President’s Catch-22

Can President send rogues to hell within two years?

President Sirisena(R) and Premier Wickremesinghe (L)

President Maithripala Sirisena has been making, for the past few months serious statements that could imperil the so-called Yahapalanaya Government or the National Unity Government, as those statements have been directly and indirectly critical of his partner in governance, the United National Party (UNP).

2018-01-26

In last November, he had indirectly warned State Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe for accusing him of appointing the Presidential Commission on the Controversial Central Bank Bond Issuance.
That was his first open salvo against the UNP.
On January 3, he made a special statement to the country explaining the recommendations of the Bond Commission, one of which according to him, called for legal action by the Bribery Corruption Commission against UNP Deputy Leader and former Minister Ravi Karunanayake.
Days ago, on January 16, President Sirisena, after an emotional speech at the weekly Cabinet meeting over derogatory remarks by the UNP Ministers and MPs against him, stunned his Ministers, which mainly comprised of UNP members, with a walk-out stating “You decide whether we can go ahead in this way”.
Implying that he was frustrated over the handling of the economy by the UNP, on January 20, he said at a public rally in Kegalle that he was going to take over the economy that had thus far been under the purview of the UNP.

"It was he who during the Presidential election campaign said that the Katunayake Airport would be closed to prevent rogues fleeing ..."

And on Monday, while speaking at an election rally in Kandy about corruption that had been taken place during the last regime as well as his regime, he embarrassed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, when he called upon the latter to help him in eradicating corruption in the country, without standing in his way.

He also had told a gathering in Kosgama on January 18 that he would leave the office after sending the corrupt politicians to hell.
It is ironic that the architects of the Yahapalanaya Government who have got together against the former Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa with the lofty ideals of ridding corruption from the country are at odds now over the same issue.
President Sirisena has been accusing his partner in the Government of involving in “The largest fraud in the Sri Lankan history” and standing in the way and delaying or stalling action against high profile corruption cases against the leaders of the same Rajapaksa government. Last November he accused by name a UNP Minister for delaying and stalling legal action against leaders of the former regime which had later been denied by the Prime Minister.
Another irony is that the leaders of the former regime, who had been accused of mass scale corruption and routed out from power at the last Presidential and Parliamentary Elections partly due to those allegations are now calling the leaders of the incumbent government thieves. They have been successful in eclipsing the allegations against them with the latest household hot topic, the bond scam.
In spite of this sounding like the Pot Calling Kettle Black, they are on a sound footing after the conclusion of the sittings of the Bond Commission which said in its report that more than eight billion rupees that belonged to the Government had initially been plundered through the 2015 February bond transaction.

• If he is to adhere to this vow, he would have to go back on his pledge, not to run for another term.

• President is in a Catch-22 situation in handling corruption and sending the rogues to hell

• The UNP, by blindly denying and attempting to cover up had got its image tarnished 

On the other hand, despite the Commission had not accused any political party in this regard, the UNP, by blindly denying and later attempting to cover up the scam from the very beginning had got its image tarnished. The UNP still seems to be clueless as to how the party could get out of the mess and still takes the allegations in respect of the bond scam as ones against it, not against certain individuals and sympathisers of the party.
However, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe while addressing the nation on the issue on January 18 said that the President appointed the Bond Commission after consulting him and the findings of the commission report would not be swept under the carpet. If that was the case it seems to be not known to State Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe who accused in November last year that the appointment of the commission was a conspiracy against the UNP.
The tussle between the President and the UNP has worsened at a time when the agreement between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the UNP over the establishment of the national government has lapsed and the Opposition parties are claiming that the current cabinet is illegal under the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. This indicates the fragility of the Yahapalanaya Government in spite of the fact the two main parties in the government have no option other than putting up with the situation. The President’s vow to send the corrupt politicians and officials to “hell” raises two questions in respect of his anti-corruption drive. Firstly, what went wrong with his pledge to bring the plunderers of the wealth of the people to book for the past three years?

"This indicates the fragility of the Yahapalanaya Government in spite of the fact the two main parties in the government have no option other than putting up with 
the situation."

It was he who during the Presidential election campaign said that the Katunayake Airport would be closed on January 9, 2015, in order to prevent the rogues from fleeing the country. But not have only the rogues fled the country but also were some other rogues of the former Government accommodated into his Government’s fold while being questioned by the newly formed Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) of the police.
Then towards the end of the same year, the President said even he did not know the reasons for the delay in the investigations against the leaders of the former regime. In October 2016 he opened a can of worms by alleging that the FCID, CID and the Bribery Commission have been politicised and only those close to him were being targeted.
When the issue of extending the term of the Anti-Corruption Committee Secretariat (ACCS) came up at the Cabinet meeting in July, last year the President had stated that there had been no cases against former President Mahinda Rajapaksa or his family, as those in the UNP had brought pressure on the investigators periodically to slow down or not to proceed.
He had alleged that even the ones probed and actions taken against the members of the Rajapaksa family have been watered- down.
He had gone on to say that if the Attorney General’s Department and the police were given to him he would catch all the culprits within three months. Then Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe had to resign as the Justice Minister in August, last year following allegations that he hindered the investigations. And now the President pleads the UNP not to hinder efforts to send the corrupt politicians to “hell.”

"The tussle between the President and the UNP has worsened at a time when the agreement between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the UNP over the establishment of the national government has lapsed"

These incidents point that the President is in a Catch-22 situation in handling corruption if he is serious onthat issue and they are also an indication that sending the rogues to hell within the rest of his tenure is going to be a hellish task for him. Going by the pace of things, if he is to adhere to this vow he would have to go back on his pledge not to run for another term.

