Friday, October 26, 2012

SRI LANKA: The executive is exposing Sri Lankans to a dangerous situation by ruthlessly attacking the judiciary

October 26, 2012

Mahinda Rajapaksa's government is now engaged in a ruthless attack on the Chief Justice, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the independence of the judiciary in general. The immediate reason for the attacks is the Supreme Court decision against the Divineguma Bill and the JSC decision to take disciplinary action against a judicial officer alleged to have been engaged in corruption who is supposed to be close to the government.

At the moment the attack is being led by Minister G.L. Peiris whose unscrupulous commitment to defend the executive for his own personal reasons has been demonstrated time and time again. The law and the independence of the judiciary seem to be far removed from the comprehension of this one-time professor of law.

While the police are filing reports of their inability to investigate the alleged attempted abduction and attack on the secretary of the JSC, G.L. Peiris was engaged in a garrulous attack on the secretary himself and questioning his seniority. The obvious purpose of this attack is to create division among the judicial officers. However, what is scandalous is that G.L. Peiris does not care about the actual attack on this officer who holds one of the highest posts in the country. Instead of calling for investigations into a serious crime against a senior government officer he is attempting to divert the attention and to attack the victim himself. That is not just insensibility but sheer brutality.

The anger against the secretary of the JSC is because of the press statement he released on behalf of the JSC stating that there is interference by the executive in the JSC and with the independence of the judiciary. He specifically mentioned the case of the disciplinary action against a judge by the JSC which seems to have angered the executive.

It is an extremely dangerous situation if the JSC cannot take a disciplinary action against a judicial officer against whom there are serious allegations of corruption. The result would be that there would be no investigations into such actions and the judicial office itself could be used for the personal profit of the individuals concerned and his political friends.

However, what is more frightening was demonstrated by the incident which took place yesterday (October 25) at Galle when in broad daylight a well known businessman was attacked by a criminal gang who cut his hand and foot as a result of which he subsequently died. This kind of brazen behaviour on the part of criminals can happen only when they have begun to perceive that the law enforcement mechanism and the judiciary are in crisis and are unable to enforce the law.

When the executive makes irresponsible attacks on the judiciary the message they communicate is about a serious crisis in the relationship between the executive and the judiciary. The criminals take advantage of this public perception for their own benefit and it is the ordinary people who suffer.

Such irresponsible actions on the part of the executive endanger the security of the society at large. When the executive, for their petty ends, engage in public attacks on the judiciary it is the government itself that is weakened. When people perceive that the judges themselves are helpless when the spokesman for the executive is attacking the judiciary it is the criminals that have the last laugh.

It is time for the public to get their message across to the executive clearly that they do not wish their judiciary to be attacked and weakened. If the people watch passively when the executive, for their own petty ends, attack the judiciary the cost of their silence will have to be paid by the people themselves and the future generations. It is time for the people to talk loudly and tell the executive to stop such nonsense.

For further information please see: WORLD: Who will respond to the distress call of the Judicial Service Commission of Sri Lanka? and SRI LANKA: Not free from fault, but too vain to mend

Case filed against CJ’s husband under section 51 supported by 26 witnesses

(Lanka-e-News- 25.Oct.2012, 11.55PM) The Commission of Bribery and corruption filed a petition today (25) in the Magistrate court against Pradeep Kariyawasam , the former Chairman of the National savings Bank and husband of the present Chief Justice (CJ). The Commission’s Director General Lakshmi Jayawickrema said, a complaint has been received by her that irregularities had been resorted to when purchasing shares of private Companies by the National savings Bank, (NSB) and therefore this case has been filed.

The principal charge leveled against him when he was the Chairman of the NSB is the use of Bank funds amounting to Rs. 390 million eleven lakhs thirty seven thousand five hundred and fifty four and cents thirty three to purchase 78 lakhs sixty three thousand three hundred and sixty two shares of ‘The Finance Co.’ while being fully aware that this investment was detrimental to the Govt. interests . This wrong is a punishable offence under section 70 of the Bribery Act.

