Monday, January 1, 2018

North Korean leader says he has ‘nuclear button’ but won’t use it unless threatened

South Koreans watch a news broadcast of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's annual New Year's Day speech, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul. (Lee Jin-man/AP)

By Simon Denyer January 1 at 3:24 AM

BEIJING — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un boasted in an annual New Year’s Day speech Monday that he had a nuclear button on his desk and that the entire United States was within range of his weapons — but he also vowed not to attack unless threatened.

Kim promised to focus this year on producing nuclear warheads and missiles for operational deployment. But he also struck a conciliatory note, opening the door to dialogue with South Korea and saying he would consider sending a delegation to the Winter Olympics to be held in his southern neighbor in February.

“The United States can never fight a war against me and our state,” he said in the nationally televised speech. “It should properly know that the whole territory of the U.S. is within the range of our nuclear strike and a nuclear button is always on the desk of my office, and this is just a reality, not a threat.”

But Kim also said that North Korea was a peace-loving and responsible nuclear power, and would not use its nuclear weapons unless “hostile aggression forces” encroach on its sovereignty or interests.

“This year, we should focus on mass-producing nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles for operational deployment,” Kim said. “These weapons will be used only if our security is threatened.”

North Korea's rapid advancement of its ICBM program. (The Washington Post)

North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test in September and launched its most high-tech intercontinental ballistic missile in November, ignoring international condemnation and steadily tightening sanctions.

[Documents shed light on North Korea’s startling gains in sea-based missile technology]

In typically bellicose language, it declared the latest round of United Nations sanctions imposed last month an “act of war,” and Kim said his country had achieved the historic feat of “completing” its nuclear forces.

North Korea’s nuclear capabilities do not yet match Kim’s boasts, experts say, since it is far from clear it could successfully deliver a nuclear weapon on one of its missiles. Yet there is little doubt its capabilities have advanced significantly in the past year.

But Kim, dressed in a Western-style gray suit and tie, also offered a potential olive branch to Seoul, saying it is imperative to lower military tensions on the Korean Peninsula and improve ties with the South.

He said that the path to dialogue was open and that he would consider sending a delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

“North Korea’s participation in the Winter Games will be a good opportunity to show unity of the people, and we wish the Games will be a success,” he said. “Officials from the two Koreas may urgently meet to discuss the possibility.”

South Korea has been trying to reassure the rest of the world that the Olympics will be safe despite the nuclear tensions, and President Moon Jae-in has said North Korea’s participation would ensure their safety. He also proposed last month that Seoul and Washington postpone annual joint military drills until after the Olympics, and he generally takes a less-confrontational approach to relations with the North than his predecessor, Park Geun-hye.

John Delury, a professor of international relations at Yonsei University in Seoul, said Kim’s message to Seoul was “more promising” than he had anticipated, addressing in a specific and actionable way South Korea’s desire to make the Games a success.

“That should give hope to those in the South who are trying to get something going and open a channel at least,” he said.

[U.N. imposes new sanctions on North Korea over missile tests]

The idea of improving relations between the two Koreas is one that is frequently spoken about but seldom achieved, and Kim’s warmer words could also be seen as an attempt to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington.

While Kim’s words were more combative toward the United States, he also refrained from a personal attack on President Trump, after the two men engaged in several rounds of mutual name-calling in 2017, Delury noted.

When asked about North Korea’s nuclear claims Sunday night, Trump said only, “We’ll see, we’ll see.”

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said Kim’s claims about his country’s nuclear capability underscored that there was no viable “military solution” to denuclearizing North Korea and that sanctions alone would not persuade Pyongyang to halt or reverse its nuclear buildup.

“To avoid a nuclear conflict and the full-scale deployment of an operational North Korean strategic deterrent force, U.S. leaders, in concert with South Korea, should redouble efforts to engage North Korea in direct talks and cease any further explicit or implicit threats of military action against the North,” he said in an email.

“The upcoming Olympics provide an important opportunity to break the ice and to begin discussions with the North Koreans on mutual steps that reduce the chances of miscalculation and war,” he added.

Trump says U.S. has gotten 'nothing' from Pakistan aid

David Shepardson-JANUARY 1, 2018

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday the United States has “foolishly” handed Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years while getting nothing in return and pledged to put a stop to it.

“They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!” Trump wrote on Twitter. “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools.”

It was not immediately clear what prompted Trump’s criticism of Pakistan but he has long complained that Islamabad is not doing enough to tackle Islamist militants.

2017 Was the Year I Learned About My White Privilege

I used to be a smart-alecky conservative who scoffed at “political correctness.” The Trump era has opened my eyes.

Men wave rainbow and 'black lives matter' flags while marching in the annual LGBTQI Pride Parade on June 25, 2017 in San Francisco. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

BY MAX BOOT-

DECEMBER 27, 2017, 1:55 PM
In college — this was in the late 1980s and early 1990s at the University of California, Berkeley — I used to be one of those smart-alecky young conservatives who would scoff at the notion of “white male privilege” and claim that anyone propagating such concepts was guilty of “political correctness.” As a Jewish refugee from the Soviet Union, I felt it was ridiculous to expect me to atone for the sins of slavery and segregation, to say nothing of the household drudgery and workplace discrimination suffered by women. I wasn’t racist or sexist. (Or so I thought.) I hadn’t discriminated against anyone. (Or so I thought.) My ancestors were not slave owners or lynchers; they were more likely victims of the pogroms.

I saw America as a land of opportunity, not a bastion of racism or sexism. I didn’t even think that I was a “white” person — the catchall category that has been extended to include everyone from a Mayflower descendant to a recently arrived illegal immigrant from Ireland. I was a newcomer to America who was eager to assimilate into this wondrous new society, and I saw its many merits while blinding myself to its dark side.

