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There were thousands of bodies to recover after the Asian tsunami

The Red Cross has criticised aid agencies for failing to co-ordinate their response to the tsunami disaster. Rivalries between hundreds of groups led to a duplication and in some places a delay in aid reaching those affected, the Red Cross said in a report.

It also said that tens of thousands of people who died would have survived if they were given quicker warnings.

The annual Red Cross survey also said the response to the well-predicted famine in Niger was insufficient.

Some 250,000 people died in disasters in 2004, 225,000 in the tsunami.

Disasters including floods, famine and hurricanes affected about 146 million people worldwide, according to the annual World Disasters Report by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

The majority of those, about 110 million, were affected by severe flooding in India, Bangladesh and China.

The devastating death toll in the Asian tsunami skewed the official casualty figures, pushing the 2004 total way past the recent average of 67,000.

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The international director of the British Red Cross told the BBC that 300 to 500 charities had arrived in Sri Lanka following the disaster, some of which had little or no experience.

“It is simply very complex and chaotic when a disaster like this strikes,” Matthias Schmale said.

Correspondents say the scale of aid raised was partly to blame for a lack of co-ordination between agencies.

Mr Schmale said the UK agencies involved were established groups, like Oxfam, Save the Children and the Red Cross.

“In remote places… and in some cases, new charities were set up which simply showed up on the scene and tried to help,” he said.

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The report also said that scientists monitoring the Indian Ocean detected the giant earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, but had no way to alert people.

Months later, many affected areas now have tsunami warning systems

“Early warning is the most obvious way in which accurate, timely information alone can save lives,” the organisation’s Secretary General, Markku Niskala, wrote in the introduction to the report.

The report contrasted the lack of co-ordinated information about the impending tsunami disaster with the efficient warning systems in place when four strong hurricanes swept through the Caribbean during 2004.

A string of countries in the region issued evacuation orders and advised citizens on how to ride out hurricanes, minimising death tolls.

The report also focused on Niger, where warnings over poor harvests were not heeded by the international community.

“There were enough early warning signs to say that the situation could be quite severe in 2005,” said Hisham Kigali, head of disaster response for the Red Cross.

“What as a humanitarian community we didn’t do well enough is give out enough repeated messages saying that, particularly to donors.”

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4310558.stm

By Jeevani Pereira
A?a??A?TemporaryA?a??A? shelters are threatening to become a permanent part of the landscape in some parts of the east of Sri Lanka. The most of the tsunami temporary shelters put up two years ago in the East still remain occupied by people who are slowly losing hope that they will ever receive the permanent housing they were promised. To worsen matters a new dilemma has entered their lives, the possibility of being evicted by the end of the year by original landowners of these shelters.

At Aridadithottam camp in the Ampara district, 100 families have been already evicted by the landowner who wanted the 10 acres for his personal building purposes. With no place to live the families were reported to return to the 55m buffer zone areas where they were originally from. In some of the shelters the landowners have broken down most of the shelters A?a??a??which some of them call the A?a??E?second tsunamiA?a??a??.

Living mostly on privately owned land for which the government pays rent, most of these landowners want their land back before a six year completion when the people living there will be able to claim rights to it. However, as by law, construction cannot be done from the sea to a certain distance inland as most of the tsunami victims never had deeds in the first place.

Camps in Nindavur, Karaitivu and Sainthamadu in Ampara are all facing the same problem. Besides worries of basic survival, hundreds of families are on tenterhooks as to when they would be asked to leave.

In a camp at Karaitivu more than 50 families spoke of how after several attempts, they still had neither houses nor land.

With no deed for lands they occupied prior to tsunami. the government is refusing these people permanent housing. Furthermore, the landowner of the area had given them till January to vacate the premises. A?a??A? If that happens we will be forced to go back to the 55m buffer zone,A?a??A? Kangamma, an occupant of one of the temporary shelters said. A?a??A?And in the future if any life is lost as a result it will be the governmentA?a??a??s fault.A?a??A?