Woozy on the boozy big picture

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 Friday, 26 January 2018 00:00

Welcome me back with a stiff one, cheerful reader, I’m coming to this party a little late. While I was away on vacation, naively assuming that the Government had matters well under control during vacation time, it seems that the powers that be have been at the brandy snifter on the sly. 

Woozy on the boozy big picture.docx by Thavam on Scribd

Power, Corruption, Lies & Betrayal

By Lacille de Silva –January 25, 2018

In Sri Lanka, politicians break promises without fear of any punishment. Does that mean the errant politicos are above the law? For the last couple of decades, having made big promises, they do completely the opposite after gaining power. Why cannot we sue the politicians for breach of the contract?

JR Jayewardene during his election campaign in 1977, appealed to the Nation, I quote – “Give me 120 good men and I assure you we will fulfil our pledges…if we fail you, you are at perfect liberty to vote us out anytime”. The people trusted the then UNP leadership and overwhelmingly voted and elected the UNP regime with an unprecedented mandate with 139 seats in a 168 member Parliament, and gave not only a two-thirds but a five-sixth’s majority as well, which was the finest victory ever secured by any party since independence.

JRJ, at the very beginning, introduced a bill to the then National State Assembly and installed the Presidential system in 1977. JRJ used the mandate he received to enact the law and called himself the first “elected” President, without being elected to the post. JRJ had stated – “Such an executive is a strong executive, seated in power for a fixed number of years, not subject to the whims and fancies of an elected legislature, not afraid to take correct but unpopular decisions because of censure from its parliamentary party. This seems to me a very necessary requirement in a developing country faced with grave problems such as we are faced today”.

Steps had been accordingly taken to transform the system of governance from a Westminster-style parliamentary system to an executive presidential system, which had finally paved the way for a weak Parliament. Under the previous Constitutions (Soulbury 1947/Republican 1972) the Executive had been made answerable and accountable to the Parliament, which JRJ had wanted changed. 

A brand new Constitution was therefore enacted to consolidate the presidential system in 1978. President was deceptively made answerable to the Parliament constitutionally, which realistically never happens to-date. An impeachment procedure too had been introduced to remove the President. Dr. N. M. Perera had argued that the “Impeachment procedure was a near impossibility in practice”. This became a reality when a group of parliamentarians presented an impeachment motion against the then incumbent President R. Premadasa.

Sixteen Constitutional Amendments had been enacted during the 11 years. All those amendments were introduced purely for the purpose of strengthening his hands and not for the benefit of the people. He changed the entire electoral system, with the hope that he could keep UNP in power for ever.

In addition, he destroyed the independence of the judiciary appallingly. JRJ pioneered interference and bringing political pressure to the judiciary process and judgements, which has now caused irreparable damage to the judiciary and the country in the end. JRJ had ensured that all those judges were removed with the promulgation of the new Constitution. He took steps to re-appoint only a selected few from the Supreme Court and the High Court. Most of the other judges, both in Supreme Court and High Court, had been sent home unjustifiably because they were not in the good books of JRJ. It is noteworthy, our judiciary had been held in high esteem until early 1970s from the colonial days. It had become totally disgraceful from JRJ days until now.

In 1988, when the post of Chief Justice fell vacant, JRJ disregarded the most senior judge of the Supreme Court, who had earned the due promotion at the time and appointed a judge, who had been seven years junior to him. It had thereafter been stated that JRJ had done so particularly in view of the fact that the relevant judge had given a dissenting judgement in regard to the 13^th Amendment, to the displeasure of the President. Supreme Court in 1982 and 1983 upheld the violation of fundamental rights of two petitioners, Ven. Daramitipola Ratanasara and Mrs. Vivienne Goonewardena. Ven. Ratanasara was granted a payment of compensation. Cabinet of Ministers approved the compensation payment from government funds. This was a highly irregular unheroic act and abuse of power. The relevant police officer in quick succession had been promoted to the rank of DIG, without being punished. Furthermore, in regard to the other judgement, there had been a violent protest campaign allegedly organised by the JRJ supporters in front of the residences of the three judges who gave the judgement against the government. It was also revealed that JRJ had endorsed the villainous act as “expression of freedom” in accordance with the newly enacted Constitution.

It had been observed JRJ had always been apprehensive about trade unions. He had been extra cautious and had taken numerous steps to weaken the trade union movement using enormous power vested in the presidency. The government used strong-arm tactics and introduced Act No. 61 of 1979, to provide for the declaration of essential public services. However, confrontational action both by the trade unions and the government led to an island-wide strike in 1980. The government thereafter summarily dismissed 60,000 public sector employees. The workers who reported to work due to fear of losing of employment had been further dealt with punishments, such as transfers, denying promotions etc. During this period, it had been reported 55 strikers, who lost employment had committed suicide.

The people began to sense catastrophic consequences due to all these political mishandling, dictatorial policies, canny political manoeuvring, excessive dominance, extra-judicial killings, malpractices by self-obsessed politicians and their henchmen. JRJ stripped off civic rights of Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike too, with the sole purpose of eliminating his only opponent from political landscape. Court of Appeal had granted a Writ of Prohibition that the Presidential Commission Inquiry Law No. 7 of 1978, which had been hurriedly passed in Parliament, did not have powers to  consider a period prior to the enactment of the law. Mrs. Bandaranaike, in her own words had said in Parliament, I quote – “The strange events that followed show the impeccable desire of the government to secure my enforced exile from politics”. This dastardly act was considered yet another blow to parliamentary democracy. Mr. Amirthalingam had  stated in Parliament that “this is a political punishment; political murder; political killing”. It is regrettable that such disgraceful exercises had tarnished the good name of the lofty Institutions.

