India decided to support America's motion. Reason is anger over Colombo.

America the dominant country will bring a motion against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Assembly sessions which is described as diplomatic debate, and this time, India would support it, is much aware.

 Before the Geneva diplomatic debate, concerning the motion submitted at the council, to acquire the support of Delhi, Washington and Colombo are on strong efforts and in this state such information was revealed.

Meanwhile at the last resolution brought against Sri Lanka by America, India made it to weaken hence this time, it has requested the copy of the motion from America is according to reports.

At the recently held Sri Lanka India joint Commission's eighth sessions, Sri Lanka External Affairs Minister Prof.G.L.Peiris was on a visit to Delhi, and is understood that Indian officials have underlined about its officials supporting the Geneva motion.

Until Sri Lanka establishes to adopt the policy to take responsibility concerning the past period incidents, they are compelled to stand on the side of international sector, has been pointed out by the Indian high level offices to Peiris.

However, Sri Lanka government is continuously reasoning out to India, is making efforts to obtain the support of that country.  This information was affirmed by Sri Lanka's Cabinet spokesperson Keheliya Rambukelle on last Thursday.

To implement the Reconciliation Commission's recommendations, with the assistance of international sector was urged, and a resolution was brought by America last time against Sri Lanka and some of the countries which oppose to it, this time there is a risk that they would turn against Sri Lanka. China, Cuba, Russia, Saudi Arabia including countries were supportive for  Sri Lanka, but they have been discharged by rotation basis membership, hence it would be a massive challenge to Sri Lanka was pointed out by political observers.

However the Geneva Human Rights Assembly sessions will commence after 25th of this month, and Sri Lanka government is prepared to face it. Hence it has boosted its diplomats.

 It is aware that the Sri Lanka issue would be taken for debate in Geneva on March month 15th.

The resolution which was brought last year by America against Sri Lanka was supported by 24 countries, eight countries did not partake the voting but indirectly gave their support. 15 countries opposed the petition.

The three panel American delegate visited Sri Lanka has expressed with much hope that India will support to the America's motion was pointed out.

 In this state, India’s stance concerning Sri Lanka issue has got leaked in the diplomatic level. The oppose waves emerging in Tamil Nadu and the elections which are to be held in the other states of India, and considering this, India has taken  decision to go against Sri Lanka was stated.

Monday , 04 February 2013

Sri Lanka Leader Rules out Autonomy for Tamils

Sri Lanka Leader Rules out Autonomy for Tamils By KRISHAN FRANCIS COLOMBO, Sri Lanka

abcnews.go.com

Sri Lankan president rules out autonomy for Tamils in north, offers 'equal rights' to all

Sri Lanka's president on Monday ruled out giving Tamils greater political autonomy, appearing to back away from his long-stalled promise to empower the ethnic minority as part of the country's reconciliation process following a bloody quarter-century civil war.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa made his about-face despite growing international pressure to compromise with the defeated minority and to investigate allegations of war crimes.

Sri Lanka is expected to face questions from the U.N. Human Rights Council in March on its progress in implementing its own war commission report, which also recommends investigating alleged human rights violations and giving autonomy to Tamils.

The United States has said it will sponsor a resolution at the council for a second straight year on the implementation of the war commission report.

The pressure comes nearly four years after the government, dominated by the ethnic Sinhalese majority, defeated the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, who had been demanding an independent Tamil nation after decades of perceived discrimination. According to a United Nations' estimate, 80,000 to 100,000 people were killed during the war, which ended in 2009, but other reports suggest it could be much higher.

"When the people live together in unity there are no racial or religious differences," Rajapaksa said in his independence day speech.

"Therefore, it is not practical for this country to have different administrations based on ethnicity. The solution is to live together in this country with equal rights for all communities," he said.
Rajapaksa has long promised the United Nations and other countries that he would offer power sharing as an alternative to secession.

Rajapaksa in his speech called on the international community not to believe in propaganda and to visit Sri Lanka to see the country's human rights record.

He said the U.N charter does not allow the world body to intervene in the domestic affairs of its member states.

Meanwhile, the main ethnic Tamil political party said in a statement that the U.N. Human Rights Council must take "stern action" against the Sri Lankan government, saying it has not been sincere in investigating abuses and sharing power.

Talks between the government and Tamil National Alliance have stalled for more than a year, and the party says the government is militarizing the north and settling majority ethnic Sinhalese.

The price of tea

We have joined up with a number of different organisations to campaign for the rights of Sri Lankan tea pickers.

Click here to see the campaign website

Click here to read the report

Dear friends,

Since its launch last year the "price of tea" campaign[1], of which we are a proud part has grown from strength to strength.

Many hundreds of you have signed the pledge to say that you care about who suffers to make your cup of tea.