Where to order cytotec Day by day life becomes harder and harder, Kangamma said, particularly when the camp is flooded during the rains and the toilets overflow. A?a??A?There were people to clean the toilets earlier but they stopped coming after a while. The Municipal Council came once and never came again. The irony is they distribute leaflets on Chikungunya to clean our environment but the Public Health Inspector has only come here only once during this two year period,A?a??A? she said

Feeling ignored and frustrated, most of these families are only receiving support from some local organizations and INGOs. It is a day to day struggle to live in these camps. A?a??A?We have lost everything for the tsunami and now we are going to lose again,A?a??A? said Buwana Sellathangam from the Karaitivu camp

Altace for sale online A?a??A?The government authorities ask us to buy land and for them to build houses for us but when we donA?a??a??t have enough money to survive, how could we find Rs 300,000 required to buy a plot of land?,A?a??A? she questioned.

At the Aerolanka camp in Ninthavur 13 families have received land and have been promised to construct houses by the government but still seven remain landless two years after the tsunami. Salma and Jezeema, mother and daughter who now live in the camp said, A?a??A?We too lived in the 55m buffer zone. We spoke to the Grama Sevaka and though initially they promised to give us land they later told us to show our deeds.A?a??A? They who lived by the sea had no deeds they said.

A?a??A?Even those who had been promised by the government to give houses are not sure when it would be done,A?a??A? continued Jezeema adding that though promised in January. they hope the houses would be completed by December 2007.

The situation in Sainthamadu MFCB temporary shelter is not any better. Scores of men and women said that the landowner wanted to evict them some time back and they are not sure as to when he would return and ask them to leave.

A?a??A?Government authorities came and wrote down the number of people living here and asked us where we wanted to live. They told us that construction work of houses was going but we donA?a??a??t know when we are getting it,A?a??A? some of the women said adding that they found it difficult to live in the shelters any longer as there were snakes and insects creeping in.

Thus two years after the disaster many tsunami affected families, particularly in the north and east of the country, still struggle to live trying to avoid reliving the disaster. Surrounded by tin walls and leaking cadjan roofs they are still close to giving into their fears.

see the original article:
http://www.dailymirror.lk/2006/12/11/front/7.asp

Rajapaksa anniversary: The grim realities

• Heavy arms procurements as both sides prepare for escalation of conflict
• Defence Ministry forms company for import of arms but serious questions arise
• After the Budget, focus now on Prabha’s heroes’ day speech

By Iqbal Athas

President Percy Mahinda Rajapaksa today marks an important milestone in his political career – the completion of a year in office as President, Head of Government, Head of Cabinet, Minister of Defence and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

Nothing has been more exacting in the first of his six year tenure than the spheres of defence, security and peace. Just weeks after assuming office, the Security Forces and Tiger guerrillas were engaged in skirmishes. One blamed the other for the actions. It escalated gradually. The guerrillas launched a major military campaign to lay siege on the Jaffna peninsula. Though undeclared, that saw the birth of Eelam War IV.

Despite the early confrontations, he succeeded in reviving peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). That was in Geneva in April, this year. It came after the talks remained suspended since February 2003 during the tenure of the former United National Front (UNF) Government. The next round, however, in Geneva failed. Yet, it was revived again. Government and LTTE delegations met in Geneva on October 28 and 29 but the talks collapsed on an unexpected issue – the re-opening of the Muhamalai end of A-9 highway. The issue has quite clearly distanced the two sides from the negotiation table and forced them to focus on the battlefield.

Thus, a climate for resumed peace negotiations has virtually disappeared. On both the Security Forces and the Tiger guerrilla sides, there have been hectic military preparations to cope with imminent threats from each other. The Security Forces have gone on a high state of alert countrywide. For the first time, unprecedented security preparations have gone into effect in the South. President Rajapaksa and his government leaders are taking part in ceremonies today to mark his first year in office. They do not want the guerrillas to mar them.

In guerrilla dominated areas in the North and East, fears of strikes by the Security Forces have led to enhanced measures by them. Ahead of LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran’s “Maveerar (Great Heroes) Day” address the guerrillas fear Security Forces may strike at their positions. This, they worry, is to mar ceremonies that begin tomorrow (Monday) during the “great” heroes week. They engage in religious observances to remember their dead cadres.

The week culminates with Mr. Prabhakaran’s 52nd birthday when he delivers his address.

