Safety Breach by Air India !!!

AI stuffs extra passengers on a flight, faces action

Air India is once again in trouble. The airline, in a shocking violation of air safety norms, allowed three extra passengers on board a full-loaded flight.

While one woman was accommodated in the cockpit's jump seat behind the pilots, two others were made to sit on foldable seats meant for cabin crew.

The incident occurred on the Mumbai-Mangalore flight on May 5.

The safety breach was discovered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) when the aircraft's door got damaged and passengers had to be offloaded.

The cockpit is out of bounds for passengers and even cabin crew as following the hijack of American planes on 9/11, no one can enter the cockpit without the pilot's permission.

The DGCA can now take criminal action against Air India for violating safety norms..

The airline may have a tough time defending its action as carrying extra passengers was not only against safety procedures but also made the flight "illegal" meaning that the airline would not have been entitled to any compensation in the event of a mishap

The incident has put the Airline's operating procedures under a cloud. In carrying three extra passengers Air India has broken more than one norm.

The action not only violated the basic principal of air safety by taking more passengers than the number of seats on board but also having extra passengers on board could have caused weight imbalances on the aircraft.

Sending more passengers into the aircraft means extra boarding cards were issued illegally. As the process of issuing boarding passes is completely computerised, the system automatically stops generating passes once the flight is full.

Investigation shows the passes were allegedly issued manually.

Former Director General of Civil Aviation Kanu Gohain said that those responsible for this serious lapse should be brought to book.

"AI should find out persons responsible for this avoidable lapse. It is a chain of lapses and individuals involved should also be identified all those involved and responsible in the incident should be identified and put at task," said Gohain.

Manmohan meets Obama during G8 meeting !!!

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh briefly met with US President Barack Obama during the outreach meeting of G8 and G5 leaders at their summit here Thursday.

Both leaders shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, Indian officials said. No bilateral talks were held.

Obama and Manmohan Singh had a formal meeting in April on the sidelines of the G20 summit in London.

There was no formal meeting scheduled between Obama and Manmohan Singh here though top foreign ministry officials had maintained that they would be 'in the same room at the same time'.

Manmohan Singh met British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Wednesday and was scheduled to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos.

Let me come home: Taslima pleads to Bangladesh govt !!!

Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen has petitioned Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to be allowed to return home 15 years after fleeing death threats by Islamic militants. She has not yet received any response.

She is unhappy with all regimes in Dhaka and with India, where she lived for some years, but had to leave in 2007 following threats from Muslim extremists.

"The problem of all political parties in India is that they tend to appease the Muslim fundamentalists," Nasreen, who holds a Swedish passport and lives in Paris, told Blitz, a Dhaka weekly.

"Muslims comprise 25 percent Indian population, this section generally relies on their religious leaders to choose the politician or party to vote. So, all political parties try to win the hearts of these religious leaders, who are often fanatics.

"The Indian authorities do not allow me to live in India, because they are afraid of being labelled as anti-Islam. Muslim fundamentalists claimed that I destroyed Islam. The politicians thought they, instead of supporting freedom of speech, should issue fatwa against it because to them supporting me would mean being labelled as anti-Islam which would destroy their Muslim vote-bank," she told the weekly.

She has disputed Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni's description of Bangladesh as a 'secular' nation, pointing to numerous religion-based laws in force.

Rather than being 'secular', which is an ideal situation, she would prefer Bangladesh to be a "moderate Muslim state".

Nasreen fled Bangladesh in 1994 to live in exile after death threats over her novel 'Lajja' (Shame) which depicts the life of a Hindu family persecuted in the Muslim-majority country.

Sheikh Hasina was the prime minister then.

Her plea to return follows the poll victory of Hasina's Awami League last December. The new government has pledged to crack down on Islamic militancy.

"As there is no true secular political party in the country, it is the only party we have pinned our hopes on. There is no alternative," Taslima said.

"I hope I would be able to return to my country during Hasina's term. If I can't go back now, I am afraid whether I will ever be able to in future. I hope good sense would prevail," she said.

Mamata dismisses corporate structure for railways !!!

Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday ruled out corporatisation of the Country's rail road network but said the private sector's participation can be considered for commercial use of railway land for areas like healthcare and education institutions.

"I'm always in favour of our employees. I'll be the last person to do it," Mamata said in her reply to the debate on the Railway Budget, referring to demands for corporatisation of some of the services and larger role for private sector in overall development of Indian Railways.

The Minister said a blue print was being drawn to totally revamp the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp but added there was no need to outsource food and beverage operations offered inside trains and stations.

Her comments put a question mark over the proposal in Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's national Budget to divest part stake in RITES, formerly the Rail India Technical and Economic Services Limited, a public sector enterprise under the Railways Ministry.

Tourism can be looked at," Mamata said on the issue of allowing outside agencies to supplement the efforts of Indian Railways. "But there is no need to outsource food. We will departmentalise it," she said.

The lower house later passed by voice vote the various demands for grants of the railways as also the various appropriation bills to help the Government draw money to run the department till such time the budget is passed.

Mamata, while advocating greater utilisation of vacant land banks of the Railways said that these were lying idle or being encroached upon.

"Our department is preparing the details and will finish it in 10 days. But we do have more than three lakh (300,000) acres" said Mamata.

"We cannot sell the land. But what is the problem in commercial utilisation?" she added.
Mamata also announced that an expert group was being constituted to look at drawing up various business plans that will help in the revamp and improve the efficiency of Indian Railways - the second largest railroad network under single management.

Then group, she said would be headed by Secretary General, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Amit Mitra with members from organisations like ICICI Bank and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Mamata said she believed in both national development of Indian Railways, which employs some 1.4 million people, as well as local representation. She promised 50 per cent employment in the various railways organisations to local population.

Mamata's Budget particularly invited praise from members across parties for a new scheme "izzat" for passengers to travel with dignity. Under this, people in unorganized sector with monthly income of up to Rs 1,500 can get monthly seasons ticket at Rs 25 for travel up to 100 km.

The network of Indian Railways spans of 108,706 km, to ferry some 14 million passengers on 7,000 trains daily from 6,906 stations. It also also runs 4,000 freight trains to carry nearly 850 millions of cargo each year.

Govt declares Madhya Pradesh drought-hit !!!

It's official. Madhya Pradesh is the first state to be declared drought-hit. With the rains playing truant, the central Indian state is facing an acute shortage of water forcing the Government to announce that 152 tehsils in 41 districts are drought-hit.

With 60 per cent of the total cultivable area of 140 million hectares being rain-fed, the water shortage has raised concerns about an impact on agriculture and economy.