Now the campaign has a facebook page

If you are on facebook please "like" the page, share it on your wall, share the youtube video [2], and do what you can to spread the word about the campaign. The more people who get involved, the stronger the voice of Sri Lankan tea pickers will be.

If you are not on facebook, or would like to know more about the campaign, you can still get involved by visiting the campaign website [3].

Here's the facebook page, please take a look.

Kind regards,

The Sri Lanka Campaign

Electricity Board takes action to disconnect electricity to Omanthai School. Electricity payment exceeds 23 lacks.

Electricity Board had taken action to disconnect electricity to Omanthai School, which was utilized as a detention camp.

 

A danger has cropped up to disconnect the electricity to the school which was utilized as a detention camp, because the electricity payment has exceeded to 23 lacks of rupees.

 

At the final phase of war, the Omanthai Central College was used as a rehabilitation camp for the arrested and surrendered former rebels by the defense forces.

 

For the past one year, the school was utilized for the requirement of the forces, but they had failed to settle the electricity payments.

 

Subsequently the Sri Lanka Electricity Board has notified the school principal to settle the outstanding electricity payment of rupees 23 lacks, but it was not done so.

 

Hence electricity connection for the College computer room and male students’ hostel was disconnected. The water distribution to the primary students toilets have got obstructed, hence the students learning activities too have got affected was informed by the parents.

 

Meanwhile failing to settle the outstanding payments, electricity would be disconnected to the entire school, was notified by the Electricity Board to the school administration.

 

Regarding this the school administration was contacted, and they informed that the electricity which was used by the forces, the payments was not still settled.

 

Concerning this, it has been notified to the Vavuniya South Education Director and Vavuniya District Government Agent.  This had been brought to the attention of Defense Ministry, but so far action had not been taken was stated.

 

 Electricity Board has informed within the prescribed dates if the payments are not settled, the entire electricity to the school will be completely disconnected.

Monday , 04 February 2013

Colombo converts Jaffna ‘HSZ’ into zone of Sinhala Military Corporatism

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 February 2013, 18:11 GMT]
The occupying Sri Lankan military, which had completed the construction of a huge bund three months ago, from Chelva-channithi shrine in Tho’ndamanaa’ru to Vasaavi’laan near the Palaali military base through Oddakappulam across the former ‘High Security Zone’, has now started to construct another major bund from Kurumpasiddi to Kaangkeasanthu’rai (KKS) through Kadduvan and Thellippazhai, according to S. Sugirthan, the head of the divisional civic body (Piratheasa Chapai / PS) of Valikaamam North. Informed civil officials said that these bunds are being hurriedly put up to carve out a vast area consisting 26 GS divisions for Sinhala Military Corporatism. 

In the meantime, the residents of Kurumpasiddi are blaming the SL military for the demolition of two houses in their village four days ago. The destruction has taken place in the part of the village that had recently been opened for resettlement, Deputy Chair of Valikaamam North PS, Mr Sajeevan Shanmugam, told TamilNet. 

The demolition of houses has come as resettling people on the borders have started to do agriculture in the lands and were actively refurbishing their houses. 

The carved out area of the former ‘HSZ’ is comprised of the KKS Harbour, KKS Cement Factory, Mayiliddi Fishing Port, Palaali airport, SL military base at Palaali with sea access and airbase, and a large area of fertile lands of Valikaamam North where thousands of people still remain uprooted and denied access to their lands and properties, even after 3 and a half years after the completion of the genocidal war in Vanni. 

On the northwestern side of the ‘HSZ’, at Maathakal, a new SL military cantonment has been established after 2009, confiscating the lands of resettling Tamils. To the Sinhala south, the cantonment has become a comfort zone encapsulating a ‘sacred zone’ at Thiruvadinilai. In its occupation, the SL Navy occupying Maathakal went to the extent of placing new landmines to threaten the native people away from their lands amidst repeated protests by the people of Maathakal against the SL military occupation. 

The uprooted people, who have been hoping to get back their property after decades of displacement, have lost their hopes. 

Mr Sugirthan, the president of the PS, told TamilNet that concerned organisations in Valikaamam North have started questioning the civic body on ways to exert meaningful pressure on Colombo to get back their lands and properties from the clutches of SL military corporatism. 

While the SL military is expected to complete the accelerated construction of bunds, the SL minister and the EPDP paramilitary leader, extended his empty promise of resettling the people within 3 months for one more time as his previous promise of 3 months had expired. 

Instead of referring to the area subjected to its military corporatism as ‘High Security Zone’, the SL military has been promoting the term ‘No Go Zone’ citing land mines. For Tamils, what is taking place is ‘Sinhala Military Corporatism’. 

The SL military is controlling the whole process of demining and is delaying the process to facilitate its military leadership to complete the military corporatism in the name of ‘development’. 

