Contaminated heart surgery devices may pose infection risk to thousands

How to cut hospital infections and save lives

By MARY BROPHY MARCUS CBS NEWS October 14, 2016, 9:35 AM

Health officials are asking hospitals to warn heart surgery patients about a potentially life-threatening infection linked to heating and cooling devices used during some operations.

It’s not the first time the devices have been flagged for infection-related concerns, but the latest warning from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests the risk is more widespread than originally thought. 

“Although thousands of patients in the United States have been notified regarding potential exposure to contaminated heater-cooler devices, the number who were exposed might be much larger,” the new CDC report warned.

The Stöckert 3T heater-cooler devices – made by German company LivaNova PLC, formerly Sorin Group Deutschland GmbH – are commonly used during open-heart surgery to keep a patient’s circulating blood and organs at a specific temperature during the procedure. 

Schematic representation of heater–cooler circuits tested for transmission of Mycobacterium chimaera during cardiac surgery. Blue arrows indicate cold water flow; red arrows indicate hot water flow and patient blood flow.FDA

There are close to 2,000 of the devices in the United States, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The CDC said they might have been contaminated during manufacturing. 

The bacteria, Mycobacterium chimaera, is a species called nontuberculous mycobacterium, also referred to as NTM. It’s common in soil and water and the odds of it making someone sick are small. Patients who have had invasive procedures and have weakened immune systems are most at risk.

More than 250,000 heart bypass procedures – about 60 percent of the total performed in the U.S. every year – rely on the heater-cooler devices. 

Overall, the odds of someone getting the infection are still low, officials said. “In hospitals where at least one infection has been identified, the risk of infection was between about 1 in 100 and 1 in 1,000 patients,” the CDC report said.

It can take months, or even years, for an infection to show up in a patient because NTM is a very slow-growing bacteria.

Patients who had open-heart surgery in the United States before 2014 should be aware of the signs and symptoms of infection, including night sweats, muscle aches, weight loss, fatigue, pus around a surgical incision, or unexplained fever, the CDC said.

At least 28 cases have been identified at hospitalsin Iowa, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Cases have also been reported in Europe.

There is no test to determine whether a person has been exposed to the bacteria, but a culture can be performed and after eight weeks – the timeframe needed for the bacteria to grow – a diagnosis can be made or ruled out.

The CDC said doctors should be aware of the risk and suspect NTM infections among patients who have signs of infection and a history of open-chest cardiac surgery.

“While these infections can be severe, and some patients in this investigation have died, it is unclear whether the infection was a direct cause of death. Available information suggests that patients who had valves or prosthetic products implanted are at higher risk of these infections,” the CDC said. 

CDC also released a Health Alert Network advisory to help hospitals and health care providers identify and inform patients who might have been put at risk.

“It’s important for clinicians and their patients to be aware of this risk so that patients can be evaluated and treated quickly,” said Dr. Michael Bell, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion.

“Hospitals should check to see which type of heater-coolers are in use, ensure that they’re maintained according to the latest manufacturer instructions, and alert affected patients and the clinicians who care for them.”

Concerned patients and health care providers can contact CDC Info at 800-232-4636 or via its website.

Sri Lanka: Human Rights – Foreign Policy (+) Internal Policy (-)

By Basil Fernando-October 13, 2016

After the election of the new government, Sri Lanka’s foreign policy has been to show positive attitudes towards the protection and promotion of human rights. In international forums and in public declarations, it has declared that it accepts the international law on human rights, that it is committed to enforcing international agreements on human rights, and that it is committed to a policy of reconciliation.

 On issues like torture and ill treatment, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has categorically stated at the Human Rights Council that everything would be done to enforce the Convention against Torture (CAT) and that the police and military would be given instructions to avoid torture and ill treatment, and that those who violate these instructions would be taken to task.

However, as far as internal policies and practices are concerned, the government has done nothing to improve the conditions of human rights in Sri Lanka. In relation to all the basic rights, such as freedom from illegal arrest and illegal detention, the right to fair trial, right against torture and ill treatment, and all other rights relating to personal liberties, there are constant violations and the government has not taken any policy decision to improve the situation.

It is basically linked to the issues relating to the basic intuitions of justice – that is, the courts, the prosecutors’ department (Attorney General’s Department), and the investigation divisions (the police). 

The implementation of human rights only happens through the functioning institutions of the administration of justice. The government has not taken any policy decision in order to improve the conditions of the judiciary, the prosecutors’ department and the police. From the point of view of budgetary allocations, the government has not made any increase of investments to reform the judiciary to enable it to administer justice speedily; or to improve the prosecutor’s department so that it could have an adequate number of prosecutors, who could help to speed up the justice process; and, as far as the police are concerned, no attempts have been made to improve the quality of the investigative services, which are the only means through which the frequent use of torture can be avoided.

This also relates to the issue of enforced disappearances. The government has not made any attempts to introduce a law criminalizing enforced disappearances, as required by international law. Under international law, enforced disappearances are considered one of the most heinous crimes and the government, despite undertakings given internationally to create laws criminalizing enforced disappearances, has done nothing in order to enforce this. The fact that there is not even a draft of a bill shows that there has been no preparation at all for ensuring that enforced disappearances will be made a crime in Sri Lanka in the near future.

