Peace for the World

Peace for the World
First democratic leader of Justice the Godfather of the Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle: Honourable Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

R. Panuthevan – An Intellectual, St. John’s College Jaffna Was Blessed With

R. Panuthevan
S. Sivathasan
logoAn arts graduate of the highest caliber, Panuthevan Master as we called him, joined the teaching staff of our College in 1954 at the tender age of not even two months past 21 years. An old pupil of Central College Jaffna – the oldest Mission School in the country (202 years now) – and a product of the Jennings era at Peradeniya University, he made his mark instantly. It did not take even two weeks for his reputation to spread to the whole College, evoking admiration from the student community. As students we were keen observers, sharp in our judgement and accurate in our assessment. His work was confined to SSC and University Entrance classes. His favourite subjects were, History, Civics, Tamil and Government. His proficiency in both English and Tamil, making for an easy flow of words, made the young yearn to be his students.
In the fifties, the College had developed a name for science studies. The Principal Rev. JT Arulanantham with his farsightedness, placing emphasis on science built up a fine staff – local best and Kerala talent – to develop the human resources. He supported it with well-equipped labs and lecture theatres in an aesthetically pleasing complex. Education received the expected fillip. Stunning results had an electric effect in the North. 
The arts stream had its experienced and competent staff. Even so a Panuthevan was needed to complement the ensemble. Producing brilliant results was the target and it came about from the late fifties. Admission to the University was in fair numbers. More striking was selection at competitive examinations to the Administrative and other Services. This was a tribute to the teachers and Mr. Panuthevan like all others declined to acknowledge the honour. To go in for high tribute, quite a few were more than deserving. Then how does one single out a particular teacher.
R. Panuthevan
The photo that portrays him may depict an image of great simplicity or of careless civility. But behind it is a man of sterling worth, of unimpeachable character, of steadfast principles and of great ways inside out. Rousseau in his inimitable style said “Richness in apparel may proclaim the man of fortune and elegance the man of taste, but true health and manliness are known by different signs”. A Tamil poem said it 1,600 years earlier. It is the feeling of goodness at heart with mental poise to match, that is real beauty. The measure of his caliber was in his objective presentations. Hence my frequent visits to his home for lengthy discussions, till I entered public service. Needless to say, I profited a great deal.
To this writer, it was his intellectuality that lay at the fount of his knowledge. Though excellently endowed to develop his versatility of interests, and even as he made the best use of the enticing volumes at college, neither the country nor its economy provided quite an enabling environment. Yet he made finest use of limited resources to cast out our sentimental propensities and mental cobwebs. With minds well prepared, he stretched our imagination, made it fertile and  promoted detached and rational thinking. For our benefit he made the best use of the college library and more than supplemented it with the excellent resources of the Jaffna Public Library.
Teaching apart, broadening our horizons was his primary concern. Both in class as well as in the Hall talks, he dwelt at length on the significance of the Bandung Conference in February 1955. An event that might have bypassed us unnoticed. For two weeks it was said that Bandung became the capital of Afro – Asian nations. The seed was planted for the beginning of Non – Aligned solidarity and the growth of the emergent countries. It was in the nature of international relations that after the end of the cold war, non – alignment lost its rationale for its existence. Some of us saw it well ahead on account of the clear understanding we had had.
On account of the best mentor for the subject of Government, we imperceptibly made it our favourite subject. He took us through the best of thinkers and writers like Harold Laski, CF Strong, Sir Ivor Jennings, Professor I D S Weerawardena and for Ceylon History Dr. Colvin R de Silva. We were battered at that time by the emotionally charged issue of Sinhala Only. When Prof. Suntharalingam threatened to meet the Queen for her intervention to forestall Sinhala Only, our teacher quoted the relevant sections of the constitution and showed the untrammeled power the nation had. So with wishful thinking regarding the bases of Trincomalee and Katunayake.  
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T. Jogaratnam — A Tribute

As a senior academic, he did not overlook his role and responsibility in institutional development. He played a part in the establishment of the Department of Study in Agricultural Economics, and contributed much to uplift the Faculty of Agriculture and Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture to their current status and checked on other work too.

