Friday, June 16, 2017

Sri Lanka debates its antiquated Muslim family laws

Girls of any age can wake up married, without having given their consent

Jun 15th 2017| COLOMBO

TO AVOID being married at 17 to a stranger, the Muslim schoolgirl from Sri Lanka’s north-west tried to commit suicide by swallowing a bottle of her mother’s diabetes pills. While she was recovering in hospital, her parents went ahead and registered the marriage. The union took place under the version of Sri Lanka’s family law that applies only to Muslims. It does not require the bride’s consent and does not specify a minimum age for marriage. Instead, it merely stipulates that children under 12 can only be married with the approval of a quazi, or Muslim family judge. The penal code, helpfully, exempts Muslims from prosecution for statutory rape providing the victim is married to the perpetrator and is 12 or older.

Unions of other Sri Lankans fall under the General Marriage Registration Ordinance, which sets the minimum age at 18. Muslim marriages and divorces, and interfaith ones involving a Muslim, are governed by the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, which also permits a man to commit polygamy without the acquiescence or knowledge of other wives he may have. Husbands can get quick divorces without having to offer any explanation. By contrast, a wife endures a long process that requires her to produce witnesses and attend hearings.

The law is administered through courts set up in 1951 “for the Islamic people to conduct their judicial activities according to their customs”. Representation by lawyers is not permitted. Women are barred from being quazis. And quazis routinely order women to keep quiet during proceedings.

Activists have recently begun a vigorous campaign to change the law. They believe that Muslim girls are often forced to leave school to marry. But they admit that gathering data is difficult. Parents or guardians often lie about the age of children they are giving in marriage, says Hasanah Cegu Isadeen, one of the authors of a report on the negative consequences for women of Muslim personal law. Some marriages are not even registered.

The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama, a union of (male) Islamic scholars, maintains that child marriages are rare. But Ms Cegu Isadeen found that in 22% of marriages registered in 2015 in Kattankudy, a Muslim town in eastern Sri Lanka, the woman was 17 or younger. The previous year, it was 14%.

Some conservative Muslims say the Koran permits child marriage. They insist that Muslims must continue to be exempt from secular family law. A quazi in Colombo told researchers that girls had to be married between 15 and 17 because their “value” decreased as they got older. Some present child marriage as a way to make teenage pregnancy less of a problem.

Opponents of child marriage are divided on how to change all this. One camp wants the government to set 18 as the minimum age of marriage for all Sri Lankans. Another feels that, for reform to be effective, the Muslim community must embrace it. That would mean winning over conservative theologians.

A government committee appointed in 2009 to propose changes to Muslim personal law is trying to do just that. But its chairman, a former supreme-court judge, is struggling to reconcile divergent positions. Proposals that do not enjoy broad consensus will never be implemented, he says.

Sinhalese & Muslim Civil Societies Join Hands To Deal with Growing Hate Crimes

By Latheef Farook –JUNE 15, 2017

Latheef Farook

Leading Sinhala and Muslim civil society organizations have got together to educate mainstream Sinhalese of the threat posed to the country by the ongoing racist attacks on Mosques and Muslim owned business establishments.

This is the only way to save the country from further disasters and to take concrete measure to stop the rising tide of racist attacks on Muslims.

The initiatives towards this end were jointly taken by the National Movement for Social Justice, NMSJ, and conveners of Puravasi Balaya which included Gamini Veyangoda, Janaranjana, Saman Ratnapriya and Dharmasiri Bandaranike together with National Shoora Council, (NSC), an umbrella organization representing eighteen leading national Muslim organizations.

Professor, Sarath Wijesooriya, Convener of NMSJ said “the main purpose of the timely initiative is to keep the people, especially the Sinhalese community, informed of the damage, the ongoing racist campaigns could cause to the image of Buddhism, the Sinhala people and the country projecting them to the world as violent and lawless.

He said the country which is facing numerous burning issues in many fronts cannot allow a campaign which divides communities and brings only disaster to all in the country.

The two sides met two weeks ago and decided on a work program under which they decided to launch an overall campaign to inform the people that this anti-Muslim campaign launched by few individuals do not represent the views of mainstream Sinhalese community which is keen on living in peace and harmony and sort out issues within communities in the largest interest of all.

To begin with they decided to hold a press conference distancing the mainstream Sinhalese community from these racist elements and highlighting the need for the Sinhalese community to be vigilant about these racist activities.

As part of this program they met on Sunday 11 June 2017 the Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara and emphasized the need for immediate and visible steps to enforce the law and deal with the racist elements effectively. Issues concerning Muslim communities were discussed in detail and the IGP has assured effective action within the framework of law.

This week, June 14, the two sides met President Maithripala Sirisena at his office and put forward concerns of the Muslim community and the need to enforce rule of law in the country to stop attacks on mosques and Muslim owned business establishments. The participants also pointed out that these attacks have all the potentials to lead to a July 83 type pogrom which the country not only do not want but also cannot afford.

