The event will run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and will showcase all the favorites from years before, such as authentic Sri Lankan food stalls, novelty items, stage acts, and the exciting perahera.

Retail vendors and advertisers can find more information (vendor applications, public transportation, parking regulations, Third Street Promenade map, driving directions, etc.) about Sri Lanka Day Expo 2010 by clicking here.

The civil war in Sri Lanka may be over, but you can buy a land mine on the side of the road in Jaffna — though they’re more likely to explode in your mouth than anywhere else. In the main city on Sri Lanka’s northernmost peninsula, besieged by 2½ decades of bloody sectarian violence until last May, the spicy samosa sold by street vendors throughout the city is still known by its nom de guerre: midi-vedi, the Tamil word for land mine.

The name was first used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, popularly known as the Tamil Tigers, in the early 1990s when they were in control of Jaffna. The moniker has stuck, and the delicacy is a hit among the tens of thousands of visitors who have begun to stream into the peninsula since it opened to public traffic in January. Most of the tourists are from the majority Sinhala community living in the south of the island, curious to visit a place that has been cut off from most of the nation for nearly 25 years.The Tigers, on the other hand, are nowhere in sight. The separatist group waged a long and violent fight demanding an independent homeland for the country’s minority Tamils who call Jaffna their cultural and political home. The war, which cost the country more than 70,000 lives, came to an end last year, when the Tigers were destroyed by the Sri Lankan forces. The final deadly blow was delivered on May 18, 2009, on a narrow beach stretch on the northeastern Mulaithivu coast, when the top Tiger leadership, including its once elusive leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, was killed by the army.

The reopening of the old A9 highway — the only road connecting the Jaffna peninsula to the rest of the island — has quickly helped the Tamil and Sinhala communities, largely kept apart by years of war, come together. “During the war, the A9 was closed and people felt isolated,” says the Rev. Thomas Soundranayagam, the Catholic bishop of Jaffna who has lived here since 1992.

Now, after years of isolation, Jaffna is changing with each new visitor. The thousands of tired travelers from the south, some of whom camp out within the bombed-out shell of what was once the magnificent Jaffna railway station, are just the outward manifestation. Prices of goods have come down drastically. During the height of the conflict’s last phase, all supplies were brought in by ship, increasing the prices and causing shortages. The opening of the road and easing of restrictions on activities like fishing around the peninsula could generate vital income. “The fishermen can go out to sea whenever they want. Because fertilizer and other agriculture material are freely available, farming has also picked up. The Jaffna producer can now tap the southern market,” the bishop says.

For most domestic tourists, visiting Jaffna is like entering another dimension. Along the way, they stare at the giant water tank toppled onto its side in Kilinochchi, once the Tigers’ political nerve center. Military officers stationed nearby explain that the Tigers — for reasons known only to them — placed explosives around the base of the tower and set them off before retreating. The more adventurous walk into the empty shell, where names have been scribbled on the inner walls.

A little farther north, crowds gather at the southern end of Elephantpass, the narrow causeway that connects the peninsula with the rest of the island, to see another legendary relic of the war, a bulldozer with armor plating and gaping holes caused by explosions. In 1991, the Tigers launched a massive attack on the army base here, using the improvised bulldozer to ram the army fortifications and breach them. They almost succeeded, but the vehicle was stopped in its tracks by the Sri Lankan soldier Hasalaka Gamini, who climbed onto it and lobbed a grenade inside. He was shot dead soon afterward.

On the opposite side of the road, two more odd-looking armored vehicles are parked like props from a low-budget war flick that the film crew didn’t bother to remove. They were used by top Tiger officials when they moved close to the front lines. It’s difficult to say whether anyone survived the last journeys of the two vehicles; they are riddled with bullet marks. “I just can’t believe I am here. It is so unreal,” Thurairajah Sudaharan, a 20-year-old from central Sri Lanka, says while walking through the partly destroyed ramparts of the 350-year-old Jaffna fort. It, too, was a victim of the war.

