Sri Lanka enacts witness protection law before war crimes probe

Sri Lankan Tamils hold pictures of family members who disappeared during the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during a protest in Jaffna, about 400 km (250 miles) north of Colombo November 15, 2013.

BY RANGA SIRILAL AND SHIHAR ANEEZ-Fri Feb 20, 2015

(Reuters) - Sri Lanka has adopted a witness protection law ahead of an investigation into suspected human rights abuses in a 26-year civil war which foreign governments have said is necessary for a reconciliation with ethnic minority Tamils.

The United Nations Human Rights Council has separately investigated war crimes in the final stages of the war against Tamil separatists but this week it deferred its report, saying Colombo had shown a new willingness to open up to scrutiny.

Under the law passed by the Sri Lankan parliament late on Thursday, the government will set up safe houses for witnesses giving testimony to the inquiry commission.

"This will allow people to give evidence and participate in the domestic probe," Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Ajith Perera said.

The United Nations estimated in a 2011 report that about 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the final weeks of the war that ended in 2009, mostly by the army. The government of the majority Sinhalese country rejected that assertion.

But the new administration that took power last month after an election said it was ready for a new investigation that would bring in foreign experts if necessary.

"The new law will add credibility to the domestic probe," a foreign ministry official said.

Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was ousted in a surprise election defeat in January, had refused to cooperate with any U.N. investigation.

(Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Robert Birsel)

Court orders to investigate assets of Sajin Vaas, Mahindananda and Bandu Wickrema who is hiding in Ports minister’s brother’s house

(Lanka-e-News- 21.Feb.2015, 5.45PM) The Colombo chief magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya gave an order to the CID to conduct an investigation into  the assets of former sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage ,former monitoring M.P. Sajin Vaas Gunawardena , former chairman of Ports authority Priyath Bandu Wickrema, and six of  their relatives , and towards this end the assistance of  81 financial Institutions including the state banks and  private banks can be enlisted , Pilapitiya gave permission. 

Based on the information furnished to court by the CID that is conducting investigations  under the money laundering  Act into  the assets and monies amassed by them via their official posts during a short period   , the court gave this order .The CID told court that information must  be collected from the Lands registrar’s department , Inland revenue department , banks and financial Institutions . Court gave permission to the CID to garner information from 81 such Intsitutions.

It is learnt that Vaas Gunawardena in order to conceal his own corrupt activities and misdeeds has by offering bribes to Heads of Institutions that are supposedly against bribery and corruption but are truly  most sordid had shut their mouths , and concealed his rackets. Some heads of these anti corruption Institutions while holding posts of secretaries to the President which are in conflict , are running these anti corruption organizations . Sajin Vaas has given bribes to the leaders of such an organization .

Yet there is a committee duly appointed by the parliament legally empowered to investigate corruption which comprises  Wjedasa Rajapakse and J.C. Weliamuna . This is a legally empowered  organization in contrast to these despicable, deplorable and disgracefully sordid  unscrupulous organizations. According to this legally constituted committee , the second most non political corrupt officer is ex chairman  of the Ports authority , Priyah Bandu Wickrema.

Believe it or not , at the moment this crooked ports chairman Bandu Wickremage is now given security and kept hidden in the house of western province chief minister Prasanna Ranatunge , the elder brother of the present minister of ports. In the past when the port workers protested and demonstrated against the outrageous corruption activities of  Bandu , and made complaints to the present ports minister Arjuna Ranatunge , the latter had communicated by phone with  Bandu the culprit himself who was hiding in his brother Prasanna’s house, and taken decisions. The port workers bitterly frowned upon the conduct of Arjuna and expressed shock and resentment over Arjuna’s irresponsible and callous  behavior .

While these guilty Individuals like Sajin Vaas , Priyath Bandu and  Mahindananda are moving heaven and earth to escape from the liabilities and charges that are being leveled against them by seeking refuge under the various sordid and unscrupulous organizations mentioned hereinbefore , the court order issued today is clear evidence that the authentic committee duly empowered to combat bribery and corruption has commenced to take action legally .

