Jayalalithaa wants Sri Lankan officers to be sent back

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT-July 16, 2012
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. File photo

A host of leaders, led by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, on Monday reacted strongly to the report that two senior officers of the Sri Lankan armed forces were undergoing training at the Defence Service Staff College, Wellington, in the Niligiris district.

The leaders demanded that the officers concerned be made to return to Sri Lanka immediately.

In her letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Chief Minister described the Union government’s decision to impart training to the Sri Lankan officers as an utter disrespect shown to the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu. She requested him to advise the Defence Ministry not to give training to personnel of the Sri Lankan armed forces anywhere in India.

She referred to the visit by Air Vice Marshal Jegath Julanga Diaz of the Sri Lankan Air Force and Rear Admiral S. Ranasinghe of the Sri Lankan Navy along with 25 other trainees from various countries to the Niligiris district as part of an ongoing training programme.

“The people of Tamil Nadu are frustrated and outraged by this callous and adamant attitude of the Government of India in persistently giving training to personnel belonging to the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in India,” Ms Jayalalithaa stated.

She reminded Dr Singh that even though she had requested him to take steps for sending back nine personnel of the Sri Lankan Air Force who earlier underwent technical training at the Air Force Station, Tambaram, the Union government was now giving training to them at the Yelahanka Air Force Station, Bangalore.

Adverting to the State Assembly’s resolution that called upon the Centre to pursue with the United Nations the issue of declaring those found guilty of war crimes as war criminals and taking steps for an economic embargo on the Sri Lankan government till Tamils in Sri Lanka were treated on a par with Sinhalese, Ms. Jayalalithaa said: “Tamils across the world feel that the sentiments of the Tamils have been trampled on by the Government of India, not only with its inaction on this resolution, but also by continuing to give preferential treatment by way of providing technical training to defence personnel belonging to Sri Lanka.”

In a statement, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi termed as unacceptable the Centre’s training programme for the Sri Lankan officers. It would be better if the Union government avoided hurting the feelings of the Tamils, he said.

MDMK general secretary Vaiko accused the Centre of having committed acts of “unpardonable betrayal” against the Tamils.

Keywords: Sri Lankan defence personnel training, India-Sri Lanka ties, Tamil Nadu politics, Eelam War IV, Jayalalithaa

Achieving Economic Goals In The Midst Of Global Challenges: Views Of Independent Economists

  By W.A. Wijewardena  -July 17, 2012

Dr. W.A. Wijewardena

The Sri Lanka Economic Association or SLEA, the long standing professional body of economists of Sri Lanka, has published some selected papers presented at its Annual Sessions in October 2011 in a volume titled “Achieving Economic Goals in the Midst of Global Challenges”.

The volume, edited by two veteran economists – Professor A.D.V.S Indraratna and Mr Sarath Vidanagama – contains 6 papers written by a number of independent economists and the Presidential Address delivered by Professor Indraratna as SLEA’s incumbent President. The address of Professor Indraratna was reviewed in a previous My View published in this paper on 2 July 2012 under the title “Sri Lanka as Emerging Wonder of Asia: Suitable ground conditions to realise the goal are a must” (available at: here )

Since the other papers in the volume are valuable readings on the current status of Sri Lanka’s economy from the eyes of independent economists, this My View is devoted to introducing a critical review of those papers to readers.

Sri Lanka cannot do without the global economy    Read More

Dr.Brian Senewiratne's Public Lecture At Charles Darwin University/Nov2011

"Who is afraid of human rights? Post war realities and future for Sri Lanka"Beneath the vaneer of this ' picture postcard' image lies a country that has increasingly become genocidal towards Tamils; A brutal society in which the fundamental rights of some of its people are denied. The judiciary, polity and the armed forces are corrupt and stacked against the Tamils.The brutality and lack of accountability puts the worst dictatorships in the shade, Sri Lanka is widely considered as a failed state and propped up by international aid. Post war realities prove there is no alternative to Eelam.

Published on Apr 13, 2012

අපි ජාතික ගීය කියන්න එපාද?