After the completion of the genocidal war in 2009, the SL ministry of Defence, which is run by SL presidential sibling Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, has also taken over ‘Urban Development’. In North and East, it is the Sinhala military and former commanders of the SL armed forces, who controlling the entire civil apparatus. 

Commenting on the ways forward for meaningful pressure, young generation of Tamil politicians in the island said that Colombo is using the competing powers of China and India coupled with the silent abetment of the US-led West, which has been shaking hands with the genocidal military after architecting the paradigm for the Colombo to complete the genocidal war on Eezham Tamils in 2009. 

“The responsibility is clearly on the side of those who architected and actively abetted the Colombo regime in its war against the Tamils,” a young Tamil politician said. 

The ‘resettlement’ being claimed to have taken place has merely been eyewash. 

“The visiting foreign dignitaries who welcome such measures are only abetting the crime of Colombo on the nation of Eezham Tamils,” he further said, adding that the ‘real pressure’ by Tamils should be exerted on foreign powers that aid and abet the continued crimes of the SL State. 

Last week, the Australian Deputy Leader of Opposition, Ms Julie Bishop, visited a camp at Koa'naavil in Valikkaamam, where displaced people from the ‘HSZ’ told her of all the oppression they face and wanted nothing but their lands and houses back. But, getting back, the Australian politician told ABC Radio that during her visit, she never saw or heard of any persecution of Tamils.

Anti-Muslim sentiment creating insecurity for minorities, says Muslim Council

• Representatives say no company is compelled by law to get Halal certified
• Muslim Council certain Government will rein in extremist forces; prepared for legal action if necessary
• Says it sees a foreign hand in creation of religious tension
• Attempts to debunk Muslim population explosion myth

By Dharisha Bastians- February 4, 2013 
Muslim groups warned yesterday that anti-Muslim sentiments propagated by certain extremist elements in the country were causing pain of mind and a feeling of insecurity for minority communities in the island, but expressed confidence that the Government and law enforcement authorities would act to prevent a deterioration of the situation.

The Sri Lanka Muslim Council, which held a media briefing yesterday, said they had met with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Police and Intelligence representatives two weeks ago, and a clear assurance was provided that none of these anti-Muslim groups would be allowed to take the law into their own hands.
Speaking to media personnel, Sri Lanka’s former Ambassador to Iran M.M. Zuhair said some groups in the country had misunderstood certain aspects of Muslim life. “They are finding fault with our customs, the way we dress, and our food. Instead of seeking clarification, which would clear up these misunderstandings, they make irresponsible statements that damage national unity and peaceful coexistence between communities,” Zuhair said.
“We all remember the 1983 riots. We have suffered enough. Nobody wants that,” Zuhair added, saying Sri Lankans had a duty to ensure no one would be given the opportunity to create a foundation for such a situation, even unwittingly.
President’s Counsel Ali Sabry said the President had personally intervened with certain groups to ensure peace in the country. “Our people have spoken with Defence Secretary and Intelligence and Police units and outlined our concerns. There has been a clear directive that if there are problems, they are to be dealt with through discussion. They have promised to ensure the religious rights of all people,” he said.
Sabry PC told the Daily FT that the message that offensive action against Muslims would not be tolerated had filtered through, as was evident from the lack of any major incidents since an ugly demonstration by an extremist group in Kuliyapitiya.
“We don’t see the point in confronting the issue head on and creating even more conflict. But if the appropriate action is not taken to curb these incidents that incite religious and communal hatred, we are fully prepared to seek redress from the courts – that is our right as citizens and as a community,” Sabry said.
The Muslim group said that Sri Lanka’s Muslims have every right to justifiably celebrate Sri Lanka’s 65th Independence Day today because they had genuinely contributed to the campaign to obtain Sri Lanka’s freedom, even at the expense of their own rights.
“Muslims have always put national interests first,” Zuhair said, illustrating an example of how Muslim leaders backed the Sri Lanka Bill in 1945 in the full knowledge of shortcomings of the bill that would affect Muslim rights.
Sabry, who was member of the Sri Lanka delegation to UNHRC in Geneva last year, said that the Muslim delegation had stoically defended Sri Lanka’s rights to solve its own problems at the forum. He said that of the 15 countries that voted to defeat the resolution against Sri Lanka last year, 11 had been Muslim nations. “Some of them were staunch US allies, like Saudi Arabia and Qatar,” he said.
“When Buddhist countries voted against Sri Lanka in Geneva, the Muslim nations stood beside us,” Zuhair added.
The Muslim Council also said they saw a foreign hand in the anti-Muslim sentiment prevailing in the country today. President of the Council M.M. Ameen said it was possible that these moves were part of an effort to reduce support for Sri Lanka in Geneva this year among Muslim member states of the UN Human Rights Council. Zuhair added that a certain Norwegian Embassy official had also been at a meeting held by one of the extremist groups early on.
“They have since denied this claim. But we have to stress that we don’t want foreign embassies intervening in this. It will only invite even more interference in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs. We can solve our own problems,” he said.
Sabry added that Israel was also well-known for creating problems for Muslim communities all over the world.
In an attempt to debunk certain myths propagated by extremist groups, Zuhair said that no company was compelled by law to obtain Halal certification in order to market their products. “They may do so to seek a larger market for their products and many companies certify their products in order to penetrate the markets in the Middle East and that is a pre-requisite.”
Sabry said that despite the propaganda, the Division of Halal Certification of the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama earned revenue of Rs. 18 million per year, with expenses being about Rs. 17.5 million. “There’s no profit to speak of. In fact in our meetings with the Government over this issue, the President of the ACJU has invited the authorities to inspect their operation and perform audits to verify that there is no undue profiteering from this process,” Sabry explained.
According to Zuhair, the allegation that the Muslim population was rapidly increasing was also false propaganda aimed at fear-mongering between the Sinhalese and the Muslims. “Anyone can check with the Census Department and verify this – for 1,000 years Muslims have been nine per cent of the population. So there is no danger of Muslims becoming the majority in Sri Lanka in the future,” he pledged.

