ENB Lanka News: Farmers protest against land grab and more

Farmers protest against land grab
Wednesday, October 31,2007 COLOMBO:

Over hundred chena cultivators from Mayurapura, Hambantota who were deprived of their cultivation plots staged a protest outside the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Agrarian Services yesterday, demanding redress.
The farmers were protesting against the alleged acquisition of their land by the Mahaweli Development Authority for the Walaawa New Industrial Zone.
“About 30 houses were bulldozed in the process and now we are displaced and deprived of a livelihood”, said L.H. Jayantha, a resident of Galwewa. He further said that the Mahaweli officials who were responsible for the eviction had initially promised to relocate them in the same premises and had later prevented them from building new houses.
However Jayantha said that the officials had forgone their promise and sold the land to the Suriyawewa Divisional Secretariat instead of the Hambantota Secretariat in 2003. This caused the farmers to stage a protest in Hambantota on August 11, which resulted in an intervention by the Hambantota police who had beaten up some of the protestors. The Hambantota police were not available for comment. cultivation
R.A. Kanthi, a chena cultivator and a mother of two was forced to work as a labourer to earn her living. “The officials used a preposterous criterion under which points for qualifying for lands were awarded, Kanthi said.
Accordingly 10 points were awarded to those in possession of a certificate of higher education, another 10 for a driver’s licence and being knowledgeable about agricultural services. “How can we meet these requirements when most of us have studied up to the fifth grade?” inquired Kanthi speaking of her plight.
However Minister of Agriculture and Mahaweli Development Maithripala Sirisena refuted the farmers’ allegations varying that he was not aware of any promise made to the farmers by the Mahaweli Development Authority about relocating them on lands they previously lived on.
“They have no documentary proof to show their ownership to lands,” Minister Sirisena told the Daily Mirror, while denying the claim that the cultivators had been forcibly evicted.
Villagers from five Grama Niladhari divisions of Galwewa, Kadawara, Divulwewa, Maha Aara and Arawanamulla participated in the protest after which they submitted a petition to the Minister.

Hospital strike cripples health services
By Sandun A Jayasekera
Unhealthy move? Minor employees and clerks attached to several hospitals in Colombo and other parts of the country staged a half day work stoppage yesterday to protest government moves to prune overtime and day off payments. Here a section of the employees are seen during the strike at the De Soyza Women’s Hospital inColombo. Pic by Indraratne Balasuriya A large number of non – medical health personnel including clerks and minor employees yesterday staged a half day protest in hospitals in Colombo and other parts of the country against alleged moves to prune overtime and day off payments.
Health Sector Trade Union Combined Front’s Convener Gamini Kumarasingha told the Daily Mirror about 10.000 employees struck work from 8.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon in the main hospitals in Colombo Matara Galle, Nagoda, Badulla, Gampola, Peradeniya and Kalutara.
The work stoppage affected dieting in-house patients, maintenance work and office work.
Meanwhile, Health Ministry Secretary Dr. Athula Kahandaliyanage said the issue was a making of the minor employees themselves.
“The Ministry in a bid to maintain discipline in the health sector introduced finger scanning machines to register the arrival and departure of employees. It is a well known fact that a large number of employees had been receiving huge OT payments illegally. Now they can’t fake the times of arrival and departure to claim overtime improperly. So now they complain that we have pruned their overtime payments,” he said.

Sri Lanka to bring a political solution soon, President says
Wednesday, October 31, 2007, 11:48 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 31, Colombo: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that his government will soon bring a political solution to the ethnic conflict in the country through the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) as the history has proved that the ethnic problem can not be solved by acting in accordance with one particular view of a single person.
Delivering the keynote address at the convocation of the Sir John Kothalawala Defence University at the BMICH, President said that though the government makes every effort to bring about lasting peace through a political solution, it will never sacrifice the victories achieved by the security forces in safeguarding the motherland to reach that objective.
“The Government’s intention is to bring an honourable peace to the country, it is not ready to betray the victories won by the three armed forces nor would the Government enter in to a peace that would betray he country’s sovereignty,” he said.
President emphasized that the government has not launched a military operation with political objectives and appealed not to belittle military successes, as thousands of youth had come forward to enlist in the armed forces and fight for the country.
The President commended the newly passed out officers saying that they would be the future leaders of the country and that the fate of the country lay in their hands.

