The political need of the hour: Transformational approach to constitution making

• by Shanthi Sachithanandam 
• - on 11/25/2014 

A  long awaited concerted action has now been initiated by the opposition parties in their identification of a common candidate for the upcoming presidential elections, and the agenda for action. Understandably, the opposition needs a simple yet mass rallying slogan for their campaign. The abolishing of the executive presidential system has been designated by them as the call and the cause. In his first press conference as a proposed presidential candidate, Mr Maithripala Sirisena spelt out this agenda as abolishing the executive presidency within 100 days of his being elected as the executive president, and appointing Mr Ranil Wickremasinghe as the Prime Minister. Perhaps, for a short 50 day election campaign this agenda would suffice. Leaving aside the arguments on whether a person contesting for an office in order to abolish it is a sound strategy, let us revisit the goals of such a campaign and what it portends for the future of this country.

The Political Need of the Hour Transformational Approach to Constitution Making by Thavam

Constitutional crisis: A claymore for Sirisena to avoid

The correctness or incorrectness of the political line decides everything 
– Mao (1971)

Maithripala Sirisena will need to rethink his strategy heading into these presidential elections

 November 26, 2014 

As a former student of Mao Ze Dong thought, the genial Maithripala Sirisena may recall Mao’s point that ‘the correctness or incorrectness of the political line decides everything’. He must also hope that Mao was wrong, because the Sirisena campaign has so far, not got its political line correct, to put it mildly. This may sound like the quibble of a political scientist from the Marxian tradition, but it isn’t. The incorrectness of Mr. Sirisena’s political line or rather, the political line drawn up for Mr. Sirisena which he has adopted, can provide a dangerous opening for the Establishment – ‘The Brotherhood’ – to launch a counterreformation which can choke off the valuable political space which has opened up with Maithripala’s courageous rebellion, and roll-back its potential.
Constitutional Crisis a Claymore for Sirisena to Avoid by Thavam

‘Only 24 hr. difference between my birth & SLFP’s birth’

 

Tuesday, 25 November 2014 

The legally appointed general secretary of the SLFP and common candidate Maithripala Sirisena says there is an inseparable relationship between the SLFP and himself, as there was a difference of less than 24 hours in his birth on 03 rd September 1951 and the birth of the SLFP on 02 nd September 1951. He says his removal from the SLFP and as the party’s general secretary has not been done legally, and that he will resort to court in the future against it.

He said so in a speech in front of Bandaranaike Samadhi in Horagolla today (25).

Mr. Sirisena said in response to questions raised by some as to where the government politicians tipped to cross over with him were now, that unbelievable things could happen very soon at the proper time.

He said he would hand in nominations on December 08 to contest the presidential election, adding that he would win the election that would take place on January 08, the day S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was born, and give a pledge in front of Bandaranaike Samadhi that he would work in accordance with the policies of the late premier.

Noting that he obtained SLFP membership at the age of 17 years, during the period of Sirimavo Bandaranaike, when he did not even have the voting rights, he said he has 47 long years as a member of the party. There is a conspiracy to erase the name of the Bandaranaikes from the party, and their portraits are being removed from the party headquarters, he said, adding that he wanted to tell those who are removing them that the images of the Bandaranaikes remain in the hearts of the true SLFPers.

He went onto say that he accepted the invitation by opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, political organizations and groups in order to fulfil a national duty.

Mr. Sirisena said he would not join the UNP or any other party, but would continue to remain as the common candidate under a common alliance, adding that political alliances were not new to the Sri Lankan people or to himself.

He recalled that when the United Alliance in 1970 and the People’s Alliance in 1994 formed governments, the affiliate political parties retained their different identities while joining together for a common programme.

Peiris CJ (cheat justice) cheated other justices to give fake documented opinion that Mahinda can seek third term- document before Parliament

of the supreme court opinion that claims Mahinda can go for a third term , which document had been kept hidden by the Medamulana regime even from their elder brother who is the speaker of Parliament.

John Amaratunge M.P., the UNP chief organizer presenting this document comprising 29 pages ,in parliament said , that should go into the Hansard so that the whole country and its citizens shall know about this. Moreover , he requested the speaker to probe the veracity of the report of Peiris , a phony himself .

