BTF and other Diaspora organisations participate in the Universal periodic review (UPR)on Sri Lanka.

Monday, 29 October 2012 

BTF and its partner organisations are actively working to bring awareness of the Sri Lankan situation in the 14th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) UPR is a good tool to debate Human Rights records of a country; but it can only do very little in the case of Sri Lankan State’s oppression of the Tamils.

But it is important to participate and enlighten the States blindly supporting Sri Lanka. British Tamils Forum will join hands with its partner organisations working in the UNHRC Project. This is part of our Geneva project and we seek your support and participation in our advocacy actions.

UPR Working Group started on Monday 22nd October 2012 with Sri Lanka on the agenda on 1st of November. BTF made its submission in April 2012 focusing on Systematic land grab by the State and demographic alterations with a political motive. Along with BTF many Diaspora organisations and International NGOs made their submissions; this time we took an initiative to coordinate the work to avoid overlaps. A three-member delegation from BTF will be traveling to Geneva today to be present at the second cycle of the UPR with side events planned as well as materials produced for advocacy work.

In March 2012 Sri Lankan diplomats exerted all its political capital to avoid a resolution on Sri Lanka by pushing the "agenda" from the 19th session of the UNHRC to 14 working group session of the UPR.

But our coordinated effective Geneva advocacy with international pressure pushed through a resolution on Sri Lanka during the 19th session of the Human Rights Council.

UPR is non-binding recommendations; during the first cycle of UPR in 2008 Sri Lanka rejected over 25 recommendations which were crucial to protect the Tamils. The common pattern is that the Sri Lankan state will accept any recommendations, which are not measurable by external independent people.

On the other hand it has rejected all the recommendations, which suggested having any independent elements to evaluate or validate Sri Lankan records.

A new slanging match

Yubaraj Ghimire : Mon Oct 29 2012

Nepal confronts the UN over two reports on the ‘homeless’ and the ‘stateless’

In early 1987, a little before the India-Sri Lanka accord was signed, the UN country representative in Sri Lanka had a meeting with then President Junius Jayewardene to offer any help the UN could to the conflict-ridden nation. “That would not be a pleasant thing to happen, as Sri Lanka will be kicked like a football by its 180-odd members,” was the president’s firm answer.

Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, a seasoned Nepali diplomat, recalls his conversation with Jayewardene, and sees how his country and the UN are at loggerheads. The UNDP in Nepal is holding back its report, which stated there were 2.9 million homeless in Nepal. Another UN body on refugees said there are around 8,00,000 people stateless in Nepal. Together, the Himalayan nation will have more than one-eighth of its population either homeless or stateless, a conclusion the government has firmly declined to accept.

Nepal has seen a much larger UN presence since 2006, when the special Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and then that of the UN Mission were set up. The OHCHR’s latest report, released in Geneva, said there were more than 30,000 cases of human rights violation in Nepal, with around 9,000 of these possibly making for war-crime cases. The UNMIN left the country in late 2010, with its impartiality and success questioned.

The UNDP office, however, was no less controversial when it came to dealing with the conflict resolution and constitution-making process. It hired Yash Ghai, a controversial legal expert, as the key adviser on constitution-making to the UNDP. Ghai had left his UN assignment in Cambodia earlier following protests from the host government for his “biases”. Although Ghai had nothing to do with the UNDP report on the “homeless”, he has been harshly critical of the Nepal government in the past for pursuing a policy of “exclusion” against a vast section of the population. But that theory is something the UN was perceived to be following. The government has of late warned UN bodies against coming out with such “imaginary figures”. The UN bodies are reworking both reports — on the definition and the figures of stateless and homeless.

