Saturday, February 9, 2013

Mohan Pieris’ Misconduct Case: ‘Deshapremi’ Threats Against Challenging The Single Judge Ruling

By Colombo Telegraph -February 9, 2013

“I strongly suspect that those who do wish to suppress the serious misconduct charges levelled against Mohan Peiris, are behind the threat posed to my life. Therefore, I once again request the police to investigate into this matter without delay and notify me with the outcome.” says Nagananda Kodituwakku, the lawyer who challenged Mohan Pieris’s dishonesty and misconduct, concerning the defrauding of 619 million rupees of Public Funds.

Nagananda Kodituwakku

Counsel Nagananda Kodituwakku has made the second complaint to the police regarding the threats he received.

On February 1, 2013 Justice Sathya Hettige refused to grant leave to proceed in a Fundamental Rights application challenging the misconduct of Mohan Pieris during his tenure as Attorney General.

“Action is being taken to file papers challenging the single judge ruling in (SCFR/536/2010) refusing leave to proceed, which is obviously flawed since that ruling clearly violated the Section 126 (2) of the Constitution, which specify that presence of two judges is required to consider a FR application for leave to proceed. I believe that may be the reason for further threats.” Nagananda Kodituwakku told the Colombo Telegraph.

We published below the complaint in full;

I, Nagananda Kodituwakku, 58 years of age, a British Citizen, Sinhalese, Buddhist, Attorney-at-Law and Solicitor (England & Wales) by profession, domiciled in England and currently in Sri Lanka, at 99, Subadrarama Road Nugegoda, do hereby state as follows.

I make this statement further to the statements already made to the police on 23^rd January 2013 and 31^stJanuary 2013 about the threats posed to my life, apparently for representing the Petitioner in the Fundamental Rights Case SCFR/536/2010, that challenged the alleged dishonestly and gross misconduct of Mohan Peiris, the then Attorney General.

I have already reported to the Police about threat to my life posed by electronic mail by somebody identified themselves ‘deshapremi’ and provided the details of their email address, requesting to initiate inquiries into the matter. And today I received another email from the same group, threatening me to abandon the case altogether (a copy of the email received today enclosed herewith).

On 01^st February 2013, The Court declined to grant leave to proceed for the case referred to above, and as per the instructions of the Petitioner in the case, a revision application would be presented to the Court in few days, seeking reversal of the order made by the Court, for the obvious reasons set out in the application.

I strongly suspect that those who do wish to suppress the serious misconduct charges levelled against Mohan Peiris, are behind the threat posed to my life. Therefore, I once again request the police to investigate into this matter without delay and notify me with the outcome.

Nagananda Kodituwakku

07^th February 2013

Ref of complaint made to Mirihana Police CIB 3 / 246 / 118

Multiple Sclerosis: The White Man's Disease (Hr. 2)

Priya Sankaran with her mother Radha.

Listen

CBC Radio-Canada

When CBC journalist Priya Sankaran was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, at first, she didn't understand.

Her family comes from India. She had never met another brown-skinned women with MS in Canada. Ms. Sankaran went to India to find out why.

Multiple Sclerosis is a neurological condition that causes immense fatigue, can destroy speech and vision and ultimately paralyze.

There is no cure. No one knows what causes it. One of the most prevalent ideas, is that MS is triggered by a vitamin D deficiency. Not enough sunshine.

And it seems to be a disease reserved for people of European ancestry.

When Ms. Sankaran left for India, she was also considering a controversial new MS treatment known as Liberation Therapy.

Priya Sankaran's documentary is called The White Man's Disease.

Click here for an essay she wrote, to accompany the documentary.

Without proper dwellings

2013-02-09

A number of families in the Welimada Pradeshiya Sabha area have been living in shanties for generations, but the authorities have failed to provide them with adequate housing facilities

Appeal Letter to the CCBI body of Bishops

Saturday, 09 February 2013

An appeal Letter to the CCBI body of Bishops by the Catholic Faithful Idinthakarai Village regarding nuclear power project in Koodankulan.

See full letter below

February 8, 2013

The Catholic Faithful

Idinthakarai Village

Idinthakarai 627 104

Tamil Nadu

His Eminence Cardinal Telesphore Toppo

President: Conference of Catholic Bishops of India

Archbishop of Ranchi

Archbishop’s House

Ranchi

Your Eminence:

Greetings! We have been struggling continuously against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in peaceful and nonviolent manner for a quarter century and for almost 550 days in a more recent concerted campaign. We have been asking in vain for the basic information about the project such as the Site Evaluation Report (SER), Safety Analysis Report (SAR), Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP), the performance report of VVER-1000/412 reactor, and the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) on Liability and so forth.