On Sunday, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had said that there was "no reason for concern".

"The major sowing period is between July and August," he said, adding that the country's foodgrain production is likely to be the same as that of last year.

The Agriculture Secretary had met agriculture secretaries of states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and UP to discuss strategy.

And it's not just Madhya Pradesh - the National Capital too has a water problem and even Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit says we should "just bear with it".

A special namaz called the Namaz-e-Istasqa will be offered at Bhopal on July 3 at the Eidgah for early showers while a yagna was performed recently.

On Thursday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan undertook a padyatra from Gopal Mandir to the famous Mahakaleshwar temple, praying for rains in the state.

TRACKING RAINFALL
Rain or thundershowers are expected at a few places in Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh and east Rajasthan. The rest of northwest India could experience isolated rain or thunderstorms.

Konkan, Goa and central Maharashtra will also witness rain or thundershowers at most places.
Many places in Marathwada, Gujarat region and Saurashtra will get rains during the next 24 hours and according to the predictions of the Met Department, there will be an increase in the intensity of showers thereafter.

There might be isolated rain or thundershowers over the Kutch region during the next 24 hours after which the intensity is expected to increase and if that happens, then Sharad Pawar's confidence that there will be no drought in India will not be misplaced.

WATER SHORTAGE
A weak monsoon this year has been causing water shortage across the country, though the Met Department is hopeful that the situation will improve over the next few days.

India has received 36 per cent less rains overall this year.

The worst affected are West Uttar Pradesh which recorded 80 per cent less rainfall than normal since June 1, followed by Delhi which recorded a shortfall of 79 per cent.

The situation is also serious in Punjab and Haryana which received 71 per cent and 62 per cent less rains respectively. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh has now officially declared that the state is headed for a drought with almost no rains and a severe summer this year.

Govt employee cannot claim transfer as matter of right: CAT !!!

The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has said that a government employee cannot claim transfer to a place of his choice as a matter of right.

The bench, comprising Chairman V K Bali and Vice Chairman L K Joshi, passed the order on a plea filed by a 1994 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, challenging the Centre's direction to transfer him to Gujarat.

The Officer, Rajeev Kumar, working on deputation as an Additional Commissioner in the revenue department pleaded that like other colleagues, he should be given posting in Delhi.
"Under the rules, an IRS (official) is bound to serve anywhere in the country. He cannot claim a posting to Delhi as a matter of right. We are unable to fathom the cause of his angst at not being posted to Delhi," the CAT said.

The tribunal rejected the contentions of the official, who alleged that his transfer was in violation of the policy of the government.

"The argument that his transfer is in violation of the transfer policy does not hold good," the tribunal said.

Jackson's daughter surprises crowd with tearful goodbye !!!

In a memorial to Michael Jackson on Tuesday that featured superstars Mariah Carey and Stevie Wonder, the moment that may be best Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Katherine becomes emotional as she speaks at a memorial service for music legend Michael Jackson, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles remembered came when his 11-year-old daughter Paris spoke a few heart-wrenching words and called him ‘Daddy”.

Paris was quietly ushered onstage with her brothers, Prince Michael, 12, and Prince Michael II, seven, as the nearly two-hour event wound down to the strains of Jackson's charity single "We Are the World," then appeared to catch even members of her family off guard by addressing the hushed crowd at Staples Center.

Embraced by her aunt, Janet Jackson, who held back her long brown hair and urged her to "speak up," Paris stepped to the microphone, tears streaming down her face, as some in the audience were already filtering out of the sports arena.

"I just want to say, ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine, and I just wanted to say I love him so much," Paris said, sobbing as she stood near his gold coffin.

To gasps from the throng of about 18,000 people, she then turned and buried her face in Janet Jackson's arms and was hugged by other family members, including her brother.

Coming at the end of a largely scripted tribute to Jackson that included such fiery orators as civil rights activist Al Sharpton, observers quickly predicted that Paris' simple, impromptu eulogy to her father would be long remembered.

"Nobody was prepared for that. That will be one of the iconic moments from today's service," said media historian Ron Simon, who compared it to the salute to slain President John F Kennedy by his son John during his 1963 funeral.

Paris and her brothers, Prince Michael Jr. and Prince Michael II, have rarely been seen in public, their faces typically shielded from photographers by masks or veils when they accompanied their famous father.

Jackson, who felt hounded by paparazzi, closely guarded his children's privacy. "This kid in an odd sort of way has been liberated," Syracuse University media scholar Robert Thompson said. "Literally, the veil has been dropped from her, and one gets the sense that this liberation will be a good thing. But then she opens her mouth and reminds us that she's lost her daddy."

Michael Jackson’s former wife of three years, Debbie Rowe, is the mother of the two eldest children, while the third also known as "Blanket" was born in 2002 to a surrogate whose identity has never been made public.

After being thrust into the spotlight from the age of five, Jackson went to extreme lengths to protect his children such as covering their faces in veils or masks whenever they were in public. And they had not been seen since his death on June 25 from an apparent cardiac arrest.

But the three children joined other members of the Jackson clan at the Los Angeles Staples Center ceremony on Tuesday, sitting between their grandparents Katherine and Joe Jackson just in front of the 14-karat gold casket bearing the body of their father.

At times Paris dissolved into tears as star after star spoke of Jackson's legacy to the world, while her youngest brother played with a Michael Jackson doll on his lap.

But she stood and applauded as Al Sharpton addressed the children directly and said fiercely: "There weren't nothing strange about your daddy."

"It was strange what your daddy had to deal with, but he dealt with it," Sharpton said, his voice rising in the rich cadence of a sermon.

Temporary custody of the children has so far been granted to their grandmother Katherine Jackson, in line with the terms of Jackson's will, which also names pop diva Diana Ross as a back-up guardian.

But Rowe, who signed away her parental rights to her two children in 2001, has vowed to fight for them in what could presage a bitter legal battle, even though they are believed to have had little contact over the years.

"I want my children," Debbie Rowe told NBC television's local network in Los Angeles last week, adding she was willing to submit to any testing, including DNA, to prove she was the biological mother of Prince Michael and Paris. Her lawyer Eric George later appeared to dial back on his client's comments, saying in a conference call no final decision had been made.

A custody hearing has now been set for Monday.

Sushma accuses Chidambaram of leaking letter on Varun security !!!

Deputy leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday accused home minister P Chidambaram of making public a letter he had written to her regarding security arrangements for BJP MP Varun Gandhi.

Swaraj also claimed that Chidambaram had requested her to keep it (the letter) a secret as it would defeat "the very purpose of providing security".