Monk stabbed to death over land dispute

MONDAY, 04 FEBRUARY 2013 

A Buddhist monk  of a temple in Egoda Uyana, Moratuwa, was stabbed to death last night over a land dispute, police said.
Following the incident the villagers have set fire to the alleged attackers' houses, which were built illegally within the temple premises.

Meanwhile, the two main suspects, who had fled the area after committing the crime, were found shot dead in the Bandaragama area this morning, police said. (Pix by Kusal Chamath)

From Victim To Suspect »

By Raisa Wickrematunge

Shanthini Kongahage

In a bizarre turn of events, the victim has become a suspect in the Wijerama rape case.
Police spokesman Prishantha Jayakody said that the four suspects who were initially arrested had made the claim that the 47-year-old woman was a prostitute.
The men claimed that they had had many assignations with this woman for money, Jayakody said.
The police in turn had become suspicious, as the woman was not a resident of Ahangama as had previously been reported. Instead, she is said to be a resident of Maharagama, and therefore should have been familiar with the Pamunuwa area, where she was said to be going.
As such, Jayakody said, the police were now looking into the victim’s background and assessing ‘where she went and how she behaved” to determine whether the rape charge was false. “We are conducting an investigation to find out the truth,” Jayakody said.
According to the original statement given by the woman, however, she was traveling by bus on January 24, and had alighted at Wijerama Mawatha. While she was walking near a petrol shed, a trishaw driver had arrived and offered to show her the way to her destination. The driver had then taken her to a secluded area by a well where the four men had forced themselves on her. However, the well was surrounded by several houses, and the woman should have asked for help if it was a genuine rape case, Jayakody said.
Two men were almost immediately arrested as suspects, while two more were arrested three days later, police spokesman Jayakody confirmed.
While the police remained suspicious, women activists are adamant that the woman is a victim. Chairperson of the Eksath Lak Vanitha programme, Shanthini Kongahage said that according to information she had received, the four who were arrested were employees of the nearby university in the area. “The university has said it is not happy with what has taken place, and have pledged to take action. But up to date, there has been no action taken,” she said.
Kongahage said that it was up to the police to mete out justice towards the suspects, especially as they were working in the vicinity of a university where young girls were often found. Similarly, if the woman was indeed a prostitute as the suspects claimed, police should have been aware that there was such a woman loitering near a university, Kongahage said, just as they should have knowledge of the character of the trishaw drivers in the area. She alleged that there were indeed witnesses to the rape, saying that it was these witnesses who had dialed 119 and alerted the police.
However these witnesses were now not coming forward to give evidence, as they were afraid they would put themselves in danger, she said.
Kongahage said that the Lak Vanitha unit was monitoring the situation from afar to see how the investigation was to be conducted.
Even if the woman was a prostitute, Kongahage added, the four men had no right to force themselves on her. The woman had subsequently been admitted to hospital, but the medical report would only be shown to police.
“Let the university take responsibility. We are waiting to see after 2 weeks how the investigation is conducted,” Kongahage said. She added that she had personally gone to the Mirihana police to request that the case be handled properly.
“We can’t allow men to rape women like that, especially so close to a university,” Kongahage said, adding that parents and the public should unite to condemn such an act. Yet Sri Lankans were keeping silent when there were so many rape cases each day, she said. Kongahage referred to the situation in India where people were “still fighting.” As such, she continued to demand that justice be done.
Sepali Kottegoda of Women’s Media Collective said that a woman’s occupation did not justify her being raped. “Under what law does it say that you can be raped if you are a sex worker?” Kottegoda asked. She added that as the victim was initially found to have been gang raped and admitted to hospital, it had to be queried why the investigation had taken a different turn. Lessons should be taken from India which had responded with such outrage to a similar incident of gang rape, which had taken place on a bus, she said. However, policy makers often turned a blind eye towards incidents of sexual violence against women, and it was left to women’s organizations to campaign against such incidents.
“This is a social issue which has a criminal impact, if a woman can’t walk on the street alone. It could be anyone’s mother, sister or daughter,” Kottegoda said. Despite the gravity of the issue it was often left to women’s organizations to campaign for investigation into incidents such as the Kahawatte murder and rape cases, which have “disappeared into the woodwork.” Equally interesting was the state response on the incident. The Minister for Child Development and Women’s Affairs, Tissa Karaliyadda declined to comment on the incident, as did the Chairperson of the National Committee of Women, while members of the Women’s Bureau were not available for comment.
Secretary to the Ministry for Child Development and Women’s Affairs, Eric Illayapparachchi said that the case was now a police matter, while adding that in the meantime steps were being taken to implement the Human Rights Action Plan that will safeguard the rights of women. As a preliminary step, he added, 335 children and women’s development units had been established, five in each district, devoted to safeguarding the rights of women. “We have flagged this as a serious incident, and it is in the hands of the police. But in the long run, we must take national level measures to safeguard women,” Illayapparachchi said.
Despite these reassuring words it remains to be seen whether the woman concerned will receive justice or see herself becoming a suspect in the case- accused of raising false rape charges against the four who have been arrested. While police do have a duty to investigate the claims made by the suspects, it was chilling to observe suspicion turn towards a woman who had been hospitalized following the incident. The outcome of the investigation is yet to be seen, but women’s rights organizations continue to hope that justice will be served for the woman, regardless of her occupation.

