SOLDIERS ATTACK JOURNALISTS COVERING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTESTS

PUBLISHED ON MONDAY 5 AUGUST 2013.
Reporters Without Borders condemns the army’s use of violence on 1 August against journalists covering demonstrations by residents of the western town of Weliweriya to call for the closure of a factory accused of polluting local water supplies.

After six days of growing protests, army personnel used force to disperse the demonstrators.

“We are very disturbed by the repeated use of violence against journalists in Sri Lanka,” Reporters Without Borders said. “At best, the police take no action when journalists report that they have been the targets of violence. At worst, the army itself, equipped with lethal weapons, organizes and executes these attacks, as it did in Weliweriya.”

Reporters Without Borders added: “These unacceptable incidents show that, although the civil war is now over in Sri Lanka, violence by the armed forces is still far from being brought to an end and that freedom of information is still in great danger.”

Many journalists who had gone to Weliweriya to cover the protests and their dispersal were threatened and roughed up by soldiers and were prevented from covering what was taking place in the town. Cameras were also damaged.

The Free Media Movement, a Sri Lankan group that defends freedom of information, reported in a release on 2 August that the army carried out a coordinated operation to break up the protests and that, in the course of these operations, soldiers harassed, threatened and attacked reporters.

Soldiers assaulted a photographer with the Sinhalese and Tamil-language newspaper Ada after forcing him get down from the rooftop in the Weliweriya district of Orutota from which he had taking photos. Soldiers forcibly evicted other reporters from their various vantage points and shut them in a building to prevent them covering the protests.

The Weliweriya incidents came less than a month after Kunala Dileep, a journalist with the Tamil-language daily Uthayan, was attacked in the northern city of Jaffna as he was leaving the newspaper to go home by motorcycle on 10 July.

Several individuals in a tricar deliberately drove into his motorcycle and then fled. Dileep was hospitalized with arm and leg injuries, which fortunately were not life threatening.

Ranked 162nd out of 179 countries in the 2013 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index, Sri Lanka is ruled by the Rajapaksa family, who are on the 2013 Reporters Without Borders list of “Predators of Press Freedom.”

Photo : Ishara S.KODIKARA / AFP

“Who Am I To Command The Army Or Give Orders” – BBS Gnanasara

August 6, 2013

The Bodu Bala Sena organisation today responded strongly to a newspaper report claiming that the group had ordered troops into Weliweriya where violent clashes between residents and armed forces have left three persons dead and dozens injured, saying it did not possess the power to deploy the armed forces.

Gnanasara

At a special press conference convened to refute a claim made by the Ceylon Today newspaper which published a lead story yesterday quoting the BBS General Secretary Galagodaththe Gnanasara as saying he had ordered troops into the Weliweriya area, the BBS said that the news story had been misleading.

“Who am I to command the army or give orders,” the BBS General Secretary told journalists.

He said that while the BBS had visited Rathupaswela where the public was agitating for clean drinking water and protesting against a factory they claimed was contaminating the ground water, they had only attempted to get the authorities to intervene to resolve the issue.

The General Secretary said that he had misquoted after giving a three minute interview to a newspaper on the way back to Colombo from Mahiyanganaya. and that comments he made had been erroneously reported by the journalist.

He said such inaccurate reporting could endanger the country, Buddhism, and Buddhist monks.

“Those people could get excited and even come kill us,” he expressed.    Read More

Investigators Of Alleged Army Killings Of Protesters Should Be Truly Independent – Amnesty International

August 6, 2013

The Sri Lankan authorities must not allow the army to investigate itself over allegations of excessive use of force by its members after three protesters demonstrating over access to drinking water were killed over the weekend, Amnesty International said.

“The Sri Lankan army should have never been policing unarmed demonstrators in the first place, and having them investigate their own alleged abuses is simply ridiculous,” said Polly Truscott, Asia Deputy Director at Amnesty International.

The weeping mother of Weliweriya | Photo courtesy Indika Handuwela/ Sunday Times

“Sri Lankan authorities must urgently initiate an effective  investigation into this tragic incident. The investigation must be independent, impartial and conducted with the professionalism, resources and powers necessary to unearth the truth about this incident. The army cannot be seen to investigate itself. Anything less will send the message that using  excessive force against protesters is permitted.”   Read More

Mystery surrounds abduction of ex-STF Inspector

By Dasun Edirisinghe-August 4, 2013

Mystery surrounds the July 21 broad daylight abduction of a former Inspector attached to the elite Special Task Force (STF), from a barber’s saloon at Pelawatte, Battaramulla.

