Sri Lankan Clocks Go Back to Tiger Time As Experiment Fails
Clocks Go Back to Tiger Time As Experiment Fails
Associated Press in Colombo
Monday March 6, 2006
The Guardian ht
Sri Lanka is to revert to its previous time zone from April 14 after a
failed experiment, lasting nearly 10 years, aimed at maximising daylight
hours.

As the country's traditional new year begins clocks will be set five and
a half hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, falling in line with the
rebel Tamil Tigers, who refused to make the switch a decade ago.



In 1996 Sri Lanka advanced its clocks by an hour, then later that year
dropped back by 30 minutes. But the hoped-for cut in electricity
consumption did not happen and the move was unpopular as it had upset
children's bedtimes.



Lanka Puts Clocks Back By 30 mins..
March 04, 2006 23:54 IST
ht
Sri Lanka will put back its clocks by half an hour and revert to the
practise of having the same standard time as India after its 10-year
experiment to save daytime failed.



President Mahinda Rajapakse said the country will revert to its original
standard time, five and a half hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, which
the country maintained till May 1996.



"The change will take place from the Tamil and Sinhala New Year on April
13," the state-run SLBC radio said. "The president made the order after
complaints from parents that school children were inconvenienced by the
new time."



In May 1996, the then government advanced the clock by an hour and by
October that year brought it back by half hour to put Sri Lanka six
hours ahead of GMT. The advancing of the clock in 1996 was rejected by
Tamil Tiger rebels who control large parts of the island leading to two
time zones within the island.



Sri Lanka reverting back to its old time zone would have implications
for astrologers, computers, airline schedules and Microsoft whose latest
Windows versions give Sri Lanka standard time as six hours ahead of GMT.



Irfan
irfanislaam@yahoo.com

xxx

Posted by abs at 10:19 AM

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Why Are Non-Muslims Not Allowed Into the Holy Cities of Makkah & Madinah
x

Irfan wroTE:

QuestiON:

Why are non-Muslims not allowed in the holy cities of Makkah and
Madinah?



AnswER:

Dr. Zakir Naik



It is true that non-Muslims are not allowed in the holy cities of Makkah
and Madinah, by law. The following points will serve to elucidate the
possible reasoning behind such a restriction.



1. All citizens are not permitted in the cantonment area

I am a citizen of India. Yet, I am not permitted to enter certain
restricted areas like the cantonment. In every country there are certain
areas where a common citizen of that country cannot enter. Only a
citizen who is enrolled in the military or those who are connected with
the defence of the country are allowed in the cantonment area. Similarly
Islam is a Universal Religion for the entire world and for all human
beings. The cantonment areas of Islam are the two holy cites of Makkah
and Madinah. Here only those who believe in Islam and are involved in
the defence of Islam i.e. the Muslims are allowed.



It would be illogical for a common citizen to object against the
restriction on entering a cantonment area. Similarly it is not
appropriate for non-Muslims to object against the restriction on
non-Muslims against entering Makkah and Madinah.



2. Visa to enter Makkah and Madinah

a. Whenever a person travels to a foreign country he has to first
apply for a visa i.e. the permission to enter that country. Every
country has its own rules, regulations and requirements for issuing a
visa. Unless their criteria are satisfied they will not issue a visa.



b. One of the countries which is very strict in issuing a visa is
the United States of America, especially when issuing visas to citizens
of the third world. They have several conditions and requirements to be
fulfilled before they issue a visa.



c. When I visited Singapore, it was mentioned on their immigration
form - death to drug traffickers. If I want to visit Singapore I have to
abide by the rules. I cannot say that death penalty is a barbaric
punishment. Only if I agree with their requirements and conditions will
I be permitted to enter the country.



d. The Visa - The primary condition required for any human being to
enter Makkah or Madina is to say with his lips, La ila ha illallah
Muhammed ur Rasulullah meaning that 'there is no God but Allah and
Muhammed (pbuh) is His Messenger.'



Irfan
irfanislaam@yahoo.com

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Refugees Voices: Displaced Muslim in Puttalam, Sri Lanka

Refugees VoicES: Displaced Muslim in Puttalam, Sri Lanka



01/21/2004

The majority of the population in Sri Lanka is Sinhalese Buddhist. The
Tamils, who are dominant in the northern and eastern parts of the
country, form the biggest minority on the island. The Tamils are mainly
Hindu, but a group of Tamil Muslims makes up 7% of the total population
of Sri Lanka.

Fighting broke out in the northern areas of the country in the early
1980s between the government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE claimed to be fighting the government in order to
free the Tamil community from the domination of the Buddhist majority;
however, the LTTE was not supported by the Muslim segment of the Tamil
community, which backed the Sri Lankan government.