Instead of receiving the above information, we are getting dangerous cases (like sedition, waging war on the state etc.), malicious accusations (that we are foreign funded and instigated), imprisonment, curfew and prohibitory orders, intimidation campaigns, home searches, physical attacks on our persons and properties, police atrocities and other such high-handed behaviors of the State. A few of our honest and hard-working fishermen have been charged under the Goondas Act. And the Tamil Nadu police have registered more than 325 cases on serious sections with 5,296 named accused and 2,21,483 unnamed accused at the Koodankulam police station alone.

The UPA government is embarking upon an ambitious plan of setting up scores of nuclear parks all along our coast and in many interior locations with the help of Russia, France, the United States and many other countries. There is no national debate whatsoever on the impact of all these nuclear plants/parks on our farmers’, fishermen’s and workers’ rights to life and livelihood; our natural resources; our cattle, crops and seafood; food security; nutrition security; health of our people, and the wellbeing of our progeny. It is pertinent to note here that Pope Benedict XVI himself has spoken out against nuclear energy at an audience with several ambassadors a few years ago.

Even a small mishap in a nuclear facility will destroy millions of people in our highly and densely populated country. We, as a nation, have failed to help our people in Bhopal even after 27 long years; our leaders, bureaucrats and scientists have not even managed to clean up the mess there yet. The dangerous waste still remains there open and exposed. A recent Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Report on the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has concluded that this toothless regulatory agency has not even ensured nuclear and radiation safety in any of our atomic installations.

None of the above bothers our leaders, bureaucrats and scientists. Scores of developed and advanced countries around the world are shunning nuclear power and going for ‘New Energies’. But our national elites are going for nuclear power with no concrete plans to decommission the plants or to store and safeguard the nuclear waste. Hundreds of thousands of Indians are demonstrating against nuclear power plants and Uranium mines all over the country. And we are doing just the same here at Koodankulam.

After all, our expert team claims that there are serious hydrology, geology, oceanography, seismology and CRZ violation issues involved in the Koodankulam nuclear project and hence we demand a complete and thorough probe into all these issues. After all, this area has been hit by the 2004 tsunami, and there have been several small to big earthquakes in the Indian Ocean rendering the Koodankulam site vulnerable. But the Indian authorities summarily reject our legitimate demand to study these concerns.

The coastal communities who are at the forefront of the anti-KKNPP struggle and many of our interior supporters are all Catholics. Our Bishop of Thoothukudi, Most. Rev. Yvon Ambroise had said that Bishops had a moral responsibility to stand by the people at the time of crisis and suffering and he did stand with us in the early days of the struggle.

When the Indian government alleged that the Tuticorin Diocesan Association was funding and instigating the agitation against the KKNPP, the Tamil Nadu Bishops' Council accused the government of denigrating the Christian community by blocking the registration number given under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) to the Diocesan Association and freezing its bank accounts. Most Rev. A. M. Chinnappa, Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore and President of Tamil Nadu Bishops' Council had said: “It is highly condemnable that the government is unleashing repressive measures. We are pained by the government's action.” However, the Catholic Church has been rather lukewarm in its support for the struggle and has ducked under the pressure of government’s repressive measures. We all feel that the Church is letting us down when we desperately need your support and solidarity.

We, as citizens of the largest democracy, are fighting for our right. We have upheld our tradition of secularism, democracy and nonviolence. If sedition charges, Goondas Act, home searches, incarceration and severe repression are the gifts that will be handed down to us, we gladly accept them. We are even prepared to die for the future of our children and grandchildren and our country, but under no circumstances are we prepared to hurt or harm or kill anyone.

As the very last and desperate attempt at securing our independence and freedom, thwarting another spell of colonialism and foreign domination, safeguarding India’s natural resources, changing our energy policy and ensuring the wellbeing of our fellow citizens, we would like to appeal to the Catholic Church to come to the rescue of our people, the “ordinary citizens” of India, and not to abandon us and fail in this commitment to Lord Jesus Christ.