by L. H. P. Gunaratne-
( September 25, 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Professor T. Jogaratnam, generally acknowledged as the father of Agricultural Economics in Sri Lanka, passed away on the 18th of September 2018 at the age of 87 years. He was the first Lecturer in Agricultural Economics, the first Professor of Agricultural Economics and the first Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics & Farm Management in the university system of Ceylon. He later capped his distinguished career by serving as Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Director of the Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya.
Professor Jogaratnam was born in Navaly in Jaffna in 1931 and was educated at St Anthony’s College in Kayts, Jaffna Central College, and at Royal College, Colombo, in that order. He entered the University of Ceylon in 1950 and obtained a B.A. (Hons.) degree in Economics. In 1953, he was recruited as an Assistant Lecturer by the Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Science at the University of Ceylon. Soon after joining the Faculty, he read for and received a Master’s degree from the University of Toronto. Several years later, he entered Cornell University and successfully completed his Ph.D degree in Agricultural Development.
Although Agricultural Economics has always been treated as one of the premier disciplines in Agriculture by universities in the US and UK, this subject was hardly recognized in Ceylon at that time. The professor took the challenge of developing the subject of Agricultural Economics to meet the requirements of the Bachelor of Science degree programme in Agriculture in the University of Ceylon. Over a period of several years, and entirely through his teaching efforts, he was able to convince those in the field about the important role that Economics played in agricultural development. He was able to raise the position of Agricultural Economics in Sri Lanka and turn it into a recognized academic subject and research area, while stressing its relevance for policy formulation. The academic interactions he had with the prestigious University of Toronto and Cornell University, combined with his own experience in the context of Sri Lankan agriculture helped him to develop a strong undergraduate academic programme in Agricultural Economics. Over a period spanning more than five decades, Professor Jogaratnam was passionately committed to sharing his knowledge with students and stimulating their thinking through teaching. His students’ professional achievements in different areas of Agricultural Economics are evident in the work they have performed at various academic bodies, research institutions and development organizations. They bear ample testimony to the Professor’s endeavors to pass on his knowledge and skills to others.
His pleasing personality, in-depth knowledge, and excellent command of English were assets to the system. He was greatly admired by his undergraduate and post-graduate students, mainly due to the exemplary manner in which he delivered lectures; these were always augmented by real world experiences. Even after retirement, he never declined a request made to him for teaching undergraduates.
Higher education on agriculture commenced in Ceylon at the University of Ceylon in the same year the country gained independence. However, during this era, research was not the main priority at the Faculty of Agriculture. In this backdrop, by recognizing early the growing importance of social sciences in agriculture in the developed world, Professor Jogaratnam arranged to bring in eminent scholars like Professor T.T. Poleman, Professor R. Schickele and Dr. A.T. Mosher, to broaden the research horizons of the Faculty. His research activities encompassed a wide range of agricultural development issues such as food and nutrition policy, land settlement, production economics, farm management, and resource and environmental economics. He wrote numerous monographs and popular articles on many of these areas, all related to agricultural economics.
As a senior academic, he did not overlook his role and responsibility in institutional development. He played a part in the establishment of the Department of Study in Agricultural Economics, and contributed much to uplift the Faculty of Agriculture and Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture to their current status and checked on other work too. He served as the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and became the Director of the Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture in I978 and continued to serve in this capacity until I985. As the Director of the PGIA and the Project Director of the USAID funded Agricultural Education Development Project, Prof. Jogaratnam contributed immensely to the development of higher education in agriculture by providing Ph.D level training for 38 academic staff members of the Faculty of Agriculture.
As a member of the teaching panel supervising postgraduate programmes, he has turned out a substantial number of M.Sc., M.Phil and Ph.D degree holders. The students who were supervised by him always appreciated his commitment, seriousness of purpose, rectitude and above all his kindness. Prof Jogaratnam’s services have been recognized by the Eastern University of Sri Lanka and University of Ruhuna, which have conferred on him D.Sc. degrees.
Over the course of five decades, he performed the three complementary roles of a University Academic, which are teaching, research and outreach activities, exceptionally well. Many eminent persons who hold (or have held) high positions like Secretaries of Ministries, Vice-Chancellors, Deans of Faculties of Agriculture, Director Generals of Agriculture, and Directors of Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture had gone through his hands.
Professor Jogaratnam had always extended his services willingly to the national development activities. He was a pioneer in conducting benchmark surveys of major irrigation schemes. He got the students to engage in the field activities to provide them with exposure to real world farming issues. Recognizing the intellectual standing and administrative capacity of Prof. Jogaratnam, many ministries, government departments and non-governmental organizations in Sri Lanka used to seek his participation in various committees and governing bodies. He closely interacted with international organizations such as the World Bank, FAO, ILO and ESCAP.
Prof. Jogaratnam was held in very high esteem by his colleagues and admired by his students. His simple nature, upright character, thoughtfulness, non-confrontational attitude and patience in all social and academic interactions were always appreciated by both academics and laymen. Prof. Jogaratnam was a role model as a university teacher and a researcher. He met the expectations that society has of a “professor” by possessing noble, inspirational and scholarly ideals, which he was willing to share with the community that needed his advice and guidance.
Dr L. H. P. Gunaratne, Dept. of Agricultural Economics & Business Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya 

