Make Tamils feel comfortable in their land of birth - Houston Tamil Attorney tells Rajapakse

Attorney George Willy addressing the gathering in Houston, Texas. Next to Sri Lanka president is Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

 

Someone from Australia drew the attention of this correspondent to a welcome address delivered by a Sri Lanka-born Tamil attorney living in Houston, Texas, when Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa visited this Deep South American city on September 26 during his engagement with the United Nations General Assembly sessions.

Attorney George WillyThe Australian-domiciled Sri Lankan is a Sinhalese who thought that the welcome address delivered by the Tamil attorney George Willy before a sizeable Sri Lankan community in the Houston area attentively listened by Democratic Party senior Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was an excellent message to the post-war Sri Lanka.


For the readers benefit Asian Tribune carries the entire text of Mr. George Willy’s address at this Houston gathering organized to felicitate the visiting Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa and the First Lady.

Full transcripts of Welcome speech in Houston by Tamil attorney George Willy:

Your Excellency; Mrs. Rajapaksa; Hon. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee; Hon. Consul General Arora; Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen.

Welcome your Excellency to this great city. If you can ignore the oak trees and the mockingbirds, you could easily mistake this for Sri Lanka. It is in Sri Lanka that I was born, and my mother and the parents of my wife Shanti, our grandfathers and our grandmothers are all buried under the sacred soil of my mother land.

I grew up, your Excellency, in Jaffna and moved to Colombo when I was only 10 years old. My wife is from Badulla and grew up in Dhiyathlawa, where her father was a well respected Captain. I have smelt the sweetness of margosa trees in Jaffna and tasted the red jambu fruits that left red stains on my white shirts as I walked to school in Colombo.

I know the lure of jack fruits ripening on the tree as the crows begin to break them open. I have seen the bright colored pandals during Vesak and shamelessly eaten the food at the dhansalas meant for the poor and I have heard the chanting in the Kovils and inhaled the smell of jasmines and the josticks.

I have heard the bells of All Saints Church as I assisted Father Herath during mass.

But since I left Sri Lanka in 1975, there has been such pain, such sorrow and such agony. The mighty Mahaveli Ganga that usually brings its sacred waters to the paddy fields spat out blood, both Sinhalese and Tamil. From up here in the United States, I have watched the land of my forefathers descend from Paradise deep into hell. No one can say with any certainty who is to blame. But the time for blaming is long gone.

Your Excellency, you are descended from Dhuttu Gemunu and my people from Elara. Remember how Dhuttu Gemunu fought Elara on his elephant Kandula and killed Elara. Dhuttu Gemunu, of course, is still remembered for uniting Sri Lanka for the first time.

But he is also remembered for something else. After defeating and killing Elara, he built a monument for Elara out of respect for his worthy opponent. He ordered all citizens of the land to stop, dismount, and pay respect to Elara. In so doing, he not only showed what a great nobleman he was but also proved to be a great politician. He knew that he had to rule the Tamil people too after the defeat of Elara.

Your Excellency, Fate and Fortune and your great political skills have placed you at a unique point in History. Children, in years to come, will read in their history books that a great leader, a great warrior by the name of ‘ Mahinda Rajapaksa’ finally defeated the rebellion after nearly 25 years when several before him failed. They may even say that you are the Dhutu Gemunu of the 21st. Century.

But if you want to wear Gemunu’s mantle, your Excellency, then you will have to build a monument too. That monument does not have to be a Dagoba or a building. It will have to be new policy backed by law with teeth to enforce. Do not make the mistake that sparked the ‘58 riots. Do not hold back Tamil youth who want to get into Universities. Do not make the Tamils feel as though they are second class citizens. Respect their religions and respect their language. There is something about the Tamil people you need to know, Your Excellency. To them their language is God. There are only a few cultures in the world that have such devotion to their language.