The Muslim team, led by NSC Chairman Tariq Mahmud, also informed President Sirisena that “we are not here interested in taking Galagoda Atte Gnanasara into custody. That is a matter for the country’s law enforcement agencies and the judiciary. All what we want is when we wake up and go about in the morning we should be able to move freely as we had always lived and we are entitled to. Safety of our mosques and business and other properties need to be ensured and that is the responsibility of the State. That is why we are here. Though racist elements were trying to provoke Muslims with their attacks on mosques and business establishments, our community had maintained remarkable restraint in the face of insults to Allah and the religion, only to ensure their age-old ties with the Sinhalese continues unabated.”

Meanwhile there is a growing feeling among informed circles in the Muslim community that racist elements such as the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) in the government, who once spearheaded anti-Muslim campaign and caused immense hardships to Muslims, of influencing and confusing President Sirisena from taking firm action against racist elements.

Today the Muslim community lives in fear and tension all over the island. They live in small pockets amidst the Sinhalese. The hate campaign is aimed at poisoning this relationship. The President has so far failed to take stern measures to bring these racist gangs to book. There is a general opinion among the Muslims that this indifference on the part of the authorities, has given the green light for the violent extremists to go ahead with their lawless activities.

Muslims pointed out that “though former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is accused of orchestrating these racist attacks, yet the question is what is preventing the present government from enforcing rule of law and maintain law and order?

In the midst, the two sides welcomed as a timely development the steps taken by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for directing law enforcement authorities to initiate immediate action against hate speech, perpetrators and instigators of violence against religious and ethnic groups.

Making a special statement to the media at Temple Trees, the Premier said Police have been directed to take legal action against those who engage in communal, ethnic and religious hatred, violence and hate speech. He said if someone engages in communal, ethnic and religious hatred and violence and hate speech, measures will be taken to investigate, arrest and produce the offenders before court.

Ven. Gnanasara gets 5 weeks from Court of Appeal

Saturday, 17 June 2017

On Thursday the Colombo Fort Magistrate issued an arrest warrant on BBS Chief Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero for failing to be present in Court when two cases against him were being heard.

The warrant was issued because of a blunder by the lawyers representing Ven. Gnanasara. One of them claimed that he did not attend Court as there was a death threat on him. The other claimed that four Police teams had been deployed to arrest the BBS monk, hence he feared arrest if he attended Court.

The Magistrate issued the warrant as it was a blatant contempt of Court. Now, the Police has no excuse for not hunting and arresting the fugitive monk. Will there be Government or Executive interference to thwart this Court order?

Blatant travesty of justice

Earlier, in a blatant travesty of justice, Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero was allowed to continue to breathe the air of freedom for another five weeks when two Judges of the Court of Appeal, Justice L.T.B. Dehideniya and Justice Devika Tennakoon, refused to issue an arrest warrant against the accused for not appearing in Court for the third time to face contempt of Court charges.

This contempt of Court charge comes from none other than the Magistrate of the Homagama Courts, Justice Ranga Dissanayake, who was hearing the case of the disappearance of journalist and social activist Prageeth Ekneligoda, when Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasra Thero abused Prageeth’s wife Sandya Ekneligoda in open Court when he had come to witness the trial.

Would a lessor mortal get away with insulting the Court and not showing up three times at the second highest Court in the legal system? The Appeal Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the High Court or any lower Court, while its own decisions may be additionally appealed to the Supreme Court.

Under threat from whom?

Interestingly, the Counsel at the Court of Appeal appearing for the fugitive monk and accused, Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero informed Court that his client was unable to attend Court since he was under death threat and he might be assassinated if he came to Court. It was not clear as to who would be interested in assassinating the revered monk, whether it is the special Police teams that have been deployed by the Inspector General of Police on the orders of Minister of Law and Order Sagala Ratnayake to hunt him down or from an external threat from Islamic jihadists or from the breakaway groups of Buddhist extremists which has led to internal conflicts.

The escalating internal strife may cause extreme violence amongst the so-called saviours of Buddhism. The threat could also come from the Sinhala Buddhist extremist organisations that are now fighting on social media to get a higher share of the South Korean won.

Of course, prisoners transported for Court hearings have been assassinated not just in Sri Lanka, but also in many other countries where drug lords and organised crime syndicates work in cohort with law enforcement authorities to carry out mafia-style assassinations.

It’s not long ago that our own mafia boss, Samayan, and six other notorious criminals were shot at Ethanamadala, Jawatte Road in Kalutara while being transported for a Court hearing. This bold Chicago-style assassination took the lives of seven criminals and two Prison officials. A clear evidence of what money can buy within the prison and law enforcement units. But who would be interested in assassinating an attention-seeking monk?

The Counsel for the State objected and informed Court that on the previous two occasions too, the accused was absent and the medical certificates tendered were supposedly not genuine, yet the learned judges of the Court of Appeal rejected the plea for a warrant and listed the case for hearing.

They clearly instructed the Defence Counsel to ensure that the accused was present in Court on 18, 19 and 20 July for the trial. In the meantime, Counsel for Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara has filed an application for anticipatory bail, which has been fixed for hearing on 22 June. A person who fears attending Court due to death threats is seeking anticipatory bail.

The Court also observed that it would be inappropriate if all accused in Court take a similar stance in not attending Court hearings and gave a stern warning informing Counsel for Ven. Gnanasara Thero to ensure that the accused appears before Court without lame excuses on the next date. The Court also indicated that if the fugitive monk does not appear on the next date, an open warrant would be issued.

