandy playing softball and hardball cricket, had won the girls schools cricket tournament recently at St. Anthony's Girls College grounds, Katugastota.Mahamaya team was led by Niluka Mortimor and they beat St. Anthony's Girls School in their first match and then beat Dharmawickrema Balika, Kandy. In the final, Mahamaya beat Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Atukgama to emerge champions. WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. ISSUE 958 Schools Twenty20 from April 23 to 29 Chris DHAMBARAGE The second annual inter school under 19 Twenty20 tournament conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association and sponsored by Ceylon Biscuits Limited will be worked off from April 23 to 29. All sixteen teams which participated in the recently concluded 50 overs tournament will be vying for honours with the final scheduled for April 29 at the NCC ground in Maitland Place. The defending champions Royal College will be up against Mahinda College Galle in the opening match of the tournament at Reid Avenue. This match will be of great importance considering the fact that the two teams emerged joint champions in the limited overs tournament. Another key match in the pre quarterfinal line up is the clash between the traditional rivals Ananda College and Nalanda College. In fact the Anandians were the runners up in last year’s tournament and will be under tremendous pressure to reach the quarterfinals. Meanwhile Prince of Wales College Moratuwa will be hoping to make amends for their setback in the limited overs tournament when they take on Isipatana College in their pre quarterfinal match on April 23 at Moratuwa. The Cambrians had an excellent run of success in the league tournament as well as in the knock out tournament before they were eliminated on the Duckworth and Lewis scoring method. Isipatana College also experienced mixed fortunes during the league tournament but did well to make it to the quarterfinals of the knock out tournament before going down to Trinity College in a rain effected encounter. Another close encounter could be expected when two equally good teams Richmond College Galle take on Maris Stella College Negombo in their pre quarterfinal match on April 23 at Negombo. Richmond College of course had the credit of making it to the semifinals of the limited overs tournament and will be determined to put up an improved performance. Maris Stella College with a talented outfit have always looked dangerous and will be out to produce another giant killing performance. NEWSLANKA 15 APRIL - 2010 Jayawardene in hot water over late night frolics Kangra district police on Tuesday made a complaint to Kings XI Punjab team management for breach of security by their players, including S Sreesanth and Mahela Jaywardene, by slipping out of team hotel late last night without informing them. Superintendent of Police Atul Fulzele in his complaint asked Kings XI Punjab management to direct the players to adhere the security norms. Sreesanth, Jayawardne and some other players reportedly remained out of their team hotel without security till late at night at McLeodganj, about 30 km from here in Kangra sub-division. Kings XI is scheduled to play against Deccan Chargers in an Indian Premier League match on April 16. They would play another match against Chennai Super Kings at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium here on April 18. Kings XI Punjab team arrived here last evening without Yuvraj Singh. Heavy security arrangements have been made at the team hotel and in the town in view of presence of the cricketers. Recovered Dilshan available to play Sri Lankan batsman Tillekaratne Dilshan who was indisposed has recovered and will be available for selection for his Indian Premier League team Delhi Daredevils’ crucial match against Mumbai Indians on Tusday. “Dilshan is fit and we are looking forward to having him back," the Daredevils coach Greg Shipperd said. On last Wednesday, Dilshan had been diagnosed with stones in his gall bladder after the cricketer was rushed to the hospital on complaint of severe abdominal pain. However, a Delhi Daredevils official was quoted by the Indian media as saying that the Sri Lankan batsman does not have any plans to go under the knife immediately and would take a call later. “He woke up with severe pain around 3 am in the morning. We took him to a hospital where the x-ray revealed stones. But there are no plans to remove GET LISTED, FREE OF CHARGE, AT OUR ONLINE EVENT CALENDER. the stones now,” the official had said. “He has been given some medication as of now. There is nothing much to worry and he is doing fine,” he added. Mathews, Mendis return to apply US visas Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Angelo Mathews and spinner Ajantha Mendis on Monday left for Colombo following a call from Sri Lanka Cricket but are expected to be back in time for their Indian Premier League match against the Chennai Super Kings. “Angelo and Ajantha need US visas for playing a Twenty20 match in Florida. “They have gone to complete the formalities and will be back in time for Tuesday’s match,” team director Joy Bhattacharjya told The Telegraph. Both players will be leaving with their national side to participate in the World Twenty20 in the West Indies immediately after this tournament. The World Twenty20 tournament begins on April 30. The final will be played on May 16. PAGE 31 to the few Test matches Sri Lanka played in the era. Wickremasinghe also officiated in 15 One Day Internationals between 1991 and 1998. His funeral will be held on April 15. SL rugby player to back from Singapore for shoplifting Sri Lanka rugby player Samantha Lakshan who had been detained by Singapore Police for shoplifting on Monday would be sent back to Sri Lanka on Tuesday by the Sri Lanka team management on the instructions of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football union (SLRFU), sources told “Daily Mirror”. Lakshan is a member of the Sri Lanka rugby team currently touring Singapore for the Asian Five Nation Rugby Tournament which kicks off on April 14. Sri Lanka team management found that Lakshan was missing on Monday when they gathered for training at the ground, and had found out later that he had been detained by police after being caught for shoplifting earlier. Lakshan is key a member of the Sri Lanka Navy team in the domestic league. Umpire Udaya Wickremasinghe Lanka Travel & Tours passes Seat sales specialist to Sri Lanka, Gulf and the Far East away Sri Lankan Test cricket umpire Udaya Wickramasinghe has passed away, Sri Lanka Cricket announced on Tuesday. Wickremasinghe was 70 at the time of his death. One of the best known umpires produced by Sri Lanka, Wickremasinghe officiated in three Test matches between 1987 and 1997, and unfortunately could not stand in more Tests due 9480 KUWAIT AIRWAYS Credit Crunch Seat Sale To Colombo Try our special hotel rates at Return £165 From Plus taxes *Low season + Taxes Fly Sri Lankan to Colombo & get a free side trip to any one of the following destinations GALADARI Bangkok, Bombay, Hongkong, Kuala Lumpur, Madras, Singapore, Trichy, Trivandrum or *Low season Mount Lavinia Hotel From £380 + Taxes Travel Insurance, Hotels, Car Rentals, Airport Transfers, Tailor-made Tours We also offer fares to: India - Maldives - Middle/Far East - Australia Emergency: 07768 690418 Email: [email protected] Fax: 020 7724 5343 For Details and Instant Ticketing Please Contact Nissther Annis 020 7724 6667 WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT. PAGE 32 NEWSLANKA Registered at the Sri Lanka GPO as a newspaper- Reg. No. QD/142/News/2009 CHECK THE LATEST ISSUE & OUR ARCHIVES AT 15 APRIL - 2010 ISSUE 958 WWW.NEWSLANKA.NET SEND DETAILS OF YOUR EVENT.