It was no doubt due to the sheer desperation of opportunistic, power hungry and selfish politicians, may I say – “do or die” politics began in place of gentlemanly politics in Sri Lanka. They wanted to win elections and occupy political office by all means, which needs to be stopped. The violent underworld gangsterism too is an unwelcome outcome of “do or die” politics that sprang up under the newly invented political culture.

An undemocratic extension of the term of Parliament through a crafty and manipulatively organised Referendum in 1982 was the best example that the UNP government was highly undemocratic and unprincipled. In 1983, during the riots JRJ failed to give suitable orders to the police to bring down the incidence of violence.  It had been alleged that the police had been kept away – having been given leave officially. It is noteworthy JRJ government failed to handle the LTTE. The IPKF had to be invited to intervene in the conflict, which had created even greater problems.

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Bond Commission recommendations:Ex-CBSL chief finds gaping holes in bond probe report

Cabraal addressing the media while Godahewa looks on

By Shamindra Ferdinando-January 25, 2018

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Ajith Nivard Cabraal and former Chairman Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Dr. Nalaka Godahewa yesterday alleged that there were glaring omissions and gaping holes in the recommendations made by the presidential bond probe commission in its report. Asserting that the recommendations didn’t reflect what had actually transpired during the commission proceedings, the duo said the omissions amounted to a grave lapse on the part of the probe commission.

Cabraal and Godahewa said so in response to a query by The Island at a media briefing at Ramada in Colombo.

The bond commission consisted of Supreme Court Justices K.T. Chitrasiri and Prasanna Jayawardena and former Deputy Auditor General Kandasamy Velupillai. Sumathipala Udugamsuriya functioned as its Secretary.

Stressing that he respected the commissioners, Cabraal said some obstacles may have caused the flaws in the report. Dr. Godahewa endorsed Cabraal’s view.

Godahewa said those who closely followed media reports on the treasury bond scam commission proceedings since March 2015 had seen that though there were important recommendations some critical information revealed before the commission had not been taken into consideration.

The former CSE Chairman faulted the fact-finding commission for not making specific recommendation in respect of the Bank of Ceylon (BoC) financing the Perpetual Treasuries (PTL) Limited to the tune of Rs. 10 bn to carry out the operation. Declaring that the BoC had never granted such a huge facility to any other primary dealer through its Intra-day

Liquidity Fund (ILF), Godahewa said who had made it possible was the mastermind of the first bond scam.

A comprehensive investigation into the circumstances under which BoC had made available required funds would expose the mastermind, he said.

Cabraal and Godahewa said that in addition to the Rs. 10 bn that had been made available in Feb 2015, a further Rs. 40 billion had been provided by the BoC in March 2016 to the PTL under mysterious circumstances.

The former SEC Chief flayed the government for giving preferential treatment to those suspected and accused of bond scams. "For three years, there have been many statements made, both in and outside parliament in defence of bond thieves," Godahewa said, pointing out that almost four weeks had lapsed since the handing over of the report to President Maithripala Sirisena without there being any action taken against any of the wrongdoers.

Godahewa said that Deputy Governor and Chairman of the Treasury tender board P. Samarasiri, named in the report had been allowed to serve his full term until his retirement in August 2017. When a print media journalist pointed out that Samarasiri had been elevated to the post of Deputy Governor during Cabraal’s tenure (July 2006-January 2015), the former Governor claimed Samarasiri was given critical responsibilities after the change of government in January 2015. Cabraal alleged Samarasiri had received authority from his (Cabraal’s) successor Singaporean Arjuna Mahendran.

Cabraal and Godahewa said President Maithripala Sirisena’s recent appeal to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to back his efforts to clean up the administration was a ruse aimed at saving the government. Cabraal asked how President Sirisena could ask Wickremesinghe for help as the latter was yet to clear his name. "The primary allegation is the decision to do away with time-tested, transparent and well-thought out auction cum direct placement system that had been introduced by former CB Governor Amarananda Somasiri Jayawardena in 1997," Cabraal said.

Cabraal said the UNP leader certainly owed an explanation to the country as to why he had instructed Mahendran to change the system just before the first treasury bond scam in Feb 2015. Following a far bigger scam in March 2016, the old system had been re-introduced in July 2017, Cabraal said, emphasising that President Sirisena couldn’t absolve himself of the responsibility for the second scam as well as the dissolution of parliament in mid 2015 to thwart exposure of the UNP over the first bond scam.

"What is happening now is nothing but an elaborate face-saving operation ahead of Feb. 10 local government polls. The electorate is unlikely to be deceived by the yahapalana show," Cabraal said, adding that the administration was in an extremely embarrassing and tricky situation. He explained the culpability of the top UNP leadership as well as President Sirisena beginning with the appointment of a foreigner as the Governor of the Central Bank. Cabraal pointed out that Arjuna Mahendran had already fled the country, though none of those accused of corruption by yahapalana administration had left the country.

"Here, I’m, ready to face any probe," Cabraal said, challenging the government to prove unsubstantiated allegations against him.

