Brain and Heart: Vital but different

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana-December 17, 2017, 9:20 pm 

There is no doubt that the brain and the heart are the two most vital organs in the body, as they not only dictate your life but also cause death when they stop functioning. Not that other organs do not play an important role but their malfunction does not produce the same dramatic effect. Though as a Cardiologist by training, I should support the supremacy of the heart, I have often wondered whether the heart has been revered with many attributes without much justification. For instance, artistes, whether they be writers, poets, singers or painters, attribute emotions to the heart. They say we love with our heart, but do we? Is it not the mind that generate emotions? Where does mind reside? In the brain, in the heart, both or nowhere? Gautama Buddha, very aptly, described the mind as ‘Faring far, wandering alone, bodiless, lying in a cave’ (Duran gaman,EkaCharan,Asariram,guhasiyam) But which cave?

Many songs come to my mind but, for the reason that may become obvious later, I have chosen Narada Dissasekara’s beautiful song:

"Muluhadin mama eyata pemkota, anagatha pem sihina mawwemi.

age sonduriya wenath kenekuta, aithiwunu heti bala dukwemi"

Translated, rather crudely, as:

"Having loved her with all my heart, created future romantic dreams. My love was snatched by another, seeing how it happened, I weep"

Change of just one word could have made the difference; instead of hadin (heart), hithin (mind)could have been substituted, without change in rhyme or rhythm, but making it more accurate, scientifically. After all, love is in the mind!Or is it? Whatever scientists say, from time immemorial, emotions have always been associated with the heart but not all. You do not get depressed with the heart but when you get depressed, you can be heart broken.

In fact, research has given new meaning to the concept of a broken heart and, indeed, you can die of a broken heart. Japanese researchers reported, in 2001, a syndrome where there was acute dilatation of the left ventricle (the main pumping chamber of the heart). As the heart, on injecting dye and taking angiograms, showed an appearance similar to that of an octopus trap, they called it "Takotsubo cardiomyopathy". On further investigation, they found it to be due to acute stress like the death of a loved one, break-up of a relationship etc. Patients present either like a heart attack or in heart failure but, on investigation, coronary arteries (the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle) are normal with no narrowing or clots.Most recover but a tiny minority may die due to worsening heart failure or, even more rarely, due to rupture of the heart. Thus, there is truth to the old saying ‘died of a ruptured heart’ (Hadawath pelila meruna).

How does this happen? It happens simply because the heart is full of nerve fibres, being second only to the brain. Heart is mechanically a pump, but for it to beat appropriately, faster when needed and vice versa, regulatory nerve impulses are needed. There are two types of impulses in the autonomic (the one we do not perceive) nervous system: sympathetic, to accelerate the heart when we have to run or get excited and parasympathetic, slow down the heart when resting or asleep. It is the torrential flow of sympathetic impulses that can cause a ‘broken heart’, virtually paralysing the main pumping chamber.

Interestingly, the heart is rich not only in nerve fibres but also in nerve cells; a fact discovered due to observations made after heart transplants. As mentioned in my article "Mending the heart" (The Island, 9th December), it is 50 years since the first successful human-to-human heart transplant. One of the most interesting observations following heart transplantation is change of personality, though it happens only rarely. One of the best documented cases is that of a lady who, after transplant, started liking beer she hated previously and wanting to ride motorcycles which she was scared of previously. It transpired that she had received the heart of a keen motorcyclist, fond of beer, who died following an accident. Some postulate that there may a tiny brain in the heart! Not a real brain but a collection of nerve cells, seen nowhere else.

Why has the brain played second fiddle?

One of the reasons may be that it is not a dramatic structure. Even in the living, it is a semi-solid lump not showing any features of life, unlike the heart which beats vigorously. Just last week, an amazing case was reported from Glenfield Hospital in Leicester, the centre to which I referred most of my patients for cardiac surgery when I was in active practice. This was a child born with the heart beating outside the body due to the absence of the breastbone. The pictures shown on television news was very dramatic and no picture of the brain can match this. Surgeons, having detected this abnormality prior to birth by ultrasound examinations, were ready to cover the heart up, soon after delivery. Child will need an artificial breastbone and, obviously, will need more operations but would be able to live a normal life, ultimately.

Our brain works like a computer, doing many complex tasks by exchange of tiny electrical impulses and building of microscopic connections, millions of them every minute.

One of the cardinal differences between the heart and the brain is in the modes of treatment. Though heart transplants have been done for over half-a-century and artificial hearts are within sight, this form of therapy is impossible with the brain. Brain transplants or artificial brains are not within the realm of possibility. The only options are preventing brain damage and helping repair; stem cell therapy playing a vital part.

New drugs for degenerative diseases of the nervous system

News came, last week, of what could be the most important breakthrough in the last fifty years, for the management of degenerative diseases of the nervous system. It was in the treatment of Huntingdon’s disease, a hereditary condition that leads to abnormal movements, dementia and paralysis leading to a slow painful death in relatively young people. Scientists at University College, London reported that they had success with a new form of treatment. Huntington’s is caused by an error in a section of DNA called the huntingtin gene. Normally this produces a protein called huntingtin which helps in brain development but an error leads to the production of a toxic variety of huntingtin which damages brain cells. The treatment is to silence the gene by infusing into the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord a drug that attacks the messenger protein, RNA. Infusions had been given to 46 patients with resultant decrease of the toxic variety of huntingtin. The drug was well tolerated and safe but this is just the beginning of a long process that gives a glimmer of hope to a condition which was untreatable, so far. If this is successful, similar medications for diseases like Parkinson’s and dementia are very likely to be developed.

