Thursday, July 26, 2012

Jobs, Lies And Audio Tapes

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Keheliya Rambukwella

Last week, Gamini Abeyratne alias Taxi Abey telephoned me from the United Kingdom(listen to audio below). He was agitated and in more than three telephone conversations told me that Hudson Samarasinghe (Chairman of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation) had telephoned him and asked, “if Frederica went with me to meet the President. I said I am in London and I’ll ask the President and say but I can’t tell anything at this moment.” (see box for transcript of telephone conversation).
A few days later on Thursday July 19, Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told a journalist from the daily Island newspaper that I was critical of Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa since he had prevented me from obtaining a diplomatic posting abroad, through the good offices of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, had told this journalist soon after the weekly post cabinet media briefing that I had met President Rajapaksa at Temple Trees recently, in the company of Gamini Abeyratne alias Taxi Abey and requested that I be posted abroad as a diplomat.
On May 6, last year I did meet with President Mahinda Rajapaksa. I did not seek this meeting or the previous one when I met with him.

Full Story>>>

Film Corporation Chairman ‘Sexasinghe’ wreaking havoc on the fairer sex staff

(Lanka-e-News- 25.July.2012, 11.55 PM) Asoka Serasinghe , the Chairman of the Film Corporation who was chased away earlier for inefficiency and not performing his duties in the best interests of the country and being anti Govt. ,has somehow managed crawl back into his position to resume his ‘erection’ duties in the worst direction of the female staff working under him.

While the whole Govt. is being blamed in the present climate of rapes and sexual crimes in the country, having this ‘Sexasinghe’ in the post of Chairman of a very important Film Industry is to court disaster to every female staff member of the corporation and a disgrace for the Govt. It is being questioned by all why did this sex maniac move heaven and earth to come back to the same Corporation ? Obviously because his appetite , has grown on what filth he has been feeding on.

The irony of this whole exercise is this Sexasinghe delivers sermons on moral values after using his ‘sexaphone ‘ in the immoral direction. His erections and ‘sexaphones’ would not have bothered anybody, if he had confined their use within his personal and private limits.. But his abuse of them officially is most shameful and disgraceful. It is also a reflection on the President of the country who is professedly trying to clean up the current sexually contaminated environment of SL . Being the highest in the hierarchy in the country he is certainly answerable for all the obscene and corrupt activities, particularly when Chairmen of important corporations misbehave.

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India urges Sri Lanka to release 23 Tamil Nadu fishermen

PTI | Jul 26, 2012,

India urges Sri Lanka to release TN fishermen

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday urged Sri Lanka to immediately release on humanitarian grounds 23 Tamil Nadu fishermen, arrested on charges of entering the island nation's waters.
External affairs minister S M Krishna urged the Sri Lankan government to release the fishermen, who were also accused of ramming into Lankan naval ships, on humanitarian basis immediately, official sources said.
Fisheries department officials in Rameswaram had said in Tamil Nadu last week that Sri Lankan Naval personnel allegedly attacked some fishing boats and arrested 23 Tamil Nadu fishermen when they were fishing near Katchatheevu in the Palk Straits.
Rameswaram Fishermen's Association President Emirett had said that the Lankan navalmen attacked 20 other fishing boats and seized the fishing nets.
In Sri Lanka, Naval spokesman Kosala Warnakulasuriya had said that the fishermen were arrested off the coast of Talaimannar for poaching and causing damages to the fishing gear of the Sri Lankan counterparts.
Katchatheevu, an islet, was ceded to Sri Lanka by India in 1974. Earlier on July one, ten fishermen from Tamil Nadu were taken into custody by the Lankan Navy for reportedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line and fishing in their waters but were subsequently ordered to be released by a Mannar court. Following their arrest, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, expressing concern over "unrelenting, harsh attitude of the Sri Lankan Navy" towards Indian fishermen.
She had also sought the Centre's intervention in securing the release of those arrested by the island republic's navy.

