Unabated structural genocide in East reminds Tamils of Dudley's betrayal in 1965

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 April 2015, 19:51 GMT]
Resettled Tamils in Paddith-thidal village in Moothoor divion in Trincomalee, recently made a fresh attempt to engage in agriculture in their lands after the ‘new’ regime came to power in Colombo. However, the latest effort, made with the assistance of the ‘Legal Aid Commission’ has also proved futile, says Velayutham Velmaran, the chairman of Paddith-thidal Sri Vinayaga Agricultural Society in an interview to TamilNet on Monday. A Sinhala-Buddhist extremist monk from Samagipura, which is situated in the bordering Seruwila DS division, has been blocking the resettled Eezham Tamil landowners for several years from engaging in agriculture in their land. The Sinhala colonisers from Seruwila have seized around 1,500 acres of the agricultural lands of Eezham Tamils in the villages of Kangku-veali, Padukaadu and Muthalai-madu , Mr Velmaran said. 



Tamil activists who represent the poverty-stricken resettled Tamil farmers in Moothoor division say that the current state of affairs in the East, particularly the plight of uprooted Tamils from Champoor, reminds the nation of Eezham Tamils of the times of mid-60's when the so-called National Government of Dudley Senanayake betrayed the Tamils. 

It was a Buddhist monk from Serunuwara, who protested a move by the collaborating ITAK parliamentarian Mr Thiruchelvam, who was trying to declare the site of Trincomalee Temple a protected zone. The protest spearheaded by the mighty monk resulted in Mr Dudley Senanayake dissolving the committee appointed by Mr Thiruchelvam. As a result, Mr Chelvanayakam was forced to leave the ‘National Government’. Mr Senanayke had already ditched the Dudley - Chelva Pact. 

Similarly, Buddhist priest Mahinagamage Premaratne from the same Seruwila division has now taken the extremist cause against Eezham Tamils into his hands. Armed Sinhala home guards assisted by the occupying Sinhala military and the civil officials under the control of the Colombo government are assisting the Sinhala colonisation of the lands of Tamils in Moothoor, complain the representatives of Tamil farmers in Moothoor division. 

The affected Tamil families, who are dependent on the lands for their livelihood, were forced to stage a protest in front of the Divisional Secretariat of Moothoor last week. After the protesting Tamil farmers confronted Ven. Mahinagamage Premaratne, the Buddhist chief priest (Viharadhipathi) from Samagipura, the DS intervened to contain the situation.

The issue has been going on for several years now. Farmers from the Tamil villages of Paddith-thidal, Ma'nat-cheanai, Periya-ve'li, Mallikaith-theevu, Kangku-veali, Meankaamam, Ki'li-veddi, Paarathi-puram, Munnampodi-veddai, and Paalaththadich-cheanai were doing cultivation in these lands since 1956. They were issued with ‘temporary’ land permits in 1972. These Tamil villagers were having 3-4 acres of lands per family in Padu-kaadu and Muthalai-madu. Only one Sinhala farmer from Neelap-pola owned 10 acres of cultivation lands at Padukaadu and 30 acres of lands belonged to Tamil-speaking Muslims from Moothoor, Velmaran said. 

The Sinhala settlers seized these lands following anti-Tamil pogroms in 1985. However, Tamil farmers were able to access these lands for rice cultivation during the presence of IPKF in 1987-1990 and during the Norwegian mediated peace process in 2002-2006 despite the prevailing threats by the Sinhala settlers. 

But, after 2009, violent Sinhala ‘home guards’ from Seruwila confronted Tamil villagers who attempted to access their lands. The SL military, SL police and the chief monk from Samagipura have been backing the encroachers. 

Mahinagamage Sumanasiri, a brother of the above mentioned monk and four members of his family were also among the encroachers of the lands at Padu-kaadu, Mr Velmaran said adding that Tamils have only managed to access 197 acres of their lost lands. 

Two years ago, six Tamil farmers were admitted to hospital after being assaulted by the Sinhala settlers on 28 November 2013, when they attempted to engage in agriculture. 

Since the new regime was talking about good-governance, the Tamil farmers, who were deprived from accessing their lands, made a fresh attempt with the officials belonging to ‘Legal Aid Commission’ on 25 March. With the assistance of the officials from the LAC, the Tamil farmers lodged a compliant with Moothoor police before proceeding to their agricultural lands. 

Within two days, armed Sinhala goons have started to threaten the Tamil farmers. The SL police from Seruwila ‘intervened’ to instruct the Tamil farmers to come to their police station on 02 April. 

When the Tamil farmers went to the police station as instructed, the police officers there told them to approach Seruwila Divisional Secretariat to resolve the ‘dispute’. 

The officials at Seruwila DS were telling the Tamil farmers that they could not do anything as the lands in question came under the domain of Moothoor DS division. 