Police have so far drawn a blank. According to STF Commandant Chandrasiri Ranawana, they have had no contact with the IP, who left the force about five years ago and all investigations into his disappearance were being handled by the police.

It is learnt that Inspector General of Police N. K. Illangakoon has ordered the Criminal Investigations Department and the Thalangama police to probe the abduction.

OIC of the Thalangama police, Inspector Upul Perera, said that investigations had been launched, in several directions, into the abduction of Rohan Thusitha Kumarasinghe from a barbershop in Pelawatte on July 21.

He said that one of his relatives who was with him at the time had reported his abduction to the police.

Kumarasinghe is from Kekirawa and lived in an apartment on Elvitigala Mawatha with his wife, IP Perera said.

IP Perera said that the police had searched his home, too, and found that he had not taken any of his personal valuables with him when he went for a haircut.

According to a person close to Kumarasinghe he went for a haircut at a barbershop down a lane opposite the Cool Planet Department store at Pelawatte, around 2.45 p.m. and two persons in civvies had come and flashed their IDs saying they were from the police and had asked him to come out. When he went out a group bundled him into an unregistered vehicle. He grappled with his abductors, but one of them had hit him on the head with something like a walkie-talkie. The incident took place while people in adjoining shops were watching in shock. The relative who accompanied him has said that the men were armed.

The question that sleuths are asking themselves is why a man who was living at luxury Trillium Residencies with his wealthy wife should come all the way to a small barbershop in Pelawatte for a haircut.

A telling indictment on holders of public office

2013-08-06 

Last week, during an interaction with the Chairmen and Mayors of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) controlled local government bodies, President Mahinda Rajapaksa made a damning revelation; he revealed that 238 local government members of the ruling Party have been charged with bribery and corruption. That was surely not something the Head of State can crow about. It was indeed a damning indictment of the deterioration on the integrity of the holders of public office. The President himself appeared to be quite concerned about the declining spiral of the public's confidence in their elected officials, but, many others in the audience were, in fact, oblivious to the magnitude of the problem.

When the President quipped that the elected members need to exercise much care, before indulging in such acts of mischief, his remarks were met with a burst of laughter by the audience, which showed they had clearly misconstrued the President's comments. Apparently, the local body heads had believed the President was telling them to do it in style, so that they would not get caught. The President had to clarify that he did not mean it that way, and what he meant was that he would not condone corruption.

The reaction of the Provincial Council members, if anything, is proof as to how lightly that the acts of bribery and corruption are viewed in the country. However, that rather compliant perception on bribery and corruption is not unique to elected leaders. A sizeable section of the Sri Lankan population tends to view bribery and corruption as an integral and equally useful part of public life. In other words, it is viewed as a necessary evil that would come handy when one needs to get admission to his offspring to a national school through the back door, or to bypass the red tape that defines much of the public service.

Later, during his meeting with the Provincial Council bigwigs, the President played a CD, which contained a secret recording of a Provincial Council member, who was soliciting Rs 1.8 million as a bribe. The audience had listened attentively, many with raised eyebrows. The President subsequently told the local body members that it was only one among many other bits of incriminating evidence that are in his possession.

Now, the law abiding public would expect the Head of the State to submit this purported throve of evidence to the Commission to Investigate into Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, a supposedly independent body which is mandated to crackdown on bribery and corruption.

Failing to inform the law enforcement agencies of an act of bribery may not be a crime, but it is obviously a blot on the character of the individual concerned, especially when he is a holder of an important public office.

Bribery and corruption thrive in Sri Lanka, partly due to the culture that tolerates and facilitates such acts of crime. In some instances, bribery has become a way of life. The members of the public who habitually complain about the acts of corruption blamed on their elected representatives, willingly, oil the palm of some unscrupulous public officers, in order to bypass standard procedures in obtaining certain government services.

Bribery, sadly though is entrenched in the Sri Lankan culture. Therefore, Sri Lanka's regular low ranking in the Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index did not come as a surprise. Sri Lanka was ranked 79th out of 176 countries in the TI's Corruption Perception Index for 2012.

It is this rather compliant attitude towards corruption that fosters this criminal practice. The public perception towards corruption is partly shaped by the indifference of the political leadership to confront this menace, which not only drains public confidence of the elected offices, but also scares away legitimate investors from the country. However, it is not only the elected representatives of the public who indulge in this sinful practice. Bribery and corruption is pervasive, and is all encompassing in public life. In most times, it is the general public who are both the perpetrators and the victims of bribery and corruption. It is their compliant approach towards bribery and their regular indulgence in this particular mischief, either as the giver or the taker, that fosters this criminal practice.

