Nihal Amarasekere’s lawyers say allegations against him are baseless and false

Friday, 25 January 2013

Accountant Nihal Sri Amarasekere’s lawyers have sent an e-mail response to us on behalf of their client on the story published in our website under the title, “Nihal’s son gets a “royal wedding” thanks to the impeachment.”

We publish the response sent by the lawyers since any person mentioned in our website could seek a clarification or a right of reply in the event they wish to explain their facts.

24th January 2013

Editor

Lanka News Web

Hosted from UK

We write as instructed on behalf of our Client, Mr. Nihal Sri Ameresekere, F.C.A., F.C.M.A., C.M.A., C.G.M.A. C.F.E., Associate Member, American Bar Association and Member, International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities, of 167/4, Vipulasena Mawatha, Colombo 10, Sri Lanka.

Our Client’s attention has been drawn to an Article hosted by you on Tuesday, 22nd January 2013 on your website ‘Lanka News Web’ under the Caption – “Nihal’s son gets a ‘royal wedding’ thanks to the impeachment”, with a photograph of our Client. The said Article as at this morning has had 1062 hits.

Though your website is forbidden in Sri Lanka, our Client’s overseas contacts had brought the aforesaid Article to his attention. Since you are not resident in Sri Lanka, our Client has to presume, that the said Article had been forwarded to you from Sri Lanka, by some party affected by our Client’s litigations.

The aforesaid Article, without the name of an author thereof, is replete with baseless and malicious statements, made with mala-fide intent and ulterior motives, for extraneous purposes, by a party affected by a pending litigation of our Client on the Special Determination vis-a-vis the ‘Expropriation Bill’.

Significantly, at the very commencement by our Client litigating on the ‘Expropriation Bill’, which also took over the Hilton Hotel in November 2011, a cowardly anonymous Letter against our Client had been circulated by an affected party.

It is in the forgoing litigation, that our Client, as far back as 9th February 2012, tendered a Written Submission on perceived judicial bias and disqualification on the part of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, which said matter was suppressed by the Supreme Court.

Thereafter on 9th October 2012, Speaker of Parliament having issued a Rule that a Special Determination could be reviewed and bona-fides errors rectified, our Client filed a further Application on 18th October 2012 to have the aforesaid Special Determination reviewed and annulled, as mandated by the Constitution, further reiterating the grounds of perceived judicial bias and disqualification on the part of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, as well as certain other Judges. The said Application was questionably scuttled in the Chambers of the Judges, without a public hearing.

The foregoing assertions of our Client of perceived judicial bias and disqualification on the part of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake had been put in issue before the Supreme Court by our Client, long before the impeachment motion, which had been subsequently moved on 1st November 2012, including on grounds, which had been already asserted by our Client, as aforesaid.

In the given circumstances, our Client knowing the facts, supported the impeachment motion. This gives the lie that our Client was motivated by other parties to support the impeachment motion, as had been perversely asserted in the said Article. Our Client had declined to accept public office even though invited as far back as June 2006, and thus statements made in such regard are baseless and malicious.

The total expenses of our Client’s son’s Wedding had been borne by our Client’s family and the Bride’s family. Allegations made by a ghost cowardly writer of the aforesaid Article is therefore baseless and malicious, and had been deliberately made to intentionally cause injury to our Client and to damage his name, standing and reputation and bring him to odium in the public domain.

Our Client’s son also has been spitefully insulted with baseless and false allegations, whereas he is rendering professional services and is not a Director of the Companies referred to, as has been baselessly and maliciously alleged.

Our Client’s Office had rendered litigations support services to Mr. Thilanga Sumathipala, as one of many Clients, of our Client’s professional practice, and such services had terminated, as far back as August 2008. It is indeed intriguing, as to why a name of one old Client had to be included in the said Article, whilst coincidently at the same time two other Articles regarding the said Mr. Thilanga Sumathipala are also hosted on your website.

Our Client has succeeded in his public interest litigations on their own merits, which are well documented with evidence, in a series of Books published in the global market, and facts contained therein stand undisputed. There is no pending Book as alleged in the said Article concerning the Leader of the Opposition. Very significantly, a certain identified party in June 2012, had made similar allegations to cause injury to our Client, which the law enforcement authorities are well and truly aware of.