Authority of the state lands transferred to northern Governor

All the state lands in the Northern Province have come under the control of   northern provincial Governor Major General G.A.Chandrasiri effective immediately.

 

 At a state the new Sinhala colonization is getting established at Nawatkuli, in a condition of activities processed to take possession of state lands for the forces utilization,  authority of state lands changing over to the  hands of Governor  instantly, has created massive suspicion amidst the Tamil community.

 

On this basis, the utilization of state lands located in the Northern Province, the decision maker  concerning all these deeds have been given to the Governor.

 

 According to the special directive from President, this power has been granted to Northern Province Governor which is not in practice to the  Governors in other provinces.

 

The Divisional Secretary of the area was responsible to this activity so far. However, after President's special directive, Divisional Secretaries authority has been transferred suddenly to the Governor, which is only effective for the Northern Province.

 

 This directive had been given through a telephone message to the Divisional Secretaries, Government Agents and the relevant officials of the five districts coming under the Northern Province.

 

However according to President's advice, the powers which was in the hands of Divisional Secretaries of the Northern Province had been suddenly transferred to Governors hands.

 

 Meanwhile Divisional Secretariat circles notify concerning this transfer of powers, circulars were not issued, until yesterday evening.

 

According to the new procedure, in future if state lands are rented for  office functions, state lands for investment activities or for lease, channeling should be done through the respective division Grama Sevaka office, to Divisional Secretary, forwarded to Government Agent, submitted to Northern Province Governor for approval;.

 

Details regarding state lands which were given before on rent or lease will be collected, and concerning this, it would be examined, and in the proper manner the lands which are not utilized, would be taken back was also decided.

 

This procedure was required to adopt for the use of state lands by police and three forces in the Northern Province,.

 

This decision had been taken to adopt a systemized procedure concerning the use of state properties in the Northern Province.

 

Governor Chandrasiri informed this procedure is coming into effect according to the advice of President Mahinda Rajapakse.

 

To clarify this matter, a meeting is scheduled on Wednesday at the Governor's office with the participation of the five Government Agents operating in the Northern Province.

 

Through this new procedure, the use of state properties will be monitored, and the problems occur connected with lands, a decision will be taken to control the problems.

 

Failure to obtain approval, legal action would be taken against the connected sources by using this authority, was said.

 

Governor is in the intention of granting state lands to the forces in the north, and by using this authority, could acquire the state properties existing in the north, will establish systemized Sinhala settlements. This sudden action may have got introduced due to this, is the suspicion prevailing in the midst of Tamil people was stated.

Monday , 04 February 2013

Sri Lanka At The Point Of No Return After A Mere 65 Years Of Independence?

