36 Hours in Palermo

On Wednesday Lucia Riina married Vincenco Bellomo in the town of Corleone that was made famous during the epic Godfather Trilogy. What makes this particular broom jumping newsworthy is the fact that Lucia Riina is the daughter of incarcerated Sicilian Mafia "Boss of All Bosses" Salvatore "Tito" Riina. It seems that life is imitating art in this particular instance. Below is a picture of Salvatore Riini.

Via Reuters:

Mr. Badalamenti, who came from Cinisi, Sicily, was sentenced to 45 years in prison in 1987 as one of the masterminds of a drug ring known as the Pizza Connection. The ring imported $1.65 billion in heroin from Southwest Asia to the United States and distributed it through pizza parlors in New York and across the country.

Federal investigators often referred to Mr. Badalamenti as the former ''boss of bosses'' of the Sicilian Mafia. He fled Sicily in the 1970's after losing a local mob war. He later lived in Brazil.

He was arrested in Madrid in 1984 and extradited to the United States.

Mr. Badalamenti was at the center of the ring that investigators said brought $1.65 billion in heroin to the United States over five years, ending in 1984. Using money laundered in New York and Switzerland, Mr. Badalamenti bought the drugs and exported them to the United States through associates in the Midwest. They were distributed by members of the Bonanno crime family........READ FULL STORY http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE5D9133DF930A35756C0A9629C8B63

U.S. and British troops had landed on the island of Sicily during the late evening and early morning of July 9-10, 1943.  Codenamed Husky, the operation had as its goal the removal (by whatever means necessary) of the Italian and German military.  Having accomplished that, the island would be the staging area for the bigger drive into Italy, the "Soft Underbelly of Europe".

General Bernard Montgomery led the British 8th Army, which landed on the southeast side of Sicily.  General George Patton's U.S. 7th Army landed on the south-central part of the island, near Gela.  Needless to say, it didn't take long for the hard-charging U.S. General to tire of what he thought was a stagnant, play-it-way-too-safe style of warfare being run by the Commander of the land forces, General Alexander (also a Brit).

So, on July 17th, Patton flew to Allied headquarters in Tunisia, tracked down Alexander, pointed to the northwest corner of Sicily on his map, and said (not a direct quote), "How about I take Palermo?"  As the capital of Sicily, it had been where the American leaders had wanted to land in the first place.  But Montgomery and Alexander disagreed and General Eisenhower (in overall command and desirous of coalition harmony) back Alexander's plan.  Alexander considered Patton's idea, and gave him the go-ahead.

And like racehorses out of the gate at Churchill Downs, Patton's men were off, ripping through the countryside, capturing lightly defended towns and taking prisoners.  In fact, before asking permission, the man with the .45 on his hip had already allowed a large number of forces to begin moving and taking some of the smaller towns between Gela and the capital, 80 miles away.  As it turned out, Alexander had later countermanded the orders, but Patton ignored him, blaming garbled messages.

By the morning of July 22, 1943, the 7th Army was on the outskirts of Palermo, but was forbidden to enter the city.  Patton, whose over-sized ego and vanity often got the best of him, wanted to lead a tank processional into the capital.  There would be little or no fighting as most of the enemy had already left town and headed east.  At 6pm (after waiting all day), several battalions were sent into the city and later in the evening, an Italian General overstepped his authority and surrendered the city.

The fall of Palermo was mostly symbolic and was accomplished with relatively little combat.  It's military importance lies mostly with how the enemy perceived it.  With the British moving (slowly) towards Messina from the south and the western part of the island in U.S. hands, the Italians and Germans realized that Sicily could no longer be defended, and a retreat from the island was now on the cards.

Recommended Reading: The Day of Battle

Tomorrow I fly to Naples to be met (hopefully) by an Italian man holding up a sign bearing my surname. Wonderful. It's that time again, you see; the yearly pilgrimage to some gorgeous corner of the earth otherwise known as the 'family holiday'. A glorious week in the sun where all the manacles of independence, adulthood and peaceful co-existence (i.e. university life) are shrugged off in favour of sibling rivalry, family squabbles and a grating refusal to ever, ever stop for a rest if there is anywhere listed in the Times travel supplement within five miles walk. This year the family unit is alighting upon Sorrento.

