SRI LANKA CLAIMS "ZERO TOLERANCE OF TORTURE" TO COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE

Submitted by Admin on Fri, 2011-11-11

"Sri Lanka is with you 110% in its position...no tolerance [of torture], no abridging of standards, no exception to the rule..."

This is what the Sri Lankan government representative told the UN Committee Against Torture this week in Geneva – the body which monitors compliance with the Convention Against Torture - when it met to scrutinise Sri Lanka's periodic reports. The government representative gave a largely polished performance proffering assurances and rebuttals, but the Committee pursued the delegation with tough questions throughout the two-day session.

Just three days beforehand, Freedom from Torture's researcher had presented shocking evidence of ongoing torture by both military and police in the country directly to the Committee - we've since published a report setting out this evidence documented by our expert clinicians using forensic methods in medico-legal reports.

So why the contrast between assurance and evidence?

The Committee's Rapporteur on Sri Lanka, Felice Gaer, stated in no uncertain terms that they had not received sufficient answers from the Sri Lankan delegation to the "extensive allegations of torture and ill-treatment....[from] enforced and involuntary disappearance to routine torture and ill-treatment by the police; [which] range from sexual violence in the conflict zone to harassment and intimidation of human rights lawyers and journalists; ...from secret detention centres to a failure to investigate all deaths that have occurred routinely in the prison system". Co-Rapporteur on Sri Lanka, Alessio Bruni added: 'We have heard a lot of information (from the Government) about rules and regulations, not so much about what happens in the country...the reality seems to be different, the amount of allegations coming from the most reliable sources.. UN sources...NGO sources...one cannot say that there is a real zero tolerance policy in Sri Lanka....You said you are 110% with us. Are you 110% with your own civil society?"

Perhaps in the face of this questioning, the Sri Lankan representative later revised down the scale of the government's efforts "to make the Convention effective....to bring [torture] to a minimum, ideally to eradicate it entirely." This is hardly consistent with the absolute nature of the prohibition on torture; never means never – not 'minimise'.

Questions, questions

While commenting on the impressive nature of Sri Lanka's (still yet to be published) "Human Rights Action Plan" which Felice Gaer noted civil society would be very pleased with "should it be implemented", she found crucially that there was not a single reference made "to conducting investigations [or] prosecutions of those held to be responsible for torture; this is the most central obligation on states (as well as criminalising torture) in the Convention".

This lack of investigation into torture is a huge concern for Freedom from Torture and the other human rights organisations presenting evidence to the Committee about ongoing abuses in Sri Lanka; until we know that thorough and independent investigations have been conducted into what has been going on, all we have for now is the government's word. Given the shocking cases of torture we have documented – survivors arriving at our door in the UK with the resulting mental and physical scars still fresh – the government's word on torture is not something we can hold in any regard.

This also augurs badly for the government's response to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) created to fend off complaints from within Sri Lanka and from the international community about a massive failure of accountability for the atrocities committed on both sides during the final stages of the civil war. The LLRC is itself deeply flawed and expected to deliver a whitewash when it finally reports any day now. At this point, the UK and other states which have withheld further pressure on the Sri Lankan regime pending the report will have no choice but to act.

we are still left with as many questions, if not more than beforeThe Committee had given the Sri Lankan government detailed written questions and requests well in advance of this session, including to provide a list of detainees in government custody and those held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act; to detail protections for lawyers facing harassment in their work; to provide more information on Sri Lanka's National Human Rights Commission including its visits and complaints received. This list goes on for pages. Felice Gaer told the delegation "we are still left with as many questions, if not more than before". Not least on sexual violence – apparently not a single complaint has been received in Sri Lanka, according to the government.

It seems that the Sri Lankan government is more than a little reluctant to talk numbers. In dismissing the UN Panel of Experts Report which was delivered to the UN Secretary General in March 2011 as "unchecked, uncorroborated, unverified", the delegation failed to acknowledge that the numbers of individuals held in detention as detailed in the report were based on Sri Lankan government sources. The irony was not lost on the Committee.

Ex-combatants "exploiting" the Convention

The government representative's smooth delivery was somewhat interrupted at the end of the session when he spoke out vehemently about Western governments being manipulated into granting asylum to 'terrorists' who are "for economic convenience traversing a story of torture". These comments seemed to be an attempt to undermine and reduce the impact of the strong evidence of ongoing torture presented to the Committee, as well as the Committee's dismissal of the government's assurance of 'zero tolerance on torture'.