Additionally, the Minister of Justice has introduced an amendment to the criminal procedure whereby lawyers will be prevented from attending police stations to assist suspects. According to this law, the lawyers would only come to the police stations after the investigations stage is over and after statements have been recorded.

This is despite the fact that, almost daily, there are reports of severe cases of torture, some leading to custodial deaths and others leading to serious injuries.

The government has stopped the implementation of the law against torture, which is contained in CAT Act No 22 of 1994, which declares that any officer who commits an offence under this law would be punished with 7 years imprisonment and a Rs 10,000 fine. It is in the lawbook but, as a matter of policy, the law is not implemented.

Thus, the internal policy of the government regarding the improvement of human rights is so negative that it does not even implement the available law against the state officers who are the perpetrators of crimes. The policy of impunity is accepted and prevails within the country.

While this is happening, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called for a discussion with civil society organizations to ask for suggestions in order to improve the implementation of human rights in Sri Lanka, particularly to stop the use of torture and ill treatment. In fact, there is nothing very much that the civil society can suggest on this so long as the government has a policy of impunity and when the government also ensures that the administration of justice remains in a dysfunctional state by not making investments to improve these institutions.

All kinds of recommendations can be made by civil society, and they may look very nice on paper, but so long as the basic policy of the government is not to invest in the administration of justice or implement the existing laws against human rights abuses, all these nicely prepared papers would be nothing but deception.

What civil society should do is to question the policy of the government not to invest money in the improvement of the judiciary, in order to ensure speedy justice; the improvement of the Attorney General’s Department, so that it can overcome many of its publicly known defects; and in the improvement of the policing system, so that it can be modernized and become able to conduct its affairs without the use of third degree methods, and so that the quality of its performance will ensure the respect for rights. Until then, there will be foreign policy declarations about improving human rights alongside internal policies that defeat the very point of having human rights declarations at all.

Implement AFEID Resolutions - Affected Families Forum

Oct 13, 2016

Members of Affected Families Forum (AFF) led by Sandya ekneligod, Sashidaran Anandi and N. Jayalakshmi demand government to implement resolutions adopted at the National delegates’ Conference of Affected Families of the Enforced or Involuntary Displaced (AFEID).

AFF released their report of resolutions to the media at a press conference held at Centre for Society and religion (CSR) in Colombo on October 12
 
Addressing the media Sandya Ekneligoda said that government delivered justice for General sarath Fonseka and former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake.
 
“I urge President Maitripala Siriesena to deliver justice for my husband.
 
Sandya, wife of Journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda expressed the current situation of court case about her husband and shared her experience of discussion with UN officials about the issue of her missing husband.
“Sri Lankan army officials reluctant to give information about suspected military intelligent unit officers to CID (Criminal Investigation Department),” she said.

According to wife of Prageeth UNO officials who work for disappearance issues has been advised to Sri Lankan government to implement their recommendations
Nagendran Asha (Trincomale) and K. Jeyavanitha (Vavuniya) spoke out about their struggle to find information on their missing relatives.

K. Jeyavanitha showed her daughter’s photograph with the President Maitripala Sirisena which used for presidential campaign leaflet in 2015 and said that President promised her to find her daughter within a period of one month
Taking to Lanka News Web Sandya said that AFF has taken a decision to send their report of resolution to UNO

Lawrence Ferdinando -
Colombo

Where does TNA leadership stand on “Federalism and Merger” ?

2016-10-14

The TNA leadership has every right to take a stand on any national issue. They also have a special responsibility and the right to decide on any issue related to the Tamil people. That also carries the right to change or amend their position(s) in relation to changing situations and context. But, as a responsible leadership, they are also bound to tell the people what their new position is, on any and every issue.   
At the last August parliamentary election they canvassed votes in the North and East on their election manifesto that very explicitly said:   

· The Tamil People are entitled to the right to self-determination in keeping with United Nations International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, both of which Sri Lanka has accepted and acceded to.   

·Power sharing arrangements must continue to be established as it existed earlier in a unit of a merged Northern and Eastern Provinces based on a Federal structure. 
The Tamil speaking Muslim historical inhabitants shall be entitled to be beneficiaries of all power-sharing arrangements in the North-East. This will in no way inflict any disability on any of them. (TNA election manifesto/2016 August election; emphasis added)   

It was on this basis, veteran politician Sampanthan with over 56 years of political experience behind him and as leader of the TNA requested Tamil voters to elect them in big numbers to solve all Tamil issues before end 2016. 
The TNA thus polled the maximum possible; almost 63 per cent from the North and almost 31 per cent from the East where the Tamil population was only 39 per cent.   

TNA leadership, wholly dominated by the ITAK by then had come to an understanding with the Wickremesinghe led 100 Day government. The “belief” in Colombo middle class circles was that Wickremesinghe would settle the Tamil political issue, once and for all.   

