Sri Lanka: Minister threatens Tamils with 'hundred more massacres'

18 JUNE 2012

A Sri Lankan cabinet minister has threatened with 'hundred more massacres' unless the island's Tamil population avoid following the politics of the main Tamil parliamentary group. The warning came during a news conference on the 8 June in Colombo.

"One Mullivaikkal is enough. Don't try to get 100 more" said Power and Energy minister Champika Ranawaka, the leader of Sinhala right wing Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a main constituent party of the ruling coalition headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The threatening comments were made as a response to a speech delivered by the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), R.Sampanthan during the national convention of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), the chief constituent party of the TNA.

'Forgive and forget'

"Does Sambanthan want to create 100 more Mullivaikkals? We are ready to forgive and forget the past and think about the future" said the minister. "But, if Sambanthan is calling us to a fight, our nation would proudly accept the challenge" he further said.

The leader of the TNA, 79 year old veteran Tamil politician while delivering the keynote speech at the  ITAK national convention the week before, said: "The position that the North and East of Sri Lanka are the areas of historical habitation of the Tamil speaking people cannot be compromised. We must have unrestricted authority to govern our own land, protect our own people, and develop our own economy, culture and tradition. A meaningful devolution should go beyond the 13th Amendment to the Constitution." If the Sri Lankan state continuously deny this right, "we will claim our right under international law to external self determination" he said.The ITAK convention was held following failed attemps by the TNA to arive at an agreement with the government on an acceptable solution to the National Question.

Expressing anger over the remarks of the Tamil leader, the Sri Lankan minister cautioned the island's Tamil population saying "we appeal to the Tamil people not to go behind this kind of people and end up in getting 100 more Mullivaikkals".

Mullivaikkal is an area on the northeastern coast of the island where tens of thousands of Tamils were cornered and massacred during the final stage of the war between Sri Lankan troops and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009. Since then the area has become known as the final 'killing field' of the war and Tamils around the world hold annual commemorations named "Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day". (Video courtesy: ETV) 

The Jaffna Library

 by Charles Santiapillai

( June 18, 2012, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Although the Jaffna man’s mind is preoccupied with money and matrimony, yet the thing that he treasures most above everything else is education and scholarship. For a Jaffna man, it’s the books, and not dogs, that are his best friends. He would pay more attention to a good book than to his dissatisfied wife. Books keep him company both in times of happiness and distress. They are one of the main sources of his knowledge. The best and inexpensive place for easy access to books has always been the library. Within a square mile of where I lived in Jaffna, there were six churches, six colleges, six cinemas and just one Public Library to indoctrinate, educate, entertain and enlighten us. The Jaffna library represented the single greatest archive and a veritable treasure house of accumulated knowledge.

The origins of the Jaffna library can be traced to the generosity and foresightedness of a book lover named K.M. Chellappah who in 1933 began sharing the collection of his books among friends and fellow men with the view to enhancing their knowledge. This generous gesture was highly appreciated by the local community which then decided to build a proper library. A committee headed by the then District Judge as Chairman, Rev. Dr. Isaac Thambiah as Vice-chairman, and K.M. Chellappah & C. Ponnambalam as Joint Secretaries was formed on June 9, 1934. The committee decided to collect or buy as many ancient ola leaf manuscripts as possible from the villages of Jaffna and other areas where Tamil culture thrived.

The embryonic Jaffna library was opened on August 1, 1934 with a collection of just 844 books and about 30 magazines and newspapers in a small room at Hospital Road, opposite the present electrical sub-station. From here the library was moved to a rented house on Main Street near the Town Hall in 1936. Books could be borrowed on a payment of a nominal sum of Rs. 3 as membership fee. It had a starting capital of Rs. 1,184 and 22 cents largely from the efforts of Mr. Chellappah. The Jaffna library became hugely popular among the people, both young and old.

Nothing succeeds like success and there was a clamour

for a much larger and a more permanent library to cater to the insatiable appetite of the Jaffna man. At a meeting convened by the first Mayor of Jaffna, Sam Sabapathy it was decided to hold a carnival and a music festival featuring some of the most popular Indian artistes to raise funds for the library. It was a huge success. One of the leading and most active members of this committee was none other than that indomitable Irishman, Rev. Fr. Timothy M.F. Long, Rector of my Alma Mater, St. Patrick’s College, Jaffna. He was so efficient that the only difference between him and a saint was that he delivered miracles faster.