Artificial hearts

In my previous article I briefly mentioned about artificial hearts. Initially, scientists tried to imitate the heart with pumps that beat, squeezing the blood just like the heart did but there were many problems including clotting of blood in these pumps. A device developed for children, where a rotatory device was used to squeeze blood running through a tube with high frequency rotation has been shown to be effective in adults as well and research is now concentrated on this type of device. But, it may all change due to the advent of 3D printing. Using this technique, scientists in Zurich had created the world’s first soft artificial beating heart which looks very much like a normal heart and is well worth watching:http://miami.cbslocal.com/2017/12/07/artificial-organs-health-research/

However, there is one problem; this heart can beat only 3000 times, just over 30 minutes, as the material cannot stand the strain. Now the search for durable materials start and whether one can be found, we do not know. Hope there is success.

Stem cell therapy

This is the most promising of all treatments, not only for diseases of heart and brain but many other organs. Cell therapy for chronic ischaemic heart disease and heart failure is already available on experimental basis at research centres. Stem cells harvested from a recipient is infused through coronary arteries or injected direct to the heart muscle with good results. Stem cells have the innate ability to develop into any type of cell and the expectation is that the infused stem cells will grow into heart muscle cells with recovery of function. If successful, this can be applied to diseases of many other organs. Again, this is just the beginning of a long journey but, overall, the most promising one that may revolutionise the practice of medicine.

(The writer is a cardiologist)

Do we consider corruption ‘family values’ in Sri Lanka?

Monday, 18 December 2017

I just watched a recent video published by the World Bank Group (WBG) titled ‘Confronting corruption: commitment, innovation, impact’. It was screened at an event to mark International Anticorruption Day (9 December) which was attended by WBG President Jim Yong Kim and former WBG President James D. Wolfensohn (two terms of office; 1995-2005).



Former World Bank President James Wolfensohn 

Wolfensohn can be regarded as the father of the anticorruption movement launched by WBG more than 20 years ago. Kim is following in Wolfensohn’s footsteps and has made a lot of progress in combating corruption and making WBG more human.

At the said discussion, answering a question raised by Kim, who is now serving his second term as WBG President, about one of the meetings Wolfensohn had in Indonesia 20 years ago, the latter said: “The meeting timetable changed all of a sudden. After the President’s (Suharto) speech, there was a half hour break in the agenda before mine. I asked the reason from one of his assistants. He said that the President wanted to speak to me and I was fetched to his office. At this private meeting, he (Suharto) told me that he understands that we were doing interesting things at WBG and asked about corruption. So I explained what we were doing at WBG. Then he looked at me and said, ‘I understand what you are saying, but it is not a subject for you to go along here!’ Then I (Wolfensohn) told him that I thought it was one. He (Suharto) said, ‘No, no. In terms of governance corruption is a good thing. I (Suharto) think it is good; my whole family thinks it is good’. So, I (Wolfensohn) asked whether it was their salary, he said, ‘Yes - but not approved!’”

Then Kim recalled how Wolfensohn paraphrased Suharto’s words a few years back as follows: “Mr. Wolfensohn, what you call corruption, we call family values!”

WBG’s officials mentioned a number of measures and systems they have put in place after President Wolfensohn’s historic anticorruption speech delivered in 1996. One of the recent initiatives has been holding the first ‘Global Forum on Asset Recovery’ staged earlier this month and the signing of a tripartite MoU between Nigeria, Switzerland and WBG to recover public assets from the Abachas of Nigeria (Sani Abacha was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993-98).

Sources say that during the Abacha regime, he and his family reportedly stole £ 5 billion from the country’s coffers.

This forum has been attended by 28 countries including Sri Lanka. Asset recovery must be on the cards here too and it is good news for all law-abiding Sri Lankans.

For most of us Sri Lankans who can think a bit, corruption and upholding family values are two different things. But we know some Sri Lankans have upheld their so-called ‘family values’ at the public’s expense. The authorities must make arrangements to bring all the culprits to book for the recovery of stolen assets while tightening the screws against potential future corruption.

[The writer is a borderless thinker and futurist. He can be contacted at galhena@yahoo.co.uk]

Lord Naseby vs the Sri Lanka Campaign War is over, but body count debate continues

By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan-2017-12-17

It's quite intriguing why Lord Naseby PC and the President of the All Party British Sri Lanka Parliamentary Group, which was initiated by him in 1965, came back like a knight in shining armour to challenge the United Nations' Panel of Experts' death toll of 40,000 against his 7,000 casualty claim during the last phase of the war.

His debate that around 7,000 were killed in the last days of the war was not a new discovery. He has been supportive of the faction that argues that the Government of Sri Lanka never committed war crimes during the Rajapaksa regime. But his speech at the UK Parliament last October caught wide attention, thanks to the media and a vulnerable government that entertained his claim – which took many by surprise – by accepting to look into his 7,000 deaths claim although the UK co-sponsored the 2015 UN resolution.