Individuals and personalities count little in politics. Especially in power politics where different social and economic groups with different agendas decide who they wish to promote as the winning leader. When the UNP with Wickremesinghe decided as the “alternate” to Rajapaksa (Sirisena was only a proxy in that), is that politics, the ITAK leaders should have read right. They instead believed in the personality of Wickremesinghe for negotiations.   
Their anti Rajapaksa politics was never “pro minority”. It was, as I wrote in my blog post on November 29 last year (2015), “This whole anti Rajapaksa campaign (from January 08, 2015 Presidential election to the August election) consciously left out all issues from social unity, transitional justice and reconciliation to the arrogantly rejected answer to the Tamil political demand for power sharing in a united Sri Lanka. In fact, it was a Sinhala project for a “change” in the South”.(Exclusively Sinhala ‘January 08’ Change is not for Tamils)   

That was further expanded: “This government thus remained a Sinhala government of the Rajapaksa type. It’s not only the SLFP grooming of President Sirisena but the defeatist mind set of Wickremesinghe as well that defines this government’s political ideology. Therefore, this government does not veer away from the Rajapaksa path in handling national issues including reconciliation, militarisation, power sharing and the international call for war crimes probe.”   

Almost an year later, confirming my reading of politics in this present “unity” government, on October 01, I wrote in my blog again: “Far more serious is the fact that this government cannot go through with adopting a new Constitution. Adopting a Constitution needs a 2/3 majority in parliament that now seem difficult and a “referendum” they don’t have the confidence in facing. They would therefore only drag the process the Wickremesinghe way; unending committees and drafts”.(On ‘missives’ against Eluzha Thamil protest)   

It is in such political context Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was reported by the Indian “Business Standard”(BS) on  October 07 (2016) as rejecting the “federal solution” for Tamil people. On the Northern Province CM Wigneswaran’s insistence for a federal solution with a North-East merger, PM Wickremesinghe is quoted in BS as having told: “Anyone is free to air their views but the Constitution making process is the work of parliament”. Wigneswaran is no parliamentarian and therefore he is out of the Constitution making process, is what Wickremesinghe means with that retort. He also implies, perhaps with confidence, he could safely negotiate with the TNA leadership in parliament for Constitutional provisions that would allow him to reach out to the Sinhala constituency.   

A federal solution with a merged N-E as called for by Wigneswaran is within the TNA manifesto. Why then is Wigneswaran slandered and called an “extremist” for insisting on a Federal solution with a merged N-E? Why then is the ITAK leadership not endorsing his call for a federal solution? Why then is Wickremesignhe’s rejection of a federal solution not officially challenged by the ITAK leadership?  

 
This inability of the ITAK leadership to stand by their own manifesto, proves they are definitely in a dilemma. When Mavai Senathirajah as leader of the ITAK went on record to endorse the total list of demands declared at the “Eluzha Thamil” protest, he proved there’s confusion in ITAK leadership. New Turks in the game and the well settled Colombo middle class don’t seem interested in such solutions. They may even argue, the way out is the “Saumyamoorthi Thondaman” approach of tying up with the “Unity” government to “strengthen Wickremesinghe’s hand”. They would want to continue believing in Wickremesinghe despite his rejection of a federal solution in their bid to enjoy the comfort of the status quo in Colombo.   

But that is not possible for the likes of Sampanthan and Mavai. They will have to search for a compromised solution to prevail upon their “chosen” Sinhala leader. Their strategy now seems of not pushing for a federal solution by its very word. Sampanthan thus feels comfortable in talking of a “sustainable, workable and a negotiated” system of power sharing with dignity. This Wickremesinghe leadership cannot even consider such a compromised offer.   

Their Sinhala dependency is reflected in the contradictions on the OISL Resolution 31/1 that has caught Mangala Samaraweera on a flat foot. Conflicting positions taken by the President, the PM and Mangala is now in the open, with both President Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe pursuing a popular Sinhala position that provides an extension to Rajapaksa politics. So much so, the high priest of the Malwatte Siyam Nikaya, Ven. Tibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera had the confidence to tell the visiting Speaker of the Switzerland parliament Ms.Christa Markwalder that the President and PM “(They) would never take any decision harmful to the country or the people”. In the Sinhala constituency “country and people” by innuendo goes as everything “Sinhala South”.   

A week ago this subordination to Sinhala Buddhist dominance became intolerably clear when both President Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe agreed without any semblance of dignity to withdraw two bills that came with Cabinet approval for parliamentary debate.They gave into a request made by the Malwatte prelate by withdrawing the Bills.The parliament elected by the people though with a Sinhala majority was made irrelevant, merely to please the Buddhist clergy. Two leaders who created a horribly undemocratic precedent in subordinating people’s sovereignty to the Buddhist clergy, cannot be expected to decide in favour of the ITAK leadership.

  
Fighting with Rajapaksa for the most coveted Sinhala Buddhist leadership role, there is no room for this government to table a draft Constitution that would accommodate Tamil aspirations in any form beyond that of the 13 Amendment. Not in a context where sections of the Sinhala opposition want even the 13A deleted.  This unread Sinhala Wickremesinghe is also no more the “clean” liberal politician he was all the while, in Opposition. With bond scams to the McKinsey contract, his new strategy of pleasing MPs with public funds and corruption amongst his Cabinet colleagues, leaves his credibility and integrity very much in question. His government’s first full budget for 2016 too ended up a cropper from day one. His government blundered twice over on the VAT bill. The 100 day crash programme that wasn’t completed even with extended life was given up after elections.His mid-term economic plan for 02 years was thereafter declared in parliament in November last year.Now he is to unveil his 04 year economic programme.His government is back to the “Rajapaksa square” with all Chinese projects going great. The “efficient manager” in him is lost in total mismanagement in governance.   