Buddhist monks and party politics in post-war Sri Lanka: In conversation with Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe MP

Groundviews

Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, President’s, is a Member of Parliament from the United National Party, and currently President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. In the past, Mr. Rajapakshe’s also chaired the Committee on Public Enterprises.

Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe M.P. from Young Asia Television on Vimeo.

No stranger to being in the headlines, Mr. Rajapakshe in late May tabled Private Member’s Bill in Parliament asking that Sri Lanka’s Constitution be amended to prevent a priest of any religion becoming a member of Sri Lanka’s legislature. As noted in the media at the time, Mr. Rajapakshe said he had decided to bring this amendment for the purpose of maintaining and preserving religious dignity and holiness of all religions.

As expected, all hell broke loose. At the time of our conversation, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) emerged as one of the most strident opponents of the proposed bill, vowing to defeat it if and when tabled in Parliament and asserting that Western conspirators are behind the proposal. As noted in the media, JHU Western Provincial Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Udaya Gammanpila had in response to the bill noted that religious leaders are better qualified to be political candidates and people’s representatives and that politicians have no right to decide whether priests should engage in politics or not, which is at the sole decision of religious institutions. A month after, the bill was still being discussed within the UNP, or so media reportssaid.

Aside from the JHU, there were some voices of support from the Buddhist clergy towards the proposed bill. One media report features a voice cut of the Chancellor of the Kelaniya University Dr. Walamitiyawe Kusala Dhamma Thero who states that recommendations provided by the Commission for Buddha Sasana (which came about after wide consultations with the sangha) disapproves of Buddhist clergy engaging in politics. The Catholic Council’s National Director for Social Communication Father Benedict Joseph also dubbed the bill as judicious.

Also extremely interesting is the fact that in online fora, the comments voted up by readers in open discussions of the bill are very much in favour of it.

However, this support aside, the passage of the bill in Parliament took a definitive turn in early July, when media reports noted the President had informed the parties of his ruling coalition to vote against the proposed bill following a discussion with the Buddhist party, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU).

In this conversation, Mr. Rajapakshe re-affirms that he will table the bill in Parliament. Given the strong opposition led by the JHU and the Presidential edict, it’s hard to see how it will succeed.

We begin our conversation with Mr. Rajapakshe clarifying why he introduced the bill, when it could be argued that more not less clergy in the legislature could lead to better lawmaking and debate. Mr. Rajapakshe flags the disconnect between the initial hopes of the people when monks first entered Parliament, and what their representation and actions have really come to be and mean. He also goes on to answer the JHU’s charge that no lay-person can make laws that bind the clergy’s engagement in mainstream politics. He also goes on to clarify that the bill does not intend to strip monks of their civic rights or their right to engage with national politics, and that it only aims to prevent them from being part of party politics.

Speaking of the confusing and contentious party political divisions within the sangha today, Mr. Rajapakshe avers that the bill aims to enhance, not dilute, the status of the sangha as advisors to the rulers of the country, in line with their role for centuries.

When Mr. Rajapakshe is asked how successful he thinks the bill’s progress in Parliament would be, especially given the Executive’s public opposition to it and orders to vote against it, he says that the Executive’s opposition is precisely the response he wanted to engender in order to demonstrate how corrupt the present political architecture is. He also comes out very strongly against the JHU – noting that democratic norms and due process have been destroyed by the party.

Mr. Rajapakshe also notes a fact that has gone, to the best of our knowledge, entirely unreported in recent media reports on the bill – that the process by which the current bill was arrived at actually consulted, and received the blessings of the Chief Prelates of all the four main Nikāyas in Sri Lanka. In addition, he submits that what is noted in the current bill was actually presented to the Executive as way back as August 2011 by the Asgiriya Mahanayake Thero. He then answers a question as to why there is so much controversy around his bill at the moment.

After noting that post-war “monks are now an obstruction to reconciliation” Mr. Rajapakshe goes briefly into the political history of Sri Lanka and how the SLFP and SWRD Bandaranaike, decades ago, had also used the sangha for party political gain, before it all went very sour.

