Thursday, January 10, 2013

Photo story: Armed thugs protected by police unleashed against peaceful protest led by lawyers

10 January 2013: Thugs armed with wooden poles, rocks, glass tubes attacked, verbally abused lawyers led peaceful protest march and physically prevented them marching on. Police protected the thugs standing in front of them and did not arrest the any of the thugs behave violently and threateningly. Demo vehicles belongs to a ruling politician was parked with rocks and poles in the vicinity. SLB posts this this photo story on flagrant violation of peoples right to free expression and peaceful assembly courtesy of Vikalpa and other media sources.

sources.


Protected by Police thugs lined up behind them


Start shouting abusing slogans and threatening demonstrators


Attorney at law, Ravaya editor K.W. Janaranjana and Attorney at law, UNP parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara talked to the police


Armed thugs were already at work in full police view


Some of them were waiting for preys smiling


Underage ones as well following the demonstrators


Thugs too over the streets, Police did nothing


Attacked passer by underage one again on the scean

Video: Protest March Against Impeachment

By Colombo Telegraph -January 10, 2013

As at 7.30 a.m., hundreds of goons have been brought by the Government near the Courts. Hundreds of Policemen have been deployed. It appeared that the government is planning to block the protest at the very beginning.

Anton Marcus, the Convenor of the ‘Citizens’ and Trade Union Collective for Judicial Independence’ said; “We strongly protest the government’s action in organising mobs against the peaceful protest march called by the Lawyers’ Collective in demanding that the illegal impeachment motion be withdrawn from parliamentary debate.”

Video courtesy newslankatruth

A legal primer: The impeachment of the Chief Justice in Sri Lanka

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Photo from MSN News-10 Jan, 2013

interviewed Luwie Ganeshathasan, a Researcher in the Legal and Constitutional Unit of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (the institutional home of this website), on several key issues arising from the impeachment proceedings against the current Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, Shirani Bandaranayake.

Is there provision in the constitution to impeach the CJ?

Yes. The Constitution in Article 107 provides for the impeachment of not only the Chief Justice, but any judge of the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal.

Has it happened in the past, how and why?

Yes, on several occasions, attempts have been made to impeach judges of the superior courts.

In 1983, Justices Wimalaratne and Colin-Thome of the Supreme Court were brought before a Parliamentary Select Committee based on an allegation made by a person involved in a case heard by the Judges. The Select Committee, while not upholding the personal allegations against the judges, expressed reservations about the verdict and faulted the judges for not allowing the Attorney General to address them on behalf of the State.

In 1984, impeachment proceedings were instituted against Neville Samarakoon, the then Chief Justice, on the allegation that he had made a public speech which was critical of the then President J.R. Jayewardene. A Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) chaired by Ranasinghe Premadasa first examined the allegation. The majority decision of this committee was unfavourable to the Chief Justice. Subsequently a resolution requesting the removal of the Chief Justice was tabled in Parliament. It is only subsequent to this that Parliament promulgated Standing Order 78A (which features prominently in the current controversy). As a result, a second Parliamentary Select Committee was appointed.

S. Nadesan Q.C., who appeared on behalf of Chief Justice Samarakoon, argued that inquiring into allegations against the Chief Justice was nothing less than the exercise of judicial power. As per the Constitution, judicial power can be exercised directly by Parliament only in relation to parliamentary privileges (which was not relevant to that case). According to the Constitution, in all other instances, Parliament can exercise judicial power only through courts and tribunalsestablished by law.

This PSC’s decision was also split along party lines, the majority opinion (of the Members of the UNP) was that the Chief Justice’s speech, while not amounting to “proved misbehaviour”, constituted “a serious breach of convention and had thereby imperilled the independence of the judiciary and undermined the confidence of the public in the judiciary”. The minority opinion stated that, “The signatories to this statement [Anura Bandaranaike, Sarath Muttetuwegama and Dinesh Gunawardena (the Chief Government Whip at present)] while conceding that Mr. Nadesan’s argument have considerable cogency ─ are not in a position to come to a definite conclusion on this matter. We would urge that H.E. the President could refer this matter to the Supreme Court for an authoritative opinion thereon – under Article 129(1) of the Constitution.”

In June 2001, an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva was tabled in Parliament with the signatures of 77 members of Parliament. The then Speaker, Anura Bandaranaike, made a special ruling in relation to the restraining order against any further parliamentary proceedings on this matter, issued by the Supreme Court in two fundamental rights applications filed in the court (SC FR 297/2001 and SC FR 298/2001). Subsequent to this ruling, the motion calling for a resolution of impeachment was placed on the order paper ofParliament. However, because of the political instability that ensued in the following months no further steps in the impeachment process was taken.