The other indictment against Kariyawasam is , while knowing he is standing to gain financially illegally , and benefits are accruing to him personally he indulged in this transaction with the objective of securing an appointment in the Board of Directors of the Finance Co. which he has requested in a letter sent to the Co., according to the Commission of Bribery and corruption .
The indictment against Kariyawasam had been filed under section 51 of the Act supported by 26 witnesses. The case is to be heard on 28th February 2013. Political circles say ,following the deepening rift between the CJ and the Regime , it is with the sole aim of forcing the CJ to resign her post that this case has been filed. The Commission of Bribery and corruption has now been made a weapon under the control of the evil powers of the Executive.

Sri Lanka governing party ally question government's motive behind changing stance on power devolution

Oct 26, Colombo: Ally of Sri Lanka's governing party, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) has questioned the government's motive to change its stance on the devolution of power.
SLMC Leader, Minister Rauf Hakeem speaking at an event in the Eastern Province has said the government was engaged in making revolutionary changes.
He has noted that some prominent figures in the government have changed their stance on power devolution and questioned the reason for this change of stance.
According to Hakeem, it is unclear whether the change has come about due to the clash with the judiciary or due to pressures from issues within the government.
Meanwhile, SLMC Chairman Basheer Segudawood has also said at the same event that given the current situation, it is unclear whether the next election in the area would be held under a district system.

Sri Lanka must remain committed to devolution and the 13th Amendment
THE TIMES OF INDIAOct 26, 2012

In a troubling development that can sour ties between New Delhi and Colombo, calls for repealing the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution have been growing louder. Disturbingly, the move against the 13th Amendment - a product of the 1987 Rajiv Gandhi-Jayewardene Accord that provides for devolution of powers to provincial councils - is being championed from within the ruling dispensation in Colombo. While Sri Lankan defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has openly called for abolishing the 13th Amendment, minister Wimal Weerawansa has written to President Mahinda Rajapaksa requesting a referendum to repeal the constitutional provision. Both suggestions smack of majoritarian Sinhala chauvinism, which has been on the rise since the Sri Lankan government's military victory against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009. Meanwhile, the post-war reconciliation process with the island nation's Tamil groups is in a shambles, while Colombo continues to be in denial about human rights abuses committed by the Sri Lankan armed forces during the last phase of the conflict.

All this had seen the UN Human Rights Council pass a US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka in March. Significantly, the Rajapaksa government had made a commitment to India and the international community to implement the 13th Amendment in letter and spirit, and devolve powers to the provincial councils, especially in the Tamil-dominated north of the country. Reneging on this promise represents a serious breach of trust. Besides, the LTTE may have been defeated but Tamil grievances remain. Failing to address them could see the emergence of yet another Tamil insurgency. Integration and rehabilitation of Sri Lanka's Tamils demand meaningful devolution of political and administrative powers. As Sri Lanka limps back to normalcy after 25 years of civil war, the Rajapaksa regime would do well not to repeat mistakes of the past and remain committed to the 13th Amendment.

Attacks on judiciary End of freedom?

By Lakna and Sarasi Paranamanna

This week commenced adding another blood stain on Sri Lanka’s judicial independence. The Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Manjula Tillekaratne was assaulted in broad daylight just days after his public statement where he indicated existing threats to the security of those in the ‘highest positions in the judicial sector’.

The alleged invitation by the Executive, to the three JSC members including the Chief Justice for a meeting, was the starting point of the fiasco. In response, while rejecting the invitation, the JSC Secretary issued a public statement that indicated threats and intimidations on his fellow members of the JSC and the various influences that are being made on their decisions. Secretary Tillekaratne’s public statements were met with a string of criticism and charges, particularly by the state media that threatened his credibility to remain in the JSC, which reiterated the gravity of the threats levelled against the Judiciary.

The recent events however are not the first of their kind. During the tenure of late President J. R. Jayewardene in the early 80s, a group pelted stones at a judge’s residence. The violence further escalated during the term of former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga with the assassination of the late Justice Ambepitiya and most recently, the attack on the Mannar Magistrate's Courts said to have been orchestrated by a government minister.

An attack on a member of the judiciary, the sacrosanct citadel of fundamental rights and civil liberties is not a run-of-the-mill incident. Such hapless events only reflect the impunity that has run rampant in the country. The turn of events is most disturbing and dangerous, as they undoubtedly incur a great bearing on civil liberties. To maintain the rule of law, judicial independence is a vital factor. The existence of an independent judiciary, at least for namesake is observed as a deterrent of all threats against a democratic rule. Thus, the withering of judicial independence is a death knell to Sri Lanka’s remaining democracy.