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by     (2015-02-21 12:26:10)

 ‘Right to Information’ to Become a fundamental Right in Sri Lanka

20/02/2015

The Right to Information Bill, which will be presented in Parliament soon, will have constitutional status, Media Ministry Secretary Karu Paranawithana said on Thursday (19).

He said the Bill is being drafted to enable the public to have access to information from public institutions and it is not about media freedom alone.

“There are reservations with regard to national security concerns and aspects of privacy,” Paranawithana pointed out.

“Steps will be taken to introduce constitutional changes for this, prior to the presentation of the Right to Information Bill in Parliament,” he said.

“The changes will be made under a Fundamental Rights Chapter in the Constitution which will enable ‘Right to Information’ to become a fundamental right in Sri Lanka, once the bill is enacted into law,” explained Paranawithana.

Commenting on the drafting task, he said they are working with several working papers. “Under study for the preparation of the final draft are those Right to Information Bills that were submitted by the Sri Lanka Law Commission, Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapakshe and Public Administration Minister Karu Jayasuriya,” Paranawithana said.

“There are several working papers, among them are Right to Information Acts of Bangladesh and India,” he said.

“The draft bill on Right to Information is expected to enhance good governance,” he said.

New Sri Lanka government ends US lobbying contracts 
Sri Lanka has terminated lobbying contracts that the previous government had signed to help it win friends in Washington amid war crimes allegations. 

By AP | 21 Feb, 2015, 

WASHINGTON: In a sign of improving relations with the US, Sri Lanka has terminatedlobbying contracts worth tens of thousands of dollars a month that the previous governmenthad signed to help it win friends in Washington amid war crimes allegations, the nation's ambassador says. 

The investment in lobbyists to foster political and economic ties had gathered steam last summer, in the dying months of the administration of then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, but with little apparent benefit, as Sri Lanka's international isolation deepened over its refusal to credibly probe civilian deaths during the civil war that ended 2009. 

But political change inside Sri Lanka itself has done the trick. There has been a turn-around in the US relationship after new President Maithripala Sirisena won January 8 elections and promised democratic reforms and accountability for human rights violations. 

Sirisena was elected in large part because of public dismay over the rising cost of living on the South Asian island, where the monthly per capita GDP is about USD 540. 

Rajapaksa was also widely criticized for nepotism and alleged government corruption. 

Washington-based lobbying groups are often hired by foreign governments to help win the ear of US officials, lawmakers, media and other opinion-makers. Justice Department online records show Sri Lanka signed eight contracts with such groups from 2014, with monthly fees ranging from USD 5,000 to USD 75,000. 

"The new government does not see a reason or requirement to have lobbying groups at this juncture," Sri Lankan Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam told The Associated Press yesterday. 

Vinoda Basnayake of Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough LLP said soon after the election, the embassy informed his company that its USD 35,000 monthly contract was not being extended. 

Nelson Mullins was one of several groups hired to serve Sajin De Vass Gunawardena, a lawmaker who had advised Rajapaksa on foreign affairs. Basnayake said its fees for the last quarter had been paid in advance. 

But Connie Mack, executive vice-president of Levick Strategic Communications LLC, said its client, Sri Lanka's central bank whose chief has been replaced by the new government was three months or USD 180,000 in arrears on payments for the contract it terminated January 28. 

Mack said he planned to meet with the Sri Lankan ambassador soon to discuss the issue.

US company says Rajapaksa government owed money

Saturday, 21 February 2015 

Connie Mack, executive vice-president of Levick Strategic Communications LLC, has reportedly said its client, Sri Lanka’s central bank — whose chief has been replaced by the new government — was three months or $180,000 in arrears on payments for the contract it terminated January 28.

Mack has said he planned to meet with the Sri Lankan ambassador soon to discuss the issue.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the US, Prasad Kariyawasam has said Sri Lanka has terminated lobbying contracts worth tens of thousands of dollars a month that the previous government had signed to help it win friends in Washington amid war crimes allegations.

