Lawyers Collective Regrets Independent Scrutiny Of Rule Of Law

By Lawyers Collective -February 4, 2013

It is reported that visas issued to a delegation of the International Bar Association (IBA), consisting of eminent jurists, headed by the distinguished former Chief Justice of India  J.S. Verma,  had later been revoked. The delegation was expected to conduct meetings with a diversity of stakeholders on the development of the legal profession, rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in Sri Lanka. This was not the first time IBA missions visited Sri Lanka and in fact, on two previous occasions the IBA visited and compiled reports, which enriched the legal profession and judiciary  immensely.

The International Bar Association, established in 1947, is the world’s leading association of legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies.  It has a membership of more than 50,000 individual lawyers and over 200 bar associations and law societies spanning all continents. It has considerable expertise in providing assistance to the global legal community. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) is a member of the IBA. Sri Lankan legal community is an integral part of the global legal fraternity. 

The Government of Sri Lanka has constantly stated that the impeachment against its Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake has been done in accordance with the constitutional and international best practices. An independent assessment would have assisted the Government of Sri Lanka to prove its credibility. It is regrettable that the Government of Sri Lanka has denied visas to the members of this delegation, consisting of persons of highest credibility and recognition. Lawyers Collective believes that if the government did not have anything to hide, or it had followed Latimer House principles, the mission would have been permitted. We wish to remind those who matter that the only country which denied visas to IBA missions ever wasFiji in 2008, which was later suspended from Commonwealth in 2009.  

Lawyers Collective urges the Government of Sri Lanka in the circumstances to be transparent and be open for scrutiny of its impeachment process and Rule of Law. Such openness would help the democracy in Sri Lanka in general and the professional standards of the Sri Lankan legal professionals.

Ranil’s revelation

2013-02-04  Opposition and United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe challenged the government to go for a referendum to extend the term of Parliament. Participating in a programme to recruit new members to the party in Galle on Saturday, the Opposition Leader revealed the government is planning to hold a referendum to extend the term of the Parliament. “The Rajapaksa regime is now reaching the last half of its term and by 2014, the regime will totally lose power. They think that they can rule the country eternally. But I doubt it can last even till 2014. I therefore challenge it to go for a referendum,” Wickremesinghe said. He also noted that even though the people’s vote is scattered among many parties in a Presidential or General Election, it is clearly divided among ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in a referendum. “What people have to do at a referendum is to mark their preference for the clay pot or the lamp. Those who are in agreement  will vote for the lamp (lampuwa) and those against the cause of the referendum will cast their vote for the clay pot (kalagediya). I am positive if the government goes for a referendum, the people who are suppressed in different ways today will cast their vote for the clay pot,” he asserted. UNP General Secretary, Tissa Attanayake said the party will take strict action against senior Party leaders who evade participation in such programmes aimed at strengthening the Party. Meanwhile, the organizers of the programme said the membership drive was a complete success and they have achieved the targeted number of new members. The programme, launched by the UNP’s Green Blood organization to recruit new members with the participation of Galle Municipal Council member Nuwan Pushpakumara, targeted  Thalahenawatta in the electorate of Galle. The head of the Green Blood organization, Lasantha Gunawardena said about 85% of the residents in the area expressed dissatisfaction with the present government. (GW) Respect the UN Charter: MR MONDAY, 04 FEBRUARY 2013 President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his Independence Day address to the nation reminded the people of Sri Lanka and the international community that every country should respect the UN Charter, according to which no country had the right to intervene in the internal affairs of sovereign nations. The President quoting the UN charter urged the international community to respect it just as much as Sri Lanka did. “The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations, therefore no country has a right to intervene in the internal affairs of another country. We respect the UN charter and urge other countries to respect it too,” he said. The President said the only answer to foreign countries, which criticize Sri Lanka, is to invite them to our country. “The best answer to the critics is development and reconciliation. We invite them to come to this country and see, to come and see,” he said.

Jehan Perera

High Level Visit Show International Pressures Will Continue

By Jehan Perera -February 4, 2013 

The government’s confidence that the March session of the UN Human Rights Council will not be damaging to its interests would have grown with the visit of the three member US governmental delegation on a fact finding visit to Sri Lanka.  Their statement that the US would follow up on its March 2012 resolution at the UNHRC with a “procedural resolution” will be a disappointment to those who have been hoping that the international community will do the job of the opposition in ensuring accountability within the country.  The emphasis on procedure suggests a lack of emphasis on substance.  The indications are that there will be no new mechanisms that will be proposed in the “procedural resolution” which will possibly reiterate the same concerns that were put out in the 2012 resolution and urge a continued attention to implementation of the same.