"Chidambaram had written the letter asking me to meet her to discuss Varun Gandhi's security and while I kept the matter a secret, he has leaked it to the media," Swaraj told reporters in the capital.

Swaraj claimed she had shown the letter only to senior party leader L K Advani.

"If Chidambaram wanted to keep security arrangements made for Varun Gandhi a secret then why did he leak it? I did not tell the press about it but now that it has been made public, I will be cornered (by the press) to reveal details of my meeting with Chidambaram after it takes place," she said, adding, he had "violated propriety" by doing so.

Swaraj is likely to meet the home minister to discuss Varun's security matter on Thursday. She said she would also raise the issue of the leaked letter.

The letter was later made public by the ministry of home affairs.

In the letter, Chidambaram states that he did not want to discuss Varun's security in Parliament as it "would defeat the very purpose of providing security to Varun Gandhi".

"I, therefore, suggest that, if you wish, you may kindly meet me and I shall take you into confidence about the security cover provided to Varun," the letter said.

Targeting CRPF through protests?

As Jammu and Kashmir simmers over the alleged human rights violations by security forces in Shopian and Baramulla, here's a look at the other side of the story.

Central Reserve Paramilitary Force (CRPF) men have been repeatedly targeted in street protests in the Valley since the new government took over. So is Pakistan deliberately provoking the force into retaliating with force?

India's central reserve police force was just recently withdrawn from Baramulla town after firing on civilian protestors. Officials in New Delhi argue that the recent clashes between the CRPF and civilians are not a coincidence. They claim it is the result of a major change in strategy of terrorists and separatists.

In the last eight months, while there has not been a single major terror strike since the new government took over, over 1200 CRPF men have seriously been injured in such protests and over 200 of their vehicles burnt or damaged.

Every Friday, in downtown Srinagar, 30 battalions of CPRF are deployed to take on protestors who pelt stones. Instead of guns, bombs and violence, mass streets protests on local issues have pushed the CPRF on to the other side of the battle lines.

The idea, New Delhi believes, is to spread enough choas to compel security forces to take harsh measures like fire on protestors. That in turn will escalate and spread the agitation.

NDTV has accessed radio message transcripts from across the border, intercepted by security agencies.
"We have sufficient information and confirmation to suggest that policy shift flows from Pakistan in instruction by handlers to separatists leadership in J&K to emphasis on street mobilisation," said Ajai Sahni, executive director, Institute for Conflict Management.

Security sources tell NDTV that the street protests are designed to achieve a couple of targets. One - create a bad image of the central forces and project India as an oppressive state, and two - tie down the CRPF, thereby creating gaps in the security grid.

The Home Minister, sources say, would prefer to pull back the CPRF into the barracks, and retain them only for anti-insurgency operations, not for everyday policing.

But, for Omar Abdullah to replace the CRPF with the locally drawn Jammu and Kashmir Police could be a double edged sword. On the one hand, it could be good politics, but on the other, the worry about whether the local police would act against their own. And not to mention that there aren't enough policemen available anyway.

PM slams G8, UNSC for not being cohesive !!!

As he left for the G8 Summit in Italy, the Prime Minister sharply attacked institutions like the UN and even the G8 itself calling for major reforms.

In an article ahead of the summit, he writes: "The Security Council has not changed at all and its present structure poses serious problems of legitimacy.

He says this has led to "a greater reliance on groupings, such as the G-8 which are not necessarily representative of the global community, not cohesive and do not have any special legitimacy within the UN System. India will seek its due place."
Dr Singh is expected to meet President Obama and other world leaders. In his departure statement, he called for a well-coordinated global response to the economic crisis.

The Summit which starts on the 9th of July also sees Italy's flamboyant Prime Minister in the spotlight, but for embarrassing reasons. His wife will not be there after announcing that she is divorcing him over his fondness for young women.

The Italian prime minister has asked a former topless model turned government minister to stand in for his estranged wife. The 72-year-old premier has chosen Mara Carfagna - now Italy's equal opportunities minister - to take care of the likes of Michelle Obama and Sarah Brown.

Miss Carfagna, 33, is an ex-glamour girl whose sultry looks and portfolio of lingerie calendars earned her the title of the world's sexiest government minister from men's magazine Maxim.
The one-time Miss Italy contestant will be supported in the role by another attractive young member of the cabinet, education minister Maria Stella Gelmini.

Berlusconi is said to have chosen Miss Carfagna and Miss Gelmini to reward them for being "staunch champions" as he has battled allegations that he slept with a high-class call-girl at his mansion in Rome last November. Together they will guide the G8 wives around Rome and the mountain town of L'Aquila 65 miles away, where the summit is being held from Wednesday to Friday.

But the appointment of the pair has reportedly sparked a "cold war" with two of Berlusconi's other favourites, youth minister Giorgia Meloni and environment minister Stefania Prestigiacomo.

Miss Meloni has been forced to deny she felt snubbed, saying she had other G8 duties to attend to: "I can't see what all the fuss is about."

There had been intense speculation over how Berlusconi would solve the problem of no longer having a First Lady of his own when it came to hosting the G8.

Veronica Lario, a former actress who first caught his eye when she appeared on stage topless, announced in early May that she wanted a divorce.

She condemned as "shameless rubbish" a plan by his People of Freedom party to promote showgirls and starlets as Italy's candidates in the European elections.

She also accused him of "frequenting minors" after he dropped in on a Naples disco to attend the 18th birthday party of Noemi Letizia, a blonde lingerie model, and gave her a gold and diamond necklace worth more than £5,000.

Mr Berlusconi's private life has become even more turbulent since then. He was accused of misusing government aircraft to fly guests to private parties at his luxury villa in Sardinia.
A Spanish newspaper also published photographs of women wearing only bikini thongs taking outdoor showers and lounging in the sun by the villa's swimming pools.

Then came the allegation that women were paid to attend his parties and that one of them, Patrizia D'Addario, 42, spent the night with him at his residence in Rome, Palazzo Grazioli.
The G8 spouses will on Wednesday have an audience with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican, and then be taken on a tour of the devastation caused by the massive earthquake which hit L'Aquila on April 6, killing nearly 300 people and leaving thousands homeless.

They will also visit museums in Rome and have a meeting with UN food agencies based in the capital on the role of women in fighting hunger.

The choice of chaperone is likely to quicken the pulse of the only man in the group, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's husband, Joachim Sauer.

Rumours have swirled around the nature of Berlusconi's relationship with Miss Carfagna since he joked to the one-time showgirl at an awards dinner two years ago: "If I was not already married, I would run off with you immediately."

