Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 29 Mar 2015 20:26

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/150329/n ... -watch-isi

Following the change in regime in Sri Lanka, India intelligence agencies will engage with their counterparts in the island nation to crack down on what they describe as the “growing influence of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)” in the region, particularly with the active support of the staff of Pakistan’s embassy in Colombo.

Top intelligence sources said there was concrete information that some Pakistani embassy staff were using their diplomatic cover to promote the ISI’s anti-India activities.

A senior intelligence official, expecting better assistance from Colombo, said that during the regime of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, “there was a sense that his government was trying to form a better alliance with both China and Pakistan due to which we were slight apprehensive about discussing these issues. But now that Maithripala Sirisena has assumed charge as the new President, we feel there will be greater coordination between Indian and Sri Lankan security agencies.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sri Lanka visit earlier this month is also being viewed as a huge step forward in improving ties between the two countries at every level. National security adviser Ajit Doval had also visited Sri Lanka earlier to ensure that key security agencies of the two countries work with a better understanding in future.

Indian intelligence agencies have been closely monitoring activities of the ISI in Colombo, particularly after a Sri Lankan-born ISI spy was arrested in April last year in Chennai. During interrogation, the accused, Zahir Hussain, had disclosed that he had entered India at the behest of two Pakistani embassy officials in Colombo in an attempt to increase the circulation of fake currency in India.

Baikul · Post by **Baikul** » 29 Mar 2015 22:20

Say what again?

http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/udayan ... es-missing

Former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga whose service was terminated based on two complaints by the Ukrainian government, has gone missing, said acting Foreign Affairs Minister and Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Ajith P. Perera yesterday......Ukraine had lodged two complaints which stated that Udayanga Weeratunga had engaged in procuring weapons for a separatist guerrilla group in Ukraine.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 30 Mar 2015 18:03

Yes the former Lankan envoy to Russia (who was envoy for a whopping 9 years!) and v.close relative of defeated ex-pres Rajapakse,was operating a "restaurant" in the UKR (ostensibly it is alleged to launder money from arms sales kickbacks). he probably thought that it would be a good idea to supply the UKR rebels with arms as well,seizing the opportunity of the conflict to do so and got caught. Who knows,it may have been the Russians ,fed up with the envoy's antics who tipped off the UKR !

Now for the sordid tale of the Chinese promoting corruption in the island.
Passive investor to partner in crime: How China lost the plot in Sri Lanka
Chinese investments got sucked into the vortex of Sri Lanka's local politics and were left high and dry when a friendly regime was swept away
http://www.scmp.com/business/china-busi ... -sri-lanka

Debasish Roy Chowdhury in Hambantota

Sri Lanka fires fresh salvo at Chinese firm over Port City project
Business
27 Mar 2015

China continued to court Mahinda Rajapaksa even as protests against him began to snowball in Sri Lanka. Photo: Xinhua

Bandara Chaminda's enthusiasm is almost infectious.

The sprightly 30-something engineer at Hambantota port reels off the benefits of this port-industrial complex on the southeastern tip of Sri Lanka about 240km from the capital Colombo. "There's massive demand for transshipment of vehicles and it's increasing by the day. Once companies set up their production lines here, we'll get much more ships," gushes Chaminda as he gives a tour of the port.

Hambantota could use more ships, there are none in sight. The port, which started operations in 2010 and was supposed to challenge Singapore, received all of six ships in 2011 and 18 in 2012. The government finally had to ask ships carrying vehicles to offload their wares in Hambantota rather than Colombo.

Naturally, not many share Chaminda's optimism, least of all his boss. Back in Colombo, Sri Lanka Ports Authority chairman Lakdas Panagoda makes little effort to hide his contempt for it. Unfolding a map of Sri Lanka on his desk, he points out two existing ports that could have done the job. "Trincomalee and Galle are natural harbours; there was no need to build a new port."

The only other people who seem to have kept their faith in Hambantota are the Chinese. China Exim Bank funded 85 per cent of the US$361 million for the first phase of the port project that China Harbour Engineering Company and Sinohydro Corp executed. The US$808 million second phase is being built by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and China Merchants Group.

Heavy machinery lies idle after the new government in Sri Lanka temporarily suspended construction work on the Colombo Port City project. Photo: EPA
Hambantota port is among the many infrastructure projects bankrolled by China since the three-decade civil war between Colombo and Tamil rebels ended in 2009. Many of these are being reviewed by the new government of Maithripala Sirisena that sees them as corruption-ridden relics of the previous regime.

South Asia's tropical paradise is estimated to have received up to US$5 billion from China in the form of aid, soft loans and grants in the past five years. Nearly 70 per cent of infrastructure projects have been funded by China and built by Chinese companies.

"People would want a peace dividend after the war. President Mahinda Rajapaksa looked to infrastructure development to deliver. But in the wake of the financial crisis, our traditional donors in the West were not in a position to help. Only China was," says Saman Kelegama, executive director of the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka.

Traditional investors also stayed away because of Rajapaksa's refusal to cooperate with probes into allegations of atrocities in the war on Tamil militants. That left the field open for China, but also proved to be its bane. The more it spent, the more it became identified with Rajapaksa's alleged graft-tainted white elephants and misrule.

Not far from Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port, as the Hambantota port is called, is another signature vanity project funded by Exim Bank of China - Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport. Built at a cost of US$209 million, there is hardly a soul around as no airline uses it today.

Soon after the elections, Sri Lanka's national airline suspended its flights here, relieved it would not have to use the airport to keep the president happy. That, it said, would save it US$18 million a year.

And yet another gruelling drive away in the same Hambantota district - which happens to be Rajapaksa's family constituency and is represented in parliament by his son Namal - is the impressive Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium. Bang in the middle of nowhere, the authorities have to dole out free tickets and organise pick-ups and drop-offs for farmers in nearby villages to fill it up on the rare occasion it hosts a match. The nearest towns are hours away.

It is easy to see why Rajapaksa's grand projects came under opposition fire.

"Ports, highways, stadiums, airports, theatres … Rajapaksa wanted conspicuous symbols of his achievement. They also served China well as it wanted to showcase its presence in Sri Lanka," says Kelegama.

But it is the less visible aspects of these projects that dragged China into the vortex of Sri Lankan politics. As allegations began to fly on the lack of transparency in these projects, the money spent on them, their utility, the terms of loans and their crushing effect on government debt, China was caught in the crossfire.

"There was no published record of the interest rates these loans were coming for. It was all a mystery," Kelegama says.