It Is Time To Re-Write The Old Adage

By Arjuna Seneviratne -August 6, 2013 |

Arjuna Seneviratne

Fear corrupts, absolute fear corrupts absolutely…Power humbles, absolute power humbles absolutely

The great spiritual leaders of the world lived lives of piety and engaged the world with clarity, compassion and a desire to succor those in pain. Their lives were epitomized by a complete lack of fear and a confidence in the belief that what they thought, said and did was not only right but mutually consistent. They wielded (and still wield) an enormous power to inspire human effort and give people confidence in themselves and their fellow beings. The same can be said albeit to a lesser degree of the Lincolns, Kings, Ghandis and Mandelas of this world. They never sought power, yet, their lack of fear and their compassion vested power in them and that power made them ever humbler, ever more compassionate.

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Sinhala Video Weliweriya: Aney Nikan Pala Yako Yanda

Sinhala Video Weliweriya: Aney Nikan Pala Yako Yanda 

Bandu Samarasinghe with Ministers Dullas alahapperuma, Mervyn Silva, DIG Anura Senanayake, Army Commander Daya Rathnayaka.-August 6, 2013

 Read More

Pettah bus time-keeper abducted in white van

By Madura Ranwala-August 5, 2013

 A time-keeper at the Gunasinghapura private bus stand in Pettah was abducted by a group of three men yesterday morning.

Police spokesman SP Buddhika Siriwardana told The Island that the suspects had bundled the victim into a white van and taken him away around 11.50 a.m.

Pettah Foreshore police conducting investigations had not been able to trace any of the suspects or the victim up to the time of going to press last night.

Asked for the colour of the van used by the abductors and whether the suspects were extortionists, the police spokesman said that he had not been informed of any details of the suspects or getaway vehicle and the police investigations were continuing.

Police Spokesman said he even did not know the name of the person who had been abducted.

However, The Island reliably learns that the time keeper, A. Gamini, is a resident of Angoda. He had been serving at the bus stand for nearly two years following his appointment by the National Transport Commission.

ARREST WARRANTS ISSUED FOR FMR PROVINCIAL MINISTER AND PS CHAIRMAN

August 6, 2013 
The Chilaw Magistrate’s Court today issued warrants for the arrest of the former Fisheries Minister of the North Western Provincial Council, Sanath Nishantha and his brother Arachchikattuwa Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman, Jagath Samantha.

A case has been filed against both politicians for obstructing the duties of the then Arachchikattuwa Divisional Secretary D. Surasinghe who had traveled to the Rajakadaluwa area on November 24, 2008 to take action regarding an illegal timber haul.

Arrest warrants were issued on the brothers as they failed to appear before the court when the case was taken up today, Ada Derana reporter said.   

UPFA Peliyagoda UC member arrested for assault

TUESDAY, 06 AUGUST 2013 

A UPFA Peliyagoda Urban Council member was arrested for allegedly assaulting two people in Peliyagoda yesterday, police said.

Police said the urban councilor had come with two others and assaulted two men with blunt instruments on the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway that is under construction.

The two victims were admitted to the Colombo National Hospital.

Meanwhile the urban councilor had also admitted himself to the National Hospital where he was arrested. He is currently receiving treatment under police guard.

Car bombing kills at least 8 in south Philippines

By Staff  The Associated Press-August 5, 2013

Police and military personnel inspect a burnt vehicle after a powerful bomb exploded in Cotabato city, southern Philippines on Monday Aug. 5, 2013. AP Photo

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – A powerful bomb apparently rigged to a vehicle exploded on a busy main road in a volatile southern Philippine city, killing at least eight people and wounding more than 30 others, officials said.

Car Bombing Kills at Least 8 in South Philippines by nelvely

Kashmir: Five Indian soldiers killed in shooting

Both Pakistan and India claim Kashmir in its entirety

Continue reading the main story

Five Indian soldiers have been shot dead in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, the chief minister of the disputed region says.

India's army accused Pakistan over the incident, saying troops had "entered the Indian area and ambushed" an army patrol in the Poonch area.

A Pakistani military official told the BBC that "no fire took place" from their side.

Claimed by both countries, Kashmir has been a flashpoint for over 60 years.

In January, several deadly cross-border attacks plunged the neighbours into the worst crisis in relations in years.