According to reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division, Mahan Peiris the chief justice better known justifiably as ‘cheat justice,’ had once again demonstrated his ‘ cheat justice’ colors in this opinion too, by pulling the wool over the justices who were on the panel , to perpetrate this fraud. Peiris who wrote the opinion and read it before the other judges to explain it , had not given a copy thereof to the other judges.

Peiris the notorious Pachoris (liar ) had taken only 45 mins. to read the document in his hand . That document he read had only contained about ten pages , and has thereafter secured the signatures of the other judges to it . Later however, the document forwarded to the President had contained 27 pages . In other words this CJ (cheat justice) Peiris obviously had made interpolations , additions and modifications to the original document on the sly , whereby the document had increased in size page wise. At whose bequest this was done by the phony is yet to be known.

The judges are wondering how that came about. One of the SC judges who did not wish to disclose his name speaking to Lanka e news inside information division said, this fraud is clearly confirmed further because 45 mins. is not enough to explain a document that contains 27 pages. Hence Mohan Peiris whose favorite occupation is sniffing stench and squalor even on the bench wherever and whenever he sees them , had read one document to the judges and forwarded another for the most fraudulent reasons .

The document presented in Parliament by John Amaratunge had 29 pages , and that is why he urged to investigate whether it is authentic or spurious .

Supreme Court’s opinion on the President’s Reference

At last, the Supreme Court’s opinion on the President’s reference has seen the light of day, albeit unofficially, and it makes for miserable reading.

by Reeza Hameed 

- on 11/25/2014 

At last, the Supreme Court’s opinion on the President’s reference has seen the light of day, albeit unofficially, and it makes for miserable reading.

Supreme Court’s Opinion on the President’s Reference by Thavam

The ‘other’ Hambantota story

November 25, 2014  

Alternative human development

The city of Hambantota in the arid zone of the dry zone in southern Sri Lanka is the presently, for well-known reasons which do not require repetition in these columns, the cynosure of all eyes.

The ‘Other’ Hambantota Story by Thavam

Mahinda’s genies gobble BOC

TUESDAY, 25 NOVEMBER 2014

COPE report has revealed that frauds and corruption to the tune of Rs. 574,150 million has been carried out in Bank of Ceylon, the main commercial bank of the government.

The report released on 23rd July indicates frauds and corruption have been committed under 11 sections. The COPE report for this year released on 5th August has not included any observations regarding Bank of Ceylon.

Bank of Ceylon is an institution under the Ministry of Finance. President Mahinda Rajapaksa keeps the Ministry of Finance under him. The responsibility of frauds and corruption that occur in the main commercial bank under his ministry falls on the President as the Minister of Finance is the view expressed by the top management of Bank of Ceylon.

BBS Is Deployed To Mislead Minority Voters

November 25, 2014

The Bodu Bala Sena is to announce its support for the common candidate Maitripala Sirisena on Thursday, Colombo Telegraph reliably leant.

Gnanasara

“This well planned move is to mislead minorities and planned from Temple Tress” a source close to the campaign manager of the UPFA, Basil Rakapaksa, told Colombo Telegraph.

When asked the BBS CEO, Dilanthe Withange said; “We have not decided yet, We are meeting tomorrow night to take a decision. BBS will have a press conference on Thursday to announce its stance”

However according to a source close to Galagoda Atte Gnanasara, the BBS has already decided to support Sirisena.

CID gone to arrest Maithri’s brother returns empty handed!

 Monday, 24 November 2014 

Officials of the CID who had gone to Polonnaruwa on November 21 to arrest ‘Weli Raju’, the brother of Maithripala Sirisena, returned empty-handed to Colombo at night on the following day.

Led by inspector Gunasinghe, the team had a look at the relevant file at the Polonnaruwa SP’s office and found that ‘Weli Raju’ is on bail, after being produced before courts on a charge of damaging state property by setting fire to a wildlife office. They found that there was no need for their intervention as the law was taking its proper course of action regarding the matter.

The CID team informed their director and the DIG about that. In turn, the two top police officers informed law and order ministry secretary Mahinda Balasuriya, former IGP, who continued to insist that ‘Weli Raju’ be arrested on whatever charge that could be framed against him. The CID director told his men in Polonnaruwa about the ministry secretary’s requirement. However, they said in one voice, “We cannot have FR cases filed against us after trying to satisfy you. If FR cases are filed, our poor salary will get affected. You will laugh and look the other way.”  Saying, so, the CID team ended their investigation and returned to Colombo.