In September 2013, the then minister of ports and highways told parliament that the interest rate for the loan to build the Mattala airport had been increased from 1.3 per cent to 6.3 per cent. No reasons were offered.

The conditions attached to the loans were also at times unclear. When the agreement for the second phase of the Hambantota project was signed during President Xi Jinping's visit to Sri Lanka in September, the ports authority made a surprise announcement that China Merchants Holdings International and CCCC had been granted operating rights to four berths at the port.

Local media speculated the Chinese extracted the berths in return for easing the terms of the existing loans for the port as they had become difficult to service.

Unclear terms have also led to questions over controlling and usage rights, most famously in the stalled US$1.4 billion Colombo Port City real estate reclamation project. The agreement to allow the participating Chinese company to keep 108 hectares of the reclaimed land raised the opposition's hackles over Sri Lanka's sovereignty rights on its land.

There were other niggling issues with Chinese investments.

"Chinese loans were also coming with Chinese workers, so not that many jobs were created either," says Kelegama.

In 2013, the government said over 26,000 work visas had been issued to Chinese nationals in the preceding seven years. But since companies also bring in Chinese workers on tourist visas, the exact number is anybody's guess.

Quality of Chinese projects has also been a sore point, such as a US$1.35 billion breakdown-prone power station in Norochcholai, funded by loans from the China Exim Bank, and designed and built by China Machinery Engineering Corp.

"There's been zero technology transfer with Chinese investments. Every time there is a breakdown at Norochcholai, we have to get engineers from China. Local engineers can't fix it because even the instruction manual for equipment and machinery is in Chinese," Kelegama says.

Sri Lankan activists stage a demonstration demanding the scrapping of a Chinese investment to reclaim the sea and build a new city known as the Port City in the capital Colombo. Photo: AFP
But the main political opposition to Chinese projects revolved around unfair terms between unequal partners over unnecessary and over inflated projects, with China portrayed as a neo-colonial power propping up a brutal and corrupt regime.

In a thinly veiled reference to China, Sirisena's election manifesto read: "The land that the White Man took over by means of military strength is now being obtained by foreigners by paying ransom to a handful of persons."

Disenchantment was rising among the Tamils, the Muslims and the evangelicals, threatened by Rajapaksa's Sinhala Buddhist nationalist cadre base. The intelligentsia, including journalists, complained of repression. Discontent over corruption spread while politicisation of the judiciary and the police force began to affect law and order.

With one brother as the finance minister, another in charge of defence and his extended family and friends placed in strategic positions across the government, Rajapaksa's control on the country was complete. And because of its financial backing, China's control over him looked just as total.

"A perception began to grow here that China was in fact using corruption as a controlling device," says political scientist and constitutional expert Jayadeva Uyangoda.

"For the first time, China became a domestic political issue in Sri Lanka as people began to view Chinese assistance to Rajapaksa as a means of buying his support by helping him increase his grip on the country."

But while the opposition to Rajapaksa - and by extension China - grew, Beijing seemed oblivious of the sands shifting beneath its feet. Neither did it seem to realise that it was now viewed as an active partner in crime rather than a passive investor.

Its over-reliance on Rajapaksa meant it had no channels of communication with competing political forces and other stakeholders typical of a multiparty democracy. When the South China Morning Post asked Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake if the Chinese were in touch with him when he was in the opposition, he says: "No, they probably thought Rajapaksa would rule forever."

R Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance, the third largest party, sounds similarly underwhelmed: "They seem to hear what we say but it's difficult to tell if they act on it."

Ironically, it could have been China's policy of non-interference that blindsided it to Rajapaksa's changing fortunes, and its own.

"Chinese missions are not good at reading the general mood. The non-interference policy, which makes establishing a friendly relationship with the incumbent government the dominant goal of the local mission, is part of the reason," says Zhou Hang, co-author of Protecting China's Overseas Interests: The slow shift away from non-interference, a policy paper from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).

Xi's Sri Lanka trip in September, the first by a Chinese president in 28 years, was a measure of this disconnect. A politically savvier mission would have seen the change coming in four months and advised against the visit.

"There is growing debate within academic and policy circles in China on whether it should more proactively engage opposition parties abroad," Zhou says. But Zhou takes heart from the case of former Zambian president Michael Sata. A China basher while in opposition, Sata's first official appointment was with China's ambassador once he was elected to power in 2011.

"The China card will be played more and more as it becomes a global player. But pragmatism would probably still prevail, especially in countries that receive large amounts of Chinese investment," he said.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Paradise lost

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 30 Mar 2015 20:11

http://www.newkerala.com/news/2015/fullnews-38251.html

The Sri Lankan government has sought help from India and the UN to help evacuate Sri Lankans who are caught up in the war in Yemen, a government official said on Monday.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 01 Apr 2015 02:41

India-Sri Lanka relations - an analysis:
http://thediplomat.com/2015/03/indias-k ... velopment/

Yet looking beyond India’s strengths of geography and political-military standing, one can identify three primary issues that have complicated India’s ties with Sri Lanka.

The first set of developments involves China and is out of India’s control: China’s considerable ability to invest in and carry out infrastructure projects and the PLA’s entry into the Indian Ocean due to regular counterpiracy patrols.

The second factor involves domestic Indian politics and center-state relations. Before the Modi era, New Delhi largely prioritized the internal interests of the state of Tamil Nadu over national strategic interests in Sri Lanka.

The third factor is less understood. India has not provided significant investment in Sri Lanka’s maritime infrastructure, which Sri Lanka sees as essential to achieving its national development goals. An overlooked angle when trying to understand why India seems to have merely watched China develop a port presence in Sri Lanka is that India lacks a structural economic incentive (although it has a strategic incentive) to invest in Sri Lanka’s maritime infrastructure.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 01 Apr 2015 11:08

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat ... tle=122405

Ukrainian MiG 27 deal beneficial to SLAF says ex-commander

‘Final payments in $ 14 mn deal were made at the conclusion of the war’
March 31, 2015, 12:00 pm
By Shamindra Ferdinando

Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke yesterday said that an agreement with Ukraine as regards overhauling of four MiG 27s and acquisition of four overhauled MiGs had been finalized to Sri Lanka’s advantage.

The agreement had been reached in the run-up to the eelam war IV in August 2006, ACM Goonetileke said, adding that the final payments were made after having used MiGs with devastating success. MiGs carried out 854 sorties using explosives weighing 1,071 tonnes.

The celebrated No 12 squadron based at Katunayake air base consisted of MiGs. The No 12 squadron was meant to supplement the No 10 squadron comprising Israeli Kfirs, also based at Katunayake. Sri Lanka acquired Kfirs during 1996.