Lucky, really, because my two semester special subject in the coming year (and most likely my dissertation) is Medieval (i.e. Norman) Southern Italy and Sicily, primarily through the extensive primary sources available at the Leeds Medieval History Texts in Translation website. Upon congratulating my parents on picking a rather useful destination I was helpfully informed that there was 'a lot of history'. That meaning the Roman stuff helpfully buried by all that magma. I've managed to wrangle a day in Amalfi (where I will make sure to pay my respects to St Andrew - we might be there on one of the feast days all being well) and we'll see what other medieval delights arise when we're over there.

I've forged through G A Loud's 'The Age of Robert Guiscard' (the hero of which has provided me with an alias for the last few years) and made a start on the two main chronicles (William of Apulia and Geoffrey of Malaterra). Incidentally, I was struck by a wonderful little gobbet in Malaterra which I feel sorely tempted to include in the introduction to my dissertation (directed towards the marker):

"But I commence my task timidly, for my style lacks learning and my powers of expression are poor. It is as though I was in the middle of a very deep lake and knew not how to swim. I am also exceedingly afraid of you and your anger towards me, all the more so since it is you, who are steeped in the clearest fountain of the literary art, and not me - starved of the bread of such knowledge, who should be preparing for such a task."

Suitably grovelling...

In the constant quest to find the ultimate summertime red, Annette has out done herself and brought in a fantastic Frappato.  More on the specific producer and the story of how she found the wine later.  For now, let's concentrate on this grape, and even more importantly Sicily as a place.

Sicily, like any traditional European wine region, can trace its vinous history back to the Romans, and in the case of Sicily, the Greeks.  That's a 2000+ year head start on California!  Anyway, like Burgundy, Chianti, Piedmonte, etc., Sicily developed their local varietals that paired well with the local circumstance and cuisine.  (Ed Behr of the Art of Eating -- you HAVE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THIS MAGAZINE --  did a fantastic issue about Sicily a number of years ago and mentioned "Outside of Tokyo, this is one of the only places on earth to sit down to a fifteen course meal in which every plate is seafood.")  The local cuisine is fish, and the local circumstance is intense summertime heat.  Thus, the local grapes go best with anything Sicilian, including a 95 degree summertime afternoon.  No surprise there.

Fast forward to the mid 1990's and big wine companies noticed that on the island there are enough micro-climates to grow just about ANYTHING.  A land rush began, and has resulted in bigger, newer, internationally styled wines from large multi-national corporations.  At many wine shops in Minnesota, even in the small towns on the prairie, you can now find Sicilian Merlot, Chardonnay, and Cabernet.  There is even a Pinot Noir out there.

Poor Frappato.  Pushed to the side by the Cabernet bully.  Intimidated by the Chardonnay.  Poor Frappato.

And that, friends, is why you should seek it out.  It's an individualistic statement.  It's perfect for summertime.  Less and less of it is planted.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, goes better with grilled burgers or ribs than Frappato.

Here are a couple of great articles on this grape, and another post in the future will talk about this latest producer (Valle dell'Acate).

David Rosengarten on the 'mob mentality' of the Sicilian wine business.

Chowhound post on 'What is Frappato.'

I finally decided on a university for next year...ok I didn't send the mail to Cergy saying I'm not going, yet. But I decided on Paris. La sorbonne panthéon. I applied there 3 times already and it's the first time they accept me, I guess it's time for me to take a chance. It seems like it's gonna be a lot of work but I need change, and the reputation of La Sorbonne is great even abroad :-)

I also decided on cutting my hair. ah ah, no panic, I didn't cut so much. I can't believe I became one of those freaks who are close to cry when the hairdresser cuts 2 centimeters. But it took me so long to grow my hair down there ! I admit it needed to be trimed, I started to look like...nothing actually...or maybe just a very old lion. So I did it, it doesn't change a LOT but still. and I'll have the satisfaction of enjoying around 3 days of straight brushed hair !!!!