The representative addressed the Committee: 'I would honestly implore you that when it comes to matters dealing with complaints of torture by those who are ex-combatants....do bear in mind that for an ex-combatant who seeks asylum in greener pastures, it is always a very convenient vehicle...to say every single man has been tortured in terms of the Convention Against Torture, now one must lead with a wide berth for that kind of thing...the Convention should never be permitted to be exploited in the hands of terrorists."

It is clear as day under international law that torture is wrong in all circumstances, whoever the victim – be they combatant or civilian, man or woman. Allegations must be investigated; torturers must be held to account. Let us hope that governments around the world do not let Sri Lanka off the hook if the government fails to achieve the justice it has promised through its own means.

SRI LANKA: OUT OF THE SILENCE

Submitted by Admin on Fri, 2011-11-11

Freedom from Torture has published shocking new evidence of torture in Sri Lanka which demonstrates the practice has continued long after the end of the civil war in May 2009. The research shows that torture is perpetrated by officials within both the military and the police and that people within the Tamil population who are perceived by the authorities as having links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) remain at risk of being detained and tortured.

"Many of us bear the marks of torture on our minds and bodies, but in Sri Lanka you can't express that you've been tortured. If you show your scars to [an official] you risk them telling the authorities and you would likely be detained again." Saarheerthan, Sri Lankan torture survivor

Survivors' well-founded fear of speaking out about torture in Sri Lanka is just one of the reasons that little information on the practice has flowed out of the country since the end of the conflict, including reported enforced disappearances and the intimidation of journalists, civil society organisations and doctors.

This report plays an important role in helping to break the silence of the last two years. Freedom from Torture has used forensic methods to document evidence of torture through the production of medico-legal reports (MLRs) for use in the context of asylum claims by torture survivors who have fled to the UK.

Keith Best, Freedom from Torture's Chief Executive, said:

"As well as recording serious psychological impact in virtually all of the individuals whose cases are sampled in this report, the evidence also reveals high levels of visible scarring which strongly suggests a deliberate policy of 'branding' and an environment where perpetrators act with impunity. The experiences documented in the report of signed confessions forced through torture, fingerprinting and the deliberate infliction of visible injuries, mean that the risk of future detention and torture for survivors on return to Sri Lanka remains high, especially given the fact that in every single one of these 35 cases release from detention was resultant on the payment of a bribe. Fourteen had reported torture on their return from periods of time spent abroad.

"In light of this new evidence, the UK government must act immediately to ensure it is not returning individuals to a risk of torture in Sri Lanka. It is important that the UK Border Agency reviews and amends the country guidance information used by decision makers who consider asylum applications. While serious concerns remain, the UK should also put in place effective monitoring of any individual it forcibly returns to Sri Lanka to ensure their safety. We hope the UK government will play a leadership role within the international community to ensure that impunity for torture and other serious human rights violations in Sri Lanka is not allowed to reign. This is particularly essential as the Sri Lankan government's own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission is widely considered to be seriously compromised and not capable of delivering justice for the Sri Lankan people."

The 35 individuals whose MLRs were reviewed in Freedom from Torture's study were detained in a range of facilities around Sri Lanka and all report being targeted due to an actual or perceived association with the LTTE, often through family members, or an opposition political party. It has been widely reported that the LTTE forcibly recruited Tamils into membership and other support roles during the civil war, suggesting that a very large proportion of the Tamil population is at risk of being targeted on this basis.

MOVEMENT FOR JUSTICE

Friday, 25 November 2011 

Movement for Justice was launched on 23 Nov under the patronage of rev Madulawe Sobitha. MP Dayasiri, MP Sumanthiran, DPF leader Mano Ganesan, Bahu of nssp, USP leader Siritunga, Priydarsani women leader, and university teacher’s president participated in this press conference.

Dr Vickramabahu made the following speech in this meeting.

Today there is a serious challenge to democracy in this country. On the surface, one sees only democratic tendencies. We can have press conferences and protest meetings. Elections are held and parliament, provincial councils and town councils are functioning, courts are operating with out state intrusions. But all these are pretensions.

There is a political terror regime working behind the scene. Justice is not done and people live in terror. It started in the Tamil areas, but now it has come to the south as well. The power of this illegitimate institute can be seen in the recent events. Senior political adviser to the President, Bharatha was killed by security personnel in broad day light in Colombo suburbs. WPC minister's house was surrounded and searched by security forces.