"Final payments for MiGs were made at the conclusion of the offensive," ACM Goonetileke said in an exclusive with The Island. Nearly six years after the eradication of terrorism, people had conveniently forgotten that a MiG 27 had teamed up with a Kfir to carry out target killing of LTTE front liner S. P. Thamilchelvam on the morning of Nov. 2, 2007 in Kilinochchi.

The combined security forces brought the war to a successful conclusion on May 19, 2009.

The Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) on March 27 questioned ACM Goonetileke regarding controversial MiG transaction finalised during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s tenure as the President. Son of one-time SLAF Commander ACM Harry Goonetileke, Roshan lost his brother, Shirantha in an LTTE missile attack on an Avro as it approached Palaly air base on the morning of April 29, 1995.

Asked whether he had benefited financially for choosing MiG 27s, ACM Goonetileke said that enhancing of SLAF’s power had been a national priority. ACM Goonetileke said: "In the wake of an abortive bid to assassinate the then Army Chief Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka in April 2005 and assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar prompted the military to reassess the situation. We realized an all-out war was inevitable. Therefore, preparations were made."

ACM Donald Perera had sought Defence Ministry approval in Feb 2006 for overhauling of four MiGs and acquisition of four additional MiGs, ACM Goonetileke said. According to him, the total cost of the transaction had cost the taxpayer $ 14 mn. In accordance with the agreement, Ukraine had overhauled four MiGs in SLAF inventory in addition to supplying four overhauled MiGs. Unfortunately a section of the media at the behest of interested parties had accused the previous government of paying $ 14 mn for four new additions to the MiG fleet.

Responding to another query, ACM Goonetileke said that in line with the agreement Sri Lanka had paid 25 per cent of the total value of the overhaul when the SLAF team flew in to Ukraine to accept the four new additions to its MiG fleet. Once the SLAF took delivery of the aircraft at Katunayake, another 25 per cent of the payment had been made though the remaining 50 per cent was paid in 2009. The two giant aircraft which carried the four new additions ferried the four MiGs that needed overhauling to Ukraine free of freight charges. ACM Goonetileke said that he welcomed the investigation as it would give him an opportunity to clear the SLAF of any wrongdoing.

ACM Goonetileke said that the supplier allowed the SLAF to deploy four overhauled additional MiGs against the LTTE after paying 50 per cent of their value. The remaining amount had been paid in two instalments at the conclusion of the war, he explained.

Sri Lanka acquired MiGs in 2000 during Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s presidency. According to ACM Goonetileke, the SLAF had obtained seven MiGs, including one MiG 23 trainer during 2000. The acquisition had been carried out in two phases, with the SLAF procuring four aircraft in spite of them due to undergo first airframe overhaul. The situation on the northern theatre of operations had been so bad, the SLAF needed to enhance its fire power as soon as possible, the former air chief said. "We pressed for the acquisition. Following special checks at the Ukrainian factory, the SLAF took delivery of four aircraft. We were authorized to use them for two years. Subsequently one-year extension was given," Goonetileke said.

The retired Chief of Defence Staff said that of the seven MiGs acquired in 2000, the SLAF lost three and for want of overhauling the remaining aircraft had been grounded as the combined forces prepared to face the LTTE threat.

Soft spoken Goonetileke recalled the circumstances under which a tender called by the SLAF to overhaul the four remaining aircraft of those acquired during 2000 had been cancelled. "This cancellation was done during Norway arranged Ceasefire Agreement. Perhaps, the then government felt there was no requirement to overhaul aircraft due to CFA."

However, the SLAF had to enhance its firepower to overwhelm the LTTE. ACM Goonetileke said that the No 10 Kfir and No 5 F7 GS squadrons carried out about 1,400 and 400 sorties, respectively during the eelam war IV. Altogether the jet squadrons carried out about 2,700 sorties. The No 10 Kfir squadron comprised ten machines. The SLAF acquired four Chinese F7 GS, the most sophisticated jet in Sri Lanka’s arsenal, in January 2008.

At the conclusion, ACM Goonetileke alleged that those finding fault with acquisition of armaments didn’t realize the difficulties experienced by Sri Lanka during the war. Acquisition of armaments had been nothing but a constant struggle, he noted, adding that the role played by jet squadron comprising MiGs, Kfirs and F7 GS would never be forgotten by those who fought on the frontlines, unlike arm chair experts and those seeking to discredit the air force.

Another observer said the critics who tried to make a big issue over the entire cost of the deal of US $14 million conveniently forget that many air forces around the world pay many times more for even a single fighter aircraft and for the price tag that the Sri Lanka paid for those aircraft it was quite cheap even going by the tasks they achieved.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 02 Apr 2015 18:04

http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articl ... 65092.html

The seasonal weekly airlines service between temple city Varanasi and Colombo of Sri Lanka will stop tomorrow. The service of Mihin airlines will resume in August.
...the service was started by Mihin airlines in 2015, keeping in mind the huge influx of pilgrims coming to visit Varanasai, Sarnath and other Buddhists spots.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 03 Apr 2015 16:57

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 794875.cms

China today lauded the new Sri Lankan government for not allowing the Dalai Lama to visit the Buddhist-majority country disregarding the wishes of its influential monks to invite the Tibetan spiritual leader.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 03 Apr 2015 22:10

http://colombogazette.com/2015/04/03/la ... fishermen/

At least 37 Indian fishermen were today arrested by Sri Lankan navy for allegedly poaching in the country’s waters, a day after President Maithripala Sirisena said he had issued instructions to seize boats that violate the country’s territorial waters, the Press Trust of India reported.

Sri Lankan Naval spokesman Commander Indika Silva said 37 Indian fishermen were arrested and five boats were seized off the island’s northern coast in Point Pedro this evening.

The fishermen have been taken to Kankesanturai port for further action, Silva said.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 03 Apr 2015 22:15

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 798891.cms

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka ordered a review of 35 investment projects on Friday, most of them awarded to Chinese firms by the previous administration, suggesting ties remain fragile despite Beijing's attempts to assuage concerns.

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/art ... aign=cppst

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 05 Apr 2015 05:37

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 809912.cms

CHENNAI: Taking exception to the latest arrest of 37 Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam today appealed to the Centre to take it up at the highest diplomatic level and secure their immediate release as well as their boats.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the chief minister said the fishermen who set sail from Nagappatinam in five boats were apprehended on April 3. They, along with their boats, have been taken to Kangesanthurai and remanded to judicial custody, he said.