For 60-year-old Senna Pakiavathy, life in Jaffna now seems too good to be true. She was born in central Sri Lanka but moved to the north in the 1980s, when ethnic tension grew between the Tamils and the Sinhalese. Her wrinkled face is a tale of what she has endured in the past 30 years. One of her sons, recruited to fight for the Tigers when he was 17, was killed in battle. Another son lost his leg in battle, and a third, who she says was also taken forcibly by the Tigers, was injured too. Her family fled for their lives from Puliyankulam, a village that lies on the A9, in early 2009, when fighting became too intense. She returned a year later to find that her house was a pile of bricks. “What to do? We have to survive somehow,” she says, looking at her new home of mud and sticks. Her husband has begun farming again, and the family runs a small tea shop on the side of the A9. “My dream now is to have a permanent house before I die,” she says.

The U.N. estimates that more than 160,000 houses were either damaged or destroyed in the north during the final phase of the war, between 2006 and 2009. Reconstruction has yet to begin. It will likely start after the April 8 general election, when there is a more stable government in power with a five-year mandate. President Mahinda Rajapaksa staved off a challenge by his former army commander Sarath Fonseka in the January presidential election and is expected to lead his UPFA coalition to victory as well. But there is hardly any election fever in Jaffna, except for the occasional campaign vehicle and posters of candidates. Soundranayagam says the city is beginning to enjoy the calm after nearly 30 years of nonstop fighting. “Then there was the sound of the booming artillery, the aircrafts, the shells. The only silence was the silence of the curfew. Now the guns have fallen silent,” he says. It is a quiet that residents and tourists alike can rejoice in — and should hope to continue indefinitely.

My wife and I had a marvelous holiday in Sri Lanka.  A friend had raved about it; we went – and had the time of our lives.

Our pal suggested we base ourselves at a guesthouse near Mount Lavinia, near Colombo, which was very comfortable, but if you have deep pockets, the somewhat swankier Mount Lavinia Hotel – home to the colonial-style Governor’s restaurant – might be to your liking.

One of the first things we did was to visit Polonnaruwa, where you’ll find the Gal Vihara, which has a shrine to the four images of the Buddha, carved into the face of a granite rock.

We also travelled to Yala National Park, at the southern end of the island, which was quite an experience.  We saw a leopard walk across the road in front of our jeep, and then we turned a corner to see the large backside of an elephant walking away from us 20 yards ahead.

My wife and I were holding our breath as the driver followed him slowly at a short distance.  And then suddenly, this bloody great thing whipped around as quick as a cat and charged, coming to a stop 10 feet in front of us.  It frightened the life out of us and the animal’s eyes seemed to say: “You don’t follow me – you go the other way!”  Then he turned around and went off.

Afterwards our driver said to us with a smile: “If you want, I can get him to do it again.”

My wife replied gently but firmly: “Thanks, but no thanks.”

The country’s wildlife is extraordinary, and we also saw peacocks and other jungle birds with the most extraordinary coloring.

I also loved the Sri Lankan food – all that fragrant curry, none of which was too hot.  I’d recommend the curried seer fish.  The fruit was amazing, too.

We spent a month on the island, and it’s probably the best holiday I’ve ever had: the weather was superb, the food great, and the people so welcoming.  A word of warning, though.  One night there was a great electrical storm – which I watched from outdoors.  When I got back inside, I discovered I’d been unlucky enough to be bitten 83 times (I counted), so take some mosquito repellent!

Originally published on April 10, 2010 in The Telegraph.

Click here to access the original article.

The other countries recommended by the magazine for a ‘memorable holiday’ are Malaysia, Thailand, India, Bulgaria, Croatia, Mexico, Turkey, Egypt, and Hungary.

Meanwhile, travel analysts expect that in 2010, the global tourist industry will return to its pre-crisis levels with growing interest towards the event tourism.

The National Geographic Channel recently, in an exclusive report, categorized Sri Lanka as the second best place to visit.

The commentator, Times Travel writer, and Editor of Wandertrust Magazine Jill Crawshaw, describes Sri Lanka as ‘definitely a best place to visit.’

The National Geographic Adventure too has ranked Sri Lanka as the Second Best New Trips for 2010 out of 25 countries, accrediting the country as a “Wonder of the World.”