What is this drama?

What is this drama Ven. Gnanasara Thero is enacting? First and foremost, it should be noted that there is no warrant served to arrest Ven. Gnanasara Thero by any Court of law. So why is the venerable monk being a fugitive and claiming that he would be arrested? Has his legal team misled him to believe that he is going to be taken into remand custody if he obeyed the law and presented himself in Court?

There lies the problem. If he appears in Court on the contempt of Court charge during the Ekneligoda hearing, he could be sentenced to a minimum of two to seven years. This is nothing to do with the 84 complaints made at Police stations across the country by Muslims.

No Sinhala Buddhist or any other citizen in this country is going to shed a tear should Ven. Gnanasara Thero be taken into custody and the legal process followed for any illegal conduct, leave alone contempt of Court charges. So his only escape route is to cause a myth that he is going to be arrested because the Muslims have pressured the Government.

The Government too is silent on the matter and is trying to blame it on the Joint Opposition and reintroduce the Prevention of Terrorism Act or something worse to postpone elections and muzzle public protests against it. The Muslims are, in common parlance, ‘girayata ahuwechcha puwak gediya wage’.

Violence against Muslims

The President, Government, and Cabinet of Ministers have given hundreds of assurances that the violence against Muslims will be stopped; yet it goes unabated; 27 incidents have been reported during the last few weeks. One man has been arrested for the burning of shops in Maharagama based on the video evidence and eyewitness provided by the Muslims. The video could not be muzzled due to the smart move by the Muslims to release it on social media immediately after the burning of Fashion Leather Store in Wijerama.

None of these are really racially motivated but undertaken to divert the country’s attention from the contempt of Court charges that would eventually lead to the sentencing of Ven. Gnanasara Thero. Hundreds of Buddhist monks have been arrested and sentenced in various Courts of law in the history of Sri Lanka.

The Government and the Police, for unknown reasons, are not announcing the real motives of the Buddhist prelate. There is nothing to believe that a Buddhist priest cannot be arrested for any criminal act. Two Buddhist monks were arrested over the killing of Prime Minister Solomon West Ridgeway Dias (SWRD) Bandaranaike on 26 September 1959.

Somarama Thero was sentenced to death by hanging. The sentence was executed in the Welikade gallows on 6 July 1962 and not a single Buddhist protested over the hanging of a Buddhist priest. He was seen as a murderer and nothing less.

Ven. Gnanasara has blood on his hands from the Aluthgama violence, which marks three years now. He has hundreds of charges of threats, intimidation, violence, and arson against Muslim businesses and homes, not forgetting the constant verbal diatribe against the Mahanayake Theros as those who are just filling up their spittoons and placed in their positions by the British Raj, the President as a spineless leader, the Prime Minister as queer, the Minister of Law and order as a stooge, etc.

None of these leaders have made any complaints against the insults that this violent monk continues to make. If these are not enough reasons for his immediate incarceration, what justice in the country?

SRI LANKA SEEKS MILITANT MONK’S ARREST OVER HATE CRIME

Image:Police said the warrant for the arrest of Galagodaatte Gnanasara relates to an accusation of insulting the Koran that dates back to April 2014, months before the outbreak of deadly religious riots.

By AFP-16/06/2017

A Sri Lankan court issued a warrant Thursday for the arrest of a radical Buddhist monk accused of instigating arson attacks against the island’s minority Muslim community.

Police said the warrant for the arrest of Galagodaatte Gnanasara relates to an accusation of insulting the Koran that dates back to April 2014, months before the outbreak of deadly religious riots.

The magistrate ordered his arrest after he failed to appear for a court hearing into the matter on Thursday.

Police are also investigating more than a dozen recent complaints of incitement against Gnanasara, who went into hiding in May, after a series of arson attacks targeting Muslims.

On Thursday they said they had arrested two of his associates in connection with a petrol bomb attack on a mosque last month.

Gnanasara’s Buddhist Force or BBS is accused of instigating the hate crimes.

On Sunday, police said they had made the first arrest of a BBS member in connection with four arson attacks in a Colombo suburb.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe vowed on Wednesday that he would not allow a repeat of 2014 anti-Muslim riots in which four people died and hundreds of homes were destroyed, promising tougher legislation.

With stoning and desecration of Muslim-owned places now an almost daily occurence, the government faces international criticism over its failure to tackle the violence and rein in the BBS.

In a video message released Sunday, the group denied any involvement, but accused the government of allowing Islamic extremism to flourish in the Buddhist-majority nation.

Earlier this month, Western diplomats urged Sri Lanka to take action to stop the renewed outbreak of religious violence.

'Champika, Rathana Thera responsible for Gnanasara Thera's actions'

2017-06-16

The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) said today Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka and MP Athureliya Rathana Thera should take responsibility for its General Secretary Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera intervening in various matters in the country.

“Gnanasara Thera would have turned even more violent had he accepted the contracts given by Minister Ranawaka and Rathana Thera,” BBS CEO Dilanthe Vithanage told a news conference.