Following the conclusion of the briefing, Cabraal told The Island that the Attorney General’s team who assisted the commission would be the best suited to decide whether the recommendations reflected the proceedings and vital information made available to the three member commission. "We understand that the AG’s team wasn’t consulted in the preparation of the report," Cabraal said.

Namal Rajapaksa, bots and trolls: New contours of digital propaganda and online discourse in Sri Lanka

Image courtesy Congress is investigating how Twitter bots may have influenced the US election, by Quartz

SANJANA HATTOTUWA AND YUDHANJAYA WIJERATNE- 01/24/2018

Late 2017, the Twitter account of Groundviews was getting trolled – or in other words, had bitter invective levelled against it in a sustained manner – in an entirely new way. This piqued our interest. Since its inception in 2006, Groundviews has generated all manner of violent, venomous pushback and responses to content it has produced, published and promoted. Over the years, this feedback has ranged from threats of bodily harm and worse to, far more often, the most virulent of expletives. On the other side of the discursive spectrum, the site has also been extremely fortunate to host and feature considered, civil engagement including principled disagreement and coherently articulated alternative points of view.

With the first of its kind comment and content moderation policy in Sri Lanka, the worst commentary generated on the website never gets published – including in all instances bitter invective directed at the Rajapaksas, including the former President and his brother, the Secretary of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa, when and after they were in power. We have less control over social media, where through individual or institutional accounts, content published on Groundviews is repeatedly reacted to and often reviled. This pushback is now expected, and also comes from known quarters depending on the issues we cover. By known, it is not always the real, physical identity or geo-location of an interlocutor we refer to, but their digital avatar, which over time, comes to represent – almost like a signature or brand – a particular political ideology, worldview and bias. At Groundviews, the curators pay attention to this pushback because it is vital, as a media producer, to understand what triggers trolls and what their motivations are to the extent they can be discerned from online interactions, content and commentary. Knowing how and from where the worst pushback is likely to come from, over what issues and at what time, amongst other factors, is important when shaping a progressive content agenda and producing content that informs, influences and instigates democratic change, critique and contestation.

Trolls maketh a politican?

In the last quarter of 2017, pushback over Twitter to content Groundviews pushed out over the same platform came from sources not encountered or interacted with before. This piqued the interest of the site’s founding editor, Sanjana Hattotuwa, for one key reason. All the accounts publishing content against Groundviews were overwhelmingly promoting and partial to Namal Rajapaksa, a Member of Parliament and the extremely (social) media savvy son of the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The discovery also came at a time when Groundviews was researching the weaponisation of social media to game, and ultimately undermine, democratic electoral processes. As the Economist recently averred in an exhaustive article looking the impact social media has on democracy and democratic institutions,

In 2010 Wael Ghonim, an entrepreneur and fellow at Harvard University, was one of the administrators of a Facebook page called “We are all Khaled Saeed”, which helped spark the Egyptian uprising centred on Tahrir Square. “We wanted democracy,” he says today, “but got mobocracy.” Fake news spread on social media is one of the “biggest political problems facing leaders around the world”, says Jim Messina, a political strategist who has advised several presidents and prime ministers. Governments simply do not know how to deal with this—except, that is, for those that embrace it.

This is now already a well-studied phenomenon even though there is no consensus as to what can be done about it. The issue is complex, involving governments, the UN and other international agencies, civil society, Silicon Valley companies, and a dark economy where ickients, ranging from individuals to governments, are willing to pay whatever it takes to drown out, discredit, deny or decry anyone and any narrative that contests what they alone want kept alive online. Evidence of how social media was used to target and deviously influence voters in constituencies ranging from the US to the UK, France and Germany are a Google search away. What matters is not so much the technical details about how social media is weaponised, but the fact that in a country like Sri Lanka – where there is very high adult literacy and yet, extremely poor media and information literacy – what is promoted over social media is often what is trusted, shared widely and acted upon. This presents unique challenges for, amongst others, election monitoring bodies, which are traditionally geared to look at electoral malpractices at the point of exercising one’s franchise, violence that prevents or hinders this and malpractices during the collection, counting or the release of final results. The kind of threat social media that’s weaponised to promote a particular political ideology, idea, person, party or process is not something Sri Lanka’s government writ large, and in particular the Elections Department or any independent election violence monitoring body to date has even imagined, leave aside developed the technical capacity to monitor and address.

But how to make the connection with all this and the kind of Twitter accounts that were increasingly trolling Groundviews? One started with very basic analysis of what could be discerned about the Twitter accounts using nothing beyond tools and services openly available online. There was no hacking or doxxing (the often-vindictive publication of private information) involved. The date of creation on any public Twitter account can be gleaned from a number of web platforms. We used http://www.mytwitterbirthday.com. Accounts focussed on Twitter included,

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Ex Additional Secy and Accountant of Presidential Secretariat arrested

2018-01-25

The Police Special Investigation Unit (SIU) today arrested a former Additional Secretary and an Accountant of the Presidential Secretariat in connection with allegedly misappropriating state funds amounting to Rs. 17.9 million in 2010.

Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said former additional secretary D.S. Gunaratna and former accountant L.D. Gunaratna had been arrested for allegedly  misappropriating state funds when purchasing eight luxury vehicles for the Presidential Secretariat.

He said the suspects had allegedly misappropriated the funds through vehicles which had been imported for the Presidential Secretariat on duty free vehicle permits.

The arrested suspects are to be produced in the Fort Magistrate’s Court.