Fr. Long worked tirelessly to obtain funds for the library. He even asked that famous cartoonist of that time, Collette to do a sketch of him with a begging bowl! The one million rupee Library fund was entirely Fr. Long’s idea. I was just eight years of age and I remember well the

fabulous Yarl Vinotha Carnival that was held in 1952 to raise funds. It was a great success and brought in Rs. 68,000 – a huge sum then - for the Library fund. Fr. Long then went into top gear and became the unelected advocate for the library. He started knocking on the doors of several influential people such as the then American Ambassador, Mr. Philip K. Crowe and the then British High Commissioner, Sir Cecil Sayers who provided funds generously. Thanks to the irresistible charm of Fr. Long, Mr. W.G.F. Gunstone of that famous publishers of London, W.H. Smith & Son, undertook to supply books at special discount varying from 25 cents to 50 cents. The Asia Foundation donated lots of books.

The library committee invited the leading specialist in Library Science, Prof. S.R. Ranganathan from Delhi to develop the library to international standards, and for that well known authority of Dravidian architecture and the then architect to the Madras Government, V.M. Narasimhan to design it. The foundation stone was laid on March 29, 1953. It was a red-letter day for everyone in Jaffna. In the meantime, Fr. Long was working overtime.

He was able to secure for my late father, Mr. S.F. Santiapillai who taught Latin (for the seminarists) and English at St. Patrick’s College, a Fulbright Scholarship in 1955 that enabled him to go to the Cuyahoga County Public Library in Cleveland, Ohio (USA) for advanced training in library science. In recognition of the untiring efforts of Fr. Long, the grateful public honoured him by erecting his statue in front of the library.

With the completion of the first stage, the Jaffna Public Library was declared open on 11 October 1959 by the then Mayor, Alfred Thuraiappah. Later a Children’s section was opened on 3 November 1967. Under normal circumstances, it’d be very difficult to keep a Jaffna man quiet, but inside the library, the staff saw to it that he kept his mouth shut and read. The librarians were strict but helpful and knowledgeable. They looked after their books with great devotion. There were about 97,000 books and over 10,000 manuscripts. Some of the books were priceless. In particular, "Yalpana Vaipava Malai" written by the Tamil poet Mayilvagana Pulavar in 1736 was irreplaceable since the library had just one copy! In addition, the library had in its collections, several old manuscripts, some of which were written on dried palm leaves and stored meticulously in special sandalwood boxes. There were also hard to replace books on herbal medicine, miniature editions of the Ramayana epic, copies of the now extinct Tamil language newspapers, microfilms of the Christian Missionary journal "The Morning Star" published in the early 20th century. Thus, as a repository of knowledge, culture and history, the Public Library came to represent the pride and dignity of the Jaffna people.

On the night of 31 May 1981, while Jaffna slept, all these precious collections were consigned to the flames when the Jaffna Public library was set on fire by a few misguided individuals who could not realize that what they were destroying was a part of their own heritage as well. It is this failure to appreciate the fact that the Jaffna library was a national treasure that belonged to everyone in the country that led to this tragedy. Before the Jaffna people could wake up and realize the horror of their loss, the entire nation had lost much of its ancient history, literature and learning. That night one of our distinguished teachers at St Patrick’s College, and a well-respected linguist, Rev. Dr. H. S. David died of a heart attack on being informed of the terrible tragedy. On hearing of the infamous literary bonfire, Fr. T.M.F. Long who worked so tirelessly and contributed so much to establish the Jaffna Library reacted with intense grief and suffered a heart attack and died a broken man in Australia. The destruction of the Jaffna library stunned the nation, but it also broke the cultural heart of the people of Jaffna.