He said they had prompted Gnanasara Thera to incite violence to achieve their political goals.

“No one talks about the real issues which he raises in public,” Mr. Vithanage said.

Sinhala Ravaya General Secretary Magalkande Sudaththa Thera said the Government was trying to label Gnanasara Thera as another Prabhakaran.

“The joint opposition paints the BBS as a front of the Government while the Government the BBS as a JO front. The Government also blamed the BBS saying the BBS was created by former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa to pave the way for him to contest the 2020 presidential election. On the other hand the JO said the BBS was created to support Minister Champika Ranawaka to do the same,” he said. (Chaturanga Pradeep)

Izeth Hussain: Gentleman fought for True Reconciliation

Mr. Hussain is not a hypocrite, who tells something but doing completely different things. He, I believe, a gentleman by all meaning.

by Nilantha Ilangamuwa-Jun 16, 2017

(June 16, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) He thought far beyond his times and environment! He wrote for generations! He articulated the events with true facts throughout the periods! His pen was honest! He acknowledged the danger of disunity! He felt insured in extremism! He has kept on writing to reinforce the true meaning of reconciliation, peace, unity and justice; in other words true value of all forms of living beings! He is a man of humanity.

Mr. Izeth Hussain, a retired diplomat who turned into a writer, passed away a few days go at his residence in Colombo. Shocking and saddening news indeed! We are extremely sorry to hear the demise of one of our best columnists.

This shocking news rang at the bottom of the heart while I was waiting for his regular column which he sent us every Thursday. But no more the email with a kind request for publication. The fingers that typed the email I was expecting is no longer going to type any single word again. He has taken the last breath and we as the nation have lost the fine mind of creative writings on the political and social situation in the country.

Mr. Hussain joined as a regular columnist for the Sri Lanka Guardian at our request, and since then he never forgot to send us his weekly column in advance while copying to other media outfits in the country.

He has written extensively! In every column, one finite line is shining while letting readers understand the core notion of humanity. He never advocated division on the basis of ethnic differences in the country; why can’t we live together? Despite claiming one’s share and using violence for achieving that why can’t we achieve our own common identity? He answered those questions needed by the grassroots of this society.

Mr. Hussain is not a hypocrite, who tells something but doing completely different things. He, I believe, a gentleman by all meaning. In our telephone conversations we have talked many issues in the country that we can find the solution without harming anyone but unfortunately, parties with vested interest are using violence while taking innocent people for granted.

He has brought some of best arguments to our readers such as deep-rooted and systematically ignored caste issue in Tamil Community, Strategies for the successful foreign mission, Islamophobia, non-violence strategies to strengthen peace and harmony among the ethnic groups – just to mention a few.

We have missed someone who should be with us in this crucial time. But, like we all he also has to face the reality of life.

However, the true messages through the words he penned will be remain with us and it is our duty to protect and act upon them.

May his soul rest in peace!

Keith Noyahr Assault And Abduction: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, (Lawyer), Spy

JUNE 16, 2017

The Keith Noyahr assault and abduction case was heard in the High Court of Colombo on 10th 12th and 14th of June to determine whether the Army Intelligence officers presently in remand should be bailed out. The Army Intelligence officers including Major Bulathwatte were arrested and remanded into the abduction and assault of Keith Noyahr, the deputy editor of the Nation newspaper. The investigation into this crime like with the attacks and murder of journalists during former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime were resumed in all seriousness after his fall in 2015.

Hemantha Warnakulasuriya PC

The CID which commenced investigations were able to zero in on the team that carried out such attacks and arrested Major Bulathwatte and the others after painstaking leg work. These officers were granted bail in the Magistrate’s Court but the CID appealed to the High Court which over ruled the Magistrate’s order. In the continuing hearings in the High Court Attorney at Law Hemantha Warnakulasuriya appeared in favour of the Army Intelligence officers. Attorney at Law Hemantha Warnakulasuriya PC made an application for bail on the basis that Keith Noyahr had given an interview to Sri Lanka Guardian which was also carried in Sath Handa, that those in remand were NOT (emphasis by Colombo Telegraph) responsible for the abduction and attack on him. The High Court requested the CID to verify this news report from Keith Noyahr and report to court. Colombo Telegraph understands through reliable sources that Keith Noyahr was shocked beyond belief that such a false news item had been carried not only in Sri Lanka Guardian which at best could have been ignored purely on it’s record of carrying trumped up news, but that it was also carried in Sath Handa, a newspaper widely known to be run by Minister Duminda Dissanayake, the right hand man of President Maithripala Sirisena. Colombo Telegraph also learns that this erroneous news item was a deliberate plant by interested parties to be used in the High Court to seek bail for the Army Intelligence officers now in remand.

On another interesting aside Colombo Telegraph learns that Attorney at Law Hemantha Warnakulasuriya, now appearing for the officers in remand had on an earlier occasion volunteered to appear pro bono on behalf of the family of late Lasantha Wickrematunge, even going to the extent of saying he knew who slew Lasantha. Colombo Telegraph learns that Attorney Warnakulasuriya had spoken to the brother of late Lasantha Wickrematunge, Lal and then to the second wife of the late editor Sonali, and thereafter to the first wife Raine, seeking a proxy nominating him to appear on behalf of the family on the basis that he would help not only with the investigation but prosecute successfully in court the culprits behind the murder of the late Editor. While stating that he knew who killed Lasantha Wickrematunge, yet not volunteering such information till such proxy form was signed and assigned, had drawn the suspicions of the family who brushed off this offer.