Well, live and learn. A quarter century is enough time to examine deeply held shibboleths and to see if they comport with reality. In my case, I have concluded that my beliefs were based more on faith than on a critical examination of the evidence. In the last few years, in particular, it has become impossible for me to deny the reality of discrimination, harassment, even violence that people of color and women continue to experience in modern-day America from a power structure that remains for the most part in the hands of straight, white males. People like me, in other words. Whether I realize it or not, I have benefitted from my skin color and my gender — and those of a different gender or sexuality or skin color have suffered because of it.

This sounds obvious, but it wasn’t clear to me until recently. I have had my consciousness raised. Seriously.

This doesn’t mean that I agree with America’s harshest critics — successors to the New Left of the 1960s who saw this country as an irredeemably fascist state that they called “AmeriKKKa.” Judging by historical standards or those of the rest of the world, America remains admirably free and enlightened. Minorities are not being subject to ethnic cleansing like the Rohingya in Burma. Women are not forced to wear all-enveloping garments as in Saudi Arabia. No one is jailed for criticizing our supreme leader as in Russia.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Max Boot is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. His forthcoming book is “The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam.”

The country is becoming more aware of oppression and injustice, which have long permeated our society, precisely because of growing agitation to do something about it. Those are painful but necessary steps toward creating a more equal and just society. But we are not there yet, and it is wrong to pretend otherwise. It is even more pernicious to cling to the conceit, so popular among Donald Trump’s supporters, that straight white men are the “true” victims because their unquestioned position of privilege is now being challenged by uppity women, gay people, and people of color.
I used to take a reflexively pro-police view of arguments over alleged police misconduct, thinking that cops were getting a bum rap for doing a tough, dangerous job. I still have admiration for the vast majority of police officers, but there is no denying that some are guilty of mistreating the people they are supposed to serve. Not all the victims of police misconduct are minorities — witness a blonde Australian woman shot to death by a Minneapolis police officer after she called 911, or an unarmed white man shot to death by a Mesa, Arizona, officer while crawling down a hotel hallway — but a disproportionate share are.

The videos do not lie. One after another, we have seen the horrifying evidence on film of cops arresting, beating, even shooting black people who were doing absolutely nothing wrong or were stopped for trivial misconduct. For African-Americans, and in particular African-American men, infractions like jaywalking or speeding or selling cigarettes without tax stamps can incite corporal, or even capital, punishment without benefit of judge or jury. African-Americans have long talked about being stopped for “driving while black.” I am ashamed to admit I did not realize what a serious and common problem this was until the videotaped evidence emerged. The iPhone may well have done more to expose racism in modern-day America than the NAACP.

Of course, the problem is not limited to the police; they merely reflect the racism of our society, which is not as severe as it used to be but remains real enough. I realized how entrenched this problem remains when an African-American friend — a well-educated, well-paid, well-dressed woman — confessed that she did not want to walk into a department store carrying in her purse a pair of jeans that she planned to give to a friend later in the day. Why not? Because she was afraid that she would be accused of shoplifting! This is not something that would occur to me, simply because the same suspicion would not attach to a middle-aged, middle-class white man.

The larger problem of racism in our society was made evident in Donald Trump’s election, despite — or because of — his willingness to dog-whistle toward white nationalists with his pervasive bashing of Mexicans, Muslims, and other minorities. Trump even tried to delegitimize the first African-American president by claiming he wasn’t born in this country, and now he goes after African-American football players who kneel during the playing of the anthem to protest police brutality. (Far from being concerned about police misconduct, which disproportionately targets people of color, Trump actively encouragesit.)

Adam Serwer argues persuasively in the Atlantic that Trump’s election could not be explained by “economic anxiety,” because the poorest voters — those making less than $50,000 a year — voted predominantly for Hillary Clinton. On the other hand, “Trump defeated Clinton among white voters in every income category,” from those making less than $30,000 to those making more than $250,000. In other words, Serwer writes, Trump does not lead a “working-class coalition; it is a nationalist one.” That doesn’t mean that every Trump supporter is a racist; it does mean that Trump’s victory has revealed that racism and xenophobia are more widespread than I had previously realized.
As for sexism, its scope has been made plain by the horrifying revelations of widespread harassment, assault, and even rape perpetrated by powerful men from Hollywood to Washington. The Harvey Weinstein scandal has opened the floodgates, leading to the naming and shaming of a growing list of rich and powerful men — including Kevin Spacey, Louis C.K., Charlie Rose, Matt Lauer, Roy Moore, and John Conyers — who are alleged to have abused their positions of authority to force themselves upon women or, in some cases, men.

As with the revelations of police brutality, so too with sexual harassment: I am embarrassed and ashamed that I did not understand how bad the problem is. I had certainly gotten some hints from my female friends of the kind of harassment they have endured, but I never had any idea it was this bad or this common — or this tolerated. Even now, while other men are being fired for their misconduct, Trump continues to sit in the Oval Office despite credible allegations of sexual assault from nearly 20 different women.

I now realize something I should have learned long ago: that feminist activists had a fair point when they denounced the “patriarchy” for oppressing women. Sadly, this oppression, while less severe than it used to be, remains a major problem in spite of the impressive strides the U.S. has taken toward greater gender equality.

This doesn’t mean that I am about to join the academic political correctness brigade in protesting “microaggressions” and agitating against free speech. I remain a classical liberal, and I am disturbed by attempts to infringe on freedom of speech in the name in fighting racism, sexism, or other ills. But I no longer think, as I once did, that “political correctness” is a bigger threat than the underlying racism and sexism that continue to disfigure our society decades after the civil rights and women’s rights movements. If the Trump era teaches us anything, it is how far we still have to go to realize the “unalienable Rights” of all Americans to enjoy “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” regardless of gender, sexuality, religion, or skin color.