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'It is a dream': In Gaza, they doubt blockade-busting truce


Hamas wants to 'break the siege' in talks, now stalled, with Israel but Gaza's Palestinians are wary of false hope

Studying by candlelight during a power cut in Jabaliyya refugee camp (MEE/Kaamil Ahmed)


Kaamil Ahmed's picture
Kaamil Ahmed
Wednesday 26 September 2018

GAZA CITY - Everywhere along Gaza’s coast – at its port, in coastal refugee camps and by beachside stalls hawking coffee and roasted corn – sunset beckons the blockaded enclave’s population to gaze out onto the Mediterranean.
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Autopsy shows Palestinian beaten to death, PA says


Palestinians take part in a protest to show solidarity with Palestinian prisoners and hunger strikers held in Israeli jails, in front of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza on 24 September. 
Mahmoud AjourAPA images

Tamara Nassar-26 September 2018
Preliminary results of the autopsy on Muhammad al-Rimawi show that he died as a result of severe beatings by Israeli soldiers, Palestinian authorities are saying.
The Israeli army is disputing this.
The autopsy was conducted at Israel’s Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in the presence of Dr. Rayan al-Ali, the Palestinian Authority’s chief medical examiner.
Al-Rimawi, 24, died shortly after he was beaten by Israeli soldiers in his home in the occupied West Bank village of Beit Rima on 18 September.
“The martyr was subjected to a policy officially approved by Israeli political and military circles, which allows soldiers to act freely and at their own discretion with detainees,” the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs stated, according to Quds News Network.
“This led Israeli soldiers to use beatings and assault in their worst forms.”
The results revealed bruises on al-Rimawi’s chest, right thigh and various other spots on his body, according to the commission. The autopsy also revealed that the violent manner in which occupation soldiers raided al-Rimawi’s home and assaulted him was a chief cause of his death.
Israeli media reports contradicted those of the PA commission for detainees.
“The autopsy of Muhammad al-Rimawi, conducted at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in the presence of a Palestinian physician, ruled out any possibility that he died after being beaten by soldiers and losing consciousness,” the Israeli daily Haaretz reported, citing a statement from the Israeli army.
“The cause of death is still under investigation,” Haaretz stated, adding that “no signs of violence were found on the body.”
Al-Rimawi’s family rejected the army’s claims, according to Haaretz.
The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has previously stated that the army’s investigative mechanisms amount to “a system that whitewashes investigations and serves as a fig leaf for the occupation.”
It remained unclear when al-Rimawi’s body would be returned to his family.
Dozens of Israeli occupation forces raided al-Rimawi’s family home before dawn on 18 September. Soldiers beat al-Rimawi in a separate room until he was unconscious, and then took him away in that condition, according to family members who witnessed the raid.
“After two hours, his family was informed of their son’s death,” according to prisoners advocacy group Addameer.
Al-Rimawi was the third Palestinian to die this year after severe beatings by Israeli soldiers during arrest or inside Israeli prisons.

Worsening conditions in Israeli prisons

Israel is set to impose a series of new punitive measures against Palestinians held in Hadarim prison and various others, prisoners told the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs.
New measures include banning prisoners from buying frozen food and prohibiting their families from bringing them textbooks.
Israeli guards will also force prisoners out of the their cells during searches and impose tighter restrictions when they are in prison yards.
“Such restrictions will lead to worse conditions in prisons, given the extreme and unprecedented incitement by the Israeli right and racist instructions from the Israeli internal security minister [Gilad Erdan] and the director of the Israel Prison Service,” prisoners told the commission.
Meanwhile, Palestinian women held at HaSharon prison are protesting the prison authorities’ decision to turn on surveillance cameras in the prison yard earlier this month, after a visit by Erdan.
The women are refusing to go out to the yard, the only outdoor area they are permitted to use, until the surveillance cameras are covered again.
The cameras were installed years ago but were shut down after prisoner protests.
The women at HaSharon are threatening to escalate their protests, including a hunger strike, if the cameras are not turned off.