Sri Lanka Campaign – a global non-partisan movement – noted the incumbent Sri Lankan Government is using Naseby's statement to lobby to reverse its international commitments on accountability, where the current Foreign Minister suggested that the government would see the latest information as an opportunity to counter international pressure.

What is also interesting is that Naseby's claims should be taken into consideration in a backdrop of series of enforced disappearances, excavation of mass grave yards, families searching for their missing loved ones, paramilitary groups in operation, white van abductions, extrajudicial killings and overall alleged human rights violations that rocked the country for several decades.

It's also quite interesting to see him meddling with internal affairs of a country that has always been opposed to international interferences by criticizing every country that spoke on the injustices committed against its people.

Moreover, there has been a series of accusations from the very top Army personalities such as Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka who revealed that Gen Jagath Jayasuriya committed crimes while he was posted in the North during the last months of the war.

When this writer interviewed Gen Jayasuriya this year, and asked whether he knew of any mass killings in the North, all he had to say was that while being posted in the Mullaitivu camp how he could have known what was going on at the Nandikadal lagoon.

The secret detention camp JOSOPH was located in the camp where he was serving, but he said he would not have known anything because another officer was in charge of that building.
Utter chaos

Lord Naseby's 7,000 deaths claim should also be considered in the backdrop where the writer was told by former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa that the last days of the war was utter chaos with so much going on and in a situation like that who could go about monitoring who was doing what.

Naseby's statement is also against the UN's statement which noted that hundreds of enforced disappearances committed since 2006 have already placed Sri Lanka among the countries with the highest number of new cases in the world.

It should also be reminded that former Secretary General Ban Ki-moon admitted that the UN failed during the last days of the war.

Lord Naseby tells Ceylon Today in an email response that all his evidence related to the final number of deaths, which was gathered over a period of nearly three years, has been made available to the UK Government, the Government of Sri Lanka, and that last week he delivered it to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. He also says the High Commissioner of the UNHCR as well as the nine special rapporteurs on the UNHCR who have visited Sri Lanka recently have received a copy of his claims and that he awaits their response.

On the missing persons issue Naseby says he understands that the Government of Sri Lanka is taking the matter very seriously, having set up a new department of 'Missing Persons' and that a great deal of research has already been done by the ICRC and the Paranagama Report. "I do feel for all the families who come from all over Sri Lanka not just the North and East. I shall be monitoring progress," he says.

Sri Lanka Campaign fought back against Naseby theory of low casualty stating that his information was clearly the initial numbers that were in record and that was not the ultimate result and it's obvious he is making a major error.

They also noted that this information is from 39 pages of heavily redacted war-time diplomatic despatches between the former British Defence Attache in Sri Lanka, Lieutenant Colonel Anton Gash, and the UK Foreign Office.

The Defence Attache is quoted by Naseby as stating, on 26 April 2009, the total number of civilians killed between 1 February and 26 April stood at 6,432. Based on this, Naseby argues that the "UK must now get the UN and the [UN Human Rights Council] in Geneva to accept a civilian casualty level of 7,000 to 8,000, not 40,000."

Presenting old data

Sri Lanka Campaign reiterated that the Defence Attache's figure is presented by Naseby as new and distinct from other estimates of civilian casualties to date. However, it is not. In fact, as evidenced by this Guardian report from 2009, it is merely a snapshot of figures compiled over a much broader time-frame by the UN Country Team in Sri Lanka, which placed the total number of civilians killed between August 2008 and 13 May 2009 at 7,721. This estimate has been in the public domain at least since 2011, when it was cited by a Panel of Experts appointed by the UN Secretary-General to look into the final stages of war. Their report found 7,721 'likely to be too low' an estimate of civilian casualties – highlighting the 'quite conservative' methodology deployed by the UN Country Team in arriving at the figure, and pointing out that the counting of the dead by UN Country Team staff had stopped several days before the war actually came to an end, "when the number of civilian casualties grew rapidly".

These later UN estimates, which together indicate that the range of civilian deaths probably lie somewhere in the range of 40,000-70,000, remain the most credible to date. The suggestion by Naseby that – having highlighted a mere portion of the evidence – is simply incoherent, Sri Lanka Campaign, also based in the UK, noted. Naseby's motive to not accept facts pertaining to final casualty figures and other serious human sufferings as accepted by the UN, of which both the UK and Sri Lanka are member countries, is still unknown. But, the fact remains that he has been highly glorified in Sri Lanka for the only reason that he is against all accusations against Sri Lanka, which is preventing the victims from calling for an end to their sufferings.

It's also interesting that the British High Commission dismissed Naseby's claims by stating that his call doesn't reflect UK's stance.

The BHC Colombo stance on the matter is obvious that the despatches by Col. Anton Gash, the former defence attache of the British High Commission that the death toll was an initial estimation.
What Naseby said about Darusman's POE report was that "there is still no reliable figure for civilian deaths," but then guessed at 40,000. This figure is bandied about by virtually every human rights organization and the thousands of Tamil diaspora throughout the world, many of whom were LTTE Tamil Tiger supporters and still are, inflamed by Tamil Net and those ghastly Channel 4 Killing Fields films, which so influenced the previous Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, a senior official of a prominent ministry, who did not want to disclose his name, told Ceylon Today that the so-called Sri Lanka Global Forum is on an agenda to bring back the Rajapaksas and they have been heavily backed by some current and former mission heads, who have close associates and relatives as MPs in the Joint Opposition.