that's an old decision im about to talk about, some months ago when we decided älskling was going to  stay over for the summer and hopefully more... I decided not to go to Sicily with my family ... so here we are, they are packing right now..they are leaving tomorrow..and I can't say it doesn't affect me. they are going to a place we've already been 2 times and it's just AWESOME, just the fact that the restaurant we go to makes Nutella Pizza should explain the awesomeness of the place... just picturing the beach, the sun, the food..damn I wish I was rich and could take älskling with me with them. I should stop thinking like that I know. I'm not unhappy, I know we're gonna have a nice time with the house just for ourselves and then some friends are coming over....

decision to buy a new memory card cause I was sick and tired of my fucked up old one. the dude I asked about it said if I wanna fix it I'll have to lose all my pics on it, there is no way I wanna do that I have a lot of my family and 2 great ones of a raspberry macaron !! So I'll keep it somewhere safe until I find a way to make it work ! and I offered myself..(wait a min actually no, just remembered mom paid for it) a 2GB, so I can make around 700 pics  :-)

decision to celebrate my bday early with my family before they leave. so tonight !!!!!

Hôtel Monna Lisa

After attempting to get in touch with the artist within me by staying in cramped, musty albeit artistic Left Bank hotels, I was searching for an alternative. A converted 19th century townhouse, the Monna Lisa offered a haven of calm in the bustling city that is Paris. Tucked in a side street just off the boulevard de Champs Elysees, the hotel is within walking distance to the city's best sights and is one of the most reasonably priced accommodations in the area. The twenty-two elegant rooms, all standard petite Parisian size are dressed in clean lines and modern furnishings are equipped with a wonderful jet power shower that is the heaven-sent remedy for any tourist who has walked the streets of gay Paree. Earthy tones and rich oak floors dominate the colour scheme of the hotel's minimalist and clean-cut style while the gracious and accommodating staff gave the air of a family-run hotel. Following the theme of the famous Da Vinci painting, each room bears a close-up of a piece of the painting. My deluxe room itself contained a reproduction of Mona Lisa's neckline.
For a tasty meal or a light aperitif, look no further than the bar-restaurant Caffe Ristretto, which adjoins the hotel lobby. Sit by the open windowsill, which overlooks rue de la Boetie and watch Parisians weave their elegant selves through the tourist crowds.

97, rue de la Boétie 75008 Paris
Tél : +33.1.56.43.38.38
http://www.hotelmonnalisa.com/

Isoco Pensione, Taormina

Walk down the winding roads past the old town of Taormina and look for yellow parasols and a silver wind-chime and you would have arrived at the Isoco Pensione, perhaps one of Sicily's best-kept secrets. Draped in bougainvillea, this sunny guest house is a home away from home run by Michele, a local Sicilian who will treat you like family, make sure you are comfortable in his exquisite abode and go through every single question you may have about the best restaurants, beaches, theatre shows and even hiking trails around the town of Taormina.
That is considering you are even keen to leave his little piece of paradise where guests can choose from five charming rooms with names such as Botticelli, Keith Haring, Herb Ritts. Wilhelm von Gloeden and Pierre & Gilles. Each room is follows the colour theme and character of the famous artists they are named after.
I chose the Botticelli, the largest room in the pensione. The girl in me adored the room's red chiffon drapes, curved chandelier and rose bedspread with a view that overlooked the Sicilian sea. Each room comes equipped with a kitchenette and a fridge always filled with your favourite fruits and yoghurts that Michele provides. A lush, romantic garden with a newly fitted hot tub is available for all guests.
Breakfast of fresh fruits, muesli, ham, eggs and toast is served every morning on the sunlit terrace with spectacular views of the sea. If you are lucky, the pensione's tabby Caramelo will join you for a piece of your pastrami. Everything about Isoco Pensione is delightful, welcoming and beautifully thought of down to the colour schemes of each room to the personalized service Michele offers each traveller who walks into his pensione.

tel: +39 0942 23 679
Isoco Guest House
Via Salita Branco 2
98039 Taormina (ME)
Italy
http://www.isoco.it/