TABLE-Sri Lanka May trade deficit widens 2.1 pct

Wed Jul 25, 2012

July 25 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's May trade deficit edged up
2.1 percent year-on-year to $865 million, central bank data
showed on Wednesday.
    The following table shows trade performance in May.
    Trade performance in May 2012:
                     May '12         May'11          Y/Y growth
                     (in millions of dollars)       (in percent)
Exports                710.1           836.1             (15.1)
Imports              1,575.0         1,683.2              (6.4) 
Balance of trade      (865.0)         (847.1)              2.1
Surplus/(deficit)
    
                     Jan-May 2012    Jan-May 2011    Y/Y growth 
                     (in millions of dollars)      (in percent)
Exports              4,023.9         4,255.5          (5.4)
Imports              8,208.1         7,611.5           7.8  
Balance of trade    (4,184.2)       (3,356.0)         24.7
Surplus/(deficit)
    
    - Gross official reserves were at $5.81 billion by end-May
from end-April's $5.84 billion, and were sufficient to finance
3.4 months of imports.
    - Sri Lanka recorded a peak trade deficit of $9.7 billion
last year, prompting the central bank to raise policy rates,
restricting credit growth, and allow flexibility in the exchange
rate by refraining from intervening in the
market. 
    - Revenue from tourism rose 20.6 percent year-on-year in May
to $57.3 million, while it gained 24.9 percent to $397.1 million
in the first five months of 2012 compared to the same period
last year. 
    - The cost of oil imports fell 19.7 percent to $376.6
million in May year-on-year, but it has risen 20.3 percent to
$2.17 billion in the first five months due to increased oil
imports for power generation in the face of a drought, which has
reduced the hydro power generation capacity.
    - Exports of tea, Sri Lanka's main agricultural crop, fell
7.3 percent year-on-year in May to $109 million and it recorded
a 10.8 percent drop to $530.1 million in Jan-May.
    - Revenue from garments and textiles, the island nation's
top exports, fell 13.5 percent to $278.2 million in May.
    - Imports of consumer and intermediate goods fell 11 percent
and 10 percent respectively in May, while investment goods rose
11.4 percent compared to a year ago.
    - Sri Lanka imported $268.5 million worth of consumer goods,
$972.5 million of intermediate goods and $331.9 million of
investment goods in May.
    - Workers' remittances from abroad rose 22.4 percent to
$507.1 million in the month compared with a year ago.
    - Foreign direct investment has recorded $437 million
through to end-May 2012, while portfolio investments to the
Colombo Stock Exchange has also increased to $186.5
million on a net basis in the first six months. 
    - Net foreign inflows into government's treasury bills and
bonds recorded $441 million in the first half of the year, while
long-term inflows to the government has amounted to $633 million
during the first five months of 2012. 
($1=130.8500 Sri Lankan rupees)

 (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez in Colombo;
Editing by Anand Basu)

London 2012: UK Tamil community set for mass protests as Sri Lanka’s controversial president confirms he will attend Olympics

Sri Lanka’s
controversial president will travel to London for the Olympic Games in what
could spark mass protests from Britain’s Tamil community, The Independent has
learned.

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s spokesperson Bandula Jayasekara confirmed today that the 66-year-old president, whose government has been accused of committing war crimes, is planning to come to Britain shortly and may even attend the Games’ opening ceremony on Friday evening.

Mr Rajapkasa’s presence in the UK has often prompted large demonstrations from Britain’s Tamil community who accuse his government of carrying out widespread atrocities against civilians and combatants during the 2009 war that finally wiped out the Tamil Tiger insurgency.

The United Nations says both sides committed war crimes during the conflict’s brutal close which brought the Tamil Tiger’s three decade campaign for an independent state crashing to the ground.

Investigators found evidence that Tamil Tigers used child soldiers and civilians as human shields whilst Sri Lankan government forces stand accused of deliberately shelling civilian areas, summarily executing both Tamil Tigers and civilians and committing widespread sexual violence.

The threat of Tamil protests will inevitably be of concern to the Metropolitan Police because of the community’s ability to field huge numbers of demonstrators at such short notice. During the 2009 war, Tamil campaigners used mobiles phones to launch a surprise occupation of Parliament Square that lasted more than sixty days.

During Mr Rajapaksa’s last visit to Britain for the Queen jubilee, hundreds of protesters brought traffic to a halt when they gathered outside the Commonwealth and a hotel in Park Lane where the President was staying.

Historically Britain and Canada have been the two most popular destinations among Tamil refugees and critics of the Sri Lankan regime. As a result Britain’s Tamil community often had close links to Tamil nationalists and the Tigers themselves.

The Sri Lankan government has long accused the British authorities of not doing enough to clamp down on Tamil Tiger support and fundraising. Despite the growing wealth of evidence – including videos showing summary executions and evidence of sexual violence committed by its soldiers – Colombo has vehemently denied committing war crimes and publicly criticises those human rights groups and journalists who suggest otherwise. It has yet to allow the UN to conduct an independent investigation of war crime allegations. An independent investigation commissioned by the Sri Lankan government, meanwhile, was widely criticised by human rights groups and foreign governments for being partial and partisan.