Bangladesh : 2018 – New Year’s anticipations

With sound policymaking, effective leadership, and enough foresight, however can meet and defeat the challenges as well as the many more to come in the New Year 2018.

by Anwar A. Khan-Dec 31, 2017

( December 31, 2017, Dhaka, Sri Lanka Guardian) If we are human beings, we probably use the beginning of every year to reflect on the past year, make decision and set resolutions for the New Year. It is a good thing to make resolutions, but it takes a good deal of discipline and commitment to get results that would be different and better than what we got last year. Catherine Pulsifer wrote, “The New Year symbolizes the ending of one year and the beginning of yet another. We celebrate this event, yet it is only a moment in time, like any other day. But it is also considered a time when new beginnings can happen. Be determined to have a Happy New Year!”

Despite all the success the country has achieved in recent years including 2017, new and old dangers – economic, political, and security-related – threaten to derail its progress. With sound policymaking, effective leadership, and enough foresight, however can meet and defeat these challenges as well as the many more to come in the New Year 2018. Diplomatic efforts should be more geared up for a peaceful repatriation of helpless Rohingya refugees to their own homeland with due honour and respect.

In the New Year’s foresight, Bangladesh’s growth initiatives may be overarching themes that place the country at the tipping point and we perceive to be key areas for intervention to keep Bangladesh on its current rising trajectory. This year’s format is different from years past, encompassing viewpoints from high-level policymakers, academics, and practitioners, as well as utilising visuals to better illustrate the paths behind and now in front of Bangladesh. Growth in Asia and elsewhere has shown that industrialisation is crucial to job creation, a value that has to be enshrined in the new sustainable development goals of Bangladesh. The country has witnessed remarkable improvements in poverty reduction in recent years, but persistent challenges in inequality, education, health, and violence, among others, still plague it. As the 2018 year may provide the opportunity to be a jumping-off point for strong policies and efforts to accomplish the desired goals. We understand the assortment of opportunities 2017 provides for supporting human development efforts and argues for the central role that better data plays in addressing them.

To explore the consequences of Bangladesh’s rapid urbanisation which historically has facilitated the country transition from a reliance on agriculture to industry and jobs. However, without strong policies to deliver services, finance and build infrastructure, and support the urban poor, Bangladesh’s rapidly growing cities and intermediate cities cannot deliver on their potentials. 2018 may see a number of governance milestones and obstacles, including national parliamentary elections with inclusive participations, and the march towards good governance. Any sort of violence, killing, vote-rigging, destruction… during the national parliamentary elections time shall have to be ruthlessly suppressed by the law and order controlling body of the government. People want peace and that has to be ensured. People do not want the anti-liberation forces and their mango-twigs to get any chance to fish out any benefits in the troubled waters during pre and post polls times. Your vote is your voice. Beware of that these ruffians must not come to power because Bangladesh is for Bangladesh’s people. Police department must bring the fugitive war criminals and convicted fugitive war criminals to justice. The ICT should be expanded in more than one solitary court to speed up the on-going trials of the war criminals for bringing them to justice.

The government should reflect on the country’s growth-governance puzzle and the complex institutional changes necessary to move from economic growth to economic transformation. Historically, urbanisation is a sign of economic prosperity. As a country underwent structural transformation, and its economy shifted from agriculture to manufacturing and industry, the composition of the population of the country shifted from being predominantly rural to predominantly urban. However, urbanisation in the Bangladesh’s context displays different characteristics from the ones witnessed in Asia and other countries. This growth demonstrates a great need for better urban management and institution building. Thus, if managed properly, the new emerging cities can produce several economic opportunities as cities offer economies of scale, which can be conducive to sustainable economic prosperity and improved human development.

The fact is that that everyone has a different idea about what the perfect song or mood to transition from one year to the next should be. This year has a litany of challenges on the socio-economic and political fronts like the previous years. After the national parliamentary polls, the majority party leader and his or her team should have successfully take over all the levers of power both at party level and in government and deliver good governance in all levels of administration…..But this is now water under the bridge and we can only hope our leaders will now address more pressing issues such as push upward the economy and dealing with bread and butter issues in a much more pragmatic manner that would put Bangladesh on its track aright as it marches towards prosperity.

Youth unemployment is another cause for concern because there are just too many unemployed university graduates whose numbers are swelling the ranks of the growing jobless people. Joblessness could be a recipe for social unrest and this could lead to despondence. We are hopeful 2018 will be better in terms of the number of jobs that will be created so that our youth and those who lost their jobs will be employed and that there will be more social harmony.

The winter this morning falls on the last of the fogbank and will wash it away. We can smell the grass again, and the torn leaves being eased down into the mud. The few loves we have been allowed to keep are still sleeping on the sky of Bangladesh. Here in the country, we walk across the fields with only a few young cows for company. Big-boned and shy, they are like girls we remember. Those girls are matured now. Like us, they must sometimes stand at a window late at night, looking out on a silent backyard, at one rusting lawn chair and the sheer walls of other people’s houses. They must lie down some afternoons and cry hard for whoever used to make them happiest, and wonder how their lives have carried them this far without ever once explaining anything. We don’t know why we are walking out here with our coats darkening and our boots sinking in, coming up with a mild sucking sound we like to hear. We don’t care where those girls are now. Whatever they have made of it they can have. Today we want to resolve many things. We only want to walk a little longer in the cold blessing of the wind, and lift our faces to it.