He said it was unfortunate that the incident had taken place immediately after the third round of fishermen level talks which were recently held at Chennai on March 24 which went "on smoothly and in a conducive atmosphere."

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 05 Apr 2015 05:52

Some Sri Lankan love for Pakistan:
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/150405/editor ... 43553.html

Pakistan has had its ups and downs ever since her tumultuous creation as a sovereign state in 1947. The Kashmir issue has plagued its relations with India and its very existence. Democracy has fought running battles with military juntas; its Media and Judiciary have stood at the barricades of dictatorial rule on behalf of their citizenry.

The country is battling religious extremism, terrorism, and aerial bombardments by a third party fighting a proxy war on its soil. Yet though bedevilled with internal strife, through it all, Pakistan has stood by Sri Lanka. As the Bard said; Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried. Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 11 Apr 2015 02:26

http://www.nation.lk/edition/business-t ... ments.html

Pakistan and Sri Lanka have signed six agreements, including one on atomic energy as the strategically important island nation looks to build its first nuclear plant. Earlier, Sri Lanka signed a pact with India in February to build its atomic energy infrastructure, including training of personnel.
...
The six memoranda of understanding signed between the two countries include cooperation between Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and Atomic Energy Authority of Sri Lanka; cooperation against illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances; academic cooperation on exchange and collaboration between National Defence University of Pakistan and Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies of Sri Lanka; collaboration in the field of sports, cooperation in shipping business between Pakistan National Shipping Corporation and the Ceylon Shipping Corporation.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 12 Apr 2015 13:24

Hopefully no collaboration in the form of terror! Read this.

http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2015/04/0 ... n-colombo/

India Reveals Plot Hatched In Colombo

A 26/11-like attack was in the making, but this time, from the east coast. That is how India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) Director-General Sharad Kumar sums up the agency’s exhaustive nearly two-year investigation into what it says was a massive terror plot against India by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

This time, the NIA says, it was coordinated from the Sri Lankan soil. Similarities are glaring between the events that investigations revealed preceded the November 2008 Mumbai attack and those in the latest case, says the top terror probe agency.

Major Iqbal and Major Sameer Ali of the ISI, according to an NIA investigation into the 26/11 case, plotted the strikes on Mumbai by sending in a US citizen to India for reconnaissance of targets in Mumbai and later sent in a group of terrorists by sea to India’s financial hub on the west coast. India could not catch David Coleman Headley, the American who was later arrested by the US and is currently in a jail there. The two Pakistani officers remain just names with India not having any further clue of their identity or photographs.

The NIA says it has much more evidence to pin down the conspirators in the latest plot. The agency has even a photo of the alleged mastermind, Amir Zubair Siddique, who was a counsellor (visa) at Pakistan’s High Commission in Colombo.

He directed a network of spies of Sri Lankan and Indian origin to recce nearly 20 sensitive installations in South India, including the American Consulate in Chennai and Israeli Consulate in Bengaluru, it says.

india arrested three people – Sri Lankan businessmen Muhammed Sakir Hussaien and Arun Selvarajan and an Indian named Thameem Ansari, who the NIA says were deployed by Siddique to survey the locations. “Our agencies caught them at the right time and neutralised the plot. A major attack was averted,” the NIA chief told ET, sitting at his 7th floor office in central Delhi.

ARGO-STYLE COVER

Combined reading of two charge-sheets filed by the NIA, in last October and this March, paint a horrifying plot. Siddique, says the agency, was planning to send explosives from Mannar in Sri Lanka to between Rameswaram and Tuticorin in India by a rowing boat.

This was to be followed up by two Pakistanis being sent from Colombo to Bengaluru via Maldives on Sri Lankan passports to carry out terror attacks, specifically on the American Consulate. Hussaien was told by his Pakistani handlers that the plot of planting bombs in American Consulate, Chennai, was codenamed ‘Wedding Project’ and ‘Wedding Hall’ was the US Consulate (target).

The terrorists will be “cooks” and the “bomb devices” they are carrying, “spice contents”, the NIA charge-sheet says. There was a meeting between two Pakistani terrorists and one of the spies, Hussaien, in Bangkok in 2013, the NIA claims. The spies had specific tasks.

Thameem Ansari was asked to use an Argo-style cover of posing as a film-maker working on a documentary titled ‘Power of India’ on the Indian armed forces and befriend army and navy officers, to get details on India’s nuclear-submarine base ‘Project Varsha’. Selvarajan joined an event management company which works for the armed forces to get entry to sensitive installations like the Chennai Port.

On July 6, 2012, Selvarajan managed to film the Vessel Traffic Management System Tower at the Chennai Port, the NIA said.”It was a very clever strategy,” the NIA chief says. Pakistan’s High Commission in Colombo didn’t respond to an email from ET seeking comment.

LURING THE BAIT

To get the three to work against India, Siddique used the old ploy of espionage: target their financial condition and promise a fortune. Tamil Nadu businessman Ansari was lured into the plot after his onion export business to Sri Lanka flopped – the NIA says Siddique’s Sri Lankan associates ensured this – and he sunk into heavy debt.

“Siddique assured of bailing him out from his financial crisis if he listened to his terms. Siddique highlighted to him about the plight of Muslims in India and asked him to do a favour as he was also a Muslim,” the NIA charge-sheet says. Selvarajan also took similar bait during a financial crunch, says the agency. Selvarajan, unknowingly, did Indian agencies a favour, too.

He recorded all conversations with his Pakistani handlers, and especially Siddique’s No. 2 at the High Commission, Vineeth alias Rana. The NIA has recovered these micro cassettes from Selvarajan. This evidence could be used by India to seek voice samples from Pakistan of its two officers in question,home ministry officials say.

PROBE STUCK

Despite the relative successes, the NIA probe against Siddiqui is now stuck. The Sri Lanka Attorney General has been sitting on India’s request for months to allow an NIA team to visit Sri Lanka for collecting evidence against the Pakistani official, who has since returned to Pakistan. “The previous Rajapaksa government in Sri Lanka was dead against our request … we expect the new government to move on it soon.

Sri Lanka has to realise that rising Jihadi intrusion in northern Sri Lanka and influence of Pakistan in those areas could adversely impact Sri Lanka too,” a senior home ministry official told ET. It is unclear what help Colombo could extend to India to probe Siddique’s activities since he probably had diplomatic immunity in Sri Lanka.

The NIA is even more desperate to go to Sri Lanka in order to get to Mohamed Sulaiman, a Sri Lankan who was arrested in Malaysia a few months ago and deported to Sri Lanka. Sulaiman, who operated out of Bangkok, was to join two Pakistani terrorists in attacks on the American and Israeli Consulates, says the NIA. India has been seeking his custody, so far in vein.