'I will not rest until I find Prageeth' – Sandya Ekneligoda

18 JUNE 2012

BY INTERVIEWED BY SANATH BALASOORIYA

Journalist, cartoonist and political activist Prageeth Ekneligoda was abducted on the 24th of January 2010, a day before Sri Lanka’s presidential election. The subsequent police investigation has made no progress for almost two and half years and no information has yet surfaced about his disappearance. Prageeth’s wife Sandya Ekneligoda has been fighting relentlessly to find him since day one. In a country where abductions and disappearances have become a daily occurrence, Sandya has become a courageous beacon in the struggle for justice.

“On 24 January 2010 he was not home even by 9.30.p.m. I called his mobile phone and could not get through as it was continuously disconnected. I panicked fearing that he is in trouble” she recalled in an interview with the JDS.  “I found out in the morning that Prageeth has called a friend around 8.30pm the day before. That is the final concrete information received about Prageeth."

The following excerpts are from the interview with Sandya Ekneligoda:      Read more

Community Opinion On Post-War Development

June 18, 2012 

By Jehan Perera -

Jehan Perera

The adequacy and need for further humanitarian initiatives to assist war-affected people three years after the war’s end is one on which there is contrasting opinions within the country and internationally.  When faced with any call for improvement, the standard response of government authorities is to claim that Sri Lanka is a model of post-war resettlement and rebuilding which other countries can learn from.  There is always an angry official denial that any serious problems exist. As a result the general opinion outside of the North and East is that the problems of the war-affected people have been more or less resolved by the government.  However, by and large, people are open minded and willing to see a different side if there is someone willing to show it to them.   This is what was evident at a recently held inter religious conference that was the culmination of a two year process of working together for reconciliation.

The 200 plus members who attended the conference had just ratified a resolution on strengthening humanitarian initiatives with regard to war-affected women and children. For two years those who were part of the conference had strived to do something tangible on behalf of those who had been victims of the war; they had finally come to share their learning experiences gained over that period. The resolution was now to be given to those who had the power to overcome obstacles and turn civil society aspirations into concrete actions.  Sitting in the audience was Ven. Maduluwave Sobitha, one of the most senior and well known Buddhist monks in the country who had accepted an invitation to attend the closing stage of the conference.

A Muslim moulavi from the east climbed down from the stage where he was a co-chairman of the conference along with seven others who were leading clergy of the other three religions, namely Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity.  It is a cultural tradition in Sri Lanka that Buddhism monks do not come to others or stand up to receive worldly things, whether they are the honours the world can bestow or its problems.  The organizers of the conference deemed Ven. Sobitha to be a religious leader of great influence to take the necessary action that their resolution demanded. Coming down from the stage, the Muslim moulavi walked up to the seated Buddhist monk and presented the resolution to him.

The willingness of the Muslim religious leader to go down from the stage to where the senior Buddhism monk was seated was not an indication of the superior place of one religion over the other.  This was not a conference where one or the other religion dominated.   The seating arrangements on both the stage and on the floor reflected the equality of the different religions. The Muslim moulavi’s action reflected respect for the cultural traditions of another religion that exists within those who are spiritually motivated.  The meaning of this simple action has positive implications for religious co-existence and inter-ethnic harmony in the country.  It means that the mistrust and polarization that exists can be overcome where there is proper leadership, conscious effort and goodwill is built up.

MODEL NEGOTIATIONS   Read More

SRI LANKA: Political Rein

Contributors: Nilantha Ilangamuwa    June 18, 2012
( Illustration by Indika Dissanayake)
The power of a community depends not only upon its numbers and its economic resources and its technical capacity, but also upon its beliefs. (Bertrand Russell – Power – P. 99)

The problem is not rising from outside but rather from within themselves. As long as the world about them does not change, the regime will remain content with their way of life and indeed, feel superior to other people around them as they can ignore them. The trouble is that the world is changing as it happened in the past. This ironically points to the need that we all have to understand, not only what the regime is doing, but also what other organizations are doing as well. However, the present regime is still able to manage the ground situation in the country while continuing their vulgarism as political ideology. Under these circumstances, the regime is still lucky to enjoy their ultimate power.
As long as the opposition parties engage in tickling politics that makes fun for them, the norm of freedom will never be born due to dissimilar power. But the people who are suffering most from this uncertain power would continue to manifest the tensions of life and the nudity of social control. These People represent the insight of the politicians. The current regime is thus seeing itself through its insight, the people, without the clothes of civilization acceptable to outsiders. From time to time, the people come out in their natural form, and become visible to the wider world and that is when the regime stands stripped of its clothes.