Inasmuch as you had prominently hosted the aforesaid Article in terms of your published editorial policy that - “Lanka News Web gives fair & reasonable opportunity to reply to individuals or organizations in respect of factually incorrect statements publishing in Lanka News Web endangering their reputation, dignity, honour, feeling, privacy and office.”, we trust that you would promptly host this reply in its entirety in view of our Client’s international name, standing and reputation.

Yours faithfully,

Sgd. V.W.Kularatne Associates

Editor’s note:

Although a lengthy response has been sent regarding the story published in our website, only two paragraphs of the letter actually deals with the story published by us. The rest of the details in the letter explain the reasons for his decision to support the impeachment motion that was presented against Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake.

It is Amarasekere’s democratic right to either support or oppose the former Chief Justice. But what we highlighted in the story is quite different. Amarasekere in his response has accepted the link between his son Sarvajana Amarasekere and one of the key racketeers in the Colombo Stock market, Dilith Jayaweera.

Receipts of payments made by Jayaweera’s company and his friends would confirm his contribution towards the wedding. The current government and the likes of Dilith Jayaweera merely want to make puppets out of Nihal Sri Amarasekeere and his son. To thereby stop the voice raised by Nihal Sri Amaraseekere against fraud and corruption.

We will never deny the great service extended by Nihal Sri Amarasekere in exposing various corrupt and fraudulent issues that have taken place in the country. Our only desire is to stop such people from being “bought over” by corrupt elements like Dilith Jayaweera.

An Appeal To Rajapaksa To Intervene So As To Prevent Another Beheading In Qatar

By Colombo Telegraph - January 25, 2013 

The AHRC urges its readers to write to the President of Sri Lanka at the address shown below to urgently intervene and to save the life of Mr. Wengadasalam Sudeshkar.

We reproduce below the letter written to His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka, the Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa regarding the case of Mr. Wengadasalam Sudeshkar who faces the death sentence by beheadingin Doha, Qatar.

January 25, 2013

His Excellency, President Mahinda Rajapaksa
The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
‘Temple Trees’
Colombo 3
SRI LANKA

Your Excellency,

Re: The possibility of another beheading like that of Rizana Nafeek – Appeal to assist the family of Mr. Wengadasalam Sudeshkar with funds to stop the execution

The parents of Mr. Wengadasalam Sudeshkar have earlier written to Your Excellency about the situation faced by their above named 22-year-old son who is facing the death sentence in Doha, Qatar, which may be carried out at any time. Your Excellency’s office wrote to the mother of Mr. Sudeshkar requesting her to write to the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment for the taking of further action on this matter. A letter from Your Excellency’s office was dated March 26, 2012 and was written on behalf of the Senior Assistant Secretary, Ms. Meda Bemmulla. The problem facing the family now is that they have been asked to pay a sum of Rs. 350,000/= to the family of the deceased victim in this case in order to secure Mr. Sudeshkar release.

Accordingly the family contacted the said bureau and as they did not receive a satisfactory solution they sought our help as a human rights organisation. On January 18, 2013, the Asian Human Rights Commission wrote to Mr. Amal Senalankadhikara, the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment requesting him to let the family know whether the bureau will assist by way of providing this sum in order to get this young Sri Lankan released; or otherwise to let us know of their decision so that we could make a public appeal to the international community to help the family raise this sum.

Unfortunately there has been no reply to this letter from Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment. Under these circumstances there is no other recourse available within the Sri Lankan administrative system to resort to but to Your Excellency as the President of Sri Lanka.

Your Excellency is aware the harsh circumstances of the legal system in the countries of the Middle East and the fact that death sentences are carried out regularly in these countries. The case of Rizana Nafeek‘s execution illustrates the kind of danger faced in such situations.

Under these circumstances we appeal to Your Excellency on behalf of the family of Mr. Wengadasalam Sudeshkar to kind assist them in their desperate hour of need. With an order for Your Excellency the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment is likely to act on this issue on an urgent basis.

We are writing this purely on the basis of an attempt to assist a person and a family faced with the problem of a death sentence by intervening before the ultimate tragedy takes again.

We urge Your Excellency to intervene in this matter.

We await your kind reply.