You were trained as a lawyer, and in your early career you were a formidable defender of human rights. Now, you have the popularity; you have the power of a hero like Julius Caesar returning to Rome from his conquests. No one can deny you what you ask. Ask the parliament to pass some of the entrenched clauses you and I read in law school when we had to study the Soulbury Constitution. If you need my help, I will give it free as many in this audience would. The Tamil people are naked and hungry looking for you to assure them that there is a place for them. Make sure they have one. You killed one Prabhakaran, but do not let another one grow. You cannot prevent another one with swords and guns. You can only do that with your heart and wisdom. The compassion, truth, and justice you learned from the Buddha are the only weapons you will need.

According to Dhammapada, Buddha said: “Hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an old rule.”

Your Excellency, as you leave this fair city and return to Sri Lanka, promise me that the ten-year-old boy walking to school tomorrow in his white shirt will have no other red stain than from the Jambu fruit, the morning crow will not open anything other than the jack fruit, that there will be nothing else hanging from the margosa tree than the fruits I smelt. Your Excellency, return us to Paradise! Return us to Paradise!

Speech of George Willy
Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei4cURPJdrY 

George R. Willys profile:
http://www.georgerwillypc.com/firm-profile/george-r-willy-.html

Rajapaksa avoiding telephone calls from US State Department and the British government leaders

In a revealing editorial praising President Rajapakse’s arrogance the editor of the Island Newspaper well known for his ascinine and sarcastic attacks on the West, as he earns his “brownie points from the Temple Trees and President’s house occupied by the first family claimed today that President Rajapakse went to the extent of avoiding telephone calls from the US State Department and the British government leaders. He also claimed that “And the real objective of his visit to Jordan, while the war was raging, was to prevent the UNSG from coming here”. If this was indeed the attitude and arrogance of President Rajapakse, and there is no doubt to dispute such shocking claims of the editor it is no wonder 16 months after the war ended against the Tamils and the LTTE, with 40,000 Tamil civilians dead, 60,000 injured and 300,000 incarcerated no world leader want to shake the blood stained hands of President Rajapakse in garments soaked with Tamil blood.


President Rajapakse is to meet the Iranians, Malaysia Prime Minister a country which illegally arrested K P and renditioned him to Sri Lanka, and another small Asian country while in New York. The Chancellor of Germany already refused to meet President Rajapakse in Germany, when he dropped by the country as an uninvited guest or tourist using his diplomatic passport. Quotes of the Editorial of 20th September 2010: “Ranil’s approach was in sharp contrast to how President Mahinda Rajapaksa handled the Co-Chairs and the other meddlesome members of the international community. The latter had the intestinal fortitude to stand his ground in the face of unbearable pressure they brought to bear on him in a bid to stop the war and rescue Prabhakaran and other LTTE leaders.


He went to the extent of avoiding telephone calls from the US State Department and the British government leaders. And the real objective of his visit to Jordan, while the war was raging, was to prevent the UNSG from coming here. When a powerful Indian delegation consisting of Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, Indian National Security Advisor M. K. Narayanan and the then Indian High Commissioner in Colombo Alok Prasad, under pressure from Tamil Nadu, visited President Rajapaksa on April 24, 2009, and sought an immediate end to the final assault on the LTTE, he saw red. Exasperated beyond measure, he minced no words when he told the visiting Indians that even if India were to violate Sri Lanka’s air space and ‘drop lentil’ again–India, which saved Prabhakaran in 1987, had done by way of a dire warning during Operation Liberation in the North––he would go the whole hog to destroy the LTTE! Had he given in to Indian pressure and suspended the war, the international allies of the LTTE would have made use of the opportunity to rescue Prabhakaran. Let the UN be urged to appoint a panel to probe how Norway, the US and the EU manipulated the CFA to aid and abet the LTTE against a UN member State and, in the process, helped the outfit with the launching of its eelam war IV, which left thousands of people dead and about 300,000 others displaced.” A western diplomat commented that President Rajapakse’s behavior reminded him of Idi Amin’s era, or when President Saddam Hussein killed thousands of Kurds despite appeals of the international community. Sudan’s leader is another example.