In such economic confusion and turmoil, while the middle class fatigue still concedes there are “other” reasons to give Wickremesinghe time to tie up his shoe laces, the lower urban society and the rural South remains frustrated and least interested in his “Constitutional talks”. While President Sirisena has his own instability within SLFP ranks to further delay local government elections, the UNP no more demands early LG elections. They too feel an erosion in their voter base. Counting all that, this government is in no way capable of accepting what Sampanthan calls a “sustainable, workable and a negotiated” system of power sharing with dignity. Even otherwise, the ITAK leadership has the duty and the political responsibility to tell Tamil people and the country what their solution(s) for the Tamil national question is. And what their understanding with this government is, in relation to a political solution. They don’t have a right to tell their voters, Tamil people, should live with what they were able to salvage out of this “unity” government.   

The fraught road to justice: Sri Lankan victims of sexual violence

As more women testify about their experience of sexual violence in Sri Lanka the path to redress does not become smoother. What stands in the way of a just response to these wrongs?

Tamil women stand across a barbed wire fence from Sri Lankan soldiers at the Manik Farm's IDP camp in Vavuniya, January 2010. Photo: Chamila Karunarathne / Press Association

KIRSTY ANANTHARAJAH 11 October 2016

International and domestic studies, articles and reports in Sri Lanka are steadily illuminating the extent of sexual violence committed against women (and men) in the context of the war and times of ‘peace’. Justice and accountability for these harms, however, remain noticeably absent. Apart from a handful of cases, impunity forms the dominant landscape of Sri Lankan women’s experience with seeking redress for sexual violence. Hope for any relief from this current state of injustice and inaction will depend on the re-establishment of the Rule of Law; yet the numerous loci of impunity within the justice system makes this a particularly challenging task.

Institutional cultures of custodial rape and torture

In 2001, Sivamany Sinnathamby and Wijikala Nanthakumar, were arrested in their Mannar homes by navy officials and members of the Police Special Investigation Unit. They were arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act(PTA) and the Emergency Regulations, and were taken to the office of the Counter-Subversive Unit. The two women were brutally raped and tortured in custody: The torture continued until the women signed confessions in Sinhalese, (falsely) affirming that they were members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who had carried bombs to Mannar. When Sivamany and Wijikala were initially examined by the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) in Mannar, no evidence of rape was reported. This outcome led to a significant community outcry and the women were re-examined by the Colombo JMO; the results of this examination showed strong signs of rape. One rationale for the initial finding at the office of the Mannar JMO, is that the women, following intimidation, did not actually allow any medical examination to occur. If community pressure did not result in a second examination, the women’s case would lack the essential medical evidence upon which successful prosecution rests. Three police officers and nine navy personnel were later identified as perpetrators.

Following the police complaint made by Sivamany and Wijikala, a campaign of intimidation by the perpetrators and their associates spread beyond the victim-witnesses to the women’s community. The Tamil Guardian notes that the Mannar Citizens’ Committee, vocal supporters of the women’s search for accountability, began receiving daily calls threatening to murder all the members of the committee at the conclusion of the trial. The journalist who first reported the detention and rape of the Mannar women, was detained, interrogated and harassed by army personnel. Members of the armed forces also threatened Wijikala’s mother.

Their case finally came to trial after five years; this is not an uncommon delay. Initially heard in the Mannar High Court, the case was later transferred to Sinhala-majority Anuradhapura district in an obvious prioritisation of the accused. During proceedings, the Tamil victim-witnesses experienced further intimidation and humiliation. In 2008, the hearing was stopped on a stay order of the court, one victim-witness having fled the country, and the other refusing to give evidence.

This case in many respects exemplifies women’s lived experience of Sri Lanka’s Rule of Law crisis. This 15 year old case paints an alarming yet accurate picture the search for justice for sexual violence in Sri Lanka: the women who lived through this brutal attack in their early 20s are now approaching 40; their case still has not been met with proper process or a just outcome; and the structural problems that plagued their path to justice remain largely unchanged in today’s Sri Lanka.

Outrage in Sri Lanka over the rape and murder of 18 year old Vidya Sivayoganathan. Photo: Ponniah Manikavasagam / BBC.

Arrests under the PTA and confessions in custody

This practice of using rape and torture to coerce false confessions and admissions was commonplace during the war and endures in this post-war period. This institutional practice is strongly linked to the legislative framework under whose auspices these arrests generally occur – The PTA.

The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) (Amendment) Act No. 10 of 1982 (PTA) despite bearing the words ‘temporary’ within the title itself was made permanent in 1982, and still constitutes a significant part of Sri Lanka’s security and legislative framework.  As put by Amnesty International, the PTA is ‘one of the main legal tools deployed by the government to silence its critics’ and places persons detained under its provisions in a type of ‘sinister limbo’.