Keeping a weaker opposition or opposition with multiple internal conflicts or rifts is an important factor for the absolute power to systematically assassinate the social order and introduce disorder to the system. And then, as Slavoj Zizak described, we enter the situation where the regime only, "imagines that it believes in itself". In Zizak's words, "The formula of a regime which only imagines that it believes in itself" nicely captures the cancellation of the performative power ("Symbolic Efficiency") of the ruling ideology: it no longer effectively functions as the fundamental structure of the social bond."  (quoted: First As Tragedy Then As Farce -- Slavoj Zizak) This is exactly what Sri Lanka, like others countries in subcontinent, is facing.
Read More...

Inspired By Father’s Day Again

June 17, 2012

By Roy Ratnavel -

Roy Ratnavel

April 18, 1988 forever will be etched in my memory. It was the first time I’d ever seen my father cry. Like most Tamil men of his generation, my father mostly lived the stoic ideal. He was the bread-winner of our tiny family, the rock against which the family could lean.

But not that day. He was uncontrollable at the Colombo airport, and came apart at the seam. I will never forget that moment. That’s the day I left Sri Lanka. He was no doubt experiencing a complex mix of emotions.

That’s the last time I saw him. He died three days later on April 21, 1988 — a single bullet killed him at the age of 53. A piece of me gone, my flesh and blood, my father, myself.

A faithful Sri Lankan, proud Tamil, who enjoyed fine food, literature, and biking. Whenever we had the opportunity, my dad and I would be on our respective bicycles. I truly enjoyed biking around with him — so did he. It was ‘The Dad Thing.’ Northern coastal city was ideal place for this. A road nestled by serene Indian Ocean, vibrant commercial activity and it was a good place for him to get away.

Read More

Is there a Way Forward for Reconciliation in a United Sri Lanka?
18-June-2012

Guest Column by Dr. G. K. Nathan(The views expressed are author’s own)

Looking at our immediate neighbor India and other countries like Canada, Belgium and Switzerland with multilingual, multiethnic and multireligious groups show that there are ways forward to find a constitutional structure to achieve equality and peace by recognizing the differences. All these countries have resolved the differences between communities internally, led by leaders who considered that the integrity of the country is paramount; the majority respected the minority wishes and granted equal rights to all citizens and settled the differences amicably.

Examples of good governance are demonstrated in India and Canada, where they have had as head of the government or as a head of the country people of different ethnic backgrounds which strengthened the integrity of the country. Another evolving and working example is in the United Kingdom, where three ethnic groups Irish, Scottish and Welsh people have their separate governments, soon Scotland will hold a referendum among their people whether they should be an Independent country or not, which demonstrates maturity of the country which is the birth place of modern parliamentary democracy. A similar referendum was held among French speakers of Canada, a couple of decades ago and it is continuing to be a single country.  In contrast to earlier examples, Yugoslavia’s failure to find an internal resolution of conflict with different ethnic groups led to division into many countries based on ethnicity, with inevitable external intervention charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.  Reflection on the outcome in the countries above gives hope as well as raises question with respect to finding reconciliation between Sinhala and Tamil communities in Sri Lanka.

Mythology and Contrary Evidence of Sri Lanka History          Full Story>>>

What Went Wrong At Ceylon Today: The Editor In Chief Speaks Out

June 18, 2012 By  Lalith Allahakkoon -

Lalith Allahakkoon

Note :The  Editor in Chief Lalith Allahakkoon wrote to all editors today explaining the  sequence of events which occurred at the Ceylon Today. We reproduce his letter below. The Colombo Telegraph has spoken to Executive Director of Ceylon Newspapers Dushyantha Basnayake last Friday and he promised to send us their version of the story, but we haven’t received it yet.

By  Lalith Allahakkoon -

1.      At around 7 p.m. on the night of Wednesday June 13, Executive Director of Ceylon Newspapers Mr. Dushyantha Basnayake summoned me to his office and said there were several issues to be discussed. Firstly, he informed me that the management had decided to terminate the employment of Senior Cartoonist at Ceylon Today Wasantha Siriwardane. I informed him that while I was satisfied with his performance, if the management was not happy with him and they wished to discontinue him, he should firstly be warned in writing to give him an opportunity to rectify matters.