An Associated Press report stated that investment in lobbyists to foster political and economic ties had gathered steam last summer, in the dying months of the administration of then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, but with little apparent benefit, as Sri Lanka’s international isolation deepened over its refusal to credibly probe civilian deaths during the civil war that ended 2009.

Justice Department online records show Sri Lanka signed eight contracts with such groups from 2014, with monthly fees ranging from $5,000 to $75,000.

“The new government does not see a reason or requirement to have lobbying groups at this juncture,” Sri Lankan Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam has said. “To my knowledge, all those contracts have been terminated since the election of the new government.”

Vinoda Basnayake of Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough LLP has said soon after the election, the embassy informed his company that its $35,000 monthly contract was not being extended. Nelson Mullins was one of several groups hired to serve Sajin De Vass Gunawardena, a lawmaker who had advised Rajapaksa on foreign affairs. Basnayake said its fees for the last quarter had been paid in advance.

What Was Rising Mr. Jayatilleka?

By Shyamon Jayasinghe –February 21, 2015 

Shyamon Jayasinghe

I am still wondering what exactly was rising for Dayan Jayatilleka (DJ) to write about on Colombo Telegraph. DJ begins by citing lyrics from a song sung by the Catholic American singer Bruce Springstream. The song, ‘The Rising,’ is well-known but Bruce sang it in the context of the September 11 attacks by Islamic fundamentalists. It sent the message that the civilized world should not surrender at such horrible assaults. What on earth has this got to do in the current Sri Lanka context? Who attacked whom? Who surrenders to whom?

A presidential election was fought and Mahinda Rajapaksa’s(MR) opponent won it clearly. Despite MR’s blatant and ugly abuse of state resources and all the intimidation; despite the total absence of billboards and posters for Maitri; despite the favourable channeling of media, the humble farmer’s son cleared the line and occupied the position without fuzz. Maitripala Sirisena appointed his cabinet from among elected members of Parliament. The new Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremasinghe, had himself been elected by a massive majority in his electoral district. They were all elected from among the people. May be on an earlier occasion, but that is no issue. If the government does not hold the confidence of Parliament a vote of no-confidence can be brought and the PM and cabinet can be sent home. Beauty isn’t it Mr Jayatilleka?

Upon setting up office, the new government, strictly according to mandate obtained during the Presidential elections, went about professionally to give effect to its 100-day program that would in effect restore our democratic institutions and checks and balances against executive abuse of power. This means our people get protected from being robbed and otherwise abused by the ruling family and a set of creepy Parliamentarians. That was the ten-year-old drama Sri Lankans had witnessed.

Hence, pray tell us what this rising is about. Why do the crowds have to cry along with that bundle of contradictions,Vasudeva, “we will not surrender!” Surrender to whom? The song of Bruce had meaning in its context. The US was delivered a devastating blow by lunatic Islamic fundamentalists and Bruce sent the message of inspiration to Americans ‘never to surrender.’ On the other hand, what is the rising DJ experienced at Nugegoda? Unless, of course, he refers to some rising within his limbs.

DJ is in raptures about the crowds. However, we saw during elections how capable the Rajapaksa regime was in bringing in crowds for meetings. MR was never able to run his government professionally but credit goes to him for the way he ran his meetings. MR carried mobile audiences with him in a load of buses. The audiences were trained. Those in the front row must have a baby to produce. They must have flags and banners to raise and they must do some gimmicks. Women must be on the sides along the path. The messiah arrives and they must stretch out their hands trying deliriously to catch the divine apparition. In one meeting that I saw at Ratmalana, I spotted at least 20 buses from areas as far as Aivissawela, Gampaha etc. TV audiences are impressed! If Dayan was watching he would have teared without glicerine. However, we know what the result had been.

Likewise at Nugegoda. DJ, describing the Nugegoda scene DJ writes, ”The most emblematic scene-a a young man atop a billboard waving a flag and MR’s portrait into the eye of a drone camera”. DJ who masquerading as a political analyst writes about events in other lands should have known that these scenes are prearranged and doctored. This kind of mobilization is typically fascist and it all began with Herr Hitler. Like a school kid, DJ is simply carried away at this sight.