By Nethra Goonerwardena -February 4, 2013 

When we were in our youth, life in our physically beautiful country seemed worth living. We had just emerged after nearly 450 years of colonial rule and we had our country back. There was hope in the air of a fresh start whereby all Ceylonese would be given a fair deal. All of us could sniff the air of freedom and look forward to a meaningful future. Bliss indeed was it then to be alive and young. Our national university was one of the best in the developing world if not in the world at large, our politicians listened to and sought advice from the educated segment of the country, our institutions were functioning as they should as there was respect for our Parliament, Judiciary, the Public Service and our Press from all citizens including our political leadership. Talking of the latter, those who entered politics then were educated and people of reasonable means. Those who aspired to high office utilized their personal finances to manage their election campaigns and conquests. Today, in sharp contrast, men and women of no means, for the most part, enter politics, become millionaires overnight, and, to add insult to injury, they and their offspring flaunt their ill-gotten wealth in the most tasteless fashion imaginable!

The destruction of our national institutions that began with S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike (1956), continued with Sirimavo Bandaranaike(1970) and that almost ended with J.R. Jayewardene(1977), is virtually complete today under Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Our political rot began as soon as we set about the process of our post-colonial state formation in 1948. The key task before our leaders was national integration. We started with what we thought was a project of undoing the harm done us by our colonial rulers. What we ought to have done was to put right the shocking errors committed by the colonialists and their local collaborators and keep intact the good that was done by them, not throw away that good along with the evil. In a sense, our national integration project was doomed from the start. Under the first independence government headed by D.S. Senanayake, we disenfranchised the plantation Tamils because our Kandyan ‘elites’ thought they should be disenfranchised. These plantation workers had kept our economy going whilst suffering near awful living conditions and receiving a pittance as wages. Our Kandyan ‘elites’ and the non-elites alike, disregarding the dignity of labour, considered it below their station to do an honest day’s work and refused to work on the tea plantations, which is what made it necessary for the import of this indentured labour from southern India in the first place. The political need to disenfranchise these plantation workers arose from the fear that they would vote en bloc for the Left as theLanka Sama Samaja Party had by then either successfully unionized or were about to unionize them. Instead of bringing together all our different ethnic groups and building a united country, we thus began on a note of division that has dogged us to-date and played havoc with our nation-building project post-independence.

The next significant error of Sri Lanka was also committed by the government led by D.S. Senanayake. That error was the ‘disenfranchisement’ of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike from the United National Party (UNP) leadership. Bandaranaike, the Leader of the House of Representatives, Minister of Health and Local Government, was heir apparent to succeed the ageing Senanayake. But a combination of tradition (handing things down from father to son, in this instance from D.S. to Dudley Senanayake) and political intrigue led to his being sidelined. Before he could suffer from the ultimate insult of being dumped politically, Bandaranaike quit the UNP and in 1951 formed his own party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). From all accounts of those close to the UNP leadership of that time, it was widely known that Bandaranaike’s arrogance and cocksureness were key aspects of his personality that made some of the UNP stalwarts of the time wary of handing over the leadership of the party to him. There might also have been a degree of envy on the part of the less enlightened members of the ruling party that contributed to this fateful sidelining. Whatever may the reasons be, this sidelining of Bandaranaike has had dire consequences for Sri Lanka.                                Read More

Sri Lanka’s 65th Anniversary of Independence

Sri Lanka’s 65th Anniversary of Independence

Groundviews

Mr Concerned-4 Feb, 2013

Greetings Lanka!

Today marks the 65th Anniversary of Independence of our country. This year would also mark the fourth year anniversary of ‘defeating terrorism’. But, little has changed, and there is little to celebrate this year. The country is treading a catastrophic path and our future is a disaster waiting to happen.

For the one who hath his eyes open, it would be obvious that we are gradually plunging into an abyss from which there will be no return. Even though we have been treading this path for quite a while now, over the course of last few months we have taken gigantic leaps in our journey.

How did we get here?

It would seem that the common attitude that binds the different peoples of this land is stupidity. The stupidity that gave life to three violent armed struggles; the stupidity that made the Tamils remain silent when thousands of Muslims were evicted from the North; the stupidity that allowed the Sinhalese in the South to celebrate on the 19^th of May 2009, albeit the death  and displacement of thousands of innocents; the stupidity that makes the Muslim leaders stick with the regime while singing empty songs about rights and dignity; the stupidity that elected our honourable parliamentarians and ministers who have now successfully paved way for dictatorship; the stupidity that makes this government thrive. Some of us even lit crackers when the fate of the Chief Justice was announced!

In our stupidity we believed that everything could be achieved through violence. We watched as the LTTE quenched all opposing opinions and claimed sole leadership. We celebrated when innocents perished in the South to hidden bombs and claymores. We thought of such inhumane acts as great victories. Our boys are invincible, our intelligence is superior and they fear us, we told ourselves. We submitted our conscience and pledged blind allegiance to a power hungry organization. During the final phases of the war we rallied around the world carrying the red flag, even as the very organization kept thousands of civilians as shields to postpone their judgement day. In the end the leaders of Tigers took along with them thousands of our kin. Now, naïve to reality we have planted our destiny into the hands of a selfish world – that is, the so called international community. We have not changed have we? We will never practice the virtues that we preach, will we? Even as we crow against Sinhala Buddhist nationalism, we promote Tamil Hindu nationalism, and treat other religious minorities, in our lands, the same way we have been treated. We reek with hypocrisy.