2.      Subsequently Mr. Basnayake informed me that the management had decided to ask me to leave due to several reasons – (a) My alleged association with Ranil Wickremesinghe and the UNP –(with whom I informed him I have not even had a conversation in the past year, but even if I was, as a journalist and an editor I do not see how this would constitute a wrongdoing) – (b) that I failed to greet Chairman Tiran Alles at a reception held at the Indian High Commissioner’s residence in Colombo and (c) I failed to publish the unsubstantiated lead story by the Mawbima saying there would be a presidential election in 2013 and contradicted the story the next day. However on this point I clarified that the Ceylon Today story was related to the provincial council elections and not to the presidential elections. I also informed him that in any case the Mawbima lead story was inaccurate and had no legal basis in my opinion. In my experience, a newspaper cannot publish based on the sensational impact of a story alone, but must adhere to certain ethic codes and accuracy.

3.      Mr. Basnayake then informed me that my editorial policy and the management’s editorial policy do not tally. I reminded him that when this newspaper was begun, Chairman Tiran Alles said Ceylon Today would be an independent and non-partisan newspaper – and even told the editorial team that they would not be required to publish stories praising him. However as time progressed, and subsequent to everything that has happened, the impression created  is that the Chairman’s intention was to use me and my editorial team to specifically target and attack his political opponents. I informed Mr. Basnayake that as an editor I could not compromise on journalistic ethics and editorial independence as spelled out by the company at the outset of this project. If there was dissatisfaction with my performance, up to June 13, the management had not indicated this to me in writing or in any other way.

4.      Mr. Basnayake then informed me that the management wanted me to leave. I requested the termination notice in writing.

5.      On the morning of Thursday June 14, members of the Ceylon Today staff informed me that Hana Ibrahim had summoned an editorial meeting and announced that the management had asked me to leave. She requested the staff to extend their support to her to publish Ceylon Today. She told the editorial staff that they must help her to carry forward my ideas in my absence.

6.      A few hours later, Mr. Basnayake summoned a meeting of Ceylon Today Department Heads and informed them that the management had made the decision to terminate me because I was not following the editorial policy line the management wanted. Mr. Basnayake requested the heads of department to lend their support to Ms. Ibrahim. Subsequently Mr. Basnayake held private meetings with senior editors Wilson Gnanadass and Dharisha Bastians to convince them to remain at Ceylon Today, urging them that despite my removal, they should continue to work at the newspaper.

7.      On June 14 when I reported to work and made several telephone calls to Mr. Basnayake informing him that since I had not been served with the letter of termination so far, I had been compelled to report to work. He told me repeatedly that the letter would arrive within an hour, 30 minutes etc.

8.      Finally Mr. Basnayake asked me to return to my residence and said that he would deliver the letter to my residence.

9.  Following announcements by Ms. Hana Ibrahim and subsequently the management (Mr. Basnayake) that I had been terminated and Ms. Ibrahim would be tasked with overseeing Ceylon Today operations, four senior journalists at the newspaper tendered their resignations to Ms. Ibrahim in protest. They were Deputy Editors Wilson Gnanadass and Dharisha Bastians, and senior journalists Rasika Jayakody and Dinidu De Alwis. They informed Ms. Ibrahim that they disagreed with the management decision to summarily dismiss me for trying to maintain editorial independence that was promised by the management when the newspaper commenced publication.

10     I made several telephone calls to him on June 15, and yet again Mr. Basnayake promised to get back to me in an hour. Since that time, he has ceased to respond to my telephone calls.

11.     On Saturday (June 16) I reported to work in order to coordinate the Sunday newspaper. When I entered my office, I found it locked. The security officers subsequently unlocked the door but when I entered and attempted to commence work, I found that my official Computer had been deactivated and I no longer was able to access my machine.

Lalith Allahakkoon

Director / Editor in Chief

Ceylon Today

Sarath Fonseka: Where will he go from here?

Sarath Fonseka: Where will he go from here?