His furious wife, Veronica Lario, 52, complained publicly and he was forced to issue an apology. But that did not stop him from promoting Miss Carfagna to the cabinet as soon as he got the chance.

When a female comedian joked last year that she was only made an MP because she gave sexual favours to Berlusconi, she announced she would sue for one million euros (£790,000).

CBI probe recommended into Ranbir's killing !!!

Uttarakhand government has recommended a CBI probe into death of an MBA graduate from Ghaziabad in an alleged "fake encounter".

Ranbir Singh was killed on Friday in Dehradun

The move follows Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank's statement that his government was ready for the CBI probe.

"I have full faith in the CB-CID. But if the family members of Ranbir want a CBI probe into the matter, we will not shy away from it also," Nishank said on Monday after meeting the father of 22-year-old Ranbir Singh.

Ranbir's father Ravindrapal Singh and other relatives met the Chief Minister at state secretariat on Monday afternoon and demanded a CBI probe into the incident.

They also demanded stern action against the "erring" police officials.

Earlier, the Dehradun SSP said that there was no evidence to show that Ranbir was a criminal. A case of murder was registered against an SSP and 6 policemen allegedly involved in this encounter.

Besides the main opposition Congress, Rashtriya Lok Dal, the ruling BJP leaders and human rights activists supported the demand of Singh's family for a CBI probe into the killing after the autopsy report revealed that he was shot from close range and injury marks showed that he may have been tortured.

BJP president Rajnath Singh, an MP from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, reportedly spoke to Nishank over telephone over the issue and asked him to sympathetically consider the demand for a CBI probe.

Facing mounting pressure from various quarters, Nishank on Sunday night held a high-level meeting with top administrative and police officials over the issue and later announced the removal of Dehradun SSP Amit Sinha from the post. Seven policemen including, Sub-Inspector G D Bhatt, involved in the encounter, were sent to police lines.

Dehradun encounter background

• On July 3, 22 year old Ranbir Singh was gunned down by police, allegedly after he picked up a fight with a sub-inspector.
• The killing was painted an encounter police. The police said he snatched a service revolver, fled and even fired at them. That's when they were forced to fire.
• His family says Ranbir was innocent and that the MBA graduate from Indirapuram was in Dehradun to join a private company.
• Ranbir's autopsy reveals that he was shot at least 10 times from close range and there were numerous injury marks on his body.
• Left with little option, a case of murder was registered against the 6 police officials involved in the alleged fake encounter.
• On Tuesday, after the family demanded a CBI inquiry, the Uttarakhand chief minister said he had no objection to it.

Michael Jackson's ghost in Neverland?

Michael Jackson's fans created a frenzy after possibly sighting the ghost of the pop legend at his Neverland ranch recently.

An eerie shadow resembling Jackson's figure appeared on a wall in the singer's former home during a live television programme last week, reports thesun.co.uk. If reports are to be believed, the shadow walked across the corridor and even moved quickly from left to right before disappearing.

The sighting reportedly took place during CNN's special show "Inside Neverland", where Larry King was in conversation with Jackson's brother Jermaine.

While shooting, the crew of the show takes viewers on a tour of the ranch and when the camera enters a long hallway, the shadowy figure appears at its far end.

Neither the presenter nor the cameraman noticed the shadow, but after it was posted on video sharing website YouTube, fans started pinpointing the shadow.

Jackson passed away on June 25 after suffering a cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home.

Fire in Madurai cracker factory; 17 dead, 40 hurt !!!

Seventeen workers of a cracker factory were burnt to death in a fire accident in the Madurai district of Tamil Nadu. Around 40 others have suffered burn injuries.

The accident occurred at a licensed cracker-manufacturing unit at Vadakampatti, around 40 kilometres from Madurai. The cause of the accident is yet to be established.

Many of the injured are critical including a few school students who worked there after returning from school.

Union Minister from Madurai M K Azhagiri is expected to visit the place on Wednesday.

Advani lists do's and don'ts for BJP MPs !!!

As the beleaguered Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continues to be in a soul searching mode, veteran leader L K Advani has come out with a list of do's and don'ts for newly elected MPs to ensure that the party presents a united front.

"After the Lok Sabha elections, some leaders in the party have been giving random statements to the media. This portrays a wrong image of the party and spoils the reputation of some leaders. Therefore, to control this, Advani ji has come out with some suggestions," BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Wednesday.

Speaking on the birth anniversary of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mookerjee on Monday, Advani said there were too many spokespersons in the party.

A day later, he met newly elected MPs in Parliament and recommended that they stay out of corporate wars and not ask questions in the house on behalf of lobbyists.

Advani also advised them to check every document before they sign.

Asking them to be careful as these were critical times when individual parties were looking for opportunities to "show each other down", Advani further said that the MPs should thoroughly check the background of private secretaries before hiring them.

India is worst victim of terrorism: US lawmaker !!!

Noting that no nation has suffered more from terrorism than India, an influential US lawmaker wants Washington to help it break with the perilous politics of South Asia's past for the long-term safety of the US, Pakistan and India.

"First, we have to help India break with the perilous politics of South Asia's past," said Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday at the confirmation hearing of Tim Roemer as the new US ambassador to India.

"India needs no lectures. Virtually no nation has suffered more from terrorism than India. South Asia is also a volatile nuclear flashpoint," he said.
The recently passed Kerry-Lugar bill to triple US non-military aid to Pakistan to recast US relationship with Islamabad, "Will help us to secure the long-term safety not only of the US and Pakistan, but of India as well," Kerry said.

Kerry, a former Democratic presidential candidate who visited India shortly after the Mumbai terror attacks, said, "I know the volatility that was felt then. But the degree to which there is still an excessive focus on India-Pakistan border issues is really almost an anachronism in today's world. And we need to work to move beyond that."

If confirmed, Roemer will be representing US at an exciting and potentially pivotal moment in US-India relations, he said "the Obama administration has a genuine opportunity to forge a true strategic US-India partnership, not as a threat or counterweight against any other nation but based on shared interests and shared values."

"If we get this right, it will benefit not only our nations but also the region and the world. There are many areas where we can make real progress," Kerry added.

He and several other senators had supported a civilian-nuclear deal with India, in part because it will help India grow its economy with clean energy, "I hope this will now open the door to greater cooperation on non-proliferation," he said.

Kerry said, "The Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be carrying a message of friendship, to India, during her visit later this month to engage with India's newly re-elected leadership."

Indian envoy holds talks with Tamil leaders !!!

Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Alok Prasad on Tuesday began a two-day visit to Jaffna by holding meetings with key officials, Tamil political leaders and the Roman Catholic Bishop.
Sources in Jaffna told The New Indian Express that during his visit to the Jaffna Hospital, Prasad promised to get Indian help to reconstruct parts of the hospital. The envoy’s visit assumes significance in the context of the polls to the Jaffna Municipal Council, the first to be held after the decimation of the LTTE. He met candidates of the leading political parties, including the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

On Monday, a three-member delegation TNA, the pro-LTTE party, had met Prasad in Colombo and apprised him of the concerns of the TNA in the post-war, post Prabhakaran scenario.
Suresh Premachandran, the TNA MP for Jaffna district, told The New Indian Express that the delegation tried to impress upon Prasad that Lanka was delaying the re-settlement of Tamil war refugees in the districts of Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi.

“The government is citing the existence of a large number mines to delay re-settlement. While some de-mining seems to be going on in Mannar, there is no de-mining work in either Kilinochchi or Mulaitivu,” he said.

He also alleged that the Lankan army was planning to acquire land for bases, to permanently militarise the northern Wanni region. He added that the Indian army had begun de-mining in the Giant Tank area of Mannar district that has been earmaked for resettlement of war refugees.

Presidential polls: Nimal Sripala de Silva, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health and a senior leader of the ruling United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance told The Island on Tuesday, that President Mahinda Rajapaksa would hold snap Presidential election after he had completes four years in office in November.

De Silva said that the election would be held this year. As per the Lankan constitution, the President could call for a fresh Presidential poll after completing four years in office. However, he would not take the oath of office after winning the snap election, but wait until his first six year term was completed in 2011, de Silva said.

We created militancy for short term gains: Zardari !!!

Pakistan now seems to be feeling the heat of the fire it had lighted years ago with President Asif Ali Zardari admitting that the menace of extremism and militancy were created by Islamabad itself to attain some tactical goals.

Addressing a gathering of retired federal secretaries and senior bureaucrats in Islamabad, Zardari asked the officials to admit the reality.

'Let us be truthful to ourselves and make a candid admission of the realities. Militancy and extremism emerged on the national scene and challenged the state not because the civil bureaucracy was weakened and demoralised, but because they were deliberately created and nurtured as a policy to achieve some short-term tactical objectives,' The Daily Times quoted Zardari, as saying.

Referring to the political turmoil in the country, Zardari said Pakistan cannot afford political brick batting at present, as the State is on the verge of collapse due to the impending threat from the Taliban and other terror organizations.

'We intend to keep all the political forces together in a harmonious relationship as we cannot afford political games and confrontational politics. We are at the brink and we must realize that political games for personal gain can no longer be played,' he said.

Zardari also stressed on the need of dispersing power to different hands for effective governance.
'Too much power, when concentrated in one hand lasts only for a short time. For power to be effectively used for long-lasting public good it must be diffused and dispersed as widely as possible,' he added.

Sea link named after Rajiv, Sena wants Savarkar's name !!!

India's first sea bridge in this financial capital will be named after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan announced in Mumbai. But this has upset several Opposition parties in the state.

The move to name the sea link between the main island and its suburbs after Gandhi came in response to a surprise demand to this effect by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). However, state opposition parties thought they should have been consulted on this.

"Rajiv Gandhi was born in Mumbai, he was a son of the soil and it will be appropriate that the bridge be named after him," Pawar said in his speech at an inaugural function.
Amidst thunderous applause, Chief Minister Chavan accepted Pawar's suggestion and made the announcement on the dais at the Rang Sharda Auditorium, Worli, where the official inauguration function was held after the bridge was thrown open by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson and Rajiv Gandhi's widow Sonia Gandhi.

The 5.6-km Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BSWL) on the Arabian Sea cost Rs 1,634 crore ($16.34 billion) and the authorities hope some 150,000 vehicles will use it each day for a toll that ranges between Rs 50 and Rs 100 per trip based on the size of the automobile.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister's prompt acceptance of Pawar's suggestion to name the sea bridge after Rajiv Gandhi immediately stirred controversy as Opposition parties said they should have been consulted over this.

Criticising the decision, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Bharat Raut said it was a long-standing demand of the Sena to name the sea bridge after revolutionary leader Veer Savarkar.
"It would have been appropriate for the state government to consult all political parties over naming the country's first sea bridge before unilaterally announcing any name," Raut said.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Gopinath Munde too felt the sea link should have been named after Savarkar.

"If not Savarkar, they could have considered other prominent historical figures for naming the bridge," he said.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe wondered what the urgency was to name it after Rajiv Gandhi.

"There are thousands of places and institutions already named after him. It would have been better if the Government had considered the name of a Maharashtra leader, saint or historical figure for the bridge," Gorhe said.

Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), at the forefront of the sons-of-the-soil agitation in the state, also expressed its reservations over the bridge's name.

MNS spokesman Shirish Parker said that though Rajiv Gandhi's contribution to the country's progress and modernization was not in doubt at all, the state government could have considered many other options for naming the bridge.

Petrol price hiked by Rs 4, diesel up by Rs 2 !!!

For the first time after it was re-elected the UPA Government raised fuel prices on Wednesday. Petroleum Minister Murli Deora took the decision to hike fuel prices after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Petrol price was hiked by Rs 4 a litre while diesel got costlier by Rs 2 per litre. The prices will come into effect by 12 am on Thursday.

"The prices of kerosene and cooking gas are not being changed," Deora said, adding the Government will continue to incur a subsidy of Rs 15.26 per litre and Rs 92.96 per cylinder on these two fuels, respectively.

Public sector oil companies have seen losses on fuel sale widening to about Rs 170 crore per day on firming global oil prices and may end the fiscal with over Rs 49,000 crore in revenue loss.
Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum have seen losses on sale of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene inflating from Rs 130 crore to about Rs 170 crore per day, an industry official said.

The three firms calculate the desired retail selling price of the four government-controlled products on 1st and 16th of every month based on average international oil rates of the previous fortnight.

The firming international crude oil prices, which are at a seven-month high of about $73 per barrel, widened losses on petrol to Rs 6.94 per litre from Rs 6.08 per litre in the second half of June.

On diesel, the losses have soared to Rs 4.11 a litre against Rs 2.96 previously.

Oil companies have already increased Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices by 6 per cent.

The hike comes on back of over 12 per cent hike on June 15. ATF price on that day were raised by Rs 3,949 to Rs 36,252 per kilolitre in Delhi.

International crude oil prices have firmed to a seven-month high of $72 per barrel on hopes of demand revival in the US.

Aus attacks continue, SC acts tough with Govt !!!

Noting that attacks on Indian students in Australia have not stopped despite the best efforts of the Government, the Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to take more stringent measures to ensure the students' safety.