Govt. to provide house rent for disaster affected families

Jun 16, 2017

The Cabinet of Ministers recently approved a decision to allocate money to pay the rent of the houses of currently displaced families due to the recent weather calamity.

Families whose houses are completely or partially damaged as well as those who had to evacuate their houses due to landslide risks will be entitled for this compensation.

Accordingly Rs. 7500 is allocated to each family which will be issued for June, July and August months of this year.

According to the data available, nearly 3037 houses have been completely destroyed and 25,647 are severely damaged as a result of the natural disaster. Most of these families are still sheltered in protection camps.

On capitulating to headless cadavers

by Uditha Devapriya-Friday, June 16, 2017

Populists, like elites, centrists, liberals, and conservatives, come in different shades. Some are honest and sincere, others are not. Some like to mince rhetoric with action, others do not. It doesn’t take a political thinker to figure out that over the past 50 years, no politician worth his or her salt has got into power without resorting to rhetoric. What differentiates them from one another, consequently, is their ability to transform that into affirmative political action.

The problem with our meritocrats is that they are disconnected from the pulse of their own people. Whether they intend it or not, they promote a variant of populism that thrives on lies, propaganda, and unconvincing rhetoric. Once elected to power, they often always go back on those lies and envelope the democratic process with an equally lamentable variant of anti-populism. The 1994 election opened out like that: it had as much to do with the wild promises dished out by the People’s Alliance as it had with the complacency of the UNP. What transpired after 1994 until 2005, with the PA’s equally wild flirtations with privatisation, deregulation, and shady deals, says a lot about the sincerity of those who made those promises in the first place.

This rather schizophrenic cycle of popular rhetoric and unpopular action has governed our country for over 50 years. Most commentators attribute it to 1956. That is not so. The fact is that even those hailed as the fathers and mothers of our independence weren’t untainted in that regard. Entire collectives were disenfranchised, political platforms were premised on the Aryan origins of the Sinhalese, and the great game of being more-racialist-than-thou was played by our leaders long before 1956.

I believe it was Gunadasa Amarasekara who once described the SLFP as a headless cadaver. In Amarasekara’s book, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike was the political successor to Anagarika Dharmapala, despite how incongruous the former’s personal life was with his public. But considering that latter point, I would wish to contend that Bandaranaike’s great achievement lay elsewhere: apart from opening the government to the people (thereby earning the epithet “ape anduwa”), he bequeathed to our country a generation of leaders who, like populists elsewhere, were able to cloak their anti-populist streak with rhetoric, centring more often than not on issues of race, faith, and the vulnerability of our sovereignty.

Historically, in other countries populism was the inevitable consequence of authoritarianism. The highly Confucianist societies of East Asia, much of continental Europe, and even the United Kingdom: the flurry of rights-based movements there was the result of the culture of dissent guaranteed by a strong, sometimes ruthless centre. In other words, the dissent of the periphery was ensured by the grip of the centre. England could not have experienced the shift to a more democratic parliament without Cromwell. The United States could not have emerged from a slave society without the Civil War and Lincoln.

For a political structure to ferment dissent, therefore, it must be seen to its maturing, and not stalled midway. Such a truism is hard to sustain in certain other societies, though. Before I come to Sri Lanka, it’s apt that I consider the Middle-East.

The shift from Nasser to Sadat, from the Shah to the Ayatollah, and from Bhutto to Zia-ul-Haq, signified a shift from secular dictatorships to theocratic autocracies. With the exception of the Shah, who was a political maverick, every other leader in that region in his time governed State-led economies. Despite their religious backgrounds and nationalist sympathies, they were able to transform their polities to fairer, more equal societies free of both fundamentalism and liberalism. Egypt’s transition to Sadat signalled the end of both equality and secularism: notwithstanding the rationality of his free market policies, his government could not contain the pressures of a fundamentalist sect that was venting out its frustration.

If Nasser’s Egypt was modernist, Sadat’s was anti-modernist. The same could be said of Bhutto and ul-Haq, and elsewhere, of Allende and Pinochet. Economically they were rational, but in other respects they were irrational and submissive to the worst elements of the past. Ul-Haq brought back fundamentalism, while Pinochet flirted with fascism. The return to primitiveness in these societies was more than a departure, incidentally: it was the result of the incongruities which were being shielded by those in power.

Sri Lanka continues to witness violent shifts to authoritarianism after mild trysts with populism because of those same incongruities. The centre was always vulnerable. It was disconnected from the people because it assumed and affirmed what it thought were their aspirations. The tendency of our rulers to compare the present with a supposedly less enlightened past is, not surprisingly, a symptom of their political bankruptcy: they have nowhere else to turn to, so they end up critiquing what went by and has long gone by. I believe Dayan Jayatilleka characterised this sorry trend in our political sphere well a few months ago:

It is necessary to avoid the cycle of international success followed by ignominy and establish a stable posture of prestige and assertive success in the world.