Thousands of job appointments given by Maithri cancelled

 

Tuesday, 25 November 2014 

Thousands of appointments granted by the former Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena to junior hospital staff have been cancelled.

The Health Ministry Secretary has issued a circular to all state hospital directors to cancel the 1,500 appointments to the hospital junior staff given by Sirisena.

The appointments have been cancelled on the ground that the letters have not been signed by the Ministry Secretary or the Health Services Director General.

However, the Health Services Director General had yesterday signed the letters of the persons granted employment at the Colombo National Hospital.

Immigration bureau lifts ban on HK journalists

By Evelyn Macairan (The Philippine Star) | Updated November 26, 2014

 (The Philippine Star) | Updated November 26, 2014MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has ordered the lifting of the blacklist order against nine Hong Kong journalists who heckled President Aquino during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bali, Indonesia in 2013.

BI Commissioner Siegfred Mison said he signed the order at 10 a.m. yesterday.

“We checked the travel records of the subject individuals and we did not see any other basis not to grant the request of the lifting,” he said.

BI records show that the nine journalists had not visited the country in the last two years and they have no derogatory record.

The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) recommended the lifting of the ban because there was “no untoward incident” during the President’s visit to China for the 26th APEC summit last Nov. 10-12.

“After a re-evaluation, the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency said they are no longer considered as threats and the ban was lifted effective today,” said BI spokesperson Elaine Tan.

Tan said the Hong Kong journalists could now enter the Philippines as tourists, subject to regular immigration inspection.

When asked if the BI should apologize to the journalists for the blacklisting, Mison said they were only implementing the request of another agency.

“We give weight to those who are in a better position to know who are the so-called unwanted visitors,” he added.

He said the BI based its order on a 10-year-old memorandum circular, which states that they should abide by the requests of other government agencies.

In a related development, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima denied rumors that Mison had been removed as BI chief.

“Not true,” she said when asked about the issue.

Meanwhile, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the BI, NICA and even the DFA could not be faulted over the blacklist order on the Hong Kong journalists.

He appealed for understanding as thousands of people enter the country each day, and that many are in the watch list because the current reality is that there are “possible security threats.”

Coloma said it was also “appropriate” that the BI lifted the blacklist order on the journalists.

He said his office would soon issue guidelines for the accreditation of journalists who would cover the APEC events to be hosted by the Philippines in 2015.

The blacklisting last week prompted criticism, with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines saying the move sent a “chilling message.”

“If the government’s intelligence agency does not like the way you ask questions, you may be labeled a public safety threat and blacklisted from the Philippines,” the group said.

The journalists were blacklisted as the Philippines and Hong Kong were repairing strained ties, and ahead of the Philippines’ hosting of the APEC summit next year.

In August 2010, eight members of a Hong Kong tour group were killed in a botched rescue. The two governments announced in April that they had resolved the row after the Manila city government issued a formal apology and the Philippine government expressed “sorrowful regret and profound sympathy.”

The Hong Kong Journalists Association said in a letter to Aquino on Monday that the journalists were just doing their job in asking Aquino for comments on the 2010 killing of eight Hong Kong tourists.

It said no behavior by the journalists “could possibly justify their classification as a security threat to your country,” and that the blacklisting was “a blemish on the reputation of the Philippines as a democratic nation.”

The Hong Kong government had also expressed concern and said it would follow up on the matter with the Philippine consulate general.– With Delon Porcalla, AFP, AP

NICA, DFA recommend lifting of ban on HK journalists

Extension Leaves Iran Nuclear Deal Vulnerable to Hard-Liners

• BY JOHN HUDSON-NOVEMBER 24, 2014 

The failure of Barack Obama's administration to secure a deal to restrain Iran's nuclear program by Monday's self-imposed deadline hands a significant gift to hard-liners in both countries: a seven-month window to criticize, and potentially sabotage, a final deal between Iran and the West.
Extension Leaves Iran Nuclear Deal Vulnerable to Hard-Liners by Thavam

China to offer aid for India high-speed rail study

Passengers travel on an overcrowded train at Loni town in Uttar Pradesh July 8, 2014.