DJ, in his piece, becomes like Vasudeva. He displays a similar maverick behavior by making statements that don’t simply carry. He says the people did not want an unelected government. We have answered that. He says in critical tone that “the Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera, pledged to the UN Human rights Commission to work on developing a domestic mechanism on accountability.” So what’s wrong? This is what the UN wanted Sri Lanka to do from the inception of this episode and MR ‘s government would have saved a lot of heat and sweat had they done that. Instead, MR prevaricated and prolonged until this whole thing got compounded into a huge issue. Then, at that point, MR surrenders by setting up a domestic enquiry. If it was right for MR to do why wrong for Mangala to do? Again, DJ defends a ‘deep Sinhala nationality’ but qualifies by saying that such a nationalism will not be anti- Mulsim or anti-Tamil. Can you beat that?

Oh! This man is hopeless; is dishonest and is self-serving. Mind you, this gentleman some years ago became part of the cabinet of the NPC run by the EPRLF!

There is no country like Sri Lanka!

The Nugegoda rally and the government’s midlife crisis

by Rajan Philips-February 21, 2015

The government’s 100-day plan is nearing its halfway mark. The record so far is somewhat mixed. The big concern is whether all the constitutional and legislative changes proposed in the plan can be implemented within the remaining 55 days and certainly before the meaningless April 23 deadline for dissolving parliament. More than anybody else, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is insistent on sticking to the dissolution deadline with the expectation of forming an all-party national government after the elections in June. 

The Nugegoda Rally and the Government’s Midlife Crisis by Thavam Ratna

‘Nugegoda Rising’ – A Revanchist Rock Concert

By Sarath de Alwis -February 21, 2015

Sarath De Alwis

Forty days after the dismantling of the family politburo Mahinda Rajapaksahas demonstrated that his orgburo is well oiled and running.

With absolute fascination this writer watched a microcosm of Sinhala society hailing the event as a turning point.

‘I am beaten but not defeated.   I shall not decline the outstretched hands of affection of my compatriots. What the country was experiencing was not a defeat but the consequences of a conspiracy.’

The trenchant proclamation by the former President confirms that he has an enormous war chest. He has the machinery in place to manage dozens and more such risings. The drone cameras captured the images of spirited youth, both male and female with well coiffured hair styles dressed in Paradise road attire waving  posters of the Mustachioed Macho Patriot Supremo.

His expressed consent to return and the simultaneous call for mobilization was a mercurial synthesis of a thesis and an antithesis. The master of ceremonies at the Nugegoda concert was at pains to repeat over and over that the wildly cheering crowds were genuine concerned citizens who represented the 58 lakhs or 58 % of the Sinhala majority.

It was an efficiently executed logistical enterprise that sent out a significant political message to the reformers relaxing in graceless and graceful indolence.

Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka in his new discipline of Spin Science outperformed Marlon Brando’s Mark Antony. In a subsequent commentary he accurately and appropriately quoted the lyrics of Bruce Springsteen ‘Come on up for the rising, lay your hands in mine’ in conveying the spirit and purpose of the Nugegoda Rock Concert.

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My brother may have stolen, but he’s not a thief, Arjuna tells PM

 Saturday, 21 February 2015
Port, shipping  and aviation minister Arjuna Ranatunga accompanied his younger brother Nishantha Ranatunga to meet prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on 19 in order to pave the way for him to contest at the upcoming election for Sri Lanka Cricket, say sources at the prime minister’s office.

Before the presidential election, Arjuna quoted COPE reports, raised a big voice regarding corruption and fraud that had taken place at SLC, and said the corrupt, even if a member of his own family, should be punished. After without directly mentioning his brother’s name there, Arjuna is now intoxicated by brotherly love, forgotten all what he had said and is attempting to protect his corrupt brother, say government sources.