Sri Lanka's Ambassador Jayatilleka to address Globalization Forum in Lisbon

H.E. Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations at Geneva will address the ILO Forum on Decent Work for a Fair Globalization to be held in Lisbon, Portugal from 31st October to 2nd November 2007.
He will speak at the opening plenary session in his capacity as Chairperson of the ILO Governing Body for the year 2007-2008.
The Minister for Labour and Social Solidarity of Portugal, Jos‚ Antonio Viera Da Silva will also address the opening plenary.
The Prime Minister of Portugal, Jos‚ S¢crates, the Secretary-General designate of ASEAN, Surin Pitsuwan and the Director-General of the ILO, Juan Somavia will be the keynote speakers.
The Government of Portugal played a leading role in the organization of the ILO Forum on Decent Work for a Fair Globalization, which was also generously backed by the European Commission.

Wed, 31 October 2007 20:49:02 LBO >> Economy Soaring Prices
Sri Lanka inflation jumps in October to 19.6 %
Oct 31, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka's inflation rocketed 3.8 percent in October driving consumer prices in the capital Colombo during the past 12-months to 19.6 percent, the government's statistics office said.
The moving average of the Colombo price index which is an average over a 24-month period, hit a new high of 17.7 percent.
The statistics office said the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) grew 209.2 index points to 5,723.0 points with food prices, especially milk prices going up the fastest.
Wheat and milk food prices have also gone up in response to rising import prices.
Sri Lanka had been printing money heavily since May as the budget deficit expanded driving inflation up, but monetary policy was tightened in somewhat in late August.
The government also cut taxes of a series of imported foodstuffs earlier in the year and officials said they lost nine billion rupees in revenue, worsening the problem.
But in late October Sri Lanka raised 500 million dollars allowing the government to stop money printing and the rupee has appreciated since then.
Analysts are hoping this will moderate inflationary pressure in the coming months, but dollar conversions have created severe excess liquidity problems in the banking system.
Meanwhile Sri Lanka's country-wide inflation measured by the Sri Lanka Consumer Price Index, topped 21.7 percent more than a month ago.
Economic analysts have called for better budgets and reforms of the central bank's governing law to force the monetary authority to issue a good quality low inflation currency which can maintain its value.
Under Sri Lankan law, the central bank is forced to print money to bridge the budget deficit, driving inflation up and putting pressure on the currency. At the beginning of the year, the central bank promised to limit inflation to only 10 percent a year, but later admitted it would destroy the purchasing power of the currency by a higher percentage in 2007.
This has prompted calls for a formal inflation targeting law to be enacted in Sri Lanka forcing the central bank to preserve the value of the currency.
Sri Lanka has lopsided interest rates, with policy rates at 12.00 percent.
While inflation continues to be high, 3-month t-bill yields fell 143 basis today.

SAARC FMs agree to bar Lankan terrorists seeking asylum
Wednesday, October 31, 2007

SAARC Foreign Ministers have agreed to a Sri Lanka proposal to prohibit Sri Lankan terrorists from seeking political asylum in countries in the region, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama announced at a media conference yesterday (30).
He said a special committee comprising the Attorney General, Solicitor General and Foreign Ministry Legal Advisor Rohan Perera has been appointed to draft the legal framework necessary.
Minister Bogollagama said that the new legislation had been discussed at length at the recent meeting of SAARC Foreign Ministers. They had unanimously endorsed the suggestion.
He said the time had come to implement the new laws in coordination with all SAARC countries. The legal framework would be approved by the Cabinet. Subsequently the Sri Lankan government would make necessary arrangements in consultation with the legal authorities in SAARC countries for its implementation.
He added that in co-ordination and strict compliance with the regional legal framework prepared by the SAARC countries the legal framework would be incorporated in the regional legal framework coming into effect with a special provision that all SAARC countries would prohibit terrorists entering their territories. The legal framework would also include a provision that any terrorist entering SAARC countries with or without legal travelling documents would be tarrested and prosecuted in consultation with the country of origin.

Elections Dept. ready for polls in NE
The Elections Department is awaiting a response from the Provincial Council and Local Government minister to hold polls to certain local government bodies in the North and East.
Elections to 16 Pradeshiya Sabhas, two Urban Councils and two Municipal Councils in the East and one Municipal Council, five Urban Councils and 27 Pradeshiya Sabas in the North could not be held due to security concerns though nominations had been called.
The government cancelled the nominations by passing a Local Authorities (special provisions) Bill recently.
“Now that the obstacle to holding elections to these local bodies is eliminated, the Elections Department is ready to hold polls when the minister of Provincial Councils and Local Governments decides on the dates of elections.
The minister must decide on the dates of elections according to the provisions of the Act,” Deputy Elections Commissioner P.M. Siriwardana told the Daily Mirror yesterday.
“However, elections have to be held within six months of the passing of the two Bills and the minister has to decide before that. The 2006 electoral registers will be used for the intended local government elections to these local government bodies,” Mr. Siriwardana said.