Earlier, the SIU also recorded statement from former presidential secretary Lalith Weeratunge in connection with the same allegation.(Darshana Sanjeewa)

Pilots Fighting in the Flight Deck: A New One! 

Pilots, surgeons, bus drivers and others in professions where the lives of persons are placed in their care are expected at law to profess and practice special skill, the absence of which entails liability for gross negligence. 

by Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne-Jan 25, 2018

The only alternative to co-existence is co-destruction…Jawaharlal Nehru

( January 25, 2018, Montreal, Sri Lanka Guardian) It is on record that 2017 was the safest year in recent times for air transport as it ended without a single fatality.  This figure is quite impressive, considering that 36.8 million flights were operated during the year.  However, 2018 seemingly responded to this unblemished record with a pernicious effort.  Right on the nose, on 1 January, on a flight from London to Mumbai carrying 324 passengers and operated by Jet Airways, the captain (male) had reportedly slapped his female co-pilot and, according to a BBC report: “[T]he commander came out of the cockpit about one hour before touchdown complaining of being physically harassed by the co-pilot. Soon after, the co-pilot also came out, leaving the cockpit unattended thereby jeopardising the safety of aircraft operations”.  Apparently, the woman was crying and in distress and had to be cajoled by the rest of the crew to return to her seat in the cock pit.  Thankfully, the plane had landed safely.

Reportedly, Jet Airways fired the two pilots and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of India suspended the license of the two pilots and imposed a ban on flying as flight crew for both for a period of 5 years.  Both the United Kingdom (where the flight took off from) and India (where the flight landed) are common law jurisdictions which follow principles of tort law.  Additionally, both States are signatories to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention) which recognizes that a professional pilot is a person who engages in such flying as makes it necessary that he or she holds a valid airline transport pilot’s license (ATPL).  Annex 1 to the Convention requires inter alia the captain to demonstrate the ability to perform as pilot-in-command of an aircraft within the appropriate category of aircraft,  and have the special ability   inter alia to recognize and manage threats and errors; and exercise good judgement and airmanship. The Annex in Attachment C provides for the establishment of a State Safety Programme (SSP) where one of the requirements of the SSP is that the State provides training and fosters awareness and two-way communication of safety-relevant information to support, within the State aviation organizations, the development of an organizational culture that fosters an effective and efficient SSP.

There is also Annex 19 on Safety Management, an integral element of which is Safety Promotion, which entails training, communication and dissemination of safety information to strengthen the safety culture and support integration of the SMS into operations.  There are several provisions of law in the United Kingdom which apply to the professional commercial pilot.  Firstly, Article 81(1) of the Civil Aviation Act of 1982 provides that where an aircraft is flown in such a manner as to be the cause of unnecessary danger to any person or property on land or on water, the pilot or the person in charge of aircraft, and also the owner thereof, unless he proves to the satisfaction of the court that the aircraft was flown without his actual fault or privity, shall be liable and on summary conviction to fine not exceeding up to a particular scale1 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.

In addition to the above provision, Article 55 of the Air Navigation Order of 1995 stipulates that a person shall not recklessly or negligently act in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft or any person on board.  Article 56 provides that a person shall not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property.  As for India, analogically, there have been many instances of pilot negligence that have been recorded wherein cockpit crew had indulged in photography in the flight deck. There have been instances where both pilots were away from the aircraft controls when the photographs were taken. On a few occasions crew had also allowed people to enter cockpit and take photographs.  In response t these occurrences,  the DGCA issued Air Safety Circular No. 02 of 2016 (Rev. 01) stating that such practices could lead to distraction that would adversely affect the safety of flight.

The tenets of international aviation law attribute to the pilot of an aircraft absolute responsibility for the safe operation of his aircraft.  Annex 6 to the Chicago Convention (on operation of aircraft) provides that: “[T]he pilot-in-command shall be responsible for the operation and safety of the aeroplane and for the safety of all persons on board, during flight time”. Often, this principle is seen to defeat its purpose in the determination of a single instance of professional conduct of the pilot when such is considered to have endangered the safety of the aircraft, its passengers and property.  The law as it exists lays down a presumption of absolute responsibility of the pilot.  In sharp contrast, the adjudication of instances of professional conduct of the pilot shows a clear demarcation between good airmanship and bad airmanship.  Of these, the latter shows clear evidence of having been decided on individual merits and not on a general criterion or principle of recognizing the elements of law, special circumstances and the human factor as a composite whole.  Therein lies the problem.

The absolute responsibility cast upon the pilot inevitably carries with it absolute and final authority from take-off to landing. Whilst it is the proper conduct of the normal flight to avoid creating hazard, it is also the ability to overcome potential hazard where failure has occurred.  With procedures laid down, drills to cover eventualities and the installation of duplicated equipment it is not surprising that crew error is seen as an element in so many accidents. The status of the pilot therefore entails far reaching consequences leading an instance of his negligent act open to be interpreted as a dangerous and unlawful act which could justify a charge of attempted involuntary manslaughter in the least. Criminality of the act of the pilot lies quite independently of the incontrovertible liability in negligence which would follow from such act.

Pilots, surgeons, bus drivers and others in professions where the lives of persons are placed in their care are expected at law to profess and practice special skill, the absence of which entails liability for gross negligence.  The position of the pilot in command of an aircraft therefore seems to be governed by the application of three presumptions.  They are: the special skill and expertise the pilot is presumed to possess; the enhanced duty of care expected of the pilot in view of such special skill and expertise, and the magnitude of the damage that may be caused in the eventuality of a breach of the duty by the care by the pilot.