I remain,

Yours sincerely,

Bijo Francis
Interim Executive Director
Asian Human Rights Commission

Please see below the original letter sent to Mr. Amal Senalankadhikara, the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment

January 18, 2013

Mr. Amal Senalankadhikara
Chairman
Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment
234, Denzil Kobbekaduwa Mawatha
Koswatta, Battaramulla
SRI LANKA

Fax :+ 94 11 2879903
E-mail : infor\_center@slbfe.lk

Dear Mr. Senalankadhikara,

Re: Mr. Wengadasalam Sudeshkar – Sri Lankan Passport No. 4031544 – the young Sri Lankan worked to be executed in Doha, Qatar

I am sure you are aware of the captioned matter relating to the imminent execution of Mr. Wengadasalam Sudeshkar. The parents of Mr. Sudeshkar who have written to His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka seeking his intervention and assistance regarding their son have received a letter on behalf of the Senior Assistant Secretary to His Excellency stating that their letter has been referred to your bureau for the necessary action. It further informs that your bureau, in the future, will take the necessary steps regarding this matter.

The parents of Mr. Sudeshkar have sought our assistance in trying to obtain the release of their son who, we were told, has been sentenced to death on December 31, 2012. We have also learned that Mr. Sudeshkar is 22 years old as of now and that during the time of the incident which caused this unintentional death he was 20 years and six months of age.

We have also learned that negotiations have been conducted on this matter for settlement by way of paying blood money for the sum of Rs. 350,000/=, that is QAR. 100,000.

We have also learned that the family of Mr. Sudeshkar is extremely poor and that they are not in possession of any properties or financial resources and thus, are unable to raise this sum of money.

We are very perturbed due to the sudden execution of Rizana Nafeek. In that case we have worked since the death sentence came to be known in 2007 and at that stage, as the government did not want to pay any sum for the filing of the appeal the Asian Human Rights Commission raised the necessary funds for the legal fees and enabled the appeal.

After the appeal was refused and the death sentence reconfirmed the only way to save the life of Rizana Nafeek was the payment of blood money. However, the necessary negotiations relating to this matter were not conducted with success in time and the result was the beheading of this young Sri Lankan girl. During the interval between the sentencing and the death we wrote several times to the Sri Lankan government. At one stage Mr. Lalith Weeratunga wrote to the AHRC and said that the Sri Lankan government was willing to pay any blood money if that was the way to save the life of Rizana Nafeek.

I am writing this to inquire from you whether you are making arrangements for the payment of the blood money, the sum of Rs. 350,000/= in order to save the life of this young man. We would very much urge you to do so.

Please be kind enough to inform us urgently whether you will be doing this for otherwise the Asian Human Rights Commission will make a public appeal in order to collect this sum through public contributions. As the time is running out we hope you could reply to us as a matter of urgency. Your cooperation would of course be appreciated by everyone who is concerned with saving the life of this young man.

We await your kind reply.

I remain,

Yours sincerely,

Basil Fernando
Director Policy & Programme Development
Asian Human Rights Commission

Personal contact numbers:
852 26986339 x118 (Office)
852 26969130 (Home)
Email: basil.fernando@ahrc.asia

WikiLeaks: Bush Personally Had Encouraged Rajapaksa To Pursue Defeat Of The LTTE

By Colombo Telegraph -January 25, 2013

“In a private meeting following ambassador’s credentialing ceremony, President Rajapaksa expressed bewilderment and frustration at U.S. policy for encouraging him to fight terrorism and then criticizing him when he did. Rajapaksa claimed that 70 percent of the IDPs locked in camps would be returned by the end of January and complained that the UN was at fault for the poor condition of IDP camps now because they had refused to build the kind of permanent structures the GSL originally wanted. Ambassador underscored the value of the larger bilateral relationship and its great potential for expansion but stressed that the IDP issue will not go away and needs to be resolved.” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.

Bush and Mahinda

A Leaked ‘Confidential’ US diplomatic cable, dated September 18, 2009, updated the Secretary of State regarding Ambassador Patricia Butenis’s credentialing ceremony and a private meeting she had with the PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa. The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The cable is signed by the US Ambassador to Colombo Patricia Butenis.