In the early 1990s, the LTTE had de facto control over most of the
northern Jaffna peninsula. In October1990, the LTTE decided to evict the
Muslim population of Jaffna, approximately 100,000 people, with two days
notice. The Muslims were told to leave the North within 48 hours or face
death. They were carefully searched by the LTTE prior to their departure
and all their possessions and valuables were taken away from them. They
were permitted to carry with them 300 Rupees (about $3 US) for
transportation out of Jaffna and a change of clothes. Thousands of
Muslims fled to the area of Puttalam in western Sri Lanka, where they
have lived for more than a decade.

Ramsia is one of the displaced Muslims now living in Puttalam who fled
from Jaffna in 1990 with her husband and 10-month-old daughter.
According to Ramsia, prior to 1990, her Muslim community in Jaffna had
no disputes with the LTTE. The Tamil Muslims, although being of a
different religion than the Tamil Hindus, had many cultural similarities
to the Hindus. On more than one occasion, Ramsia's family gave shelter
to LTTE members who were trying to hide from the Sri Lankan armed
forces.

In Jaffna, Ramsia's husband was a fisherman, and the family owned
property and a house. However, these were taken over by the LTTE at the
time of the eviction of Muslims. The LTTE did a thorough checking of
Ramsia's family and took away their jewelry and cash. Ramsia was able to
hide a few hundred rupees in her shoes, but most of the others lost all
their savings. At the time of the eviction, Ramsia's two brothers were
taken away by the LTTE. Ramsia has never seen her brothers again and she
believes they were used as human shields by the LTTE.

After coming to Puttalam, Ramsia's family lived in a tent for two months
before local NGOs helped them set up a semi-permanent shelter. The local
population of Puttalam was at first welcoming to the displaced, but
relations deteriorated between the Muslims and the local community as
the Muslims soon outnumbered the locals, and the two groups began to
compete for limited resources. Ramsia acknowledges that she sometimes
encounters discrimination from the local community, and although a cease
fire agreement has been in effect between the Sri Lankan government and
the LTTE since early 2002, she is reluctant to go back to her original
home in Jaffna. Like many other displaced Muslims, she believes that as
long as there is no permanent peace between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan
government, there is no guarantee that the rights of the Muslims will be
safeguarded.

Meanwhile, since the cease fire, her husband has gone back to Jaffna to
work as a fisherman. According to Ramsia, her husband is frequently
harassed when traveling through the LTTE-controlled areas between
Puttalam and Jaffna, but he is willing to take the risks because, for
the first time in more than a decade, he is able to do the kind of work
he knows best, and also earn money rather then having to depend on
handouts from government and aid agencies in the camps in Puttalam.

Ramsia says that her life was changed forever in 1990, and she has no
expectations about her future. She hopes, however, that one day there
will be a permanent peace in Sri Lanka and her four children will never
have to undergo the kind of experiences she and her husband did.

The interests of Tamil Muslims have been neglected in the Sri Lankan
peace process, with neither the government nor the LTTE adequately
addressing their needs for political participation and compensation for
property lost in the expulsion from Jaffna. Refugees International has
been advocating for the particular needs of the Tamil Muslim community
to be addressed as the peace process advances.

Puttalam
Puttalam



Well known for its picturesque lagoon, a paradise for shallow sea
fishing activities, Puttalam lies on the North Western coastal belt.
Bordering the Kala Oya and Modara Gam Aru in the north, Anuradhpura and
Kurunegala districts in the east, Ma Oya in the south and the Indian
Ocean in the west, Puttalam is home to people of every faith and race.
History of this dry zone district goes back to the arrival of North
Indian Prince Vijaya, 2500 years ago in Tammanna in the coastal belt
above Puttalam.This happened when his vessel was washed ashore.
Thonigala the homeland of Kuweni is deep in the district.

Situated at the apex of the coconut triangle, Puttalam is the second
largest coconut producer of the country. And Tabbowa, a fertile land for
agriculture records highest paddy production per acre. Holland fort at
Kalpitiya, St. Anne's Church in Thalawila and Munneshwaram Kovil in
Chillaw underline the historical importance of this region.

Puttalam Refugee Camp, Boys in a Village, Armed Conflict, Conclusion
Puttalam Refugee Camp, Boys in a Village, Armed Conflict, Conclusion



.

14. Puttalam Refugee Camp

Three hours by a bus towards north from Colombo, I and IMADR staff Prishanthi arrived at Puttalam. Welcoming us, one staff of Community Trust Fund (CTF) explained that it was established by the Internally Displaced People (IDP) who mainly fled from the north part of Sri Lanka due to the ethnic riots in 1990.

Most of them are Muslims, speaking Tamil. CTF are visiting camps regularly and having meeting for community building, aiming at solving daily problems. After having lunch that he and his family kindly prepared for us, we visited some of those camps.