The three questions that should be asked in the instance of the quarreling pilot and his co-pilot in the Jet Airways case are: had they shown absolute dedication to ensuring the safety of the aircraft and the passengers at all cost; was it impossible in that instance to adhere to accepted professional practice; and did their conduct in any way prejudice the safety of the aircraft and the passengers.

Whatever the debate is, there is no denying that this was a shameful and dangerous black mark on commercial air transport.

The author is former Senior Legal Officer of The International Civil Aviation Organization.  He is currently Senior Associate, Air Law and Policy, at Aviation Strategies International.

Man on eco-friendly mission

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Sampath Rambukkanage

The eco-friendly battery powered car Sampath Rambukkanage uses in his campaign

By Sajitha Prematunge-January 25, 2018, 10:20 pm 

Unlike candidates who flaunt coexistence like a banner, Sampath Rambukkanage, Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP) candidate for Panmankada (East), ward of the Colombo Municipal Council, walks the walk. He is married to a Tamil woman. Of course, his political ideology about co-existence and equality had little to do with his falling head over heels for Nirmala. In fact, the racial difference didn’t bother him. Despite parental disapproval on both sides they tied the knot in 2000, when the war was at its height and negative sentiments among the Sinhala people against the Tamil minority was most pronounced.

"Our community is made up of Sinhala, Muslim and Tamil people. And we had to face a lot of hardships during the war," says Rambukkanage.

Rambukkanage took to politics in 1997. He was elected municipal council member for two terms. "I couldn’t win the following election because I didn’t have the money to throw around to buy votes. Poor folk like us didn’t get a chance under the previous electoral system". But he hopes to seize the advantages of the new ward system.

"There are only 2,800 households per seat. We don’t have to throw money at them, we just have to know our people and their problems." Rambukkanage opined that under the new system it was easy to identify problems at the community level. "There’s only one candidate representing a party and therefore no fights over preferential votes."

But what sets Rambukkanage apart is not his love life or politics, but his campaign. Never has he used a single poster or a scrap of plastic. Such credentials go a long way when political bigwigs throw around millions of rupees on plastic, posters, banners and billboards.

Even this time around Rambukkanage has not used plastic or any other material detrimental to the environment in his political campaign which also does not cause noise and visual pollution. He has vowed not to use loud speakers to convey his political message. "We were asked to take 10 people when we visit houses, which is what I intend to do," says Rambukkanage.

His eco-friendly campaign also includes a battery powered car donated by Enosol. Powered by a plug-in lithium-ion battery, the car can reach a 80 km per hour and cover 100 miles on a single charge. "Pollution in Colombo has reached critical levels," says Rambukkanage, justifying his decision to electrify his campaign. "I wanted to set an example to others."

The self-employment venture spearheaded by him, Lanka Hela Osu, is also commendable. "Most of the women in this community work all day as domestics to earn as little as Rs 500. We wanted to offer them more lucrative employment for a fewer number of hours," says Rambukkanage. A Rs 2,800,000 loan from the RDB Bank helped him launch the venture which currently employs approximately 80 women.

Rambukkanage, during his term as municipal council member was also able to build an office building for Grama Niladharis of Pamankada East, who used to work from home or temples or private establishments. The project was made possible by former minister Milinda Moragoda.

Rambukkanage received his education at St Thomas College, Kotte. His late father worked for the Ceylon Transport Board and his mother is a housewife. He cut his teeth in politics at the age of 28 as a UNP activist. Rambukkanage says his goal is serving society, and politics is his vessel. "I’m an ordinary person. We’re not rich enough to engage in social service on our own. For that we need connections," says Rambukkanage. And getting into politics was the best way he knew how to make those contacts. Rather than running behind politicians for help, Rambukkanage decided to become one. Seeing individuals like the late Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike and the late President Premadasa, no doubt, sparked in him a passion for politics.

After he became an Municipal Council member, the business community joined hands with him on an eco-friendly mission.

Some poor people ask for help," says Rambukkanage. But some are reluctant to do so despite economic oppression". With his guidance elderly citizens are provided with lunch free of charge except on Saturday, Sunday and Poya days.

Of the many matters on his list that requires immediate attention is the inability of residents of the area to produce deeds for the land to have their children admitted to popular schools in Colombo. "During Minister Sirisena Cooray’s time the squatter families were given cards, which they could produce when their children applied for school admission. But from 2018 the card is not accepted," says Rambukkanage. "We’re all human. There are other schools in the area, but every parent would want only the best school for their children".

Another item on the agenda is a sewer system for Colombo East. "Cinnamon Gardens has a sewer system, but we don’t," says Rambukkanage. Housing and development are also high on his list of priorities.

Pamankada East has 9,200 voters from 2,600 households and Rambukkanage’s ‘innocent’ campaign, as he refers to it, is aimed at uplifting their living standards. "There are enough leaders to develop the country. People have to elect individuals to local councils, who can develop their respective communities," says Rambukkanage.

Palestinian prisoner who requires urgent medical care loses bid for freedom

Israa Jaabis' family, lawyer and supporters say they will now push for her to receive medical treatment inside the Israeli prison where she is held

Israa Jaabis in an Israeli court (Twitter/@PalesAbroadE)

Lubna Masarwa

Dania Akkad-Thursday 25 January 2018

A jailed Palestinian woman who requires urgent medical care for severe injuries has lost her appeal in Israel's highest court for her release from prison.