“It is up to Sri Lanka to walk the talk in this entire matter,” a top home ministry official said. It is a long battle against Pakistan-sponsored terror plots, says the NIA chief. “They (Pakistan) will keep on doing this … they will try and infiltrate and we have to stop them … it is a long battle.” (Courtesy Economic Times)

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 12 Apr 2015 19:37

Despite the relative successes, the NIA probe against Siddiqui is now stuck. The Sri Lanka Attorney General has been sitting on India’s request for months to allow an NIA team to visit Sri Lanka for collecting evidence against the Pakistani official, who has since returned to Pakistan. “The previous Rajapaksa government in Sri Lanka was dead against our request … we expect the new government to move on it soon.

Sri Lanka has to realise that rising Jihadi intrusion in northern Sri Lanka and influence of Pakistan in those areas could adversely impact Sri Lanka too,” a senior home ministry official told ET. It is unclear what help Colombo could extend to India to probe Siddique’s activities since he probably had diplomatic immunity in Sri Lanka.

The NIA is even more desperate to go to Sri Lanka in order to get to Mohamed Sulaiman, a Sri Lankan who was arrested in Malaysia a few months ago and deported to Sri Lanka. Sulaiman, who operated out of Bangkok, was to join two Pakistani terrorists in attacks on the American and Israeli Consulates, says the NIA. India has been seeking his custody, so far in vein.

“It is up to Sri Lanka to walk the talk in this entire matter,” a top home ministry official said. It is a long battle against Pakistan-sponsored terror plots, says the NIA chief. “They (Pakistan) will keep on doing this … they will try and infiltrate and we have to stop them … it is a long battle.” (Courtesy Economic Times)

Did the Sirisena govt. give access to the paki terrorist henchmen during recent interactions? There is no report either way in this thread.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 14 Apr 2015 11:05

Wasn't there an earlier report that the Pakis allegedly involved were sent back to Pak?

Anyway,happy Aluth Avuruddu to all Lankans as it is the Sinhala and Tamil new Year today.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 14 Apr 2015 11:48

Philip wrote:Wasn't there an earlier report that the Pakis allegedly involved were sent back to Pak?

Anyway,happy Aluth Avuruddu to all Lankans as it is the Sinhala and Tamil new Year today.

likewise. may they all see better days

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 16 Apr 2015 10:40

LTTE gun-running network still active,now arming the Naxals?

Naxals getting arms from Sri Lanka?

2015-04-16

India's Central intelligence agencies have launched a major investigation into a “specific tip-off” that Naxals were now getting sophisticated weapons through the sea route from Sri Lanka, The Asian Age reported.

Top intelligence sources claimed that they had received information some time back that Naxals were routing arms and ammunition through the sea route through an arms cartel which was suspected to be earlier providing weapons to the LTTE as well. It is suspected that the weapons are coming through Sri Lanka using the sea route, sources added.

Till now it has been confirmed that Naxals were primarily getting weapons, mostly of Chinese origin, either through the Nepal route or through some terror outfits operating in the Northeast, like the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) and even the ULFA, who would bring in weapons via Myanmar.

But intelligence officials are worried about this new “supply route” being used by the Maoists to procure sophisticated weapons, including the AK-series rifles, landmines, grenade launchers, communication equipment and even Night Vision Devices (NVDs).

“We have been getting specific inputs that some arms dealers who had been involved with the LTTE earlier are now sourcing weapons to the Naxals as well. This arms cartel has been operating via the sea route since the LTTE days and the same channel is now said to be used for the providing weapons to Naxals also. This indeed is a worrying trend since Naxals are slush with funds and if they get access to state-of-the-art weaponry then they can cause problems for out security forces,” a senior intelligence official informed this newspaper.

The Naxals have been on the offensive over the past few days launching at least three major attacks on the security forces.
- See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/69343/naxals- ... Dx4F7.dpuf

PS:Does the brouhaha over the TN fishermen have anything to do with this? The TN fishermen's issues could be a smokescreen keeping both nations naval assets busy in the Palk Straits,while the gun-running takes a different route.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 17 Apr 2015 17:58

http://www.colombopage.com/archive_15A/ ... 3074CH.php

Apr 16, Colombo: In keeping with a pledge made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Sri Lanka last month, India has extended the Tourist Visa on Arrival enabled by Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) scheme for Sri Lankan nationals with effect from Tuesday, April 14, 2015.

The new scheme will be in addition to the existing visa services. Sri Lankan nationals holding Diplomatic / Official passports cannot avail of the eTV scheme. Sri Lankan nationals of Pakistani origin cannot avail of the eTV scheme either, the High Commission of India said in a release.

The eTV can be utilized by all Sri Lankan Nationals holding ordinary passports whose sole objective of visiting India is recreation, sightseeing, casual visit to meet friends or relatives, short duration medical treatment or casual business visit. The applicant should not have a residence or occupation in India. The applicant should hold a passport with at least six months validity from the date of arrival in India.

It may be noted that visa will not be issued on arrival without ETA. Applicants have to apply and obtain ETA online prior to undertaking travel to India. This process will take a minimum of 4 working days.

The eTV will be for single-entry, and valid for only 30 days stay from the date of arrival in India. The eTV will be non-extendable, non-convertible and not valid for visiting Protected /Restricted and Cantonment Areas. Entry into India must be through any of the following 9 designated airports only - Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. However, exit can be through any authorized Immigration Check Post (ICP) in India. Entry into India must be undertaken within 30 days from the date of approval of ETA. The eTV facility cannot be availed of more than twice in a calendar year.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 20 Apr 2015 10:20

Ranil joins along list of Lankan politicos who visit Indian temples and places of pilgrimage to make offerings and seek blessings from the divine..

http://www.dailymirror.lk/69529/ranil-v ... ndia[quote]
Ranil visits Guruvayur Temple in India

2015-04-18
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe visited the Guruvayur Sreekrishna Temple in India on Saturday.

His wife Maitree Wickremesinghe and Sri Lankan Minister for Resettlement, Reconstruction and Hindu Religious Affairs D. M. Swaminathan accompanied him.

The Prime Minister and his team arrived at the Sreevalsam Guest House of the Guruvayur Devaswom around 11-15 a.m. He changed into a traditional ‘Veshti’ and ‘Mundu’, and proceeded to the temple.

Guruvayur Devaswom chairman T. V. Chandramohan welcomed him with a bouquet at the East Nada.