Despite the many condemnations and protests against the attacks on the judiciary at the moment, the question remains as to whether the perpetrators will be brought before justice, or forgotten beneath the many layers of pending investigations adding to the existing cynicisms among masses. The observation of the mere existence of justice is not sufficient, but the message that justice is being delivered should be felt by the masses, in order to preserve the rule of law.

When the judiciary - the very institution dedicated to delivering justice to the masses-is facing direct altercation, where can the people look to? Only time will tell whether the judiciary will survive these blows or whether the Rubicon has been passed for lawlessness to reign.

“Threats to judicial independence jeopardiSe civil liberties

READ MORE>>>

Sunday Lankadeepa Editor to present Kele Handa

Thursday, 25 October 2012

Sunday Lankadeepa Editor Ariyananda Dombagahawatte has made arrangements to produce a teledrama based on W.A. Silva’s Kele Handa novel.

The relevant agreement was signed with the ITN channel. Dombagahawatte has chosen his son to act the role of the lover in the teledrama. The role was played by actress Sabeetha Perera’s father, Stanley Perera in the Kele Handa movie.

The teledrama is to be shot in a few weeks and is to comprise of 50 episodes. Dombagahawatte is to write the script and direct the drama.

Dombagahawatte is a close media personnel to the President and Cabinet ministers identify him as the President’s unofficial secretary. All Cabinet ministers contact Dombagahawatte when they need to know the President’s stance on any issue. They use the common phrase, “Ask Dombe,” at such times.

Scurrilous literature from MaRa against CJ – Parliament traditions flagrantly breached

(Lanka-e-News- 25.Oct.2012, 11.55PM) MaRa , the chief of the Sri Lanka administrative hierarchy , once again demonstrated clearly today (25) that he is still a frog or rather a crocodile inside a well totally devoid of common decency and basic morals through Minister Jayaratne Herath in Parliament. An anonymous letter supposedly received by President MaRa was presented to the Parliament assembly through Herath , which act from all angles constitutes a gross violation of the hallowed Parliament traditions. That letter against the present Chief justice (CJ) who in MaRa’s eyes is his enemy , is a piece of scurrilous literature vilifying and assassinating the character of the chief justice , who is of the fairer sex.

This scurrilous literature of the MaRa regime comprises mudslinging and character assassination attacks on the CJ linked with the Judicial service Commission (JSC) Secretary Manjula Thilakaratne who was a victim of assault recently. Minister Herath who is also as low bred and low in knowledge of moral values like his frog in the well MaRa , had presented this anonymous letter received supposedly by MaRa while insinuating that, it ought to have been sent by the CJ’s husband.

UNP M. P. Anura Dissanayake who stood up, fiercely criticized this action , and said , this scurrilous literature presented to the assembly is a disgrace and flagrant violation of the Parliament traditions .At that moment , the chief Organizer of the ruling party ,Dinesh Gunawardena proposed that the sittings be postponed , and it was allowed.

It is a crucial question , how Minister Jayaratne laid hands on this anonymous letter received by the President. Obviously , MaRa has given this letter to Herath to present to the Parliament . That is uncivilized MaRa being a frog in the well is either an ignoramus on Parliament traditions though he is the President of this country, or it is his evil objective to forward this scurrilous literature to Parliament give it a legal clout , and wreak revenge on the CJ.

Meanwhile , foreign Minister Dr. G L Peiris told in Parliament today (25) that the JSC by violating the constitution has committed wrongs on the judges. He added , Manjula Tilakaratne the JSC secretary is 30 th position in the seniority rung , and it is the most senior district judge who ought to be appointed as the JSC secretary.

Unfortunately , Dr. Peiris who extolled seniority and giving appointments based duly on seniority could not give an answer to how the most senior of the High court judges Malini Gunaratne was sidelined , and P W D Chandra Jayatileke the judge in the lowest rung in the seniority was appointed as the appeal court judge recently.
Some days ago , there was a commotion over the special announcement made by the speaker on the decisions taken regarding the Divi neguma Act being not sent to him by the Supreme court , and instead being sent to the Gen. secretary of the Parliament . This created a storm of controversy that the SC had violated the constitution thereby.