Sri Lanka was ranked as the number one tourist destination by the New York Times in its list of “31 Places To Go In 2010.”

Just days after this ranking, a leading lifestyle web resource, Daily Candy, weighed in with a similarly enthusiastic travel recommendation, praising Sri Lanka as “the best place ever been.”

Tourist arrivals in the country increased sharply after May 2009 with the military defeat of terrorism, ending Sri Lanka’s 30-year war.

Original article published on April 8, 2010 by the Policy Research & Information Unit of the Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka.

A doctor who worked in Sri Lanka’s war zone during last year’s civil war is standing for a pro-government party in parliamentary elections.

Dr. V. Shanmugarajah gave high casualty figures to aid agencies and the media from within the combat zone.

The government doctor is believed to have been enlisted by the now-defeated Tamil Tigers into their medical team.

Sri Lanka’s government is expected to win the parliamentary elections on Thursday.

It was angered when Dr .Shanmugarajah and other doctors spoke to the media from the war zone.

‘Under Pressure’

Dr. Shanmugarajah is one of a small group of medical practitioners who gave high figures for casualties in the final months of the war.

He and other government doctors spoke to the media from the war zone and said that hundreds of people were dying in bombardments, many of which, it was claimed, came from army-controlled territory.

Several months later, after being taken into government custody, the doctors retracted their claims.  They said they had come under pressure from Tiger rebels to exaggerate the number of deaths.

But now, Dr. Shanmugarajah has his job back, and is standing in the northern Vanni district for a small Tamil party, which 20 years ago was a militant group.

Rebellion Crushed

It is standing separately from the government coalition.  But Dr. Shanmugarajah told the BBC his party leans towards support for President Mahinda Rajapaksa, a man he described as “OK.”

The doctor’s home area is Mullaitivu, the last sizable town that was held by the Tigers.

More than half the people in the area are still in army-run refugee camps, but Dr. Shanmugarajah said they were slowly going back home.

One of the war-zone doctors recanted casualty figures last July, saying it was not true that a hospital had been shelled there in February.

But the Red Cross and the United Nations insisted that the shelling had taken place.  Sri Lanka’s government says no civilians were killed by its armed forces in the war zone.

The doctor says he no longer wishes to discuss casualty figures, which have been the subject of huge controversy.

The Tamil Tiger rebels, who had been fighting for a separate homeland, were crushed when the 26-year civil war ended last year.

President Rajapaksa has gone from strength to strength, and his government is expected to win Thursday’s elections.

Originally published on April 6, 2010 on BBC News.

Click here to access the original article.

Designated as a sanctuary in 1905, and upgraded to a national park in 1938, the country’s largest wildlife area, Wilpattu, had been closed to visitors after the Tamil Tigers killed 23 wildlife officers in 1985.

With the war ending in May 2009, the park reopened to visitors last month.

“With the reopening of this park, all of the island’s national parks are now open,” Patali Champika Ranawaka, Environment and Natural Resources minister was quoted as saying.

Home to more than 30 threatened wildlife species, the 131,693-hectare park is located in the northwestern coastal region, 180 kilometers north of Colombo.

Though the park had reopened in March 2003 after the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the government and the LTTE, it had to be closed again in 2006 because seven people were killed by a bomb attack.

More than 31 threatened mammals, including the sloth bear, leopard, and water buffalo and birds, including the painted stork, open-billed stork, garganey, pin tail, and whistling teal have been identified in the park, warden Weerasinghe Dissanayake was quoted as saying.

Land monitors, mugger crocodiles, and soft shelled turtles are also found in the nearly 60 lakes and tanks at the park, he said.

The park is not only rich in biodiversity, but also has historical value, the park warden said.

The climate inside the park is very different in spite of being situated in a dry zone.  It receives 1,000 millimeters of annual rainfall, and has an average temperature of 27.2 degrees Celsius.

Heavy rains occur between September and December, and between March and April, with May to early September being the best season for a visit.

Originally published on April 1, 2010 on NDTV.com.

Click here to access the original article.

The project, which will cost a sum of US $13.5 million, will be built at Buruthakanda in Hambanthota.  The proposed power plant, which is funded by Korea and Japan, will contribute 900kw of energy to the national grid.