He visited the sanctum sanctorum (which houses the main shrine or Moolavigrama, a Swarna Thidambu or idol made of gold and Panchaloha Thidambu or idol made of Panchaloha), and subsidiary shrines dedicated to Lord Ayyappa and Goddess Bhagavathy.

He offered ‘thulabharam’ (a ceremony in which an offering worth one’s weight is submitted to the deity) with sandalwood Melshanti (chief priest) Moorkkannur Sreehari Namboodiri offered ‘prasadam’ to Mr. Wickramasinghe and his wife.

Later, Mr. Chandramohan presented a mural painting and a figurine of Lord Krishna to the Sri Lankan Prime Minister. The Prime Minister also visited the Mammiyur temple in Guruvayur.

He told reporters he was neither pro-India nor pro-China and that his primary commitment was to protecting the interests of Sri Lanka. He said that a team of experts from Sri Lanka would soon visit Punnathurkotta, the Guruvayur Devaswom’s elephant sanctuary. He called for better ties between India and Sri Lanka.

The Prime Minister left the temple town around 12.30 p.m. Security in and around the temple was tightened in connection with his visit. Around 1,000 police personnel were deployed in the temple town.
- See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/69529/ranil-v ... B7zgV.dpuf[/quote]

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 21 Apr 2015 01:18

http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 917_1.html

Sri Lanka today wooed industries in North India, particularly in tourism, healthcare, pharmaceutical, live stock management, for boosting bilateral trade with India.

The island nation is focusing on north Indian states "primarily because of immense production capacities here for which we can offer perfect production distribution facilities in Lanka", Sudharshan Seneviratne, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India, said here during an interactive session organised by CII today.

"We are fully committed to facilitating industries from Punjab and Haryana to enter into joint ventures or agreements with their counterparts in Sri Lanka in these sectors. We will offer you best working as well as managerial labour, especially with 95 per cent of our population being literate," he said.

He also talked of a Guru Nanak Trail in Sri Lanka blended with heritage and excursion trips "across the voyages of the guru to attract tourists from North India".

The Ramayana trail will soon have improved infrastructure facilities and come equipped with a lot of other facilities like tourist info centres, guides, proper trains, beautiful beaches, golf ranges and hotels, he said.

India emerged as the largest trading partner in 2012 by accounting for nearly 20 per cent of Sri Lanka's imports and 5.6 per cent of its total exports, he said.

schinnas · Post by **schinnas** » 21 Apr 2015 12:51

India should aggressively push for rail / road link with Sri Lanka. It should be done Chinese style - We can build an infrastructure corridor in SL running from North of the island to the south and connected to South India. It will boost trade and tourism substantially and pay for itself in 30 years. It can be funded by ADB and construction managed by Indian companies on a BOT model (Build Operate Transfer) with public-private partnership. It will be a great win-win and we will never again have to worry about SL falling into Chinese embrace and neither would SL need China. Millions of tourists and small time businessmen would bring several tens of billions of trade and tourism revenue to SL that Cheen can never hope to meet it given its geography.

We should not let our meek bean counters challenged for thinking big foil such big plans. It is time to think big and bold.

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 21 Apr 2015 17:20

Completely agree, Schinnas. Have always wondered what could possibly put the brakes on this idea, short of a lack of stomach for it, and local TN politics. I would wager it is the latter.

schinnas · Post by **schinnas** » 21 Apr 2015 17:26

local TN politics is easy to handle - just give subcontracts of the project to local TN politicians or their cronies and you see how local support is generated. It is the least of the problem. Lack of big thinking and execution is the primary reason.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 23 Apr 2015 16:36

Brother Basil arrested (does what good Indian politicos do,heads for hospital,"chest pain"?!),brother Goat-a-bhyaya questioned ,and MR questioned too,bad times for the Rajapakse brothers. It looks like the new dispensation is finally getting their act together,given the threat of a comeback by the "familia" in the upcoming parliamentary polls.

Good reflection on Indo-Lankan diplomacy/relations.
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat ... tle=123482

Indo-Lanka relations and regional fence-mending
April 22, 2015,
Sri Lankan President and Indian PM (R)

The continuing and chronic uneasiness characterizing Sri Lanka’s ties with India, testifies strikingly to Sri Lanka’s inability to forge a satisfactory and enduring policy towards her major neighbour over the decades. Except briefly, over a couple or so of bilateral questions in the sixties and seventies, Sri Lanka has never managed to iron out her differences with India in an exceptionally amicable manner. This is glaring proof of a regional policy failure on the part of Sri Lanka which is being largely glossed over by this country’s decision-making and power elite, besides other important sections.

To begin with, influential quarters in Sri Lanka seem to be adamantly inclined to ignore some of the most fundamental realities in the regional politics context. One of these constitutes the conduct which should be expected of a major regional power. Given its regional preponderance, it ought not to come as a surprise to any of India’s smaller neighbours that India would be acutely vigilant to developments in South Asia, which would have security implications, for instance, for her. One could not expect a major power to stand idly by while its most vital interests are seen as being compromised as a result of the security policy decisions of any of its neighbours. Likewise, a big power cannot be expected to wink at any destabilizing tendencies within its borders, resulting from political developments in any of its neighbouring countries.

In other words, the observer of regional politics should consider it advisory to adopt a political realism point of view in assessing international political developments. Which major power would look the other way, while what it sees as its national interest is undermined by one of its neighbours? Indeed, no self-respecting state could afford to do so, whether categorized as major or minor.

It is plain to see that a country, big or small, needs to deal empathetically with its neighbours, for the purpose of ensuring a measure regional amity and unity. In this respect, the majority of South Asian states have failed badly. They have failed to see that unless they are motivated by the principle of empathy, their regional policies are doomed to failure.

In the case of Sri Lanka’s ties with India, the inference is inescapable that ad-hocism has been permitted to play too big a role in Lanka’s handling of her relations with her major neighbour. While empathy needed to be a prime and permanent characteristic of our policy towards India, this was not allowed to be the case, wittingly or unwittingly. However, in the sixties and seventies, as earlier alluded to, administrations under former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike managed to resolve some seemingly thorny issues with India, as a consequence of the exceptionally positive rapport which was maintained between the countries in those times. Two such issues were the Indian-origin plantation workers’ question and the Kachchathivu problem. It was plain that positively-oriented, sustained negotiations played a substantial role in sorting out these questions.

It was not only what was seen as the personal friendship between the countries’ Prime Ministers in those years which proved decisive in resolving the bilateral questions concerned; there was also the similarity in foreign policy orientation between India and Sri Lanka which acted as a veritable lubricant in ensuring that bilateral ties were relatively friction-free. The policy principle in question here is Non-alignment.