In this context, the government is taking the impending meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March without a display of anxiety unlike on the last occasion last year.  The aftermath of the US-sponsored resolution in 2012 has shown the limited ability of the international community to take action in the face of opposition by the country concerned.  The forthcoming meeting in Geneva did not stop the government from impeaching the country’s Chief Justice on largely political grounds.  There was some speculation that the government might stall the impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandarayake until the March session of the UNHRC as completed, rather than provide more ammunition to its detractors.  But this speculation proved to be without foundation as the Chief Justice was both impeached and removed in quick order.

The government’s public demonstration of confidence in the strength of its position can also be seen in the manner it has dealt with the proposed visit by a top level delegation of the International Bar Association.  The government had originally given permission for the visit and even issued a visa to one member of the delegation, a former Chief Justice of India.  The purpose of the visit was to assess from the Sri Lankan protagonists themselves what had transpired during the course of the impeachment of Chief Justice Bandaranayake and its aftermath, and the implications for the rule of law and independence of the judiciary.  But now the government has felt emboldened to revoke the permission for the visit of the international legal delegation even to the extent of cancelling the visa that had been granted.

TOUGH APPROACH

The government’s tough approach towards the human rights champions of the international community is based on the understanding that most international institutions, especially UN bodies, require a great deal of consensus between unlike minded actors.  In general countries are protective of their own sovereignty.  Even in mature and advanced democracies such as the UK the issue of surrendering too much of sovereignty to supranational bodies, such as the EU, is a deeply felt one.  Countries that are more vulnerable to external interventions on account of their lack of power are also concerned about establishing precedents that might be used to adversely affect them.  Sri Lanka therefore has a natural affinity with the majority of non-Western countries who are often at the receiving end of strictures on human rights and good governance from the more mature and advanced democracies of the Western world.

Among the comments by non-Western diplomats that I heard over the past two weeks, one was that they did not wish to do anything that would be against Sri Lanka.  Ideally speaking this should be the attitude of all who seek to influence the course of events in Sri Lanka or any other country for that matter.  Even opposition to those actions of governments that violate their people’s human rights should have the “Do no harm” principle underlying them so that it does not make a bad situation worse, as in the case of Iraq, Libya and now Syria.  The follow up to this concern is that the current weakness of the opposition political parties makes a political vacuum more likely if the government is weakened as a result of international pressures.  The comment of another non-Western diplomat was that Sri Lanka must never be made to go the way of Cyprus where the UN itself has itself become part of the system that keeps the country divided.

The extreme Western position would represented by the letter written by two leading Senators Patrick Leahy and Robert Casey to the outgoing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking her for an independent international investigation into accountability issues.  They argued that “Achieving a sustainable peace in Sri Lanka will require continued and sustained leadership by the United States and others in the international community committed to genuine accountability.”  However, the grounds on which they have made this call is questionable.  They have said that “During the years following the end of the war, the Sri Lankan people have waited for the government to address these concerns, yet no tangible or substantial progress has been made.”  The problem with this statement is that it does not represent the ground reality in an ethnically and politically divided society.  It can be believed that the big majority of the Sri Lankan people will not be in agreement with such international intervention.

COMPROMISE RESOLUTION

In sponsoring a procedural resolution, the US would be recognizing the need to obtain the support of the non-Western countries in the UNHRC who form the majority of countries and who see Sri Lanka as a kindred country.  At the present time these countries are unlikely to be willing to support a stronger resolution than the one that was approved by the majority of them in the March 2012 session of the UNHRC at the strenuous insistence of the United States.  This time around the government will be able to argue that a mere one year is not a sufficient period of time to be able to make a fair assessment of what has been done and not done in terms of implementing the 2012 resolution.  The UNHRC resolution 19/2 of March 2012 titled “Promoting Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka” called on the Sri Lankan government to implement the constructive proposals of its Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission while noting that it failed to adequately address serious allegations of violations of international law, and called for UN assistance in addressing these problems.

The Sri Lankan government has prepared an impressive list of documents, action plans, committees, activities, indicators of achievement and date lines.  It also has its own military’s report on their implementation of the recommendations of the LLRC.  The government is also in a position to show visible changes in the post-war landscape that is impressive to the not-so-well-informed outsider.  Those who last saw Sri Lanka during the time of the war and see it today would be considerably impressed by the visible changes that have occurred.  They will see open roads where there were once barricades and checkpoints, and also feel comfortable as they speed upon well carpeted roads while looking upon the new constructions on the roadside that have erased the destruction of war.  The critic might say it looks better but feels worse.  This requires spending more time with the people to get to know their inner thoughts, which few of the visiting international government representatives have time or inclination to do.