Finally, the Tamil farmers chose to protest in front of the Moothoor DS after informing the LAC officials. As they saw the Buddhist monk coming to the DS office, they staged a protest blocking the entrance of the Moothoor DS office. 

As soon as the new regime came to power in Colombo, a section of uprooted Tamils from Champoor attempted to enter their lands. But, the SL military and police chased them away while the TNA was ‘politely’ requesting them to be patient and give time to the new regime. 

Now, 100-days have passed. Nothing has happened since the last assurance made by the new regime that it would resettle Champoor Tamils before 30th April, Mr Velmaran told TamilNet. 

“It is the plight of Champoor Tamils that hurts us most,” Mr Velmaran said adding that the uprooted Tamils from Champoor who are now residing in the so-called welfare camps at Ki'liveddi and at Paddith-thidal, were earlier living with all facilities doing agriculture in their own lands. It is a pity to see them languish in the mud during the rainy season, Mr Velmaran said. 

“The new regime's promise to resettle Champoor Tamils has gone with the wind,” Velmaran further said. 

There was no Seruwila electorate in Trincomalee district when the island gained ‘independence’ in 1948. Seruwila electorate in the Trincomalee district was carved out in 1970 after the state aided Sinhala colonization scheme carried out by the United National Party government.

‘Sri Lanka Goebbeled’- My Article That Never Got Published!

By Sharmini Serasinghe -April 28, 2015

Sharmini Serasinghe

The following piece was written by me in 2007. This was a time, when the media in Sri Lanka was terrorized to such an extent, that Journalists and Writers needed to be armed with cold courage, to function.

All those Editors I sent the following piece to, who never said “No” to any of my articles before and after, refused to publish it in their newspapers, and one warned, “No way Sharmini, this will get us both killed!”

Senior journalist Keith Noyahr, who was then the Associate Editor and Defence Correspondent of ‘The Nation on Sunday’ newspaper, was not yet abducted and beaten up to near pulp, for daring to be critical of the then government, and military high command.

My good friend and former colleague Lasantha Wickrematunge was still alive, and so were the others who went missing in ‘White Vans’ and never seen again.

Uvindu Kurukulasuriya had not yet fled the country for his life, so Colombo Telegraph was not yet born.

‘Lest we Forget’ that was how the media functioned in Sri Lanka, not too long ago!

Now that the dark clouds of fear and terror have been lifted, here is my piece ‘Sri Lanka Goebbeled’ that never was published, up until now……..

Sri Lanka Goebbeled

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” – Joseph Goebbels.

Does this statement made by the despicable Nazi of the Third Reich Goebbels almost seventy years ago ring a bell? Yes it does, because that’s precisely what is happening in Sri Lanka in this very moment in time. We have Goebbels reincarnated under our noses!                            Read More

வெள்ளை வான் கடத்தல்களுடன் உயர் பாதுகாப்பு அதிகாரிகள் மூவருக்கு தொடர்பு 

28 ஏப்ரல் 2015, செவ்வாய் 2:30 பி.ப

கடந்த அரசின் காலக்கட்டத்தில் ஊடகவியலாளர்கள், அரசியல் வாதிகள், சிவில் அமைப்புகளின் செயற்பாட்டாளர்கள் உள்ளிட்டோரை கடத்திச்சென்று காணாமல் போனோர் குறித்து வெள்ளை வான் நடவடிக்கைகளில் பாதுகாப்பு பிரிவைச்சேர்ந்த முக்கியஸ்தர்கள் மூவர் தொடர்புபட்டுள்ளதாக தகவல்கள் வெளியாகியுள்ளன.

 

இவர்கள் தொடர்பிலான இரகசிய அறிக்கைகள் இரண்டு,  அடுத்த வாரம் நடைபெறவிருக்கின்ற பாதுகாப்பு சபையில் முன்வைப்பதற்கு திட்டமிடப்பட்டுள்ளதாகவும் அந்த தகவல்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன.

 

ஜனாதிபதி, பிரதமர், முப்படைகளின் தளபதிகள், பொலிஸ் மா அதிபர், பாதுகாப்பு அமைச்சின் செயலாளர் மற்றும் பாதுகாப்பு படைகளின் முக்கியஸ்தர்கள் இந்த பாதுகாப்பு சபையில் பங்கேற்பர்.

 

வெள்ளை வான் நடவடிக்கை தொடர்பில் குற்றச்சாட்டுகள் முன்வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள பாதுகாப்பு படைகளின் முக்கியஸ்தர்கள் மூவரில்  இருவர் ஓய்வு பெற்றுவிட்டதாகவும் அவர்கள் தொடர்பிலும் அவர்களின் செயற்பாடுகள் குறித்தும் தனியான இரகசிய அறிக்கை தயாரிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

 

அத்துடன், தற்போது சேவையில் இருக்கின்ற மேஜர் தரத்தைச்சேர்ந்த அதிகாரி தொடர்பில் தனியான அறிக்கை தயாரிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. 