Israel’s attacks on civilians with their relentless bombing in Lebanon and Gaza last year killed leass than 3,000 in the two wars compared to 40,000 Tamil civilians in a matter of weeks. Here are my thoughts on the issue: As to what an average Sri Lankan can do to prevent the annual tragedy of having to foot the bill of more than 130 persons visiting New York as part of President’s entourage is a question that many ask. It is the people of this country that pay for the accommodation, this time for 130 odd persons at Waldorf Astoria’ and a few other plush hotels, and also the other expenses incurred including ones on hired limousines. And there seems to be no end to this stately display of extravagance. It is common knowledge that the UPFA government is amply blessed with people who know exactly how to waste public money.

There are only less than half a dozen members who are capable of saving money while one or perhaps two have the ability to bring profit to state institutions. The rest just waste whatever that is there in the coffers, treating them as fortunes inherited from parents. How far this country can afford these Tamashas, by thick skinned people’s servants who make people look like fools, is indeed a question. Political wheeler dealers, good for nothing advisors and a few MPs who were recently bought over from the opposition are among the long lists of guests this time and one wonders what contribution they are capable of making to boost Sri Lanka’s image at the UN. Perhaps by making ours the biggest delegation to accompany a head of State to New York from this side of Asia. One certainly wonders what a head of State would expect by travelling with a massive entourage. Perhaps the size of the delegation gives a degree of confidence to the insecure ones. However one thought that the Sri Lankan President was supremely confident especially after the war victory. Or can that be a measure to show one’s gratitude to those who have been helpful. Well the list has more parasites than those who have made any solid contribution to the government. Whatever the reason, the size of the delegation has only gone to earn the apathy of the people. Surely this is not the Sultanate of Brunei and people expect accountability for public money. They fear that the continuing trend would lead to worse things.

Ian Kiru Karan becomes Hamburg minister

Ian Kiru Karan, Born in Point Pedro in 1939, went to Germany from the United Kingdom here he was studying in 1970 and built one of the world’s biggest container leasing companies in Hamburg.

He recently hit the headlines there when he was sworn as Economics Minister in that city state.

Karan began life in Germany as a dishwasher in a vegetarian restaurant and later joined a container company as a clerk before being promoted a manager due to exceptional ability.

He later went on to found his own business in 1977 earning the nickname "Container King" in the North Germany port city of Hamburg as his business prospered.

In a trade publication of the container industry, Karan revealed that when an American company head-hunted him at a time he was doing well in Hamburg, he demanded a salary of 10,000 (against the 2,500 he was earning then) meaning Deutsche Marks.

But the US company, thinking in terms of dollars, agreed to pay him US$ 10,000 which he says was an "obscenely high" salary at that time.

German Ambassador Jens Plötner last week commended the Lankan-born’s achievements.

"Germany is home of more than 60.000 Sri Lankans from all walks of life. All of them can be proud of Minister Karans’s achievements.

"Ian Karan is not only an immensely successful businessman and now one of Hamburg’s most prominent politicians. He has always been one of most philantrophic citizens of Hamburg contributing to many social welfare projects,’’ the ambassador said.

Kilde: The Island

Dekkskifte! Tips og regler!

Tid for dekkskift – se tipsene!

Hva er reglene for mønsterdybde?

- På vinterdekk er minimumskravet til mønsterdybde 3 mm. (Naf anbefaler imidlertid min. 5 mm)
- Det skal være minimum mønsterdybde over ¾ av slitebanens bredde og rundt hele dekkets omkrets.

Hva er reglene for mønsterdybde?

- På sommerdekk er minimumskravet til mønsterdybde 1,6 mm. (Naf anbefaler imidlertid min. 3 mm)
- På vinterdekk er minimumskravet til mønsterdybde 3 mm. (Naf anbefaler imidlertid min. 5 mm)
- Det skal være minimum mønsterdybde over ¾ av slitebanens bredde og rundt hele dekkets omkrets.

Luft i dekk?