Towards the end of the interview, we talk about the growing religious intolerance in Sri Lanka, and in particular, the Buddhist monk led mobs in Dambulla that attacked a mosque in late April. Mr. Rajapakshe answers whether aside from his own bill and the debates it has engendered, there should be discussion within the sangha itself on the systemic decay that has eroded it’s character for decades. We end by talking about the future of secularism in Sri Lanka, and how Mr. Rajapakshe sees the future of his private member’s bill influencing policies and practices towards a more tolerant, harmonious country.

SLA appropriates more lands for militarisation of Jaffna city

SLA has appropriated lands from Northern provincial ministry of education at Jaffna city

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 July 2012, 12:54 GMT]
While the occupying Sri Lanka Army in the city of Jaffna claims on one hand that it is shifting the military base of 512 Division to Koappaay, more lands are being appropriated for military use in the city. The Sri Lankan colonial military governor in Jaffna, Maj Gen (retd) GA Chandrasiri has instructed the Secretary of Education of Jaffna Province, S. Sathiyaseelan to hand over the lands belonging to Sinhala MV, situated in the environs of St. Mary's School, Our Lady of Refuge (OLR) and within a residential area boxed by 4th Cross Street, Hospital Road, Veampadi Road and Martin Road, to the commander of Sri Lankan forces in Jaffna Maj Gen Mahinda Hathursinghe for the construction of a military base in the city. 

 
Details have now emerged that the Sri Lanka Army has begun to construct a permanent military camp in the lands that belong to Sinhala MV School, which comes under the management of the provincial education ministry in the city.

The occupying Sri Lankan forces are already maintaining a ‘Civil Affairs and Public Relations Office of Security Force HQ Jaffna’ on Hospital Road near the OLR church. 

The so-called civil affairs camp has been a notorious establishment of the SLA in city, from where it carried out extra judicial white van abductions. This camp is situated in the lands that have already been appropriated from private land-owners, north of Hospital Road.

The office of Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission is also situated in the area.

The SL military, claiming that it was closing down the main base of 512 Division, situated in the lands comprising Gnanam Hotel and Subas Hotel, appropriated a much larger area in Koappaay after destroying Tamil Heroes Cemetery. 

At the same time, the SL military has grabbed more lands in the suburbs of Jaffna city, such as along Pa'n'nai and the coastal areas, grabbing much more lands than what it handed back. 

Despite facing legal disputes, the SLA has occupied a large number of private lands also in Naavatkuzhi and in Kaakkaitheevu in the suburbs of the Jaffna city.

The SL military is strengthening its military grip on the city of Jaffna with a long-term colonial military perspective of Sinhalicisation and colonisation, political observers in Jaffna said.

Gota Speaks Out: My Niece Says, ‘See Maami Because Of Your Matters, I Am Dragged Unnecessarily Into This!’

By Rajpal Abeynayake -

GOTA DENIES ALLEGED JOURNO-THREAT: “Who are these people who destroyed the country, to ask to remove me?”

A Sunday newspaper last week alleged that the said newspaper’s female editor had called the defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa to clarify a story about a matter allegedly involving him — and that the defence secretary had abused her in unparliamentarily language, and also threatened her.
Certain media rights groups have meanwhile taken up the matter, and some others including opposition politicians have called for the resignation of the defence secretary on the issue.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa

In brief, the run-up to this issue is that the editor of the said Sunday newspaper had called the defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa the week before, andasked him whether he had asked a certain pilot to bring down a pet dog for his wife, from Zurich.
The defence secretary has replied in the affirmative, and said that there was nothing wrong with that, and that he had paid for the cargo. However, the lady then asked the defence secretary why a pilot who had could not fly an A340 aircraft, but could only fly an A330, was assigned for the (intended) flight. She also apparently informed Mr. Rajapaksa that this pilot, who was also the boyfriend of the president’s (and the defence secretary’s) niece who also worked for SriLankan Airlines, had been stopped from flying this aircraft. She said this was because the Pilots’ Guild had protested such a change in operations (i.e.: changing of aircraft) which will cause some 56 passengers to be offloaded, resulting in a loss of revenue for SriLankan Airlines.
She maintains that the defence secretary turned abusive at this juncture and threatened her.
The newspaper reported that the lady editor also called the defence secretary Rajapaksa a second time and informed him of the fact that she will not be carrying the article on the incident in her newspaper due to the fact that she had been assured by certain parties — inter alia — that there will be no commercial loss to the airline. The report went on to say that the defence secretary further abused the editor on this occasion.
Speaking to this columnist on the issue and its ramifications, the defence secretary said the following in an interview:
What is in short your version of the incident that had been reported in a Sunday newspaper, regarding your wish to bring down a dog from Zurich, and your asking a SriLankan Airlines pilot to do so?
When she (the editor) called, she knew that what she was asking about (…the alleged replacement of a commercial flight) was not happening. It had not happened, and it was not going to happen. The Pilots’ Guild according to her had already protested, and therefore as she said, this entire thing was not going to happen. The Pilots’ Guild did not protest in fact.
But anyhow if as she says they protested and it was not going to happen (what she was asking me about…) then I do not see any reason for her to call me. Yet she called me. This is harassment. The main thing is that what she was asking me about did not happen and was not going to happen, and she knew that when she called me.
Furthermore there is an order by a court that her newspaper should not harass me; that order was given in a previous case. The court said they should not contact me.
So this is in contempt of court. I will take this matter up in court.
She contends that she was doing her job as a journalist by asking questions regarding a story she wanted to run as a matter of public interest?
No, this is what I am saying. She knew exactly what had happened, and she said the Pilots’ Guild had protested and this was not going to happen (the altered flight). So then what? What is the need to ask me? This was just to harass me — and is this journalism? How unfair is this?

Sunday Leader cartoon

Did you know that when you contacted a known party to fly the plane, that an alternate aircraft would have to be commissioned as that person was not competent to fly the regular plane?
First and foremost, there is nothing wrong in asking a person I know to fly the aircraft. I can ask that such a thing be done, if it does not hamper any operations.
So that is out of the way. Of course I did not know whether this is an A320 or 330 or340 whatever it is, and he cannot fly it? How do I know these things?
Am I supposed to know these things? I only asked something that was not wrong, but then, if there was some reason that person could not do what I asked for, and if a plane had to be changed, that’s something I did not know. The important thing is that such a thing did not happen. So we will say the Pilots’ Guild protested (though I know they did not) and the flight was not changed. Then that is the end of the matter. Neither me nor anybody had done any wrong and nothing untoward happened. Yet she knows all this and still calls me.
But she says you threatened her?        Read More

Reflections on land and the national question in Sri Lanka

16 JULY 2012

BY N. SHANMUGARATNAM

Land remains a major bone of contention in the resolution of the national question (NQ) as it is not only a vital means of livelihood for the vast majority of the people but also the contested material base with intangible symbolic value for territoriality and identity construction. The protracted war has generated new grievances and conflicts related to land and coastal zone resources in the North and East (NE), which have added to the complexity of the NQ through feedback effects. Indeed, consequences have entered the causal chain of the conflict. And today, while the NQ remains unresolved, certain trends in post-war development in the NE have raised concerns about land grabbing and enclosures, and their consequences for people’s livelihoods and well-being.

That the land question (LQ), particularly in the North and East of the country, is so intimately linked to the NQ is well known. That this link has a lot to do with state-aided land settlements and related development and cultural projects which have irreversibly altered the ethno-demographic landscape in the predominantly Tamil speaking NE of the country is also well known.

However, there are diverse and competing narratives of the history and the political economy, or perhaps more appropriately the political geography, of this process. It is not my intention to discuss the different narratives in the short time I have, although they are relevant to a broader understanding of the perpetual impasse in which Sri Lanka finds itself on the NQ.

I shall, instead, offer a perspective on the relationship between the LQ and the NQ, as a modest contribution to the dialogue we expect to have in this forum today. Of course, I am aware that this perspective would be seen as one of the contested narratives.