 

இந்த இரகசிய அறிக்கைகள் இரண்டும் ஜனாதிபதி மற்றும் பிரதமரிடம் கையளிக்கப்படவிருப்பதாக மக்கள் சமாதானம் அமைச்சு அறிவித்துள்ளது.

Cinderella ………. , Taraki and a lustful night!

Tuesday, 28 April 2015

You wore a white shirt with brown line

We drank pints of larger and she drank lots of wine

Smoking “Romeo Juliets”, lost track of time

Lover of life, you always shine

She said good bye, you said why not stay

“You are flying away at dawn!” she kissed and shuffled away

Another bird flown, no glass slipper or moan

Despair was not for liberation, nor about the motherland that was torn

In that checked shirt, you talked about lovers

Ones that were Lost and found; but no more ours

Lust, wine, music and political powers

War, genocide also the Death threats that hovers

Ten years ago, on that starry night

Hugging me under the street light

That shirt flapped in the wind with your wide eyed smile

“Mach(j)anng! See you soon!!” you held my hand a little while

Saw you again, on a screen

I sobbed whole day did not scream

Bound gaged and murdered in a ditch

Is it democracy or terrorism? Do not know which is which

You wore the same white shirt with brown line

Do not want to say “farewell!”, I know you  are fine

I want to know why you wore that same shirt

I did not want it stained with blood and dirt

Ten years had lapsed since you left me in a mist

My only honour was to be in the same death list

Sooner or later we will meet in a bar along the way

Do not wear that shirt again, a stain of wine will stay

In memory of my last drink with my friend Taraki - Dharmalingam Sivaram (1959 – 2005)  few days before he was  brutally murdered .

- By Priyath Liyanage 

p.s. Taraki Sivaram or Dharmeratnam Sivaram (11 August 1959 – 28 April 2005) was a popular Tamil journalist of Sri Lanka. He was kidnapped by four men in a white van on 28 April 2005, in front of the Bambalapitya police station. His body was found the next day 29th of April, near the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He had been beaten and shot in the head. 

Mangala calls for new Constitution to help resolve the ethnic conflict

April 29, 2015 

Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday called for a new constitution to help resolve the ethnic conflict.
This call was made during his speech at the debate on the 19th Amendment in Parliament yesterday.
Following is the full text of Samaraweera’s speech.
Mr. Speaker, I hope that good sense will prevail and that today, the 28th of April 2015, will be a historic day for Sri Lanka. It should be remembered as the day which heralded the beginning of the end of the all powerful executive presidential system in our country. Since introducing the First Republican Constitution in 1972 we have journeyed from a Westminster form of government to an all-powerful Executive Presidency introduced by the Second Republican Constitution. However, both these Republican constitutions proved to be inadequate to meet the dreams and aspirations of all the communities, ethnic groups and religious groups living in our country.
Having suffered the consequences and realised our mistakes, we are gathered here today to make an important course correction.

Mangala Calls for New Constitution to Help Resolve the Ethnic Conflict by Thavam Ratna

SLFP slavish minions propose changes favoring executive presidency powers which create despots

(Lanka-e-News- 28.April.2015, 5.00PM) After seeking elections as a presidential candidate on the promise that the executive presidency will be abolished , and later on after election , while saying  the executive presidency shall only be curtailed , when this 19 th amendment which needed no further cures  was tabled in parliament surmounting tremendous  obstacles and odds , the slaves and scoundrels of Rajapakses have once again conspired to impede it . Lanka e news is therefore constrained to break a most disappointing  news to the people who are craving for a government of good governance.

SLFP Slavish Minions Propose Changes Favoring Executive Presidency Powers Which Create Despots by Thavam Ratna

19th Amendment passed with a vast majority

April 28, 2015
The 19th Amendment to the Constitution was passed with a vast majority in Parliament, a short while ago on Tuesday (28), with the government gaining 212 votes in favour. 

Upon the conclusion of the voting, President Maithripala Sirisena said that the approval of the 19th Amendment with a two-third majority was a historic victory of the public. He earlier expressed with the much awaited enactment of the new amendment, the people of Sri Lanka will experience the true meaning of ‘democracy and peace’.

The new legislation, which suggested the removal of the Executive Powers of the President, was passed with a majority of 212 votes and one against. 

Ten Parliamentarians including Keheliya Rambukwella, Premalal Jayasekara, Susantha Punchinilame, Jagath Balasuriya, Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Thera, Janaka Bandara, and Basil Rajapaksa were absent at the voting.

In the past few days, there were certain obstacles with regard to presenting of this 19th Amendment to Parliament. The 19th Amendment, which was a major aspect among the key targets to be achieved in the government’s 100-day pledge, had been stuck in a deadlock as the Opposition opposed to extend its support to pass the new legislation. 