In these circumstances the rationale underlying the US position to restrict itself to a procedural resolution becomes clearer.  It will help to mobilize those same countries that voted in 2012 to back the US sponsored resolution.  It will also keep the resolution of 2012 alive on the UNHRC agenda to be brought up again in 2014 when the country comes closer to the next national election cycle.  What is significant is that the issue of accountability will not subside until the Sri Lankan government is able to demonstrate on the ground that it has fulfilled the imperatives of reconciliation.  Mere posturing about action plans and political maneuvering may buy time and ensure survival for the day, but it will not make the problem go away.  What it also means is that those in Sri Lanka and internationally who want to see change in Sri Lanka have to work harder until Sri Lankan society itself wants democracy and human rights in greater measure that what the government is prepared to give.

Int. Bar Association expresses serious concern as Colombo revokes visa

04 FEBRUARY 2013

BY RAMANAN VEERASINGHAM

Mounting additional international pressure on Sri Lanka’s hawkish government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the renowned International Bar Association (IBA) on Saturday expressed “serious concern” over Colombo’s withdrawal of visa issued to its top delegation to assess the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in the island nation.

“An International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) delegation has been forced to postpone a planned visit to Sri Lanka to assess the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary due to the last minute withdrawal of permission to enter the country,” Romana St. Matthew Daniel, the Press Officer of the London-based IBA said in a statement on Saturday.

He said that a visa that was issued to one member of the delegation on January 18 and was revoked on January 29, while approval to enter the country was suspended in the cases of other delegates on January 29 and 30 of this year.

Ten day visit

According to the statement, the IBAHRI delegation consisting of distinguished jurists was scheduled undertake a ten-day visit to Sri Lanka from February 01 “to conduct meetings and consult a wide diversity of stakeholders” with regard to the development of the legal profession, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in Sri Lanka, including members of the legal profession, government, media and civil society”.

“The IBAHRI has expressed its serious concern to the Sri Lankan High Commission in London regarding the revocation and suspension of entry approval for its high-level delegates and looks forward to working together with the relevant authorities in ensuring a speedy and satisfactory resolution,” the statement said.

The eleventh hour revoking and suspension of visa to the top delegation of the IBAHRI came barely a couple of weeks after many powerful members of the international community and rights organisations slammed the Rajapaksa regime for controversially impeaching chief justice Shirani Bandaranayake and replacing her with a government loyalist.

Beheading Of The Chief Justice And Rizana – All Sri Lankans Are In Chains

Shirani Bandaranayaka CJ

By AHRC -February 4, 2013 

The beheading of Rizana Nafeek is symbolic of the powerless citizenry – all Sri Lankans are in chains

The 65^th Anniversary of the independence of Sri Lanka occurs today and all that we are reminded of is the loss of the liberties of the people of the country. Perhaps the heroine to be remembered at this time is Rizana Nafeek who was 17-years-old when she left Sri Lanka to find employment in Saudi in order to support her poor family. Within days she was charged with a murder where no murder had, in fact, taken place. Seven years later she was beheaded for a crime which had not happened. Her government made little if no effort to save her life. The plight of most of the citizens of Sri Lanka is very similar.

On the economic front the people are struggling to do the impossible, like Rizana, to keep their families alive. On the political front the people are victims of a system in which they are powerless to influence. On the legal front they are without any protection of the law. Like the beheading of Rizana under the authority of the Saudis, the beheading of the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka at the hands of the president bespeaks of a time where reason has hardly any place and justice has become a word that people cannot associate with any positive meaning.

The freedom of speech is what sustains an independent nation. Today, the freedom of speech is considered to be the privilege of traitors. Everyone who has tried to exercise their right to the freedom of speech has paid a heavy price for it, some with their lives and others by having to go into voluntary exile. Meanwhile the rhetoric of the ‘motherland’ and the virtue of patriotism are lauded by those who rule. But what this means is that there must be a voluntary silencing of oneself about whatever evil one sees happening around the country. Those who dare to inquire into the corruption that is taking place are entering a path where they can expect no chance of protection.

Even under colonial times the citizens enjoyed the right to a legal remedy against wrongs. Those who suffered wrongs relating to their person had the benefit of investigations by criminal justice authorities and had the right to expect that the culprits would be brought to justice. This was also the case in relation to attacks on property. Today, no one can reasonably expect that there will be redress for the wrongs he or she suffers. The wrong may be rape or murder and the list of victims who have not found legal redress for such wrongs is a lengthy one and grows daily.