Dekktrykket er viktig med hensyn til kjøresikkerhet, komfort, drivstofforbruk og dekkslitasje. Ved mye last i bilen bør trykkes ofte økes noe, se bilens instruksjonsbok.

Kontroller derfor dekktrykket av og til, ca. hver annen måned.
Dekktrykket oppgis normalt i bar, kg eller psi (pound).

1 bar = 1,02kg
1 bar = 14,29 psi

Råd ved dekkskift?
- Sett bilen på et rett underlag – helst ikke på løs grus.
- Trekk til håndbremsen
- Ha en god jekk, plasser den riktig, se instruksjonsbok.
- Beveg deg aldri under en bil som kun står på jekk, kan føre til alvorlig klemmskader.
- Løsne hjulmuttere/bolter før bilen jekkes opp.
- Plassere hjulene riktig i henhold til ”rulleretning”. Noen dekk har piler/merke som viser rulleretning.
- Når du skal trekke til hjulbolter/muttere skal det trekkes til med oppgitt moment, som varierer noe fra bil til bil (ligger ofte mellom 90-120 nm.). Det anbefales å benytte en momentnøkkel eller momentstav.
- Sjekk lufttrykket.
- Etter noe tids kjøring bør du sjekke om hjulmutteren/bolter sitter.

Informasjon om piggdekkoblat

Praktiske tips om piggdekk og oblatordningen i storbyene.

Piggdekk kan brukes i tidsrommet 1. november til og med første mandag etter påske, unntatt i de nordligste fylkene hvor piggdekk kan brukes fra og med 16. oktober til og med 30. april.

I Oslo, Bergen og Trondheim må alle som kjører med piggdekk i samme tidsrom, betale gebyr innenfor nevnte kommunegrenser.

Hva betyr tall og bokstaver som står på dekksiden?
For eksempel om det står: 205/65R15 88H

205 = dekkets bredde i mm.
65 = dekkets høyde i prosent av bredden.
R = radial dek
15 = felgdiameter i tommer.
88 = belastningskode, hvor stor belastning hvert dekk tåler, 88 = 560 kg.
H = hastighetskode.

Kan jeg kjøre med piggdekk utenfor Norge?
Dette varierer fra land til land. Sjekk dette før du reiser.

Vi nevner kort landene vi oftest får spørsmål om
Danmark: Tillatt med piggdekk fra 01.11.-15.04. Alle hjul må i så fall være pigget.

Tyskland: Piggdekk er totalforbudt. Vær imidlertid klar over at det er påbudt å bruke vinterdekk i Tyskland dersom forholdene gjør det nødvendig.
Informasjon om piggdekkoblat


Praktiske tips om piggdekk og oblatordningen i storbyene.

Piggdekk kan brukes i tidsrommet 1. november til og med første mandag etter påske, unntatt i de nordligste fylkene hvor piggdekk kan brukes fra og med 16. oktober til og med 30. april.

I Oslo, Bergen og Trondheim må alle som kjører med piggdekk i samme tidsrom, betale gebyr innenfor nevnte kommunegrenser.

Hva betyr tall og bokstaver som står på dekksiden?

For eksempel om det står: 205/65R15 88H
205 = dekkets bredde i mm.
65 = dekkets høyde i prosent av bredden.
R = radial dek
15 = felgdiameter i tommer.
88 = belastningskode, hvor stor belastning hvert dekk tåler, 88 = 560 kg.
H = hastighetskode.

Kan jeg kjøre med piggdekk utenfor Norge?

Dette varierer fra land til land. Sjekk dette før du reiser.

Vi nevner kort landene vi oftest får spørsmål om:

Danmark: Tillatt med piggdekk fra 01.11.-15.04. Alle hjul må i så fall være pigget.

Tyskland: Piggdekk er totalforbudt. Vær imidlertid klar over at det er påbudt å bruke vinterdekk i Tyskland dersom forholdene gjør det nødvendig.

Les mer om piggdekk og gebyrordning her

Hvilke dekkdimensjon og hastighetskode skal jeg ha på min bil?