It is in this grim backdrop that President Rajapaksa looks to his second year in office. The deadlock over the re-opening of the A-9 highway has diminished the prospects of an early resumption of peace talks. It has consequently increased the spectre of a heightened Eelam War IV. That has left President Rajapaksa with little choice but to ensure a much greater military preparedness by the Security Forces.

On Thursday President Rajapaksa, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning, introduced in Parliament his Government’s second budget. It made no reference to a significant rise in defence expenditure. Yet, the much revised Rs 108.67 billion in the current year will rise to Rs 1.29 billion in 2007 – a reflected increase of 28 per cent. That constitutes a 45 per cent increase in defence spending. Further revisions cannot be ruled out.

Defence Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told Simon Gardner of Reuters “when sovereignty of the state is threatened, it has to be safeguarded.” He was also quoted as saying “Defence professionals will have to look into (what to buy) – basically what you need to defend the country.”

In fact, some hectic military procurement is under way. For obvious reasons one cannot detail all of them except to say some of the capital assets are enormously expensive. A company has been formed under the Ministry of Defence to exclude middle men in deals involving military hardware. It has sought commissions on the deals entered with foreign suppliers. The money is to be spent on troop’s welfare. Yet, the MoD has also renewed its call for the registration of suppliers for the year 2007. Almost all the deals are being touted as Government to Government. However, there were also ones that raised very serious questions where some of the transactions involving millions of rupees, to say the least, amounted to “highway robbery”. Those clearly raised doubts on whether the practice of churning out millionaires and billionaires in Sri Lankaa??s separatist war still continues.

In this war, the Army, Navy, Air Force and even the Police have had to periodically replace or update military hardware. It has happened whenever fighting has escalated leading to loss, damage or wear and tear of some equipment.

In an unusual development, personnel of the Sri Lanka Air Force have spoken openly about the Government acquiring four aircraft. Four of them are undergoing training at the Indian Air Force facility in Chandigarh which is the premier training base for Mig-27 and Mig-29 aircraft. Their remarks were reported by the Press Trust of India (PTI) on Wednesday.

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Three of Army’s Main Battle Tanks (MBTs), damaged during the ill planned Muhamalai offensive that ended in a debacle, lay in Tiger guerrilla controlled side. The Army lost six tanks valued at Rs 60 million.

The Government has contracted for the purchase of four Mig-27 aircraft from Ukraine, one of the major defence deals under President Rajapaksa’s administration. The Army lost six Czech built T-55 Main Battle Tanks during the ill planned offensive in Muhamalai on October 11. This turned out to be a devastating debacle with over 146 officers and men killed. See picture on this page of three such tanks lying damaged in guerrilla dominated part of Muhamalai. It is no secret that such tanks would have to be replaced. So would be the Dvora Fast Attack Craft (FACs) lost during battles with Sea Tigers, the most recent one on November 9 (The Sunday Times – Situation Report November 12).

In fact, the Navy has been handicapped for a considerable period of time. A scandalous deal to procure guns manufactured in 1985 as the main armament for FACs was called off. After exposures in The Sunday Times a Commission of Inquiry was appointed to probe the matter. The inquiries are continuing. But the Navy is yet to receive a replacement weapon. There are fears that new snags may delay the process further.

Yet, the Navy has now begun to face the brunt of the guerrillas. Yesterday, they foiled an attempt by Sea Tigers to mount an attack on the Navy base and the adjoining police station in Talaimannar. Some ten Sea Tiger boats had first attacked two Navy Inshore Patrol Craft (IPCs) and later headed towards the base. The Navy men resisted guerrilla gunfire from sea. They disabled four Sea Tiger boats. Air support came moments later. They hit two more guerrilla craft. Thereafter the Sea Tigers withdrew. Navy officials in Talaimannar said on the telephone that ten bodies of guerrillas were seen floating in the sea. One sailor was killed and five others were injured.

This was the first major incident in a week and came amidst fears of major guerrilla attacks ahead of November 27. Intelligence sources said yesterday that further guerrilla attacks could not be ruled out before this date.

The measures by the Government to further bolster the strength of the Security Forces (and even the Police), a marked contrast from the two previous Governments, are not altogether one sided. According to intelligence sources, the LTTE had succeeded in smuggling in a variety of military hardware in the past months. These sources say they are continuing to do so. Such items had included vast quantities of artillery ammunition, mortar shells, explosives and surface-to-air missiles. Some of the ship-to-trawler transfers heading to the shores were disrupted by the Navy.