Emotions and excitement will be lifted up inside eyes and mouth widely grinning hands clap together anticipation rising going through the whole body. As we wait for the sunrise, we wait for a shimmering blue sea. We shall see a beautiful golden sun. And we believe it will set us free. We put our pens down greatness without sound; love without a doubt and a heart unbound; freedom of tongues is freedom of minds; and free air is freedom of lungs. We smoke though, temporary satisfaction for eternal sorrow; one more drag; confidence to load the mag up against our heads, we then resurrect ourselves with memories of something else. So, we are grinding again, making our way up the lane, but the cities big so we take a…

With the moon as the conductor, the symphony of lights begins. As the heavens open in anticipation, stars one by one come filing in with each rhythmic starlight flicker keeping in tune with the galaxy. Entire planets hold their breath in wonder from everlasting to everlasting nebula breeze. It all plays out in harmony keeping perfect 3-4 times and such beauty is not held by boundaries and seen and heard light years through time. The year 2018 should be to do good deeds. The winds of bearable and golden-like and sweet-note are on our heads. The winds of civility and refinements having good or auspicious marks; of commendable looks… good governance…gentleness of disposition…exquisite beauty or grace…quite consistence; very reasonable; judicious; fair; adequate; relevant; well-refined life shall prevail in our days; and we wish our readers, and people in general a glorified and restful festive season. Celebrate new life in the New Year 2018.

-The End-

Drunk tanks may become norm, NHS boss warns 'selfish' revellers

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

By Nick Triggle-29 December 2017

Drunk tanks may have to become the norm in towns and cities to keep "selfish" revellers out of A&E, the head of the NHS in England says.

Simon Stevens said he would be closely monitoring how the mobile units cope on New Year's Eve before deciding whether they should become a regular feature.

Drunk tanks provide a safe place for those who have over-indulged to be checked over and sleep it off.

They are often used over the festive period to stop people ending up at A&E.

There are around 16 mobile units - also known as booze buses - across the UK, according to a recent survey, and a number of cities operate them all year round, including Newcastle, Cardiff, Manchester and Bristol.

Mr Stevens said he may start recommending others follow suit, given an estimated 15% of attendances at A&E are due to alcohol consumption.

This rises to about 70% on Friday and Saturday nights.

A mobile 'drunk tank'

Image captionA number of cities have already introduced drunk tanks

He said he was thinking about the move after spending time with ambulance crews in London and the West Midlands in recent weeks.

"I've seen first-hand how paramedics and A&Es are being called on to deal with drunk and aggressive behaviour."

But Dr Katherine Henderson, a consultant in emergency medicine from Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals, said it might be better to have a conversation about people drinking less on a night out.

She told the BBC: "By making this facility, it's like saying 'you can depend on the NHS to provide you with a safe place to sober up'".

"You're saying 'there's a safety net for you', rather than saying 'how are you going to get yourself and your friends home safely'?"

'Extremely drunk'

Dr Henderson also said she was concerned that NHS frontline staff were working in the mobile units, when "they could be helping others".

But she conceded that the last thing busy hospitals needed was more patients coming in to A&E.
"We are seeing people who are so intoxicated that they need to be on a trolley - which takes up a whole cubicle space; people who need cleaning up - which takes up a lot of nursing time; and people with serious injuries, who may be difficult to spot among the many that are extremely drunk.
"It's something we just don't need."

In Newcastle on a Friday and Saturday night, a Safe Haven van already operates to help vulnerable people - not just people who are drunk.

Dame Vera Baird, the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, whose office part funds the van, said: "It's a safe location to help anybody who needs any support. It saves an enormous amount of money and time."

'Sleep it off'

Prof Simon Moore, from Cardiff University, is carrying out a study into the impact of different types of drunk tanks based in six cities in relieving pressure on the emergency services.

He said: "The very, very drunk with head injuries and similar will still need to go to A&E, but the health service is very risk-averse so they have a tendency to refer to A&E if they suspect something is wrong.

"So all you need is a good trained person - a paramedic or nurse - in the city centre to say 'we can hold off for a bit, this person is going to be fine in an hour or so', and then they can go home and sleep it off."

Prof Moore said it should be "a joined-up service" that refers people for treatment for their underlying drink problems.

In Northern Ireland, Belfast operates an NHS-run unit and an SOS bus, which helps anyone who is vulnerable.

In Scotland, there are no drunk tanks in operation and the government said they had no plans to introduce them.

How do drunk tanks work?

Bristol launched the UK's first drunk tank three years ago in a partnership between the police, ambulance and local hospital.
Known officially as an alcohol recovery centre, it is a state-of-the-art medical facility contained in a 60ft-long converted articulated lorry.

The vehicle has beds and seats as well as two showers. It comes with medical drips, oxygen, blood testing equipment and a pump system for the worst-affected revellers.

It is staffed by paramedics who provide basic treatment, although those who need it can still be sent to A&E.

Since it was launched, other cities including Manchester, Cardiff and Newcastle, have tried their own versions. The National Institute for Health Research is now looking at how effective they are at dealing with drunks.

As the nation prepares to see in the new year, Simon Stevens reminded revellers to be responsible.
"When the health service is pulling out all the stops to care for sick and vulnerable patients who rightly and genuinely need our support, it's frankly selfish when ambulance paramedics and A&E nurses have to be diverted to looking after revellers who have overindulged.

"NHS doesn't stand for 'National Hangover Service'," he added.

Sunday, December 31, 2017

Politics in the New Year

Cartoon: HAPPY NEW YEAR -2012 (medium) by Aswini-Abani tagged aswini,happy,world,india,nature,poor,politicians,year,new,abani,aswiniabani

2018-01-01

Three years ago in January 2015, democratic change with the overthrow of the authoritarian Rajapaksa regime was a great moment of hope. For social institutions and movements – the effective guardians of democracy – that moment provided the space to again organise without fear. In some regions such as the post-war North and East, the democratic opening was a change like night and day. People who were afraid to speak during the decades of war and the post-war years, began protesting out on the streets to regain their lands, to remember the disappeared and to demand sustainable livelihoods.

On the other hand, the Government that came to power three years ago has little to show after its first hundred-day programme -- the constitutional amendment reducing the powers of the Executive Presidency was its main achievement. Since then, flawed policies and the infamous bond scandal have marred the first half of the Government’s term.