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party expressed the 19th Amendment and the electoral reforms should come hand in hand.

However, President Sirisena later appealed to all political parties to assist in passing the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in order to firmly establishing freedom and democracy in the country.

SRI LANKA: Respect the People's Mandate: Adopt the 19th Amendment

An article from the Friday Forum forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission

April 27, 2015

The 1978 Constitution of our country has a passage in its Preamble which refers to the obligations of parliamentarians elected by the People. It says that "WE THE FREELY ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE OF SRI LANKA, in pursuance of the mandate, humbly acknowledging our obligations to our People and gratefully remembering their heroic and unremitting struggle to regain and preserve their rights and privileges so that the Dignity and Freedom of the Individual may be assured,...do hereby adopt and enact this Constitution". It is our duty as citizens today, and always, to ask whether and how far the actions and behaviour of the representatives of the People in Parliament fulfil those obligations.

The recent Presidential elections of 2015 gave President Sirisena a clear mandate to introduce Constitutional reforms that would dismantle or, at a minimum, dilute the powers of the Executive Presidency created by the current Constitution. The dismantling of the Executive Presidency had become an unfulfilled promise to the People given from 1994 by successive Presidents.

This mandate also clearly required an urgent response to corruption and abuse of power that had become rampant in an environment where the 18th Amendment had removed checks and balances to limit the wide presidential powers given by the Constitution.

The 19th Amendment that is before Parliament and the current procedures initiated in respect of grave allegations of corruption and abuse of power under the previous regime, represent the fulfilment of promises made to the People at the Presidential elections and cannot be delayed or set aside. It is therefore deeply disappointing that the interests of narrow party politics and what is seen as political advantages to particular political parties, now seem to obstruct the adoption of the 19th Amendment and the implementation of the anti-corruption drive.

The 19th Amendment may not be perfect. It has its limitations. Nevertheless it is a crucial step towards a system of governance that is democratic and respects the rights of the People. It has incorporated key provisions that have repealed the worst aspects of the 18th amendment. It has set limitations on the Presidential term of office, reintroduced the concept of independent Commissions such as the Human Rights, Public Service, Police and Elections Commissions and seeks to eliminate provisions that encourage the erosion of democracy and the rights of the People.

The 19th Amendment incorporates the right to information, an initiative that has been advocated for many years as essential to protect the public interest. We hope that this constitutional guarantee will be strengthened by the proposed Right to Information Act. Public responses and discussions held recently raised many concerns regarding an initial draft, and we hope they have been addressed in the Bill. It is unfortunate that the Bill is being presented as an urgent Bill as this has prevented further scrutiny before it is presented in Parliament. We understand that the Bill has been referred by the President to the Supreme Court and hope that this will provide an opportunity to address any limitations in the final Bill.

The 19^th Amendment has already been subject to review by the Supreme Court, which has expressed its views on its constitutionality. Any limitations or problems created by the 19th Amendment can in this same spirit, be debated in Parliament, with a view to improving the Amendment. Parliamentarians should use this opportunity to debate the Amendment and produce a good consensus document that conforms to the decision of the Supreme Court.

It is for these reasons that the Friday Forum calls upon all parliamentarians to support the President in his efforts to have the 19th Amendment enacted into law without delay. The public interest demands that political parties should not bargain for various terms and conditions in return for their support for the Bill. It is unthinkable that a responsible opposition can set conditions for support of an Amendment that is seeking to do what the People of this country have been demanding ever since the 1978 Constitution was adopted.

The demand that the 19th Amendment should accompany the proposed 20th amendment on electoral reforms reflects the narrow concerns of political parties in regard to what is most helpful in increasing their vote banks. Electoral reforms must address the realities of the People’s concerns and cannot be rushed through in hasty legislation. President Sirisena has stated in public that he will ensure that the next elections will be held only after electoral reforms, and we urge all parties to engage in this participatory process of electoral reform after passing the 19^th amendment.

The Friday Forum also urges Parliamentarians to rise above adversarial politics that obstruct our collective interest in eliminating the cancer of abuse of power and corruption. What democratic country in the world can tolerate the spectacle of members of Parliament engaging in a ‘sit in’ within the legislative assembly, demanding that senior politicians should not be summoned before the appropriate courts and tribunals investigating such allegations? Recent news reports referred to police prosecution of children for petty thefts. Can the average citizen avoid questioning or arrest by law enforcement authorities, or spend time in a national hospital when required to spend time in prison pending investigations? All citizens are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection under the law. Those who are entrusted by the people to make laws and whose duty it is to ensure the upholding of the rule of law cannot demand that any or some should be treated differently. Situations where members of Parliament obstruct the process of the law and violate court orders with impunity are simply not acceptable. The Friday Forum expects all political party leaders to strictly refrain from nominating persons who have engaged in such illegal acts for the forthcoming general election and calls upon the people to reject such candidates in the event that the party leaders fail to do so. 