White van has abducted several around Colombo, while it is a common event in Tamil areas. Not only general Fonseka but thousands Tamil political prisoners are kept in unknown places while the government admitted over 800 are kept under PTA.

The nature of the state terror regime could be seen by the amount allocated to the defence and related departments in the budget. Latter dominates the entire budget. Executive presidential power is used by the terror regime to legitimize its actions. Executive presidency, envelopes and covers the political terror regime.

There is a logic behind, in keeping the General in prison, because, this political terror is driven by Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism and militarism. If the General is given freedom, his influence in the armed forces will be an obstacle to politicalisation of the military apparatus. Hence he is kept in prison through a travesty of justice. His image is demolished by subtle campaigns. He will not be killed but his personality will be demolished.

They survive on the theory that the war against Tamils brought fortune to Lanka. The terror regime is mainly used to protect foreign investers and brokers. It protects the plunder of local resources. The truth is that the war brought the biggest misfortune of political state terror on every body. We lost our freedom and our national resources. We can win democracy and freedom only by defeating state terror that hides behind the executive presidency. Rev Sobitha explained that Gandhi challenged the British Raj; then the biggest world terror, by mass actions. We must get together to launch such a mass struggle to defeat this dictatorial terror regime.

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Judge Warawewa harassed for judgment: Ranil

SUNDAY, 20 NOVEMBER 2011
High Court Judge W. T. M. P. B. Warawewa who acquitted former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka of all charges in the white flag case has already been subjected to harassment, Opposition UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe alleged today. 

Mr. Wickremesinghe who was addressing a public meeting at Dematagoda said the computer which the High Court Judge was using at his chambers at courts has been damaged after this verdict. 

The opposition leader said his party would raise the issue with regard to the judgment in Parliament.

Mr. Wickremesinghe referring to the dissenting judgment said the Honourable High Court judge was not allowed to read out his verdict in Court on Friday. He explained that the usual tradition followed in court was to read out all verdicts when the bench is divided. However he said this tradition was not followed in the Colombo High Court on Friday. (Yohan Perera)

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Justice Warawawa faces death threats from MaRa regime

(Lanka-e-News -19.Nov.2011, 11.55P.M.) Justice W T M P B Warawawa , one of the judges in the white flag case has received death threats from the MaRa regime, according to reports reaching Lanka e news.

Following these threats the judge is facing after the white flag case verdict had been delivered , he had to change his route he usually takes to his house. He is compelled to take another route .

In the dissenting judgment in the white flag case , justice Warawawa was the dissenting judge . He exonerated Fonseka of all charges filed against Fonseka. Though he ought to have declared his reasons in support of his dissenting view in court , he was not permitted by Ms. Deepali Wijayasundara , the President of the panel of judges yesterday (18) . This decline constituted a blatant and gross breach of revered court traditions , practices and norms
Owing to this action , the declaration of Warawawa in the case was completely blacked out from reaching the media. This high handed action of Deepali Wijesundara had provoked a storm of protests from among the judges triggering controversies, reports say.

It is the consensus of judges who wish to carry out their duties honorably and independently that these threats held out to justice Warawawa is a very ominous signal to the profession as it is militating against the performance of duties of judges freely ,fairly and independently . They claim that immediate steps should be taken to stamp out this evil trend.

Deepali to hear Fonseka’s appeal

Thursday, 24 November 2011

The President is considering appointing High Court Judge Deepali Wijesundera to hear the appeal that is to be handed by Sarath Fonseka’s lawyers against the three year jail term imposed in the White Flag case verdict, a senior government minister said. Judge Wijesundera was the head of the High Court trial at bar that heard the White Flag case.

The President has told several ministers who are close to him that there was nothing wrong in appointing Wijesundera to hear Fonseka’s appeal since former Chief Justice Sarath Nanda Silva has already created a precedence by hearing cases filed against him in courts.

The President has already taken measures to promote Judge Wijesundera to the Court of Appeal after the White Flag case. The President’s proposal was presented to yesterday parliament for approval.

We reported that Judge Wijesundera was to be given a promotion after the White Flag case a few weeks before the verdict of the case was delivered.

The President has granted this promotion after ignoring seven other senior and experienced judges suitable for the post.

The Defence Secretary has provided special security to Wijesundera and her daughter after Fonseka was sentenced to three years in jail.

Fonseka’s Attorney Nalin Ladduwahetty is to file the appeal before court in Monday.

It is learnt that Ladduwahetty is to hand a petition that is over 150 pages against the High Court verdict against Fonseka’s verdict.