... contd.                                                                 PAGE: 12 

WikiLeaks: Gota Pleaded That He Had Not Received The Credit He Deserved – US State Department

By Colombo Telegraph -October 29, 2012

“What is most important, said Blake, is that everyone should feel that they are equal as Sri Lankans and share the same rights. That is not the case right now for Tamils. Rajapaksa blamed the LTTE, and pointed again to the East where there is “full freedom.” He urged A/S Blake to have confidence in the GSL. He regretted that there was too much “speculation, talking and shouting.” We know the situation is not perfect, he said. “The conflict was long and hard,” and society has benefitted greatly from the LTTE’s defeat. Rajapaksa pleaded that he had not received the credit he deserved for disarming the LTTE cadres and the paramilitaries” US State Department wrote to US Embassy Colombo. 

The US State Department wrote “He has outlawed ransom payments and threatened to prosecute anyone who pays bribes or ransom. The government wants people, even former hardcore LTTE, to live a normal life. Blake suggested that the GSL engage the Tamil diaspora community, which could provide financial resources for reconstruction in the north, if the GSL can convince them of iyts good intentions. He suggested that the GSL consider starting a non-profit organization that could receive contributions from overseas for reconstruction and rehabilitation. Rajapaksa told Blake that the GSL has started reaching out to Tamils in Colombo; Ambassador Wickramasuriya said the Embassy has begun to do so in the U.S. as well. “People who want to settle problems are not aggressive,” Rajapaksa said.”

A classified diplomatic cable which details a meeting the US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake has had with  Secretary to the Ministry of Difence Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on September 24, 2009 in US. The Colombo Telegraph found the related US diplomatic cable from the Secretary of State section of the WikiLeaks database. The cable was classified as “Confidential” signed by Hillary Clinton on September 25 2009.

Under the subheading “POLITICAL RECONCILIATION” the US State Department wrote “Blake questioned why President Rajapaksa announced his intent to delay steps on devolution until after presidential and parliamentary elections in spring 2010, when opposition political parties are so weak. Progress on this area would net Tamil votes that could more than offset any loss of support from nationalists, whereas continued delay in announcing political reconciliation efforts would further diminish the President’s Tamil support. Rajapaksa reiterated that the President wants Tamil votes and said his party expects to win them in the Eastern Province. The President knew he would lose in Vavuniya municipality to the opposition Tamil National Alliance, so soon after the fighting, but was okay with that. The President’s concern is that the nationalist People’s Liberation Front (JVP) has tried to destabilize the government by suggesting that the President aims to sacrifice the hard-won victory of the Army. He attributed rumors about Chief of Defense Staff Fonseka’s presidential candidacy to these machinations. Rajapaksa said the President was committed to devolution, but that the 13th Amendment would require adjustment before it could be implemented. Right now, police authority would devolve to the Chief Minister; and the only Tamil Chief Minister would be in the Northern Province. Chief Ministers have no national or international obligations; the GSL wants more Tamil-speaking representation among the police.”

Related stories to this cable;

WikiLeaks: After The War Gota – Blake Meeting In America

WikiLeaks: Eight Thousand IDPs Disappeared – Gota To US

Buddhist monk declared world’s happiest man

Change your Mind Change your Brain: The Inner

If happiness is an inner state, influenced by external conditions but not dependent on them, how can we achieve it? Ricard will examine the inner and outer factors that increase or diminish our sense of well-being, dissect the underlying mechanisms of happiness, and lead us to a way of looking at the mind itself based on his book, Happiness: A Guide to Life's Most Important Skill and from the research in neuroscience on the effect of mind-training on the brain.
Speaker Bio: Matthieu Ricard, a gifted scientist turned Buddhist monk, is a best selling author, translator, and photographer. He has lived and studied in the Himalayas for the last 35 years..

By Agence France-Presse-Monday, October 29, 2012 

Buddhist monk declared world’s happiest man

As he grins serenely and his burgundy robes billow in the fresh Himalayan wind, it is not difficult to see why scientists declared Matthieu Ricard the happiest man they had ever tested.

The monk, molecular geneticist and confidant of the Dalai Lama, is passionately setting out why meditation can alter the brain and improve people’s happiness in the same way that lifting weights puts on muscle.

“It’s a wonderful area of research because it shows that meditation is not just blissing out under a mango tree but it completely changes your brain and therefore changes what you are,” the Frenchman told AFP.