Kashmir Five Indian Soldiers Killed in Shooting by nelvely

Sri Lanka’s Black July: A Family’s Tragedy In Colombo

By Rajan Hoole -August 5, 2013 

Rajan Hoole

Sri Lanka’s Black July – Part 10 -

We now give the experience of an ordinary family in Colombo. V was then a 12-year-old girl living in a road off Allen Avenue, Dehiwela. Elder to her were two boys Arunan (24) and Ahilan (21). Her father was a registrar at the Supreme Court. Arunan was working for Suzuki Motorbike agents from where he participated in motor races held at Katukurunda and won prizes. Ahilan, who had studied at Royal College, got interested in a Left-leaning political group against his father’s wishes. But later the father too was sympathetic. On the 24th night, the atmosphere at home had been tense. Two of Ahilan’s friends came home and said that the Government is likely to unleash an attack on the Tamils the following day. They also knew about the incident in Jaffna the previous night and how UNP agents had been preparing themselves with voters’ lists. The father had possessed a shotgun from the time he had worked for the Irrigation Department in Kantalai. That night he took out the shotgun and cleaned it.

The next morning, V went to school in Wellawatte. About 9.30 AM, the Principal came to the Tamil medium classes and announced in a discreet voice that the school was being closed. She also advised the girls to remove their ‘Pottus’ and go home. The buses were still running and the Tamil shops were open for business as usual. V went home. Arunan who left for the work as usual with his father in the morning came rushing home around noon, and the father came about 1.30 PM without the motor bike on which he and Arunan used to travel to work together in the mornings. After about 5 minutes, Ahilan and two of his friends came home.

The father had been at Hulftsdorp when trouble had broken out. His colleagues had warned him not to go, but he had insisted on it. He came on his motorcycle accompanied by a police officer, and then sent the police officer back on his motorcycle. Ahilan’s friends had to return to Bambalapitya. The father asked Ahilan to go with them for a short distance.

About 2.30 PM a mob of about 50-100 arrived, mostly ruffians in shorts with long knives used to cut fish and clubs. V later learnt that they had come from Ratmalana in state- owned CTB buses. She also noticed two boys from the locality, one the nephew of a local tough and the other, the son of a bakery owner who used to sneer at her as a ‘Demali’ whenever he saw her on the road.    Read More

Part one - Sri Lanka’s Black July: Borella, 24th Evening

Part two - Sri Lanka’s Black July: What Really Happened At Kanatte?

Part three - Black July: ‘Api Suddha Kara’ – JR’s Failure To Declare Curfew

Part four - Sri Lanka’s Black July: The Cover Up

Part five -  30th July 1983: The Second Naxalite Plot

Part six  - Black July: The Testimony Of Lionel Bopage, Then General Secretary Of The JVP

Part seven - Black July: Thondaman & Muttetuwegama

Part eight - What Was Behind Tiger Friday – 29th July? -The Significance Of The Pettah

Part nine - Tamil Merchants In The Pettah – Post July 1983

*From Chapter 9 of  Rajan Hoole‘s “Sri Lanka: Arrogance of Power  - Myth, Decadence and Murder”. Thanks to Rajan for giving us permission to republish. To be continued tomorrow ..

Tamils should boycott Conservatives: British activist

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 August 2013, 20:35 GMT]
“There is no point in any vote or any penny of Tamil money or Tamil votes going to the Conservative party. They have shown time and again whose side they are on. They are not on our side,” Sarah Sachs-Eldridge, British activist working with Tamil Solidarity, stated. In a video interview to TamilNet, referring to the systematic deception of the British Conservatives on the issue of Sri Lanka, Sachs-Eldridge said that “The Tamil community is getting nothing from these people.” The British activist, commenting on the recent response of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to the trade union Unison, wherein the FCO had defended Britain’s participation in CHOGM, argued that the British government had no intention of putting any significant pressure on Sri Lanka. 



Referring the FCO response to Unison, where they harped on the implementation of the LLRC, Sachs-Eldridge said it was “farcical on a number of levels.”

“The LLRC goes nowhere near what is needed to find justice and to defend the rights of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.”

Opining that the Sri Lankan government has no intention of implementing its own farcical LLRC report, she added “we know from history that the British government has no real intention of putting serious pressure on the Sri Lankan government to act in any way on any of these.” 

She talked about how, under the Conservative government, arms were exported to the Sri Lankan government over the past few years despite the public knowledge of continued abuses in the island.