Meeting the premier with his brother, Arjuna has reproached the media, especially websites, by saying, “These mud websites are the ones who have made my younger brother a thief. My brother might have taken without telling, but he was never a thief (taking without telling is thievery). I do not admit the allegation that my brother is a thief. I will not reject it either” in a Sannasgala-type answer.

Recently, JVP’s Wasantha Samarasinghe lodged a detailed complaint against Nishantha at the Bribery Commission. As an investigation was to be held, Arjuna’s attempt to protect his brother has come in for strong criticism by those who love cricket.

Our sources say a group of cricket lovers is to complain to the  CID early next week against Nishantha for his having handed over property worth Rs. 06 million owned by SLC to CSN, while being the SLC secretary and the CEO of CSN.

Sri Lanka: A Rs 10M CHOGM dinner

21/02/2015 

Rs 1,177,434,333 was spent, by the Ministry of Mass Media and Information, on publicity and media coverage, in relation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2013. This was revealed in Parliament yesterday.

It was also revealed that a colossal sum of Rs 10 million was spent on a dinner for journalists.

Accordingly, the funds, allocated through Treasury grants, were spent under nine categories, which were; for the construction and maintenance of the Media Centre, publicity programmes in electronic media, public awareness programmes, purchase of office equipment, creation of the official logo and newspaper advertisements, entertainment of local and foreign journalists, including dinners, allowances for the officers of the CHOGM Project Office, allowances for officers and other expenses.

Parliament was made privy to this information when Minister of Mass Media and Information, Gayantha Karunatilaka responded to a question posed by Democratic National Alliance Parliamentarian, Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Subsequently, a breakdown of the expenditures incurred by the ministry shows that Rs 828,327,661 was spent on the construction and maintenance of the media centre while Rs 180,547,649 was spent on public awareness programmes.
MP Dissanayake asked why Sri Lanka, a country that was so small had to spend over a billion rupees for the event.

“Why did the government spend so much money when we are just a tiny island? Can such a staggering expenditure, on a single event, be justified? The former government has spent over Rs 180 million on publicity through electronic media for CHOGM. Did they think Sri Lanka was as big as Europe?”
Minister Karunatilaka responded saying that such expenditures could in no way be justified.
The breakdown of monies spent further describes that Rs 10,022,905 was spent on entertainment of local and foreign journalists including dinners while only Rs 4,551,707 was spent on the purchase of office equipment.

MP Dissanayake, at this point, demanded to know what the menu was for a dinner that cost over Rs 10 million in a single night.
“Did they serve Rs 5,000 notes for that dinner? How can Rs 10 million be spent on a dinner for one single night? I would like to know what was on the menu for this dinner that cost the people so much.”

Minister Karunatilaka responded saying that he was not aware of the menu, but that it was evident that even a child could understand that such an expense was not justifiable.

“The people decided that the actions of the former regime could not be accepted, that’s why they voted against Mahinda Rajapaksa and his regime on 8 January and brought in a government of good governance,” Karunatilake said.

During this exchange of words, Minister of Health and Indigenous Medicine, Rajitha Senaratne rose to his feet and said that every citizen of Sri Lanka had paid Rs 550 to cover the costs incurred

Anura Senanayake suddenly became a philanthropist from his CD earnings or Wele Sudha heroin deals ?

(Lanka-e-News -21.Feb.2015, 9.30PM) The senior DIG , Colombo Anura Senanayake had donated a sum of Rs. 10  million to the police Seva Vanitha unit to be used for construction of houses for the police officers , a police notification reveals. This money according to Senanayake  is supposedly part  of the proceeds of the sale of his ‘Maage Kirilli’ song CD cassettes and via his  holding a concert .

It is a well and widely known disgusting  fact that Senanayake served most faithfully as a lickspittle and lackey of the ex Rajapakse regime , sometimes stooping to even worse  tasks including being a spittoon and lavatory coolie of the Rajapakses – all for selfish  self seeking goals allegedly to cover the accusations that were being mounted against him of complicity in heroin deals. He also holds the putrid record of being the only police officer who was given extension twice in service by the equally sordid Rajapakse regime who found in him the ideal partner for their own ruthless crooked and criminal activities to the detriment of the country wholesale.