Ricard, a globe-trotting polymath who left everything behind to become a Tibetan Buddhist in a Himalayan hermitage, says anyone can be happy if they only train their brain.

Neuroscientist Richard Davidson wired up Ricard’s skull with 256 sensors at the University of Wisconsin four years ago as part of research on hundreds of advanced practitioners of meditation.

The scans showed that when meditating on compassion, Ricard’s brain produces a level of gamma waves — those linked to consciousness, attention, learning and memory — “never reported before in the neuroscience literature”, Davidson said.

The scans also showed excessive activity in his brain’s left prefrontal cortex compared to its right counterpart, giving him an abnormally large capacity for happiness and a reduced propensity towards negativity, researchers believe.

Research into the phenomenon, known as “neuroplasticity”, is in its infancy and Ricard has been at the forefront of ground-breaking experiments along with other leading scientists across the world.

“We have been looking for 12 years at the effect of short and long-term mind-training through meditation on attention, on compassion, on emotional balance,” he said.
Read More

Lanka bracing to face UN rights review Published: Monday, Oct 29, 2012, 20:58 IST Place: COLOMBO | Agency: PTI

Sri Lanka will undergo a periodical scrutiny of the United Nations' human rights body that will review its progress on the rights front and might pose tough questions on the issue of violations in Tamil-dominated areas.

Sri Lanka was the subject of a UN Human Rights Council resolution in March when its track record in investigating violations in the final stages of the LTTE war was questioned.

The Universal Periodic Review is a mechanism where all 193 UN member states come under scrutiny by working groups every four to five years.

The sessions for Sri Lanka will begin on November 1 in Geneva during which the country's human rights record will be reviewed.

Under the process, a troika headed by India, with Benin and Spain as the other members, would formulate a report on Sri Lanka based on the country's responses to queries on human rights from UK, Australia, Canada, China, Netherlands, Sweden and Pakistan.

The ministry of external affairs said here today that Sri Lanka was ready to face the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) with confidence.

"We have prepared well to face the review," Karunatillake Amunugama, secretary to the ministry said.

He said the minister of plantation industries and President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Human Rights envoy Mahinda Samarasinghe would make Sri Lanka's submission at the UPR.

A high-powered Sri Lanka delegation comprising of officials from the external affairs ministry, ministry of justice and the attorney general's department had travelled to Geneva for the UPR scheduled to happen on November 1.

Amunugama said Sri Lanka would detail its progress made since 2008.

The US-moved, India-backed resolution called for expeditious implementation of Sri Lanka's rights accountability process.

Can The Legislature Declare All Automobiles To Be Rickshaws?

By Basil Fernando -October 29, 2012 

Basil Fernando

The answer to that question is if the legislature can do whatever it likes, as it is becoming fashionable for some in Sri Lanka to say, it can also make such a declaration. The leader of the party that has the majority in parliament (even better if there is a two thirds majority), can order that his party members should vote to that effect and thus ensure that it will become the law.

The impact of the legislature making such a declaration can be twofold. It may merely be a name change. The automobiles will thereafter be called rickshaws. However, if besides a mere name change the legislature goes on to further stipulate that all the engines should be removed from automobiles and that, like rickshaws, they should be pulled by their operators, this would of course mean quite a radical change. If the legislature goes further and prescribes sanctions for those who would not abide by this new legislation, that would result in quite a lot of people ending up in jail or paying fines.

At the moment the attack on the judiciary is made on this basis that the legislature can do whatever it likes. Thus, the legislature can take over the functions of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and dictate what the JSC should or should not do. For example, it is the position of some ministers and spokesmen for the government that the secretary to the JSC should not have made a press release mentioning, among other things, the interference on the workings of the JSC and the independence the judiciary. They are also of the view that this particular secretary of the JSC should not have chosen for that post as, they claim, he is not senior enough to have been thus chosen. The government and the legislature have thus taken upon themselves the task of deciding who should hold which post in relation to the JSC and what is or is not appropriate for the JSC to do.