Locanda di Palazzo Cicala, Genoa

Originally housing the Cicala family of nobles in the mid-sixteenth century, this six room boutique hotel in the heart of Genoa's historic city centre truly is a palace fit for the modern tourist who enjoys the melange of fresh, vibrant colours and contemporary shapes in a city steeped in culture (Cristoforo Colombo's birthplace and the Palazzo Ducale are just around the corner). Situated in front of Piazza San Lorenzo, mornings chime in with the ringing of bells from the San Lorenzo cathedral and the hustle-and-bustle of the farmer's market, where ripe blood oranges, local delicacies and the fervent aroma of Italian espresso awaits.
Locanda di Palazzo Cicala brings the boutique hotel concept to life being the first of its kind in Genoa. It offers all the amenities of a furnished apartment with modern amenities while preserving the original 16th century old façade of the Palazzo Cicala, including an impressive grand staircase and the original stucco decor that still exist in the high ceilings of each room. Italian designer furniture by Philippe Stark, Castiglioni, and Jasper Morrison juxtapose alongside antique pieces adorn the interior of the hotel, provides a delicious setting where the old and the new intertwine gracefully and complement each other. I was ushered into a spacious room fully kitted out with a magnificent view of the piazza, free internet and a cozy living room and kitchen. For breakfast, I sampled the appetizing buffet breakfast on offer although the fully stocked kitchen allowed me to try my hand at cooking my own Genoese delicacies and feel like a bonafide local for two nights. For the couple seeking privacy or high-flying business executive who take pleasure in the convenience of a travelling office, this place cannot be beat.
A tip - pack lightly as there is no lift in the locanda.

Palazzo Cicala
Piazza San Lorenzo
16 - 16123 Genoa
Italy
Tel: +39 010 251 8824
http://www.palazzocicala.it/

I Colori del M...

I Colori del Mondo

By Sonia Virzí

Book Preview

I managed to convince her for several seconds that I'd bought a book in Dublin that had a cover image amazingly similiar to the photo of the old lady that Sonia took in San Vito lo Capo, titled Indietro nel tempo; ecco;

She didn't even realise that the photo on the back was the one she took in Belfast, which unfortunately isn't in Flickr, but you can see it on the book preview.

And it was only when she opened the book and saw more of her photos that she copped on. What a fantastic reaction. Made all the sweat worthwile.

Of course then she started pointing out my grammer and spelling mistakes in Italian, so we sat down, corrected it, and re-ordered a few more copies! So go to Blurb and buy some!

Tagged with Blurg, Flickr, Italia, Italy, Sicilia, Sicily,Photobook, Photography, Self-Publishing

Andrea Camilleri, The Shape of Water (Penguin, 2005).
THS pal Stacy recommends the Inspector Montalbano series, of which this is the first:

I found these books irresistible, engaging and downright witty. These books evoke a modern day Sicily, but with a certain nostalgia for days gone by. The smells, colors and landscapes of Sicily come to life as Inspector Montalbano leads us down the back streets of [the fictional town of] Vigata whilst searching for clues to solve his cases or in his seemingly endless quest to partake of the perfect meal.

At once funny and clever, Camilleri's novels are a welcome distraction from other less intellectual contemporary mystery writers (Kellerman, J.D. Robb, et. al.). Once one dives into Camilleri's labyrinthine Sicilian backstreets, you will be in for a treat. And you will be begging for more. One might even be tempted to learn Italian just to devour those novels which as of yet have not been translated into English....

Here is Wikipedia's page on Camilleri. Paul Bailey writes about him in The Guardian, and Michele Parisi writes about him in Best of Sicily magazine. Frank Bruni profiled him for The New York Times. This page, from a Camilleri fan club, gives a taste of his writing. Hillary Frey (The Nation) reviews the first four books in the series. Stephen Sartarelli translated the book jacket and this review by Carlo Vennarucci. Here are more reviews from Maxine Clarke, raidergirl3, Sue Magee, Orrin, Ayo Onatade, KarenC, Divers and Sundry, yan, adambowie, Yulian Suwanda, and Shonna Froebel.

Buy it at Amazon.com.

It's quite relaxing actually, just strolling with nowhere to go and nothing urgent to do. I could get used to this.

Tagged with Sicily, Sicilia, Marzamemi

Simple.  Elegant.

Please visit my other photoblog at www.beautifulpanama.wordpress.com for photos of life in Panama and my primary blog about life in Panama at www.RichardDetrich.wordpress.com.