"We should not push the problem under the carpet," the Supreme Court said.

The court asked the Centre for a detailed affidavit on the issue in two weeks and said that the safety of students is very important.

Attorney General of India GE Vahanvati assured the court that the Australian government was taking adequate measures to deal with the assaults.

Earlier this month, the Apex court had directed the Centre to explain the steps initiated to ensure safety of Indian students facing racist attacks in Australia and the measures taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

The court passed the order on a public interest petition filed by advocate DK Garg.
There are nearly 93,000 Indians studying in Australia.

J-K on the boil after woman alleges misbehaviour by cops !!!

An indefinite curfew was imposed in Baramulla town of north Kashmir on Monday following violent protests over alleged police misbehaviour.
A woman was killed and several others were injured in the protest.

The curfew was imposed in the town, 55 kms from Srinagar, after security personnel opened fire to quell a mob protesting against local policemen who allegedly misbehaved with a woman in a police station on Sunday evening, official sources said.
According to the sources, police opened fire after teargas shelling and baton charge failed to disperse hundreds of violent protestors.

“Curfew has been imposed in the town to maintain law and order,” Deputy Commissioner Baramulla Latif-u-Zaman Deva told PTI.

“We are monitoring the situation which is very tense,” he said.

The trouble erupted in the town on Sunday when angry groups of youth indulged in stone pelting after a woman came out of the local police station and alleged that the cops misbehaved with her.
However, police denied the woman's charge and said her husband Mohammad Yousuf Bhat was picked up for questioning in connection with the abduction of a teenaged girl by the woman's brother.

“The woman came to the police station and sought release of her husband. She threatened to end her life when police asked her politely to leave the police station and produce her brother,” a police spokesman said.

The locals then indulged in stone-pelting at the police station after the woman alleged that the police officer misbehaved with her.

The situation took a turn for the worse on Monday morning when people took to the streets again and indulged in stone-pelting demanding action against the police personnel who allegedly misbehaved with the woman.

Maya gets SC notice for her Rs 1,000-cr statues !!!

The Supreme Court issued a show-cause notice to Uttar Pradesh government for using public money for installing statues of Chief Minister Mayawati on Monday.

A vacation bench of the Supreme Court took up a public interest litigation (PIL) filed against Mayawati for allegedly misusing public money for installing statues of prominent Dalit leaders like Dr BR Ambedkar, Kanshi Ram besides party symbols.

The PIL seeks a stay on the inauguration of these statues on July 3.

The petitioner has alleged that the multi-crore projects of installing statues are being carried out as a state policy, which is arbitrary and violates Article 14 of the Constitution.
Sixty statues of the elephant, the party symbol of the BSP, have been installed at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. The PIL also seeks the removal of Mayawati statues and all party symbols from public places.

Critics want to pull down Mayawati, her statues
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, too, described Mayawati’s alleged spending as “shameful.”

“She is spending Rs 1,000 crore on establishing statues of elephants and herself. Can there be something more shameful than this in Indian politics?” he asked.

“Of what use will be the statues in UP. The Rs 1000 crore could have helped wipe out poverty of thousands of people, provide basic amenities and education,” he said, addressing a meeting to thank voters of his constituency Sivaganga on Sunday night.

Pointing out that people all over the country had rejected caste politics, he said this was especially true in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, “where 20 years of caste domination has gone”.

A new style LTTE begins to take shape !!!

Subsequent to the LTTE’s promise in May, following its military debacle, to “silence its guns” and switch to political methods, a significant second step has recently been taken. If it holds firm to these promises and expectations, then, we may be entering a new era, a third phase, in post-independence Tamil nationalism. I am referring to an announcement on 16 June by Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, who I have not heard of before, the “Coordinator of the Committee for the formation of a Provisional Transnational Government (PTG) of Tamil Eelam.” The announcement has received the imprimatur of Selvarasa Pathmanathan, better known as KP, the LTTE’s “Head of International Relations” and probably its current de facto leader.About two years ago I predicted that a transformation of the LTTE’s ideology and strategy was inevitable in the light of changing local and international conditions, only to be met with derisive laughter by those who cannot see beyond their noses, or maybe by most people. Several months ago I also pointed out that with the impending obliteration of both armed and democratic Tamil nationalism at home, the leadership of the Tamil movement would, for a period, pass to the diaspora; not many agreed with this either. Events, however, have borne out both.

What the announcement says
The LTTE announcement does not say that the PTG has been formed; rather, a committee has been established to make proposals and report back by the end of the year. Nor is it clear that a decision has been made to secede from Sri Lanka and attempt to form a separate state - note for example the use of the word “Transnational”, not Transitional. The implications of Transnational is that Tamil people in Lanka, as well as the one million or so in the diaspora, will be drawn into a consultative process; this bears out both my predictions. The announcement, now widely circulated on the internet (Google ‘Tamil Transnational Government’ for links), tasks the committee with duties enumerated in nine points. A summary of the important ones is as follows. The Thimpu Principles (recognition of the Tamils as a ‘nation’ meaning a people with a distinct identity of their own; the homeland concept; the right to self-determination) has been crafted in. That is, not withstanding obligatory mention of the Vattukkotai Resolution, the question of secession has been left algebraic, something to be determined later depending on how the national question evolves. One of the nine points goes a long way towards accepting the separate identity of the Muslims, replacing their crude subsuming under the gross title of “Tamil speaking people” during the Prabhakaran era. Another point calls for partnership with the TNA, hopefully replacing the master-vassal relationship that typified the Prabhakaran era.

ome other guidelines too implicitly reject the methods and strategies of that era; for example emphasis on democratic consultation and an appreciation of the importance of international diplomacy. Doubters will want to see practical actions and results, not verbalising, before they believe any of this. Considering the huge damage that the LTTE has done to the Tamil cause (and to itself) on all these points, naysayers are right in demanding proof in palpable forms. This is an uphill task the new-LTTE will have to address if it wants to win credibility. The PTG’s role in rehabilitation, a huge need for Wanni Tamils today, is not mentioned, though protection of the IDPs from abuse is addressed.The Editorial Board of Tamil-Net posted what to my mind is the most astute commentary to issue from within the Tamil nationalist movement on the new development. A few extracts are essential.“The need of the time now is the metamorphosis of the infrastructure into a democratic and inclusive transnational government of Eezham Tamils to strengthen the diaspora socially, economically and culturally;

to achieve the goal of independence and sovereignty of Eezham Tamils in the home country and to meet the international challenges internationally.”“However, the process of this noble venture is not a hasty affair. For a smooth beginning, primarily it needs consensus of the existing infrastructure, and to become inclusive it needs the consensus of the circles outside of it also. It needs a strong foundation, careful planning and step-by-step implementation. The existing infrastructure has a greater responsibility in the metamorphosis from command structure to representative structure.”“It is also advisable to create as many as possible grass-root democratic organizations among Eezham Tamils, vested with specific tasks to face the different facets of the current misery. Such grass-root institutions are helpful in sustaining and safe guarding the democratic nature of the superstructure of transnational governance.