Read More

The United Nations in Sri Lanka Marks the 67th UN Day

Colombo, October 24, 2012. With the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) fast approaching, in marking the 67th United Nations Day this year, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon highlighted the need to prepare a bold and practical post 2015 agenda.

Marking the occasion locally, the United Nations in Sri Lanka, held a morning event for its partners, in the presence of Chief Guest, Hon. Senior Minister for International Monetary Cooperation, Dr. Sarath Amunugama, where, the country’s performance of the MDGs, the achievements and the challenges that remain, were highlighted.

Addressing the gathering during the occasion, Minister Amunugama, while recognizing the mutually beneficial partnership that exists between the Government and the UN, also emphasized on the role of the UN in supporting the Government in ensuring quality service delivery and advocating for a country in which justice for all can be guaranteed.

Expressing his thoughts, Mr. Subinay Nandy, UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, stated that the UN’s vision for Sri Lanka is that it ‘would be a pioneer country in shaping the post-2015 MDG agenda, much like it was in earlier years in achieving universal access to health and education. With many of the basic foundations for human development in place, Sri Lanka is in a position to be able to demonstrate to its peers how to achieve inclusive growth, how to put climate change considerations at the front and centre of growth strategies, and how to empower youth and women to be the leaders of tomorrow’.

With the current United Nations Development Assistant Framework (UNDAF) drawing to a close at the end of this year, the UN has supported the Government of Sri Lanka, through technical and financial assistance, to a total value of approximately US$ 600 million. In addition, over the past 3 years, nearly US$ 300 million has been mobilized to address a range of humanitarian needs. Moving forward, the UN will continue to support the Government of Sri Lanka through the new five year country programme, which was signed on October 4, 2012. Aligned with the Government’s Development Policy Framework, the Mahinda Chinthana, the new country programme focuses on sustainable and inclusive economic growth with equitable access to quality social services, strengthened human capabilities and reconciliation for lasting peace.

Themed under the MDGs, an exhibition showcased what Sri Lanka has achieved under each of the eight goals focusing on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environment sustainability and developing a global partnership for development. Additionally, guests also had the chance to share their views on the future they want beyond the MDGs. Following the morning reception, the exhibition was later open for school students, giving them an opportunity to get a glimpse of UN’s work in Sri Lanka.

Rajapaksa Family Stands To Receive In Commission Anywhere Between US$1.2 To US$ 1.8 Billion During 2005-15

   

Colombo blooms, but for some it’s only doom

Nadia Fazlulhaq relates their stories. Pix by Susantha Liyanwatte

Families living in dwellings in Colombo North lament that they are the forgotten people.

Sunday, October 28, 2012
New pavements, new roundabouts, restoration of old buildings; Colombo city is undergoing a metamorphosis and is the centre of a beautification programme. But look to the north of the city, it’s starved of development.

An eye sore for many years: The shanties bordering Kelani River

Although the north of the country was liberated after a three decade-long conflict, certain areas of Colombo north are still in the grips of poverty and squalor.

Neglected by government and non-governmental development agencies, vocational training institutes, welfare organisations, women affairs, child care and family planning organisations, the families in these areas struggle to meet their daily needs.

The Sunday Times saw hundreds of such families in Modera, Mattakkuliya, Grandpass, Bloemendhal, Dematagoda, and close to Peliyagoda living in low-income dwellings, made of wood and rusted metal roofing sheets.

“I have five sons, all in their teens. After my husband left us I started selling camphor to feed the family. Three of my sons are school dropouts and are unable to find jobs. They call us the garbage dump people,” said Chamila Niranjani (48), from Henamulla nawa niwasa bordering a huge garbage dump in Colombo 15.

Her eldest son Sajith Sanka (20) was preparing lunch while the other was making camphor packets for their mother to sell.

She was worried about her sons as she said uneducated youth fell easy prey to illegal activities such as drug trafficking and robbery. After their previous abode, a little wooden house was gutted by a fire several years ago they moved to this area.