Delay in provincial election keeps northern resentment alive

By Jehan Perera

It was past eight pm and most of the two to three hundred strong audience present at the open air theatre of the Centre for Performing Arts in Jaffna had not dispersed.  They had come to be part of the golden jubilee celebration of the CPArts founder, Fr N M Saveri. Most of the audience was composed of women and youth.  Despite the lateness of the hour there was no sign of uneasiness or tension.  This was unimaginable during the years of the war.  There was no visible presence of security forces.  The relaxed and peaceful environment can be taken as one of the positive features of the post-war period.

Every visit to Jaffna can be a learning experience to those who are outside of it.  Due to the long distances and travel time, life within Jaffna is not so well known to those who live in the south of the country.  The cost of coverage can be a deterrent.  Media reports that cover affairs of the north are sketchy in the national media, which is based in Colombo.  The journey from Colombo to Jaffna can take between nine to eleven hours depending on the willingness of the driver to take risks with the hawk-eyed traffic police waiting to catch their next victim.  The air fare is prohibitive, costing as much as international flights to South India.

One of the ways in which regular travelers to Jaffna seek to minimize the loss of working hours involved in the travel to Jaffna is to travel by night.  There are a large number of big buses that depart Colombo in the late evening and arrive in Jaffna at the crack of dawn, and vice versa.  On this occasion, I travelled along with colleagues from CPArts by van that travelled through the night.  It was a remarkably trouble free run and not once did the security forces ask us to disembark though they stopped our vehicle on several occasions to check on the driver’s documents and to peer inside.  There was a night life of sorts at the restaurants all along the way and at the temple in Murugandy where the bazaar was open for purchases of food, drink and fruits, all of which was very wholesome, and the night air was cool.

SPECIFIC  GRIEVANCE                Read more...

Sri Lanka: Socialists must support Tamil rights, self-determination

Sunday, July 15, 2012

By Chris Slee

March for Tamil rights in London. March 2009.

The article below is based on a talk given at a Socialist Alliance meeting on June 26 in Melbourne by Chris Slee, a member of the SA Melbourne branch.

* * *

The Socialist Alliance supports the right of the Tamil people to self-determination.

A resolution adopted at an SA national conference reads: "Socialist Alliance recognises that Tamils are an oppressed nation within Sri Lanka, and supports their right to self-determination.

"This means that Tamils should have the right to choose whether they wish to be part of a united Sri Lanka, to break away and form an independent Tamil state in their traditional homelands in the north and east of the island, or to have some intermediate form such as federalism or autonomy.

"Regardless of whether Sri Lanka remains a single state or whether the Tamil areas become independent, the rights of minorities must be protected.

"This includes the rights of Tamils, Muslims and other minorities in Sinhalese areas, and the rights of Muslims and Sinhalese in Tamil areas.

Self-determination       Full Story>>>

Demand To Remove Gotabaya Is Justified

By Laksiri Fernando -July 15, 2012

Dr. Laksiri Fernando

Now the Secretary of Defence, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has given his side of the story to Lakbima. He claims that he only ‘threatened to sue her’ and ‘not to kill her’ to mean The Sunday Leader Editor, Frederica Jansz. But there can be many personal threats in between the two, for the particular female journalist. The threatening is not denied. There is no denial of the whole story reported verbatim and only ‘provocation’ was attributed as the defence or the reason. Here we are not talking about an ordinary person, but a high government official with immense responsibility and power behind him in the defence establishment. He is also the brother of the ‘Executive’ President of the country.

The language that the Secretary used is of course deplorably abusive or ‘third class’ but more than that there was some measured force and threat in the whole language that he used. This is not the first time that he has behaved in this manner or used such language. In the background of white van abductions, disappearances and recent raids on the media institutions, the personal threat to Ms Frederica Jansz should not be taken lightly. It is barely three years that her predecessor Editor of the Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunga, was killed in broad day light in a military fashion. The police under the Ministry of Defence have so far not been able to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice.

I am not completely sure whether there would be a ‘groundswell’ of protest against the behaviour of the Secretary of Defence on this occasion, as predicted by some, given that the democratic opposition against this government is still incipient and unfortunately divided and the Man in question is still maintaining a certain profile given his actual and partly ‘hijacked role’ in the struggle against terrorism in the country. But there are so many reasons why he should resign or be removed from this important position of the Secretary of Defence.