Meanwhile a case was filed against the CJ’s husband today (25). According to political analysts , these moves are clear signs that the Rajapakse regime is seeking to use its most reprehensible 2/3rd majority in Parliament to bring an impeachment motion against the CJ.

New Scalpels Of Dissent

By Sanjana Hattotuwa -October 25, 2012

Sanjana Hattotuwa

How does one resist State terror?

Counter-terror was tried, and failed, for it only made State terror worse, and more pervasive. The relatively non-violent rallies and demonstrations over democracy deficits in and around the Fort Railway station and Lipton Circus spring to mind, if only because everyone over at least two generations has either witnessed them in person, learnt of them through the media, or courageously taken part in them. Informed by the recording of human rights violations from around the country, op-eds, TV and radio spots and interviews, press releases and other mediagenic output are the familiar to those who seek better governance and accountability through greater public awareness. Face to face representations, overt and covert, with influential individuals and lobby groups in capitals around the world and both the participation in and the organisation of workshops on inconvenient truths are also employed frequently.

The challenge however is in the fact that State terror comfortably coexists today with the good life and its pursuit. Those who seek economic prosperity and wealth are not those who will hold architectures that favour the corrupt and violent under greater scrutiny. Three brothers from single family today control every imaginable avenue of social and commercial enterprise at all levels and across the country. Maintaining this deep and vast oversight requires violence at many levels and in many forms, from the outright physical to the psychosocial, from the individual to the communal. Because this violence is deemed necessary, it is perceived to be just and even karmic – those who are excluded, killed, maimed and just disappear don’t generate sustained social or political outrage and are seen to somehow have invited their fate by what they said or did. The new, horrendously violent ordinary is just fine with the majority – why, they ask when confronted with discontent and dissent, can’t you just enjoy a country post-war? The veneer of open roads, landscaped parks, influx of tourists and a soaring skyline suggest progress and the trappings of cosmopolitanism. The reality is anything but.

Ai Weiwei’s According to What? on display till the end of February 2013 in Washington DC’s Hirshhorn Museum, captures this harmony between development, wealth creation and State terror, albeit around his own country. Given China’s tentacles in Sri Lanka’s political imagination and architecture, Ai Weiwei’s art is a cogent interrogation of our own polity and society. The violence he has faced as an artist reflects our own silencing of dissent. A surveillance camera sculpted from pure marble is both stunningly beautiful to look at, and precisely because of this, disquieting – suggesting that most embrace technologies and artefacts of enslavement and subjugation. There is a brain scan showing trauma to his head after police brutality in 2009 is the most didactic of his art on display. Cube light, an installation that appears to be suspended off the ground, featuring tens of thousands of crystals lit from within is jaw dropping in its visual lure. Your columnist went on all-fours to examine just how the massive cube was elevated off the ground. At this level, the artist’s message is clear – what appears resplendent and alluring in fact has very flimsy foundations. In ‘Remembrance’, the simple act of recording the names of the dead (in an earthquake) is an act of defiance – counting those who are inconvenient to register, making their numbers matter, making their deaths known. In a powerful article published last month in the Guardian, the artist notes that “art needs to stand for something” and that “widespread state control over art and culture has left no room for freedom of expression in [China].

Perhaps the resistance of State terror requires us to invent a new vocabulary through new media, using as Ai Weiwei does, the digital as well as the tactile, the physical as well as the virtual, the visual as well as the sensory, to communicate the real violence of our social and political compact post-war. Perhaps the danger of simply bearing witness and expressing dissent through placards, posters and public rallies is that it exists in its own world, and doesn’t really capture the attention of those who are in fact agents in a violent socio-political system, who may at best silently agree with activists, but never risk social standing, career and life to join them. Rather than attempting to forcefully convince the majority, to present violence as violence, providing the masses with new ways of seeing our country today beyond a sanitised sheen can be a powerful channel to foment dissent. New scalpels of mixed media, literature, art, theatre and culture can incisively interrogate our own repressive government but only if, as Ai Weiwei suggests, it is informed by a critical gaze.

Few in Sri Lanka have this gaze, and use it for public good. They need our support.