NEW DELHI/SHANGHAI Tue Nov 25, 2014 

(Reuters) - China will conduct and pay for a feasibility study in India for a high-speed rail line to link Delhi with the southeast city of Chennai, a spokesman for India's Ministry of Railways said on Tuesday, as the country moves to modernise its creaking rail infrastructure.

China has been aggressively campaigning to export its high-speed rail technology, including to governments in Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar, after building the world's longest domestic network in less than a decade. To date, it has won contracts to build rail lines in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

The ministry spokesman gave no cost estimates for the proposed 1,750 kilometre (1,087 mile) line but a study for a high-speed 500-kilometre line between Mumbai and Ahmedabad being conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency estimated that project would cost 600 billion rupees ($9.70 billion).

A group of five Indian officials in China since Monday will sign an agreement with Chinese officials this week on the feasibility study, the spokesman said. That will be the first rail agreement between the two countries since Chinese President Xi Jinping, on a state visit to India in September, signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in railway development.

The new railways minister, Suresh Prabhu, is an aide to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a reputation as an efficient administrator and who, the ministry spokesman said, has called for several projects including the Delhi-Chennai line to be expedited.

China's National Railway Administration and railway builder China Railway Construction Corp did not return calls seeking comment.

China Railway Construction's shares surged following an award this month of a $3.75 billion contract in Mexico to a consortium led by the state-run firm, although the deal was abruptly cancelled by the Mexican government just days later when it came under criticism from opposition lawmakers. The government is due to re-run the tender late this month.

India's British-built railways, the world's fourth largest, have laboured under years of inadequate investment and much of the network is now slow, badly congested and often cited as a symbol of how far Indian infrastructure lags China's.

Modi, who started out selling tea outside a train station, has promised to upgrade India's railways and to build a "diamond quadrilateral" of high-speed tracks linking key Indian cities.

(1 US dollar = 61.8700 rupees)

(Reporting by Tommy Wilkes in NEW DELHI and Brenda Goh in SHANGHAI)

Ferguson violence broke the mold in three ways — one of which is just unfolding now

A member of the Missouri Highway Patrol walks past a building burned to the ground on Nov. 25 in Dellwood, Mo. The building and several others near Ferguson were burned during protests after a grand jury decided not to indict a Ferguson police officer in the shooting death of Michael Brown. (Jeff Roberson/AP)

By Marc Fisher and Wesley Lowery November 25 at 11:46 AMEven as the president, live from the White House, said “there is inevitably going to be some negative reaction, and it will make for good TV,” the news channels split their screens to show police shooting tear-gas canisters at protesters in Ferguson, Mo. — a presidential appeal for calm competing against frightening scenes of angry confrontation.
Ferguson Violence Broke the Mold in Three Ways — One of Which is Just Unfolding Now by Thavam

Burma's army uses rape to demoralise ethnic minorities, report says

Women’s rights group says military uses sexual violence to intimidate women in ethnic minority communities and take control of resource-rich areas

A girl watches as soldiers (not implicated) walk by her home in Thapyuchai village, in Rakhine state. Photograph: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters

Kate Hodal-Tuesday 25 November 2014

The Burmese army systematically uses sexual violence against women – including gang rape by soldiers – to “demoralise and destroy the fabric of ethnic [minority] communities” and establish control over resource-rich areas, according to a women’s rights group.

A report by the Women’s League of Burma (WLB), released on Tuesday to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, says the use of sexual violence is so widespread in ethnic minority areas that abuses may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under international criminal law. 

The WLB is an umbrella organisation comprising 13 women’s organisations of various ethnicities. 

The report, If They Had Hope, They Would Speak (pdf), highlights 118 incidences of rape, gang rape and sexual assault in both ceasefire and non-ceasefire areas at the hands of Burma’s armed forces since 2010 – but notes that these figures are likely to be “a fraction” of the number of abuses actually taking place. A culture of impunity and intimidation prevents women from reporting the crimes or seeking redress, the group claims.

Large-scale development projects in ethnic minority communities – including mining, hydroelectric and pipeline projects – have led to an increase in poverty, sexual violence and militarisation in those areas, the report claims, with the armed forces enjoying “de-facto immunity” for their crimes.

Documenting reports of sexual violence in Kachin, Karen, Mon, Chin, Shan and Karenni states – in some cases of victims as young as eight years old – the WLB alleges that both the number and geographic scope of the abuses proves that “sexual violence remains an institutionalised practice” of Burma’s armed forces. 