The hard and red ground becomes muddy soon after raining. Running on the road about 10 minutes seeing beautiful ocean on the right hand, small houses made of coconuts leaves come into our sight.

People are living under the mental stress in a little-privacy life, on the land owned by government or private owners. It is hard for them, who fled from the fighting field for long time with minimum possessions leaving their property there, to pay the rent. CTF are lobbying to the landowners to reduce or remit the payment.

Since a field in Puttalam does not suit agriculture, some people go to work at the other fields as a day worker. It often is too far. Job harassments are also reported. The rest of life depends on the donation by the national/international organizations. As Prishanthi says, it is hard for people living in such a dependent life to have hope for the future. CTF are working to raise awareness among people to have subsistence life, letting them know their rights and obligations with national and international laws.

Some camp established a pre-school for three to five-age children in a room only equipped with children's paintings and small chairs. A trained teacher, one of residents in the camp, is teaching paintings or simple English. The public education starts from the age of five with provided school uniform and textbooks. In reality, many children do not go to school for several reasons. For example, although Muslims in Puttalam speak in Tamil, the number of a school teaching in Tamil is not enough and these are often too far from the camps. Most of them cannot afford to pay for the transportation. Some parents are not willing to make their children go to school.

But the life in Puttalam is much better than a fighting field or its border villages in north and east. Putttalam can be at least free from direct damage by the armed conflict. However, here is a tricky point. International attention and support tend to gather at the most devastating area, even though the other areas have not been improvement at all. At the 2001 Anti-Racism and Discrimination UN Conference, according to CTF staff, there was no mention of Muslims in discussing about Sri Lankan ethnic conflict. Many of the participants did not recognize the Muslim community such as Puttalam. CTF are willing to advocate Muslim community problems to national and international society. This visit made me understand how the problems caused by this ethnic conflict are complicated, and gave me a lesson to observe things from various aspects.

15. Boys in a Village

I joined my friend's father to go to a village for repairing his motorbike. I asked a paper and pen to a mechanic man, painting scenery on a bridge. Three boys came and spoke to me in simple English with friendly smiles. "Where are you from?" "What is your favorite colour?" "This is King coconuts!" "Why don't you come to my best friend's house? That is his house." The boy pointed the next boy.

Then he replied, "Yes, he is my best friend!" Everyone smiled. "Japan is very clean (they seem to have leant in a school text book). Is Sri Lanka dirty?" Soon after this question, foods or gavages thrown and rotten on the street, a large number of small insects (maybe because of its hot climate), cockroaches, mice or rats and panhandlers I saw daily in Sri Lanka, came up in my mind. I could not say anything.

The boys, who asked the question without any implication, soon moved to the next question, "Is nature in Sri Lanka beautiful?" I nodded strongly. They made their signatures in the right corner of the paper. $B!!!!(J

16. Armed Conflict

The parties of armed conflict are LTTE and the government army. I heard and read many cases of kidnapping, raping, murder and suicide bombing by LTTE. Though many articles and books on Sri Lanka often label the LTTE as an international terrorist, a leader of LTTE says, " we are clearly different from a terrorist.

Terrorists are fanatic, but we are fighting for the right to self-determination that is recognized by international community".

(Future )

On the other hand, there are many cases of harassments unreasonable arresting, raping, and murder by the governmental army. Some Tamil person says, "Everybody will be able to stand to some extent." However, if it exceeds some line, you have to fight to protect you and your family. For this aim, some sacrifice is unavoidable. LTTE is freedom fighters". Regardless of the name and its belief of each armed group, there are three common things. Firstly, most of the army members' motivation is poverty. Salary as a soldier can guarantee life of them and their family.

Secondly, people near the fighting field have to choose to live under a pressure from the armed conflict, or to refuge to another place leaving all of their property there. Lastly, the most victims are children. The conditions are the same among not only Shinhala and Tamil, but also Muslim and the other indigenous people. The newborn babies should be free from the past tragedy. $B!!(J

Although this does not mean to forget the grief, it is more important than sticking to retaliation, beyond assailant or victim, to learn the lessons from tragedy so as not to repeat it. I know it is easy to say and very difficult to do, especially for the people still have a memory of tragedy. However, future is up to our determination to forgive the others.

17. Conclusion

Co-existing extreme poverty and richness; devastating damages by ethnic conflict and rich nature. The contrasting sceneries made me recognize another reality. Stepping out from a familiar world is an opportunity to think about myself objectively and consider about the others. The curiosity to know another world and people is, I think, a necessity for life. I hope I could make you feel an atmosphere of Sri Lanka, stimulating your curiosity.

(Living on Surface of a Tree )

END