He also noted that Naseby's statement is being used by them to try to create a conflict within the country and also make the government and the President look foolish in the eyes of the international community. "They miss the point that the panel of experts report doesn't matter. It is not a UN report and in any case, the number that died in the last phase of the conflict is not the reason for any of the resolutions to be adopted.

Some of the prominent figures in the international NGO sector noted that the old statistics being rehashed with total dishonesty because Gash (who anyway was sitting in Colombo so what did he know) said 7,000 (based on very conservative UN estimates in April 2009 ) does not preclude 40,000 (or more) being a reasonable estimate reached after the war – the UN panel is not saying they counted 40,000 bodies – they are estimating – based on all the reports they got – including the 7,000 count which is anyway a partial count.

"Naseby deliberately and simplistically uses the 7,000 count to contradict the 40,000 estimate and have no credibility abroad and OISL cannot be undone," he noted further.
Excludes worst killings

Naseby quotes a figure of 6,432 killed from Anton Gash. That is the precise figure used by the UN for casualties from 20 Jan to 20 April 2009 only – that is three months and not including the worst killing in May 2009. Gash would have heard these UN briefings.

I have seen the UN spreadsheets they are based on. These are only triangulated ('verified') deaths where three independent sources confirm them. It's an amazingly cautious figure. And yet this UN data says 20% of dead (of 6432) were kids. In addition 13,946 were recorded injured in this period by UN and perhaps some will have died of their injuries.

In 2012 the UN noted that they failed to call proper attention to the plight of hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankan civilians during the bloody final stage of the Government's war against the LTTE.
The report said the UN system failed to meet its responsibilities – highlighting, in particular, the roles played by the Secretariat, the agencies and programs of the UN Country Team, and the members of the Security Council and Human Rights Council.

Ban's panel, was led by Charles Petrie, a former UN official. Later he said their findings and recommendations provide an urgent and compelling platform for action.

The panel also criticized UN member states for not calling a single formal meeting of the Security Council, the Human Rights Council or the 193-nation General Assembly during the final months of the Sri Lanka conflict.

Petrie's report cites 50,000 casualties from UN uncorroborated (i.e. not triangulated) data and paragraph 210 explains it thoroughly.

The need of the hour is to investigate all these number claims and the assistance by Col Anton Gash who is around to testify on his report how and when he got these statistics. The matter cannot be delayed because Sri Lanka has been using human sufferings as a tool to do power games and politics.
Naseby's 7,000 or Darusman's 40,000 death toll does not define how fair the war was, but how did you do it. If Darusman's numbers are based on no reliable evidence, then Naseby should tell what happened to the rest of the 32,000 people in the calculation and prove his death toll number 7,000 with tangible evidences.

Unanswered:

Some of the pertinent questions emailed to Naseby came unanswered. Some of them were: What's new about the 6,432 figure – Is it what UN's COG collected and briefed diplomats on in Spring of 2009? Of course Gash would report on it. So what about it?

The Petrie report annex cites 17,810 and 36,905 killed and injured – but these numbers were not verified in the way the smaller figure was. Isn't it possible the figure is actually much bigger than the 7,700 UN collected because this number doesn't include deaths in May 2009 when the war was at its most intense and people were starving etc. 'also this figure doesn't include all those people who disappeared after surrendering or in custody? What have you to say?

It was 18,479 verified injuries by UN by April 2009 – isn't it possible many of these also died of their wounds given conditions in war zone in May 2009, how do your casualty numbers relate to the numbers collected by the UN in 2009?

amiesulo@gmail.com

Professor Hoole Twists Language Issue To Out Twist Traffic Cop In Court

December 17 2017

On Thursday 14.12.2017, Magistrate Mohammed S.M. Samsuddin of Mullaitivu declared Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole of the Election Commission not guilty of the offence of speeding on 26.06.2017 at 80 kmph where the limit was 70 mph.

According to the court records of case no. 23388 and eye-witness testimony, the incident occurred on the A9 in the Muruhandy area. Professor Hoole had complained at the Mankulam Police Station having jurisdiction for that area that he had been driving within the speed limit and had been stopped for the purpose of soliciting a bribe.

The case, where Prof. Hoole represented himself, raised several issues of interest. The language of the courts in the North by the Constitution’s Article 24, is Tamil. When the police prosecuted in Sinhalese, Prof. Hoole objected, demanding a trial in Tamil. When the police said they did not know Tamil, Hoole asked them why they came to the North knowing that the official language is Tamil. “Is it to lord it over us?” The judge said Tamils are not joining the police and Hoole’s rejoinder was that Tamils cannot work with such nasty policemen. There was  tension as the policemen angrily protested. Finally a policeman translated and Prof. Hoole again objected that the man was helping witnesses by speaking to them in Sinhalese. Judge Samsuddin then assured Prof. Hoole that he would check on the translation.

