Lanka seeks Middle Eastern tourists
Saudi-Sri Lanka tourism received a considerable boost this week as one of Sri Lanka’s tourism chiefs arrives to promote stronger ties between the two countries.
A high-level delegation from Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, led by the island nation’s Deputy Minister of Tourism, Mr. Faiszer Mustapha toured three major cities - Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam - over a ten day period from October 10-17.
“The Middle East is a strong and fast-growing market for tourism to Sri Lanka,” said Mr. Mustapha on the eve of his departure to the Middle East.
“The increase is underpinned by strong religious, cultural and trade links going back to 1000 BC when the first Arab traders sailed to our shores in the quest to find precious gems and spices.”
Sri Lankan Airlines now operates a total of 36 flights daily from the major cities in the Middle East including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Muscat, Kuwait, Doha, Riyadh and Dammam.
An increasing number of Middle East Airlines are also helping to drive tourist traffic to Sri Lanka. Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Kuwait Airways, Royal Jordanian, Air Arabia and Saudi Arabian Airlines collectively operate 42 flights a week into the capital, Colombo. (AME Info)
Vets fan out over bird flu
Sri Lanka’s government is sending more than 230 veterinarians across the nation in an attempt to prevent an outbreak of bird flu that could decimate the poultry industry, a report said Sunday.
The veterinarians will warn poultry farmers of the risks of bird flu, the weekly newspaper Sunday Times said.
Booklets have been printed in Sinhala, the language of Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhalese, telling farmers how to minimize the risks, it said.
Sri Lanka produces 6 million kilograms of poultry products a year.
The Department of Animal Production and Health has advised farmers to report any symptoms of bird flu, which has swept through huge swaths of Asia, killing more than 60 people and leading to the culling of tens of millions of birds. The virus has also spread to Romania and Turkey.
Most human deaths have been linked to contact with poultry. But the World Health Organization has warned that the virus could mutate into a form that can easily be spread between people, possibly triggering a global pandemic that could kill millions.
Most of the human deaths have occurred in Vietnam and Thailand. The current outbreak has not affected Sri Lanka.
Army says human rights training complete
The Sri Lanka Army says it has concluded its five-year-plan to educate its officers in Human Rights (HR) and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and held a ceremony for the final Instructor training course last week. Thirty-four officers from the Army, three from the Air Force and three from the Navy, were the final group selected to undergo the educational programme.
Over 500 officer instructors have been trained in the IHL and HR self sustaining plan and a few have been educated extensively to become permanent HR Co-ordinators.
In attendance was the First Secretary of the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Edgar Klorfjell, the funding agent, who acknowledged the provocation that armed forces could be faced with. However, he maintained that despite this, the training has taught patience and in consequence, significantly reduced the violation of human rights.
The main speaker was Senior lecturer at Colombo University Rohan Edrisinha, who explored the haziness surrounding the concepts of Constitutional Democracy and Federalism. He requested that the officers present should attempt to understand his viewpoint, even if they did not agree, before suggesting that, when the country is in a ‘State of Emergency’, excessive power is bestowed upon the police and the military. He warned the armed forces against abusing this power and, in doing so, infringing on the human rights of civilians.(Daily News)
Arson attack on HRC office
In what is seen as an act of intimidation, unidentified arsonists ransacked the premises of Sri Lanka’s National Human Rights Commission, doused sections of its headquarters with kerosene, destroyed files and set newspapers ablaze on October 12.
“It appears to be more of a threat,” a senior NHRC official told The Hindu. The NHRC is currently investigating sensitive cases including those relating to extra-judicial killings.
Police and the CID have started investigations.
In a joint press release, the Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch demanded an “independent investigation” into the attack. “Although the identity of the attackers is not yet clear, the attack represents a serious threat to the work of the NHRC,” the statement said.
The NHRC, established in 1997 was recently involved in “documenting allegations of torture and extra-judicial killings by the police.” It had also taken “a very strong stand against the LTTE’s recruitment of child soldiers.”
“This appears to be an attempt to intimidate the NHRC, which is the most important human rights institution in Sri Lanka,” Natalie Hill, Deputy Programme Director of Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Programme, said. She wanted the authorities to “take all necessary steps” to ensure that the NHRC is “able to carry out its work independently and in safety.” (The Hindu)
Laws for drivers’ physical fitness
Sri Lanka’s Transport Ministry will shortly bring in new laws to ensure the physical fitness of drivers of all types of vehicles as a precondition to their driving licence.