Abuse of Power

The whole ‘puppy story’ is about the abuse of power, influence and family connections. Can an ordinary citizen of the country, who can of course bear the cost of the cargo, bring a puppy from Zurich to his wife and request the Sri Lanka Airlines to assign a friend as the pilot to do the job?

When the question was asked, the arrogant answer was: “So what is wrong with that?” It was further justified with details and told that even a dog was brought before perhaps in the same fashion and even he can bring an elephant! This is not merely a question or an element of ‘extravagance,’ as some have tried to underestimate. It was also revealed that he has friends who will do him favours and “what is wrong with that?” Given the threats that he has levelled against the particular journalist, one could wonder what other kind of favours his friends could execute for him on his request?

When the objection of the Pilots Guild to the change of the aircraft to ‘bring his cargo’ was mentioned, he was naturally angry. Then was the threat of suing the journalist if the story was published but also adding that “I am not afraid of the bloody courts!” There was no particular reason to mention the courts here other than the question of legal process of suing, but why then “the bloody courts” except for his assumed power above everything in the country, including the courts? It is because of this ‘attitude of power,’ among other reasons that he should be removed from the position of the Secretary of the Ministry that he holds.

It should also be noted that his final threat as reported by Frederica Jansz is not merely about suing, although that is how he has defended himself later with Lakbima newspaper. When he was asked “Mr Rajapaksa are you threatening me?” the answer was “Yes! I am threatening you! Write every single word I have told you if you want – you write a bloody f…g word and we will see..” It is about “we will see..” without specifying what and not about ‘suing.” This is where the danger is for the particular journalist that everyone should take into serious account.

Foul Language

Many have written about the foul language that Gotabaya Rajapaksa has used particularly in the second interview. It was mildly criticised as something that was ‘out of line.’ He has called names. He has called the ‘pilots fighting among themselves’ as “f…g idiots.” The most axiomatic is the following outburst whether provoked or not.

“Your type of journalists are pigs who eat shit! Pigs who eat shit! Shit, Shit Shit journalists!!! Ninety percent of the people in this country hate you! They hate you!!! You come for a function where I am and I will tell people this is the Editor of The Sunday Leader and ninety percent there will show that they hate you.”

It may be the case that the particular kind of journalism that the Sunday Leader is used to, very much similar to the Hard Talk of BBC is anathema for many of the politicians in Sri Lanka when they are particularly in the government. Even some leading journalists seem to be apprehensive about the style. But a Secretary of a Ministry should be different whatever the style of the journalist. That is where the whole mix up is at present.

If Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigns and get into politics directly perhaps people could understand him in the caliber of, for example, Mervyn Silva and then it is a matter for the voters to elect him or not. But as a public servant and a ministry secretary, his language and behavior towards the people and particularly the journalist in this case should have been different. If he cannot behave in that dignified fashion, then the honorable thing for him is to resign.

There is more to his language. His use of abusive words has been counted by others. His particular use of the word ‘Kill or killing’ is undoubtedly problematic. It is also dangerous. His second interview ended perhaps with the wish “people will kill you, people will hate you, they will kill you.” This reminded me of the occasion when I detected this trait first in him when he exploded giving an interview to Stephen Sucker of the BBC Hard Talk in June 2010 saying “We will Hang Him” to mean the former General Sarath Fonseka with extreme anger. The whole interview was embryonic of the present.

For a long time I had difficulties in understanding Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s language, expressions and behavior until I came across a study by Drs. Neil J Fernando and Ruwan M Jayatunga on “Combat Related PSTD” to mean post-traumatic stress disorder (Colombo Telegraph, 11 July 2012). While the study has mainly been on the recent soldiers and officers who had come across or suffered from this syndrome during the war before May 2009, in my opinion, it is also possible that who have had this experience previously or who were closely commanding the war events also could suffer from the same syndrome/s. While the PTSD might be the key to understanding what can be identified as atrocities or war crimes during the last stages of the war, among other things, the study says that the “PTSD is a multifaceted disorder with a number of associated features, including guilt, anger, depression, substance abuse and other anxiety based conditions.”