These elements were lacking in the foreign policy formulation process in the J.R. Jayewardene years, for instance. Besides the political leadership of Sri Lanka and India not relating to each other amicably, the J.R. administration deviated from the principle of Non-alignment by cultivating close security ties with the West in its fight against Tamil militant organizations. It was mainly this development which compelled India to seemingly ‘go soft’ on Tamil militant groups in Southern India. The consequence was a rapid deterioration in bilateral relations.

Thus, it could be seen that Sri Lanka’s deviation from the policy of cultivating mutual understanding with India in a sustained manner, led to an unprecedented souring of Indo-Lanka relations in the J.R. years. If it were a policy principle on the part of Sri Lanka that close relations between India and Sri Lanka should be maintained on the basis of empathetic understanding, Indo-Lanka ties would not have crumbled in those times. Short-sightedness on the part of Sri Lanka led to serious security concerns on India’s part, which in turn compelled her to a course of action, which she saw as meeting her interests at the time.

To be sure, these principles of good neighbourliness should be strongly adhered to by states both big and small in their relations with each other. That is, India should respect the sensitivities of her neighbours and the latter should be mindful of India’s concerns and national interest.

However, considering the huge asymmetries of power between India and her neighbours and the vast and numerous human and natural resources India is obliged to protect, in comparison to her neighbours, the latter should see it as specially incumbent on them to be consistently mindful of India’s sensitivities and concerns and to fashion their relations towards her accordingly. In other words, the rest of South Asia should put in a special effort to learn to live amicably with India. After all, nothing could be done about the smaller states’ geographical proximity to India. These states have no choice but to fashion regional policies on the basis of these unalterable geographical and physical realities.

Accordingly, the current Maithripala Sirisena administration in Sri Lanka is acting with foresight by expending some effort towards mending fences with India, while remaining on amicable terms with the rest of South Asia. It is Non-alignment which would serve South Asia’s interests best. In contrast, the former Mahinda Rajapaksa administration showed signs of succumbing to local populist sentiments as regards India. Foreign and regional policies founded on populist feelings and collective fears are, plainly, doomed to failure and our friction-filled ties with India during the MR years should not have surprised the discerning.

It must also be noted that India has bourgeoned into almost a First World power over the past couple of decades. Given her present stature, one cannot see India being indifferent to policy initiatives and manoeuvres by her neighbours which could be seen by her as threatening her vital interests, whether they be of a security nature or otherwise.

Observers and publics must expect of India, conduct that is usually in keeping with that of a major power. It would be naïve in the extreme to expect things to be otherwise. India would always carve out for itself a major role in the affairs of not only South Asia but in those outside it as well. And given the current global power balance, it would be difficult for the world to ignore India’s voice and interests.

It does not follow from the foregoing that India’s neighbours should be subservient to her. This should never be the case but they need to be sensitive to power realities and act in harmony with India, as long as the latter does right and acts fairly, in order to further and protect their legitimate interests.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 29 Apr 2015 21:44

http://www.firstpost.com/india/indian-fishermen-indulging-illegal-activity-lankan-waters-coast-guard-2215292.html

Madurai: In a stand that may not go down well in Tamil Nadu, Coast Guard on Monday told the Madras High Court that Indian fishermen allegedly indulge in various illegal acts such as smuggling and trawling in Sri Lankan waters resulting in action by the island nation's navy.
The ICG submitted that it cannot take responsibility for the security of the fishermen if they entered Sri Lankan waters and there was confrontation between them and the Lankan Navy.

A counter-affidavit to this effect was filed by Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Deputy Director General, KR Nautial on a contempt petition against officials for not "obeying" the earlier court orders on providing security for fishermen.
The stand may not go down well in the state where the island nation comes under flak from politicians and government for mid-sea 'attacks' and arrests of the state's fishermen.
The affidavit said the Indian fishermen had never been attacked in Indian waters and that neither the Coast Guard nor Navy permitted any of the Sri Lankan vessels to come to Indian territory.
"After the culmination of civil war (in Sri Lanka in 2009), it is reported that Indian fishermen are resorting to smuggling contraband including drugs due to the developing relationship with their counterparts in Sri Lanka and better monetary returns for such practices," the affidavit said.
"They were also using banned methods of fishing, using high power motors, causing damage to Sri Lankan fishing gear and caught in the act of smuggling contraband and other unlawful activities like mid-sea attack between Indian fishermen and their counterparts," the coast guard said.
Besides, they (Indian fishermen) crossed International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and entered Sri Lankan waters for better catch as fisheries resources depleted in India.

he Sri Lankan Navy had reported to the Indian High Commission 36,865 instances of Indian fishermen poaching in the island waters.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 30 Apr 2015 01:15

edddddeeet

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 30 Apr 2015 01:15

http://www.niticentral.com/2015/04/30/s ... 11427.html
Sri Lanka to get USD 400 mn from RBI under currency swap deal

Colombo, Apr 29 (PTI) Sri Lanka's Central Bank will tomorrow get the first USD 400 million tranche from India under a currency swap agreement with the RBI that will help the country tackle currency volatility and promote trade. Another USD 1.1 billion has been approved by the Indian government for augmenting the currency swap arrangement between the two Central Banks. This additional amount is expected to be made available in due course, a central bank statement said here.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 30 Apr 2015 01:20

svenkat wrote:http://www.firstpost.com/india/indian-fishermen-indulging-illegal-activity-lankan-waters-coast-guard-2215292.html

Madurai: In a stand that may not go down well in Tamil Nadu, Coast Guard on Monday told the Madras High Court that Indian fishermen allegedly indulge in various illegal acts such as smuggling and trawling in Sri Lankan waters resulting in action by the island nation's navy.
The ICG submitted that it cannot take responsibility for the security of the fishermen if they entered Sri Lankan waters and there was confrontation between them and the Lankan Navy.