If successful, and if the time demands, the transnational government can also become the government in exile.”Anybody who knows how to read between the lines will get a pretty shrewd idea of what is being said. Whether this promise, or more precisely this recognition of the challenges of democracy, will translate into action needs to be watched.

The critical question for the LTTE is, will it be able to retain the allegiance of the majority of Tamils and succeed in winning them over to its new line, or is the LTTE finished politically, as its is militarily, a spent force, a has been? What now is the attitude of the people in Wanni concentration camps to the LTTE after the torments they have suffered? The reason why, despite its abominations and follies, the LTTE won and held the allegiance of the mass of Tamils and the youth in the past was because it stood up and fought against oppression. However, first the Tamil people, and now finally the LTTE itself, have come to realise that obsessive militarism and pointless terrorism paved the way to disaster.

Theoretical struggle
The LTTE has a monopoly of Tamil support in the diaspora, but the diaspora includes a multitude of nutcases who do not understand the transition now proposed; they want to fight to the finish over the bodies of other people (most recently the Wanni Tamils). The challenge the new leadership faces is to win the theoretical struggle over the intellectually infantile ultra-nationalists in the diaspora and secure its line in sharp political debate in Leninist style. Is the new leadership up to the challenge? I don’t know. But if the reformed LTTE is not up to this challenge then I do not see any other entity on the horizon capable of providing leadership to the Tamil nationalist ‘cause’. The quislings? Forget it! If the Tamil and Muslim communities do not regard themselves as minorities with distinct identities of their own, well that’s fine by me; no skin off my Marxist back.The most grievous error in the nine-point announcement is that the new-LTTE sees its relationship with the Sinhalese South as nothing more than its issues with the Sinhala state. There is not a word in the document about the progressive, democratic, Leftist and anti-fascist movements among the Sinhalese people. There is not a word about alliances with such Sinhalese forces. On this the new-LTTE is as politically backward, blinkered and bankrupt as the Tamil nationalists of the Ponnambalam-Chelvanayagam and Prabhakaran eras! If it isolates itself from democratic struggles in the South it will be curtains for the new-LTTE as well.

Grave threat to DEMOCRACY !!!