Tamil activists contacted by The Independent today said it was likely new protests would break out if Mr Rajapaksa came to Britain.

“It is wholly inappropriate for Mr Rajapaksa to be invited to Britain and particularly the Olympics,” said Jan Jananayagam, from Tamils Against Genocide. “There is credible evidence that his government is responsible for ethnically motivated crimes against humanity and continuing persecution of other ethnic and religious groups in Sri Lanka. Just this week we released a report showing how government institutions such as the police and military under his command are involved in a systematic network of politically motivated disappearances as well as abduction for ransom.”

Suren Surendiran, from the Global Tamil Forum, said they were looking at possible legal avenues they could pursue against the Sri Lankan delegation when they arrive in Britain.

“President Rajapaksa might be getting away from being arrested by hiding behind the cover of being a head of state, anyone else joining him with blood in their hands must know that we will deploy the full breath of the legal instruments available to us upon them,” he said.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Black July Remembrance event highlights continued subjugation of Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka

“On the 29th Anniversary of Black July, developments in northern Sri Lanka are not a cause for optimism” said Prof. Craig Scott, NDP Member of Parliament, Co-founder of Sri Lanka Campaign for Justice and a panellist at a forum organized by Canadian Tamil Congress. The forum was organized on June 23 to mark the 29th anniversary of Black July and discuss present day issues around land grab atrocities in Sri Lanka. “The intersection of militarization, Sinhalization, economic cronyism, government repression of dissent, and gender-based violence all add up to a strategy designed to subjugate Tamil speaking communities of the North and East” Prof. Scott added.

When asked about diaspora’s role in addressing the issue of land grab, Prof. Scott said “Land grabs of various kinds cannot be understood outside the above mentioned intersecting forces, and solutions to land grabs must lie at the level of making the world and open-minded Sri Lankans understand the nature of this subjugation strategy so that political resistance might force the Colombo government to change course”.

Panellists include Pon Balarajan, Honourable Speaker of Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, and Nakeeran Thangavelu, President of Tamil National Alliance Canada,

In his speech, Mr. Thangavelu eluded to statistics that point to steady changes in ethnic demography in the Tamil areas over time, and the role played by the Sri Lankan State in implementing these systemic changes. He further highlighted the negative impact this continues to have on the number of Tamil political representation in the parliament.

Referring to similar world events such as the Kurds in Iraq, Mr. Pon Balarajan talked about the use of International Protection Mechanism (IPM) by the International Community (IC) to protect the rights of Kurdish people. Mr. Balarajan urged members of the community, despite their organizational affiliation to speak in one voice and ask the IC to implement the same Mechanism on Sri Lanka in order to protect the rights of Tamil speaking people in the island.

“The purpose of this gathering is to remember the lives lost, show our gratitude to Canada for opening its doors when Tamils were fleeing persecution, and also to remember the good hearted Sinhalese who saved lives of their Tamil neighbours during the riots of Black July” said Piragal Thiru who moderated the discussion. “It is also important to reflect on the events that have unfolded over the last 29 years, look at the present day situation and see how we can effectively help to create an environment where people’s human rights are respected and they are allowed to live in peace with dignity” he added.

For more information on Black July please visit www.blackjuly83.com.

Walking protest

The Socialist Youth Union,a movement affiliated to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, staged a walking protest from the Vavuniya railway station to the urban council yesterday urging the unity among all ethnic groups of the country. Pix by Romesh Madushanka

The writing on the campus wall

AHILAN KADIRGAMAR July 25, 2012

A nation-wide strike by university teachers since the beginning of this month reflects new tensions in post-war Sri Lanka

As with most other societies ravaged by civil war, Sri Lanka’s public institutions have all suffered. Beginning in the late colonial period and continuing into the post-colonial era, the state made critical economic and social investments, particularly in universal free education and health care as well as a strong public service. Indeed, it was these investments that held the country together during the decades of war. The end of the war provided an opportunity to rebuild those state institutions and restructure the state to address the grievances of the minorities. Unfortunately, three years after the war, the state including its public institutions, have themselves been deteriorating and polarising society rather than contributing towards democratisation and social reconstruction. Significant among such declining institutions are the state universities. In recent weeks, university teachers have opened a broader debate about state investment in society through their trade union action.