The whole police department is aware that Senanayake while  wearing the police uniform behaved worse than a  stray dog searching for discarded  bones by the wayside  to ingratiate himself into the favor of brutal  Rajapakses . He was also all along tainted with accusations of aiding and abetting drug peddlers , extorting massive sums of monies from Colombo businessmen and many other illicit activities , thereby amassing colossal sums of monies illegally.

The police department also knows his CD cassettes were forcibly sold to the  low rung officers of the police  , whereby  they were hit below their belts by deducting the payments for the CD cassettes from    their paltry ‘batta’  earnings .

Knowing very well his background and his illicit earnings , it is the general consensus among all, this donation of Rs. 10 million cannot be monies earned out of washing the loin cloths of Rajapakses or cleaning their toilets , because Rajapakses would never pay so much to a worker who does cleaning and washing for them , because they have enough and more such coolies at their beck and call  even to sniff their stinking loin cloths.

It is also  certain  that Senanayake could not have earned rupees ten million  from the sales of CD cassettes and from a single concert , because much more popular professional artistes than Senanayake in this country do not earn so much via sale of their cassettes , and their earnings are sufficient only to maintain   an ordinary average  life . On the other hand if our local artistes can earn so much as Senanayake  claims from  singing alone ,   the local artistes must be living in the lap of luxury ,  but  they are not.

Senanayake ,apart from this disbursement had also given Rs. 100,000.00 to popular singer Namal Udugama who is now  sick.

Let us assume Senanayake earned this impossible Rs. 5 million from his concert. (earning such a huge sum from a single concert is a matter for the CID to probe). Then how about the balance Rs.. 5.1 million ? ( including one hundred thousand given to Namal). If there are no other expenses involved in the production of the CD  and  there are no other profits via other means , and a CD cassette is priced at Rs. 500.00 each ( the maximum price of a CD cassette with songs of a popular singer is Rs. 500.00 each), 51000 such CDs can be sold. In the event Senanayake has sold  as many as 51000 cassettes with one  song collection  , we would be hearing his songs all the time at all the   places we go . But that is not the factual situation. Besides so many CD cassettes  are not produced with just one  collection of songs. 

When this is the  true picture in regard to the earnings from  holding public concerts and CD sales of artistes  in Sri Lanka (SL) ,it is nothing but fair in the best interests of the country , for the  police department for sake of good governance to investigate from where such a large sum of money was earned by this DIG who is paid a monthly salary  out of public funds .

Recently when the names were disclosed by Wele Sudha regarding his heroin transactions , Mahinda Balasuriya , an ex IGP, who later became a SL foreign envoy , and subsequently  the secretary to the ministry of public law and order , who fled the country , and Anura Senanayake the newly turned ‘philanthropist’ were among them .

Over 20  statements have been recorded of Wele Sudha  , the notorious international drug dealer . In his preliminary three statements these two top rung police officers had been implicated. Police media spokesman too told a press conference ,high rung police officers’ names  have been disclosed by Wele Sudha. However no details of the names or their involvements are being  talked about now. 

It is a crucial question ,is this 10 million donated  by Anura Senanayake to the police truly Maage kirilli  proceeds or Wele Sudha’s heroin monies?

This  ten million is only what was paid over the counter. There  may be  many more millions paid under the counter as extortion monies and kickbacks to many others by Senanayake , in order to clear his name from the grave heroin incriminations staring in his face , and to show to  the world  he is a new ‘philanthropist’ and not a heroin Kingpin’s  old accomplice . In any case let us remind all these scoundrels ruining the country and its future unconscientiously that the public are now alert and widely awake

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by     (2015-02-21 17:48:58)

SLT / CEO stooge of MARA in safe hands plans to visit Barcelona.