The Friday Forum calls upon all our parliamentarians to act in the public interest and support the passage of the 19th Amendment and the anti- corruption drive. We call on all our fellow citizens, irrespective of political differences, to remind our parliamentarians that the constitution-making process has to be solely for the public good and not for championing of narrow political goals. The people’s representatives must not, and cannot, support any subversive agenda that is seeking to undermine or derail these critically important initiatives to regain the peoples’ rights. If they do so, history will surely judge them as having betrayed the nation and the people.

 

Prof. Savitri Goonesekere                                  Bishop Duleep de Chickera

on behalf of the Friday Forum

Prof. Savitri Goonesekere, Bishop Duleep de Chickera, Dr. Deepika Udagama, Mr Saliya Peiris, Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Dr. G. Usvatte-Aratchi, Dr. Upatissa Pethiyagoda, Prof. Camena GuneratneMs. Damaris Wickremesekera, Mr. Faiz-ur Rahman, Mr. Ahilan Kadirgamar, Mr. Danesh Casie Chetty,Mr. Tissa Jayatilaka, Mrs. Manouri Muttetuwegama, Ms. Suriya Wickremasinghe, Prof. Gameela Samarasinghe, Mr. Pulasthi Hewamanna, J. C. Weliamuna, Priyantha Gamage, Suresh de Mel, Ms. Shanthi Dias, Mr. Chandra Jayaratne, Mr. Anton Jeyanathan, Prof. Arjuna Aluwihare, Mr. Javid Yusuf, Ms. Selvy Thiruchandran, Dr. Ranjini Obeyesekere, Rev. Dr. Jayasiri Peiris, Mr. Ananda Galappatti, Dr. Devanesan Nesiah.

The Friday Forum is an informal group of concerned citizens pledged to uphold norms of democracy, good governance, the rule of law, human rights, media freedom and tolerance in our pluralist society.

A most auspicious moment is born..! opportunities don’t knock at your door twice – LeN urges MPs and its 1.7 million viewers to support 19 th amendment..!

(Lanka-e-News -27.April.2015, 11.30PM) 27 th of April 2015 , that is today is most crucial and momentous  to all Sri Lankans. The dictatorial trend that began in 1978 , that is 36 years ago which reached its devastating peak under the Medamulana bestial corrupt reign turning the clock back to the period of the  rule of the destructive Dinosaurs, exploiting the obnoxious  executive presidency powers is  going to be stamped out from the motherland.

Today , by this good riddance of the bad rubbish (GROBR), the people of Sri Lanka are going to heave a sigh of relief marking a watershed in SL ‘s history .

During this 36 years  period , though several presidents came to power , all of them after promising to abolish this abominable executive presidency did not honor their promises after taking over the reins, thereby duping the masses wholesale. Though a president (female) realized this executive presidency shall be abolished , the opposition at that time played false and obstructed it. Finally , the Medamulana regime brutes and beasts , devastated everything that is democratic , abusing the evil executive presidency powers so much so that , they acted  even in excess of  the brutal dictatorial rule turning the clock back to the rule of the Dinosaur beasts. Unfortunately the gullible masses who voted them into power did not understand that when they put the devil at the wheel , it can only drive them to hell.

In the end , the progressive forces and the people united to elect a promising president in the name of Maithripala Sirisena who can give protection like the God. Chasing a devil is not that easy , the Medamulana devil had therefore to be ‘exorcised’, by which time , the devil had successfully united all against him owing to  his egregious sins and evils which devastated the country on a scale unprecedented in SL ‘s history. The Maithripala advent on the scene   was a happening  without a precedent in the whole world. This was the first time in the world , the second in line to the  president of a government who is opposed to the government party  got  elected as the head of the country  on the opposition votes while being  opposed from within his own government party.

Unlike in the past , when the presidents dishonored their promises to the people  after coming into power , on this occasion  neither the president nor the opposition can dupe the masses. The present climate is such , the people who have learnt a lesson  from the past deceits of the presidents , should ensure similar deceptions are  not  permitted to be practiced on them again. Today is that crucial  day . That is , today is the day the salutary  19 th amendment to the constitution which opens  the doors wide  to the abolition of the executive presidency is being tabled in parliament.

Though the SLFP, UNP ,TNA , JVP and JHU agreed to support this amendment  when this amendment was to be tabled on the 20 th , the SLFP which has the majority in parliament obstructed it. Citing  flimsy irrelevant grounds , after staging a night protest in parliament , they signed a petition obnoxiously  following a ‘policy for corruption’ challenging the summoning of ex president Mahinda Rajapakse to the Anti bribery and corruption commission based on corruption charges. More than half the number of members of parliament , 116 of them signed that petition.