Crisis from the 1970s

In the mid-1970s, Sri Lanka was considered a model developing nation with impressive social indicators of literacy, infant mortality and life expectancy. However, the late 1970s saw the emergence of an intertwined crisis generated by neo-liberal open economy policies and armed conflict. The neo-liberal reforms came with the repression of trade unions and set the trend of cuts in social welfare as market forces were let loose and the costs of the war ballooned. Furthermore, the functioning of public institutions during decades of conflict owed much to the resilience and commitment of teachers, doctors, nurses and public servants who persevered despite meagre resources, a devastating war in the North and East, and a crippling insurgency in the South in the late 1980s which particularly targeted universities and hospitals.

Rather than reversing the trends of those dark decades, the post-war years have seen further politicisation of state institutions under an emerging authoritarian oligarchy along with a second wave of neo-liberal policies. The 18th Amendment — the only constitutional amendment after the war — has given greater powers to the President and undermined the independence of commissions relating to the police, judiciary and human rights. The foreign service and the public administration are increasingly packed with political appointees and former military officials. Under the rubric of development and without consideration of the global financial crisis, widespread financialisation of the economy with the support of global finance capital has taken hold, even as purportedly independent liberal economic institutions such as the Central Bank and the Securities and Exchange Commission are being manipulated by the business elite with political connections. Neo-liberal policies have led to both cuts in social welfare and mounting cost of living. As with the late 1970s, post-war Sri Lankan society is now confronted with the twin problems of authoritarianism and neo-liberalism.

Voices from the academic world

In this context, over the last two years Sri Lanka has witnessed a number of protests and strikes, with the most sustained and organised protests emerging in universities led by both staff and students. The deterioration of the universities began with the cuts to education during the previous governments and policies envisioned by the World Bank on rationalisation and privatisation of education, which then accelerated with increasing political patronage including open support by some sections of university administrators and staff for the current government in the recent elections.

However, it is the aggressive approach of the current Higher Education Minister that galvanised the universities. Persisting low salaries of university staff, repression of student protests, introduction of compulsory leadership training by the military for university entrants, politicisation including political appointments to administrative positions and attempts to railroad in university reforms, which included a neo-liberal bill to initiate private universities while undermining the state university system, have all contributed to the radicalisation of university staff and students. With the government unheeding of their demands last year, the Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) initiated a powerful strike starting on July 4 that has been national in character with state universities from all regions of the country participating.

In the days leading to the strike, some of the same forms of attacks and intimidation that dissenting activists and journalists have faced, are now confronting university teachers. FUTA President Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri has got death threats over the phone and suspicious persons claiming to be from the Ministry of Defence had been lurking near his home and inquiring about him and his family.

There are also signs of the law and law enforcement being twisted to pressuring an end to the strike. Such acts of intimidation and attacks in the State media forebode a nasty response from the repressive arms of the state if the strike is not resolved in the near future.

What is unique about the university teachers’ strike is that its demands go far beyond the issue of salaries. They are challenging the increasing politicisation and militarisation of education and calling for an increase in national spending on education from a meagre 1.9 per cent of GDP, one of the lowest in the world, to the UNESCO recommendation of six per cent of GDP. With public meetings and a signature campaign on the streets gaining momentum, the strike is gaining support from the public as the issues resonate with the political and economic grievances of ordinary people.

As two academics recently wrote in the local press, the universities have been waking up from a long slumber with an “academic spring.” Even as university teachers are preparing to face the repression of an authoritarian state, they are also attempting to make this a movement that democratises and transforms the universities. If this movement gains momentum, it could also galvanise other public sector workers and revitalise public institutions. The government, however, has not shifted from its attitude of post-war hubris; its approach is one of repression and breaking constituencies with political patronage. The coming months will show whether the protest movements taking hold in the country can challenge authoritarian rule and neo-liberal policies that continue to weaken Sri Lankan society. Will they succeed in salvaging democratisation and social welfare out of what is left of the diminishing post-war opening?

(Ahilan Kadirgamar is a democracy activist based in Sri Lanka.)

Cartoon of the day

TUESDAY, 24 JULY 2012

Village plays desperate waiting game

Ben Doherty--July 21, 2012

'Kajan' walks in his village on Sri Lanka's west coast.

Living in hope: According to one inhabitant, 500 people have left this village by boat to travel to Australia on the high seas. Photo: Abeetha Sandish Pathirana

ON A remote stretch of Sri Lanka’s west coast is the village that wants to come to Australia. The homes are low and squat, their thatched roofs tightly tied down against the monsoon. And from almost every one, someone has left for our shores.

Some have made it across, reaching Christmas Island and phoning home that they’re safe.
Others are caught before they can board a boat, or stopped and turned around by the Sri Lankan navy. Still others leave and are never heard from again.