Det er bilens vognkort som forteller hvilke dimensjon og minimum hastighet / belastningskode du må ha på din bil, dekkdimensjonen kan forandres innenfor visse grenser. Informasjon om dette kan du få hos dekkforhandlere eller NAF.

På vinterdekk er krav til hastighetsmerking minimum Q dvs 160 km/t uansett hva som står i vognkortet.

Tabell for hastighetsmerking:
Hastighetsmerking Max fart km/t

L = 120 km/t
M = 130 km/t
N = 140 km/t
P = 150 km/t
Q = 160 km/t
R = 170 km/t
S = 180 km/t
T = 190 km/t
U = 200 km/t
H = 210 km/t
V = 240 km/t
W = 270 km/t
Y = 300 km/t
Z = over 240 km/t

Young Tamils in Sri Lanka 'being held without charge'

A retired senior diplomat in Sri Lanka says several thousand young people of the Tamil ethnic minority are being held in custody without any charges being brought against them.

Nanda Godage said some had been incarcerated in this way for years.

He was testifying before a war commission, which is examining the final years of the long-running civil conflict which ended last year

The commission also looks at ways of preventing war from breaking out again.

Mr Godage, a former Sri Lankan ambassador to the European Union, told the commission that at least 2,000 young Tamils had been in detention for years on suspicion of involvement with the Tamil Tiger rebels.

These were in addition to several thousand people who had been held in camps since the end of the fighting last year, he said.

They had been failed by the legal system, he alleged.

By holding them in this way, he charged, the Sri Lankan state was in danger of "breeding many more Prabhakarans" - a reference to Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Tamil Tigers.
Mr Godage told the BBC he was especially angry about 500 young people who were being held purely on suspicion in a Colombo jail, Welikada, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

If there was no evidence against them and the others, they should be freed, he said, although he acknowledged that the security of the state was vital.

Forgotten
He told the panel of a case he said was typical: a Tamil engineer who admitted to the police that he had given money to the Tigers while working in the UK.

The man had spent more than a year in prison despite explaining that many Tamils abroad were forced to make such donations.

The retired diplomat said some top officials sympathised with these detainees, but that complex bureaucracy meant they were forgotten about.

Former Tamil Tiger members or suspects who are still alive are receiving mixed treatment in Sri Lanka.

The most senior of them, nicknamed KP, is nominally detained, but is co-operating with the government in building links with the Tamil diaspora.

Another senior ex-Tiger has just told the BBC that he is helping to run a television station in the north while out on bail from a court case.

Kilde: bbc

யாழ். குடாநாட்டில் கலாசாரச் சீரழிவுகள்

படம் : கொக்குவிலில் வீசப்பட்ட ஆண் குழந்தை.

யாழ்ப்பாணத்தில் சமீபகாலமாக ஒழுக்கச் சீர்கேடு பல்கிப் பெருகி வருவதாக சுட்டிக்காட்டப்பட்டு வருகிறது. சமீபத்தில் கொக்குவிலில் பிரசவித்த ஆண் குழந்தையை தாய் தெருவில் வீசிச் சென்ற சம்பவம் ஒன்று நடந்துள்ளது. இதுபோல சிசுக்களை வீசும் செயல் பரவலாக நடைபெறுவதாக செய்திகள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன.

யாழ். நல்லூர் தேரின்போது தடைசெய்யப்பட்ட போதைவஸ்த்து பீடா பகிரங்கமாக விற்பனை செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது. திருமண வயதை 16 ஆக அரசு இறக்கிவிட்ட பின்னர் கல்விக்கூடங்களும்இ மாணவர்களும்இ கைத்தொலைபேசிகளும்இ காதல் மொழிகளும் கரைபுரண்டு ஓடுவதாக தெரிவிக்கப்படுகிறது. யாழ்ப்பாண கலாச்சாரத்தை காப்பாற்ற போராடும் வெளிநாட்டு தமிழர்கள் பலர் இவற்றை நேரில் பார்த்து வெளிநாடுகளில் கூட இத்தகைய சீத்துவக்கேடு கிடையாதே என்று ஆச்சரியப்பட்டதாகக் கூறியுள்ளனர்.