Looking forward to your greater involvement in our struggle, more vocal support and solidarity, and your blessings, we send you all our best regards and all peaceful wishes,

Yours truly,

The Catholic Faithful

Copies to:

Most Rev. Filipe Neri Ferrao

Vice President: Conference of Catholic Bishops of India

Archbishop of Goa and Daman

Patriarch ‘ad honorem’ of the East Indies

Archbishop’s House

Panaji

Most Rev. Varghese Chakkalakal

Secretary General: Conference of Catholic Bishops of India

Bishop of Kannur

Bishop’s House

Chovva

Kannur

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India

C.B.C.I. Centre

1, Ashok Place

Near Gole Dakkhana

New Delhi - 110 001

H.E. Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio

Titular Archbishop of Montemarano

Apostolic Nuncio

Vatican Apostolic Nunciature

50-C, Niti Marg

Chanakyapuri

New Delhi 110021

Fight Intergenerational Poverty And Its Friends Through Investing In Girls

By Prashanthi Jayasekara -February 9, 2013

Prashanthi Jayasekara

Do you know that around 250 million adolescent girls worldwide are affected with disproportionate poverty? It shouldn’t be treated as one of those ‘nice to know’ pieces of information we discuss over eggs and coffee and morning tete-a-tetes, and forget later. Because – as it has been indicated by research – girls carry the greatest probability to pass adverse effects of poverty to their family members. This means an upheaval of intergenerational poverty.

We’ve been discussing about vicious poverty cycles and its friends such asHIV/AIDS, violence, high mortality rates, health issues, and hunger. It is true that we’ve been forever carrying this invisible bag of hammers filled with agony triggered by causes of global turmoil. Organizations within the development sector, governments, and individually we have been trying to get the hang of dealing with poverty and its unsolicited acquaintances. However it is possible that we have missed out a powerful solution. That is reaching out to girls early in their lives, and giving them greater choice and control over decisions that will help break the cycle of poverty and other issues between one generation and the next.

According to research and evidence amassed over the past two decades, investing in girl-specific resources in the areas of education, health services, reproductive health, and financial literacy leads to generation of adolescent girls who are better educated, safer, healthier, and economically powerful. This can contribute to a substantially better future not just for themselves, but for their families, communities, and the world.

A Vicious Cycle vs. a Virtuous Cycle

Take a twelve year old girl living with poverty for example. She may not be given enough nutrition, and she may never be vaccinated or get a chance to see a doctor. It is possible that poverty may cause her parents to fight over anything from coconut being pricy to milk being scarce. When care belittle in the eyes of poverty, she may drop out of school when she turns fifteen to stay at home and fetch water, milk cattle, or simply to be someone’s bride. With poor health, pregnancy at a young age will subject her to mortal peril. If she survives pregnancy, been poorly educated and therefore with no employment, she will forever be financially dependent on her partner. When her relationships become least egalitarian due to dependency and lack of power, she could be an easy prey for violence.

And if she is ever kicked out of a support system, she might go to the extremes of begging, stealing, and selling her body. HIV and sexually transmitted diseases could haunt her down. And when her life scatters unceremoniously, negligence will be bestowed upon her children; and this vicious cycle will hence continue.

What if the trajectory of an adolescent girl growing up to be a woman is blessed with proper nutrition, good physical and mental health, fine education, the right to make her own choices, security, and support? The impact will be transformational for their own lives, for their families, communities, societies, and economies. A healthy and an educated girl will get married when she is a mature woman. And therefore will reduce complications during pregnancy, and child mortality. She will be educated enough to get a job and invest in herself and her family. And she will be an immense contribution to a country’s economy. An educated and a working woman will make smart choices when it comes to relationships, and will have the power to maintain egalitarian martial relationships. She will educate her children and keep them healthy and protected. She will also be knowledgeable enough to instill good behaviors such as protecting the environment, and respecting people of other religions and nationalities. This virtuous cycle will positively connect a generation to another.

If you invest in a girl, she will contribute to economic growth when she becomes a woman

Watch this video to understand the concept better:

Why Invest in Girls? – The Opportunity Cost

It is imperative to notice that empowered girls across the world will determine the future of the world with respect to population issues, environmental sustainability, poverty and related problems. Investing in a girl could be the key to achieve many Millennium Development Goals.

Girls aged 10-14 are five times more likely than women aged 20-24 to die in pregnancy or childbirth;
Providing girls with an extra year of schooling increases their wages by 10-20%;
Women with more years of schooling have better maternal health, fewer and healthier children and greater economic opportunities;
A woman with less power is a victim of violence. Therefore egalitarian relationships may reduce the chances of women getting exposed to violence;
Fewer dependents per worker leads to greater economic growth;

Key Pillars of Investment

Economic assets should be directly accessible to all girls and women. For instance, if a girl has to travel miles alone to fetch water, this may reduce her time for education, and will make her an easy victim of sexual assault. They need to be taught how to manage their finances, and financial services should be accessible to them. A sound knowledge on starting small business and funding options comes in handy for regional economic development.