The Korean International Co-operation Agency will give US $4.5 million as an outright grant.

The Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA), which will sell the power to the Ceylon Electricity Board, will use the revenue to promote rural electrification.

A spokesman for SLSEA said that the project will commence this year and will play a major roll in generating power in the region.

“The revenue generated from this project will be channeled to the rural electrification program of the SLSEA, which has already identified 12 rural villages for immediate implementation.  More than 100 families of the most vulnerable section of the community can be provided with a basic electricity supply every year,” he said.

Last year, the cabinet approved the Japanese grant for solar power generation, which was given by Japan to encourage the Sri Lankan government’s efforts to address climate change and access to clean energy.

However, during drought, when water levels in hydropower reservoirs drop, the country has no option but to fall back on high cost imported petroleum to generate electricity.

Sri Lanka’s hydro-capacities are also seen as inadequate to feed the annual demand for electricity.

Hambanthota, which is the hometown of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, will also be having Sri Lanka’s second international Airport, which is, at present, under construction.  The government is also striving towards completing the first phase of the international harbor in Hambanthota towards the end of this year.

Recently, Hambanthota, which submitted bids to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, came up against the Gold Coast in Australia.  If Hambanthota is selected, it will mark the first time the games are held in Sri Lanka.

Originally published on April 3, 2010 on Asian Tribune.

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The entire nation weeps, their minds focused on a single prayer – “breathe boy … breathe.”  Lying like a vegetable, the frail, bony, little boy is fighting for life.  (Amila died yesterday at the Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital in Colombo). One would think that people are immune to shocks after all these years.  But not to heartless acts like these!

It was a shocking story of a young mother allegedly trying to kill her son of two and a half years by throwing him into a river.  This is a story that unearthed many social problems that need attention and calls for greater public vigilance and responsibility to stop more innocent children from becoming similar victims.

“Chooti malli, mama oyata aluth andumakuth gaththa.  Ane nagitala as arinnako,” (“I got a new suit for you brother.  Please get up and open your eyes”) cried 13-year-old Sudeera, standing by his younger brother Amila, who was lying on a hospital bed of the ICU of the Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital (LRCH).

Everyone, including LRCH Director Dr. Aruna Rajamanthree, could not hold their tears when they saw Sudeera pleading with his brother to open his eyes.

“My parents were fighting with each other every day.  I had stopped schooling and worked at the market.  The day before my mother threw him into the Kalu Ganga, I had bought a new shirt for him,” he cried again.

“Will the little boy smile again?”  This is the question on everyone’s lips.  The telephones at LRCH ring incessantly.

March 11 was yet another bright day for the pilgrims at the sacred Kalutara Sri Maha Bodhi temple, but it suddenly turned gloomy when they saw a small boy floating in the Kalu Ganga, seemingly dead.

All flocked to the bridge.  A young lorry driver, Sampath Janaka Silva, voluntarily jumped into the river to rescue the boy.

“When I saw the boy, I could not just look on as I remembered my son.  I jumped to save his life,” he, who felt a surge of love for the unknown boy, said.

“Amma… amma,” the way little Amila kept running behind his mother Malani, clinging onto her skirt each time she tried to abandon him near the sacred Kalutara Bo tree haunts Malani every second.

While the entire nation is criticizing her and is waiting for her to be severely punished for her sinful deed, which no mother on this earth could do, her conscience is already punishing her.

How can a mother forget how she held and fed her baby?  How can she forget the way the baby ran behind her when she tried to abandon him in an alien land?  How can she forget the way he cried?  Finally, how can a mother ever forget throwing a baby, who was in slumber, into a deep river?

Thirty-year-old Malani is suffering for what she did while her ‘chooti putha’ is fighting for life.

The decade-long struggle by Malani to raise her five children with her mere income from selling lottery tickets may have reached a boiling point on that day when she could not light the hearth to boil a pot of rice for five starving children!

Breadwinner of the Family

She became the breadwinner of the family the day her husband, Suranga, ran away from home, abandoning the family as he could not pay his debts as a lottery seller.  Poverty had shut the doors for the children’s schooling, and the eldest son – Sudeera – had started shouldering the economic burden by doing odd jobs at the market.