The PTA continues to be the antithesis of progress towards greater civil rights in Sri Lanka; and its permissive provisions create legal spaces for arbitrary arrests to thrive. One example is that generally, confessions made under ‘inducement, threat or promise’ are inadmissible, however, the PTA reverses the burden of proof:  confessions made while in custody are prima facieadmissible unless the victim can show that they were made under duress. Furthermore, the PTA confers a broad immunity on officers for actions done in ‘good faith.’  While it is hard to understand how rape or torture could ever be considered an act done in ‘good faith,’ this section adds to the largely uncontroverted expectation held by some members of security forces that rape in custody will not be met with legal consequences. This expectation is bolstered by the fact that the PTA, with its historic context of operating amidst secrecy, does not provide for access to lawyers nor does it facilitate access to independent medical assessment upon arrest.  These are a just some of the legislative hooks upon which rape and sexual violence in custody are hung. The PTA must be repealed.  

Once a complaint is made prosecution of these cases require overcoming further obstacles. It is important to note that prosecution of rape cases rests with the Attorney General, whose office is vested with broad powers to withdraw indictments and terminate High Court proceedings. Where state actors are involved, prosecution has been conspicuously reticent.

The transfer of criminal proceedings between courts is one reflection of an overwhelmingly politicised Attorney General’s office. This practice exacerbates enduring ethnic barriers to justice: Tamil women whose cases are transferred to Anuradhapura find the travel challenging, they may not understand the language used in court, and often feel like they are in an antagonistic space.

There is also no redress if victims and witnesses are intimidated in the way that Sivamany and Wijikala were intimidated. Even though Sri Lanka’s Parliament passed the Witness Protection Bill in February last year, this does not signify a different civil context than that survived by Wijikala, Sivamany and their community.  The Witness Protection Act is deeply flawed; the fundamental issue is that there is no independent division outside the Police Department responsible for protection of victims and witnesses. Where a victim seeks protection following violence by a state actor, their protection is entrusted to the same department to which their abusers belong.

The delays in the judicial system further compound this lack of security, discouraging complainants to pursue justice. Partly due to Sri Lanka’s two-tier system involving protracted non-summary inquires, many cases take between 9 and 12 years to reach a conclusion. Thus although Wijikala and Sivamany survived the initial attack, and years of relentless intimidation, they eventually gave up on the pursuit of justice.

Hope for any relief from this current state of injustice and inaction will depend on the re-establishment of the Rule of Law in Sri Lanka; yet the numerous lociof impunity make reform a particularly challenging task. The Sri Lankan state must begin to engage with the voices of Sri Lanka’s women who have been brutalised and left to navigate a fraught system.  Remedying these domestic systemic ills is a crucial step to the state repairing its relationship with its women.

This article stems from Chapter 2 ‘ Crisis of Legal indeterminacy’ that the author co-wrote with Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena in The Search for Justice: The Sri Lanka Papers  (Zubaan: 2016).

Estate workers marched to the Presidential Secretarial office

Oct 13, 2016

Estate workers have yet again initiated a protest, agitating for a wage increase.

Workers from several estates in Avissawella marched to the secretarial office  the last 12th. and  they are seeking a Rs. 1,000 increment  from the government.  They emphasized that they are not  ready to accept the 750 rupees increment  although the

present trade unions have agreed. also, they mentioned that the government has agreed with the 1000 rupees daily  increment  and they ask the government to  not to accept the proposed salary of Rs 730 by  estate owners .

Use of ICT innovations to motivate youth in agriculture

Many farmers revealed that they wanted their children to move away  from agriculture – Reuters

 Friday, 14 October 2016

Labour scarcity is a prominent issue in agriculture. This is clearly reflected in increasing labour prices. For paddy cultivation, on average a man-day will cost somewhere between Rs. 1,200 and Rs. 1,500. This includes meals and tea as well. Farmers note that a sufficient supply of labour is not there even at these high prices.

In general retired labour is replaced by young labour. This is clearly seen in the government sector where youth are being hired to replace those who retire. However, agricultural labour is a bit different. It does not carry a defined retirement age but rather farmers will work as long as they are fit enough to do so. Therefore we could assume that agricultural labour will remain active labour for a longer time compared to other occupations such as government and private sector employment.

Therefore to see labour scarcity even at these conditions is a proof of the significance of the issue. I have engaged with many farmers during my research work and the number goes beyond the thousands. However, conversations with old-timers reveal a common situation. The majority of them did not want their children to take up agriculture.

A significant portion of them believed that a proper education would open new doors for their children to become government or private sector employees rather than farmers. The curious question now is ‘Why don’t farmers want their children to engage in agriculture?’ In order to answer this, one needs to understand the mindset of old-timers as well as their children.

In-depth interviews with both groups have shed light on several issues and this has been the situation with other research work as well. In-depth interviews focused on three main areas: Identifying the common characters of farmers who oppose their children engaging in agriculture; farmers’ perspective on the necessary conditions for youth to be in agriculture; and the youth’s perspective on the necessary conditions for them to be involved in agriculture.