What are worse are attacks on property which may happen by way of land grabbing or many forms of fraud and for which there is no redress either. Some who have sought redress have become victims of enforced disappearances or worse. Others have had to take extraordinary measures to ensure their own security. Even approaching the courts with the assurance that political or other influences will not be extended into their affairs is a belief that hardly exists anymore. The general expectation is that there will be massive biased influence and those who want to get even must find a way in which to get political patronage. Even if by some chance a citizen is able to get an award from the courts in his or her favour there is no guarantee that the court order will be implemented. The recent interpretation of the law by the Supreme Court relating to theimpeachment and the writ of certiorari issued by the Court of Appeal will remain as a reminder of changed times where the authority of the courts cannot be assumed.

All this comes as no surprise when the people live under a political system which they have all agreed is not suited to their country. That the executive presidential system brought about by the 1978 Constitution has caused havoc to the country is not a matter of any dispute. The incumbent president, Mahinda Rajapaksa and the former president Chandrika Kumaratunga both pledged to abolish this evil system and almost every politician and prominent citizen has echoed the same view. Indeed, there is no one that morally defends the executive presidential system. But despite of the absence of political or moral justification the system has increased its influence and remained more entrenched than ever. If there was a total contradiction between the general will that Jean Jacques Roseau spoke about and the actual government in power, Sri Lanka is a classic example of such absolute dichotomy.

A political system that exists against the general wish of the population must necessarily rely on the security apparatus for its survival. In Sri Lankan the system depends entirely on the security apparatus maintained by the Ministry of Defense which is the real source of power and which, in turn, uses the paramilitary forces and the intelligence services to maintain control. That apparatus is outside the control of the law and the judicial institutions. Once, a former junior minister of defense, Ranjan Vijerathna, told parliament, “These things cannot be done according to law”. This was a reference to dealing with counter insurgency. Today’s political ideology is such that nothing practical can be done according to the law. Acting against the law is no longer an offense or a violation but the expected course of action allowed for achieving practical ends. That the ‘end justifies the means’ has perhaps never been used to so effectively to justify the flouting of the law as is now the usual practice in Sri Lanka.

Besides the security apparatus there is the propaganda apparatus (the state media). It too is allowed to operate outside the law, morality or any kind of ethical behaviour. Character assassinations of perceived opponents of the government resorting to any kind of violations of rules of publication, the uttering of any kind of falsehood, acting in contempt of court are all permitted to the state media. It is a ‘no holds barred’ operation. Again the law and the courts can do nothing to regulate or to control the operation of this machinery.

Under these circumstances it is quite appropriate that a bishop of the Anglican Church has called upon his church to celebrate Independence Day as one of lamentation. It is a day that the citizens have to tell themselves, “Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa Mea Maxima Culpa”. Indeed, the future of Sri Lanka lies in the ability of the citizens to blame themselves for what has become of the country and themselves. It is only through a process of repentance and self examination that the citizens can develop their own internal capacity to resist the evil that prevails over them. Having to accept the blame for the loss of the lives of hundreds of thousands of people from all parts of the country, having contributed to the agonies of their families, to be responsible for allowing illegal arrest, detention, torture and ill-treatment, the denial of fair trial, the denial of freedom of association and expression and the denial of the right to elect the government of one’s choice are all things to which the citizens have contributed is no easy task. As such violence takes place there has been the plunder of national resources, the spread of illegal businesses such as the peddling of drugs causing havoc, mostly on the young, financial offenses disrupting the very social organisation itself are all things that have happened with the connivance of the people themselves.

Repentance is the only way to recover the critical spirit which, in turn, is the only way by which the minds of the people will be opened to see the truth as it is. It is only in this way that the falsehood and the misappropriation of power can be resisted.

This is not an easy task. Fake repentance and pseudo resistance only means self deception. What is required is a firm will to demand the kind of political system that matches the aspirations of the people as a whole and the rejection of a system that exists only for the benefit of a handful of people.

Stern Action Will Be Taken By UNHRC – TNA

By Colombo Telegraph -February 3, 2013

“We wish to make it clear that our engagement with the South African initiative is NOT a process that we have commenced with the GOSL and that appropriate action at the UNHRC is absolutely necessary to persuade the GOSL to comply with the said resolution and to discontinue with its harmful agenda against the Tamil People of Sri Lanka.” Tamil National Alliance said today.

Sampanthan

A delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is presently inSouth Africa. This is consequent to an initiative by the Government of South Africa and the African National Congress to share their own experiences in Conflict Resolution and Truth and Reconciliation.

Issuing a statement the TNA says; “The South African initiative commenced in the year 2011 when a delegation led by their Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs visited Sri Lanka and made this offer to the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the TNA. the TNA has accepted this offer.”