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Deepali asks why it was wrong for the President to have attended her daughter’s wedding (Photos)

Wednesday, 23 November 2011 

Head of the High Court trail at bar that delivered the verdict of the White Flag case has asked several journalists during a friendly chat whether it was wrong to have had the President and the Defence Secretary attend her daughter’s wedding.

Judge Wijesundera has said that she has been closely associated with the President and his family members for some time and has accused some websites of publishing distorted stories about the President’s participation at her daughter’s wedding.

A few weeks before the wedding our website reported that the President was to sign as the witness from the bride’s side at Judge Wijesundera’s daughter’s wedding.

We also reported that the President had given a brand new vehicle to the bride as a wedding gift.

There is no problem over the giving of gifs given by the President to his friends and their children. However, the President maintaining close links and giving gifts to the lead judge of the High Court trail at bar hearing a cooked up case against the candidate who contested against him at the Presidential election has a direct impact on the independence of the judiciary.

Since Judge Wijesundera’s daughter’s wedding is now being discussed in political circles, we have published several photographs of the wedding that were previously published by us.

Read more...

Regime chief's reciprocal gesture: Deepali and Raseen to have foreign pleasure trips

(Lanka-e-News -20.Nov.2011, 11.55P.M.) The Regime chief has arranged an excursion for justices Deepali Wijesundara and Zulfikar Raseen to Malaysia and Singapore on a holiday as a reciprocal gesture for sentencing Gen. Fonseka and putting him in jail. 

The expense for this tour is being met by the Central Bank under the foreign Ministry of the regime chief . This tour to be embarked on the 11th of December will have another 8 judges making up the group. This group for the tour had been chosen at the sole discretion of Deepali Wijesundara, according to inside sources of the High court..
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Deepali shows her gratitude for daughter’s wedding gift

Saturday, 19 November 2011

Lanka News Web has learnt of the valuable wedding gifts given by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the daughter of High Court Judge Deepali Wijesundera, who sentenced former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka to three years in prison in the White Flag case. President Rajapaksa signed as the witness from the bride’s side for the wedding.

After signing as the witness for the wedding, the President has handed an envelop to the bride with a cheque signed for Rs. 1 million to Deepali Wijesundera’s daughter. The President had also sent a brand new unregistered vehicle to her house few days after the wedding.

A Captain from the Commando unit of the Presidential Security Division had taken the unregistered vehicle to her house.

Deepali Wijesundera had told her daughter that she would have to face some problems if the media found out about the unregistered vehicle and had made arrangements to sell the car.

SLC statement - Gota tries to muddy the waters

Thursday, 24 November 2011

Commenting on Gotabhaya "Gota" Rajapaksa's speech stating [1] that the Sri Lankan Government had, as part of its census, conducted a survey into how many people had been killed in the civil war. Sri Lanka Campaign Director Fred Carver said:

"Clearly the Government of Sri Lanka is realising that it's previous line (that no human rights abuses) took place, has lost all credibility. But their new approach is also worthy of incredulity - to claim now that they have identified and named every single missing or dead person is patently absurd.

"The Sri Lankan Government does not have a good record when it comes to counting civilians in the north and the east. As the UN Panel of Experts report made clear, they "deliberately and purposefully underestimated the number of civilians who remained in the Vanni", so when the President's brother says the census shows very few people died, does he draw this conclusion by comparison with the "deliberately and purposefully underestimated" figure or the true figure?

"As so often with the Rajapaska regime, we have more questions than answers. This only underlines the urgent need for a credible, independent process to uncover what really took place. Until this happens, the best information we have is the UN Panel of Experts' report, which concluded there was credible evidence that "tens of thousands" - even "up to forty thousand" - civilians were killed.

"Much like its flawed and discredited Lessons Learned & Reconciliation Commission, this seems to be yet another attempt by the Rajapaska regime to stall for time while it continues to tighten its grip on the country and commit flagrant abuses."

Seen and not heard: women in Sri Lanka's reconciliation commission

Jo Baker, 24 November 2011
Sri Lanka's Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission has no mention of gender in its mandate and no dedicated expertise related to women; it has just one female commissioner out of eight. For Tamil women, the LLRC simply reaffirms bad old habits.
About the author

Jo Baker is an independent researcher and writer, with a focus on social exclusion, conflict and gender; her legal study on discrimination and truth-telling in Sri Lanka features in December’s issue of the Law and Society Trust Review.