The new regulations will make it mandatory for all persons applying for a driving licence to prove his or her physical fitness at a test conducted exclusively by the National Transport Medical Institute (NTMI), Transport Deputy Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanne said.
In terms of the present law, only the applicants of heavy vehicle driving licences have to pass the fitness test conducted by the NTMI while applicants for other types of driving licences (for light and dual purpose vehicles) could prove their fitness through private medical certificates.
“The high rate of motor traffic accidents that take place on our roads has raised doubts about the credibility of these medical certificates obtained from outside. In fact we have discovered that around 13 per cent of all road accidents take place due to unfit drivers,” Alagiyawanne said.
According to NTMI Chairman Dr. Ruwan Wijayamuni, out of 800 drivers involved in road accidents who were referred to the Institute in the year 2004, 106 were found unfit to drive a vehicle.
“Twelve per cent of these unfit drivers had vision problems while there were five percent of diabetics and three per cent suffering from high-blood pressure. The majority who failed to prove fitness were above the age of 41,” he said.
Three men and a story
Wealthy Sri Lankan businessman Charles Gnanakone was taken into police custody for questioning last week in connection with the assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar in August.
A junior government minister last month accused the main opposition United National Party (UNP) of complicity in the killing by way of association with the one-tome shipping magnate.
The rightwing National Patriotic Movement earlier urged the government to question UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, as he had reportedly introduced Mr. Gnanakone to Mr. Kadirgamar.
Press reports said Mr. Gnanakone is suspected of involvement because he had once assured Mr. Kadirgamar that he would not be targeted by the Tamil Tigers, whom the government blames for the killing.
He was arrested by the Army’s Operations Command on October 10 and turned over to the Colombo Crime Division. He remains in police custody with his Australian and Sri Lankan passports impounded to prevent him leaving the country.
Deputy Minister Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi alleged late September that the UNP had worked hand in glove with the LTTE to plot Kadirgamar’s killing.
Claiming that the investigation into the killing had revealed the UNP’s alleged involvement in the assassination, Mr. Sooriyaarachchi told reporters: “The LTTE and the UNP benefited most from his death.”
He also alleged that Mr. Wickremesinghe had also met Mr. Gnanakone in Singapore in 1999, shortly before the Presidential election and only weeks before the assassination attempt, blamed on the LTTE, on President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
Saudi-Sri Lanka tourism received a considerable boost this week as one of Sri Lanka’s tourism chiefs arrives to promote stronger ties between the two countries.
A high-level delegation from Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, led by the island nation’s Deputy Minister of Tourism, Mr. Faiszer Mustapha toured three major cities - Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam - over a ten day period from October 10-17.
“The Middle East is a strong and fast-growing market for tourism to Sri Lanka,” said Mr. Mustapha on the eve of his departure to the Middle East.
“The increase is underpinned by strong religious, cultural and trade links going back to 1000 BC when the first Arab traders sailed to our shores in the quest to find precious gems and spices.”
Sri Lankan Airlines now operates a total of 36 flights daily from the major cities in the Middle East including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Muscat, Kuwait, Doha, Riyadh and Dammam.
An increasing number of Middle East Airlines are also helping to drive tourist traffic to Sri Lanka. Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Kuwait Airways, Royal Jordanian, Air Arabia and Saudi Arabian Airlines collectively operate 42 flights a week into the capital, Colombo. (AME Info)
Vets fan out over bird flu
Sri Lanka’s government is sending more than 230 veterinarians across the nation in an attempt to prevent an outbreak of bird flu that could decimate the poultry industry, a report said Sunday.
The veterinarians will warn poultry farmers of the risks of bird flu, the weekly newspaper Sunday Times said.
Booklets have been printed in Sinhala, the language of Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhalese, telling farmers how to minimize the risks, it said.
Sri Lanka produces 6 million kilograms of poultry products a year.
The Department of Animal Production and Health has advised farmers to report any symptoms of bird flu, which has swept through huge swaths of Asia, killing more than 60 people and leading to the culling of tens of millions of birds. The virus has also spread to Romania and Turkey.
Most human deaths have been linked to contact with poultry. But the World Health Organization has warned that the virus could mutate into a form that can easily be spread between people, possibly triggering a global pandemic that could kill millions.
Most of the human deaths have occurred in Vietnam and Thailand. The current outbreak has not affected Sri Lanka.
Army says human rights training complete
The Sri Lanka Army says it has concluded its five-year-plan to educate its officers in Human Rights (HR) and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and held a ceremony for the final Instructor training course last week. Thirty-four officers from the Army, three from the Air Force and three from the Navy, were the final group selected to undergo the educational programme.