Israa Jaabis, 32, was arrested in October 2015 with burns over half of her body after she and her family say a faulty cylinder of cooking gas burst into flames in front of an East Jerusalem checkpoint.

Israeli authorities charged Jaabis with attempting to detonate a bomb in order to harm Israeli soldiers. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

'The judge did not show any compassion or empathy or any mercy. This didn't surprise me'

- Lea Tselmel, Israa Jaabis' lawyer

While imprisoned, Jaabis, her lawyer, Lea Tselmel and fellow prisoners say she has lived with pain and struggled to receive adequate medical care. She appealed her sentence so she could be released for treatment.

But on Thursday, Israel's high court rejected her appeal, meaning that Jaabis will remain in prison for the remainder of her sentence.

"We had a bit of hope that the system might consider her difficult health situation, but we were wrong," Jaabis' sister Muna told Middle East Eye on Thursday. "Now we will put all of our efforts to get her medical help inside the prison.

"The judge did not show any compassion or empathy or any mercy," said Tselmel. "This didn't surprise me."

Now they plan to push for Jaabis to receive immediate medical treatment for injuries including repeatedly infected ears, a throughly burnt nose that is hard to breathe through, one arm she can no longer raise and spasms in her hands and feet.

"I think there is a possibility to get this," Tselmel said.

'I'm being destroyed every day'

In the weeks leading up to Jaabis' appeal, supporters launched a public campaign on her behalf, holding protests and circulating a letter that Jaabis wrote about her situation in the prison.

"I'm being destroyed every day. I need psychotherapy that helps me face my painful situation. I feel scared when I look at myself in the mirror, so how about the others?" Jaabis wrote.

Mivrat Sadiq, a Palestinian journalist and one of the campaigners supporting Jaabis, said everyone had anticipated that the appeal would be denied.

"But the pressure our campaign has made has opened the possibility for legal pressure to provide Israa with medical aid," Mivrat said.

She said that nine other injured female Palestinian prisoners are also hopeful that, as a result of the attention around Jaabis' case, they may be able to obtain better medical care eventually too.

Aid workers who provide medical services to Palestinian prisoners told Middle East Eye earlier this month that hundreds of inmates call their organisations each year saying they are struggling to get medical care and asking for help.  

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Israeli lawmaker harasses families of Palestinian prisoners on bus

Amany Dayif, who used to work on behalf of detainees in Israeli prisons to access health care, said hat no one knows how many Palestinians in Israeli detention need care or what their conditions are because there is a lack of oversight from the Israeli health ministry.

"The Israeli prison service has no standard of medical care. For example, it does not collect statistics regularly regarding the illnesses or the healthcare needs of prisoners, something that is considered a crucial component of proper healthcare systems," Dayif said.

From her experience, she said, Israeli prison authorities manage the prisoner healthcare system poorly "mainly because it is a security organisation that sees healthcare as a last priority issue".

Seinfeld boosts Israel’s “shoot to kill” fantasy tours

Seinfeld, seen in a photo posted on Facebook by Caliber 3 then deleted, embodies a stream of American liberalism that abhors guns at home, but glorifies Israeli violence whose target is Palestinians.

David Sheen The Electronic Intifada 25 January 2018

Jerry Seinfeld drew criticism earlier this month when it emerged that while in Israel to perform in Tel Aviv, the famous comedian visited an air force base and took his family to a tourist attraction in the occupied West Bank for ideological and military instruction.

Caliber 3, the Israeli firm that runs what Israeli newspaper Haaretz calls an “anti-terror fantasy camp” boasted about the Seinfeld family’s patronage in a Facebook post on 7 January.

“Finally we are allowed to tell you!! The legendary Jerry Seinfeld and his family were at Caliber 3 during their visit to Israel last week, they came to us for shooting training with displays of combat, Krav Maga [martial arts], assault dogs and lots of Zionism,” the post – which has since been deleted – said, according to Haaretz.

Currently located in the settlement of Efrat, Caliber 3 says it was founded in 2002 by Colonel Sharon Gat and “works in close cooperation” with the Israeli army.

Seinfeld was not the first high-profile American entertainer to receive Israeli military training-as-tourism.

In this June 2017 report, Israel’s Channel 10 noted that the veteran American rock band Aerosmith had recently taken a course with Caliber 3:

The report features a photograph of the band’s lead guitarist Joe Perry posing with a machine gun, surrounded by Caliber 3 instructors wearing Israeli army fatigues.

The video also reveals that the training courses include live weapons fire on targets designed to look like Palestinians and simulated armed combat in faux Palestinian villages.

Reinforcing anti-Palestinian narrative

For millions of Palestinians, Israel’s military is an occupying army that prevents their refugee relatives from returning home, crushes almost every aspect of their lives and regularly kills, maims and imprisons them and their children with impunity.

There are, for instance, currently 350 Palestinian children in Israeli military custody.

Israel’s supporters, however, believe that the sectarian army’s seven decades of experience are evidence of its acumen and claim it is one of the most effective and moral fighting forces in the world.

Seinfeld’s antics embody a stream of American liberalism that abhors guns and the gun culture at home, but glorifies Israeli militarism and violence whose targets are Palestinians.

Jerry Seinfeld

✔@JerrySeinfeld

JERRY SEINFELD AT ISRAEL’S RAMON AIRBASE WITH THE ISRAELI AIR FORCE

https://judaismpeople.com/humansofjudaism/jerry-seinfeld-spent-the-first-day-of-2018-at-israels-ramon-airbase-with-the-israel-defense-forces-and-israeli-air-force …

Bombing. World of difference between them and me.