Copyright 2008 RD. May not be used without permission.

Please visit my other photoblog at www.beautifulpanama.wordpress.com for photos of life in Panama and my primary blog about life in Panama at www.RichardDetrich.wordpress.com.

Copyright 2008 RD. May not be used without permission.

But alas, bellepoq would like to recount here a tale of great human stoicism, charity and stupidity.

Four weary travelers on their last day in Sicily arrived at the train station in the small and quaint resort town of Cefalu on the Tyrennhian coast one afternoon to catch a train to the airport just outside of Palermo. Certain that the train due west would depart from platform 1, as the screen confirmed, they waited patiently, knowing that the train would get them to Palermo airport just in time. Their mothers would have disapproved at the failure to leave time to plan for unexpected incidents such as unidentified baggage on a platform exploding into smithereens or English stag parties (luckily Sicily was free of such barbarians).

Anyhow, upon boarding the train, one of the four travelers, namely bellepoq, immediately realised the train was moving eastward rather than westward. She asked the conductor on the train, "TRENI, PALERMO?" To which he replied, "Palermo no, MESSINA!"

Messina, the gateway to the mainland on the east coast of Sicily. The colour and blood drains from bellepoq's face as quickly as she had downed the free aperitif sample that morning at a cafe.

"SHIT" she said.

Alas, four arithmetically-deficient minds tried to work out whether one could hop on the next train eastward to make it in time to Palermo airport, or whether getting a taxi would be faster. It was a failure.

The train made a stop at a village so small that it does not even have a Wikipedia page, called San Stefano. The heat made bellepoq and friends do crazy things like run around the desolate parking lot at the station calling out "TAXI, TAXI!" and "CEFALU? PALERMO?" but they received blankly amused stares which screamed "so Asians are as weird as I thought they were".

Giving up the hitchhiking option and deciding that it was a possibility that in some places in the world, taxis just do not exist, as a last resort they stumbled dejectedly into a small tobacco shop at the station. Behind the counter stood an old lady who was nice enough not to think that these Asian intruders were there to rob her.

Cue various attempts of speaking Spanish, English and Italian to get the point across:

"AEROPORTO!! QUE HORA?!? TAXI?? CAR?? PALERMO AEROPORTO??" and various gestures to symbolise driving, flying and sheer desperation.

She wrote on a piece of paper 180 euros. Yes, they had found their saviour. Problem was, there was no way to ascertain that she actually understood the desperation of these travelers and that they had precisely less than 2 hours to reach the airport before their flight departed and they would then have to take extreme measures such as take a sleeper train to the Italian mainland to get a flight back to London in time. Though subconsciously they all knew that if that had happened it wouldn't be too bad a thing. It would be a glamorous tale to tell and would allow further indulgence in the escapism from the real world that they have been reveling in so innocently for the last few days.

Ironically, the woman ushered the travelers into a small Fiat - ironic as bellepoq had pointed and laughed at every tiny Fiat she had seen over the course of the holiday, in disbelief that in the blistering heat of the Sicilian summer, families could pile into that air-con free vehicle and survive. And survive they did, their lives (and livelihoods) saved by the Fiat, that symbol of Italian resilience and anachronism, sadly increasingly tested under the pressures of globalisation, high oil prices and the subprime crisis.

So it emerged that her husband would be their knight in shining armour, as he took his place in the driver's seat and went full speed ahead along the northern coastal highway - to this day they do not know whether he heeded their cries of "PRONTO! PRONTO! ALLEGRO! PRESTO! PREGO POR FAVOR!!" (yes a few of them were musicians and amateurish Spanish speakers). And for 45 euros each they managed to buy an unplanned adventure with a scenic coastal journey so adrenaline-rushing that it was measurable to any car chase program one finds so strangely prevalent in the US of A.

Alarm bells rang in bellepoq's head as by 8pm the car was still crawling through Palermo's Monday rush hour traffic. There was no aeroporto to be seen. No aeroplanes. No nothing. But perhaps endowed with the powers of the mafia gods, our silent yet plucky pensioner driver suddenly pulled into aeroporto territory at 8.15, with 5 minutes to spare before the check-in counter closer. Perhaps the mafia's presence in Sicily isn't altogether such a bad thing.