The identification of farmers is important to understand where the youths come from. Farmers who argue against their children becoming farmers had several common characteristics: They were not commercial farmers; they operate on very small scales in terms of land, capital and other inputs; their level of mechanisation is low; their Information and communication (ICT) literacy was low; and they belong to areas with basic infrastructure. Backed by these characteristics, the popular view of the farmers was that agriculture is not a profitable venture anymore hence their children should move away from it.

Therefore in a nutshell, farmers who operate at a lower level of economies of scale, with low ICT literacy living in very remote areas, hoped their children would move away from agriculture and find other forms of employment. However, this is not a very healthy situation since the majority of farmers in Sri Lanka share all or some of these characteristics.

The next question that should be asked of these farmers is ‘What should be there in order for you to recommend agriculture to your children?’

The majority of farmers expressed several key points: Their children want to be in commercial agriculture and they wanted close links with extension services; their children want mechanisation to be a main part of farming hence investing more money in machinery; their children lean more towards information hence they always prefer to know the input and output details. Once the farmers’ or parents’ side is heard it is important to hear the view of the children.

The children of these farmers shared some interesting thoughts and ideas that will motivate them to stay in agriculture. The youth want to work with new technology. This technology ranged from high-level mechanisations to using the World Wide Web to find out details on input prices, output prices and other extension services. They believe ICT can fill the gaps created by limited physical infrastructures. These youth are ICT literate and far more technologically advanced than their parents.

If the information from the farmers’ or parents’ side and the children’s side are collated it is clear that most of the conditions proposed by farmers or parents and children are on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in agriculture. Therefore an interesting proposition to focus on and analyse is ‘ICT innovations and youth in agriculture’.

Sri Lanka recently adopted the ‘E-agriculture strategy’, which the Department of Agriculture is spearheading. Therefore it is the best time to talk about encouraging youth to be in agriculture through the promotion of ICT technology.

In order to do this, let me consider several important conditions suggested by the analysis of farmers or parents and children and see how ICT innovations can address that. The ICT innovations that are focused on here are predominantly ‘mobile-based applications’.

ICT innovations and market information

One of the main objectives of ICT innovations in agriculture is to bridge the information asymmetry gap. Market information in agriculture can cover many areas but the most important ones are input prices, output prices and input and output marketplaces (where to buy, how much is available, what brands are available, etc.). Mobile-based ICT intervention has the ability to create a database that is regularly updated and contains the necessary information on the above.

The objective here is to make such a database “mobile-friendly”. We need to remember that every youth is not in a position to buy a computer or tablet. However, there are smart phones available at very reasonable prices. My experience is that a mobile that can enable a youth to engage with such a database would range from Rs. 8,000-Rs. 12,000.

I argue that this is something affordable for a young farmer. I have seen many more expensive smart phones used by young farmers.

There were several initiatives to formulate an online platform accessible through a smart phone, some of these are at the development stage and some are already at the testing stage with farmers. I do not wish to list these programs since I will not be doing them justice if I miss any of them. Rather I will highlight the two key elements of such a system, especially if these systems are to be youth-friendly.

Firstly, it is important that this information is updated daily. Therefore there is lot to be done at the backend. Secondly, the ability to share the information online is critical. Youth are interested in sharing information online using platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Therefore it is essential that such activities are possible.

ICT innovations in agricultural extensions

In the good old days the agricultural instructor (AI) and the farmer had a close connection. It still exists to a certain extent but I have repeatedly seen the broken links. This has to do with many reasons but I argue that agricultural instructors are simply overburdened with work. They have larger areas to cover and visiting all the farmers at their request might not be practical.

This provides the basis for ICT to innovate the extension services. Let me provide an example. We are a quality conscious society therefore agricultural produce is subjected to many standards. Some of the main standards are Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Good Management Practices (GMP), ISO 9001, HACCP and ISO 22000. All this information is published but hardly any of it is digitised. While an old farmer might get a book from the department of agriculture, his younger peer might be interested in reading it online. Without simply uploading these documents to the relevant websites, it is possible to disseminate this information through a mobile application. What is ideal is a one-time download mobile application that contains the most essential information on the standards in a local language. Being a one-time download application is very important since data usage costs are quite high now.

Another way to connect the agricultural instructor and the young farmer is through the use of SMS services. My emphasis here is not on the standard SMS service available on any phone. The focus is rather on an SMS platform that can accommodate several local languages, has a high number of characters and might also support a photo taken through a phone camera (Then it is fair to say it is an MMS).

For example FrontlineSMS is a platform that is being used by many for such initiatives. This kind of initiative also provides youth with many other opportunities, such as the development of their leadership qualities. For example if all farmers start sending SMS/MMS to the agricultural instructor then it will be chaos to manage. Rather, such an initiative can train one youth who will offer leadership in that community and coordinate the information flow. The youth leader can be the intermediate link between the farmer and the agricultural instructor. Things like this could interest young farmers greatly.

ICT innovations in agricultural microfinance

Microfinance has become a very integral part of agriculture. Research work shows that young farmers are more willing to take out loans and expand their agricultural enterprises, especially investing in machinery.