Yes, we were harassed and marginalised by both sides. In response, we made up our mind to stick with the powerful. Even as our mosques burn and religious leaders robed in saffron fuel hatred against us, our leaders are struggling to take a stand. Our leaders are more concerned about their posh cars and fat pay cheques. They beg of us our vote. We never hold them accountable do we? We are content that our leaders hold higher portfolios than the other minorities. We are happy that when need arises our leaders can get several petty things done, through their little influence. Recently, our leaders in the parliament happily sent ‘the judiciary to hell’.

We have always treated minorities terribly. Indeed, it did not take long after independence before we launched an assault on the Indian Tamils. We adopted a mono-cultural attitude that would doom this country into thirty-years of civil war.

We created the LTTE. We were told that ‘you are either with us or with the terrorists.’ We believed their lies. The Brothers, upon defeating the LTTE, promised us freedom, liberty and prosperity. The regime promised us peace and reconciliation, in our stupidity, we believed it. “Lion defeats the Tiger and Dutugemunu conquers Ellara,” we proclaimed. We wrote songs about daring soldiers, but we forgot the slain innocents. The victory hangover got the best of us. In our stupidity, we swallowed twisted history and compared the president to a king. He is indeed proving to be one. We bought into spooky ‘international conspiracy’ theories and stories of malicious internal forces. We still do. We watched as good men were branded traitors and as more disappeared. We turned a blind eye towards the regime’s mistakes and ignored corruption.  We re-elected the president and gave his party a strong mandate in the parliament. Why?  We never thought they would come for us one day, did we? They succeeded in corrupting our reason, did they not?  In our stupidity, we failed to notice ominous signs that predicted a terrible future.

Serve the family and be saved. Pronounce our names and prosper. Lick our boots and be a good doggy. Be silent. Be content. Don’t ask questions. Have faith. We will make this country the Wonder of Asia. This is what they ask of us, our silent obedience.

The very foundations of our democracy have collapsed. The madness of this regime is now at our doorstep. Our country is no longer ruled by any law. The North is infected with the military while the South is infested with Mervyn Silvas and thugs. The purpose of these forces is the same: soliciting our conformity to whims and fancies of the regime. There is no respect for universal principles of justice and truth. Our sons are being killed in state prisons. Their sons will race on Lamborghinis while our sons toil for low wages. Their sons will go abroad to foreign universities while the local universities receive less and less attention. They are shipping our resources and wasting money on failed development projects, while we pay the price by sacrificing our daily meals. We cannot even hold a protest without being confronted by government sponsored thugs. They have indeed come for us.

Where do we go for justice? Where is peace? Where is freedom? Where is independence? Where are we headed?

Today, let us remember that true patriotism is not blind submission to the leaders but conscious vigilance. Today, let us remember that there is no substitute for our reason, after all that’s what sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Let us remember that leaders are but reflections of our society – us, and that we all share the guilt of the present state of affairs. Let us remember there is no excuse for stupidity. Today, let us mourn our collective stupidity and hope for the day when we can celebrate the death of this plague.

The Obsession With Colonialism

By Sumith Ariyasinghe -February 4, 2013

A conspicuous Sinhala right wing preoccupation, both in an outside the government, is to attribute all ills that beset Sri Lanka as being rooted in colonialism and its “exploitation”. Among most of these groups the condemnation of colonialism is harsh and expresses a deep-lying hatred and lust for revenge. The public expression of these strong negative emotions poison the receptive audiences, who most often are the under-privileged rural youth, who do not have the benefit of a proper education that would give them the ability to critically evaluate this onslaught. Those rural youth who somehow manage to further their education bring along the prejudices they thus acquire to their undergraduate lives and beyond. The universities themselves have declined precipitously as reflected in widespread local opinion as well international ratings. We thus have a vicious circle of economic and intellectual poverty, and we have a growing number of those who believe that our problems are the direct result of “colonial exploitation”. Part of the anti-colonial rhetoric is a condemnation of the west and its culture labelled “Judeo-Christian”. Never mind that the positions of power and influence the leaders of these groups enjoy are owed to their “Judeo-Christian” education. By denying the same education to the youth of the rural poor, these leaders are ensuring the dominance and security of their class, and their offspring who were or are being educated abroad in these same Judeo-Christian western countries.