“2011 was the year in which the GOSL commenced a bilateral discussion with the TNA in the month of January to resolve the 60 year old national issue in Sri Lanka. Although the TNA acted honestly and sincerely and placed on the table their comprehensive proposals for a political solution by March 2011, the GOSL defaulted in making even their response known for 5 months and 7 meetings, which forced the TNA to refuse to agree to the next date of meeting. Thereafter the President met with the leader of the TNA and the bilateral discussions recommenced on the 16th of September 2011 on the following agreements: 1. Five previous proposals to be brought to the negotiations in lieu of the GOSL’s response; and 2. Once consensus is reached between the TNA and the GOSL on certain substantive issues, the TNA would join the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC).”

However, in violation of the above agreements the GOSL walked out of the talks in January 2012. Two attempts at breaking the deadlock failed solely on account of the GOSL refusing the compromises offered. This stalemate has continued to date. And while the talks are deadlocked, the GOSL aggressively continues with its agenda of militarily subjugating the Tamil People and materially altering the demography of the North East of Sri Lanka.

“It was in this background that a resolution was adopted by the UNHRC in March 2012, which has largely not been implemented by the GOSL. In the 22nd sessions due to commence on the 25th of February 2013, this failure of the GOSL will come under focus and we hope stern action will be taken to promote justice, accountability and reconciliation.”

“In this context we are acutely aware that the GOSL will seek to show the world that some progress has been made, by pointing to the current visit by the TNA to South Africa. Therefore we wish to make it clear that our engagement with the South African initiative is NOT a process that we have commenced with the GOSL and that appropriate action at the UNHRC is absolutely necessary to persuade the GOSL to comply with the said resolution and to discontinue with its harmful agenda against the Tamil People of Sri Lanka.”

Come to Hyde Park to defeat ‘hybrid’ enemy – Ven. Dhambara Amila Thera

SUNDAY, 03 FEBRUARY 2013

SUNDAY, 03 FEBRUARY 2013 
Imperialism functions in two ways - as the government that draws foreign forces into the country as well as the savior of the crises created by the government. All masses and their broad fronts should be rallied to defeat their conspiracies and stop destruction of the count says the co-convener of Anti-imperialist People’s Movement Ven. Dhambara Amila Thera.

Speaking at a media conference held at the Public Library in Colombo today (3rd) Ven. Amila Thera said two protest marches will be held on the 6th and a massive rally will be held at Hyde Park after the marches. He invited all those who love the country to participate.

Co-convener of APM the President of National Trade Union Center (NTUC) K.D. Lal Kanthe, Senior Lecturer of Sri Jayawardenepura University Devaka Punchihewa, the Member of the Executive Committee of APM and Organizing Secretary of NTUC V.I. Abdeen, Member of the Executive Committee of APM Ayurvedic Specialist Dr. Nanda Wijeratne were present.

Speaking further Ven. Amila Thera said, “The time has come for a genuine leadership for the country. It is a moment in which peoples forces should be rallied. It is necessary as there are signs of a gigantic peril the country will be confronted with. Rallying these forces has become a dire necessity of the moment. It is only by uniting and rallying genuine people’s forces that the disaster the country is made to face could be avoided. We, as the Anti-imperialist People’s Movement, have rallied organizations, individuals, working masses and other progressive forces. The events on the 6th could be considered as the inauguration of a mass movement.

Today we could identify a ‘hybrid enemy’. It is the government that paves the way for imperialist forces. The government by violating human rights and burying democracy is making room for imperialists to interfere in the country. Journalists are threatened and made to disappear, media institutions are set on fire in a bid to stop the real nature of the government filtering to the masses. All media has been benumbed. What is happening in the country is not reported not due to the inadequacy of the media but due to rowdy behavior of the government.

The government is preparing to privatize education at the behest of imperialists and it attempts to suppress the students’ movement that is an obstruction for this sordid act. The passing ratio at the A/L examination has been raised to 61% and about 144000 has got qualified to enter universities. However, only about 25,000 could be accommodated in state universities. As such, manipulating a bigger ratio could be a conspiracy to push students towards private universities. We have our suspicion regarding this. Lands are being demarked with the mediation of the government for private universities in Gampaha District. There is an attempt, at the behest of imperialists, to bring in privatization acts that were withdrawn due to mass protests.

The people in the country need not be told regarding how the government conducts elections. The government makes use of state resources, state property, state media and state officials for their campaign. The undemocratic impeachment process to remove the Chief Justice is bringing in adverse results to the country.

The government is handing over valuable lands of the country to imperialists and their multi-national companies. Highlands, fields, wetlands, marshes are handed over to imperialists on 99 year lease. Most of these lands are sensitive areas economically and militarily. All of them have been handed over to foreigners. Fields and lands that could be cultivated are being handed over to foreigners. Thousands of acres handed over to ‘Dole’; a US company is only one example.  Due to the pro-imperialist economic policy of the government the buying ability of the masses has been acutely decreased. State employees are denied loan facilities. The cost of living has risen to the sky.  The prices of vegetables have gone up unprecedentedly.  It is due to cultivable lands being handed over to multi-national companies.