UNP, JVP not keen on any alliance with former Army Commander; Gotabaya says SF has swallowed the 'guliya' Rs. 60 million for pro-Lanka supplement in Guardian backfires as newspaper disclaims its content

By Our Political Editor New equipment required by the CMC for waste management in the Colombo city was donated by the ADB. Under the first phase of the project Rs. 164 million worth of equipment was donated. Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa (2nd from left) and Local govt. Minister A.L.M. Athaulla handed over the equipment to Mayor A.J.M. Muzammil (3rd from right) on Wednesday.

“Eyaa guliya gilala” or he has swallowed the pill said Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa when Colombo's Mayor A.J.M. Muzammil asked, "what is happening to Fonseka." The occasion was last Wednesday's ceremony where the Ministry of Local Government donated four jet machines worth more than Rs 150 million for cleaning drains. It has been provided with assistance from the Asian Development Bank. The event was held at the Fire Brigade Training Institute at Wellawatte. The informal chat between the Defence Secretary and the Mayor was revealing. "Eyata dena lanu matath minissu denava. Mama ravatenney nehe" (People come to give me the same rope that was given to him. I don't get fooled), declared Rajapaksa. He went on to say that "most parliamentarians from both sides speak to me. They tell me I can do well in politics. My popularity is one thing. Politics is another. I only want to serve the people and attend to their various needs from where I am," he added. He also pointed out that neither he nor his advisors understood or knew anything about politics, a veiled reference to Fonseka and his own advisers who did not understand too. READ MORE...

'Post war freedom' is a blatant lie - FMM Secretary

JDS15 JUNE 2012

As stated in the latest Press Freedom Index (2011/2012) compiled by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Sri Lanka ranks 163 out of 179 countries, moving lower in position compared to last year. Confirming the level of deterioration, another media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in January 2012 “in 2011, Sri Lanka ranked fourth worst in the world in terms of allowing murders of journalists to go unpunished.”

“The things have changed for the worst” says Sunil Jayasekara, the newly elected General Secretary of the Free Media Movement (FMM) of Sri Lanka. As an experienced journalist and a media activist, Sunil is reluctant to remain silent, in spite of the dire consequences it brings. “The strict repressive measures and climate of impunity prevent many from practicing their profession freely. If you cross the line, you pay the price” he said in an interview with the JDS.

The following excerpts are from the interview with FMM Secretary:     Read more

SLFP seniors oppose move to appoint Gota as Premier 

Monday, 18 June 2012

Several senior SLFP ministers have expressed their opposition to the move by the President to appoint Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as Prime Minister at the next Cabinet reshuffle, a senior official from the SLFP headquarters said.

Several ministers have told People’s Bank Chairman Karunajeewa, who is a close confidante of the President, that there would be serious consequences if the Defence Secretary is appointed as Prime Minister ignoring the seniority list in the SLFP.

The ministers have said that there was no issue in appointing Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa as Prime Minister considering his seniority in the party. However, they have said that the internal conflict in the party would reach bursting point if a new comer to the party is appointed as Prime Minister ignoring the seniors.

Meanwhile, Minister Basil Rajapaksa has telephoned Minister Mervyn Silva and asked him not to withdraw from the post of Kelaniya organizer under any circumstance. Basil has issued the directive after explaining to Mervyn that Gotabhaya could be appointed as the Kelaniya organizer.

However, when a senior journalist in a national newspaper had asked Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa if he had any plans on entering active politics, he had said there was no plan to enter politics. The Defence Secretary had said that he had turned down many requests made by the President for him to enter politics.

The Defence Secretary has added that he was being attacked in websites and some newspapers and that Ravaya newspaper Editor Victor Ivan had even written an editorial attacking him.

He has noted that although he had no intention of entering politics, he was happy with the development work carried out by the Urban Development Authority.

The official from the SLFP headquarters who gave us this information said that the Cabinet reshuffle planned for November would be postponed if the Defence Secretary does not enter politics.

Domesticating Economic Growth: Can The Puny Middle Class Make It Sustainable?