Under the  present climate , the  threat of  impeachment motion against the president too cannot be warded off , being faced with a challenge , because after   saying that a 2 /3 majority can be secured , that is 150 votes out of 225 votes in parliament, and the SLFP will support it , right now , the SLFP is split into two . One faction last Friday , brought forward a number of strange proposals as a  cure for a non existent ailment .

Meanwhile ,  Maithripala Sirisena met the Mahanayake of the Malwatte and Asgiriya chapters yesterday when some pressure was exerted on the SLFP members who are opposing the 19 th amendment. Today , the people of the country  for government of good governance are to stage a massive march demanding that the 19 th amendment be passed in parliament. Ven . Sobitha Thera too  who was most vocative in support of the 19 th amendment while extending his full blessings for  the 19th amendment  is to commence a satyagraha today.

We at Lanka e news earnestly request our 1.7 million permanent viewers , the people of the country and every parliamentarian not to allow this propitious opportunity that is at the doorstep to make   our motherland of birth a ‘new refreshing free world’ slip away , for opportunities don’t knock at the door twice.

Hence , it is for the MPs to  decide most cautiously and judiciously on their own, whether by resisting this amendment, are they  going to drag the motherland down into a dark abyss ? or are they  going to vote for it and ensure that the amendment is passed unhindered , so that our motherland will be freed from the dangers of autocracy, anarchy and despotism ?

By Sandaruwan Senadheera 
Chief editor – Lanka e news
Translated by Jeff

---------------------------
by     (2015-04-28 00:11:46)

Are The Chickens Coming Home To Roost…?

By Emil van der Poorten –April 28, 2015

Emil van der Poorten

To complete the title of this piece appropriately please complete it by adding “…or is this simply an aberration?”

The editor of the Sunday Island has displayed the kind of integrity that many who’ve known him over the years have attributed to that veteran journalist by carrying on the front page of his paper of April 25th the unequivocal apology tendered by one of Sri Lanka’s most reprehensible writers who has long paraded his skills in support of the most violent and corrupt government in the history of this land, supping very heartily at its trough.

I speak here of Malinda Seneviratne and the fact that he has tendered an unequivocal apology to a much-respected retired civil servant whom he accused, without an atom of supporting evidence by his own admission, of settling “estate Tamils” in areas subsequently deemed to be part of Eelam by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

For starters, I would suggest that Colombo Telegraph stops publishing the poorly disguised excuses for aSinhala Buddhist Sri Lanka that this man keeps producing from a mind that I would far rather not choose to describe. It was not so long ago that CT black-listed Vickramabahu Karunaratne for far less reprehensible conduct.

The old dictum applied to those plying the journalists’ profession used to be “Facts are sacred, comment is free.” I trust that CT has not consigned that cornerstone of journalism to the garbage heap of history thanks to the influence of the Malinda Seneviratnes of this world.

I expect that a side-bar at this point would not be out of place. Malinda Seneviratne’s father who, I understand served in the Civil Service at approximately the same time as did Dr. Devanesan Nesiah, has been only too ready to rush to his son’s defence on several previous occasions. Perhaps, he would care to comment on the conduct of this seed of his loins subsequent to the admission of deliberate falsehood published as news and/or comment? One can but wait with bated breath to see whether it is or is not true that the fruit does not fall far from the tree?

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President says he is willingly sacrificing his powers like no other leader in the world

By Saman Indrajith-April 27, 2015, 6:45 pm 

No other head of state in the world had been flexible and willing to give away executive powers the way he did, President Maithripala Sirisena told Parliament yesterday.

 Opening the debate on the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, the President urged all 225 legislators to seize the historic opportunity and vote for the bill as it was the wish of the majority of the people of the country.

 "Don’t lose this opportunity to be a partner in this noble cause," the President said.

He said that both he and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who was his main opponent in the January president poll had pledged to scale down the excessive powers of the executive presidency.

 "Bringing this Amendment to the House is a victory for the people of the country.  It has the support of the 6. 2 million people who voted for me as well as the 5.8 million people who voted for Mahinda Rajapaksa," he said.

 He said that no other amendment had been spoken of and disputed over as much as the 19 Amendment.

 "The issue of the Executive presidency is known by everyone in the country. Even schoolchildren know of the 19 Amendment and the executive presidency. The masses know of the importance of establishing independent commissions such as an independent police commission and an Elections commission. This is one of the most important amendments to the nation’s constitution" the President said.

  "I am not talking about myself but I must note that I don’t think any leader who has wielded executive powers has worked as hard and as much as I have to abolish such powers. Other than the 13 and the 17 amendments to the Constitution, every other amendment has involved the powers of the executive presidency".

The debate will continue into today and the Bill will be put to a vote at 6.00p.m.Minister Ranawaka sees correlation between earthquakes, volcano eruptions with global warming

MAITHRI CHANGES jr's constitution

The final vote taken on the 19th Amendment to the Constitution Bill was passed with a majority of 211 votes in Parliament yesterday.