Dr Jayatilleka was talking about our place in the modern world, but the same can be said of our internal politics too. A cycle of promise followed by idiocy: this has been its state for so long. Logic has been defied, even trumped, in the pursuit of what the State assumes to be the best interests of the people. But without a clear blueprint for the future, be it from the left, right, or centre, no country can move forward. Not the South, not the North. And most certainly not the East.

In Sri Lanka, the political right has operated without a clear program. The left has operated without a clear action plan. Consequently, the right has almost always been undone by its own contradictions, which explains the downfall of both the UNP of Premadasa and the SLFP of Chandrika Kumaratunga. The left, in comparison, has been felled not for the want of a program, but for the want of the impetus needed to transform that program into cohesive strategies. Because no left movement in this country can govern alone, it has always cohabited with the right. A disaster, because that has led to the empowerment of the right at the exorbitant cost of those freedoms which our Constitution guarantees for us.

To conclude, then: in terms of policy we, or rather our leaders, have always been inconsistent. 1956 was only one of many instances in which our elite, asserting a populist line, caved into authoritarianism later on. This seemingly never-ending cycle of popular rhetoric followed by unpopular action has never really taken root in the West or in East Asia: Donald Trump has lost his lustre, while Merkel and Macron have triumphed considerably. The former won, but backed down on his own promises. The latter promised little, but what little they promised, they aim to deliver.

And perhaps that’s what we need. But there’s very little we can hope for with what we have. The talkers will continue to do what they have always done. Talk shop. The doers, either in the opposition or elbowed out of the government, will be limited to do what they have never done. Talk shop.

We will survive, and by all accounts we may even emerge unscathed, but until then, it will be futile to hedge our bets on an individual without accounting for the fact that political rationality has always been secondary to populist irrationality here. To break away from this circle requires considerable courage on our part and on the part of our elected representatives. Are we brave enough, though? Only time can tell.

Written for: Daily Mirror, June 16 2017

Court rejects Defence request to recall warrant

The hartal in Jaffna yesterday. Picture by Vavuniya North Group Corr. Bandula Seneviratne

Case against National Blood Centre Directress:

Lakmal Sooriyagoda-Saturday, June 17, 2017

The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court yesterday rejected a request made by Defence Counsel to recall a warrant issued for the arrest of former National Blood Centre Directress Dr. Mangalika Bindusara.

On June 7, the Chief Magistrate issued a warrant against former National Blood Centre Directress for her failure to appear before Court regarding a case which involved the importing of outdated blood plasma filtering units and issuing them for usage.

Filing a motion before Chief Magistrate Lal Ranasinghe Bandara, defence counsel moved court that warrant issued against his client be recalled.

However, the accused was not present in Courts yesterday. Defence counsel said his client is currently overseas and will be returned early next month.

The Chief Magistrate rejected the request made by defence counsel and asked him to make this application once his client was appeared in courts.

Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption had filed a case against former Blood Bank Directress for causing financial loss to the government when importing outdated blood plasma filtering units and issuing them for usage.This case is to be taken up again on August 9.

SRI LANKA: Ja-Ella Police steals money from innocent woman and files a fabricated charge in lieu

16 June 2017

Dear Friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information regarding Ja-Ella Police stealing the wallet of an innocent woman and subsequently filing false gambling charges against her. Several witnesses testified to the police that the woman did not participate in any gambling activity. The victim complained to the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) (Western Province North) Office at Paliyagoda, however no steps have been taken to return her wallet or prosecute the police officers responsible.

CASE NARRATIVE:

SRI LANKA Ja-Ella Police steals money from innocent woman and files a fabricated charge in lieu.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Whither SL Rupavahini Corp. the national Institution ? Drowned in a sea of debt due to corruption and mismanagement at the top !

(Lanka-e-News - 15.June.2017, 9.05AM) The Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation is drowned in a sea of debt , and as a result even the payment of salaries to its employees was delayed last month. While the inefficiency and incompetence of the chairman and its management has become clearly manifest based on this disastrous situation to which it is plunged into , these culprits are still displaying to the world the entity is a wonderful ‘miracle’ when the stark truth is it is a total debacle !

Usually the staff salaries are paid on the 25 th of every month, and the pay sheets are issued on the previous day (24) . Even these sheets were issued only on the 2 5 th in May , while the salaries were paid on the 26 th. These salary payments were made surmounting Himalayan obstacles to collect the cash. That is after the marketing administration running helter skelter in order to collect cash .Finally after crediting to the relevant bank of Ceylon account the monies collected in advance which monies were actually to be received by the Corporation for cricket telecasts only subsequently . The adverse financial climate at the Rupavahini seriously militated against the efforts.

There are about 1300 employees in the National Rupavahini Corporation , and they are spread among the Colombo , Pidurutalagala , Hantane and other branches. The Corporation needs about Rs. 65 million monthly to pay the salaries of the employees.