Though informal sources do not include much paperwork, formal credit sources require plenty of paperwork and farmers must visit the credit institutions. The amount of paperwork and the delay is the same regardless of the size of the loan, hence the transaction cost is sometimes too high for a farmer (bigger loans sometimes might call for additional guarantors). This could push the farmer towards informal sources. A mobile-based application could well be a perfect solution for that.

For example, it could provide a platform for the farmer to take a picture or scan (most smart phones come with scanning software) and upload the necessary documents such as national identity cards, birth and marriage certificates, copies of deeds, etc. An ICT-based innovation like this has the potential to motivate youth to be engaged in the formal credit process and make necessary investments.

ICT-based weather and climate change products

Farming is closely linked with weather. Farmers are also interested in climate change. This includes the analysis of weather patterns and temperature patterns to look for any signs of heavy rains, floods, droughts, temperature rises, sea level rises and the rise of greenhouse gases.

This information is essential for farmers in order for them to plan their cultivation seasons and to understand the climate change impact on crop production. Old-timers use their indigenous knowledge to deal with weather and climate change forecasting. However, young farmers are more interested in scientific information. Therefore it will be a great initiative if both indigenous knowledge and scientific knowledge are combined and forecasting is done through an online mobile phone platform. This will increase the accuracy of the forecasting and the efficiency of information transfer. It will also be perfect for youth.

Summary

ICT-based innovation in agriculture is for everybody. Access to these technologies should not be restricted based upon age. But it is important that we look at adaptability with such an innovation.

Research has shown that in many instances ICT adaption is high among the youth. Therefore I believe it is fair to assume that the youth will be more receptive to ICT innovations in agriculture. My experience is that when an ICT innovation is introduced to an old-timer he or she will always ask us to explain the same thing to his younger children. This is because the farmer knows it could interest their children. Therefore when youth moving away from agriculture is an issue, why not develop ICT solutions that motivate and engage them?

At the end of the day it could be a win-win situation. Imagine a young farmer motivated by ICT innovations and engaging in agriculture but at the same time becoming a technology steward for his family or village. Isn’t that an optimal solution?

(The author is an economist dealing with agriculture and the environment. This article is based on field research involving vegetable growers in many parts of the country. He can be reached at chatura_rodrigo@yahoo.com or on 94779867007).

Siva Senai in Sri Lanka Gets Shiva Sena Support, Colombo Worried

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D P Satish-October 13, 2016

New Delhi: Shiv Sena in Mumbai has extended its support to a new Sri Lankan Tamil outfit called Siva Senai, triggering concerns among the mainstream politicians of the island nation that sectarian outfits will reopen wounds of a 20-year-old civil war that ended only in 2009.

The Siva Senai, based out of Vavuniya in the Tamil-dominated northern Lanka, is led by Maravanpulavu Sachithananthan. The party takes its name from Lord Shiva and plans to fight “coercive conversion” from Hinduism to Buddhism, the dominant Sinhalese religion.

 

Shiva Sena leader Sanjay Raut told News18 that his party extends support to the new Lankan outfit. “Our party is a Hindu party. We support the cause of Hindus all over the World. We support
Siva Senai,” he said.

Sinhalese leaders fear the militant nature of the new Siva Senai could break the status-quo prevailing in Northern Lanka while Tamil leaders are wary that outfits like Senai would split Tamil unity.

The three main players in the Sri Lankan politics – ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party of President Maithripala Sirisena, the United National Party (UNP) of Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe and the Opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA) – have expressed serious concerns over the birth of Senai and the support it is getting from Hindu right-wing parties and organisations in India.

Recently a group of Hindus in Sri Lanka launched “Siva Senai” at Tamil dominated town Vavuniya in Northern Province.

Maravanpulavu Sachithananthan, the chief organiser of “Siva Senai”, said that they had the support of Shiv Sena, BJP, VHP, and RSS. He also said that it would campaign against what he calls coercive conversion of Hindus to other religions and it would demand an anti-conversion law in Sri Lanka.

The new outfit which is also Sri Lanka’s first Hindu right-wing organisation accuses the Lankan government of supporting a “Sinhala – Buddhist Colonisation” to undermine the importance of Hindus. It also accuses the Muslims and Christians of getting huge foreign funding to spread their religion.

Senai leader Sachithananthan told News18 that the organization will seek help from “like-minded” organisations in India. “Conversion is the biggest problem for us. Hindus alone have no support in Sri Lanka. Siva Senai will fight for them with the support of like-minded organisations in India,” he said.

Siva Senai's first executive committee meeting at Vavuniya in Sri Lanka (Photo courtesy: Maravanpulavu Sachithananthan)

United opposition leader and MP Dinesh Gunawardena said that Senai and its “like-minded” friends pose a threat to peace. “Our island nation has just come out of a bloody war. We don’t need a religion based political outfit like Siva Senai. We are aware of what Shiva Sena is doing in India. I don’t think that we need something like that here,” he told News18.

“It is true that Buddhism has been the foundation of Sri Lanka for over two thousand years. But we never discriminated against anyone on the basis of religion. Siva Senai’s fears are unfounded. Hindus are safe here,” Gunawardena said dismissing Senai allegations of ‘Sinhala-Buddhist Colonisation’.