In 1973 when the draconian Press Council Bill was passed in Parliament an independent English language newspaper headlined it—“ Mephistopheles claims the soul”—referring to the evil spirit to whom Faust sold his soul in the 19th century German legend.
Last week this law was reactivated setting off alarm bells as to whether Sri Lanka was going back to the era of the infamous D. E.M.O’ CRACY. obituary, and the cremation of the father of Truth and Liberty.
On this page today we spotlight the stinging protest by 8 media organizations including publishers and editors over the reactivation of the dreaded law, the continuing white van abduction and arrest of journalists.
Journalist was taken in van from Wattala to Kandy - ABDUCTION
Journalist and NGO employee Krishni Kandasamy, the most recent victim of media harassment, said she had worried about how her disappearance would affect her mother’s health all the while she was being held by her abductors.
“My mother is in the habit of calling me at office several times a day,” she said. “I knew how anxious she would be the moment she heard I had not turned up at the office. I begged my abductors to allow me to tell my mother that I was okay.”
Ms. Kandasamy, a resident of Wattala, Colombo, was abducted last week by three men in civilian clothes who claimed to be policemen. She was driven to an unknown destination and questioned. When she was finally dropped off, she found herself in Kandy, from where she had to find her way back to Colombo.
She said she had stepped into the street to head to work when she was stopped by three men in a van who told her she was required to give a statement to the police. When she insisted that she had to inform her mother first, she was forced into the van and driven away.
“It was then around 8.30 am. It was around 2.45 in the afternoon when I was taken to a room for questioning. During the long drive, I had no idea where I was being taken,” Ms. Kandasamy said. Because she kept saying she had to call her mother to say she was safe, she was finally allowed to make the call, just before she was led in for questioning.
“They let me make the call from my mobile phone. I told my mother I had been taken in by the police for questioning and that she need not worry. When she asked where the police station was, I said I did not know. I was about to tell her to inform my husband when the phone was taken away from me.”
Her mother then called Mrs. Kandasamy’s husband, Ifam Nisam, also a journalist, and a few others, who immediately started calling police stations in the Wattala area. None of the stations said that anyone by the name of Kandasamy was being detained.
After being questioned about her work, Ms. Kandasamy was led back to the van and driven for more than two hours before being finally dropped off in Kandy.
“I told the men I had no money to take a bus. They gave me Rs. 200 and asked me to go home. I got into a bus and called my husband and told him what had happened,” she said.
The police have deployed two teams of investigators to follow up on the incident, according to police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekara.
90 day detention order for astrologer - ARREST
Police have obtained an order to detain for 90 days an astrologer who predicted bad times for President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Chandrasiri Bandara who contributes an astrological column to the Sinhala weeky Iriduna was apprehended after the prediction was published in the paper’s June 18 edition.
He had stated that Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake would be made President of the country in September this year, while the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe would become the Prime Minister of the country.
It is learnt that the police were keen to know how he had made such a prediction that slighted the head of state. The UNP has charged that the government was now attempting to control even astrologers while moving towards a dictatorship.
“We welcome the military successes but we do not approve the dictatorial acts committed on the strength of these successes,” UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said.
Ultimatum for Jaffna newspaper
Newspaper agents in Jaffna received an unsigned letter yesterday demanding the closure of the Jaffna newspaper “Uthayan” at the end of the month.
The letter said the agents should not sell the newspaper and the Uthayan staff should not report to work after June 30.
The matter had been brought to the notice of the army and police in Jaffna. The threat comes less than three days after some 6,000 copies of Tamil language newspapers, including the Uthayan, were burnt in Jaffna town.
This is not the time to charge, fine and jail journalists - PROTEST
Eight media organisations in Sri Lanka have called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa to reconsider the re-activation of the Sri Lanka Press Council Law under which journalists could be fined or jailed.The organisations have sent a joint memorandum to President Rajapaksa about the Government’s move. The full statement is as follows:
“It is with a sense of deep concern and disappointment that the media organisations herein under mentioned have learned of the re- activation of the Sri Lanka Press Council Law No 5 of 1973 which has the power to fine and/or sentence journalists and publishers to terms of imprisonment. A media culture cannot be based on slapping charges against journalists, fining them or sending them to jail. Instead the modern world has accepted a self-regulatory mechanism by media persons themselves as the way forward. The Sri Lanka Press Council Law has a controversial history. It was meant to have a ‘chilling effect’ on media freedom, which included the power, inter-alia, to send journalists and publishers to jail.
“ On October 13, 1994 by Cabinet Paper No. 94.11.009, Your Excellency gave your consent to establish a self regulatory mechanism in place of the Statutory Press Council. It is our understanding that this consent was given because Your Excellency believed the Press Council which could impose penal punishment on journalists was an archaic piece of legislation and self regulation was a more democratic means of regulating the press.
“Your Excellency will remember that as Honourable Leader of the Opposition, you spoke (Hansard 2002 June 18 Col 888) for an independent and responsible press in Sri Lanka when an amendment was brought to the said Law to repeal the laws relating to criminal defamation. Your Excellency is no doubt aware this amendment was passed unanimously by Parliament. Following the passage of the amendment the Sri Lanka Press Council Law was made inoperative in or about 2003.
“A series of consultations between media associations in Sri Lanka and leaders of all political parties represented in Parliament had culminated in broad, bi-partisan agreement being reached that the newspaper industry would appoint a self regulatory mechanism as a ‘fair exchange’ for the repeal of laws relating to criminal defamation that were used as an instrument of government repression on media practitioners at the time. Consequently, media organizations united, and together with the newspaper industry, established the Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka, under the provisions of the Arbitration Act No. 11 of 1995, six years ago. Unlike the Press Council, the Press Complaints Commission is no financial burden to the State or the complainant.
“It is in these circumstances that the media organizations regret that the Government has reneged on its earlier commitment to support self-regulation. Furthermore, our disappointment stems from the fact that the Government did not consider it useful, or prudent, or both, to have any dialogue whatsoever with the under-mentioned media organisations, which represent the vast majority of publishers, editors, working journalists, media trade unionists and activists who overwhelmingly support the Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka.
However, if any problem exists with respect to the system of self-regulation, such problem(s) should be discussed and resolved immediately. But it’s indeed disconcerting to note that instead of strengthening the systems of self-regulation, the Government has opted to re-activate the Sri Lanka Press Council law No 5 of 1973 which impedes media freedom in Sri Lanka.
“We, the undermentioned media organisations urge the Government to reconsider this ill advised decision and have a dialogue with us, the stake-holders to promote self-regulation as part of media culture in the interest of democracy and a responsible and free press in Sri Lanka.
In view of the public importance of this matter we will be releasing this letter to the media.”
This must stop: SLPI
The Sri Lanka Press Institute yesterday said it was deeply disturbed about the re-appearance of the dreaded white van to abduct journalist Krishni Ifham (Kandasamy). She was bundled into the white van outside her mother’s Wattala home and driven apparently to Kandy by three people (the driver and two others) who she believed were policemen as they told her they wanted a statement from her.
This young mother of two who works for the Inter News, a media development institution, had at the end of her long ordeal been asked some questions about her previous employment in the Panos office in Colombo. She was then dropped off at the Kandy bus stand with Rs. 200 bus fare to get home to Wattala, a statement from the SLPI said.
She first lodged a complaint with the Wattala police and thereafter at the Kiribathgoda police station as requested by the police, as the area she lives in comes under the jurisdiction of the latter.
“The SLPI has no quarrel with the journalist, like any other citizen, being questioned by a legitimate law enforcement agency in connection with any investigation that is underway. If this was the case, she could have been requested to report to a specified police station or even taken there with a chaperone, and any questions that needed answers asked and a statement duly recorded, the SLPI said.
But why a white van and, presumably, a drive to Kandy? The victim does not know exactly where she was taken because there were curtains on the van and she could not see where it was heading. She presumes it was Kandy because she was eventually dropped off at the Kandy bus stand, the Institute said.
According to the SLPI statement Ms. Ifham says she was in no way harassed, was given a bun and a sachet of milk and questioned in a civilized manner. No statement, however, had been recorded. As this is being written, nothing further has been heard about this matter and there had been neither an admission nor denial of the suspicion that an agency of the state was involved.
Other more serious cases including the killing of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickramatunga followed by an assault on Rivira editor Upali Tennakoon, and more recently, assaulting and breaking Lake House journalist Poddala Jayantha’s leg, remain unsolved. There is a strong perception both locally and overseas that the harassment of journalists bears a State imprimatur. Such will be the general belief until it is proved otherwise, the statement added.
“We stress with all the emphasis at our command that this must stop. If an agency of the State is in fact involved, those responsible must be brought to account. If not, whoever is engaging in such actions is clearly intent on falsely implicating the State and must be urgently brought to book,” the SLPI said.
“The war against terror is now thankfully over. But there have been too many incidents involving journalists to discount an attempt at creating a fear psychosis in the media and preventing the airing of subjects that may be unpalatable to some in authority. This must stop,” the SLPI said.

US warns travellers of S.Lanka terror attack risk !!!

The United States issued Sunday a warning for its nationals travelling to or in Sri Lanka about the risk of possible terror attacks despite the recent crushing of Tamil Tiger separatists.

Sri Lanka defeated the Tamil Tigers last month but rebel remnants still posed a threat and could carry out assaults, the state department said in the latest travel advisory on its website.

"No new terrorist incidents have occurred since the government?s declaration of military victory over the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)," the advisory said.

"Despite the conclusion of hostilities, remnants of the insurgency group remain."
It also noted that Sri Lanka itself was maintaining a heightened state of security despite claiming it had ended the conflict, which lasted almost 40 years.

The US state department warned its nationals against travelling to the island's northern province and to much of the east where battles took place till mid-May between government forces and the Tigers.

"Travel in some parts of the country remains highly restricted by the Sri Lankan government, with particular sensitivity concerning the large number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in camps (in the north)," it said.

The military is holding nearly 300,000 Tamil civilians who escaped the fighting in internment camps and has severely restricted access to them. About half a dozen foreign nationals of Sri Lankan origin are held in the camps.

The state department also warned US citizens of Sri Lankan origin that they may be subjected to additional scrutiny upon arrival and while in the country.

"In some cases, foreigners of Sri Lankan origin may be detained without their embassy being notified," the statement said. "The activities of journalists, researchers, aid workers, and volunteers receive particular attention."

The latest US warning came as Colombo asked other countries, especially western nations, to relax travel advisories which have discouraged tourists to the South Asian island.