These pictures tell their plight: Sithy Fowziya looks on as her granddaughter has her first proper meal in two days

Their living conditions turn into a nightmare during the rains with water from the garbage dump seeping into their one-roomed house.

Many of the women try to earn a little income by making paper bags from discarded covers. Unfortunately, they have very few opportunities to sell their wares and they do not have any vocational training.

Fifty-three year old Sithy Fowziya looks on with tear-filled eyes as her granddaughter Fatima hungrily eats a piece of bread, with some leftover curry, a proper meal after two days.

Her husband and son have lost their jobs as street vendors with their shops being removed. Now they go from door-to door selling their wares. There are days the family has to survive on a mere Rs. 50 to Rs. 100.

Devika Priyadharshani her husband and her three children manage on an income of between Rs. 200-Rs. 300 a day. They live in Stadium gama in Grandpass, that gets submerged during the rains as the drains get blocked.

“My husband is a labourer earning a daily wage. We cannot afford to maintain the house; our roof is in a dire state of repairs and when it rains the house fills up with water. We are like the outcasts of Colombo, although we have been here since the day we were born,” she lamented.

The small houses, mostly made of wood, bordering a canal adjoining the harbour entrance in Colombo 15 go under water with the slightest rain.

The huge garbage dump close to the Henamulla Nawa Niwasa scheme.

“The water level rises to about seven feet and our houses get inundated. Our children cannot go to school. Politicians come here only during elections with promises of housing schemes,” M. Annapaikyam(43), a mother of four said.

The situation is the same for those who live in low-income dwellings near the Kelani riverbank. These slums situated at the entry and exit points of Colombo have been an eyesore to the city for many years.

“Most of us don’t have samurdhi benefits nor do we get any vocational training. We have been living like this for years,” Shantha Gamage (37) from the area said.

                Only in Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan Army has held an education programme in Jaffna, helping pupils who are studying for their O-Levels, prepare for their exams in December.

The Sri Lankan Army has held an education programme in Jaffna, helping pupils who are studying for their O-Levels, prepare for their upcoming exams.

The seminars and lessons were organised by the Army’s 52nd Division and consisted of revision for Science and Maths papers.

Commander 522 Brigade Brigadier Athula Silva, Commander 521 Brigade Colonel Tikiri Dissanayake, Commander 523 Brigade Colonel M.W.A.A. Wijesooriya and several senior officers of the 52 Division were present at the events coordinated by Civil Affairs Officer 52 Division Colonel L.B.D.H.S. Luxman.

The Army claimed over 1,000 pupils from 26 schools in Jaffna, Thenmaradchi, Vadamaradchi, Valikamam and the Islands attended the event, which was held over two days.

Director Education Northern Province Mr. V. Selvaraja, Assistant Director of Education Mrs. Sudarshani Kapukotuwa, Director Vadamaratchi Education Zone Mr. Nantha Kumar, principal of Point Pedro Methodist Girls’ High School Mrs. Suntharesan and principal of Chavakachcheri Hindu College Mr. A. Kailaya Pillai “extended their support” to organise the programme, reported the 'Civil Military Coordination Jaffna' website.

Devolution Talk: A Response To Malinda Seneviratne

By Laksiri Fernando -October 28, 2012

Dr Laksiri Fernando

If I try to sway the ‘Harvard Boy’ to my side of thinking, not necessarily on devolution, then I would ask him to ponder further on the “17th and the 18th syndrome” of Rajapaksa administration. I know it is not an easy task given his political past. Anyway, this is in response to his “Devolution Talk and Devolution Talkers” and his comments on my previous article, “Gotabhaya’s Talk About Abolishing the 13th Amendment,” in it.

The difference between us seems to be mainly based on (a) how we assess the connection between the ‘internal’ and the ‘external’ and (b) how devolution could best be synchronised with ‘grievances,’ development and democracy. Perhaps because of the first factor, he has got rather carried away by my, what he calls ‘gonibilla.’ I do believe that the abrogation of the 13th Amendment would spell disaster for our external relations, especially with India, and ‘gonibillas’ are the things that unfortunately people like GL Peiris understand best. See what Keheliya Rambukwella has been uttering since the controversy.