It is important to make sure that girls stay in secondary school and are not married off, or sent to Middle East for unskilled labor at a young age. Women with more years of schooling have better maternal health, fewer and healthier children, and greater economic opportunities. Sometimes families seldom are aware about return on investment of educating girls; and therefore consider girls to be dispensable. The capability of a girl to set higher targets in life and make her own choices is often belittled and discouraged, and awareness must be made amongst these social groups. While girls are in schools, governments and other responsible organizations must make sure that poverty doesn’t pull them out of schools. Adolescent careers guidance programs, microfinance education groups, HIV/AIDS awareness must be treated as integral elements of education.

Political and legal bodies must take measures to intervene violence against women. It is important to research into innovative approaches to create safe spaces for women, such as work to support behavioral changes. Women should have more access to legal and justice systems.

It is imperative to create opportunities for girls and women subjected to abuse. Investments should be made to make sure that society receives them with respect and equality. Rehabilitation of women engaged in transactional sex should focus on developing their skills to meet employment requirements. And measures must be taken into job placement, and encouraging economically and socially viable entrepreneurship. Because of their lack of economic opportunity and social norms disfavoring them, one should not belittle the economic capabilities these girls and women possess, given their skills are put into good use.

The Role of Men

It is important for men to be aware and understand the potential impact of providing opportunities to girls to succeed. Because in our society, men – fathers, brothers, teachers, politicians – are often gatekeepers and important companions in a girl’s life. Therefore fathers should see more of their daughters than dispensable. Teachers should recognize their skills and motivate them to dream big. Politicians should be better strategists and wise investors in girls. And the community as a whole should create a safer and a welcoming society for girls to succeed. It should be a collaborated effort.

Join the global One Billion Rising Moment (http://www.onebillionrising.org/) on the 14^th of February, and Rise Up against gender based violence. Be there at the Lipton Circus at 4.30 p.m. Please visithttps://www.facebook.com/OneBillionRisingSriLanka?ref=ts&fref=ts for more information.

Even identification of Kangetta is a conspiracy : spurious drama -second part of Museum Robbery

(Lanka-e-News-08.Feb.2013, 11.30PM) Lanka e news repeatedly reported with evidence that Kangetta and the Museum robbery is nothing but a spurious drama . It has now come to light that even the story that Kangetta had been identified in the courts at the identification parade is bogus and a conspiracy.

At the identification parade held before the Colombo additional magistrate Kosala Senadheera in connection with the robbery of artifacts in the Colombo museum , a pump attendant Dingiri Banda and the Manageress , M A. D. Ranjani Elizabeth of the same fuel pumping station , Alawwa had identified the suspect Kangetta . This manageress is the wife of the Manager of the pumping station , S A D Hyacinth Dissanayake. It is noteworthy that this aforementioned Hyacinth Dissanayake is in remand custody on orders of Wariyapola court based on a B report No. B 49 /2013 in a fraud amounting to Rs. 15 lakhs . She has still no been enlarged on bail.

Similarly , Kangetta is the 7th suspect in a case in the Fort magistrate court based on B report No. 1344/10. In this case he is charged for breach of trust in a sum of Rs. 21,9 31,800/- (Rs. Twenty one million , nine lakhs thirty one thousand eight hundred ) involving 276,600 (two lakhs seventy six thousand six hundred liters) of fuel in the possession of the SL Navy. Kangetta is now out on bail in respect of this charge.
Being a most calculated conspiracy of the most sordid level orchestrated by the CID, it is most likely that these suspects will be exonerated of the charges or given releases in these cases after Kangetta was identified.

Since courts have become Goatherd MaRa’s goats now, all these deceitful practices and travesty of justice are just a matter of routine under this MaRa regime.

MP's house searched following 119 alert-Police

SATURDAY, 09 FEBRUARY 2013

Police said that the Mirihana police searched the UNP Parliamentarian Palitha Range Bandara’s home at Pagoda Road, Nugegoda following a tip off received on the 119 hot line claiming that a girl's screaming was heard from the house.

Police spokesman Prishantha Jayakody said the police was not aware whether it was MP Bandara's home when the search was carried out and only the MP's daughter and son had been in the house.

MP Bandara said yesterday that on Thursday and Friday the police had searched his home at Pagoda Road, Nugegoda thrice alleging that he was detaining a girl there.(Ajith Siriwardane)