Courtesy Sajanana’s blog

Sri Lankan minister says JSC Secretary's appointment violated the Constitution

Fri, Oct 26, 2012,

Oct 25, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government today reiterated that it intends to implement the widely discussed '13 plus' arrangement as a means for power devolution to the provinces.
In responding to a question on the uproar over the purported plans to abolish the 13th Amendment, Media Minister and Cabinet Spokesman, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told the media Thursday that the government has not taken a decision about the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the President has stressed that the government's intention is, to implement the 13 plus.
"By the reference of 'Plus' it is envisaged to converge all minority groups in the provinces in a Senate," the Minister said.
The Minister added that President Mahinda Rajapaksa explained this mechanism to the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh during his visit to India last month.
Explaining the recent surge in the calls to abolish the 13th Amendment, Minister Rambukwella said the Amendment is part of the Constitution and the Members of Parliament are obliged to protect the Constitution.
"If there are obstacles to impediment public service such obstacles could be removed," the Minister said.
The Minister further pointed out that Sri Lanka is a democratic country and the people and their representatives have the liberty to express their personal opinions and the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance, being a combination of 21 political parties, has groups with different shades of opinion.
Speaking of a political solution to devolve power, the Minister said the government appointed the Parliamentary Select Committee to expedite the devolution process.
He further noted that the President without using his Executive Powers has pledged to implement the proposals presented by the PSC, and the legislature has been given the authority to discuss, deliberate and find the best solution.
However, the Minister noted that the major Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance, instead of participating in the parliamentary process where a solution is available, is seeking the assistance from outside forces which "cannot do anything".
The Minister said the "vacillating stance" of the TNA is the sole reason for the delay in the devolution process.

Merkel opens Roma Holocaust memorial in Berlin

German Chancellor Angela Merkel inaugurates a sombre memorial to the estimated half million Roma and Sinti murdered by the Nazis. Duration: Published on Oct 24, 2012

Merkel opens Roma Holocaust memorial in Berlin

24 October 2012
GStephen Evans says the dedication ceremony was very moving

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has opened a memorial in Berlin to Roma (Gypsy) Nazi Holocaust victims.

The memorial - a circular pool of water with a small plinth in the middle - is in Tiergarten park, near the Reichstag, the German parliament building.

The unveiling comes after years of delays and disputes over the memorial's design and its cost.

Experts say between 220,000 and 500,000 members of the Roma and related Sinti people were killed during World War II.

President Joachim Gauck and some 100 elderly survivors joined Mrs Merkel at the opening ceremony.

They observed a two-minute silence around the pool as the triangular plinth was raised from below the surface with a flower on it.

Speaking just before, Mrs Merkel paid an emotional tribute to the victims.

"Every single fate in this genocide is a suffering beyond understanding. Every single fate fills me with sorrow and shame," she said.

It was important to remember so that such atrocities were not repeated, she added.

"It is not only the responsibility of educational institutions, as important as they are, but it's our responsibility, it's the responsibility of each and every one of us, because in indifference, in a culture of 'it's not my business'... this is where the seed of contempt for human values starts growing."

Ongoing discrimination

The memorial has been designed by the Israeli artist Dani Karavan. A fresh flower will be laid on the plinth at the centre of the memorial every day.

Autumnal leaves float in a pool on a memorial to the Sinti and Roma murdered during Nazi rule, near the Reichstag in Berlin

Between 220,000 and 500,000 Roma and Sinti were killed during World War II

Auschwitz by Italian poet Santino Spinelli is engraved around the pool's rim.

A chronology of the Nazi extermination campaign stands next to the memorial.

In 1982, Germany officially recognised the genocide of the Roma and Sinti - a related people who live mostly in German-speaking areas of Central Europe.

The leader of the Central Council of Sinti and Roma in Germany, Romani Rose, was also at the ceremony.

He told Agence France-Presse: "Opening the memorial sends an important message to society that anti-Roma sentiment is as unacceptable as anti-Semitism."

However, Roma organisations and human rights groups say they are still discriminated against in many European countries.

German newspapers on Wednesday pointed out that Germany turns down asylum applications from Roma from Kosovo, and some accused Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich of unacceptable discrimination when he referred recently to "increasing abuse of asylum from countries in the Balkans".

A front-page commentary by Klaus Hillenbrand in Die Tageszeitung said: "It is, of course, nevertheless right for the chancellor and the president to turn the inauguration of the modest memorial into an act of state... Better decades too late than never."