Aware that Catholic traditions were still strong in that part of the world and that there really was no time for public displays of affection and emotion, bellepoq decided against hugging and kissing the old man and simply gave him a wad of cash, screamed "GRAZIE!!!!" repeatedly like a psycho and dashed to the counter, still in her pajama bottoms.

If anybody knows the address of the little tobacco store at San Stefano train station, please do let bellepoq know. And while the whole incident screamed of divine providence and blahblahblah, unfortunately it was still not sufficient to throw the travelers into the embrace of organised religion. But it was close.

I guess I expected the GODFATHER . . . Palermo was a wonderful city.  This was my first visit to Sicily and I would love to go back and just spend time exploring the countryside.  It's amazing how our preconceptions are usually wrong!

Please visit my other photoblog at www.beautifulpanama.wordpress.com for photos of life in Panama and my primary blog about life in Panama at www.RichardDetrich.wordpress.com.

Copyright 2008 RD. May not be used without permission.

Window in Palermo, Italy on Celebrity Cruises' MILLENNIUM.  This was my first visit to Sicily and I loved it!

Please visit my other photoblog at www.beautifulpanama.wordpress.com for photos of life in Panama and my primary blog about life in Panama at www.RichardDetrich.wordpress.com.

Copyright 2008 RD. May not be used without permission.

NEWS REPORTS

Legal Action
25 Jun, 2008 11:07:31
Sri Lanka's banker a billion rupees from Central Bank governor
June 25, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan businessman Lalith Kotelawala has demanded a billion rupees in damages from Central Bank governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal for trying to introduce rules that would effectively remove him from a bank and finance companies in his Ceylinco group.
Kotelawala also threatened to initiate legal action against Cabraal to remove him as central bank governor if he persists with the implementation of the proposed corporate governance codes for licensed commercial banks and registered finance companies.
In his letter of demand, released to the media, Kotelawala said the code of governance has been promulgated "specifically" to remove him as chairman and director of Seylan Bank and six finance companies in the Ceylinco group.
The corporate governance code proposed by the central will prevent directors of banks and finance companies from continuing in their posts if they are over 70 years, have been a director for more than nine years or are directors of more than 20 other companies or entities.
Kotelawala's Ceylinco group consists of a diversified portfolio of business activities which include insurance, a credit card company, banking, micro finance, finance, leasing, house and property development, travel, health care, as well as a diamond venture, Blue Diamonds.
Kotelawala is also chairman of six registered finance companies; The Finance, Seylan Merchant Leasing, Finance & Guarantee Company, Asian Finance, Multi Finance and Ceylinco International Reality.
Kotelawala said the proposed code of corporate governance has been introduced as a direction under the Banking Act, "in ignorance" of the provisions relating to corporate governance in existing laws.
It was also "in violation of a citizen's right to engage in a lawful trade, without age, number of directorial positions held," he said in his letter of demand sent through his Attorney-at- Law.
Kotelawala described the code as "draconian" and said its legality has been challenged by Seylan Bank and other commercial banks in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka.
He said that in spite of the pending litigation and sentiments expressed on behalf the Central Bank to bring about a settlement between the parties, Cabraal proposed a draft code of corporate governance for registered finance companies.
This was once again done "with the malicious intention and sinister motive of summarily removing" him from the position of chairman and director of the finance companies, Kotelawala said.
Kotelawala said he would proceed with legal action if Cabraal fails to pay and settle his demand for damages within two weeks. --> 

VIEWER'S COMMENT(S)
6. Tissa Jayawardana Jun 25
This is,obviously, violating basic rights of Mr. Kotalawala.
5. das samuel Jun 25
Kotelawala is the most honourable businessman in sri lanka.His companies assist business entrepreneurs, small businessmen, indebted citizens and the poor. His companies are the most reliable for the public to invest their savings in deposits or as investments.
His staff are recruited for suitability (and are rewarded for good performance) and not on religious,racial,language or political considerations.His success is resented by political henchmen bigots - hence this "proposal" by the central bank governer.I wish him success in his quest for justice.
4. Upananda Karunaratne Jun 25
upananda7@hotmail.com 