‘‘Five hundred people have left from this village, from this area, all for Australia,’’ says Kajan*, waving his arm along the beachfront, a few hundred metres from a military watchtower. His son-in-law and a friend left a little over a month ago. They reached Christmas Island after three weeks at sea.

‘‘They went for money reasons,’’ he says, through an interpreter. ‘‘We cannot make a living here. They went so they could support our family.’’

Kajan insists that, three years on from the end of this country’s brutal civil war, Sri Lanka still offers Tamils no chance ‘‘to make a good life’’. ‘‘No job, no education, we have trouble from the police and army,’’ he says. ‘‘We are desperate people.’’

This year has seen a massive jump in the number of asylum seekers, overwhelmingly Tamil, fleeing Sri Lanka for Australia. So far in 2012, 1541 have reached Australian territory, a more than 700 per cent increase on all of 2011. More than 700 others have been jailed for trying to leave Sri Lanka ‘‘irregularly’’.

In the past fortnight alone, 334 people have been arrested trying to flee, Navy Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya said.

Police spokesman Ajith Rohana said the massive jump in numbers was the result of a delayed and weak monsoon, which has made the Indian Ocean passage easier.

‘‘Ninety-nine per cent of these people are Tamils, almost all of them have some relations in Australia and their relatives tell them to come,’’ he told The Saturday Age.

But Mr Rohana rejected allegations Tamils still face persecution in Sri Lanka.
‘‘These people are told to give a bad image of Sri Lanka by the people smugglers who make money taking people across the ocean ... It is not true.’’

The Saturday Age has chosen not to identify this isolated Tamil-dominated fishing village, its location or those we spoke to. The people fear government reprisals for speaking about the problems they face or their desire to leave their country.

Dharuna’s 27-year-old son left for Australia 18 days ago. He caught a bus in the middle of the night, then rang to say he had boarded a boat. She has not heard from him since.

‘‘Everybody else who left [from here] has reached [Australia and] has called, but he has not called. ‘‘Every day I am waiting.’’

Across the unsealed street, Gadin appears thin, tired and drawn. He is two days out of jail. He was caught on board a boat bound for Australia two months ago. He says he was interrogated for two days by the Sri Lankan police and then jailed for more than a month.
‘‘It was very hard, we slept chest-to-back, all packed in like sardines. I could not sleep and there was hardly any food.’’

His sisters got him out of jail, paying tens of thousands of rupees, but decline to say whom they paid and for what.

Economic opportunity, real or perceived, is a major driver putting these people from this village onto leaky boats. But some also allege systematic and terrifying persecution.

‘‘White van’’ abductions — reports of people being grabbed from the street by plainclothed men driving unmarked vehicles, to disappear for days, weeks or sometimes forever — are less common this far from the major cities, but people say they are regularly hauled in by police to face prolonged, sometimes violent interrogation.

The latest UN report on Sri Lanka says it is ‘‘seriously concerned about the continued and consistent allegations of the widespread use of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of suspects’’.

But Mr Rohana says allegations of torture or maltreatment are untrue: ‘‘Generally, as a practice, torture never takes place in Lankan police stations.’’

Despite the current exodus, understanding of Australia’s process for assessing asylum seekers is poor. Many here are told asylum seekers will be granted citizenship on arrival, or that their claims are guaranteed to be accepted if they reach Christmas Island. Others say it is a matter of weeks before their relatives will be earning Australian dollars and sending them home.

Gadin, having tried and failed once, won’t try again. ‘‘I had my one chance to go, I have lost that,’’ he says. ‘‘But others will try in my place.’’

*Names of villagers have been changed throughout to protect the identities of those quoted.

Follow Ben Doherty on Twitter @SouthAsiaCorro

Whither Sri Lanka’s media?

Image courtesy Now Public

Having been through the grind in the field of Sri Lanka’s mainstream print journalism for nearly two decades, what I feel is a growing sense of frustration. Whatever standards and respectability that was maintained by our past peers are deteriorating to the extent that journalists are being looked at, more with ridicule, than with esteem. Today journalists have come to be often identified as so and so’s catcher or hanger on other than men and women of integrity and fair play. The failure to do some serious soul searching by those of us in the media fraternity has led to this situation.

Journalists, who are so good at turning the search light outwards and preaching to all and sundry on what is right and what is wrong, rarely turn the search light inwards. We do a lot of finger pointing but rarely realize that more fingers are being pointed in our direction than ever before.

Most journalists lack understanding of their responsibility towards society and the need to be on the side of the people and not on the side of the high and mighty whose opinions are forced down people’s throats day and night in a media driven frenzy.