A counter-affidavit to this effect was filed by Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Deputy Director General, KR Nautial on a contempt petition against officials for not "obeying" the earlier court orders on providing security for fishermen.
The stand may not go down well in the state where the island nation comes under flak from politicians and government for mid-sea 'attacks' and arrests of the state's fishermen.
The affidavit said the Indian fishermen had never been attacked in Indian waters and that neither the Coast Guard nor Navy permitted any of the Sri Lankan vessels to come to Indian territory.
"After the culmination of civil war (in Sri Lanka in 2009), it is reported that Indian fishermen are resorting to smuggling contraband including drugs due to the developing relationship with their counterparts in Sri Lanka and better monetary returns for such practices," the affidavit said.
"They were also using banned methods of fishing, using high power motors, causing damage to Sri Lankan fishing gear and caught in the act of smuggling contraband and other unlawful activities like mid-sea attack between Indian fishermen and their counterparts," the coast guard said.
Besides, they (Indian fishermen) crossed International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and entered Sri Lankan waters for better catch as fisheries resources depleted in India.

he Sri Lankan Navy had reported to the Indian High Commission 36,865 instances of Indian fishermen poaching in the island waters.

Good. Time to discuss this in public, instead of the usual rhona-dhona about big bad SL.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 30 Apr 2015 11:25

FM Sushma has just told visiting TN fisherfolk to start deep--sea fishing and not intrude into Lankan waters. The message is clear.don't break the rules.

The 19A amendment to the Lankan constitution has just been passed,which curtails the powers of the Pres. and limits the pres to two 5 yr. terms only. The new man and triumvirate of Sirisena,Ranil and Chandrika have at last come good on this fundamental promise,if tardy on others.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 08 May 2015 16:13

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... re-setback

To woo the island nation of Sri Lanka, China lent more than $200 million to fund a new airport built by then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa near his hometown. It wasn’t one of the Chinese government’s better investments. Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport opened in 2013, but two years later there is only one scheduled daily flight, on Flydubai. In January, just after Rajapaksa’s reelection campaign ended in an upset loss, state-owned SriLankan Airlines canceled its flights to the airport.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 13 May 2015 22:09

Philip, A nice realist article after a long time.

The lack of empathy was due to Uk-US prodding regional countries that big bad India would dominate and swallow them soon after colonialism ended.
All the sins of Imperial Japan's Co-prosperity Sphere were put on India and the bogey raised often to allow the duo a handle to meddle in the region. Congress govts and IFS babus which were B teams of UK-US interests did nothing to dissuade the image.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 21 May 2015 22:19

http://www.thehindu.com/news/internatio ... 232229.ece

India, which is funding the construction of 50,000 houses for internally-displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka, may offer a line of credit, this time for building houses in lands released by the Army from the high security zones.

Indicating this, D.M. Swaminathan, Sri Lankan Minister for Resettlement, Reconstruction and Hindu Religious Affairs, said the matter was discussed during his recent meeting with Sujatha Mehta, Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.

He immediately sounded his President Maithripala Sirisena about the possibility of getting financial assistance from India. A formal letter has also been sent to the Indian High Commission.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 24 May 2015 04:50

http://www.colombopage.com/archive_15B/ ... 7387CH.php
'India, Sri Lanka business dialogue in July'

The India-Ceylon Economic Dialogue (ICED) will be held in Kochi in July. The business meet was devised following the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sri Lanka in March.

The B2B dialogue is being supported by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Kerala Bureau of Industrial promotion.

The aim of the meet is to do away with middlemen, allowing industrialists in India and Sri Lanka to deal directly with each other. This is akin to an independent business contract.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 26 May 2015 16:40

"SL Rejects Indian Proposal of Fishing in Lankan Waters for 65 Days a Year"
http://www.outlookindia.com/news/articl ... ear/898818

Sri Lanka today rejected India's proposal to allow its fishermen to catch fish in Lankan waters for 65 days a year, in what can further escalate tensions betweent he two neighbours over the vexed issue.

"Not 65 days, we will not agree for even 65 hours," Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 26 May 2015 19:33

Non-tariff barriers largest road block to ties with India, says Sri Lanka minister
Interview with Eran Wickramaratne, Sri Lanka's deputy minister for highways and investment promotion
http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 285_1.html

What are the major road blocks for further increasing economic and trade relations between the two countries?

India has (an) abundance of labour. Sri Lanka has to be a little higher on value chain as it has lots of professional services which could be used in BPO at the higher end. Sri Lanka is now ready for manufacturing.

Some of India's problems are to do with non-tariff barriers (NTBs) as India has to work across several states. But Sri Lanka offers one jurisdiction, one administrative state and therefore it is easier basically to do business. There are advantages in doing business in Sri Lanka. Indian companies also could be mutually benefited. Ultimately both countries need to grow.

However, NTBs have caused some apprehensions among Sri Lankan businesses. India and Sri Lanka have a free trade agreement (FTA). Trade has increased between the two countries but it can grow exponentially if both work together towards reducing NTBs.

Q: Are there any other hurdles?

NTBs is the largest roadblock. India also needs to liberalise exports of value-added products and design and marketing. For example, Sri Lanka is a tea exporter but not talking about bulk exports of tea into India. India has a natural advantage, it has a lower base and that is why Sri Lanka imports a lot from India and trade balance is heavily in favour of India. So for the two countries to grow, we need to look at Sri Lankan exports to India.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 26 May 2015 23:37

"India bans film on girl to save Lanka ties"
http://colombogazette.com/2015/05/26/in ... anka-ties/

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in India has refused to certify ‘Porkalathil Oru Poo,’ a film based on real life story of television journalist, Isaipriya, who was allegedly killed in captivity by the Sri Lankan armed forces in the final stages of the civil war in 2009, on the grounds that the film could strain friendly relations with foreign States, The Hindu newspaper reported.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 27 May 2015 07:14

News: "Modi focused on addressing Lankan issue"
http://colombogazette.com/2015/05/27/mo ... kan-issue/

India’s ruling BJP party says Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focused on addressing the issues faced by Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Muralidhar Rao, national general secretary of the BJP, said that during the past one year since coming to power, the BJP government under Modi had also looked at resolving the fishermen issue involving Sri Lanka and India, the New Indian Express reported.

member_24684 · Post by **member_24684** » 27 May 2015 07:51

.

did anyone noticed that Naam Tamilar Party's recent rally in somewhere in Tamil Nadu Showing Hitler and Saddam's Posters, Quoting as thier role models.

Full of retards ..!!

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 27 May 2015 08:51

SajeevJino wrote:.

did anyone noticed that Naam Tamilar Party's recent rally in somewhere in Tamil Nadu Showing Hitler and Saddam's Posters, Quoting as thier role models.
Full of retards ..!!

Aiyo, kadavulay. But can't say I am surprised by this kind of rampany idiocy in TN -- long time coming. That is just a fallout of the utter trash they teach in the Tamilnadu state board history textbooks. Most of my high school classmates did not know the difference between the Nazi party and a birthday party. Well, not just history either the -- 10% of all students scored 100% in science this year in TN, which about says it all.