Ahead of the Northern Provincial Council, India has urged Sri Lanka not to dilute the powers that the Tamils in the Northern Province have through the 13th amendment to the constitution. According to India Media, Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs Salman Kurshid had made this request in a telephone conversation that he had with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Professor G.L. Peiris

While predicting that the strike action planned for today by a few Trade Unions affiliated to Opposition political parties will be a total flop, joint trade union alliance leaders said the real reason behind the attempt was to gain petty political mileage and not to protest against the electricity tariff hike.

Addressing the media yesterday, trade union leaders charged that organisers of the proposed strike were pawns in the hands of some bankrupt opposition politicians, certain NGOs and a few local and international conspirators involved in an anti-government plot. The joint trade union alliance leaders which said they were representing an overwhelming majority of the working class, requested all workers not to fall prey to the conspiracies hatched by sinister forces at a time when the country is on a rapid development drive.

The JVP has an on-off love affair with the UNP.  The on-days were during the failed presidential bid of former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka.  That was a love-affair of convenience.  Both the JVP and UNP knew that Mahinda Rajapaksa couldn’t be defeated.  They wanted to save themselves from an embarrassing defeat.  They found a convenient ally in Fonseka’s bloated ego and egged him on.  He lost and immediately both the UNP and JVP dropped him like a hot potato.  Right now, the JVP and UNP are not seeing eye to eye, but who knows?  Romances can be re-kindled!

An unscheduled mini battle is on in the junior league for“13A” that could change the face of Sri Lanka in 2013/2014.
Non-playing captains, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe are watching the game from the pavilion cheering respectively the Weerawansa / Ranawaka crew and the Sumanthiran combine?

What follows is more intriguing?– When: where: what? –  Call elections on schedule in September 2013? Police and Land Powers or is much more of 13A to be thrown overboard? On with the Commonwealth Conference – is it to be a showpiece or a goon show? Geneva 2014- take care or damn it?

The government yesterday requested the working class people not take part in today’s planned- countrywide strike action and asked them not to fall prey to those who were trying to gain political advantage from the action.

Issuing a statement, Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister John Seneviratne requested public servants and other workers to report for work as usual.

UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake today claimed that a ship carrying fuel designated for Sri Lanka is reportedly lost at sea and that he doesn’t believe Petroleum Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa will be able to locate it.

He stated that despite having a total of 9 oil storage tanks in Orugodawatta and Sapugaskanda, the CPC waits till all 9 tanks run dry to import crude oil again.

Attanayake further said that the Sapugaskanda oil refinery solely depends on Iranian crude oil and the fact that crude oil for the country was only ordered from a ship which was in international waters is “startling.”

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take steps to retrieve Katchatheevu and surrounding areas from Sri Lanka.
In her letter to Manmohan Singh, she also urged him to redraw the Indian Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) so that Indian fishermen could fish in their traditional waters.

Jayalalithaa cited the continued attacks on Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan forces. "I request you once again to kindly take urgent measures to get back Katchatheevu and the surrounding areas from Sri Lanka."

Government Minister and Jathika Hela Urumaya leader Patali Champika Ranawaka is to submit a private member’s motion in parliament this week against the 13th Amendment to the constitution.

The Minister’s media unit said that he will also submit a motion against the provincial councils system.

He note that in India if the provinces misuse the

Union Minister V Narayanasamy today said that only the Congress party is "genuinely" interested in ensuring welfare of the Tamils in Sri Lanka while other political parties in Tamil Nadu were shedding "crocodile tears" on the issue.

"It is indeed shocking that the political parties who have not done anything for welfare of the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees staying in Tamil Nadu are feigning to be their champions and making criticisms against Congress and the party-led UPA government at the Centre on the Tamils issue," he said.

President and all family members try to provoke racialism between Sinhala, Tamil and Muslims

Only the President is able to sort of the needs and problems of Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslim people. But what is done by his government is to create problems to these communities. This was revealed by the Leader of the National United Alliance Asad Salley.

He disclosed this at a media conference added that from the time of J.R Jayawardena regime the only President who could resolve the problems of all communities is the Mahinda Rajapaksa family.