The 13th Amendment ‘appears an imposition’ because our legal drafters just started copying what is in the Indian Constitution without any creativity, otherwise the essence of the Indo-Lanka Accord could have been transformed into an indigenous product with little ingenuity. Then it would have suited the devolutionary thinking evolving in our own country for some decades. There are no pure indigenous things without external influences.

I am by nature is not a status-quo person, also in relation to the 13th Amendment or devolution, but the ‘as-is situation’ of the provincial council system is not that bad as Seneviratne attempts to picture. He has not given any examples, partial or otherwise. It is not at all a ‘white elephant’ as some people repeat to argue. Corruption is less in the provinces than in the centre. Main weaknesses are mainly due to insufficient resource allocation (around 10 per cent) and the centre grabbing provincial functions like in Divineguma or Agrarian Services. There are alternative possibilities of ‘cooperative devolution,’ even without amending the present constitutional provisions, but those are not pursued for reasons best known to the powers that be. Those were proposed, but not accepted.

Seneviratne should admit that he has substantially a different perspective on the subject which has nothing much to do with the weaknesses of the present system. I have even characterised the 13th Amendment once as ‘bad law.’ But at present, I don’t want to see the situation goes from bad to worse. It is simple as that. It might not be that difficult to analyse a ‘to be situation’ from the present ‘as-is situation.’ But the attempts at present are completely different. Seneviratne says, after agreeing that the present as-is situation is amendable, “that devolution to provinces is antithetical to current economic theory in terms of resource endowment and allocation.” What economic theory he is talking about? This is not clear or explained.

On this debate, there is no need to go to “Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya or the Arctic.” That perhaps shows an attitude, if not a phobia on his part. The main detractors of proper development, stability and people’s sovereignty, if those are the concerns, are within the country and within the ruling clique itself. It is not even the SLFP or the UPFA.
I have no disagreement to admit that grievances, particularly socio-economic ones, are across ethnicities (mainly class and rural), and happy to note that Seneviratne clearly recognizes that Tamils have grievances which needs to be addressed. No problem in accepting that ‘different ways’ should be employed to address the grievances (i.e. devolution, equal opportunity, second chamber, human rights etc.) but difficult to understand however the apparent distinction that he makes between democratization and devolution. What is important at this stage in Sri Lanka is to promote ‘horizontal democracy’ through devolution, for both reconciliation and development. Here is a reference in that respect: http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/07/01/strengthening-horizontal-democracy-can-be-way-reconciliation-sri-lanka

Seneviratne seems to be fancy about several ‘academic theories’ on geographical or ecological demarcations of the country for devolution but to me present demarcations are by and large sufficient irrespective of them being ‘colonial-drawn’ unless there are clear suggestions. I myself would not use a term like ‘white-drawn’ as he has used.
Of course, no one can draw an ultimate and direct connection between grievances and what he calls ‘territory-based’ resolution. It is not necessary. It is a question of matrix. His ‘wager’ is largely redundant when other measures are accepted and devolution is also appreciated for other reasons than ethnic grievances. But I dispute his claim that “the majority of [Sri Lankan] Tamils live outside the North and East.” This is not a fact. This is a claim based on 2001 Census which counted only 18 districts. We are still waiting for correct figures for the 2012 Census. I am not a person to jump on other people’s mistakes. Therefore, I leave the matter just there, for him to verify.

The principle that devolution is not only for ethnic grievances is already accepted in the present system of provincial councils, whatever the other weaknesses. That is why we have Provincial Councils in other areas. If a re-demarcation is necessary, then a proper claim has to be made in that respect. The most unfortunate matter, however, is that even three years after the end of the war, elections are not held for the Northern Provincial Council. Why? He should express his opinion.
Seneviratne’s end or conclusion is rather confused. He simply jumps from reform to ‘scrap.’