சமீபத்தில் சில யாழ். தமிழ் இளைஞர்களை பிடித்து கண்டித்த சிங்கள போலீஸ்காரர் ஒருவர் உங்களுக்கெல்லாம் பிரபாகரன்தான்டா சரி என்று திட்டியதாக தெரியவருகிறது. ஒரு வருடத்தில் இப்படி தலைகீழாக மாறும் ஓர் இனத்தின் விடிவிற்காகத்தான் ஒரு வாரத்தில் ஓர் இலட்சம் மக்கள் உயிரைக் கொடுத்திருக்கிறார்கள் என்று கலங்கியபடி சொன்னார் யாழ். சென்று திரும்பிய முதியவர் ஒருவர். அதேவேளை வெளிநாடுகளில் இருந்து தாறுமாறாக பணத்தை அனுப்பி அங்குள்ள இளையோரை சீரழிவுக்குள் தள்ளுவதில் புலம் பெயர் தமிழ் குடும்பங்களும் முக்கிய பங்கு வகிக்கின்றன. கொடுக்கும் பணத்திற்கு நடக்கும் பணி என்ன என்பதை வரையறை செய்யாமல் பணத்தை அனுப்புவதால் வரும் பேராபத்தாக இவை உள்ளமை குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது. சமீபத்தில் யாழில் உள்ள ஊர் ஒன்றில் ஏழ்மையில் உள்ளோருக்கு தொழில் செய்து வாழ இயந்திரங்கள் தருவதாக வெளிநாட்டு தாபனமொன்று கேட்டபோது யாருமே தொழில் செய்யும் பணியில் ஆர்வம் காட்டவில்லை என்ற அறிக்கை கிடைத்துள்ளது. இவைகள் இன்றைய யாழ்ப்பாணத்தை அளவீடு செய்யும் ஆவணங்களாக உள்ளன.

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யாழ். குடாநாட்டில் வர்த்தக நடவடிக்கைகள் விவசாயம், பொருளாதாரத் துறைகளின் அபிவிருத்திகள், உல்லாசப் பயணிகள் வருகை என்று அனைத் துச் செயற்பாடுகளும் “ஜெற்’ வேகத்தில் முன்னேறி வருகின்றன.

இவற்றுக்கு ஈடுகொடுக்குமாற் போல் கலாசாரச் சீரழிவுகளும் போட்டிபோட்டுக் கொண்டு அதிகரித்து வருகின்றன. இந்தச் சீரழிவு நிலைமையை அவதானித்து அதனைக் கட்டுப்படுத்தி ஒழித்துக் கட்ட களத்தில் குதிக்கத் தயாராகிவிட்டார் யாழ் அரச அதிபர் இமெல்டா சுகுமார்.

குடாநாட்டில் அருவருக்கத்தக்க கலாசாரச் சீரழிவுகள் நாளாந்தம் பெருகி வருவதை அவதானிக்கக் கூடியதாக உள்ளது. அவை தொடர்பாக பல்வேறு தரப்புக்களிடம் இருந்தும் எனக்கு முறைப்பாடு களும் வந்த வண்ணமுள்ளன.

இந்த மோசமான நிலைமையைக் கட்டுப்பாட்டுக்குள் கொண்டுவர வேண்டிய அவசியத்தை நான் உணர்ந்துள்ளேன். அதற்கான நடவடிக்கைகளிலும் நான் இறங்கியுள்ளேன். இந்த விடயம் தொடர்பாக பொலிஸாரின் உதவியை நாடியுள்ளேன். அவர்களுடன் இது குறித்து விரிவாகக் கலந்துரையாடி உள்ளேன். தாம் முழு ஒத்துழைப்பை வழங்கத்தயார் என்று பொலிஸார் உறுதியளித்துள்ளனர்.