The Government and the various political parties have not engaged the people on the constitutional political solution process in any meaningful way. The so-called “reconciliation” initiatives have been mainly for the benefit of the Colombo chattering classes and international consumption. Rural disenchantment with the long drought, youth unemployment and rising cost of living are mounting people’s frustrations.

If the current election frenzy reflects the future, there is little reason to believe that the political malaise will turn around in the coming years, particularly with more elections at the provincial and national levels. In this context, at a time when economic problems are mounting, with no meaningful social vision and widespread cynicism about politics, what is the agenda for progressive politics?

As the new year dawns, electoral battles are again being waged by the bankrupt political parties, where staying in power or capturing state power to serve the interests of the politicos and their friends is the priority. Local government is about local infrastructure, including access to water, garbage collection, sanitation, rural roads and community facilities, but they are unlikely to be heard in these election campaigns. For the major political actors, whether it is the UNP, the SLFP, the joint opposition or the TNA, local government elections are merely a show of power.

If the current election frenzy reflects the future, there is little reason to believe that the political malaise will turn around in the coming years, particularly with more elections at the provincial and national levels. In this context, at a time when economic problems are mounting, with no meaningful social vision and widespread cynicism about politics, what is the agenda for progressive politics?

Democratic alternative

Historically, elections meant to freely elect representatives, have often led to violence and certainly create a fear of violence. And elections now may seem like a curse than an opening for change. However, elections are a necessary form of legitimisation. Entrenched regimes have been changed and unpredictable moves by voters result in new configurations in control of state power. In the month ahead, as the local government elections gain heat, regardless of whether the campaigns explicitly address people’s issues, there will be an underlying rumbling that will reflect their concerns.

The exercise of the vote, is a historically valuable strength of our society—the first country in Asia to achieve universal suffrage. Furthermore a democratic ethos is instilled in our social institutions. Even when intellectuals have given up on democracy, our people have made historic changes through elections.

Yet that democratic culture in our country is often diverted by the ideological manoeuvres of the nationalists, elite class projects and political patronage. Sinhala Buddhist and Tamil nationalist forces are in fact twin allies that reinforce each other, even as they seek representational control of their respective communities. Next, technocratic economic programmes in the interest of accumulation by the elite often attack social institutions and dispossess people undermining broader democratic participation. And political patronage, characterised by political favours and handouts have ensured a representational structure that does not serve the people, but rather sucks them under its fold.

The challenge then is to create a credible alternative. And that has to begin with ideological battle that critiques nationalism on all sides, and puts forward a social and economic vision meaningful to the people. Next, there is a need to build democratic structures that can ensure the ground up accountability of elected representatives, rather than be diverted by the patronage of those in power.
Such an alternative requires new and rejuvenated political formations. There is a need for progressive political parties such as those that are emerging after prolonged crises around the world; the refreshing wave of new political parties in Southern Europe and the revitalisation of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn are worthy examples. More importantly, we need the revival of our participatory social institutions that are the bedrock of democracy; trade unions, co-operatives and community associations, are some that have proven to be historically significant.

Left politics

Meanwhile, democracy is under attack internationally. Regimes are capturing state power through elections on nationalist and populist platforms. And once in power, they usurp the very democratic rights of the people with authoritarian moves and racist demagoguery.

In the West as in our country, the history of democracy provides some lessons. Geoff Eley’s major work, Forging Democracy: The History of the Left in Europe, 1850–2000 (Oxford University Press 2002), traces how the left movement including trade unions were crucial to the consolidation of democratic rights. Eley shows how the movement for workers’ rights contributed to the formation of democratic rights. This is also true of Sri Lanka’s late colonial and early post-colonial period, where trade unions and then the left parties were the bastion of democratic rights.

At the same time, Eley is forthright in addressing the historical shortcomings of the left movement in not addressing gendered oppression and racism, including within its fold. In Sri Lanka, the left movement’s compromises with majoritarianism and nationalism, signalled its decline. Indeed, in our times, any movement for democracy has to address the social and economic questions including greater redistribution to address inequality, meaningful social protections and sustained decent work. And such democratisation should simultaneously address the rights of minorities, including of women and of oppressed caste communities.

The Govt. that came to power three years ago has little to show after its first 100-day programme -- the constitutional amendment reducing the powers of the Executive Presidency was its main achievement. Since then, flawed policies and the infamous bond scandal have marred the first half of the Government’s term

It would be defeatist to simply dismiss electoral politics as a lost cause. Rather, we have to struggle to find alternatives to set electoral politics on a progressive footing. Trade unions and co-operatives are accused of capture by politicos through patronage.

Where that is true, the point is not to reject trade unions and co-operatives, but to strengthen them to determine electoral politics in the interest of their members and the public. The hard political road ahead is not going to be cleared by the political leaders that are the subject of much media musings and elite gossip, rather, it is about finding an alternative vision, revitalising social institutions and encouraging the democratic participation of the people.

Probe reveals criminally acquired overseas assets of politicians, officials

When more proof is obtained, investigators say they will move for the confiscation of such assets

By Namini Wijedasa-Sunday, December 31, 2017

Some assets located overseas have been “provisionally identified” as being the proceeds of crimes committed by certain politically exposed persons (PEPs) of Sri Lankan origin, authoritative Government sources revealed this week. While they declined to say who these persons were, PEPs typically include politicians and bureaucrats.

These were the outcomes of investigations conducted by the CIABOC (Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption), the FCID (Financial Crimes Investigation Division) and the CID (Criminal Investigation Department), they said. “As at this moment, a few assets have been provisionally identified as proceeds of crime committed by certain politically exposed persons (PEP) of Sri Lankan origin.”

In financial regulations, PEP describes someone entrusted with a prominent public function. They generally present a higher risk for potential involvement in bribery and corruption by virtue of their position and the influence that they may hold.