Why has the impeachment of the present CJ run into controversy?

Continue reading »

Join The ‘Black Friday’ Protest – 11 January – Citizens’ And Trade Union Collective

By Colombo Telegraph -January 10, 2013

“We strongly protest the government’s action in organising mobs against the peaceful protest march called by the Lawyers’ Collective in demanding that the illegal impeachment motion be withdrawn from parliamentary debate.” says Anton Marcus, the Convenor of the ‘Citizens’ and Trade Union Collective for Judicial Independence’.

Issuing a statement Anton Marcus says;”The government thus proved it would not only violate the Constitution of this country, but would also use any sort of thuggery to violate the Constitution for its advantage. A possible chaotic situation due to this intervention by the government we believe was averted, as the Lawyers’ Collective could not be so provoked and also because the police discharged their duties with restraint and with responsibility rarely seen before.It is therefore very clear the government would proceed as decided by them, even using thuggery and force. In such context, we as Citizens’ and Trade Union Collective join the Lawyers’ Collective in declaring tomorrow 11^th January, as a “Black Friday” to mark the most bleakest day in our recent history.”

“We thus call upon all citizens to make tomorrow a black day by wearing black, carrying only black parasols/umbrellas, raising black flags where possible, carrying black flags in vehicles and 3 wheelers, etc.” Citizens’ and Trade Union Collective for Judicial Independence further says.

Part II- Judiciary At War Against The Constitution

By Jude Fernando -January 9, 2013

The is the Part II of three-part series takes a broad look at the tensions between the judiciary and the legislature by the author. – CT

“Constitutions become the ultimate tyranny,” Paul said. “They’re organized power on such a scale as to be overwhelming. The Constitution is social power mobilized and it has no conscience. It can crush the highest and the lowest, removing all dignity and individuality. It has an unstable balance point and no limitations.”(Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah)

All constitutions and laws are social, economic, political and cultural compromises between a framing party and a ratifying party; their tenets depend on the balance of power between these two groups at one particular moment in history. As Altman notes, any constitution embodies “ideological struggles among social factions in which competing conceptions of justice, goodness, and social and political life get compromised, truncated, vitiated, and adjusted.” Consequently, any constitution shapes and disciplines how both society and judges think about natural justice. The social, economic, political and cultural inertia generated by a constitution can become so malignant that it eventually harms the individual and collective interests in a way that is beyond what its framers and ratifiers could have foreseen.

The impeachment of the Chief Justice in Sri Lanka marks a critical moment in the country’s history in which the judiciary must battle against the very forces it incrementally sanctioned after the British Colonial period. It is also a moment for us to realize that this battle has to do with our silence and inaction on unjust constitutional reforms. Paradoxically, only an independent judiciary can pave the way for change, particularly in a situation where the alleged misconduct of judges act as a red herring for the regime and related political parties to attack the judiciary through the tyranny of the majority that exists in Parliament.

Perhaps the best definition of natural justice is found in Karl Marx’s n the Critique of the Gotha Programme, where he claims the ultimate principle of “justice”, the principle that would be actualized in an ideal community, is: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!” Such a community would be the actualization of “freedom” understood as the living of a “good” life, a life creating and appropriating beauty and truth within relations of mutual recognition of each other as equals. Justice Marx, is the participation of everyone to the best of their ability in the provision to everyone of what each “needs” to live a life of “freedom.”

Thursday, 10 January 2013

Motor Vehicle Department Commissioner Poshitha Abeysirigunawardena it is learnt is engaged in accepting bribers openly from persons who visit the Department for work related to motor vehicle registration.

She charges amounts starting from Rs. 10,000 to carry out registration work of motor vehicles in the absence of the owners of the respective vehicles. Officers of Sri Lanka’s Administrative Service have expressed their disgust at the conduct of this female official.

Poshitha Abeysirigunawardena had earlier worked at the Department for the Registration of Persons before assuming office at the Motor Vehicle Department. She had been engaged in similar activities even while serving at the Department for the Registration of Persons. She is second in command at the Motor Vehicles Department and is the head of the department’s administration. However, most of her time is consumed accepting bribes and the administrative work at the Department has been hit by it.

None of the employees at the departments she had served have dared expressed their displeasure at her conduct since her husband serves at the Sri Lanka Police. Poshitha Abeysirigunawardena is the wife of DIG Jagath Abeysirigunawardena, who is in-charge of the North Central Division.