However, in Berlin's Der Tagesspiegel, Gerrit Bartels says that, although the memorial "finally recognises the Nazi genocide of Europe's Sinti and Roma... it certainly does not show future generations of Sinti and Roma a way out of the dilemma between exclusion, separation and assimilation".

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Propaganda won’t save GoSL at UPR, UNHRC sessions GTF, Norwegian Tamils warn:

October 24, 2012, 9:32 pm

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) yesterday urged the Sri Lankan government not to engage in futile propaganda exercises to deceive the international community ahead of the forthcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.

UK based GTF spokesman Suren Surendiran told The Island that there was absolutely no basis for recent GoSL claim that it was in touch with Tamil Diaspora organizations and a meeting between them and President Rajapaksa was likely in Colombo soon.

Asked whether the GTF was concerned about losing its clout among the overseas Tamil community, Surendiran emphasized that the GoSL was not in contact with what he called credible Diaspora organizations.

The GTF was responding to GoSL spokesperson, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella’s declaration last Friday (19) that a meeting between senior representatives of Tamil Diaspora and President Rajapaksa was now a possibility.

Surendiran said that the GTF had made representations to the UPR.

He stressed that the GoSL had no option but to engage in a genuine dialogue with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). The GoSL should realize that the TNA represented Tamil speaking people at parliamentary, Provincial Council and Local Government level and there couldn’t be a substitute, Surendiran said.

The GTF official accused the government of failing to make a genuine effort to address grievances of Tamil speaking people even three years after the conclusion of the conflict. The Tamil community wouldn’t under any circumstances give up its demand for an international war crimes inquiry, he said. Responding to a query, the GTF spokesman said that they wouldn’t quit their ongoing campaign for war crimes inquiry in return for resumption of political negotiations or some sort of understanding with the GoSL. "We want to know the circumstances, under which over 40,000 people perished on the Vanni east front during the final phase of the war," Surendiran said.

He stressed that the GoSL accepts that there was also a Tamil Nation in the island. Asked whether the GTF was ready to work with Kumaran Pathmanathan, alias KP, the GTF spokesman said the former top LTTEer was now a captured man in GoSL custody. But the GTF wouldn’t see anything wrong in Pathmanathan providing some relief to those affected by the conflict.

Dr. Panchakulasingam Kandiah, the president of the Norwegian Council of Eezham Tamils (NCET) and a director on the board of the GTF, told The Island that the GoSL was making an effort to give legitimacy to its propaganda campaign by arranging a meeting between a handful of Tamils living overseas and the President.

Kandiah described the recent GoSL announcement as a deceptive move timed for UPR process on Nov 1 in Geneva and four months before the UNHRC was due to review progress on the US sponsored resolution that was passed last March targeting Sri Lanka.

"Majority of the Tamil Diaspora is very clear on a few matters, we as an organization pro-actively promote non-violence to achieve our rights and political aspirations in Sri Lanka," he said.

Commenting on war crimes, Kandiah said those responsible for atrocities should be held accountable. "No government or group should be allowed to breach international laws and conventions and get away with it. That will set the wrong precedent and that’s plainly wrong."

Kandiah, too, said that their push for international war crimes inquiry wouldn’t be given up to facilitate a negotiated political settlement.

"Tamils have lived in the North and East of the island for many centuries and historically have established those parts as their homeland just as the Sinhalese in the rest of the island except the ‘up-country’ where Tamils from Indian decent have lived. Just as we Tamils, respect this historic fact that there is a Sinhala nation in that island, we want the Sinhalese to acknowledge and respect that there is a Tamil nation in that island too," he said.

"Finally, in any genuine negotiations with the will to deliver a lasting solution there shouldn’t be any pre-conditions imposed by either party. This must mean that everything including the right to self determination for Tamils be part of that conversation. When we formed the organization NCET, I stood for elections in Norway and won an overwhelming majority, with a clear mandate calling for a separate state for Tamils in Sri Lanka," he added.

The Eelam official called for resumption of genuine negotiations without conditions or restrictions. But proposed talks should be monitored by relevant international stakeholders such as the co-chairs established during the Norwegian-arranged failed ceasefire agreement (US, Japan, EU and Norway), India, China and other well meaning countries like for example Republic of South Africa.