Over 500 officer instructors have been trained in the IHL and HR self sustaining plan and a few have been educated extensively to become permanent HR Co-ordinators.
In attendance was the First Secretary of the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Edgar Klorfjell, the funding agent, who acknowledged the provocation that armed forces could be faced with. However, he maintained that despite this, the training has taught patience and in consequence, significantly reduced the violation of human rights.
The main speaker was Senior lecturer at Colombo University Rohan Edrisinha, who explored the haziness surrounding the concepts of Constitutional Democracy and Federalism. He requested that the officers present should attempt to understand his viewpoint, even if they did not agree, before suggesting that, when the country is in a ‘State of Emergency’, excessive power is bestowed upon the police and the military. He warned the armed forces against abusing this power and, in doing so, infringing on the human rights of civilians.(Daily News)
Arson attack on HRC office
In what is seen as an act of intimidation, unidentified arsonists ransacked the premises of Sri Lanka’s National Human Rights Commission, doused sections of its headquarters with kerosene, destroyed files and set newspapers ablaze on October 12.
“It appears to be more of a threat,” a senior NHRC official told The Hindu. The NHRC is currently investigating sensitive cases including those relating to extra-judicial killings.
Police and the CID have started investigations.
In a joint press release, the Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch demanded an “independent investigation” into the attack. “Although the identity of the attackers is not yet clear, the attack represents a serious threat to the work of the NHRC,” the statement said.
The NHRC, established in 1997 was recently involved in “documenting allegations of torture and extra-judicial killings by the police.” It had also taken “a very strong stand against the LTTE’s recruitment of child soldiers.”
“This appears to be an attempt to intimidate the NHRC, which is the most important human rights institution in Sri Lanka,” Natalie Hill, Deputy Programme Director of Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Programme, said. She wanted the authorities to “take all necessary steps” to ensure that the NHRC is “able to carry out its work independently and in safety.” (The Hindu)
Laws for drivers’ physical fitness
Sri Lanka’s Transport Ministry will shortly bring in new laws to ensure the physical fitness of drivers of all types of vehicles as a precondition to their driving licence.
The new regulations will make it mandatory for all persons applying for a driving licence to prove his or her physical fitness at a test conducted exclusively by the National Transport Medical Institute (NTMI), Transport Deputy Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanne said.
In terms of the present law, only the applicants of heavy vehicle driving licences have to pass the fitness test conducted by the NTMI while applicants for other types of driving licences (for light and dual purpose vehicles) could prove their fitness through private medical certificates.
“The high rate of motor traffic accidents that take place on our roads has raised doubts about the credibility of these medical certificates obtained from outside. In fact we have discovered that around 13 per cent of all road accidents take place due to unfit drivers,” Alagiyawanne said.
According to NTMI Chairman Dr. Ruwan Wijayamuni, out of 800 drivers involved in road accidents who were referred to the Institute in the year 2004, 106 were found unfit to drive a vehicle.
“Twelve per cent of these unfit drivers had vision problems while there were five percent of diabetics and three per cent suffering from high-blood pressure. The majority who failed to prove fitness were above the age of 41,” he said.
Three men and a story
Wealthy Sri Lankan businessman Charles Gnanakone was taken into police custody for questioning last week in connection with the assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar in August.
A junior government minister last month accused the main opposition United National Party (UNP) of complicity in the killing by way of association with the one-tome shipping magnate.
The rightwing National Patriotic Movement earlier urged the government to question UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, as he had reportedly introduced Mr. Gnanakone to Mr. Kadirgamar.
Press reports said Mr. Gnanakone is suspected of involvement because he had once assured Mr. Kadirgamar that he would not be targeted by the Tamil Tigers, whom the government blames for the killing.
He was arrested by the Army’s Operations Command on October 10 and turned over to the Colombo Crime Division. He remains in police custody with his Australian and Sri Lankan passports impounded to prevent him leaving the country.
Deputy Minister Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi alleged late September that the UNP had worked hand in glove with the LTTE to plot Kadirgamar’s killing.
Claiming that the investigation into the killing had revealed the UNP’s alleged involvement in the assassination, Mr. Sooriyaarachchi told reporters: “The LTTE and the UNP benefited most from his death.”
He also alleged that Mr. Wickremesinghe had also met Mr. Gnanakone in Singapore in 1999, shortly before the Presidential election and only weeks before the assassination attempt, blamed on the LTTE, on President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