Whatever the reason for the present behavior and the language of the Secretary of Defense, it is obvious that he should not be kept in that position by any criteria of civility or good governance. Either he should graciously resign or he should be removed.

Justice straight from the jungle

My Dear AG-to-be,

I thought I must write to you because you are to be appointed as the country’s top legal officer at a time when there is a crime wave and everyone is complaining that there is no law and order in the country.

So, even though everyone will be rushing to congratulate you these days, you will need to be careful, AG-to-be. That is because there is no such thing as ‘job security’ even in the high office that you will be holding. If you are in doubt about that, just ask some of your predecessors.
Why, the lady who held your job before you lasted less than a year, didn’t she? It was made to look like she got a promotion but usually when one goes from your office to where she went, one gets the top job there but that didn’t happen and it looks like she was kicked upstairs through no fault of her own!

Then there was the gentleman before her. He lasted a little bit longer but didn’t he get himself into a pickle by talking about a missing journalist and saying that he was “living overseas somewhere”? The moral of the story is, in your job, never talk of what you don’t know enough about!
I am sure you will be quite busy in your new job, AG-to-be. For example you will have to deal with that case where a ruling party parliamentarian is an accused in the murder of one of his own party members.

Until now, our clever Police force couldn’t locate the chap who was said to be so severely injured that he couldn’t walk or speak. Then the Prime Minister in his own inimitable way tells us that he was visited by this gentleman in a hospital in Singapore. Now I guess they would expect you to find him and bring him to justice and that is why I don’t envy your new job, AG-to-be.
But you do have your successes as well. Why, it was only this week that your department successfully appealed against a sentence given to the accused in the Royal Park murder.

Now, I am not sure whether you will appeal against any sentence in the case where the parliamentarian is an accused, if you felt that it was not enough. If you really want to make history as an AG, there’s a short cut!

Then we also have that gentleman who surrendered to courts after an incident where two rathu sahodarayas were shot dead at a meeting. Unlike our parliamentarian who was so elusive, this gentleman was kind enough to present himself to courts after he suddenly realised that there were five warrants out for his arrest!

I am wondering whether you would be repaying him for his kindness in any manner, even though he is supposed to have been visiting jails and speaking to prisoners while having all those warrants out for him. I think you should, shouldn’t you?
Your job may have got just a bit easier from now on though because they recently imposed a hefty fee to register news websites. That means less people will be able to take to the internet and insult others and you wouldn’t have to worry about appearing for those officials who claim they have been defamed. I suppose that could be a change for the better.

I know some people who are up in arms saying this is an attempt to curb freedom of expression, but AG-to-be, I am sure you will disagree. After all, registering all these websites and charging them a fee will only make everything seem so above board!

In fact, since the powers that be rely on you for legal advice, AG-to-be, how about suggesting a similar scheme for secretaries of ministries as well, especially since it was only this week that one and a half dozen ministry secretaries were appointed.
You could suggest that they should also be registered and monitored about what they say in public, so that they don’t get into unnecessary controversies involving aeroplanes, dogs, pigs and various others animals. It would keep everyone in check, don’t you think?

Then, you should also consider registering all those elected representatives from the ruling party-and from opposition parties as well. Maybe you could charge a ‘deposit’ fee from them, a million rupees perhaps considering the Cabraal-induced inflation that we have, which they would automatically forfeit if they are charged with offences like rape, murder or even robbing archaeological artefacts from museums.
I am sure the scheme will work very well. It will compel all these Pradeshiya Sabha members to think twice before they go about killing, robbing and raping. Of course, just to make the scheme more cost effective, you could have a higher deposit amount for MPs and ministers and a special rate for people like Mervyn!

I do wish you well, AG-to-be. I hope you will be able to do a proper job and do it well. Ah, as they say, hope springs eternal, doesn’t it?

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha

PS-I don’t think you should worry about your retirement plans right now, AG-to-be. If you play your cards right, you could become an ambassador somewhere or at the very least, become the head of the next Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission!