Hunger strikes

Palestinian prisoner Omran al-Khatib, 60, has been on hunger strike for more than 50 days in protest of his solitary confinement at the Ramle prison, according to Gaza-based human rights group Al Mezan.
He’s one of several Palestinian prisoners who have launched hunger strikes in recent weeks.
شبكة قدس | الأسرى@asranews
يواصل الأسير عمران الخطيب "60 عاما" من مخيم جباليا شمال قطاع إضرابه عن الطعام لليوم الـ46 على التوالي مطالباً بالإفراج المبكر عنه، علما أنه معتقل منذ عام 1997ومحكوم بالسجن 45 عاما أمضى منها 21 عاما .
10:05 AM - Sep 19, 2018
Al-Khatib, from Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, has been detained since 1997 and was sentenced to life in prison. Quds News Network reported that al-Khatib is also demanding early release.
Meanwhile, Khader Adnan, who previously undertook two prolonged hunger strikes – 66 days in 2012 and 55 days in 2015 – has been on hunger strike for more than three weeks to protest his latest arbitrary detention by Israel.
Adnan, 40, was arrested on 11 December, and has been held in administrative detention since.
Jawad Jawarish, 36, has also been on hunger strike since mid-September in protest of his transfer from Ashkelon prison to Hadarim, where he is being held in solitary confinement.
Jawarish, from the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, was transferred multiple times this year, according to Al Mezan. A picture of Jawarish circulated on social media after he launched his hunger strike:
شبكة قدس | الأسرى@asranews
الأسير جواد جواريش من بيت لحم يواصل اضرابه المفتوح عن الطعام لليوم الـ20 على التوالي، احتجاجًا على نقله التعسفي بشكل مستمر، وهو محكوم بالسجن المؤبد مدى الحياة.
7:40 AM - Jun 25, 2018
The frequent transfer of prisoners is a form of abuse, as they are transported in tiny metal cages with arms and legs chained over long journeys in a vehicle known as the bosta.
Ismail Eliyan, 27, also from Bethlehem, launched a hunger strike on 19 September, to protest his detention without charge or trial since November last year.
شبكة قدس | الأسرى@asranews
الأسير إسماعيل عليان (27 عاماً) من بيت لحم يعلن إضرابه المفتوح عن الطعام منذ يومين رفضاً لاعتقاله الإداري .
10:22 AM - Sep 19, 2018
He has been arrested four times since 2008.
“Al Mezan voices concern for the safety of hunger strikers and calls for persons held in detention by Israel to be treated in accordance with international law,” the group stated, noting that there has been a sharp increase in administrative detention orders, which allow Palestinians to be held indefinitely without charge or trial.
In August alone, there were 100 administrative detention orders, 41 of them new and the rest renewals.

Imprisoned writers and human rights defenders

Israel released Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour from prison on 20 September.
Tatour was convicted for “incitement to violence” and “support of terrorist organizations” in May, and sentenced to five months on 31 July.
“I got my freedom and I will continue to write and I will not stop. All this suffering was because of a poem. It is unfortunate that they imprisoned me for writing a poem,” Tatour said after her release, according to Wattan TV.
Tatour, 36, is from the Arab village of Reineh near Nazareth.
She was first arrested in October 2015 over social media posts and a poem called “Resist, My People, Resist Them.” She has mostly lived under house arrest since then and has been barred from using the internet.
During her trial, Tatour spent three months in prison and was due to serve only the remaining two months after her conviction.
Writers freedom group PEN International welcomed Tatour’s release.
PEN International@pen_int
'Tatour [was] convicted for doing what writers do – using words to peacefully challenge injustice' - PEN President Jennifer Clement in 2017.

Today we welcome the release of poet Dareen Tatour, who has lived mostly under house arrest since October 2015.http://pen-international.org/news/israel-poet-dareen-tatour-released-from-prison …
6:23 AM - Sep 21, 2018
PEN International supported Tatour for years and “considers that she was targeted for peacefully exercising her right to free expression through poetry and activism.”
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation soldiers arrested Palestinian writer and journalist Israa Khader Lafi on Wednesday from her home in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.
شبكة قدس | الأسرى@asranews
قوات الاحتلال تعتقل الكاتبة إسراء لافي بعد مداهمة منزلها في مدينة الخليل، فجر اليوم.
4:47 AM - Sep 26, 2018
Lafi is a journalist and scholar who trained as an electrical engineer. She has also helped produce television programs.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International released an urgent call to release Ayman Nasser, the legal coordinator for prisoners rights group Addameer, who was detained by occupation forces on 9 September.
Nasser, 48, was issued an administrative detention order shortly after, and will be held without charge or trial for at least six months.
Halima Nasser, Ayman’s wife, told Amnesty that he has numerous health issues including inflammation in his colon and severe back pain due to a herniated disk in the lower back and is in need of constant medical treatment.

Israel exploits prisoners’ right to treatment as a tool of torture, by delaying medical examinations and surgeries and using inappropriate medications, the Palestinian Prisoners Club has stated.
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