SL military, paramilitary embark on ‘legal intimidation’ against Tamil media

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 October 2012, 15:28 GMT]
Sri Lanka's military establishment and EPDP paramilitary opt for new ways in recent times to suppress media critical of the SL defence ministry and its paramilitary operatives. Sri Lanka's military commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya has reportedly filed a defamation case against Jaffna-based Uthayan daily and SL minister Douglas Devananda, who is also the leader of EPDP paramilitary, has filed a similar case in the courts in Jaffna demanding a huge sum of compensation against a WikiLeaks-based story filed by the paper, media sources in Jaffna told TamilNet. Sri Lankan Defence Ministry, led by SL presidential sibling Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has found ‘legal operations’ more effective than ‘white van operations’ in silencing critical media, journalists in Colombo said adding that the role of ‘registered’ media in the island has now come to almost an effective end. 

An informed legal source in Jaffna said that the EPDP leader was seeking 10 billion rupees in compensation from the paper for a report it had filed based on WikiLeaks. According to EPDP's lawyer, WikiLeaks is not a legally valid source to be cited by Uthayan paper. 

The administration of Uthayan paper is yet to receive details on the nature of the case filed by the SL military. So far, there has only been reports in SL military run news outlets that the SL military commander and Defence Secretary have filed defamation case against the paper at Jaffna High Court regarding two news items. 

In July, there was a ‘leaked’ gossip-based reporting in web-media that SL Army Commander had complained to former SLA commander General Rohan Daluwatte that he could issue orders only to the Seva Vanitha Unit (women’s organization), led by his wife, and the Civil Administration Unit. All his subordinate commanders say that they receive orders directly from Mr Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, he allegedly told Daluwatte. Uthayan paper filed the story days after several websites had run the story. Later, a team of CID officers from Colombo visited the paper office grilling the editors of the paper. 

Now, the SLA commander, under the instruction of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, has allegedly filed a case against the paper.

The SL military commanders in North and East have been chasing the media for their reports on war crimes. 

A senior journalist working for a Tamil paper said that he had recently been questioned by a team of military officials coming to the office of the paper investigating about the source of a war-crime related photo the paper had used. The journalist had pointed at a reliable international website that had published the photo. 

The SL military has also fielded intelligence operatives as covert journalists monitoring the activities of journalists. 

Recently, the SL military was behind launching a newspaper in Jaffna.

President’s daily expense over Rs.20 million

Rajapaksa Sons Among Top 15 Shareholders Of Ascot Holdings

That’s My Boy

These pictures tell their plight: Sithy Fowziya looks on as her granddaughter has her first proper meal in two days





Bread to go up to Rs. 60 a loaf ?

Bread to go up to Rs. 60 a loaf ?

October 27, 2012, 8:22 pm 

Bakers belonging to the Association of Bakery Owners were scheduled to meet last night to discuss revision of the price of a loaf of bread but no formal announcement was expected until a gala event they have organized for this evening at Waters Edge, with several ministers expected to be present, is concluded.

It was speculated that the bread price may rise as high as Rs. 60 a loaf although this was unconfirmed.

Increase of the prices of bread and other flour based products was inevitable on the back of the increase in wheat flour prices by the two big millers. Prima had increased its price by Rs. 6 per kilo while the Serendib Mills has increased theirs by Rs. 4 per kg.

"We don’t want to burden the people, we feel it too", Anandaraja from Kotahena, told the Sunday Island yesterday. ``But what can we do with the flour price going up?’’

Mohan Das, a worker from New Colombo Bakers was disappointed "Everything is going up.. and it is the people who will suffer" he said.

Today an ordinary loaf of bread sells between Rs. 55 to Rs. 58, a roast paan at Rs. 35 and a fishbun at Rs. 35. Whilst there may be variations in certain instances this is only because of a shortage of coins said one trader.

``We have a huge issue when it comes to returning change and we price our products to take this into account.’’

``I sell at Rs. 55 although the price should be Rs. 58,’’ another baker said. ``That’s because of the difficulty of getting the necessary change.’’