Currently, there are signs of an ant-Muslim sentiment raising its head in the country. Despite the wounds of a 30 year war has not been healed yet, an anti Muslim sentiment is surfacing with the blessings of the government. We believe that the moves of these groups merely fulfill the requirements of imperialists. We know that imperialists could not partition or weaken the country through the military front. However, they were able to breakdown the friendship and solidarity among Sinhalese and Tamil communities through that war. Three years have passed since the end of the war. However, the government, instead of healing the deep wound created by the war, is rubbing salt in it.

Powerful imperialist countries oppress periphery countries to maintain their luxurious lives. This is the intention of their interference in countries like ours.  UN, Commonwealth are cats paws they use for their manipulations. East Timor and Southern Sudan were separated using referendums. Now, imperialists are attempting to bring in a referendum to merge the North and the East. It is under such an environment  that the attempt to create Sinhalese – Muslim conflict should be looked at. The composition of communities in the Eastern Province is roughly equal. It is about 33% for all three communities.  As such, the Muslim community in the province is decisive. Imperialists are attempting to prevent Muslims from working with the Sinhalese. For, in a referendum such a unity would not be to the liking of imperialists’ agenda. An artificial division is created to prevent this unity.  This quarrel is a conspiracy. This is what is being carried out through ‘Bodu Bala Sena’. Imperialists are dreaming of an ‘Ealam’ through merging the North and the East. It is a part of their road map. On the basis of anti Muslim feeling sowed Muslim communalist leaders get an opportunity to rally Muslim masses. While this allows Muslim communalist leaders like Hakeem to rally Muslims around them, Mahinda Rajapaksa gets an opportunity to collect Sinhalese Buddhist votes. The government has allowed imperialists to manage communalism.

All Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim and other masses should be rallied against this sordid act. The harm for the country due to this unforesightful move carried out in a quest for power is very grave. This country need not be a backyard of imperialists. We also need intelligent and friendly relations with other countries. We need the endowment of the wonder of diversity of Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islam peoples and cultures. We invite all to join us. Those in the SLFP and UNP, who love the country, too can join us. We invite all to join the two marches and the massive rally.”

The Naked Emperor And His Endangered Realm

By Tisaranee Gunasekara -February 3, 2013

“Hitler is not Germany, He’s Germany’s destroyer….”Rolf Hochhuth (The Deputy)

Post-impeachment, the Rajapaksas have entered a new phase in their fanatically single-minded pursuit of absolute and permanent power. They are abandoning all pretensions and acting with total disregard for appearances; not even a fig-leaf is being retained. With the judiciary conquered, the Siblings obviously see no cause for pretences of justice, no reason for charades of fair-play.

Of that many-hued cloak which was used to cover the dystopian reality ofRajapaksa rule, only a few threadbare lies remain.

At last, the Emperor is naked. The Emperor will remain naked not because he is unaware of his nudity. The Emperor will remain naked because that is the way he wants to be; feeling omnipotent and unchallenged, he no longer sees any purpose in the costly and time-consuming business of garbing himself.

Any child who dares to proclaim the Emperor’s nudity to the world will be treated as a traitor/criminal, with the aid of a supine police and a cowed judiciary.

The Nazis, borrowing from the filed of electricity, used a term called ‘co-ordination’ (Gleichschaltung) to denote the transformation of Germany to fit the Nazi agenda. Violence was used when necessary, but other methods were more effective. People succumbed or pretended to succumb due to a variety of reasons and motivations: greed and fear, trust, hope and indifference, anti-Semitism and anti-Communism, patriotism and ingrained habits of obedience to authority. Many went along because others were doing the same, or due to the very human desire to be left alone to live their own lives, in relative peace.

Post-impeachment, the Rajapaksas have no serious opponents. The three pillars of state are in Rajapaksa hands, as are the military and the bureaucracy. The business community is becoming as impotent as farmers, fishermen and urban poor in defending its interests. The Tamils are being repressed with a heavy hand and the Muslims are being threatened.Templesand the churches are either co-opted or ignored. The ploy of ‘Media ethics’ will be used to totally silence media organisations and to crack down on critical websites.

The Family is the state.

The Rajapaksas, free at last, to be themselves

Free at last to be themselves, the Rajapaksas are beginning to make the most nightmarish predictions of their most abiding critics come true.