Bribery And Corruption Commission Filed Action Against CJ’s Husband

October 25, 2012
The Bribery and Corruption Commission filed action against the former National Savings Bank Chairman and the Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake‘s husband, Pradeep Kariyawasam for alleged corruption in the The Finance Company (TFC)-NSB share transaction deal.

Action filed against former NSB Chairman

CJ treats MaRa’s offer with gross contempt and rejects it roundly

(Lanka-e-News -24.Oct.2012, 5.00PM) The machinations of MaRa to displace the chief justice (CJ) Dr. Shiranee Bandaranayake from her post in order to bring the judiciary under his whimsical control had met with impediments , according to reports reaching Lanka e news. It is learnt he had dispatched a message to the CJ that he is prepared to appoint her as the SL permanent representative to the UN in America. But, based on sources within the Temple Trees , the CJ had grossly and disdainfully rejected this offer.
Dr. Shiranee Bandaranayake had clearly pointed out that her profession is judicial and none other , while also enlightening MaRa (apparently in the dark) on the fact that there are a number of rectifications to be made in respect of this country , and towards that end she will dedicate herself as a chief justice , it is learnt

It is after this stern and straight answer of the CJ , MaRa had decided to displace her from her post by hook or by crook even by an impeachment motion, according to Temple Trees sources.

‘Can’t do anything with her. She must somehow be got rid of’- MaRa: impeachment motion against CJ

Present CJ targeted- MaRa mobilizes his Mafia team

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Action filed against former NSB Chairman

Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake and Pradeep Kariyawasam

The Commission to Investigate into Allegations of Bribery or Corruption filed report in the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court today against former National Savings Bank Chairman Pradeep Kariyawasam accusing him of causing a monetary loss of Rs. 391 million to the government by unlawful purchases of shares of The Finance Company.

The “B” report filed by the Commission before Colombo Chief Magistrate Rashmi Singappuli has accused the former NSB Chairman of causing monetary losses to the government amounting Rs 39,113, 554 and 33 cents by unlawfully transacting with The Finance Company to purchase shares.

The complainant U.L.A.D. Kithsiri Perera, an executive officer of the National Savings Bank had alleged that the former Chairman had made use of his official position to purchase the shares intentionally to cause monetary loss to the government by purchasing 7,863,362 shares of the Finance Company. The Commission in its report on complaint had stated that the former Chairman had committed an act punishable under Section 70 of the Bribery Commission Act.

The former Chairman is also accused of having informed The Finance Company that the Bank would buy the relevant shares of The Finance Company by unlawfully making use of his official position as the Chairman of the bank.

It was also alleged that the Chairman had impressed on the management of The Finance Company to appoint Shan Chandrasekeran Shanmugam to the Director Board of The Finance Company by making use of his official position as the NSB Chairman.

The Commission produced 51 productions and 26 witnesses to support the claim. The Magistrate issued notice on Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam to appear in courts on February 28. (TFT)

How meaningful is Sri Lanka's UPR?
25 October 2012

As the 14th Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session gets under way at the UN Human Rights Council this week, the spotlight will once again fall on Sri Lanka and its human rights record - but just how meaningful a process will it be?

Last time Sri Lanka faced a review at the Council was in 2008, when Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had been elected on a tidal wave of popular Sinhala support for a renewed war effort, was intensifying his military offensive against the LTTE. Whilst the reports of paramilitaries, torture, abductions, killings, and the targeting of human rights defenders, journalists and humanitarian workers were acknowledged in the recommendations, the scale of human rights abuses, war crimes and genocide that Sri Lanka unleashed less than a year later, made a mockery of the entire process. Re-visiting the 2008 recommendations, in light of what has happened and continues to take place, makes a sobering read to any within the UPR Working Group.

Recommendations included: to 'strengthen the human rights machinery within national institutions' (Algeria, China), ensure the 'protection of witnesses and victims' (Austria, Czech Rep.), take 'necessary measures to safeguard the human rights of IDPs in accordance with applicable international standards' (Austria), 'safeguard freedom of expression and protect human rights defenders, and effectively investigate allegations of attacks on journalists, media personnel and human rights defenders and prosecute those responsible' (Ireland), eliminate 'all forms of ill treatment or torture in the prisons and detention centres' (Iran), 'take steps to verifiably disarm all paramilitary groups' (UK), and 'ensure the return and restitution of housing and lands in conformity with international standards for internally displaced persons' (Belgium).