கலாசாரச் சீரழிவுகள் குறித்து பொது மக்கள் முறையிடுவதற்கு வசதியாக பிரத்தியேக தொலைபேசி இலக்கத்தை ஒதுக்கித் தருமாறு பொலிஸாரிடம் கோரியுள்ளேன். அந்தத் தொலைபேசி இலக்கம் வழங்கப்பட்டவுடன் கலாசாரச் சீரழிவுகள் தொடர்பில் எமக்கு எவரும் அறியத்தந்தால் பொலிஸார் நடவடிக்கையில் இறங்கும் வகையில் ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்படும் என்றார்.

"Over 60 killed in Sri Lanka explosives depot blast"

மட்டக்களப்பு கரடியனாறில் வெடிப்பு சம்பவம் - 60 பேர் பலி, 50க்கும் மேற்பட்டோர் வைத்தியசாலையில் அனுமதி

At least 60 people were killed, including two Chinese contractors, in eastern Sri Lanka on Friday after an accidental blast at an explosives depot at a police station, a military spokesman told AFP.

Spokesman Ubaya Medawala told AFP that most of the victims were policemen, who were issuing explosives to Chinese road builders who needed them to blast rock on a nearby project.

"It's an accidental explosion. The munitions were kept at the police station for safety reasons. It exploded as police were issuing some munitions to the contractors," Medawala said.

The police station in Karadiyanaru, 235 miles (378 kilometres) by road from the capital Colombo, was extensively damaged.

Chinese infrastructure companies are highly active in Sri Lanka, fuelling concerns in neighbouring India about the growing influence of China in South Asia.

State-run firms are building two ports in Sri Lanka, one in the southern town of Hambantota and another in Colombo.

The nearest hospital to the site of the accident, in the town of Batticaloa, said several people injured in the blast had been admitted, but a spokesman was unable to say how many had been hurt in total.

Kilde: AFP
மட்டக்களப்பு – கரடியனாறு காவற்துறை நிலையத்தில் சற்று முன்னர் வெடிப்பு சம்பவம் ஒன்று இடம்பெற்றுள்ளதாக தகவல்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன.

இதில சில காவற்துறை அதிகாரிகள் கொல்லப்பட்டதாக உறுதிப்படுத்தப்படாத தகவல்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன.

மட்டக்களப்பு மாவட்ட பிரதி காவற்துறை மா அதிபரின் தகவல்படி காவற்துறை நிலையத்தின் கட்டிடத்தொகுதி சேதமடைந்துள்ளதாகவும் சில காவற்துறை அதிகாரிகளுக்கு காயமேற்பட்டுள்ளதாகவும் தெரிகிறது.

பிந்தி கிடைத்த தகவல் அடிப்படையில் வெடிப்பு சம்பவம் இடம்பெற்ற கரடியனாறு பிரதேசத்தில் இருந்து ஏழு பேர் காயமடைந்த நிலையில் மட்டக்களப்பு போதனா வைத்தியசாலைக்கு அழைத்து வரப்பட்டுள்ளதாக தெரிவிக்கப்படுகிறது.

இதேவேளை மேலும் சிலர் சம்பவ இடத்தில் இருந்து வைத்தியசாலைக்கு எடுத்துச் செல்லப்படுவதாகவும் தகவல்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன.

இணைப்பு

இன்று கரடியனாறு காவற்துறை நிலையத்தில் ஏற்பட்ட வெடிப்பு சம்பவத்தில் 60க்கு பேருக்கும் அதிகமானவர்கள் கொல்லப்பட்டுள்ளதாக காவற்துறை ஊடக பேச்சாளர் பிரசாந்த ஜெயகொடி தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

இதற்கிடையில் 46க்கம் அதிகமானவர்கள் இதுவரையில மட்டக்களப்பு போதனா வைத்தியசாலையில் அனுமதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளனர்.

கொல்லப்பட்டவர்கள் மற்றும் காயமடைந்துள்ளவர்களுள் பொது மக்களும் உள்ளடங்குவதாக தெரிவிக்கப்படுகிறது.