If your run through the front page of a newspaper or listen to the radio or watch television news, 70 per cent of its news content will be parroting out what a politician, an official, a businessman or sportsman has said somewhere. It’s true what some of these people say is important but the absurdities that are circulated as “NEWS” today provide only cheap entertainment and contribute zero towards stimulating people’s intellect. The other news that is reported is what is spat out by official spokespersons of different organizations. The end result is that media personnel have been reduced to the level of hangers on of politicians, officials, businessmen etc., hungrily devouring the information they are fed, which they in turn disseminate to the public. The most basic ethics of journalism, the need to do their work impartially, accurately and in a fair manner is forgotten.

'We live in fear every day'

July 24, 2012- Ben Doherty. -

Sri Lankan asylum seekers rejected by Australia and sent home say they have been arrested, imprisoned without trial and tortured, writes.

Sumith Balapuwaduge was arrested — and beaten — at home but his brother, Indika, never made it out of Colombo airport before being apprehended. They remain in jail two years later.

Sent home 'to arrest, torture'

SUMITH Balapuwaduge knew he was being watched, and suspected the police would come for him one day. Some months earlier, he had been forcibly returned to Sri Lanka from Australia with his brother Indika, their claims for political asylum having been rejected.

Indika never even made it out of Colombo airport and was jailed straight away. So when the police van came and parked on the sandy road outside his home, Sumith came — peaceably, his wife insists — to the front door.

Sumith Balapuwaduge and his wife Leena, with son Suhas, before Sumith tried to claim asylum. His application was rejected and he was sent home in 2009. He remains in prison, having not faced trial.

“They took him inside this house, and they beat him,” Leena tells The Age as she sits on the porch of the brightly-coloured bungalow of their family home.

“He was on the floor, they were kicking and punching him. They hit him with batons. His son Suhas, who was four, was upset, and ran into the kitchen to get a weapon, a knife, to stop them hitting his father.”

The police took no notice of the boy and took his bloodied father away.

Nearly two years on, he and Indika are still in jail. They have never had a trial. Police say they are part of a people-smuggling racket, but that case has never been made before a court.

Law & Society Trust On The Mannar Court House Attack

By Colombo Telegraph -

“The Trust calls for an immediate and effective inquiry by the State into the said attack resulting in sanctions being levied against those responsible. ” issuing a statement the Law & Society Trust says.

We below reproduce the Law & Society Trust statement;

R.K.W. Goonesekere, The Chairman LST

The Law & Society Trust views the reported attack on the Mannar court house by a group of persons, allegedly as a result of instigation by a Government Minister over an order made by a judicial officer as well as (reportedly) threatening phone calls made to the Mannar Magistrate cum District Judge regarding the same, with severe concern. It must be noted that an attack on a court house constitutes a most severe infringement of the independence of the judiciary. The independence of the judiciary is not a perquisite of judicial office, claimed for the personal benefit of judges but is fundamental for the impartial administration of justice according to law and is indeed an inalienable feature of the Rule of Law. The Beijing Statement of Principles of the Independence of the Judiciary (1995) asserts that independence is essential to the proper performance by the judiciary of its functions in a free society observing the Rule of Law. This guarantee goes to the roots of judicial performance as well as the public acceptability of decisions. Public confidence in the legal and judicial systems stems from the assumption that judges act according to law and do so in a manner that is free from political pressure or interference. Securing the independence of the judiciary is therefore a foremost duty of government. That duty cannot be bypassed by reference to other historical injustices caused to the judicial institution in Sri Lanka or be satisfied by a mere promise to carry out investigations.

The Trust calls for an immediate and effective inquiry by the State into the said attack resulting in sanctions being levied against those responsible.

HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION IN SRI LANKA -THE FORGOTTEN HALF OF THE STORY

By Salma Yusuf- WEDNESDAY, 25 JULY
It is time to realize that human rights come with responsibilities, grounded in our social roles, our common causes, and our national interests.

Much ink has been spilt over the years on the subject of human rights in Sri Lanka. The opinions, observations and indeed ultimatums have emanated from official, unofficial, international and domestic quarters. The issue of media freedom and related rights have come to the fore time and again. In recent weeks, fresh incidents related to the freedom of the press have sparked off renewed debate, condemnation and equally candid reaction. It is time we take stock and review the situation.

CONSPICUOUS IN ABSENCE

What has been conspicuously and starkly missing over the years in most human rights discussions related to Sri Lanka is the notion of correlating responsibilities that comes with every human right.