There have been many complaints against Poshitha Abeysirigunawardena made to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption. However, officials at the Commission have refrained from taking any action against Poshitha Madam since it would irk the DIG.

Public Health Notice: E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in Atlantic Canada and Ontario

Updated: 9 January 2013

More information

Epidemiological investigation

Why you should take note

Today, an additional case of E.coli O157:H7 was confirmed in Ontario as part of this outbreak. This brings Ontario’s number of cases to 5 and the total to 16.

Products contaminated with E. coli O157 can pose a serious public health risk.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has been working with its health and food safety partners on an investigation into 16 cases of E. coli O157:H7 illness. There are six cases in New Brunswick, five in Nova Scotia and five in Ontario. The majority of cases have recovered or are recovering.

Status

Investigations into outbreaks of food-borne illness can be complex. Since early January 2013, the Agency has been leading a committee to investigate these illnesses that includes public health and food safety experts from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Health Canada and Provincial Health Authorities. The committee meets regularly to share and review the latest information and determine what actions should be taken to protect Canadians.

Based on the ongoing epidemiological and microbiological investigations conducted to date, it is likely that the people involved all got sick from the same source. More information about the epidemiological investigation is also available.

We don’t know what the source of the illness is, but that investigation is continuing.

Province / Territory	Total confirmed cases
New Brunswick	6
Nova Scotia	5
Ontario	5
Total	16

E. coli O157 food-borne illnesses are not uncommon in Canada. In recent years, an average of about 440 cases of this type of E. coli infection was reported annually in Canada.

What you should do

Most strains of E. coli are harmless; however, some strains, such as E. coli O157:H7, can make people sick, causing severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting. Serious complications of an E. coli O157:H7 infection can include kidney failure.

If you think you are sick with an E. coli infection, consult a healthcare professional.

Symptoms of an E. coli O157:H7 infection

Like other foodborne illnesses, the symptoms of E. coli infection mainly involve the gut. Symptoms may vary from person to person; however, they often include:

severe stomach cramps;
diarrhea (often watery and may develop into bloody);
vomiting; and
fever (generally not very high - usually less than 38.5˚C/101˚F).

Symptoms usually last five to seven days.

Around 5 to 10 per cent of those who get sick from E. coli O157:H7 overall and about 15 per cent of young children and the elderly develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can be fatal. Symptoms of HUS vary. Some people have seizures or strokes and some need blood transfusions and kidney dialysis. Others live with side effects such as permanent kidney damage.

Who is most at risk?

Infections can occur among people of all ages, however symptoms are likely to be more severe among the very young and the elderly. Pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are also at high risk of developing serious complications.

How to protect yourself

Proper hygiene and safe food handling and preparation practices are key to preventing the spread of all foodborne illnesses, including E. coli.

Hand washing is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of foodborne illness.

Contaminated foods may look and smell normal. It is important to ensure that you wash your fruits and vegetables before eating them, and cook meat to a safe internal temperature.

General food safety

Everyone should practice these general food safety precautions at all times.

Additional information

The Public Health Agency of Canada's E. coli O157:H7 fact sheet
The Public Health Agency of Canada's Anatomy of a Foodborne Illness Outbreak
The Public Health Agency of Canada's video series, Something you ate?
The Government of Canada food safety web portal

Lessons to be learned from the failure to save Rizana Nafeek

SRI LANKA: Lessons to be learned from the failure to save Rizana Nafeek

| A statement issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission

THE MAN WHO ORDERED TO KILL RIZANA, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. Saudi Arabia beheaded as many as 76 people last year under its strict code of Islamic law.

................. Summery: Play the Video .............

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( January 10,2013,Colombo,Sri Lanka Guardian) From the day on which Rizana was arrested on a false charge of murder to the day of her execution, seven years elapsed. During this time, if proper diplomatic effort was made with the required seriousness, the life of this young girl could have been saved.

The following are some of the reasons for the failure on the part of the Sri Lankan government to get this girl released.

The absence of a proper chain of command

Under the present Executive Presidential system, there is no effective chain of command between the various layers of officers who are to carry out orders at the demand of the President. A system in which each officer in the chain of command has to take responsibility for their part in carrying out a command and reporting back has ceased to exist. The President acts in an ad hoc manner when things come to his notice, particularly by way of public protest.