MAITHRI CHANGES jr's constitution

By Gagani Weerakoon and Skandha Gunasekara-2015-04-29

The final vote taken on the 19th Amendment to the Constitution Bill was passed with a majority of 211 votes in Parliament yesterday.

The Bill received 212 votes in favour as the UPFA, DNA and TNA voted with the government. Digamadulla UPFA MP Sarath Weerasekera voted against, while Galle District independent MP Ajith Kumara of the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) abstained from voting. Ten MPs were absent. They were UPFA MPs Prabha Ganeshan, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, D.M. Jayaratne, Jagath Balasuriya, Janaka Priyantha Bandara, Premalal Jayasekera, Ven. Ellawela Medhananda Thera, Basil Rajapaksa, Keheliya Rambukwella and TNA MP A. Vinayagamoorthy.

Division on the Bill was called by the Leader of the House at the end of the committee stage debate which lasted for four hours from 7.00 p.m. to 11.00 p.m.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe thanked all those who supported the Bill and said that the passing of the Bill by a minority government was a victory of democracy.
Opposition Leader Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the opposition expected that the government would bring the 20th Amendment to the Constitution soon.

Leader of the House Plantations Minister Lakshman Kiriella called for a division by name at the end of the second reading stage debate.
The Bill received 215 votes in favour as the UPFA, DNA and TNA voted with the government.
When the House was moved for the committee stage debate, MEP Leader Dinesh Gunawardena got up and said the Opposition MPs had not been given Sinhala and Tamil copies of the Amendments to be moved to the 19th Amendment to the Constitution Bill.

Leader of the House Minister Lakshman Kiriella: "Translations of the amendments have been provided."
MP Gunawardena: "No Opposition MP has seen such translations. Do not try to bulldoze this through Parliament. Follow proper procedures. If you try to bulldoze this, we know how to face it. We demand that Sinhala translations of the amendments be given before we move ahead and the Speaker adjourn the House till then."

Accordingly the Speaker adjourned the House for 15 minutes.
When the House resumed sittings at 7:45 p.m., Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said both the government and opposition had agreed to read the English version of the amendments and the translations would be provided to MPs soon.
UPFA MP Prabha Ganeshan said he did not understand the content and did not want to go ahead in the committee stage until the translated copies of the amendments were given.

However, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said that the committee stage could move ahead as party leaders had already agreed.
Justice Minister Wijayadasa Rajapakshe presented the amendments on behalf of the government. MPs Vesudeva Nanayakkara, Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, Dinesh Gunawardena, Prof. G.L.Peiris, Douglas Devananda, Prof. Tissa Vitarana and Sriyani Wijayawickrema presented amendments on behalf of the opposition.

The government withdrew many of its amendments following disagreements from the opposition.
President Maithripala Sirisena remained in Parliament from morning and took efforts to end the tug-of-war between government and opposition MPs over two amendments to be incorporated to the 19th Amendment to the Constitution Bill and to muster their support to get the bill passed.

The government did not agree with the proposal by the opposition to change two clauses envisaging that the President should appoint ministers to the Cabinet with the concurrence of the Prime Minister, and the appointing of three external persons to the Constitutional Council proposed in the Bill.

The opposition continued to warn the government throughout their yesterday's debate that they would not vote for the Amendment if the government keeps the clause of the President seeking the Prime Minister's approval to appoint Cabinet Ministers and insisted that the Constitutional Council should comprise of only members of Parliament.
Both the government and the opposition had submitted 174 amendments to be incorporated to the proposed 19th Amendment to the Constitution Bill at the committee stage. The government had 63 amendments, while the opposition had 111 amendments proposed. Of them 29 had been submitted by W.D.J Seneviratne, 55 by Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, one by Geethanjana Gunawardena, one by Dinesh Gunawardena, two by Sriyani Wijewickrama, seven by Sajin de Vass Gunawardena, eight by Vasudeva Nanayakkara and eight by Douglas Devananda.

Opposition MPs stated in their speeches that the government plans to appoint Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera, Former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake and Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu of the Centre for Policy Alternatives to the Constitutional Council and such outsiders should not be permitted to meddle with the law making processes.

However, President Sirisena who arrived soon after Parliament commenced sittings at 9:30 a.m. met with various groups of MPs seeking to solicit their votes for the 19th Amendment Bill which required a two-thirsd majority to be passed in Parliament in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling over the Bill.
The Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and the President met with their groups and lobbied for support for the Bill, according to Parliament sources.

The 19th Amendment to the Constitution Bill was presented to Parliament on 24 March and the debate scheduled for the Bill was postponed twice.
The bill was scheduled to be taken for debate on 10 and 11 April and then later on 20 and 21 April but owing to disagreements from the opposition it was postponed.
Eventually the second reading stage debate on the Bill took place on Monday (27) and yesterday and the vote on the second reading was scheduled to be taken at 6.00 p.m. but was extended by another hour and finally taken at 7.00 p.m.