Saturday, 21 February 2015 

Lalith De Silva CEO of SLT was appointed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksha to SLT violating rule of Law in this country .He was kicked out from Mobitel CEO position in year 2004 which he claimed compensation. A man who claimed compensations is been appointed to the parent company SLTof Mobitel by the MARA regime is a deliberate violation of rule of law.

However he is so fortunate to remain in safe hands under Yaha Palanaya by wearing number of talisman on his chest.The Chairman Mr. P.G. Kumarasingha (brother of the president Maithripala) is in a rampage in protecting the CEO against all misconducts he committed towards the victory of Mahinda Rajapaksha. He blatantly defenses and vintage the complicity killer opponent of his own brother who shared the same placenta & cord in the womb of one mother. Lalith has been able to mesmerized the chairman by offering a brand new Monetro along with a resident from Jaick Hilton tower. This kind of bribes has change the mind of the chairman to speak in favor of the CEO at any moment as a result of the talisman happen to be working properly against all wrong doings. As a matter of fact the Chairman has completely forgotten the death consequence his brother would have faced if MARA in chance won election.

In view of this intimacy both the Chairman and CEO join hands to leave for the Barcelona Mobile conference which is scheduled in March 3-5 Year 2015.

However a board meeting is scheduled on the 27th February in SLT with drastic changes speculated to be in agenda. This board meeting coincides with the day of departure of the duo to Barcelona. Hope that the Board Directors would hold the meeting as scheduled since employee are eager to see that the much learned board directors’ including maxis directors would take vital decisions to salvage SLT from the clutches of MARA stooges & cronies.

This meeting would be a huge tug of war as the chairman would throw all triumphs to defend the CEO position on the effect of talismans wore new buddy the brothers’ attempted killer in complicity. Nevertheless the decision speculated to be taken at the Director Board meeting would open a new era for SLT in this contemporary society by defeating all effects of the talismans as they looks caught by the evil spirit in debilitating its divine power.

Is Sri Lanka a Fragile State?

The question for Sri Lanka’s new government is whether Sri Lankans are a bunch of fragilistas who default to thinking that what they do not  see is not there, or what they do not  understand does not exist.  Are they predictable? Do they mistake the unknown for the non-existent?

by Ruwantissa Abeyratne

( February 20, 2015, Montreal, Sri Lanka Guardian)  One hopes not, and  there’s a way to find out.

In an article entitled The Calm Before the Storm published in Foreign Affairs(January/February 2015) authors Nassim Nicholas Taleb and Gregory F. Treverton  give five characteristics that could determine whether a country is fragile or not.  In other words, can a sudden, unexpected circumstance upset and weaken a country to the point of chaos and helplessness.  For starters, the authors cite the diametrically opposed  situations of Lebanon and Syria.  The former looked unstable in the 1970s and 1980s with a raging civil war which culminated with  assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005, whereas Syria looked positively stable in spite of an Arab Spring elsewhere in 2011.  President Hafez Assad had ruled for three decades, followed by his son Bashar for a decade.  It appeared as though nothing could shake the Syrian regime.

In a few years, this all changed and Syria is now in ruins whereas Lebanon weathered the storm and came out stable.  The death rate from violence in 2013 in Lebanon was less than that of Washington DC whereas in Syria 100,000  died in the civil war the same year.  The fundamental reason for this turnaround is ascribed to Syria showing only superficial stability whereas Lebanon had weathered many storms before and had become antifragileand robust.  The main reason was : ” Lebanon’s chaos paradoxically signalled strength.  Fifteen years of civil war had served to decentralize the State to bring about a more balanced sectarian power -sharing structure”.  On the other hand Syria’s ruling Baath Party was a top down rigid political structure.  On this basis,  any country which has no diversified interests or a fall back response to a crisis would not sustain itself through an unexpected catastrophe – political, social  or economic – would perish.