The ambassador wtore; “On September 17, Ambassador Patricia Butenis presented her credentials to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a ceremony with six other ambassadors. Foreign Minister (FM) Bogollagama made the point that ambassador had been credentialed very quickly after her arrival in country, hinting that this signaled the importance the GSL placed on the relationship with the U.S. and their desire to get it back on track. After the ceremony, the U.S. and Egyptian ambassadors were asked to stay behind for private meetings. Following a few minutes with the Egyptian, President Rajapaksa invited ambassador to speak with him, the FM, and Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga”

“Expressing a combination of bewilderment and frustration, the president pointed out that while President Bush personally had encouraged him to pursue defeat of the LTTE, we were now criticizing Sri Lanka for the conduct of its fight against terrorism. The president raised the issue of the war crimes report, which is being prepared by Department. Ambassador explained the origins of the report as congressionally mandated, noted that Assistant Secretary Blake had discussed the report with FM Bogollagama and with the Sri Lankan ambassador in Washington, and informed the president that its release to Congress had been delayed by a month. On the question of freedom of movement for IDPs, the president held to his standard paternalistic line that the GSL could not release them from the camps until de-mining was finished and infrastructure was restored. He promised that 70 percent of the IDPs would be returned by the end of January. Asked to clarify whether they would be allowed to return to their own homes or resettled in new closed camps, FM Bogollagama interjected that they would go to their own homes.” Butenis further wrote.

Read the relevant part of the cable below;

30 per cent distrust the Police, 47 per cent keep mum fearing reprisals

Results of sociological survey in Kahawatte-Sunday, January 20, 2013

State social services in the area dysfunctional with official neglect

By Chamal Weerakkody and Lasantha Niroshana

As killings and abductions continue in the Kahawatte area of the Ratnapura district, a sociological survey conducted in the area has prompted the transfer of 31 policemen and officers out of the area on Monday, with more to follow
The survey revealed that 30% of the Kahawatte area residents distrust the police, while 47% more opted to remain silent for fear of criminals interfering with their lives, as they are in cahoots with the police officers.

The Defence Ministry and the Sri Jayawardhanapura University had conducted a survey on the sociological factors affecting current criminal pattern (with special reference to the Kahawatte police area), under the guidance of Professor Mayura Samarakoon of the Sociology Dept of Sri Jayawardhanapura University.

As the survey findings were revealed, the second abduction within three weeks was reported. G. Wickramasinghe, a murder suspect in the U. Ariyawathi case, was abducted last Tuesday, from his house in Nilagama, Kahawatte.His family complained to the police on January 16, that an armed group, apparently security personnel, abducted the murder suspect. He had been released along with three other suspects for lack evidence, after being in remand for 14 months. One of the suspects who was released with him was killed in December last year.

The first abduction was two weeks ago, that of Sarath Nandana, 32, prime suspect in the first double murder which took place at the beginning of 2012. At the time of his abduction, he was residing with his sister-in-law in Weliweriya, Gampaha.

He was out on bail, after being in jail for 8 months, and court had ordered him to reside 100 km away from the Kahawatte region. The family had complained to the police that an armed group had abducted the former suspect. They also claim that the police have not taken any action to locate him.

The criminal activities in the Kahawatte area began with the killing of 56-year-old Sellaiya Maria on July 21 2008, when she was strangled to death at Kotakethana, in the Opatha Estate area.

The second killing was that of a 52-year-old woman also strangled to death on November 19, 2008, in Kotakethana. These were followed by two killings in 2010 and four killings in 2011, all women, bringing a total of eight women killed in the Kotakethana area.

At the beginning of the year, the first twin killing of 52-year-old Nayana Nilmini and her daughter, Kavindya Chathurangani, was reported from the area, which continued with two other double killings where the bodies were burnt.�Furthermore, the killing of a 66-year-old woman who was hacked to death, brought the tally to 15.

As the mysterious killings continued, a survey was launched in the Kahawatte region on September 17 concluding on November 7. The questionnaire had 102 questions based on 22 sociological factors, mainly on family background, attitude towards State institutions, socio–psychological aspect, economic background, interaction between State officials and the rural community, religious bonding, which affects the community in Kahawatte region and its neighbouring regions in the Ratnapura area. The survey results were handed over to Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the last week of 2012.