“We are working with local and overseas law enforcement agencies to develop proof of the committing of such predicate offences and proceeds of such crimes having being used to acquire these assets,” the sources said. A predicate offence is the criminal activity from which proceeds of a crime are derived. They are generally crimes underlying money laundering or terrorist finance activity.

“Once that is established, we can move for seizure and confiscation of such assets in terms of the laws of those countries,” they asserted. “If and when that happens, applications can be made to have the value of such assets returned to Sri Lanka. It’s a long drawn process.”

And it will be complex and time-consuming, the sources warned. “We are also saddled with a total lack of cooperation from the UAE,” they said. “We also have a lack of expertise at local investigation level and other resource constraints.”

“If assets are found overseas and we can track them back to individuals in Colombo, that will be valuable evidence to prosecute them for the predicate offence of corruption or for money laundering, which generally covers dealing in any manner with proceeds of crime and those derived out of such proceeds,” they explained.

Investigators have relied heavily on the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act of 2005 as the basic domestic legal tool and the United Nations Convention against Corruption as the international legal instrument. “Political niceties between governments have also helped tremendously,” an informed source said.

Matters relating to proceeds of crime located overseas are coordinated with foreign law enforcement authorities by the Presidential Task Force for the Recovery of Stolen State Assets (START) of which the Executive Secretary is Additional Solicitor General Yasantha Kodagoda and Chairman is J.C. Weliamuna, PC. The Task Force includes the heads of the CIABOC, the FCID, the CID, the Financial Intelligence Unit, Customs and several Secretaries. It was established through a Cabinet decision in April 2015.

Meanwhile, a draft Proceeds of Crime Act is still being drawn up. “We are looking at both confiscation following conviction as well as non-conviction based seizure and confiscation schemes,” a senior legal source said. Domestic prosecutions for predicate offences committed in Sri Lanka will be in terms of existing law relating to bribery and corruption, Penal Code offences such as criminal breach of trust and cheating and the offence of money laundering.

“But the Proceeds of Crime Act, once enacted, will be used prospectively with regards to any proceeds found from the time the Act comes into operation,” the source said. “But it could relate to proceeds of predicate offences committed at any point of time, including in the past.”
Non-conviction based asset confiscation and conviction based (criminal) confiscation share the same objective of confiscation by the State of the proceeds and instrumentalities of crime, explains a Transparency International project. The main distinction between them is that criminal confiscation requires a criminal trial and conviction where non-conviction based asset confiscation does not.

Amendments to the CIABOC Act are also pending. A fundamental change that has been proposed is to widen the prosecutorial ambit of the Commission so that it can launch prosecutions into cases of money laundering where the predicate offence is bribery or corruption; and to also be able to prosecute for ancillary offences to bribery and corruption such as forgery, tendering forged documents and genuine ones, falsification of accounts, etc. The CIABOC Act has not been amended since its introduction in 1994.

Sri Lanka Election monitor calls on President to make the bond commission report public

Sun, Dec 31, 2017, 09:42 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Dec 31, Colombo: An election monitor and an anti-corruption watchdog in Sri Lanka has requested the President Maithripala Sirisena to immediately make the final report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Central Bank Bond Issuance available to the public.

Speaking at a media conference in Galle yesterday, Executive Director of Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) Keerthi Tennakoon has requested the President to promptly release the special 1400-page report, which was handed over to the President yesterday by the chairman of the commission Supreme Court Justice K. K. Chithrasiri, to the public.

The President appointed the Commission of Inquiry on 27th January 2017 to investigate, inquire into and report on the Issuance of Treasury Bonds during the period 01st February 2015 to 31st March, 2016.

CaFFE Executive Director said the civil organizations and the public pressed for the government to appoint a commission to probe the great bond scam and as a result the President appointed the Commission of Inquiry.

"The purpose of this commission was to identify individuals and organizations involved in the scam and to obtain a review report to ensure that similar scams will not happen in the future," Tennakoon said.

"The people of this country have a right to know about this report. They did not appoint the Commission to nominally write a report and keep it hidden in the hands of the First Person," the activist said.

"The People did not ask the President to keep this report of this massive financial crime, which is claimed to have made a Rs. 8 billion loss to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and a Rs. 8 billion loss to the government according to the Auditor General, in a safe," the CaFFE director said.

"There are definite evidence that a large scale financial fraud has been committed. Those who were involved in it have been revealed in an open investigation. Now the whole world is watching.

Therefore we honorably urge the President to reveal the report to the country," he further said.

Pointing out that reports of many presidential commissions in the past regimes have gone into oblivion, the CaFFE executive Director asked the President not to contribute to that history by keeping the report of the Bond Commission hidden.

Should Judiciary take the lead?

By N Sathiya Moorthy-December 31, 2017

If any leader or institution wants to make a difference in the New Year to the character and characteristics of the nation, and for the better, the one and possibly the only one just now should be to focus on political defections, especially of elected representatives from parliamentarians downwards. It has always been crucial to ensure the nation’s character, and of its polity and political leaders at all levels, but it is also one area where no politician or parliamentarian, leave aside President or Prime Minister, or even Provincial Councils want to make a beginning.

It is sad that not one Provincial Council, starting with the otherwise highly ‘moralistic’, TNA-controlled Northern PC, has even passed a resolution on the need for a law banning defection by elected representatives, granting that they could not pass a legislation in the matter. A PC that could pass resolutions and even Bills that seek to impinge on the constitutionally-mandated ‘unitary’ character of the Sri Lankan State, does not have the inclination to pass an ‘innocent’ resolution or ineffective Bill, on a matter that would have endeared them to the ‘silent majority’ from among their own people, and even the majority Sinhalas than their not-so-infrequent protestations over ‘power-devolution’ and re-merger.