All this means that both the Government and the LTTE are preparing themselves to be stronger at war. Logically that would mean the introduction of more hardware and the intensification of the war. This, no doubt, would further distance them from the peace process. More importantly, the accent from both sides, as a New Year approaches would be on a stepped up Eelam War IV.
Those challenges come for President Rajapaksa at a critical moment. The Government is facing accusations of human rights violations. Last Monday President Rajapaksa promulgated an Extraordinary Gazette notification appointing a Commission of Inquiry to probe 15 cases involving such violations.

On Tuesday, envoys of Donor Co-chairs of the Peace Process, the United States, the European Union, Japan and Norway, are meeting in Washington D.C. to examine the situation in Sri Lanka. The Government has already launched diplomatic initiatives to explain its own position vis-A?-vis the issues to be discussed. With that over, Mr. Prabhakaran’s message will follow.

President Rajapaksa leaves on November 25 on a three-day private visit to India. He is expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Indian leaders to explain the Government’s position with regard to several key issues.

Also due to leave for the United States is the Commander of the Army, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, who has been at the forefront of the military campaign against the LTTE. He and his family are Green Card holders in the US having won a lottery earlier. Such a card is a forerunner for US citizenship.

Lt. Gen. Fonseka is due to arrive in Washington D.C. on November 26. He has sought meetings with senior military officials at the Pentagon and State Department officials for November 27 and 28. He will thereafter travel to Oklahoma before returning to Sri Lanka.

Lt. Gen. Fonseka’s one-year term as Army Commander comes to an end on December 6, this year. Government sources said yesterday a decision on an extended period would be made upon his return.

As he steps into his second year in office, President Rajapaksa, faces a formidable challenge. He will have to take tough decisions on tougher issues to save a nation that is in the throes of a serious crisis.

see the original article:
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/061119/Columns/sitreport.html

Buy silvitra online Ashwagandha plant buy Ruhunu open skies launch on Nov 19
The Ruhunu Open Skies programme is to be launched on November 19 and 20 at Hambantota.
The director general ofA?A? Civil Aviation, H M C Nimalsiri said the programme is based on facilities at three airfields – Katukurunda, Koggala and Weerawila and an abandoned runway located north east of Hambantota.
The area of operation will be the coastal belt from Kalutara to Arugam Bay in Pottuwil. The land area encompasses Kalutara, Neboda, Elpitiya, Akuressa, Panamure, Balangoda, Kirigalpotta mountain peak, Haputale, Ella, Haliella, Lunugala, Weerawila and Yala.
A wide range of aviation activities including flying schools, hang gliding, para gliding, para jumping,A?A? micro-light aircraftA?A? and kites would be a major contributor to the economy, together with a variety of helicopter services for ships.
Ship movement around the south of Sri Lanka is between 285 to 325 ships a day reaching nearly 10,000 ships per month. The open skies programme could also provide a number of services by helicopter, night and day, which will include crew transfers, medical evacuations, para-medics for emergency medical care, provision of emergency medicines and supply of food.

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http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=116132&version=1&template_id=44&parent_id=24

Buy generic singulair no prescription POTTUVIL: Endep online dating One of the three fishermen, missing two months ago in the Pottuvil sea, arrived from Myanmar recently.

The three fishermen Abubucker Abdul Raheem, Thangarasa and Samurdeen went fishing from Sainthamaruthu Maligai Kaadu on July 2 in a fishing boat. Air Force planes were engaged in search operation in the sea from Pottuvil to Valaichenai on the request of Housing and Construction Minister Ferial Ashraff after they were reported missing.

Abdul Raheem, the only survivor and his family, the Sainthamaruthu Fishermen’s Union members paid their gratitude to Minister and other officers for bringing the him to the country.

National Housing Development Authority Chairman Mohammed Rafeek, Coordinator M.H. Mansoor, Sainthamaruthu Fishermen’s Union members, S.T. Kabeer, Noordeen and Ahamad Marikkar took efforts to bring the survivor to Sri Lanka from Burma.

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http://feeds.myanmarnews.net/?rid=5434985&cat=c3891022f175b678&f=1