Notably, recommendations that involved any international or UN monitoring of human rights on the ground were invariably rejected by Sri Lanka, such as 'invite the United Nations to establish a presence in Sri Lanka, the mandate of which would include protection, monitoring, investigation and reporting' (Slovenia), accept 'independent international monitoring be taken up as recommendations' (Sweden) and 're-engage with international human rights monitoring and assistance mechanisms by agreeing to establish an OHCHR field presence, whose mandate would allow unfettered access to monitor, investigate and report human rights violations and promote remedial measures, including criminal investigation, prosecution and capacity-building of domestic human rights mechanisms'(United States).

What is UPR?

The UPR (Universal Periodic Review) is a mechanism at the Human Rights Council whereby the human rights situation of all 193 UN member states is reviewed regularly - every 4 and half years to be precise.
In order to review all 193 states, each year, three UPR sessions are held (January to February, May to June and October to November) and 14 members states reviewed at each session.
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The context in which Sri Lanka will face UPR has no doubt markedly altered since 2008. The international community's willingness to support the state's 'war on terror' has now significantly shifted to criticism of its conduct during the armed conflict and its aftermath. The fact that this criticism has not been translated into any affirmative action however, is a festering wound in any future prospects of stability on the island - and Sri Lanka's UPR is unlikely to make amends.

The mechanism of UPR, constructed of self-serving layers of procedures and diplomatic niceties, dictates that the benchmark against which Sri Lanka will be measured, is the recommendations that came of its first session – and even then, only the recommendations Sri Lanka agreed to accept. Adding to the obvious absurdity of this glorified self-appraisal, the scathing report by the UN Panel of Experts and the resolution adopted by the very same Council earlier this year will almost invariably be sidelined, at best.

Yet, even through this impotent prism, it is immediately apparent that the key concerns of 2008 are of heightened concern today. In the time that has elapsed, Sri Lanka is said to have made a transition from 'war on terror' to 'peace and reconciliation'. However, instead of a steady progression towards its self-assigned benchmark, Sri Lanka has obliterated any regard for human rights, and continues to do so with increasingly emboldened impunity.

Sri Lanka's defence is, as ever, predictable. Whilst at the last session the situation was blamed on the LTTE, this session will no doubt include lamentations about the lack of time and space. Sri Lanka has had ample time. To grant it more, with a dutiful slap on the wrist, would once again allow the state to make a mockery of the Working Group, and ensure that the outcome of the 2016 UPR is a foregone conclusion.

Ultimately, an in-house appraisal with states systematically alternating between the role of examiner and that of the examined, can be of little value. However, the one saving grace in this mechanised saga, would be for key member states to begin asking themselves the most pertinent question – not how bad is the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, but why?Why, over three years later and despite much talk of 'reconciliation' and 'development', has the human rights situation not only regressed, but continues to do so with ever increasing brazenness? It is only in questioning Sri Lanka's seeming delinquency that the UPR process and the member states that enact it, can gain any meaningful credibility.

WikiLeaks: Gothabaya Downplayed His Involvement In Media Intimidation – Blake

By Colombo Telegraph -October 25, 2012

“Gothabaya downplayed his involvement in media intimidation, claiming that recent reports of his threatening the Daily Mirror Editor were inaccurate (ref A). He admitted that he did call her, but “only as a friend, and only out of concern for her safety” after she wrote an article critical of Karuna. His intent, he said, was to warn her that if she continued to write negative things about Karuna, she would make an enemy of him. (In a subsequent meeting, the editor told Boucher that Gothabaya’s exchange with her was much more threatening than he implied.) Gothabaya added that because of the incident, the President has instructed him not to talk to the media in the future. He asserted that the Sri Lankan media is 100 percent anti-government and pro-opposition. Boucher warned that any appearance of threats against the media will earn Sri Lanka negative attention and that the Government should be careful about creating this perception.” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.

A Leaked “CONFIDENTIAL” US diplomatic cable, dated May 15, 2007, recounts the details of a meeting the US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher has had with Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Gothabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo on May 10, 2007. The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database which is classified by the ambassador Robert O. Blake.