Not just for the Tamils, the TNA and the Northern PC. An ‘anti-defection’ law should have made a core theme of the ‘yahapalayana’ dispensation, both before Elections-2015 and after the national unity government came to power. It should have made the real difference between the old and the new, not just leaderships but to the entire political scheme and culture since Independence.

If anything, an anti-defection law as a part of 19-A, passed between the presidential polls of January 2015 and the parliamentary polls that followed eight months later, in August that year, would have been the best contribution of the yahapalanaya government to the ‘reforms’ that they had promised ahead of the successful presidential poll campaign. Given that it was a ‘national government’, and the unseated Rajapaksa-centric JO too was still in its infancy and was also still recovering from the shocking defeat, such a law as a part of 19-A would have had a smooth sail.

This apart, with Parliament anyway due for early dissolution, followed by fresh elections, tactically, not many incumbent MPs of the time would have bothered too much to contest a law of the kind. Strategically, for any major party to oppose any move initiated by any section from within Parliament could have been electorally suicidal, even if to a limited extent. If nothing else, the JHU and the JVP would have had a ‘real issue’ on hand – to compel / ‘expose’ the rest of them all – a proposition that none of them would have liked, not just as a short-term election tactic but more so as a medium and long-term political strategy.

Acting defections

Today, all of it is in the past. No sub-committee of Parliament, functioning intermittently as Constitution Assembly, has even known to have considered the possibility of an anti-defection law as a part of the nation’s new statute, which was otherwise supposed to help in usher in a new political culture, as well.

This apart, the yahapalanaya mood is lost, especially to the political class. Now, every party and leader is busy talking defections, acting defections. President Maithiripala Sirisena, whose attempts to put down the Rajapaksa-centric rebellion within the shared SLFP, may have been justified, if only up to a point. Today, it is a different ball-game altogether.

If anything, the Constitution-makers should have also considered the need for propping up the self-image and public perception of the high office Sirisena was elected to hold, and expected to cleanse of all past and accumulated sins. But he is the new one in the block who has been encouraging defections, not only from within the SLFP, but also from the JVP and the PHU, too.

It is no more the dog-in-the-manger game, if at all. It has become a dog-eat-dog competition, where Sirisena is no more seen as the upright President that he was elected to be, but a leader who has seemingly forgotten his pre-poll vow not to contest another election, and with that all pretences to yahapalayana of every kind.

Less said about predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe. The former has tried and failed, but is not going to give up, now or ever. The latter has not attempted anything of the kind, not for want of trying, but only because with an uneasy coalition with President Sirisena still in place, if only to get parliamentary bills, resolutions and budgets passed, often with a two-thirds majority still, Ranil and his UNP can afford to relax for now.

However, if there is a different situation, as is being predicted this time with the arrival of the CB bonds-scam probe report, it may be a different Ranil, a different UNP, which may be at work. On paper at least, and until proved otherwise, a new, UNP-led coalition government is still possible, with the TNA, SLMC and others in this government continuing to back him.

Leave aside the immediate stability of any alternative to the incumbent combination, anything of the kind would find it difficult to sustain it, or face fresh elections without the promised power-devolution and a new Constitution, the latter incorporating the former, as there can be nothing new to a new statute without addressing the ‘national problem’. This would in turn require a two-thirds majority in Parliament, ahead of fresh polls (now due in 2020), and that would mean ‘defections’, then again, there again.

Belling the cat

If the nation agrees that defections is a bane of the polity, and none from inside even sees it as a bane to think of a cure, then the cure itself has to come from ‘outside’ of the political system. The sad part is that even the yahapalanaya mood of the nation, before and soon after the twin-polls of 2015, talked about defections as central to the nation’s problems of political corruption and corrupt politicians.

Yet, the incumbent government has had no problem in seeking external advice for fighting corruption when the cure lies within. Recent reports said that Sri Lanka now has an US advisor on the subject. It is a shame, and can end up as a sham, as well, as no one is going to talk about corruption when the stability of the government and his/her own electability at the centre. If anything, they may all end up learning more about sophistication in the place of sophistry in being corrupt and institutionalising the same, even more.

If there is anyone from within the Sri Lankan system and scheme who can do something about it, it is the higher judiciary, the Supreme Court in particular. Though lesser politicians do question court’s findings, including those on the ticklish ‘federalism’ question, at least in the under and in the new dispensation – and so with the larger JO, not many would want to be seen as crossing the sword with the Judiciary and lose their place in popular imagination, or whatever remains of them, out there.

In neighbouring India, for long, there is an anti-defection law, though ingenious political minds, often wearing the hat of the Speaker of the Legislature concerned, either national Parliament or State Assemblies, have given new and liberal or illiberal interpretations, to make a mockery of the scheme. But then from time to time, the Indian judiciary, starting with the Supreme Court, has set the record straight, and restored not only the spirit of the anti-defection law, passed through a Constitution Amendment in the Eighties when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister, but also the people’s faith in the national scheme and system.

It is very much so in Sri Lanka, too, though on record some academics may still argue that the Supreme Court under the existing Constitution may not have ‘law-making powers’. Even so, there is no stopping the Apex Court if it so found the urgent need to advise the nation and the polity, Parliament and the President, to ‘behave’ themselves, and bring about laws, if they could not ‘behave’, leaving them all to decide, which way they wanted to go, and wanted to take the nation and its future generations with them.

This does not guarantee results, either in the form of a new law, or its success at implementation. But someone has to set the ball rolling. In a fits-and-starts run-up to a new Constitution, which otherwise promises nothing new, and a longer run-up to Elections-2020, no party or government may have the moral and possibly political courage to side-step any Supreme Court order, in which and into which the people put their heart and soul together. Civil society groups that talk tall on everything other than what really matters, too cannot, ignore, such a course, either!