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It is better Kotalawala goes to courts in order to get the justice since he was not practising this procedure in respect of others.
Now he can taste the Sri Lankan legal system if he continues this process as he published in the newspaper. I doubt whether he will continue this procedure since he does these things for mere propaganda. He had done the same thing before President Rajapaksa become the President of Sri Lanka and sent letters of demands to a Minister.
3. Owllll Jun 25
owllll@yahoo.com 

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Wonderful! Having perfected the art of marginalization through constitutional maneuvering, we are learning the fine art of oppression through constructive administrative manipulation.
2. Ramesh Jun 25
shalom1@sltnet.lk 

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The court case summary of Kotelawela vs Cabraal - Kotelawela - i demand 1Bn rupeesCabraal - no problem i'll have it printed by tomorrow morn.
1. Nadarajah Jun 25
nada@sltnet.lk 

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Yes you should go ahead.who is the governor to introduce changes to kill pioneer and leading business figures in the country ????
RECENT STORIES 

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-->RELATED STORIES

Sri Lanka Ceylinco Insurance to raise equity; expand foreign presence 11 Jun
Sri Lanka's Ceylinco in shopping mall with skating rink 05 Mar
Ceylinco Group Chairman appealed to the Central Bank to loosen its grip on the banking sectors? expansion 14 Oct

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Kotelawala sues Central Bank Governor over mandatory codeRenowned businessman and Ceylinco Group Chairman Dr. Lalith Kotelawala is suing Central Bank Governor Ajit Nivard Cabraal for ‘malicious conduct’ over the proposed mandatory code for finance companies banks which would affect the former.
In a letter sent by his attorney Thushari Weerasinghe to the Central Bank governor, Dr Kotelawala said that if the governance codes applicable to banks and licensed finance companies are implemented, legal action would be taken against the governor seeking his removal, on the grounds that ‘you are not a fit and a proper person to hold the post of Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and any other public office.” The Ceylinco chief, who is demanding a sum of Rs 1 billion in damages from losses incurred if the code for finance companies is implemented, says the governance code was promulgated specifically to remove him as Chairman and director of Seylan Bank PLC by preventing him holding the post of director.

hc code bars directors from serving more than nine years, beyond the age of 70 years and in more than 20 companies or entities. Dr Kotelawala has been having a running battle with Mr Cabraal ever since the mandatory code of governance for banks became effective this year. A second code for finance companies, which will also adversely affect Dr Kotelawala, has been prepared by the Central Bank and is currently under public discussion and scrutiny.
Dr Kotelawala says the rules in the banking code have been formulated, deliberately targeting him to prevent him from functioning as Chairman and director of Seylan Bank PLC, which is a bank created and built up by the vision and guidance of my client, and in defiance of the confidence placed in him by Seylan Bank shareholders, customers and other stakeholders.
“… the code of corporate governance has been introduced as a direction under the Banking Act, in the background and in ignorance of the provisions relating to corporate governance envisaged in the Companies Act No 7of 2007, the Banking Act No 30 of 1988 as amended, and the Finance Companies Act No 78 of 1988 and in violation of a citizens’ right to engage in a lawful trade, without age, number of directorial positions held, being a barrier; which even the said acts passed by the Parliament of Sri Lanka has recognized,” the letter said. Dr Kotelawala, Seylan Bank and other commercial banks have challenged the legality of the banking code and “in spite of the aforesaid pending litigation and sentiments expressed on behalf of you, as well as the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to bring about a settlement between the parties to the said actions; you have initiated to implement an exposure draft code of corporate governance, in relation to registered finance companies, once again, with the malicious intention and sinister motive of summarily removing me from the position of the Chairman and director of the aforesaid finance companies, as well.”

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http://punarjeevakarunanayake.blogspot.com/
http://www.shvoong.com/law-and-politics/1799408-dr-punarjeeva-karunanayake/
http://punarjeewakarunanayake.wordpress.com/
http://www.deshamanya.blogspot.com/
http://onebillionairdeshamanya.blogspot.com/
http://deshamanyawantstobecomeabillionaire.blogspot.com/

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A favorite photograph of mine, taken March 2008 from amidst the Straits of Messina, looking towards Sicilia.