In search of justice: The story of the people of Kepapilavu

Sunday, January 06, 2013

The life and times of the people of Kepapilavu should make for a study in endless suffering. After witnessing the war at its cruellest, experiencing multiple displacements and spending the longest interval of time confined in Menik Farm, one would expect that life can hardly get any worse. Yet, their present situation is darker than their past, and the future is a landscape of uncertainty.

In search of justice: The story of the people of Kepapilavu

The story of the people of Kepapilavu reminds all of us that the ethnic conflict is far from over. Their reality contradicts the regime’s claims of rapid post-war development and the rhetoric of peace.

So much for rights
“Any citizen of Sri Lanka has the inalienable right to acquire land in any part of the country, in accordance with its laws and regulations, and reside in any area of his/her choice without any restrictions or limitations imposed in any manner whatsoever” — The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission Report ( 6.104).

The Headquarters of the 59th Division, in Kepapilavu, Mullaitivu spans over a thousand acres. Much of the residential land and some of the agricultural land are believed to be legally owned by private individuals who hold legal documentation. This military base is the root cause of all the problems the people of Kepapilavu are facing. The Government Agent of Mullaitivu and several military officials, who visited the Kepapilavu families in Menik Farm a few days before the closure of the internment facility, promised the people that they would be resettled in the lands of origin within two months. It’s been three months and the promised resettlement is yet to happen: the people are still living in Seeniyamottai, a barren area close to Nandikkadal. They were forced to take refuge here as a temporary measure after leaving Menik Farm.

Massive buildings in the Kepapilavu HQ and the army’s general behaviour suggest that the promised closure of this facility will not happen anytime soon. The allocated compensatory plots, in Seeniyamottai, are infertile and smaller in size than the lands in Kepapilavu. The army is coercing the people into accepting Seeniyamottai as the alternative. In a bid to seal the dispossession, the army is building permanent houses for the families; in contrast humanitarian agencies refused to construct any permanent structures, fearing that it would compromise the people’s rights and wishes. When six women braved their circumstances and made preparations to file fundamental rights petitions to acquire their lands back, they were called into the GN office and threatened by high ranking army officials. They were apparently told that their pursuit of justice would ‘result in losing what little they have.’

The normal and the abnormal
Fear and intimidation caused by the military’s presence is plainly visible. The level of military involvement in civilian life in the Seeniyamottai camp is a grim reminder of Menik Farm days. The uniformity in the people’s answers to certain questions demonstrates that they are under strict orders.

For ordinary people, survival is the priority. Enforcing helplessness is the simple strategy employed by the Government in its attempts to normalise the present. The goons, the conventional army, and the military intelligence department operate on many different levels in the mission to silence the people’s voice. The goons go around throwing petrol bombs, pouring foul oil on protestors and collecting information for the higher powers; the conventional army is the pacifying force, and does the propaganda work as well; the intelligence department is responsible for promptly removing anyone who shows the slightest glimpse of political awareness. While this is the general trend in the North and the East, in the Vanni it is worse. The day when the abnormal becomes the normal is not far away. As for the people in Kepapilavu, it has already happened.

Unwillingness to learn from the past
The mistreatment of Kepapilavu families highlights that Sri Lanka is yet to repent for its original sin: the failure to treat the minority communities as equal citizens. Living in one’s land of origin is a fundamental right. The denial of this right was a major factor that gave rise to the country’s ethnic conflict. It is depressing to see the mistake so wilfully repeated in the lives of the people of Kepapilavu. Indeed, what we are witnessing now is nothing new. Sri Lanka has already seen the consequences of arrogant denial of rights.

Today, in Sri Lanka, more than ever, the place of the minorities’ is increasingly under threat. The self-proclaimed patriots who concern themselves with the fight against separation remain consciously ignorant of the causes that gave rise to the Tamil struggle. Tamil political leaders have failed to envision a new strategy: they seem stuck with the international community – a force that has failed the Tamils and will happily do so again. Moderates, of course, are silently watching the inferno burn down the country. Will Sri Lanka ever learn?

Natural justice, the Chief Justice and the people of Kepapilavu
Ironically, the people in Kepapilavu are the very people the state proudly claims to have liberated from the LTTE. Recently, the government drafted an Action Plan to implement the LLRC recommendations. And it has also promised a new dawn in Sri Lanka’s human rights history. Three-and-a-half-years after the end of war, there is nothing new in the lives of the people in Kepapilavu.