What’s ailing our Politicos?

Basil Rajapaksa

April 29, 2015

Have you noticed that every time a politician is ordered by court to spend a few nights in a remand cell, he quickly ends up on a hospital bed?
I really don’t know-and personally I don’t care – whether this speaks for the health of our politicians today or is a sad commentary on the status of our prison cells – but it sure needs to be looked into.
Of course this was not of such urgency that it had to be included in the 100-day program of this Yahapalana Government crowding out important pieces of legislation like the Right to Information that is still hanging around somewhere.
But given the health of our nation it would come as little surprise to the voters of this wonder of Asia that the health of our politicians seems to deteriorating even faster than the moral malaise that afflicts our once beautiful country.
Judging by news reports in the local media and the plethora of websites and other means of present day communications, the latest individual to enter hospital seeking medical attention is the former Minister of Economic Affairs Basil Rajapaksa who, shortly after his brother lost the presidential election, left, bag and baggage (I would not be so unkind to include his spouse in that though some persons with no respect did think it was an appropriate enough description) to some other part of the world
Some said dear Basil said bye-bye and went to Dubai while others thought he had gone home to Los Angeles where he is said to reside. Personally I have no interest in where he went via which country and where he was living these last few months having obtained a leave of absence from Parliament.
All that is by the way and is not directly related to my inquiry and interest in how politicians manage to suddenly develop a medical condition that necessitate their transfer from a prison cell to a comfortable bed in a private or State hospital each time the judiciary of this country think it is fit that there is prima facie evidence to let them spend a night or two as a guest of the state.
In the past so many years many of our politicians at various levels of the political ladder have sought refuge under the care of the medical fraternity whenever the arm of the law was stretched long enough to grab them for one misdemeanour or another.
To be frank, it is not often that the long arm of the law was stretched. Usually that limb is struck down with cramp or excruciating arthritic pain that any movement towards upholding the law, particularly against lackeys of the government in power or supporters of the ruling party, ends up with a kind of rigor mortis of the legal system.
It is not only politicians, however lowly they may be such as Pradeshiya Sabha Chairmen and members, but even the sons of ministers and the kith and kin of high-ranking officials find themselves resting on what they think are their laurels on a comfortable hospital bed.
I do sympathise with poor Basil, after all. Here is the chap who had taken responsibility for his brother’s failure to become president for the third time. But days before he pleaded mea culpa he left his beloved country apparently in shame at the abject failure of his political prognostication which was as bad as that of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s trusted astrologer.
I mean here is a man who returns home and bares his chest and says I have nothing to hide. The fact that some people did not and still don’t believe him, is neither here nor there. My grouse is with others who think it is fit and proper to move a politician out of his remand cell and let him rest elsewhere. This is becoming too easy and every politician who sneezes demands that he be sent to hospital as the remand cell is musty or does not have air conditioning
It does raise many questions. I mean what is wrong with being in a remand cell. After all here are people who claim to represent the voters of this country, irrespective of their station in life or how much they have been able to steal from the public purse.
These are the voters who elected these politicians to office. They are the people whose votes were sought by the politicians, who were perhaps the beneficiaries of Divi Neguma largesse. But spending a night or two in the same cell or the one adjoining appears to be such a degrading act that they immediately fall sick at the very thought of it and need to be removed away from the nation’s unwashed and condemned.
Certainly no politician should be made to suffer such indignities and the sooner they are taken away to more comfortable lodgings the sooner they could get back to plotting the next move or how to make the next billion.
Poor Basil has apparently been found a bed in the Merchant’s Ward of the National Hospital. Now if a normal citizen of this country without the correct connections which are intrinsic to survival in the Miracle of Asia, tried to get a bed in this ward for treatment for a genuine medical condition he or she would be summarily dismissed and told to apply in the next millennium, though I admit to slight exaggeration here.
The fact is that there is supposedly a waiting list and even if you were to die on your feet you have to wait. Actually many of them do die waiting. But this apparently does not apply to politicians or important people and their relatives, even if you have to throw the patient currently occupying the bed on to the corridor.
One other question, if you will. Who are the medical men who suddenly find that a politician is not fit to spend a night in a cell and require immediate medical attention and so must be transferred to a hospital? We don’t hear much of the medicine men who recommend hospitalisation and for what ailment or physical condition they are permitted to find comfort in hospital. Perhaps deeper inquiry possibly by the media should elicit some interesting information.
Given that these days politicians are much sought after, especially by the Bribery Commission, Financial Crimes office, Interpol and other investigative agencies, and hospitals are likely to get overcrowded because of the onrush of patients from the remand, may we suggest that the upgrading of prison cells with en suite facilities, television, mobile phones, bar facilities, etc., be undertaking as an urgent task so that ordinary citizens could be accommodated on beds/rooms in state hospitals which is what they are meant for anyway.