The TNA which rules the Tamil-dominated Northern Province headquartered at Jaffna appears to be more worried about the Siva Senai than the Sinhalese political parties. Although Senai is a new organization with little mass support, the prospect of a religion-based divide worries Tamil parties.

“Assertion of a religious identity is not a bad thing. But at this stage, we don’t need it. Our identity is Tamil identity. We are totally secular. There are Hindus, Christians, and Muslims among the Tamils. All are equal. We can’t divide them on the basis of religion,” TNA leader and MP MA Sumanthiran told News18.

Expressing fears that the Siva Senai’s association with Shiv Sena might lead to religious conflict in the island nation which has just returned to normal life after 30 years of horrible civil war, he said "such organisations can take extreme positions. We already have a Buddhist extremist organisation Bodu Bala Sena (BBS). Birth of another extremist organisation opposed to BBS ideology is a very dangerous thing. It can create enmity between different religions. Both are called Sena, meaning army. Whatever may be their good intention, but the perception is negative. We can’t have outfits with the names like Sena."

Reacting to this, Senai founder Sachithananthan said that his organization was not an extremist one and the comparison with any other extremist organization was unfair.

“Sri Lanka is not a secular country like India. It is a Buddhist theocratic nation. Our Constitution says Buddhism is a priority religion. They are getting government money. Christians get money from Christian nations and Muslims get money from Arab nations. Hindus get nothing,” Sachithananthan told News18 from Jaffna.

“Secondly, Tamil identity is under threat is a bogus claim. The Tamil Muslims went away in 1987 and formed Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC). Christians are encouraging large scale conversions. Where is unity? Even Buddhists are freely entering Hindu villages to install Buddha statues. They never dared to do that before the end of war in 2009,” he added.

Commenting on Shiva Sena’s support he said “if they support, we welcome it. But, as of now ours is a 100% locally grown organization. We believe in peace. We don’t want to be like Shiv Sena.”

Buddhist-majority Lanka has about 13% Hindu population. Almost all Hindus are Tamils except a few thousand who recently migrated to Sri Lanka.

Leaders of Civil Organizations who made Maithripala president up in arms against his speech defending Gota !

(Lanka-e-News -13.Oct.2016, 7.20PM)  The leaders of  Civil and professional organizations who   were in the vanguard to steer incumbent president Maithripala Sirisena to victory at the last presidential elections have expressed their bitter and fierce opposition to the obnoxious and odious statements made by the president yesterday  which in other words were directly pressurizing  the Bribery Commission , CID,  FCID and courts that  are committed to their tasks and discharging their duties duly. 

The president’s speech also was directed at  protecting and shielding the most infamous  murderer Gotabaya , the devil incarnate of the nefarious decade of the corrupt  ,oppressive Rajapakse regime which kept the people trampled under its despotic boots during its reign.

It is the view of these organizations that the statements made by the president were uncalled for,  unwarranted , and therefore unnecessary.

One Civil organization leader who was shocked beyond measure said , a president  who is re -born and has lost his  memory would only  make such stupid and silly   announcements. However , since such a thing has not overtaken him  , he must be either not in his right senses or suffering from puerile and insane drives or is possessed by an evil spirit to make such irresponsible and ludicrous utterances. 

The leaders of Civil Organizations yesterday night decided to register their protests against the odious speech of the president , and a media conference is to be held tomorrow (14)  in Colombo. 

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by     (2016-10-13 13:46:16)

Don’t Stand In The Doorway, President Sirisena

By Shyamon Jayasinghe –October 14, 2016

Shyamon Jayasinghe

“Come senators, congressmen please heed the call

Don’t stand in the doorway don’t block up the hall

For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled

There’s a battle outside and it’s ragin’

It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls

For the times they are a’ changin’!” – Bob Dylan

The quote is aimed at President Sirisena and the corrupt who have managed to pressurise him to make that disastrous speech castigating the FCID, Bribery Commission and other anti-corruption bodies set up as Independent Commissions under the key legislative expression of the ‘revolution of January 8th.’ Many are gathering ‘to stand in the doorway,’ and ‘block up the hall,’ as stated by Bob Dylan. (By the way, Bob has fetched the Nobel Prize for Literature this time.)

I am still wondering why President Maitripala Sirisena took that step. For one thing, it is senseless to flay the personnel in these institutions who are already feeling the heat of the powerful corrupt block who belonged to the previous regime when corruption was enthroned. That block is mostly outside-within the ranks of the so-called “JO.” However, there isn’t any denying that parts of that cabal are inside Sirisena’s fold and hiding within the National Unity Government, waiting to give a hand to the disgraced Royal Family if and when the need arises.

Why senseless? Because if His Excellency thinks these Commissions aren’t working right he has the legal right to summon them and brief them. He may not exactly have the power to give directions and God bless for that; but he does have the lawful privilege of talking to them. In turn, the latter have an ethical obligation to listen to the President. Letting out his critical barbs against them in public like this is something that doesn’t fit in the scheme of things as far as Yahapalanaya concept goes. If a school principal is not happy about the ways of his staff he does not go out to the media and attack the staff? Admit, this analogy may not be one to one but it is near enough to emphasise a substantive point.

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