If and when Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) releases its report later this month, as scheduled, it will do so amid wide scepticism on many critical fronts – except, it seems, for one. The credibility, independence and the ethnic balance of the post-war commission have been well-challenged internationally, since it was established by the President last year to ostensibly help reconcile the nation.  But for the war’s tens of thousands of female survivors there has been little space and little said, by either the commission or its critics. The LLRC’s weaknesses in this area deserve greater attention. They also add significantly to the impression of an instrument trailing far behind modern truth and reconciliation efforts elsewhere.[1] More

Growing Challenges to Internet Freedom

by Daniel Calingaert, Deputy Director of Programs 

Photo Credit: decafeined

Next week, government, business, and civil society representatives will gather at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Nairobi, Kenya to discuss the future of the global digital space.  This gathering takes place against the backdrop of growing restrictions by repressive regimes on online freedoms.  The U.S. and European governments have undertaken significant initiatives to respond to these restrictions, but their initiatives are inadequate to stem, let alone reverse, the decline of freedom on the internet.  Stronger action is needed.

Restrictions on the Internet

Even before the Arab Spring had shown the power of the internet to accelerate the free flow of news and views and to bring like-minded citizens together to mobilize for change, authoritarian regimes had introduced extensive controls over digital media.  Authoritarian regimes had built pervasive, multilayered systems for online censorship and surveillance.  These systems have grown more diverse and sophisticated in the past two years, as documented in Freedom House’s 2011 Freedom on the Net report and elsewhere.Read More

Rudd promises comment on Sri Lanka report

24 Nov 2011

AAP

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has promised to comment on a Sri Lankan government report into the civil war when it is made public.

The probe into the civil war against Tamil rebels has called for further investigations of alleged war crimes committed in the final stages of fighting in 2009, media reports say.

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), which has been widely criticised as biased by international rights groups, concluded that some evidence warranted a new inquiry.

The commission handed over the report to President Mahinda Rajapakse on Sunday but it is not clear when exactly it will be made public.

Mr Rudd told a foreign policy dinner in Sydney the Australian government would comment once the report was publicly released.

"The report that's been delivered to the Sri Lankan president, I'm looking for guidance on whether the contents of the report has been publicly distributed," he told the Australian Institute of International Affairs.

Mr Rudd said he had told the Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs G.L. Peiris and Mr Rajapakse of his intention to release an Australian response when he met them at the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth.

"That's what I said to the Sri Lankan foreign minister and also the president of Sri Lanka at CHOGM," Mr Rudd said.

Here are the full details of the group of white Van criminal abductors

thursday 24 of November 2011
(Lanka-e-News -23.Nov.2011, 11.55P.M.) Lanka e News is in receipt of reliable information on the groups involved in the abductions of civilians in the notorious white Van. This whole operation is carried out on the orders of defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse by a former Sergeant Major of the Special Force's (SF's) LRRP unit. His name is Maddumage Wasantha who lost a leg during the Mamaduwa in Vavuniya District army operations. 

He left the Army because of his disabled condition on medical grounds. Although he is supposed to have left the Army , he is even now carrying out orders of his mentor Gotabaya Rajapakse while being based at the STF regiment Headquarters, abducting civilians in the white Van on Gotabaya’s orders. He is supported by about six soldiers of the army. This entire group is presently not in the Army permanently.

Maddumage Wasantha joined the first group of the STF and was attached to the Engineering regiment . He was the most efficient soldier in the SF remote places operations unit.

He resides at ,Wedagawatte, Magamana, Homagama . But he visits home only once a week.

He meets Gotabaya through latter’s private secretary Colonel Jayantha Ratnayake who is a former officer of the SF. Colonel Ratnayake was a commanding officer for the SF from the Gajaba regiment under Gotabaya Rajapakse.

When this group abduct civilians in Colombo , it is Colombo district commanding chief, Brigadier Shantha Dissanayake who gives protection to them. Shantha Dissanayake is a Brigadier who is ready to do any unlawful directives and criminal actions at Gotabaya's bidding.
Prior to the recent elections , it is this Shantha Dissanayake who deployed army soldiers to clean up latrines and slums in Colombo.

This same Dissanayake is the Brigadier who gives orders on the routes to be followed and safeguards the abductors when the abductions are done via the white Van , without being confronting the Security detail on the routes. This ignominious task was performed earlier by Mahinda Haturusinghe , another infamous Major General who is now the Commanding chief in Jaffna 

Sri Lanka 'counting civilian war deaths'

Both sides were accused of committing abuses in the final stages of the war

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Sri Lanka is close to completing a census of the number of civilians who died in the final phase of the civil war, the defence secretary has said.