Rights and responsibilities are two sides of the same coin. Failure to focus on either is to present only half the story, or in other words, an incomplete picture. To every human right guaranteed there is a correlated responsibility linked to the enjoyment of that particular right. Ideally, if responsibility is observed in the exercise and enjoyment of the right, a violation is rarely a consequence. As a simple illustration, in order to enjoy our right to clean and fresh water we must first fulfil our responsibility as custodians or stewards of the environment.

Thus, we will notice that in Sri Lanka, human rights has occupied centre – stage with almost negligible recognition of human responsibilities and our roles in society. While a focus on human right protection and promotion is not to be abdicated, what is being argued here is the need for the discussion to be coupled with an equally robust discourse on human responsibilities. The dividends will be manifold : creating both an active Sri Lankan citizenry who have an internalized sense of social responsibility while creating a democratic and free society where enjoyment of rights will lead to the full realization of human potential.

WHITHER HUMAN RESPONSIBILITIES IN SRI LANKA?

How do we make sense of a situation, where human rights violations the world over have been on the rise, despite us living in times where the human rights norm is at the highest point in its development?

I state with conviction that the failure of human rights systems have been primarily due to two related reasons: an over-emphasized and exaggerated notion of individualism coupled with the lack of an equally robust discourse on human responsibilities.

Human responsibility is about encouraging people to be more socially engaged, in the political process, in social issues and in the global community. Let us consider the situation in Sri Lanka. The dissapointing lack of constructive discourse on human rights issues leaves the public at large to blame (constructive being the operative word). Balancing the interests of the community with the interests of the individual has become a distance dream. The vanishing distinction between badmouthing, slandering and defaming on the one hand, and exposing, highlighting and monitoring on the other, has become a cause for concern. The dwindling ethical standards in society has resulted in us being quick to allege a human rights violation without any attempt at introspection into personal conduct. This is indeed a slippery slope to travel.

OUR ENTITLEMENTS ARE NO GREATER THAN OUR OBLIGATIONS

Responsibilities provide a regulatory framework for the exercise and enjoyment of rights. Just as rights are based upon moral and ethical considerations so must responsibilities be grounded upon similar precepts.

It is the integration of rights and responsibilities that provides balance in the life of human beings. The absence of either – in the Sri Lankan context the absence of the an emphasis on human responsibilities – has resulted in arrogance and self – centredness of the human person, where reprehensible and irresponsible conduct is every so often camouflaged with vociferous declarations of violations. Human rights should never be taken for granted. Similarly, human responsibility should be considered as sacred as our human rights. The reverse of the two, and particular in combination, is a recipe for disaster.

CONSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS, CITIZENSHIP AND NATIONAL UNITY

Apart from common citizenship and equality, rights that are explicitly guaranteed in the Fundamental Rights Chapter of the Sri Lankan Constitution and those that are implied, can potentially help to bring the communities together. The Constitution not only guarantees the liberty of the person but also provides for the freedom of movement, the freedom of speech, assembly and association, and the freedom of religion.

However, when segments of the community have perceived — or misperceived — that their rights are not protected, disillusionment has set in and impacted negatively upon ethnic relations. Individuals and groups who have abused the freedom of speech and assembly in pursuit of narrow self – serving agendas have invariably undermined our quest for national unity. It is for this reason that human rights protection and promotion ought to be contextualized and seen as a means to an end, and not an end in itself.
This is why rights — especially in a multi-cultural or multi-religious society such as ours — will have to be balanced with responsibilities. Citizenship after all is about responsibilities inasmuch as it is about rights. It would be irresponsible of a citizen who is determined to exercise his freedom of expression on an ethnic issue to ignore how it will impact upon members of another community. Similarly, a community which seeks to enhance its own cultural or religious rights without any regard for the feelings or sensitivities of the other will only exacerbate ethnic tensions.

I
It is because responsibility is so crucial for the well-being of any society that Mahatma Gandhi was somewhat dismissive of the attempt to formulate a Universal Declaration of Human Rights that excluded any notion of responsibilities. In a letter to the Director of UNESCO in 1947 he observed, “I learned from my illiterate but wise mother that all rights to be deserved and preserved come from duty well done.” Similarly, the Confucian scholar, Wu Teh Yao, who was involved with the preparatory work that went into the formulation of the Universal Declaration had tried to convince his colleagues that it would not be wise to produce a document that only emphasized rights without giving equal attention to responsibilities.

The prophetic wisdom expressed over six decades ago has come to haunt the generations that have followed. Sri Lanka is a case in point.