Several traders hoped that the association will take this fact too into account when setting the new price. Traders today prefer to work in the multiples of Rs. 5 as against anything less due to the inconvenience of seeking coins of smaller denomination.

"People don’t like to carry coins because nothing can be purchased for Rs. 1 or Rs.2. They only serve the purpose of making exact payments. And we as traders cannot always carry enough change. It is a nuisance to both parties".

A consumer who spoke on condition of anonymity asked "Why should I carry coins when those coins have no real value? We should have one and two rupee notes," she suggested.

Source close to the the Bakery Owners Association however maintain that though they are expected to meet on Saturday night and arrive at a figure, it is likely that prices will only go up early next week.

``At the moment we are selling at the old price,’’ a baker said. In his case it was Rs. 56 a loaf.

It is very likely that prices of other flour based products, both sweet and savoury, will be rounded upwards.

Nobel Laureates In Economics 2012: Recognised For Designing Unusual Markets

By W.A. Wijewardena -October 28, 2012 

Dr. W.A. Wijewardena

The failed market for kidneys

Some time back, a sister of a friend of this writer had been seriously ill with the malfunctioning of both her kidneys. The available medical treatment was to get a donor with a compatible kidney to donate one. The donation in this case is just a pretext on paper and it is actually a sale of a kidney for profits, since in Sri Lanka there is no legal market for live human body parts. Hence, there is a thriving underground market for kidneys in which many people earn a living. They are the touts who find potential kidney sellers and arrange for the sale, the seller himself and medical practitioners who do the transplanting, in good faith of course, ignoring the sale-fact behind it.

Eight years ago, driven by desperation, my friend too found a potential kidney seller through a tout and the price was agreed upon at half a million rupees. But on the day the transplant was to be done, the seller backed out pretending ill-health. Perhaps, he would have found another buyer who had been ready to pay more. Nothing could be done about it at that last minute because the tout had disappeared with the advance money he had collected. My friend’s sister had to die under these tragic circumstances, but he could not seek redress through legal channels though the seller had dishonoured his contract. That is because he did not get legal protection since he had been dealing in a market not permitted by law. Though there is a price and the price is determined through negotiations, obviously there is a market failure in the sense that the transaction could not be completed to the satisfaction of the parties involved. But in this case, the market failure has been activated by a governmental ban imposed on the ground that selling live human body parts is immoral, unethical and unjustifiable.

2012 Nobel Laureates honoured for designing markets

Surely, the markets for human body parts, and many others of similar nature, are quite different from the markets which one would go through on a day to day basis. But these markets too should have an equilibrium point, stability and satisfaction for all the parties who do trading in them.
This was the subject matter studied by Lloyd Shapley of the University of California, Los Angeles and Alvin Roth of Harvard University, both in USA, with an extraordinary passion and that earned them a Nobel Prize in economics in 2012.

Gale-Shapely Algorithm: Best choice through repeated action 

David Gale and Lloyd Shapley analysed two events in their 1962 paper that gave rise to Gale-Shapley Algorithm. Those two events were marriages and admission to colleges. In the case of marriages, the stability in marriage happens when the two partners have no any further incentive to look for new partners because both of them are now fully satisfied with their chosen partners. Gale and Shapley pointed out that people can have the best match for them by following an algorithmic or in other words, an iterative process. The same choice can be made by people when they seek admission to colleges. They will go on repeating the search until they find a college which is ready to accept them as students.
For instance, take the matching in marriages. Assume that our marriage market consists of five men and five women searching for suitable partners. If man one’s best choice is woman one, but woman one’s best choice is not man one but, say, man three, then, there cannot be a match between them. Man one has to look for a woman who chooses him as her best choice. Suppose that man three’s best choice is not woman one but woman two. Then, woman one and man three cannot be matched. Everyone therefore has to go on searching until they get a match and at that stage, they can make a choice and end up pairing themselves. Those who have got married through the market or those who have sought admission to their preferred colleges can certainly talk about this experience which they would have had.

Implications of Gale-Shapley Algorithm   
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