The insistent resort to reminding the gullible that all our problems are the result of colonial exploitation is however an excellent opiate to keep the masses of the people enslaved, and denied of means to improve their state. It is an effective device to stand in the way of the ordinary people achieving their goals of advancement for themselves and their children. The obverse of attacking colonialism is the harking back to a golden past now lost, along with an alleged uniqueness of being Sinhala, called “Sinhalatva” by the leadership of these groups, and apeykama or “our-ness” by their cheap journalist minions. These terms in essence depict a tribal identity, now enhanced by the arrogance of “winning the war” and “eradicating terrorism”. “Sinhalatva” is clearly a plagiarization of “Hindutva”, the Hindu fundamentalist label for latter’s alleged uniqueness that has led to violence in India, including the tearing down of the Babri Masjid in 1992, on the excuse that the location of the historic mosque is the Hindu god Rama’s birthplace. It expresses the power fantasy of the Sinhalatva leadership, and their lack of hesitation to resort to violence to achieve their goal.

Read More

BBC falls short of its staff disability targets

Liz Carr joined the Silent Witness cast after participating in a BBC scheme for disabled presenters

The BBC has fallen short of its 2012 targets for staff disability representation, according to its annual equality review.

It revealed that the number of staff with disabilities fell from 4.6% in 2008 to 3.5% last August, less than the target of 5.5%.

Disabled employees at senior manager level (above grade 11) were also down - from 3.4% in 2008 to 3.1% in September 2012. This was significantly short of the 4.5% target.

No BBC division reached the corporate target with BBC Worldwide and Audio & Music having the lowest levels of representation.

Continue reading the main story

The corporation admitted that it had to 'do more to portray life in the UK as it truly is' and is introducing new diversity goals for 2017, replacing the previous 2008-2012 aims.

The target for staff with disabilities will slightly drop from the current 5.5% to 5.3% for 2017.

But the target for BBC staff from ethnic minorities - set at 12.5% for 2012 and almost met - has been raised to 14.2% for 2017.

Acting director general Tim Davie said the BBC's content had to 'speak to all of our audiences'.

'Bringing in fresh, talented, new perspectives helps us to reflect modern Britain properly,' he added.

The BBC said it will focus on getting more women in technology and on-air in news and current affairs.

It will also concentrate on improving engagement with disabled staff, including developing presenter talent.

Amanda Rice, BBC head of Diversity said: 'Diversity doesn't just exist on the fringe of our thinking - it continues to be truly part and parcel of who we are and what we do.'

The report also revealed the following findings when it came to meeting its 2012 targets, set in 2008:

Ethnicity

• Staff from British ethnic minorities (BME) currently represent 12.4% of the BBC workforce, slightly less than the 12.5% target.
• Around 6.5% of all BBC senior managers are of BME origin, which is three employees less than the 7% target.
• BBC North* and BBC Scotland had no senior managers (SM) from an ethnic minority while Future Media had an above-target representation of 16.7%.
• BBC Vision was considered to be a 'challenging' area with BME employees composing 9.6% of its staff.

*Although there are SM from ethnic minorities in Salford, they belong to other divisions such as BBC Vision.

Belief

• 53% of the BBC workforce have declared their religion or belief status.
• Of all BBC staff, 23% said they are Christian, 15% declared they have no religion and 9.2% described themselves as atheist.
• Staff who said they were Muslim made up 1.3% of the workforce, with Hindus and Jews composing 0.8% and 0.7% respectively.

Gender

• The workforce is split fairly evenly with women representing nearly 49%.
• 37.5% of SM level are female.
• The proportion of women in technology and engineering roles has dropped from nearly 30% in 2008 to the current figure of 25.3%.
• The biggest decline has been in Future Media (17.5% female) and is partly in line with the representation of women in the wider technology and engineering market.
• A new 30% female representation target has been set for the Technology and Future Media divisions to apply by 2017 - similar to the 2008 levels. This goal will be reviewed in 2015.

DQF - impact of the 20% savings in 2013-17

• Disabled staff are more likely to be affected by redundancy procedures
• The 40+ age group showed 'disproportionate outcomes in relation to redundancy processes' partly because they are more likely to be impacted by management restructures.
• BME and 'other White' staff 'are disproportionately more likely to choose to leave the BBC' but redundancy data showed little disproportionate impact.

Recruitment

• Most BBC areas show lower-than-expected rates for BME and disabled applicants gaining job offers.
• However BBC North had higher-than-expected recruitment of BME, female and disabled applicants. The division, established in 2010 ahead of the BBC's arrival in Salford, was described as 'an exemplar approach for other areas of the BBC to emulate'.

Others

• Nearly 66% of staff are aged 30-49, with 40% of SMs aged 40-49.
• The BBC has sexual orientation data for 54% of its workforce, with nearly 4% of all staff stating they are gay, lesbian or bisexual.

The report can be read here.