Professor Samarakoon told the Sunday Times that the Kahawatte community distrusts the police as a few corrupt officers and their politicisation have compelled the honest police officers to transfer to other postings, leaving the innocent civilians in the lurch.

“According to the research, the police had not taken any initiatives to investigate the first three killings, till the media publicised the fourth kiiling,” said Professor Samarakoon.

According to the survey, 293 people lodged complaints with the police on various personal issues, of which 122 were women, while 424 people live under constant threat from criminals. Consequent to the complaints, 52 males had been summoned as suspects. It is further revealed that, due to the negligence of the police, there had been conflicts among the public.

Women make up 53% in the Kotakethana area, while 7.79% are women above 60 years. Of the 1025 families 90 are with women as single parents, with 89% of the residents living in fear of being killed, and�90% of the community convinced that the killings were premeditated and the killers familiar with the lifestyle and habitats of the victims.

The survey further revealed that Skills Development officers, Child Rights Promotion officers, Youth Services officers and Social Services officers responsible for improving education standards and the professional development of youngsters, had neglected their duties, failing to provide the necessary guidance and impart professional skills, driving the youth to work in mines and rivers for precious stones at Rs. 500 a week.Professor Samarakoon stated that six persons hold degrees, 85 have completed the Advanced Level examination, 1,684 dropped out after Grade 5 and 430 had not gone to school.

The survey also revealed that the chief counsellor of the area, the monk at the temple, had neglected his responsibility in serving the spiritual and moral needs of the villagers, resulting in 16 killings and two abductions in the region so far. “The psychological background of the murder suspects is that of children who grew up within broken families, or brought up in a negative environment.” said Professor Samarakoon.

Senior SP Vaas Gunawardane told the Sunday Times that investigations are underway to find the two missing suspects and apprehend the armed group responsible for their abductions.

New version of national anthem proposed

            Vasu, A Man Of Your Caliber Needs Not Fear The Thunder

Minister of National Language and Social Integration, leader of the Democratic Left Front, Vasudeva Nanayakkara who is an Attorney at Law himself who had dedicated his life since 1970 to active left wing revolutionary politics delivered a speech at the debate on the 11th January 2013 which gave the impression that he is suffering from fatty degeneration of conscience.

I am sorry that I have to say this, I just cannot imagine that you of all at this stage of one’s life taking into consideration the long years you had dedicated to the left movement and the trade union movement with stalwarts like Dr.N.M. Perera, Dr Colvin R. de Silva, Leslie Goonawardena, Dr.S.A. Wickramasinghe, Pieter Keuneman, M.G. Mendis and Robert Gunawardena for merely to survive few more years of a luscious life could betray the general masses.

By Shamindra Ferdinando-January 23, 2013

A parliamentary committee has proposed a new version of the national anthem to be sung in both Sinhala and Tamil at the 65th Independence Day celebrations in Trincomalee on Feb 4.

National Languages and Social Integration Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara yesterday told The Island that the committee, which met under his leadership, decided to make the proposal to President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Asked whether the committee would push for the immediate implementation of the proposal, Minister Nanayakkara said that it would be the prerogative of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Minister said that their move would greatly boost ongoing post-war national reconciliation effort, particularly in view of this year’s Independence Day celebrations being held in the East.

Responding to a query, the minister admitted that at the time the decision was taken all members of the National Languages and Social Integration parliamentary committee hadn’t been present. He said in spite of the possibility of some members of the committee opposing the move, those present at the time the decision was taken had endorsed it.

In Praise Of Sumanthiran

Vasu, A Man Of Your Caliber Needs Not Fear The Thunder

By Barbara Seneviratne -January 20, 2013

Barbara Seneviratne

Minister of National Language and Social Integration, leader of the Democratic Left Front, Vasudeva Nanayakkara who is an Attorney at Law himself who had dedicated his life since 1970 to active left wing revolutionary politics delivered a speech at the debate on the 11th January 2013 which gave the impression that he is suffering from fatty degeneration of conscience.

I am sorry that I have to say this, I just cannot imagine that you of all at this stage of one’s life taking into consideration the long years you had dedicated to the left movement and the trade union movement with stalwarts like Dr.N.M. Perera, Dr Colvin R. de Silva, Leslie Goonawardena, Dr.S.A. Wickramasinghe, Pieter Keuneman, M.G. Mendis and Robert Gunawardena for merely to survive few more years of a luscious life could betray the general masses.