June 18, 2012

By W.A. Wijewardena  -

Dr. W.A. Wijewardena

An ominous decline in Sri Lanka’s exports to GDP ratio

An unexpected development, seemingly ominous, that has taken place in Sri Lanka’s recent economic developments has gone unnoticed by the country’s policy authorities, economic analysts and researchers.

 That development has been the continuous decline inSri Lanka’s exports as a ratio of its Gross Domestic Product or GDP from around 2005 though exports in US dollar and rupee terms had recorded increases during this period. While the export ratios were falling, the country’s situation was made more complicated by an import ratio which has stubbornly refused to record a similar decline; it has in fact remained unchanged almost at the high rate which it had in 2005 raising Sri Lanka’s trade deficit to critical levels.

Throughout the post-independence history, exports as a ratio ofGDPhad remained above 25 per cent except in early 1970s when it fell below 20 per cent. It stood at 28 per cent in 1950, just two years after the country gained independence. Since then, the country managed to increase its exports almost at the same rate as theGDPgrowth. In 2000, the ratio went up to 33 per cent and even in 2005, it remained at comfortable 26 per cent. However, since 2005, the ratio started to fall gradually recording 24 per cent in 2007, 20 per cent in 2008, 17 per cent in 2009 and finally settling at slightly above 17 per cent in 2010 and at 18 per cent in 2011. Meanwhile, imports as a ratio ofGDPwere 36 per cent in 2005 and remained almost closer to that level throughout since then. In 2011, that ratio was at 34 per cent.

However, since 2005, economic growth has accelerated to above 6 per cent from a low growth of below 5 per cent whichSri Lankahad throughout its post-independence period. In the last two years, according to official reports, the growth rate has even surpassed 8 per cent mark.

Domestication of economic growth: Sustainable or vulnerable?    Read More

COVER UP

 Monday, June 18, 2012

• Chairman SriLankan Airlines Caught With Huge Haul Of Foreign Currency

A massive cover up is underway to conceal and shield Chairman SriLankan Airlines Nishantha Wickramasinghe  from being prosecuted for having in his possession an undeclared Rs. 4 million worth of currency both local and foreign.
Repeated attempts by The Sunday Leader to verify from Nishantha Wickramasinghe how he had Rs. 4 million worth of currency in his residence at De Saram Road, Mt. Lavinia failed as Wickramasinghe refused to come to the phone.
Police as well as top management at SriLankan Airlines also fought shy of revealing any details or providing explanations on how Wickramasinghe came to be in the possession of such a massive sum of undeclared currency stashed in his home when thieves broke in and stole the loot. Even the police spokesman SP Ajith Rohana, three days after the robbery, claimed he was unaware of such an incident when contacted by the media.
SriLankan Airlines CEO, Kapila Chandrasena declined to comment when asked if Wickramasinghe had recently been afforded a monthly remuneration package of Rs. 500,000 plus perks. “Please ask the Board Secretary,” he pleaded, requesting that we leave him out of this controversy.
Board Secretary Ms. Melgrade Peiris maintained she could not divulge company information which is privileged.
Eight special police units have been deployed to search for the thieves who broke into Wickramasinghe’s residence in Mt. Lavinia on June 7, and got away with Rs. 4 million worth of currency and a Rolex wristwatch valued at Rs. 4 million.
The 8 million rupee heist, according to highly placed sources in the police department, has resulted in 50 people being questioned, but the police told The Sunday Leader that they have no clues yet and no arrests have been made. However a massive police operation is underway but no investigation has been launched to prosecute Wickramasinghe who is clearly in violation of Exchange Control laws.
Controller, Exchange Control Department of the Central Bank P. H. O. Chandrawansa said that if a person retains foreign currency worth US$ 2,000 with him 90 days after returning to Sri Lanka from overseas it is a violation of the Exchange Control Act.
See page 9 for the full story.

Government Banned JVP Burial Rituals

June 18, 2012

By Colombo Telegraph -

Police removes funeral whit flags

In an effort to halt anti-government activities,  Walasmulla magistrate banned  parades , displaying banners and posters, distributing leaflets in the today funerals of killed citizen’s at the JVP meeting. The court also banned “attacking the police”

A woman and a boy were killed and 25 others were critically injured when an unidentified group shot indiscriminately at a Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) political meeting held in Katuwana , in the Beliaththa area in Hambantota, last Friday. JVP publicly claimed the killers are identified by them and the killers are government sponsored thugs.