Blacklisted

The Rupavahini Corporation is indebted to the tune of a whopping Rs. 450 million approximately . Hitherto the salaries of the staff were paid out of an overdraft obtained from Bank of Ceylon , headquarters located in the Fort . The overdraft amount granted was Rs. 170 million . This sum has been obtained via several overdrafts at interest rates of 11%, 12%, 15% ,17 % and 24 %.( it is to be noted when the bank loan exceeds Rs. 145 million , an interest rate of 24 % is applied). Recently the bank had even intimated by letter to the Corporation that if the repayment is delayed after exceeding the Rs. 145 million slab , the Corporation will be blacklisted.

The last month salaries were paid by the Corporation after settling the bank overdraft outstanding of Rs. 55 million , and obtaining another overdraft facility of Rs. 65 million. Therefore the Corporation will be hard pressed to pay the June salaries because that sum must be obtained from its Bank of Ceylon account No. 2323275 through a loan.

Meanwhile the overdraft facility obtained from its Bank of Ceylon Torrington branch is Rs. 21 million. There too the interest payable to the bank is 24 % when the loan amount exceeds Rs. 15 million.

The electricity bills of the Corporation is in excess of Rs. 1.2 million. When the Electricity Board threatened to terminate the power supply , , the Corporation has been able to postpone the disconnection for two weeks by promising to pay a fraction of the arrears.

The Corporation owed a sum of Rs. 17 million to the Cricket Association . In connection with the current cricket telecasts , out of the sum of Rs. 70 million payable to the cricket association , Rs. 50 million must be paid before the commencement of the tournament, yet the Corporation could only pay Rs. 17 million to the association.

Though the Association has made a request to settle the balance , so far the Corporation had been able to make payments only out of advances collected as loans from various Institutions out of the monies due to the Corporation on account of future telecasts. In other words , the top management of the Corporation has driven the entity into a grave financial predicament with the result , even the future cricket telecasting activities of the Corporation are befouled and stymied.

In addition , because the membership fee payable to Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union has not been paid for a long time , that arrears has also reached over US dollars 9000.00

Employees’ Insurance cancelled

Meanwhile the health insurance of the employees have by now been suspended. Though the employees’ insurance payment at 10 % was made for the first quarter, now for the last over six months it has gone into arrears. Annually a sum of Rs. 40 million was paid to the Insurance Corporation . But now that payment had not been made , the Corporation goes down in history as the Institution that suspended the insurance cover of the employees due to its default in payment . This doom and gloom the Corporation has been plunged into because of an inefficient chairman and an incompetent Director General appointed by president Maithripala Sirisena , will also create history because of the egregious irreversible blunder that was committed .

Now the employees do not have an insurance cover. Consequently , the Rupavahini Corporation itself is taking measures to pay for the employees’ medical needs . Because the Corporation does not have sufficient funds it is delaying the payment of the hospital bills which are providing the health services. Due to regular payment delays the hospital authorities have to go on contacting the Corporation’s Insurance division every now and then.

At the moment the arrears to be paid amounts to about Rs. 2 million. Consequently , the Rupavahini Corporation is facing the threat of getting its name entered in the blacklist of private hospitals. The withdrawal of the Insurance cover is borne testimony to by the fact that the medical bill of the daughter of the Rupavahini chairman was footed by the Rupavahini Corporation .

Based on the rating of television channels of SL , Rupavahini is at 7 th place. While the private TV channels in SL are making profits , the government Rupavahini Corporation is incurring losses because of the gross mismanagement and incompetence of the administration.

It is the chairman who should shoulder the full responsibility, and be accountable for this. It is because of his inefficiency and arrogance coupled with a Director General who is also of the same ilk and deplorable standard , the fate of Rupavahini is writ on the wall . The middle management too is in a state of paralysis because they are aware it will serve no point or purpose going against them .

What was Rs. 150,000.00 for 30 secs. Is now Rs. 2500.00

Though the income of Rupavahini was Rs. 140 million during last April festival season , other days its income is only Rs. 1 1/ 2 million per day. In 2015 too ,during the reign of the last regime, the monthly income of Rupavahini was about Rs. 160 million only , but the monthly expenditure was more than Rs. 180 million.

The charges for some commercial advertisements lasting 30 seconds have dropped to an amount as small as Rs. 2500.00. This is because of the introduction of the package scheme , and all the murky goings on were raging behind that . Rupavahini in fact must during its Prime time charge Rs. 150,000.00 for 30 seconds air time. Even though the Rupavahini chairman was aware of the stark facts, but because of his weakness , irresponsibility and inefficient administration , the rot set in.

Administration of Rupavahini is run by the Maithri faction of the consensual government , and the high rung administrators are those appointed by Maithripala Sirisena .Its chairman is lawyer Ravi Jayawardena , and the Director General is lawyer Thusira Malawathanthri . The active director is lawyer Nuwan Somaratne appointed by former minister of media ,Gayantha Karunatileke.

The travel expenses of Somaratne who goes to Elpitiya daily is met out of funds of Rupavahini , including the expenses of the private secretary . In addition ,for using the expressway ,arrangements have been made by the Rupavahini to pay him that expense too . Fortunately for the Corporation and the country , a new minister was appointed. With that the active director has gone missing. Yet the chairman and the Director General are still holding sway , and continuing to devastate the Corporation.