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the count proves the number of people killed as a result of government action was "far too small" to constitute war crimes.

In April, a UN-backed report said tens of thousands may have died and pointed to evidence of army bombardment.

The government has rejected such claims and calls for an international probe.

In May 2009, the army defeated Tamil Tiger rebels fighting for a separate homeland in the north and east of Sri Lanka, after almost 26 years of civil war.

Much of the controversy surrounding the conduct of the army and the rebels centres on what happened during the closing stages of that war, when tens of thousands of civilians were hemmed into a narrow strip of land in the north of the country caught between government and rebel fighting. 

Full Story>>>

Sri Lanka has gone down the dangerous path of ethnic fratricide

By Brian Senewiratne   24 Nov 2011

Posted 24-Nov-2011 Vol 2 Issue 47 There had been no civil war in Sri Lanka but only virulent pogroms against the Tamil people, says Brian Senewiratne, the Sinhalese doctor in Australia, in this second part of a series for TWL. You can read the first part here. The Nobel Laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, when I met him in Cape Town, remarked, “Isn’t it wonderful that a Sinhalese should be campaigning for the Tamils for all these years?” I said that I did not think it ‘wonderful’ because this was not a Tamil problem or a Sinhalese problem but a humanitarian problem that must arouse the concerns of every one who opposes the violation of basic human rights set out in the UN Human Rights Convention. The war wounds are yet to heal with hundreds of orphans, widows, and destitute left at the mercy of a racist regime (Photos courtesy: http://www.warwithoutwitness.com) This is what it means to share the world with others who, like us, are going to be on this planet for but a short time. The principle that has guided my actions all these years is “Do unto others as we would have them do unto us”. This simple truth transcends nations and peoples – that isn’t brown or black or white, that isn’t Christian, Buddhist, Hindu or Islam, that isn’t Sinhalese or Tamil. It is not new, but has beat in the hearts of billions of people since the dawn of civilization. The world is heading down a hugely dangerous path of injustice and a failure “to do unto others as they would have done unto themselves”. Colombo cut off food and medical supplies to Tamil areas during final months of war for which it has to be held accountable

Read More

Disabled police officers demand equal rights

Disabled police officers demand equal rights

Disabled police officers say they are angered by the government’s double standards in issuing benefits to war disabled security staff. Speaking to BBC Sandeshaya Secretary of the police disabled war hero’s association H.M.U.S.B Herath said “it is unfair to treat Army and Police war disabled differently”. Chief Government Whip and Minister of Water Supply, Dinesh Gunawardhana speaking at the Parliament on Wednesday said that the disabled police officers are not entitled to the same benefits as their military counterparts. In reply to a question put forward by opposition MP Dayasiri Jayasekera, Minister Gunawardena stated that the police operate as a civil force unlike the armed forces of the country.     Full Story>>>

None of the soldier families got Rs.100,000:JVP

THURSDAY, 24 NOVEMBER 2011
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) charged yesterday that though the government pledged in its 2011 budget to give Rs.100,000 to soldiers at the birth of their third child, none of the soldiers had received this payment during the year.

JVP front-liner Vijitha Herath said that in Monday’s Budget too, the government had promised to extend this facility to families of police officers as well, but when considering the government’s track record this too would end up as an empty promise.

He said the government had pledged to allocate Rs.1,200 million in the 2011 budget to make such payments to soldier families.

“If Rs.100,000 was given to each soldier family, 12,000 families would have received this payment. But we know of no soldier family being benefited from such an offer. This is another act of budgetary deception. President Mahinda Rajapaksa promised to extend this facility to police officers next year but this too is merely rhetoric and eye-wash,” Mr. Herath said.

He said the President had contradicted himself when presenting poverty-related figures and added that in the 2011 budget speech the President announced that the poverty level had dropped to 7.6 per cent from 15 per cent but in his 2012 Budget speech the President announced that the poverty level remained at 8.9 per cent.

“The Budget speech appears to have been prepared without referring to the previous speech. That is the reason for such a mistake. If the figure mentioned in Monday’s speech is correct, then we can assume that poverty levels have increased,” Mr. Herath said.

JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti said though the President had announced that food prices dropped in 2011 due to the Divineguma Programme, but the reports tabled in parliament by the Finance Ministry indicated that food prices had increased not decreased.

“We do not know what to believe,” he said. (Kelum Bandara)