Less than a month after the impeachment travesty came to its premeditated end, the transformation of Lankan judiciary into Rajapaksa judiciary is almost complete. Headed by a manifestly servile, totally discredited and palpably dishonourable ‘chief justice’, the judiciary is plummeting that degrading-depth already occupied by the legislature, the military and the bureaucracy. The judiciary’s capitulation to Rajapaksa power was demonstrated by the manner in which the fundamental rights petition by a customs official against former AGMohan Peiris and Treasury Secretary PB Jayasundara ended. Of the three judge bench, one opted out, for personal reasons. The other two judges accepted the argument made by the AG’s Department (also under Presidential-fist) and decided to go ahead with the case. One of the two judges cavalierly dismissed the petitioner’s objections to his presence on the bench, deeming himself unbiased. The petition was heard and dismissed, pronto, with costs.

A judiciary interested in maintaining appearances would have handled the petition with a touch of finesse; a government interested in maintaining appearances would have permitted the judiciary the space for some face-saving dissimulation. But in the post-impeachment phase of Rajapaksa rule, even pretences at justice are forbidden luxuries. The Siblings want everything done their way, immediately; clearly no judge wants to be witch-hunted out of office, as Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake was.

The ham-fistedly unjust and repellently indecent manner, in which the impeachment was conducted, was no accident. It was done deliberately and consciously, in order to send a message to other (actual/potential) dissenters about the unbearable costs of non-compliance.

Very few people will want to get into an argument about ethics or justice with a deranged fanatic armed with a deadly weapon, sans any safety devises. Horrified by the fate of the Fourth Citizen of the country, most judges and lawyers would follow in the footsteps of UPFA leaders and parliamentarians, military personnel, bureaucrats and innumerable others. They will pretend to obey the rulers in public, criticise them in private and hope (and pray) for deliverance some day.

The comedic conduct of another key public official, the Elections Commissioner, is symbolic of the Rajapaksa notion of a ‘Good/Patriotic bureaucrat’; more disturbingly, it is indicative of how future elections will be stage-managed. Confronted with the discovery of a sheaf ballot papers marked for Candidate Sarath Fonseka, the Elections Commissioner bleated a resonant mea culpa; he took all blame upon himself, conjured a hypothesis and promised an investigation. During future elections, the regime will break all rules and regulations, and act with manifest injustice and unfairness (using violence whenever necessary). The Elections Commissioner will resolutely deny the existence of any untoward deed; if the deed is undeniably blatant, he will claim that sansthe 17^th Amendment he has no powers to intervene (that would be true; the 18^th Amendment did to the post of elections commissioner what the impeachment did to the post of chief justice). The Elections Commissioner will always declare every election free and fair. The judiciary will always echo the Elections Commissioner’s judgement, in suitable legalese. And the Rajapaksas will always be Sri Lanka’s popularly elected democratic rulers!

Once the Auditor General’s Department is ‘co-ordinated’, the last holdout against the Rajapaksaisation of the Lankan state will vanish. The AG will then join the Governor of the Central Bank in singing hosannas to the Rajapaksa-genius. According to the Rajapaksa Central Bank, the economy is always growing, unemployment is always falling and inflation remains petrified at single-digits (even when prices in the market are soaring). Similarly, once the Auditor General’s department is co-ordinated, all financial mismanagement will cease, corruption will be a thing of the past and good governance will rule the land.

Arbitrariness and impunity are the staples of Rajapaksa rule, in every sphere.

The regime’s decision to impose a Ports and Airports Development Levy of 5% could have a devastating effect on a major foreign exchange earner – fuel supplies to ships. If the new tax is implemented, “Sri Lankan suppliers of fuel to ships could be pushed out of business…shipping officials and tax experts have warned” (LBO – 30.1.2013). Slaughtering the goose that lays the golden egg is Rajapaksa economics; to fund economically unsound ports/airports, the Siblings are drivingSri Lanka’s only functioning-port out of business!

In a similar vein, a crippling tax increase was imposed on bulk tea exports, by a gazette notification on January 23^rd. According to the Tea Exporters Association, the Ministry of Plantation Industries and the Sri Lanka Tea Board knew nothing of the tax-hike until informed by horrified tea-exporters.

Accountability and transparency are as dead as human rights. Lankan democracy is not the only casualty of Rajapaksa rule.

The Siblings will purse their absolutist agenda with a sledgehammer and a chainsaw, depending on the judiciary, the military and Beijing to save them from the repercussions of their insanely-abhorrent deeds.