You were looked upon as one who does not indulge in politicking or compromising his principles and earned a nick name as “Firebrand”. All because you were a fearless champion of the rights of the minorities and had been beaten, jailed and forced underground due to your political activism. But with what you have done the proud good old nick name you were once known bestowed with for standing up for the down trodden masses will never be known.

I can remember you once attempted to run-away with the Mace which was the symbol of Parliamentary Authority during the UNP regime in 1989 when the House was debating an amendment moved by the government to the Agrarian Research Ordinance. All because then UNP government wanted to hurry its passage through parliament unfairly.
In November 1976, you also played a similar drama in the old Parliament by bringing a floral wreath after the killing Weerasuriya a student leader of the Peradeniya University.

Where are your conscience and convictions you stood for? Or did you ever have any at all?
What you have done since of late is to make it easy to the likes of Mervyn Silva to be the future rulers and to bring this country to a state of moral decay.

In fact I felt sorry that a staunched politician, a militant could fall a prey to words such as “You go down alone or go down with me ” could decide that betrayal is far better than upholding ones principles. Please remember that you have already gone down deep below and your resurrection as a true son of this soil is far fetched.

We all are aware that the impeachment of the CJ was brought about by politicians who pursue money, positions, black money and corruption. This country has given immense intelligence and skills but no sense of public duty, discipline or dedication. We lack sense of fairness.

The impeachment has robbed our Constitutional rights. One should not forget that the Constitution is not to enable politicians to play their unending game of power but to hold the country and her people together.

My sincere wish is that you will have the courage to rectify this damage. A man of your caliber needs not fear the thunder.

Posted by Thavam

Graduates called to Colombo not for permanent appointment states government.

Thursday , 24 January 2013

 Graduates were called recently to Colombo to felicitate President by the Graduates Federation.

 It is false to make allegations that government has deceived the graduates on that day by stating that they were invited to give permanent appointment,  was stated by Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister John Senaviratne.

A media conference was held at the State Information Department yesterday and Minister made this statement when he was queried by a reporter.

He further said, government did not invite graduates to Colombo Sugadadasa outdoor stadium to grant permanent appointments. Permanent appointments to Graduates could be posted through mails.

 However, government is much confident that within this year,  all the graduates would be provided with permanent appointments.

The event held in Colombo was organized by the Graduates Association to felicitate President Mahinda Rajapakse.

Government did not arrange this event.  Appointment letters were issued to the representatives identifying the three races, Tamil, Sinhala and Muslim by President as a formal arrangement at the stage.

Minster Ranjith Siyambalapitiya Chairman of the Graduates Association organized a similar felicitation ceremony in the year 2004.  This is not a government's deceptive act of not issuing permanent appointment letters to graduates, is the allegations made by JVP .

Minister said, within one year 52 thousand graduates could be given permanent appointments.

  A notification was made that on the ceremony held on the last 12th at the Colombo Sugadadasa outdoor stadium, graduates would be given permanent appointments, hence 52 thousand graduates were present there, but left with much disappointment, which is much aware.

DEFENCE SECT SAYS NO DISAPPEARANCES DURING CONFLICT

(January 25, 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian)Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajpaksa today dismissed reports that persons had disappeared in the north during the conflict.

Mr Rajapaksa was speaking after Army Commander Lt Gen Jagath Jayasuriya handed over a report of the Board of officers on the Implementation of the recommendations made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).

He said that during last stages of the conflict there were some 5,800 soldiers killed in action and in a similar manner there were LTTE cadres killed on the other side.

‘For the parents who lost them they are missing persons’, he said. He said all persons who surrendered have been accounted for.

The Defence Ministry released a two paged statement containing the recommendations made by the Board, but the full report will be released only after it is handed over to President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

To re-evaluate all military disciplines such as infantry tactics, special operations, artillery fire, to formulate new domestic rules covering internal war situations, forces developing proficiency in two or more languages and placing the Sri Lanka Police under the Defence Ministry are among the recommendations.