SRI LANKA: Puppies, pigs, mosquitoes and the rules about bureaucracy

Contributors: Basil Fernando     July 16, 2012

In a weekly telecast comedy show one interesting question was asked about the measures taken to eradicate dengue fever. It asks why insecticides are not being used for this purpose. It appears that much that is going on in the name of controlling dengue is propaganda instructing people to turn coconut shells upside down and to throw away 'pol combe' and things like that accompanied with the threat that if these things are not done people will be fined.

As against that the comic show reminded that what was done for the eradication of dengue during the last century which achieved a record success was the use of DDT. The local government bodies had the duty to conduct spraying throughout the areas under their control and the people were also trained to use such insecticides.

The message is not comic at all. Of course, the use of insecticides will incur some cost and no epidemic could be eradicated without allocating the necessary funds for the purpose. Given the magnitude of the problem of dengue and the length of time it has lasted it is strange as to why such measures have not been undertaken already.

Behind of all that there is a greater problem: that is the disappearance of the role that the bureaucracy used to play in matters of such national importance, for that matter, in everything. If trained and experienced bureaucrats were running the show by now more effective measures would have been found for resolving this issue as well as many other issues.

What has happened in Sri Lanka is the disappearance of bureaucracy with the independence to carry out their responsibilities. This process is known in Sri Lanka as politicization and politicization has turned everything into a tragic comedy.

Bureaucrats work according to well-established roles and under the overall principle that what each bureaucrat actually does is what is authorized by law for him or her to do. How, this principle has ceased to be important can easily be illustrated by so many incidences, perhaps the one nearest is the incident related to the air-lifting of a puppy dog for the family of the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence which has become the talking point at the moment.

In several interviews the Defence Secretary has repeated a few matters about this incident and as the matters are repeatedly printed we may take it as accurate. The Secretary assigned somebody other than the regular pilot to fly an aircraft which was to transport the puppy; that the particular pilot assigned did not have qualifications to fly the particular type of aircraft of this schedule; therefore sending of a separate aircraft which fell within the qualifications of the assigned pilot was discussed and that the scheduled flight was to go out of its way to pick up the all-important puppy.

What is important for us in terms of our theme is that if the Ministry of Defence Secretary was only a government bureaucrat and not the president's brother he would have taken and not be entitled to take any of these decisions. There is someone to run the airline and someone else to run the Ministry of Defence. It would not have been within the power of the bureaucrats who acts as the Secretary of Defence to make orders on who is to fly any one aircraft.

It is even more certain that no bureaucrat who would honour the rules he is bound by and has a love for his job would think of ordering an airline to do anything at all in order to serve a private person with a purpose of his own. That nobody who is serving the government as a civil servant would use his powers to get private matters attended to is such a fundamental principle that anyone who violates it could easily come under disciplinary action.

That is how bureaucracies are run and that is how, not only the discipline but also the morale of people engaged in various authorities are kept up. If a bureaucrat working for one authority is to make orders to working in a separate authority there will not only be a conflict of authority but there would also be a breakdown of morale and a lot of unpleasantness.

Besides there would also be tremendous confusion and unless any single incident of that kind if it happened at all is stopped immediately there would be confusion everywhere. And there is such confusion nothing will happen at the end and no one will be held responsible for failures.

That is more or less what is happening everywhere today. There are those from outside the police giving orders to the Inspector General of Police and the result is the utter confusion and loss of morale and discipline within the entire system of policing. There are literally thousands of examples illustrating this and will just refer to one which was reported in the Focus on Rights column where discussion between two businessmen over a business matter did not end of in a happy conclusion but rather with one of them being kidnapped by a group organized by the other and the businessman was severely beaten up and then taken to a police station where everything was done according to the whims of the other businessman. When later the businessman complained to the authorities and tried to pursue the matter he was inundated with fabricated cases by the police.

It is not only the police department that is run on the whims of outsiders but also other departments such as the Attorney General's Department and many others. Who does what and who orders and on what basis such orders are made are no long things that seem to matter. Mumbo Jumbo and confusion exists in every nook and corner.

What is really comic? Is it that the comedy show reminded us about DDT or malaria or is it the way Sri Lanka's are being governed or are governing themselves?