Burning issues still on the burner

Sampanthan, after wagging a Lion flag in Jaffna may be as a sign to the Sinhala chauvinist gallery, said at Batticaloa, “A solution to the ethnic problem of the sovereignty of the Tamil people, based on a political structure, outside that of a unitary government in a united Sri Lanka, in which Tamil people have all the powers of government needed to live with self-respect and self-sufficiency.” Then Sampanthan, like a modern day Ravana who abducted the Aryan queen Seetha, pressed the point that, failure on the Sinhala side, will inevitably lead to seek separation with the help of the world community. It has created the expected result. All those Sinhala chauvinist idiots who claimed that Tamils are broken and Elam state is a lost dream could not control their anger. One can understand their plight. The sacred unitary state has been threatened. Strangely enough the recent Island editorial on this subject is among a few that took a balanced view of the speech. The editorials called on the government and the TNA to rise above clever moves and counter moves, and strike an approach to find an “honest solution” on the basis that this country belongs to all its people, regardless of race and religion. “We must settle this issue, not because India or the US wants us to but because it behoves on all of us to do what is right and proper for the benefit of all”. While the island took a rational stand Gunadasa and other Sinhala chauvinists have started a vicious campaign against the TNA leader. They wanted the Mahinda regime to arrest him as a traitor and expel him from parliament. 

Sixth Amendment 
It is not a surprise that the threat of the consequences of violating the Sixth Amendment should be flung at Sampanthan. Not that anyone is serious about such a possibility, but there is no end to idiocy in Lankan politics. There was no Sixth Amendment when the TULF adopted the Vaddukoddai resolution, in 1976, proclaiming right of self determination: with of course separation included.  Thirty six years later, with the Sixth Amendment and a long bloody war - which the infamous Amendment precipitated rather than prevent - in between, Sampanthan has given the real meaning of that resolution. It is the realization of Tamil aspirations within a united Lanka that is now the primary goal and the goal is unachievable without the progressives among the Sinhala playing a positive role. It is on that basis that the TNA is participating in a common campaign of the opposition. 
The negative attitude of Mahinda on this problem completes the reactionary nature of the regime. 

Not a Bonapartist
This shows that Mahinda is not a Bonapartist who could balance over contending class forces. He is tied down to the reactionary politicized state power. It is a foolhardy, corrupt power armed with state terror. A leader at the helm of a reactionary power structure if unable to be detached at least for a historic moment, is doomed to collapse with the power structure in time to come. 
On other hand workers have come out against the austerity programme of the government. Nearly 15,000 electricity workers, predominantly Sinhala, are preparing to go on strike. Twenty-five trade unions affiliated with the state-owned Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) have abstained from work a few weeks back and they are preparing for a real confrontation. United Trade Union Front told the media that the strike could result in power shortages around the country but insisted that it was the government’s fault for not providing a 25-percent pay rise as demanded by the workers. The Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya (JSS) affiliated to main opposition United National Party (UNP) has decided to launch a campaign for a joint strike action if the government fails to grant a 25 percent salary hike to electricity and water employees. The JSS states that discussions have already commenced among trade unions at the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWDB) to formulate a joint action to win their demands. They have said the executive officers and engineers at the CEB had been granted salary hikes between 36 to 48 percent while the junior level employees have been ignored.
In the mean time strikes over wages by almost 15,000 non-academic workers at 13 Sri Lankan universities and related institutions were able to shut down those institutes last week. Workers blame that the Trade Union Joint Committee (TUJC) wanted to abandon the struggle after it accepted a flimsy promise from Higher Education authorities. Non-academic workers across Lanka, including from the North and East, were involved in the walkout, the second strike in the past two weeks. The joint committee’s demand was for an immediate 25 percent pay rise for non-academic employees as part of the rectification of salary anomalies. However leaders wanted to stop the struggle, claiming they had won an 11 percent salary increase, a figure nowhere near the original demand. Moreover, there is no guarantee that non-academic employees will ever receive this amount. Struggle is continuing and government claims all these struggles are politically motivated.