9:23 AM - Jan 9, 2018

Jerry Seinfeld spent the first day of #2018 at Israel’s Ramon Airbase with the Israel Defense...

judaismpeople.com

•  284284 Replies
 
•  125125 Retweets
 
•  779779 likes

In recent years, some Israeli entrepreneurs have moved to capitalize on the soldiers’ ill-gotten reputations as combat crackerjacks: training tourists of all age groups to shoot cardboard cut-outs of Palestinians.

“In a world under terror attacks, Israel is no longer only a major exporter of weapons. Now it also provides the real deal – live-fire training sessions for Becky’s bat mitzvah,” the Channel 10 report states, as it interviews American tourists who appear to be in awe of Israel.

Most of Caliber 3’s customers are from the United States but the company is also increasingly reaching out to Chinese tourists.

The two-hour Caliber 3 “experience” – which starts with a simulated hijacking of the tourists’ bus – costs from $85 for children to $115 for adults, but the company makes more from selling souvenirs. One of their popular gift shop items is a bullet hung from a necklace chain, selling for about $28.

The “thrill” of occupation

For some customers, Caliber 3’s location in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians live under military rule, is a positive attraction.

This “only intensifies the thrill for the visitors, who often appear disappointed when told by their guides that they are not in any danger,” a 2012 article about Caliber 3 on Israeli news site Ynet observed.

At that time, at least one promoter of Israeli tourism to Jewish-only West Bank settlements worried that their reputations could be further tarnished by associating them with militarism.

“For years we have been looking to change the perception,” a former tourism official Yoram Bitane told the AFP news agency in 2012. “The image given by Caliber 3 is contrary to that goal.”

But Caliber 3 and similar firms have figured out how to monetize Israel’s image as a militarized garrison surrounded by “terrorist” enemies in what writer Matt Carr calls an “overlap between entertainment, voyeurism and propaganda.”

Channel 10 acknowledges the connection, noting that “the success of drama series like Homeland and Faudamay mean the dawn of a world in which kidnappings and attacks serve as entertainment for the masses.”

And not surprisingly, the line between entertainment and real-life brutal, racialized violence is a blurry one. “I never shot anybody. But I’m going to learn how to shoot some f-ing Palestinian,” one American tourist tells Channel 10.

A 2017 Al Jazeera documentary shows visitors to Caliber 3 learning to shoot to kill. Their instructor demonstrates this with a poster depicting a man wearing the traditional Palestinian checkered headscarf, or kuffiyeh.

Foreign fighters

These military simulation centers have profited and proliferated in recent years.

However practicing to shoot Palestinians – and doing it for real – has been a traditional tourist activity in Israel for decades.

Since before Israel’s founding in 1948, Zionist militias, and later the Israeli army, have recruited Jewish citizensof other countries, apparently even attempting to do so in synagogues.

And Jews from around the world volunteer for Israeli military training, often starting during their “gap year,” between high school and college – an opportunity that is marketed as the “Ultimate Israel Experience.”

These programs expose foreign teenagers to the kind of hardcore military indoctrination to which Israeli Jewish high-schoolers are subjected.

Shortened programs that might last only a few weeks promise foreign visitors they will “strengthen your ties to Israel.” But the goal is clear: to entice them to stay on or return permanently as full-fledged combat soldiers.

In addition to recruiting foreign teens, the Israeli army also targets older adults – including senior citizens – to help out on bases.

One of the most famous graduates of this program is Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama’s first White House chief of staff and now mayor of Chicago, who volunteered on a base repairing tanks during the early 1990s.

Propaganda soldiers

Foreign fighters may have served an important purpose in the early years of the Israeli state, when its army was short of troops.

In the current age of highly mechanized warfare, militaries no longer require as many foot soldiers; in recent years, Israel has even cut the duration of mandatory military service.

Still, Israel continues to train foreign fighters, who make up about three percent of its army’s ranks, according to the Al Jazeera documentary.

It’s not because Israel needs more soldiers on the battlefield, but because it needs more fighters in its propaganda war.

By recruiting tourists into its army, Israel hopes to cement their loyalty to Zionism, convert them to permanent immigrants and turn cautious supporters of the Israeli state into passionate patriots and vocal advocates.

Moreover, in their home countries, the so-called “lone soldiers” serve as a rallying point for Jewish organizations, who can use them as the beneficiaries of fundraisers and other events that aim to propagandize Jewish communities in support of Israel.

Donations from pro-Israel groups abroad have included care packages and even equipment soldiers may use during attacks on Palestinians.

“Moral disappointments”

Companies like Caliber 3 may be motivated by profit but they are also part of Israel’s ideological apparatus.

As Haaretz put it last year, these firms describe their mission in “idealistic terms” – “showing the world that all the awful things said about the IDF [Israeli army] abroad have no basis whatsoever and that this is the most wonderful and moral army that exists.”

“We’re running a Zionist tourist project here, that when people complete it, they have tears in their eyes,” Caliber 3 founder Sharon Gat told Israeli television last year. He added that his satisfied customers tell him, “Now we can be better ambassadors for the State of Israel.”

In this context, many observers do not see Seinfeld’s and Aerosmith’s Israeli-themed military training as harmless fun and adventure, but as moral disappointments and a clear endorsement of Israel’s anti-Palestinian narrative and violence that continues to deprive millions of their most basic rights.