Tamil asylum-seekers were still being deported despite evidence on what is happening to those deported, she observed.

TNA wants army out of Jaffna

August 4, 2013

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) says contrary to claims by the military, thousands of troops are still in Jaffna.

TNA leader R. Sampanthan said that while the army claims there are only 13,000 soldiers remaining in Jaffna, in reality the figure is over 100,000.

He said that there are 15 army divisions in Jaffna and in each division there are some 10,000 soldiers.

The TNA leader said that his party had mentioned this even in parliament but it was never denied by the government.

He noted that while the army has vacated some private homes and land in Jaffna more remains to be handed over to the rightful owners.

Sampanthan said the government must keep its promise to the UN and the international community and withdraw the army from Jaffna. (Colombo Gazette)

Sri Lanka Tamil party disappointed with President's stance on land and police powers to provinces
Sun, Aug 4, 2013, 10:47 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Aug 04, Colombo: Sri Lanka's major Tamil party Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has expressed disappointment over President's stance on land and police powers to provinces.
Leader of the TNA, R. Sampanthan speaking to media has said that the President Mahinda Rajapaksa changes his stance on devolving police and land powers from time to time.
President Rajapaksa addressing a meeting with the heads of electronic and print media last week said that his stance on the issue of distribution of police and land powers to provincial councils has not changed and reiterated that the powers will remain with the government.
Sampanthan has said that the Tamil party would respond to the President's statement at the right time.
"He (the President) does not seem to have any steady decision. The TNA is observing his comments and at the right time the Alliance will come out with the response to the President," Sampanthan has told the media.

The President said police and land powers were not implemented since the introduction of the Provincial Council system to the country and he doesn't consider that the issue should be given special attention now ahead of the first ever provincial council election to the Northern Province.

People get onto the streets; Govt. reacts with heavy hand

Sunday, August 04, 2013

Bloody military reaction to villagers wailing for clean water for Weliweriya, Govt. accused of backing big financier UPFA seniors sideline Jayasekera in NWP campaign, claims for chief minister post creates rift TNA confident in Northern polls, President tells Hakeem to cooperate with UPFA

Parliament’s Acting Secretary General Dhammika Dassanayake was at his office last Monday morning when his telephone rang. It was lawyer cum politician Dayasiri Jayasekera, who joined the Government ranks from the main opposition United National Party (UNP) just last week.

A parliamentarian for the Kurunegala District for over 18 years, Jayasekera wanted to know whether he could tender his resignation post-dated. That is to be effective once the North Western Provincial Council elections are over on September 21. Dassanayake replied that there was no legal provision for him to remain an MP if he were to contest the NWP polls. Hence, he drove to the Parliament Complex in Kotte later that day to hand in his resignation. He formally quit as MP that Monday.

Jayasekera being ignorant of the procedure is one thing. Another more important question is why he wanted to remain an MP when he was contesting the provincial polls. Did he seek to retain the option to revert to Parliament as an MP of the ruling UPFA in the event his dream of becoming a Chief Minister did not materialise. Is this why, like issuing post-dated cheques, he raised the query. After his farewell speech in Parliament, Jayasekera spoke at a meeting in Wariyapola the next day. “Some people think I will stay as Chief Minister for one or two years and go away. That is not true. I will serve the entire five year term,” he said. Yet, Jayasekera’s name was listed as 37, the last in the UPFA nomination. He said that though he is No. 37 on the list, he will come first and be the Chief Minister. This was in variance with an earlier claim that he had an assurance from the President that he would be made Chief Minister in the event the UPFA wins the NWP election.                          Read More   

Yet another student and a youth die on the day of the funeral of student Akila – all killed by the brutal regime
(Lanka-e-News-04.Aug.2013,11.30PM) The Rajapakse murderous regime had announced officially that two more victims had died today in the violence and terror that was unleashed by the forces of the government at Weliveriya on the people recently.

One of them who died today is another school going student. He is 19 year old Ramili Ravishan Perera residing at 513/1 , Bandarawatte , Nedungamuwa, Weliveriya studying at St. . Peters college Udugampola and was to sit the GCE adv. level exam. He is the eldest in a family of three . It is about this youth that Lanka e news reported earlier as the child who received gunshot injuries to his mouth and the bullet pierced through the vicinity of the ear. 

This brutal government was concealing his death and was claiming that he is being treated in the ICU. Not only did he receive gunshot injuries , he was also ruthlessly assaulted by an iron rod whereby his skull and his left arm had broken . His GHT No. is 978/2013.