Malani too started selling lottery tickets to feed her five children.  The small children were mostly fed by the neighbors.

As her daily income was not enough to sustain them all, she started begging for a few rupees or a packet of lunch near the Kalutara temple with her small children including Amila.  But she could not do that for long, and tried several times to hand over the children to a children’s home.

“My husband ill-treated us.  He abandoned us several times.  We had fights.  As I could not bring up my little son, I tried to give him to a Home but they refused to take him saying that they only accept orphans.  I tried again, and they asked for the birth certificate, but my husband refused to give it,” Malani, who married at the age of 16, said.

She said that on March 11, she didn’t have any plan to kill her son, but had decided to abandon Amila at the temple premises, hoping someone would take him for adoption or hand him over to the police.

“I tried to leave him there several times, but he came crying after me.  I walked along the bridge and thought of jumping into the river with him.  Then I saw he was sleeping and threw him into the river,” she said.  She later told the other children that Amila was handed over to a Home.

The incident shown on TV led the neighboring residents of the tsunami housing scheme to identify the boy as Amila.  They inquired from Malani.  She said that she had given him to a Home.  But the residents complained to the Kalutara police which took Malani into custody.

The shocking act of their mother had shattered the family.  According to the Women’s and Children’s Unit of the Kalutara Police, two of the girls are now at the Vishaka Children’s Home, Kalutara and the elder boy is in the Jayanthi Orphanage in Payagala.

The OIC of the Unit, Malka Thushari said the children were not treated well and were neglected by their parents.  They were left to beg and find food.

Miracle

Can a miracle aid the medical experts who are battling to save Amila’s life?  Dr. Rajamanthree said that the LRCH which caters to hundreds of critically ill children annually, and is credited for saving their lives, has now channelled its efforts and expertise to save the life of innocent Amila.

He said the hospital spends over Rs. 200,000 per day to keep him alive.  Two nurses monitor him round the clock.

“The child is in a serious condition.  He is unconscious and is supported by an artificial ventilator.  He suffers from brain damage from oxygen deprivation,” he said.

According to Dr. Rajamanthree, the coma scale of a normal man is 15 points, but it is less than three points in Amila.

The Hospital Director said that this unfortunate incident is an eye-opener for the authorities and the public to be more responsible.  He said when the first line of guardians – the parents – fail to protect their children, a greater responsibility lies with the kith and kin, neighbors, public officers, and religious groups to take care of helpless children who are vulnerable to such inhuman acts.

“When children are not looked after properly and not sent to school, is it not the responsibility of the public to inform the police?  If they acted responsibly, Amila’s fate wouldn’t be like this,” he said.

He said the best medicine and best medical expertise had been given to Amila.

Dr. Rajamanthree said that this tragic story shows the level of deterioration of the traditional Sri Lankan mother and family structure.

“I still recall my mother’s endless love.  Sri Lankan mothers have been role models and symbols for mothers the world over.  This story compels us to rethink their role and how best we could help unfortunate mothers and children overcome their problems,” he said.

When impossible things happen, when doctors have given up all hope and suddenly with no scientific explanation, if a child gets well, we call it a miracle.  Every one waits with fingers crossed for such a miracle to breathe life to Amila.

It is time for ‘organizations’ which are mushrooming to take care of children and women, clamoring for ‘equal rights’ during Children’s Day and Women’s Day with annual tamashas, to kick off their programs to educate the public on their social responsibility to prevent more children falling prey to such incidents.

It is time to make parents aware that there are institutes that take in unwanted children.

We all wait to see Amila walking and running again!  Let’s join hands to stop another Amila suffering such an act of cruelty.

[If your child is a burden to you...]

“Hand over your child/children to the nearest police station, without just abandoning them or killing them,” said the Chairman of the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), Dr. Jagath Wellawatta.

Dr. Wellawatta said Amila’s story would be a turning point in measures to safeguard the country’s children.  “It is not just a tragic story, but we need to look deeper into the social and economic reasons behind it.  It questioned the responsibility of many public officials towards preventing such occurrences,” he said.