Sri Lanka has perhaps the most dysfunctional structure of government - Rajiva Wijesinha

Sri Lanka has perhaps the most dysfunctional structure of government - Rajiva Wijesinha

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2013

The Structure of Government, Cooperation of Government Machinery and the Role of NGOs – 1 by Rajiva Wijesinha

I plan in the three hours of this workshop to cover a lot of ground, which I hope will lead to much discussion, and to some understanding of the principles of government, and actual practice in Sri Lanka. This will require being direct, but the criticisms I make will I hope provoke thought, and encourage efforts at reforms that are essential.

Of all countries that have a long democratic tradition, Sri Lanka has perhaps the most dysfunctional structure of government.

If you look at constitutional dispensations elsewhere, there are essentially two. The first, springing from Britain, and known as the Westminster model, combines the Executive and the Legislature. All Ministers come from Parliament, and report to it directly.

The second is based on the doctrine of Separation of Powers, and was first put into practice in the United States of America. The Executive is entirely separate there from the Legislature. A directly appointed President selects a Cabinet to run the various Departments of Government. Parliamentarians, in addition to passing laws, also however play a role with regard to the executive, in that they are in charge of the budget that finances the work of the Executive. They are also meant to monitor its work through the financial controls they exercise, and to contribute to policy through Committees.

Our Constitution is a hybrid of these two systems. Though it is claimed that it is similar to the French, where there is a Prime Minister in addition to a President, the differences are immense. Though the President in France must appoint a Prime Minister in terms of command of a majority in Parliament, he can appoint anyone from outside Parliament to this post, and to any executive office. Anyone who comes from Parliament, including the Prime Minister, must give up his Parliamentary position before becoming part of the Executive.

Thus the Executive concentrates on getting things done, without the demands of legislation or constituency requirements. And it has no role to play in oversight. Correspondingly, at Parliament can exercise its oversight function without being dominated by the Executive branch. In Sri Lanka all aspects of Parliament are controlled by Ministers. They chair all Committees, whereas even in Britain, though members of the Cabinet are obviously more equal than others, Committees are left to backbenchers.

Given the influence of Ministers and the lack of influence of non-Ministers, everyone in Sri Lanka wants to be a Minister and it is difficult for a President, dependent as he is on a Parliamentary majority in a country with several examples of crossovers, to resist requests. In the United States the number in the Cabinet is fixed in the Constitution, which makes sense for an Executive President who can thus allocate responsibilities systematically. But in Sri Lanka we have a proliferation of Ministries, which sometimes requires areas of responsibility that should go together to be divided up. To give you some examples of the wanton multiplication that takes place, we have

Ministries of Plantation Industries and of Minor Export Crop Promotion and of Coconut Development & Janata Estate Development,  Ministries of Culture and the Arts and of National Heritage,  Ministries of Local Government and Provincial Councils, of Public Administration and Home Affairs, or Productivity Promotion and of Public Management Reforms.

Despite the many issues on which such Ministries should work together, there is no formal system of coordination. It was in recognition of this, I thought, that the President, two years ago, established a system of Senior Ministers, with responsibilities to coordinate. But there seems to have been little logic when the Senior Ministries were demarcated, and overlap almost seems to have been institutionalized, with for instance four Ministers supposed to coordinate work in Education (which has been allocated amongst others to the Minister for Urban Affairs, but not to the Minister for Rural Affairs). I can see then why, though the Consultative Committee of the Ministry for Public Management Reforms proposed to work out subjects that should be addressed by each Ministry, this was not taken further.

Though all ten Senior Ministers have been active in various ways, only one of them seems to have developed a National Policy and to have worked on an Action Plan. Unfortunately, this function does not seem to have been included in all job descriptions, and perhaps it would have been impossible, given the overlap, with for instance one Minister responsible for Consumer Welfare and another for Food Security. And there is no one with responsibility for coordination with regard to legal matters or administration, where Justice and Prison Reforms need to work together, as well as Public Administration and Local Government.

But the setting up of Senior Ministries seems to have been yet another ad hoc measure, designed more to ease the process of retirement than contribute to administrative efficiency. There was no planning, or decisions based on principle, which is perhaps why Sri Lanka has achieved yet another first, in having a Senior Minister who is also a Junior Minister, when it was recognized that Sarath Amunugama, far from being ripe for retirement, was essential for financial management and explication.