The other death revealed this evening by this murderous regime was that of 29 year old Paranagama Rewulkalage Nilantha Pushpakumara, another youth in the prime of his life. His permanent residence is : 76 , Pelawatte , Weliveriya , and was employed in a garment factory. This youth had been killed by attacking his head with an iron rod , and stabbing him with a sharp instrument in the neck. The stab injury is as deep as four inches. He had died on the spot following these attacks , and his skull had been broken into smithereens. Yet until today his body was kept hidden . His GHT No. is 976/2013

It is learnt that there are more such dead bodies that have been hidden . Two such bodies are hidden in Colombo while one or two other bodies are being kept hidden at Apollo hospital , based on unofficial reports. It has been planned until the explosive fury of the people who were victims of this attack subsides , these bodies are to be kept hidden , and are to be released one by one after the situation calms down . On the other hand if the situation turns for the worse , the bodies are to be destroyed. It has also been planned that until the funeral is over of the young boy Akila Dinesh , the release of the dead bodies of others who were ruthlessly killed are to be held back.

The funeral of Akila Dinesh who was the first to be killed was to take place today at Weliveriya general cemetery. Meanwhile the requiem services held this morning at the St. Peters church for the other youth who died in this killing spree of the Forces was attended by large crowds. The army had distributed leaflets at the venue.

Right To Rebel, Time To Rebel!

By Lakmali Hemachandra and Ravi Tissera -August 5, 2013 

Lakmali Hemachandra

“Nothing mattered much. Nothing much mattered. And the less it mattered the less it mattered. It was never important enough. Because Worse Things had happened. In the country that she came from poised forever between the terror of war and the horror of peace Worse Things kept happening” ― Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things

Flying Fish, a movie about the monstrosity of war was banned because it was claimed to demoralize the government forces and depicted them in a negative light. Weliweriya proves that we do not need films and literature to understand how cruel, inhuman and destructive wars are, but most of all it proves against whom wars are fought, from Nandikadal to Baghdad.  It is interesting that the Army and the government is playing the same tune it did in 2009, the war was grander and the damage was larger, but the response of the government after slaughtering Tamils and the response after killing Sinhalese is eerily and tragically similar. There is a lesson we must learn today, a lesson that we should have learnt long ago and a lesson that some pretend to not know.

The fight in Weliweriya was for clean water, the people of five villages led by a Buddhist monk took to the streets for six days to urge the government to protect their right to clean water claiming that the wells in area was contaminated by the waste  disposed by a factory producing rubber gloves.  It is a classic battle between people and the corporate, between nature and development, between democracy and neo liberalism. The government’s brutal attack on the innocent civilians in Weliweriya illustrates which side the government is on and it is not yours or mine regardless of whether we are Sinahala or Tamil, it is not of the seventeen year old Akila and nineteen year old Ravishan who died caught up in the military attack on the villagers, it is not of more than 60 people who are injured and it is not of the undisclosed number of innocent people who got death instead of clean water. The massacre at Weliweriya exposes the enemy like it has never been seen before, it makes it painfully clear where this country is heading and it gives hope to people like us who believe that we should continue to dream of justice and equality in spite of the brutal oppression that forbids us to dream.Read More

Why Should People Place Trust In Central Banks?

By W.A Wijewardena -August 5, 2013

Dr. W.A. Wijewardena

Principles of central banking 1: Why should people place trust in central banks?

In a recent training workshop for central bank officers of a neighbouring country, a participant raised a very important question: Why should people trust central banks and accept the money which those banks issue to people as something valuable and useful?

When the question was posed to the audience, the answers given were of two types but closely related to each other.

State ownership of central banks does not bring in trust

One answer was that central banks are owned by sovereign governments and therefore the trust which people have in those governments is extended to the central banks as well. But when it was pointed out that South African Reserve Bank or SARB is a private bank owned by some 650 private shareholders, the argument was re-examined.

It was mentioned that at the Annual General Meeting of SARB, its Governor delivers an address covering the economy, monetary policy and the operations of the Bank. He also presents a comprehensive annual report on the Bank for approval by shareholders which is similar to the annual reports presented by state owned central banks to their governments. In addition, central banks in Belgium, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Turkey, Greece and the US are jointly owned by the respective governments and private people.

Even Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Bank of Denmark and Bank of England were private central banks until they were nationalised in the first half of the previous century. Hence, the argument was finally modified that state ownership maybe useful but not necessary for a central bank to earn the trust of people.

Legal powers not necessary for making money acceptable