In cross-examination the sergeant and the constable who did the ticketing admitted that they spoke entirely in Sinhalese during the traffic stop. Asked if they check whether a driver understands them before speaking in Sinhalese, the constable said no but that is how all policemen are. Asked if they care if they are understood by Tamils and whether they see Tamils as cattle and sheep, he did not answer. Prof. Hoole asked rhetorically  if it is like in that courtroom where the Court Sergeant shouts at everyone and no one understands him. He also said that the policeman by the accused’s cage had beaten him on the hands for them to be taken off the rails. At this point Hoole asked the judge, “This man thinks it is an insult to court if I have my hands on the rails. Is that so?” The judge, a little taken a back, said “No. You can have your hands there.”

 

The sergeant had claimed he knew only Sinhalese but his constable spoke Tamil well and that Prof. Hoole had told him he had just bribed a policeman in Mullaitivu and offered Rs. 1000 to him if he would let Hoole go. He added that it is angered by this that Hoole had filed a complaint at the Mankulam police. Asked if his OIC had queried him about it, he said no.

The Constable began testifying in Sinhalese and when Hoole insisted he should testify in the language of court, he claimed not to know much Tamil. He too had not faced questioning. He testified in Sinhalese about the offer of a bribe by Hoole and that the conversation was in Tamil. Asked to repeat the offer of the bribe in the words used by Hoole, he could not. However, the judge said may be he can understand what was said but cannot repeat it. He said the radar was certified by Moratuwa University.

The Constable was then asked for the route from Mullaitivy to Colombo. The answer was through Mankulam or Puliyakulam. The follow up question was how someone going from Mullaitivu to Colombo was caught in Muruhandy. There was no answer.

On the radar machine, Prof. Hoole produced his own electromagnetics textbook by Oxford University Press explaining how radar works and elaborated on ghosting and shadowing errors. The sergeant who ticketed him produced a certificate from Colombo-based ACE certifying to the reliability of the machine for the three months of the date of certificate. The radar ID was not on the machine.

On cross-examination the Constable was asked how, when even goods by world-class companies break down while on warranty, any scientist of decent credentials could say the machine will not breakdown for three months. He produced evidence from the Australian Police and the International Chief of Police Associations, both saying that a radar machine has to be tested before and after a policeman’s shift through calibration to ensure that it was in good order when speed was measured. Because of various errors a recommendation from the Crown Prosecution Services in Canada was produced advising that no one be ticketed unless he was 10% above the speed limit pus 2 mph.

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That merry-go-round of denying legal counsel to suspects

• Sunday, December 17, 2017

Amidst the routine ‘celebrating’ of annual International Human Rights Day, a Bill to amend Sri Lanka’s Code of Criminal Procedure Act (CPC) on the vexed question of giving suspects in police custody the right of prompt access to legal counsel gazetted in mid-November, quietly escaped scrutiny.

A sorry trajectory of bad amendments
Ironically, if these proposed amendments had been brought by the former Rajapaksa administration, they would have given rise to a storm of protests amidst muttered and dark warnings of the Rule of Law at risk. Rather than actually secure a most important and basic right of access to legal counsel for those most vulnerable, the amendments actually undermine the right. At each and every point in the trajectory of the successive amendments on this issue from 2016, the privilege afforded to the police is sought to be entrenched. This time around, it is the same.

Late last year, the Government proposed an amendment to the CPC, along with a badly crafted Counter-Terror draft law, which gave suspects in police custody the right to independent legal counsel only after the police interrogations were completed and statements recorded.

As was pointed out in these column spaces at the time, this amendment reversed earlier progressive constitutional precedents. In cursus curiae of the Supreme Court from the mid-nineties onwards, enlightened judges had recognized the fact that torture is most often inflicted by law enforcement officers on suspects at the earliest points after arrest and stressed the need for adequate safeguards in that regard.

Promises have not been honoured
As I observed; ‘long before glamorous notions of constitutional rights gripped our collective imagination, these same rights had been secured without much fanfare by Sri Lanka’s appellate court judges in relation to accepted criminal procedures.’ On its part, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka issued a sober caution in respect of the 2016 amendment, stating that ‘many instances of torture as well as cruel, inhuman treatment of suspects at police stations occur between the period of arrest and the conclusion of the recording of their statements.’

A new version of the amendment gazetted in early March this year was also flawed as it stated in unreasonably broad language that such access may be denied if it ‘impedes’ ongoing investigations. A further version followed in April with similarly problematic aspects. Responding to growing public apprehensions, the Government assured that the Bill would be comprehensively overhauled. But contrary to these undertakings, what has been gazetted in November basically takes the contents of the earlier amendments and recasts the same in amended words.

The November Bill states that access to legal counsel should not ‘affect’ the investigations being conducted. What the legal meaning of ‘affects’ may be is anybody’s guess. In this instance, the discretion is left to the undoubtedly perilous hands of an OIC who may act as he or she wishes as the freedom to do so is not legally constrained in narrow terms. When such access is delayed, the decision is subject to review by a senior police officer not below the rank of a Superintendent of Police. In this version, a lawyer is not allowed to be present when a suspect is being interviewed by the police and his statement is recorded.

The unwise conferral of broad powers

Further, the gazetted amendment (similar to its predecessor drafts) gives discretion to the officer-in charge (OIC) of the police station to delay an attorney-at-law access to a suspect if the OIC had ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe that this may lead to the destruction of evidence of or interference with or cause harm to evidence or cause any threat or harm to any person who may be acquainted with the facts and circumstances of such offence.

