Sivanathan Navindra alias Venthan, a former bodyguard of the slain Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is among nine ex-Tiger militants contesting the August 17 Sri Lankan parliamentary elections from the Jaffna-Kilinochchi electoral district as members of a new outfit, Crusaders for Democracy (CFD), the Indian Express Reported. Venthan and fellow candidate, Rasaiah Tharmakulasingham alias Gamini, had both lost their legs in the war. And like others in the CFD list, had undergone “rehabilitation” conducted by the Lankan armed forces after the war. The “Puli Muga Silanthi”, a poisonous spider, is their election symbol, the report said. Vithyatharan told Express that if only the CFD had funds, it would be able to grab three of the seven seats up for grabs. “ Reception from the people is encouraging. People feed the campaigners, thus enabling them to save on food expenditure,” he was quoted as saying. The ex-cadres are restoring faith among those who had lost faith in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) after its defeat in 2009, Vithyatharan claimed. “When a lame ex-bodyguard of Prabhakaran was asked if the CFD could be depended upon to deliver, he shot back saying that it was because of people like him that Prabhakaran was able to sleep soundly at night,” he was quoted as saying in the report. On the CFD’s manifesto, Vithyatharan said that it wants all international agreements on the Tamil question to be implemented and to press this, it will fight using “moral force” which he described as “ Gandhian in an extreme form.”
A Thai woman walking topless in Arugam Bay town has been arrested by the Police.
The UK government has unveiled a package of reforms to simplify imports from developing countries which allows for more garments manufactured in Sri Lanka to enter the UK tariff-free.
The Cabinet has approved a proposal for Sri Lankans overseas to apply for their passports through an online system via the Lankan diplomatic missions.
Cabinet has approved the appointment of Commodore (retired) M.B.N.A. Premaratne of the Sri Lanka Navy, as the new Commissioner General of Excise.
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