Has the time come for us to develop a National Charter on Human Responsibilities?

salmayusuf@gmail.com

The Arrogance Of Power: Story Of A Plane, A Pilot And A Puppy

By Friday Forum -

The story of a plane, a pilot and a puppy would not ordinarily interest the average Sunday newspaper reader. Add to this an account of an angry and vicious outburst by a powerful public official and you have an explosion which raises issues that should concern all citizens of this country.

The reported response of the Secretary of Defence Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a telephone conversation with the editor of the Sunday Leader, Frederica Jansz, is, we believe, unprecedented.

Frederica Jansz had her story, and maybe she did not have to make a second call. However, the tirade of abuse that follows was utterly deplorable, coming from a senior public servant.

No other senior public servant has to our knowledge used such vituperative threatening and obscene language in interaction with a member of the public or a journalist. Public servants are governed by an Establishments Code which contains the norms and standards of conduct set by the Public Service Commission. They are required by an oath of office to conform and abide by the Constitution of this country.

A violation of these norms and standards of behaviour calls for explanations, disciplinary procedures, interdiction, resignation or termination. Legitimising such violations by excuses such as “provocation” and “harassment” by media personnel, only reinforces the idea that public servants exercising significant powers are not accountable under the law of the land for their conduct, and that the public have no right to question abuse of authority and intimidating behaviour by those who hold high office.

We are all aware that there has been an incremental decline in the standards of public life, including the standards of conduct of some public servants. Many politicians are increasingly ignoring the law, and encouraging public servants to violate laws and regulations through questionable politicised decision making. We now have a senior public servant who is a close kinsman of the President, behaving with a politician’s arrogance and disrespect for the norms and standards that should be followed in public service and in administrative decision making. This is setting a dangerous new trend that can culminate in another level of abuse of authority, also encouraging the public to break the law.

It is ironical that Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa in an interview given to another newspaper last Sunday seeks to justify the use of obscenities and expletives in anger, by saying that these words are used “Commonly in American (USA) in normal usage”. (Lakbima News ; July 15 2012 P.05). His Excellency the President and persons in public life have frequently exhorted us all to reject Western values, and be guided by our “traditional” and “home grown” cultural values. If the language used by Mr. Rajapaksa was used by a public servant in a Sinhala or Tamil translation, there would be a reaction of shock, anger and disgust.

Statements made in the interview with Ms Jansz that have received publicity, indicating disrespect for law and the Courts of Law, and ignorance of the constitutional norms on freedom of expression and information, present a frightening scenario of the capacity of a person in high office in Sri Lanka to exercise unlimited power. The threatening language used is a chilling reminder that death and violence await anyone who dares to question the exercise of these unlimited powers. Sri Lanka is due to present its report at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Human Rights Council in a few months. The government’s poor record on media freedom and protection has been already challenged in many national regional and international fora. Mr Rajapaksa’s angry outburst only reinforces allegations of the growing culture of violence against the media, and the suppression of media freedom, and the almost entrenched culture of impunity for this violence.

If the government is serious in its recent claims that it will not tolerate impunity for violence and abuse of power, it must now “walk the talk”.

The public has a right to ask whether it is acceptable for His Excellency the President to continue to keep in high office a person who demonstrates an incapacity to control his temper, and responds violently when he is angry and under pressure. Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s role in ending a thirty year brutal armed conflict cannot be taken to mean that he can hold office as a public servant and not conform to the norms and standards that regulate the conduct of public servants. Legitimising erosion of values in public administration by condoning such conduct is certainly not good governance in the public interest.

Jayantha Dhanapala Professor Savitri Goonesekere

On behalf of Friday Forum, the Group of Concerned Citizens

Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala, Professor Savitri Goonesekere, Rt. Reverend Duleep de Chickera, Professor Arjuna Aluwihare, Mr. Ahilan Kadirgamar, Mr. Lanka Nesiah, Mr. J.C. Weliamuna, Dr. A. C. Visvalingam, Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, Dr. Camena Guneratne, Dr. Deepika Udagama, Ms. Anne Abeysekera Ms. Sithie Tiruchelvam, Ms, Dhamaris Wickremesekera, Dr. Selvy Thiruchandran, Professor. Ranjini Obeyesekere, Tissa Jayatilaka, Dr. Devanesan Nesiah, Dr. G Usvatte-Aratchi, Professor. Gananath Obeyesekere, Mr. Ranjit Fernando, Mr. Daneshan Casiechetty, Mr. Mahen Dayananda, Rev Dr. Jayasiri Peiris, Ms. Suriya Wickramasinghe, Mr. Chandra Jayaratne.