The list of grounds to delay access also include belief on the part of the police that such consultations with lawyers may lead to the alerting of any person involved in the offence or may hinder the identification, location or recovery of any property, utensil and so on which has been obtained or used in the committing of the offence. These are provisions which seem perfectly proper and reasonable in any functioning Rule of Law system. However in a thoroughly degraded policing system such as what unfortunately prevails in Sri Lanka currently, there are peculiar dangers that arise when specific laws confer broad powers such as these on police officers.

And when I say ‘degraded’, it is with full recognition of the precise meaning of that term. Such an assessment does not come from unsubstantiated reports or vague rhetoric or for that matter, from recent reports that senior police officers are enraged en masse by the command ‘from high’ that their phones should be ‘tapped,’ as scandalously indicative of the internal breakdown of institutional integrity as this may be. Instead these conclusions stem from years of meticulous documentation of endemic practices of torture by law enforcement agencies under Governments of all shades and party colours, which have indeed been condemned by Sri Lanka’s judiciary at the highest levels.

The unseemly tug-of-war must stop

The point here is that, this systemic breakdown traces itself to a malfunctioning prosecutorial and criminal justice system. A singular example is the lack of convictions under Sri Lanka’s Convention against Torture (CAT) Act despite being one of the better drafted laws in this country.

As documented on a case by case basis, the acquittals of torturers when they are (even rarely) brought before the court is due to manifold failures in the prosecutorial and legal process, laws delays being one factor.

Moreover, the lack of awareness on the part of judges in the judicial process also impacts adversely on strong outcomes. So in a context where there is little effective legal deterrent to torture in police stations, amendments such as these must be entertained with the utmost care and caution. But little wisdom is evidenced in this unseemly tug of war with one draft amendment succeeding another but all bad in varying degrees.

It is almost as if giving suspects this basic right will lead to an utter breakdown of the criminal justice system, which is preposterous to say the least.

Draft amendments such as these, once passed into law, may be very differently used in practical terms by an administration inclined to aggrandize its power. There is little question therefore that allowing political loyalties to blind criticism of what is unquestionably bad in law leads to unfortunate consequences for the citizenry as a whole.

That reality must be recognized in all its dangers. Attempts to gloss over the same should be fiercely opposed.

Labour Unrest

 

How do we respond to the recent railway union strike? Was it about higher salaries and administrative grades of railway workers? Or, was it a disruption of public transport? I argue that such strikes prod us to think about workers’ rights in a democracy. 

  

2017-12-18

The railway strike was not an aberration. Over the last couple of years, we have witnessed an increasing number of agitations and protests - student unions opposing privatisation of education, plantation workers struggling for higher wages and telecom workers demanding permanent employment are some of those major mobilisations. The accusation that all these strikes and protests are politically engineered attempts to topple the Government by the remnants of the Rajapaksa regime do not hold much water given their widespread and different character. Rather, these waves of strikes and protests reflect the failure of economic policies to speak to their basic concerns and their deteriorating economic life.   

Trade unions

Historically in Sri Lanka, as in most other countries, trade unions have been important for ensuring decent wages and working conditions. In addition to fighting for workers’ rights in the capitalist system, which is dependent on exploiting workers, trade unions are often central to the defence of democratic rights. Drawing from our own history, trade unions were at the forefront of the anti-colonial struggle. Ensuring that the government does not infringe upon freedoms of expression and association is a key, recurring challenge in democracies and often, trade unions are central to asserting these rights.   
Given that the power of the trade unions movement depends on its organisational strength, it is important to consider the obstacles that have emerged in the recent decades. Laws that stipulate how a trade union can be formed to have tightened, the Labour Department responsible for trade unions functions more like an “employers’ department” and the division of workers into permanent workers and contract or commonly called “manpower” workers has led to unprecedented insecurity and precariousness of workers, inhibiting them from participating in trade union activity. It is in such a stifling environment that trade unions try to organise workers and negotiate 
with employers.   

"The JO has been crassly opportunistic and only concerned about cheap shots at the Govt. The formal opposition TNA has been virtually asleep on economic issues and mainly toed the Govt line when it comes to workers concerns"

The persistent attack by employers and the state on workers pose a major challenge to unions, leaving unions with few options, including strike action as the last resort. Strikes are a disruption, and are intended to halt economic activities, when employers and the state are unwilling to negotiate with the trade unions. However, strikes are a risky course of action for trade unions and their worker membership, because the failure of such escalated and collective action can also cost the workers their jobs.   
When strikes are launched, the government in turn responds by delegitimising and, when possible, crushing trade unions. The government drags decision-making, and meanwhile threatens workers with dismissal, all this backed dutifully by an anti-union media propaganda, until public sentiment turns against the workers. Therefore, the mobilisations and pronouncements on both sides of the divide, with the trade unions and the Government in the case of the railway strike, become an ideological battle to win the support of the public.   
In this context, the trade union movement as a whole needs to recognise its shortcomings. Whether in the West or in Sri Lanka, trade unions have excluded women and other marginalised groups in their organising work and leadership. Therefore, trade unions have to broaden themselves to take up the concerns of working women, informal workers and rural people’s livelihoods. Furthermore, if trade unions are to reclaim their democratic vision and role, they must reject outright nationalism and majoritarianism, which are the bane of any just society.   