(The writer is Director, Chennai Chapter of the Observer Research Foundation, the multi-disciplinary Indian public-policy think-tank, headquartered in New Delhi. email: sathiyam54@gmail.com)

As polls campaign begins, Sirisena brings bribery and corruption to the fore

President Maithipala Sirisena addressing SLFP and UPFA local polls candidates at a meeting at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium.

By Our Political Editor-Sunday, December 31, 2017

View(s): 2846

All SLFP and UPFA candidates take pledge to work with high integrity, free of fraud, some already have charges pending
Bond Commission report handed over to President, speculation of serious charges against Mahendran but questions over whether President will make the report public before the polls
After rice and fuel crises, fertilizer shortage becomes major issue in rural areas

Many a political issue, some of them cause for great public discontent notwithstanding, President Maithripala Sirisena appears to have shifted focus to fight bribery and corruption during the local polls campaign. Needless to say, the move has revived public memories of assurances given during both the presidential and parliamentary elections to bring to book top personalities of the previous Government for such acts. Barring just one or two, others have fallen by the way side. Sirisena accused UNP leaders of stalling them. The UNP in turn blamed it on other state agencies.

As polls campaign begins, Sirisena brings bribery and corruption to the fore.docx by Thavam on Scribd

SRI LANKA: JUDGES AND STATE LAW OFFICERS TO GET SUBSTANTIAL SALARY HIKES AND NEW ALLOWANCES

31/12/2017

An official Committee has recommended substantial increases in pay, allowances and pensions of judicial officers, law officers of the Attorney General’s Department and the Legal Draftsman’s Department.The Cabinet of Ministers is expected to approve these recommendations following a submission by Justice Minister Thalatha Athukorale.

The only exception is the Judges of the superior courts – the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. The Committee has said that the emoluments of the Chief Justice and the Judges of the superior courts have to be determined by Parliament.The Committee was headed by Cabinet Secretary Sumith Abeysinghe and included Justice Ministry Secretary Padmasiri Jayamanna and Director General of Establishments W.D. Somadasa. They were appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers. This was after Justice Minister Athukorale, among other matters, submitted cabinet memoranda on “Formulation of a new Salary Structure for the High Court Judges and the Judicial Officers in the Sri Lanka Judicial Service.” She also sought the creation of a new Service Category and formulation of a distinctive salary scale for the Law Officers attached to the Attorney General’s Department as well as those in the Legal Draftsman’s Department.

Minister Athukorale noted that “difficulties were being experienced in “recruiting and retaining required officers” due to “inadequacy of existing salaries and other privileges.”
Among the increases:

Salary and allowances of High Court Judges -from Rs 168,894 to Rs 304,200.

Salary and allowances of High Court Judges, presently the total salary and pensionable allowance which is at Rs 104,694 per month to be increased to Rs 180,000. Professional allowance will go up from Rs 15,000 to Rs 75,000. There will be an increase their allowances from Rs 168,894 to Rs 304,200. Besides this, they will also receive a housing allowance of Rs 50,000 (where there is no official residence) and a transport allowance of Rs 125,000 (where a vehicle and driver are not available). A driver’s allowance of Rs 25,000 has also been included.

District Judges/Judicial Officers -from Rs 151,424 to Rs 269,300.

District Judges/Judicial Officers (Special): The present salary and pensionable allowance which is Rs 71,941 to be increased to Rs 165,000. They will also receive a non-pensionable 50 percent of their salary from December 31, 2015 as personal allowance. Other than the salary, their total emoluments will increase from Rs 151,424 to Rs 269,300.

Magistrate/Judicial Officer -from Rs 49,079 to Rs 112,500.

Magistrate/Judicial Officer: Now drawing a salary and allowance of Rs 49,079. This will be increased to Rs 129,750. Total of the salary and pensionable allowance, which stands at Rs 49,079 will move up to Rs 112,500.

Attorney General- from Rs 201,850 to Rs 332,800.

Attorney General: Now drawing Rs 95,800 as salary and pensionable allowance. This will increase to Rs 240,000. With other allowances, the total which stands at Rs 201,850 will increase to Rs 332,800. Housing allowance which stands at Rs 12,000 is to be increased to 50,000(where official residence has not been provided). A Books allowance of Rs 30,000 has also been provided for.

Justice Minister Athukorale has also recommended to increase the “Allowance for Not Engaging in Private Practice” from the present Rs 50,000 to Rs 150,000.

Solicitor General – from Rs 177,125 to Rs 290,800.

Solicitor General: Present salary and allowances Rs 90,700.This will be increase to Rs 140,000. Total of salary and pensionable allowances will go up from Rs 99,700 to Rs 220,000. Other allowances (professional, judicial professional COL, telephone etc) will go up from Rs 177,125 to Rs 290,800.
Senior Additional Solicitor General: Total of salary and pensionable allowances to increase from Rs 73,779 to Rs 190,000. All other allowances to increase from Rs 151,328 to Rs 250,800.

Additional Solicitor General- from Rs 132,232 to Rs 205,800.

Additional Solicitor General: Total of salary and pensionable allowances to be increased from Rs 73,779 to Rs 170,000. Other allowances to go up from Rs 151,328 to Rs 230,800.

Senior Deputy Solicitor General – State Attorney: Total salary and pensionable allowances to go up from Rs 63,892 to Rs 150,000. Other allowances to be increased from Rs 132,232 to Rs 205,800.

Legal Draftsman: Total of the salary and pensionable allowance to go up from the present Rs 73,779 to Rs 190,000. Other allowances which stand at Rs 104,579 to be raised to Rs 222,800.

Additional Legal Draftsman: The present salary and pensionable allowance to be raised from Rs 73,779 to Rs 170,000. Other allowances to be increased from Rs 104,579 to Rs 202,800.
Courtesy of the Sunday Times.