Unsuitable Muslim Colonel appointed as Director of Gota intelligence division to create Muslim-Buddhist conflict (Lanka-e-News-02.Feb.2013, 10.30PM) The Rajapakse family has been carrying out a campaign for a long time most craftily and insidiously creating conflicts between the Muslim community and the Buddhist people . Towards this end, Gotabaya Rajapakse with a far sighted conspiracy in view had appointed a Muslim, T . Suresh Salley an inefficient unsuitable temporary Colonel as the Director of the intelligence division of the Forces , according to Lanka e news inside information division reports. Suresh Salley is a SL citizen and is of the Malay race. Though he is a Muslim by name , he has no religion or scruples. Being an opportunist, his only pursuits are accumulating money and craving for positions, and achieving them by hook or crook. His number is 0/61101 when he joined the Army .Currently he is an Army Colonel on a temporary basis. Ordinarily , at least a Brigadier ought to be appointed as the Director of the intelligence division . But in this case , a temporary Colonel had been appointed for the first time in SL. His antecedence had been most putrid. Individuals like him who knew Tamil language in the Intelligence division painted a false picture during the period of the war.. They gobbled up large sums of monies under the pretext of supplying information. But these swindles cannot be exposed. They are state secrets. He and those of his swindling category in the intelligence division who were exploiting the unaccounted funds were divested of the intelligence division responsibilities by former Army Commander Gen. Sarath Fonseka after he took over in the final phase of the war , as they were found to be of no use or worth to the intelligence division. Since all the information regarding the war operations were being passed to the LTTE by these swindlers , they were swept out , the intelligence division was given a complete clean up ,and the division was brought under the charge of Major Generals Dhammika Liyanage and Amal Karunasekera ( after the arrest of Fonseka, both Liyanage and Amal were sent on compulsory retirement and dismissed from the army. It is noteworthy their pensions had not been paid until today ) . Until the time of the death of Prabhakaran, the intelligence division operations were carried out by them , and not by Salley who was not even allowed to come into the vicinity . We revealed the unsavory and lurid details of Salley’s history for an important reason : he was linked to the murders of the members of the army intelligence unit itself since when he was the lackey of Hendavitharane. The chief reason allegedly for the fall of Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Govt. was : with the peace agreement , room was created for the LTTE to kill the Army intelligence unit officers. But the true picture was otherwise : all the intelligence unit officers at that time and those providing information were murdered on the orders of Hendavitharane by Suresh Salley and the group linked to his brother. Suresh Salley’s brother is an officer of the STF, a contemporary and friend of murderer Sylvester . When this group was executing the orders of Hendavitharane , another Muslim officer , Major Muthalif, known for his honesty , efficiency and law abiding qualities got wind of the conspiracies and wrong doings of this evil group . While Muthalif was probing into them , he was murdered. It was not LTTE alone that was responsible for it . Hendavitharane and Salley brothers gave full support towards it , for they feared that their plots and crimes would come to light. Based on these grounds , Gen. Fonseka evicted not only Hendavitharane but also the Salleys from the intelligence division , and led the country to victory in the LTTE war. We are now trying to reveal today’s foolish conspiracy hatched by Gotabaya Rajapakse using Hendavitahrane and Suresh Salley  The conspiracy is to stoke a Muslim – Buddhist conflict.  Rajapakses are preventing a Muslim – Buddhist conflict based on several grounds : 1.To exploit the Muslim antagonism against the Western world and US with a view to subdue the opposition against the Rajapakses based on the war crime charges leveled against them2. To disperse the Muslims who are a majority in the Capital city of Colombo to other districts , and to create a Buddhist majority in Colombo. 3. The most important of them all is to divert the attention of the people in the face of huge public resentment that is growing by the day against the Rajapakse regime. While there is no Buddhist extremism in the country, under Gotabaya , a Bodhu Bala Sena terror group had come into operation. As revealed in our previous news reports , these operations via the officers of the Army and Navy intelligence divisions are directly under Gota. We have cogent and confirmatory evidence to substantiate this. At the discussion recently among a restricted number of officers of the army and the navy intelligence divisions held secretly even without the knowledge of the state intelligence service (SIS) , Gota had said, ‘now the Buddhist religion side is over and it must be started from the Muslim religion side’ . He had by that implied , the Buddhist extremist ‘ Bodhu Bala sena ‘ had been commenced and finished . Bodhu bala sena, Gota’s group says , there is also a suicide squad in that Bodhu Bala Sena. It had not been possible to create violence according to their plans because the Muslims have no violence prone group like the Bodhu Bala sena to spark trouble and trauma. Hence , what Salley the murderous Director who had been appointed over the army intelligence unit is going to do is , spawn a Muslim violence group. It is learnt that preparations are being made in the present climate of racial tension that is already taut , to attack the Buddhists as though it was launched by the Muslims and arouse racial violence. Salley has been appointed based on the theory – using a wild forest tree to set fire to the very forest. Lanka e news is hoping by exposing this conspiracy that has leaked out before it is executed , it can be foiled.