Each of these individuals on the highest rungs of the main administration is paid a monthly allowance of Rs. 100,000.00, and as their phone , transport and other bills are also met by the Corporation , about Rs. 200,000.00 is the expenditure monthly in respect of each of them.

What ‘s more ! Even when the Corporation is in dire straits , the high rung management including the chairman and board of directors citing their own impecunious condition , got their own fuel allowance raised from Rs. 30,000.00 to Rs. 50,000.00 most ruthlessly and shamelessly .

Mihintale Pooja or filthy cash pooja ?

The chairman who is moving heaven and earth to please the president with a view to safeguard his own position , sought to secure the live telecast of the Mihintale Poson ceremony participated by the president , but without avail.

For 8 years in the past , Rupavahini telecast the Poson function from Thantrimale Vihara . That was done without any payment being made to the Vihara . Hence the expense incurred by Rupavahini was only the production cost. That amount was about Rs. 2 million.

In any event the chairman amidst a storm of controversy insisted that the telecasting of Poson Poya shall be done from Mihintale . The Mihintale prelates demanded Rs. 5 million from Rupavahini in view of the telecast , but cash strapped Rupavahini got that amount reduced to Rs. 3 million. Rupavahini was therefore only granted rights to the Buddha pooja and a bana sermon .The chairman had made a plan to collect the Rs. 3 million through the bank of Ceylon sponsorship.

Finance minister Mangala Smaraweera has as a policy stated funds will not be released for Temples . Hence he was advised not to make that move ,and seek funds from elsewhere.

Yet the chairman by saying he is a representative of the president ignoring the minister’s instructions , had sought funds from an outside source. After collecting Rs. I million from Daya Gamage and Rs. 1 million from Rupavahini , he had tried to use this Rs. 2 million to get only the Mihintale Aloka pooja inauguration .

Though that is a thing that can be secured without making any payment , the chairman disregarding even what the employees point out , is taking action unheeding everything .

The chairman on the 7 th of June had threatened the Finance Director of the Institution that if she does not issue the check of Rs. 1 million to the Mihinthala Poson celebration he would dismiss her from the post. Thankfully , because of the integrity and rectitude of this Finance director (unlike the chairman) , and the objections raised by the employees on the grounds that the Corporation is penurious , the chairman was forced to relent , and the Corporation funds which were to be misused were saved. It is being said , Daya Gamage ‘s money was paid to Miihintale, only God knows what happened to the cash.

‘Sihinayak Rae’ – corruption at its worst !

Meanwhile , the chairman has got involved in a program or rather a business in which payments are being collected from Sri Lankans abroad . This is by claiming the popular ‘Sihinayak Rae ‘ program that was telecast by the Rupavahini is going to be taken abroad , and there is also going to be a musical concert .

By now , one part of it is being implemented in America. So , lawyer Ravi Jayawardena the chairman is full of excitement and eagerness ( sadly , he does not show that eagerness to resuscitate the Corporation which is in a shambles mainly owing to him) as the leader of the group which left for America prostituting his official position for which he is best noted , selling the honor of the art of music , and the reputation of the Rupavahini Corporation.

At the Oman ‘Sininayak Rae’ program , a sum of Rs.35000.00 was collected for a song , and at the program in America US. Dollars 550 .00 was charged for a song, reports say. Yet those collections did not go into the Corporation’s account ,meaning it was an unalloyed corruption. The group has gone for the program in Oman by saying they were going to Anuradhapura.

The chairman who is guilt ridden after bungling the Rupavahini is now doing everything possible to cover it up by resorting to all the disgraceful and deplorable tactics. Even while the Rupavahini is economically routed , this uncaring chairman is seeking to get down the president and hold functions wasting the Corporation funds.

During the past , a program ‘ Children shall be protected like life’ was conducted spending huge amount of funds. Though nothing did the children gain , the Corporation’s funds were sent down the drain. Another program ‘carefully go and return’ was also another wasteful exercise wasting funds. This program did nothing useful to the country .Only accidents in the country rose even as this program was launched. In like manner , preparations are under way to conduct an environmental program .

It is a pity though this is an Institution which has all the opportunities and potential to make profits, yet it has been transformed into an economic debacle . The president and the relevant minister are kept in the dark by the chairman who is distorting the true picture ,and feeding them wrong information .

At any rate the present media minister having perceived the sorry state of the Corporation has ordered this group to resign , however the chairman has taken steps to continue in his position through dubious and devious methods to deceive the minister. Since the minister is in charge of an Institution where the president’s faction is entrenched , the media minister is unable to do anything as it might go against the president. The chairman and the Director General are therefore carrying on regardless without quitting.

This is in fact tantamount to overriding the present media minister , and if by any chance attempts are being made to keep back the chairman and the Director General who are the architects of Rupavahini’s disaster, that would constitute a deliberate move to wreck the future of the Rupavahini and that of the employees . In that case the president and the present media minister must hold themselves directly responsible , the employees opine.

Anyone can get the truth of the above information confirmed from T.M. J. Chandrasekera the information officer of the Rupavahini Corporation appointed by the good governance government under the right to information enactment . His address is as follows :

T.M.G. Chandrasekera , Director Research and training unit , Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation , Torrington square , Colombo 07.