Examples given by the authors are China, and Saudi Arabia as fragile States where the former is run by ten powerful persons and has a rigid centralized structure of governance.  There is no multi party political structure.  Saudi Arabia depends entirely on its oil revenues under a monarchical system and that is the only system they know.  Another example is Egypt, which was stable on the outside but had hidden fragility that caved in On the other hand Italy, which has an unpredictable political approach is stable, as well as is Switzerland.

Whether a State is fragile or not is not for history to presuppose but for its underlying structure to determine.  The first symptom of fragility is centralization.  A government which concentrates all its control and governance on a central system would have a weak structure that is incapable of handling disorder. The second marker is the danger posed by bringing ethnic groups together in one system.  The authors cite  scholar  Yaneer Bar-Yam who says that  States having well defined boundaries separating various ethnic groups experience less violence than those that attempt to integrate them.  in other words : ” people are better next door neighbours than roommates”.  Another dangerous characteristic of a fragile State is an undiversified economy where the dependence on one economic resource only would collapse a State should this resource dry up.  An example is tourism as the sole income generator.  This, coupled with the fourth feature – indebtedness – would be disastrous.  The final threat to a fragile State is the lack of experience in surviving shocks. States that experience worse case scenarios tend to develop thick hides that  make them tough and resilient.

In a televised interview some time ago  Taleb gave an appropriate example of fragility using two persons.  Imagine two brothers in London – one  a taxi driver and another an investment banker.  If both lose their demand for  employment in London, the taxi driver could always go to Manchester and continue driving taxis  whereas the investment banker  would find it much more difficult to “fit in” elsewhere.  It is taxi driver’s fragility that a State must have, a good example being Dubai which a few years ago had to be bailed out by Abu Dhabi when it had dumped substantial assets in the real estate market which collapsed.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the bestselling  author of The Black Swan,  in his book Antifragilestates that any system which depends on predictability  and presumption is fragile and that“some things benefit from shocks and they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder and stressors”.   According to Taleb black swans (which as we all know are a rarity) are large-scale  unpredictable and irregular events  which can either devastate those that are  fragile and  dependent on a certain rigid stability, or energize risk takers and flexible persons into action.  Antifragility is associated with risk taking and anticipating the unthinkable.

At an interview with CNN in early 2013, Taleb gave the example of Egypt, which caved in under an uprising because they had depended on the only thing they knew – a dictatorship – and were so fragile as to disintegrate into chaos after the fall of the dictator.  Another example cited was China, with an administration of appointed persons where there is  no backup system if the administrative system it solely depends on, somehow fails.  On the other hand he cites Switzerland as antifragile  and survivalist, should political change happen there.

He calls those who comprise a fragile society Fragilistas: ” The fragilista belongs to that category of persons who are in suit and tie, often on Fridays; he faces your jokes with icy solemnity, and tends to develop back problems early in life from sitting at a desk, riding airplanes, and studying newspapers.  He is often involved in a strange ritual, something commonly called “a meeting”.   Now, in addition to these traits, he defaults to thinking that what he doesn’t see is not there, or what he does not understand does not exist.  At the core, he tends to mistake the unknown for the non-existent”.  Taleb introduces the term “epiphenomena”  which is a causal illusion that attributes qualities to a concept, object or person which\who gives the illusion that it\he is responsible for a particular effect.  An example cited is a compass on the bridge of a ship which would give the illusion that it is actually guiding or directing the ship, whereas in reality it is merely reflecting the direction of the ship.

All these arguments resonate a certain gravitas and inexorable credibility. In this context, the question for Sri Lanka’s new government is whether Sri Lankans are a bunch of fragilistas who default to thinking that what they do not  see is not there, or what they do not  understand does not exist.  Are they predictable? Do they mistake the unknown for the non-existent?  Are the people  under the illusion of an epiphenomenon where they  presume that their leaders will effortlessly lead them  through difficult times, when they act as a mere compass that gives the people that causal illusion?  Should the government mesh religious and ethnic groups into one composite society and expect harmony and prosperity? Should they  diversify the Sri Lankan economy to the extent possible?  Should they centralize or de centralize governance?

Some food for thought for the Sirisena-Wickremasinghe government.