State confrontation

The recent strikes in Sri Lanka have taken on the character of a confrontation with the state. This is a consequence of moves to privatise state-owned enterprises. There is considerable pressure from institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank to privatise state-owned enterprises, and state policies are now overtly 
seeking privatisation.   
The background to the railway strike are also moves towards the partial or complete privatisation of such state-owned enterprises. The irony of the gazette notification making railways an essential service during the strike, begs the question as to why any government would consider privatising an essential service? Furthermore, the Government and its elite propagandists claim strikes inconvenience – transport as with the railway strike – the working people in particular, even as they seek to privatise state services resulting in much higher costs to the public. Such contradictions reflect the hypocrisy and lack of vision on the part of the Government in addressing both workers concerns and services to the public.   

"Given that the power of the trade unions movement depends on its organisational strength, it is important to consider the obstacles that emerged in the recent decades"

Such contradictions are also seen in moves of some unions. While the GMOA over the last two years is seeking to position itself as a champion of trade union rights, it remains committed to the private practice of its doctors through channelling in large private hospitals and work in private clinics. The growth of the private healthcare industry through such means is continuing to undermine free healthcare to the public.   
There is another reason for the increasing number of strikes and protests in recent times in relation to state policies. It is not just the problematic stance of the Government, there has also been little effective advocacy much less alternatives from opposition forces in Parliament. The Joint Opposition has been crassly opportunistic and only concerned about cheap shots at the Government. The formal opposition TNA has been virtually asleep on economic issues and mainly toed the Government line when it comes to workers concerns.   
Thus, a lack of meaningful debate and airing of issues and alternatives have meant trade unions and peoples’ movements have no choice but to escalate their problems through strikes and protests. They try to gain the attention of the public as means of engaging the Government. In this context, the Government sometimes resorts to violence including teargas and police or even military action to break the protests.   

Capitalist exploitation

While the recent strikes in our country are mainly seen as a confrontation among trade unions and the Government, the long history of strikes globally points to a less apparent and powerful underlying process of conflict between capital and labour. One of the most profound works on the history of labour and trade unions in recent times is Beverly Silver’s Forces of Labour: Workers’ Movements and Globalization since 1870 (Cambridge University Press 2003). Silver and a large research team working for close to two decades looked at data spanning over a century from 1870 to 1996 on the frequency of labour unrest, defined as strikes, demonstrations, factory occupations, food riots etc., in 168 countries. What they found is that with increasing exploitation of capital in different parts of the world at different time periods, labour unrest also increased. Their conclusion points to the contradictions and conflicts between capital and labour as central to frequency 
of strikes.   

"When strikes are launched, the government in turn responds by delegitimising and, where possible, crushing trade unions. The government drags decision-making, and meanwhile threatens workers with dismissal"

Such international research on workers’ struggles should also be instructive for us to understand our context in Sri Lanka. That would mean understanding strikes not just as political manoeuvres or confrontation with the state, but as the historical outcome of increasing exploitation, precarious employment and dispossession, which characterise the social and economic life of our people. In other words, no matter how much the elite and sections of the middle class, moan and groan about the disruption to public life by strikes, unless we are willing to find and invest in equitable and socially just economic alternatives, such labour unrest is likely to continue. The major task before trade unions and those committed to social justice is to channel labour unrest towards economic democracy.   

CEB employees continue fast

Manujee Guruge-Saturday, December 16, 2017

Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) employees continued their fast for the fifth consecutive day yesterday. This is against irregular increments granted to CEB engineers and that the cutting back of their own overtime payments and bonuses.

Joint Trade Union Alliance Convener Ranjan Jayalal alleged that the former Mahinda Rajapaksa Government bribed the engineers in November 2014 with an increment and assured them that this would be added to their basic salary after the January 8, 2015 elections.

“An agreement was thus signed between the engineers and the previous regime and the engineers received a salary increment for three years.The agreement further stated that a 30 percent salary increment will be added to the basic salary by December 2014.

“But, the tables started to turn with defeat of Rajapaksa in January 2015 and the Engineers Union which was in control issued a circular stating that all salary increments including the illegal ones should come into effect by January 2015,”Jayalal said.

He added that when Champika Ranawaka was appointed as the Power and Energy Minister during the 100 day government in 2015, protests were held at the National Salaries and Cadre Commission, Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Treasury. Cabinet thereafter had released a statement that they had given no approval for the salary increase and thus it was illegal. “Then we complained to the CID, Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. They told us to wait until they provided a solution. Then after the election, with the appointment of Minster Ranjith Siyambalapitiya as the Power and Energy, we were told to wait a year but no solutions have been provided to us so far,” Jayalal said.

In the wake of these illegal increments the salary ration has become 1:9 between an average worker and engineer, which was earlier 1:6.

“When the salary increments were presented for Cabinet approval, Jayalal explained that they opposed it and as a result alleged that their overtime payments, bonuses and even donations during disasters were cut.

The Unions have threatened to continue their strike for another two days. “The workers are under pressure because their incomes have been cut down. We want our OT payments and bonuses to be restored. It is not fair for us to ask for an illegal increment like the engineers. This is why we decided to go on strike,” Jayalal said.