‘I just want to live and die in the land of my origin,’ a middle-aged mother summed up the entire community’s plight. The demand to return to their lands goes beyond economic reasons, and has nothing to do with any ethno-political ideology. There is no justification for setting up a swarm of military bases and stealing private lands in the process. This land grab by the military is illegal, and must be treated as such. The Army HQ must be closed down, or relocated, and people must be allowed to settle in the original habitat.

Natural justice does not discriminate between the powerful and the powerless, or between ethnicities. The Chief Justice and the people of Kepapilavu, in the eyes of justice, are the same. Those who want the PSC’s verdict on the impeachment motion annulled on the grounds of natural justice, in the same spirit, should be willing to defend the basic right of the people of Kepapilavu. After all, the government gave the CJ a trial: the people of Kepapilavu cannot even file a petition.

Peace activist grilled by terrorism department in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 January 2013, 10:24 GMT]

Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) grilled Rev. Fr. Praveen OMI, Director of the Centre for Peace and Reconciliation (CPR) in Jaffna, for 7 hours on Tuesday, news sources in Jaffna said. TID personnel who went to the office of the centre at No 8, Grousseault Road in Jaffna by 8.30 am, subjected the priest to intense investigation until 3.30 pm. The entire office was searched and files and documents were scrutinized. In addition, Fr. Praveen has been ordered to go to the ‘Fourth Floor’ (CID headquarters) for further investigations on Friday. The CPR, an organization affiliated to the Catholic Church in Jaffna was actively involved in dealing with cases of abductions and disappearances of people in Jaffna.

In March 2012, a gang of armed personnel, allegedly from the SL military intelligence, entered into the CPR office and attacked the civilians who had gone there for receiving free legal assistance.

Residents of Jaffna are shocked at the treatment meted out to a respected person like Rev. Fr. Praveen who was doing meaningful human rights work.

But in recent times it has become a routine for the TID to summon and conduct terrorising investigations even on people like the Bishop of Mannaar, Rt Rev. Rayappu Joseph and the President of the Jaffna University Teachers’ Association, Dr. Rajakumaran, political observers in the island commented.

The President of Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), Gajendrakumar Ponnambalm too has been summoned by the TID for investigations.

TID functions directly receiving orders from the SL Defence Secretary and presidential sibling, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

UK parliament debates Lanka, Burt to visit island (VIDEO)

January 8, 2013

The British parliament, both the House of Commons and House of Lords, today (Tuesday) discussed the post war situation in Sri Lanka.

The debate on Sri Lanka in the House of Commons was initiated by Siobhain McDonagh while the debate in the House of Lords on the report on the implementation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in Sri Lanka was initiated by Lord Naseby.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Alistair Burt speaking during the debate in the House of Commons said that in two weeks’ time he will make his second visit to Sri Lanka.

He noted that Britain is committed to and support the concept of responsibility to protect, which was supported by all UN member states in 2005.

“Addressing events during the final days of the conflict is important and the UK has consistently called for an independent investigation into allegations of violation of international humanitarian law on both sides. There needs to be a more fundamental approach that goes beyond accountability. Colleagues have mentioned this in terms of the context of the future of Sri Lanka being for Sri Lankans themselves and how they take this forward. Therefore, we support the view, widely held in Sri Lanka and outside, that long-term peace can best be achieved through an inclusive political settlement that addresses the underlying causes of the conflict. Such a settlement must also take into account the legitimate grievances and aspirations of all Sri Lanka’s communities,” he said.

On the progress that has been made he said that the Sri Lankan Government recognised that in appointing the LLRC, which submitted its report in December 2011 and made more than 200 recommendations, including calls for credible investigations of alleged judicial killings and disappearances, demilitarisation of the north, implementation of impartial land-dispute resolution mechanisms and protection of freedom of expression.

He meanwhile noted it is too soon to talk about the British government’s attendance plans for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.

“We will not move from that position for a period of time. Sri Lanka was scheduled to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in 2011, but given ongoing concerns about the humanitarian and human rights situation, the UK and other Commonwealth members did not support its bid. However, Commonwealth members decided that Sri Lanka would host in 2013. To reopen that decision would require a consensus of all member states and I do not think that is likely. A decision on the location of CHOGM is not for the UK; it is for the Commonwealth. The meeting will discuss many issues, not just Sri Lanka, but as Sri Lanka well knows it will inevitably shine a spotlight on the host country, demonstrating either its progress or lack of it. It is up to Sri Lanka to choose what will be seen. As the Foreign Secretary has said, we expect the Sri Lankan Government to demonstrate that they uphold the values of the Commonwealth,” he said. (Colombo Gazette)

VIDEO