The process that was initiated when Senior Ministers were appointed should have been based on a clear identification of sectors, on a practical basis. For this purpose we could have taken a leaf out of the Indian book, in terms of the way in which they have structured their Departmentally Related Standing Committees in Parliament. Whereas we have one Consultative Committee for each Ministry making over 50 altogether, the Indians cluster theirs, so that matters requiring coordination are discussed together. So Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution come together, as do Science and Technology, Environment and Forests. Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice are together as are Social Justice and Empowerment, and Transport, Tourism and Culture.

India, like most other countries whether they follow the Westminster Model or the Presidential one, does not have Ministers chairing Committees, and indeed I do not think they are members of these either. In Sri Lanka however such a situation would be unthinkable, for most MPs think Committees are where their individual problems must be solved. Thus much time is spent on particular appointments, while there is hardly any discussion on general issues and policy.

Some of my colleagues seem to understand this lacuna, for when I was being criticized last week for not having voted for the impeachment resolution, on the grounds that this was the duty of a National List MP, one of them noted that I made great contributions in Committees. But I can also understand why MPs who have to keep vast numbers of constituents happy under our preposterous election system, have neither time nor inclination to think of principles.

In a more functional system, there would be time set aside for MPs to meet Ministers or their Secretaries in their offices to sort out individual problems. The Consultative Committee would decide on policy, and suggest legislative and other reforms, based on common problems that need to be resolved. Ministers would not be members of the Committee, but they or their officials would attend for clarifications that are required. They would also attend to introduce legislation they propose or policy changes they wish to implement, and only go ahead with these after thorough discussion.

But let me now encourage some input from you, through analysis of the present situation. I will give you a list of the Ministries we have, and I want you to decide which can be combined. I will also give you a list of the Senior Ministries we have, and I want you to decide whether these make sense, or whether there should be different ones, and if so which Ministries should be coordinated by each of them.

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Champika flays Amunugama for CEB privatisation proposal 

JVP unionist calls Ranawaka cardboard hero

January 23, 2013, 10:02 pm 

By Maheesha Mudugamuwa-January 23, 2013

Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka yesterday lashed out at Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama over the latter’s recent claim that the private sector should be allowed to hold stakes in the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB). 

Ranawaka said that the CEB would not be privatized, but it would introduce certain management reforms to make it a profitable government institution.

Ranawaka asked why Dr. Amunugama had failed to implement his strategies when holding key Cabinet portfolios in previous governments, especially in the Kumaratunga administration.

Dr. Amunugama on Monday claimed that the electricity sector should be released from the state monopoly and opened to the private sector.

Amunugama, a retired top civil servant, also noted that the international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF had pressured the government to open the power and energy sector to the private sector and highlighted the CEB and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation losses.

Minister Ranawaka stressed that those who spoke about the losses incurred by the CEB did not take into consideration the invaluable service that institutions provided to the ordinary people and industrialists.

The CEB was able to provide an uninterrupted supply of electricity to the industry and service sectors, despite the recent drought and the halting of costly power purchases from the private sector, Minister Ranawaka said.

Ranawaka noted that an agreement had been signed by the UNP-led UNF government in 2002, to privatise the CEB with the formation of six separate companies.

Meanwhile, CEB trade unions accused Dr. Amunugama of working to fulfil the needs of international lending organizations, such as International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

Committee member of the CEB Joint Trade Union Alliance and General Secretary of the Lanka Viduli Sewaka Sangamaya Ranjan Jayalal said: "We strongly oppose the statement made by Dr. Amunugama that the CEB should be opened to the private sector."

The pro–JVP trade unionist said that it was correct that the CEB was facing a severe financial crisis because of the present management and it needed to be subject to reforms but they would not allow the authorities to privatise the CEB.

Jayalal said that a comedy was being enacted by two government Ministers, Dr. Amunugama and Ranawaka. Minister Ranawaka was trying to be a cardboard hero while the Dr. Amunugama was explaining the government’s next step, which was to privatise the CEB.

Currently, the CEB is incurring a loss of Rs. 167 million a day; it sustained a loss of Rs. billion in 2011 and a loss of Rs. 45-50 billion was projected for 2012.