“The army are not interested in accountability for sexual violence or human rights abuses,” the Lahu Women’s Organisation says in the report. “If a captain or commander commits rape, they will go to the survivor’s house to apologise, and offer some compensation. Even the highest-ranking officers are doing this. If a gang rape committed by a group of soldiers is made public, they will quickly be moved to another base before they can be held to account.”

Burma’s president, Thein Sein – who came to power in 2011 after half a century of military-led rule – has reformed the country, from the privatisation of sectors of the economy to releasing political prisoners and easing media censorship. His government has made public pledges to help promote and protect women through a national strategic plan to advance women and a UK-led declaration of commitment to end sexual violence in conflict. But no action has been taken to implement the declaration, and very little has been done to help women in ethnic minority communities, the WLB says.

“The government of Burma has worked hard to show its reformist credentials to the world, but for women in Burma’s ethnic [minority] communities, human rights abuses and sexual violence at the hands of the Burma army remain a constant threat,” said the organisation’s general secretary, Tin Tin Nyo. “Any positive changes coming out of Naypyidaw [Burma’s capital] have not improved the lived experience of women in Burma.”

In March, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, called on Thein Sein to investigate crimes of sexual violence and human rights abuses, as well as develop a comprehensive strategy to protect survivors. The WLB has also repeatedly called on the government to demilitarise the nation (one-fourth of all parliamentary seats are reserved for the military); investigate human rights abuses; and promote and integrate women into the peace process.

Apart from opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who lived for nearly two decades under house arrest and is now an MP, women are largely absent from any decision-making or powerful positions. Burma’s political, economic and social structures have long privileged men, says the WLB’s joint general secretary, Naw Wah Ku Shee, and the nation has the lowest representation of female MPs of any country in the Association of South-east Asian Nations. This dearth of powerful women undermines Burmese women’s capacity to confront and address the abuses they frequently face.

“As long as women continue to be marginalised from Burmese political and public life, sustainable peace cannot be realised,” Naw Wah Ku Shee told the Guardian, adding that Aung San Suu Kyi needed to do more to help women in her country. “[Aung San Suu Kyi] has not used her celebrity to highlight the scale of ongoing abuses faced by women in ethnic [minority] communities. If she is going to champion the human rights of the women in Burma, she must not be silent on the rape, torture and displacement faced by [these] women.”

India moves toward ban on loose cigarettes to deter smoking

Gopal Kishan (R), 15, smokes a cigarette as he drinks with his friends on the outskirts of their village near Kota, Rajasthan, July 17, 2012.

BY ZEBA SIDDIQUI-Tue Nov 25, 2014 

(Reuters) - India moved a step closer to banning the sale of unpackaged cigarettes, with a view to discourage smoking in a country where close to a million people each year die of tobacco-related diseases.

More than 70 percent of the cigarettes sold in India are loose.

The health ministry has accepted the recommendation of an internal panel and will seek cabinet approval before imposing the ban, Health Minister J.P. Nadda told parliament in a written statement on Tuesday.

Shares in India's largest cigarette maker, ITC Ltd (ITC.NS), fell 5.2 percent, its biggest daily drop in five months, and Godfrey Phillips India Ltd (GDFR.NS) lost nearly 9 percent. By comparison, the Nifty fell 0.8 percent.

As many as 900,000 people in India die from tobacco-related diseases a year, and that number could jump to 1.5 million by 2020, the International Tobacco Control Project estimates.

India is a party to The World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which states that countries "shall endeavour" to prohibit sales of loose cigarettes, which are more affordable for minors.

The panel's recommendation also calls for an increase in the minimum legal age for buying tobacco products and a rise in the penalties for violators. Details on how the government would implement such a ban on single smokes were not disclosed.

Morgan Stanley said the proposed ban was a "clear sentiment negative" for ITC, although implementing it would be difficult. Cigarette companies could introduce smaller pack sizes to cushion the impact of the proposed policy change, it said.

ITC and Godfrey Phillips did not respond to requests for comment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, which took office six months ago, has been adopting measures to curb India's tobacco consumption. Last month it increased taxes on tobacco products and ordered companies to stamp health warnings across 85 percent of the surface of cigarette packs.

(Reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in Mumbai; Writing by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Jane Baird)