Sri Lankan Leader Mahinda and his brother,Basil's supporters clash in Negombo !

The organizing committee meetings of the Gampaha District for this year's May Day saw Minister Basil Rajapaksa's supporters taking prominence after sidelining the President's supporters. Young parliamentarians and provincial councilors who are supportive of Basil have been given more powers and prominence while Minsters Felix Perera, Sarath Gunaratne, Sudarshani Fernandopulle and Neil Rupasinghe who are supportive of the President have been sidelined.

It is learnt that during the special meetings held on organizing for the May Day, Basil had intervened in the organizing work of electorates of senior ministers and deputy ministers who are supportive of the President and new parliamentarians and provincial councilors had been given powers and other allocations to oppose the senior party members.

Angered by this move, senior deputy minister and Negombo organizer, Sarath Gunaratne had said at the meeting, “SLFP is a single party with one leader. That is the President. If there is going to be a split in the party or two leaders are trying to rule it, that would be detrimental to the party. We work for the President. I'm not ready to do anything that any one else would tell me to do that goes beyond his words. The Negombo electorate was given to me by the President and I'm its organizer. I organize Negombo according to the President's wishes. There cannot be another leader for Negombo. I'm the organizer appointed by the President and I will organize the May Day in Negombo. Are you trying to split the party.”

Gunaratne had made this comment to Nimal Lanza.

However, the day before May Day, Lanza had summoned MPs and organizers and said that he was to be appointed as the organizer for Negombo and the Basil Rajapaksa would allocate finances for development work only to him. He had threatened that those who work against him would therefore have to suffer in future.

He had said that Negombo organizers and supporters should attend the May Day only in his buses.

Lanza had added that he was to be given more powers in future and that the fate of those who are now showing powers could not be known.

source: lankanewsweb

Video documents carnage in Ivory Coast

A video posted online documents in chilling, graphic detail the transformation Thursday of a peaceful demonstration in the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan to a slaughter by what appear to be forces loyal to self-proclaimed President Laurent Gbabgo.


American officials said on Friday that seven were killed from the incident but Gbagbo rival Alassane Ouattara put the death toll at 12 with a child another 110 people injured.





The video was broadcast widely on opposition television in the Ivory Coast. CNN staffers familiar with Abidjan said the video appeared to have been recorded in the capital city.


The video, about eight minutes, is posted on YouTube. In it, hundreds of people, most of them women dressed in brightly colored garb, are seen smiling, chanting, playing horns, blowing whistles and dancing. Many of them are carrying signs with slogans written in French that refer to Gbagbo as "assassin" and "robber of power." One of them holds a poster declaring Gbagbo's rival, former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara, as president. None of them appears to be carrying a weapon.


Dark clouds hang low. but the chanting soon stops, replaced by an eerie quiet, as the hand-held camera turns away from the crowd and focuses on the approach of a convoy of three camouflage-painted armored vehicles, one of them bearing the word "Police."
Without any apparent warning, a volley of three bursts from a heavy-caliber gun pierces the quiet, followed by screams as the marchers, including whoever is holding the camera, run from the street, leaving behind pavement littered with flip-flops, clothing and tote bags.


To a soundtrack of wailing, the camera then makes its way toward individual mounds of flesh on the pavement, each steeped in a pool of red. One woman appears to have been decapitated; another has suffered a deep wound in the neck; yet another a deep wound in the back. The latter, her torso soaked in red, tries to raise her head from the pavement but soon gives up, lowering back down.


A spokesman for Gbagbo, Sylvere Nebout, said in a telephone interview that he knew nothing about the video, but added that this is "as usual, a manipulation from the opposition."


He forwarded a statement from army spokesman Col. Hilaire Babri Gohourou, which aired Friday night on television. It denied involvement of defense and security forces. "These charges are necessarily false and without any ground," he said, adding that no security and defense forces had been in the area of the attack -- the Abidjan suburb of Abobo -- on Thursday.


"I'm in a state of shock," said Youssoufou Bamba, the U.N. ambassador to the Ivory Coast and a supporter of Ouattara. "Having watched that video now, I'm quite depressed."


He accused Gbagbo -- a southern Christian -- of seeking to foment the nation's descent toward civil war. "Actually, he's conducting an ethnic cleansing because the people who have been killed have been killed along ethnic lines," Bamba said, referring to the mostly Muslim people from the northern and central parts of the country and from neighboring countries.


 Source ; CNN


 Ivory coast killing video, murdering video of ivory coast 

President Percy Mahinda and Brother Chamal witnesses at White Flag case judges daughters wedding - blatant violation of rule of natural justice !

 

Percy Mahinda and Speaker of parliment Chamal will be the witnesses at the engaging ceremony of Justice Deepali Wijesundara's daughter on 07th March. Justice Wijesundara is the presiding judge at the trial-at-bar that hears the White Flag case against former Army Commander, War Hero General Sarath Fonseka. 


Percy Mahinda had even offered the Presidential Palace for the ceremony but as another special function is scheduled on the day at the palace, Colombo Cinnamon Grand hotel has been chosen as the venue as a result.


Legal experts are of the opinion that the close friendship between High Court Judge Wijesundara, President Rajapaksha and his family members will be a crucial factor in deciding the outcome of the White Flag case which question's the inpartiality of the decesions taken.


Currently Mother Lanka is accused by the international human rights groups of failing to take action against real culprits of human rights violations so far. The international community is closely monitoring the judicial processes particularly against General Fonseka in Sri Lanka. The Commonwealth has meanwhile requested Sri Lankan authorities to allow legal monitors to be present when cases against General Fonseka are heard which is a must as things & happenings looks very much partial towards one side.


source ; lankanewsweb

Mahinda held hostage by evil Forces – Says UNP Vice President Imtiaz Bakeer Markar

UNP Vice President, Former parlimenterian Imtiaz Bakeer Markar said, it is vey clear that both USA President Barrack Obama and local President Mahinda Rajapakse have become captives of evil destructive forces in their own backyard. As President Obama who was presented with a golden opportunity to establish world peace and reconciliation did not seize it, so is the Local President Mahinda missed the opportunity which was brought to his doorstep to establish peace and reconciliation within his country after the war tha talsted for 30 Years. Bakeer Markar mentioned this speaking at a meeting held in Balapitiya electorate.