Bond Commission Report: Moment Of Truth For Country

By Amrit Muttukumaru –December 17 2017

The country is awaiting with a mix of excitement and trepidation the Report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the alleged Treasury Bond Scam which will one way or another indicate whether there is hope for optimism for the future of the country. The report is crucial for reasons which include:

1) It has captured the popular imagination unlike no other scam in a country awash with scams under successive administrations since television in vivid colour and social media enhanced by good investigative reporting in the print media have brought its sordid details to even the humblest of homes. The people have drawn their own conclusion and if they sense there has been a ‘cover-up’ particularly of its masterminds it would further undermine the ‘rule of law’ which is a sine qua non for any meaningful socio-economic development.

2) Those who voted for the ‘Yahapalanaya’ government under trying circumstances to usher in ‘good governance’ after the traumatic Rajapaksa years feel betrayed and demand accountability. 

 

3) That Sri Lanka is an unreliable and unstable country where the ‘rule of law’ is not applied uniformly is well known to the outside world. Equally well known is its endemic corruption, social injustice and inability to address long festering minority issues. It is due to this that ethical FDIs are few and far between. In its place we have had some questionable proposals with alleged money laundering origin. The controversial Chinese and Indian investments are largely driven by geo-political consideration with the potential to destabilize the country. Any ‘cover-up’ will confirm the worst fears of the international community.

4) After nearly 70 years of independence the country has come to such a sorry pass that we have to suffer the ignominy of:

“The US State Department” reportedly fielding “a Resident Legal Advisor in Colombo to provide anti-corruption and asset recovery training and also support the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption (CIABOC)”

Does this not indicate we are near to being a ‘failed state’’?

In this context if the Report of the PCoI is not credible, will it not confirm this with all its implications? 

 

Have not some PCoI actions during the inquiry stage raised fears of what’s to come? 

Partiality?

Readers can decide for themselves whether or not the PCoI abandoned ‘DUE PROCESS’ for other witnesses by glaring PARTIALITY to one witness?

Core of Bond Scam:

1) ‘Conflict of interest’ arising from then Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran’s son-in-law, Arjun Aloysius – owning/controlling PTL (Perpetual Treasuries Limited) – a Primary Dealer.

2) Arjuna Mahendran – a foreign national being handpicked for the position of Governor, CBSL by the Prime Minister although aware of the ‘Conflict of interest’. The PM himself confirmed this in his affidavit and while testifying before the PCoI.

3) The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) the issuing agency for Treasury Bonds which normally falls under the Ministry of Finance being brought under the purview of the Prime Minister.

4) The PM continued to have Mahendran as CBSL Governor although he was aware that Mahendran had reneged on his ‘assurance’ to him that his son-in-law (Arjun Aloysius) will sever all links with PTL prior to his appointment as CBSL Governor.

5) The PM robustly defended and endorsed Mahendran for a second term despite the widespread perception of Mahendran’s role in the alleged Bond Scam.

6) Being fully confident on the propriety of the issuance of Bonds, the PM robustly defended the same in Parliament despite the evidence that subsequently transpired before the PCoI.

7) During his testimony at the Bond Commission the PM stated: “Mr. Aloysius did say to me he need bit of time to dispose his share holding to get good price. (shares of Perpetual Treasuries Ltd or shares he held in other entity in the name of PTL). I met him (Aloysius) at one or two parties, and there he told me that he was pursuing his interests in Mendis distilleries.”

What is at issue is the integrity of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. How can the PM who is also responsible for the CBSL even consider a “bit of time” to resolve a ‘conflict of interest’ concerning the Governor and that too articulated “at one or two parties”?

Despite all this, did not the PCoI take some unusual decisions in regard to one witness?

1) Unlike in the case of other witnesses, the PM was given questions in advance by the PCoI to enable him to provide answers by way of affidavit.

2) Unlike in the case of other witnesses, the PCoI decided to invite the AG himself who wasn’t involved in the investigation up to that point to personally lead evidence for the first time. Up to this time, Messrs. Dappula de Livera and Yasantha Kodagoda – Senior Additional Solicitor General and Additional Solicitor General respectively lead evidence.

3) Unlike in the case of other witnesses which included former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake who were grilled by Messrs. Dappula de Livera and Yasantha Kodagoda, limited questions were posed to the PM. The PM was at the PCoI reportedly for less than an hour to clarify matters arising from his affidavit

4) Much is being made that the PM ‘volunteered’ to come before the PCoI although ‘not summoned’ like the other witnesses. The media has even reported that PCoI Chairman – K. T. Chitrasiri (SC Judge) “emphasised that the question of compelling PM Wickremesinghe to appear before the commission had never arisen”.  I respectfully ask (i) in view of the facts and circumstances should not the PM have been ‘summoned’ like the other witnesses? (ii) if not why? (iii) what does this indicate?

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Crisis of school education in Sri Lanka

By Dr. S. Sivasegaram-December 17, 2017, 12:00 pm 

[Primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka, once a leader among Asian countries in literacy and school education, are now in crisis owing to decades of callous neglect.]

Introduction

Liberal influences on the thinking of the British colonial rule benefitted colonial Ceylon in several sectors and education was one of them. Thus the country was among Asian pioneers to implement free education in schools, technical colleges and universities.

Crisis of school education in Sri Lanka.docx by Thavam on Scribd