Malani’s complaint against children’s homes that refused to take care of her children has prompted the NCPA to conduct an investigation to probe her allegation.

Dr. Wellawatta said under Section 34 (1) and (2) of the Child and Young Ordinance Act, children who don’t have parents and those who have parents could be sent to probationary care.

“We will investigate why the children’s home refused to take care of her children,” he said.

He said Malani had married at the age of 16, and the mid-wife whose responsibility is educating couples on birth control had not acted with responsibility.

“Then the inaction of the Grama Sevaka and the Samurdhi Officer is questionable.  Why didn’t the neighbors who saw these children being neglected, poorly fed, and left alone in the house complain to the police or any other responsible authority?  This shows that people need to be educated more on these matters,” he said.

Dr. Wellawatta said the most valid complaint that people could lodge was that children were not being sent to school.  Sending children to school is compulsory, and if the neighbors and public officers knew this and lodged a complaint, they could have prevented this unfortunate incident.

Five children, whose parents had undergone severe economic difficulties, had been handed over to the NCPA last year.  They were handed over to Children’s Homes after obtaining a Court Order.

Originally published on March 21, 2010 in the Sunday Observer.

Click here to access the original article.

Mannar Island, situated on the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province is linked to the mainland by a causeway.  The old bridge was destroyed during the war between the Tamil Tiger rebels, and the Sri Lanka Army renovated the bridge at a cost of Rs. 2.46 billion.

The construction of the bridge, which commenced three years ago, was funded by the Government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The new bridge, spanning 157.1 meters in length and 10.4 meters in width, has been constructed with two lanes of carriage way and sidewalks on the Medawachchiya – Mannar – Thalaimannar (A 14) Road.  The causeway has been extended up to 3.14 km in length and 11.0 m width comprising two lanes of carriage way, Road Development Authority sources said.

The old bridge and causeway which connect Mannar Island and the mainland were constructed in 1930s with a narrow single lane.  It had been the only access road to Mannar Island from the mainland until the new bridge was opened.

Mannar Bridge was damaged due to a terrorist bomb blast in 1990 and it was restored with a narrow temporary steel bailey bridge, and was restricted for heavy vehicles of over 10 tons.

The Road Development Authority under the supervision of the Highways and Road Development Ministry has implemented the Project.

Around 50,000 people living on Mannar Island directly benefit by this project.  It is also expected to improve the market approachability via facilitating transportation at a low cost.

Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka, Kunio Takahashi, Minister Risath Bathiyutheen, and Secretary to the Highways and Road Development Ministry, Admiral (Ret’d) Wasantha Karannagoda also participated in the opening ceremony.

Originally published on March 18, 2010 on Colombo Page.

Click here to access the original article.

Out of the 20 countries, many well-known tourist destinations are listed far behind Sri Lanka.  Hong Kong occupies ninth place, Bali seventh, Mauritius fourth, and Zanzibar third.

In an exclusive report on Sri Lanka, commentator The Times travel section writer, Jill Crawshaw, describes Sri Lanka as ‘definitely a best place to visit.’

Opening the commentary with the first world traveller, Marco Polo’s description of Sri Lanka as the “jade pendant in the Indian Ocean,” the commentators say Sri Lanka is exactly what it is, and Sri Lanka has basically everything for a tourist.

Commenting about the beaches, they say Sri Lanka has hundreds of miles of amazingly undiscovered beaches and coral marine life, and it is one of the greatest islands for beaches.

The commentators also say Sri Lanka has a wonderful history and culture in a really small space and describe Sigiriya as a place not to miss.

Commenting on Sri Lanka’s wildlife and the availability of elephants and leopards, they make special reference to the Pinnawala Elephant Sanctuary.

They make note of how Pinnawala was started in 1975 with seven elephants and it now has 65 elephants, which is the largest herd in captivity.  The commentators have also positively commented on the food of Sri Lanka.

They say that if anyone wants to taste spicy curry then, definitely, Sri Lanka is the place to go.

Originally published on March 18, 2010 on Daily News.

Click here to access the original article.