Sri Lanka: Island of Amnesia And Dementia?

By Gamini Weerakoon-Sunday, May 12, 2013

We were wondering on a windy May morning in our hansiputuwa in our Isstoppuwa about the name of our country: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

J. R. Jayewardene, Chandrika Kumaratunga
, K. Pathmanathan and Karuna

Is it democratic? We wondered. Some loyalists of the ruling party would of course agree. Could there be a government more democratic than this? So far we’ve seen the army commander and the chief justice being sacked. No one is sacrosanct, they will say. All are equal and any one can be sacked but only a few who may be ‘difficult’ and won’t play ball will get into difficulties.

Those in the opposition will certainly disagree. That’s what we are protesting about, day in and day out, they will say. There is no democracy. They are not listening to the Opposition, trade unions and civil society. It’s a regime of the two-thirds majority. But then the two thirds are the people’s representatives even though some who were elected opposing election mandates to the government on another party ticket now make up the two thirds majority. That’s our democracy.

Socialist? Oh, no. That wily fox JRJ, brought in this concept of being ‘socialist’ after throwing out all the socialism built on for decades by the Bandaranaikes, Samasamajists and Communists, lock, stock and barrel.

And are we a republic – a country where the peoples’ representatives govern the country – not a Royal family? There are republics and republics coming way back in history from Plato’s Republic, the, French Republic, Fascist Republics and Banana Republics originating from South America and spreading to our own South Asian region.

A name for the Island

Being in a philosophical mood we tried to think of a name for this resplendent isle.

What’s most characteristic of our people? Yes, we were great talkers. But who remembers what we said yesterday? Then came the Eureka moment. Yes, we were amnesiacs, the greatest amnesiacs in the world. Who remembers what we promised the night before – never mind what you promised during the last election campaign. So how about the name Sri Lanka: Island of Amnesia.

Now don’t call us an ungrateful traitors having been a beneficiary of free education insulting this country. No, Sir we are as patriotic as you are and much more. Besides we were not beneficiaries of a free education.

JRJ’s Constitution

We got our facts in hand. When we say we are amnesiacs, do we remember what were promised by all sundry who got on a political platform and thundered: I will abolish the pernicious system of Executive Presidency foisted upon us by J. R. Jayewardene? When Chandrika called J. R. Jayewardene’s 1978 Constitution a Bahubootha constitution didn’t her ministers and her prime minister guffaw?

When they contested presidency, after Chandrika didn’t they too vow to abolish the Executive Presidential system? But now what has happened? True they have amended JRJ’s constitution – made it even worse. The objections to t JRJ’s constitution was that it gave too much of power to the executive president. The Amendments made to the same constitution (Amendment 18) by President Rajapaksa was that it gave absolute power to the executive president! Absolute Amnesia enables rulers to get absolute powers.

Beneficiaries

There are numerous other beneficial examples of absolute amnesia. There is KP – K. Pathmanathan, the international armaments procurer for the LTTE who was an equal or even a bigger threat to the security, sovereignty and integrity of the country than Velupillai Prabhakaran. He was captured in Kuala Lumpur in a James Bond type of operation and flown to Sri Lanka. KP who succeeded Prabhakaran holds the most treasured secrets of the LTTE such as international monetary transaction of the terrorist outfit. Whether the man has spilled the treasured secrets of the LTTE’s skullduggery and massive ill gotten gains is not known but the results are not evident. After all the dirty work done against Sri Lanka, the man is living in clover!

So is minister Karuna, the LTTE commander of the Western Province. He should at least be able to spell out one secret: The massacre of over 600 policemen who surrendered to the LTTE on the orders of the then President Ranasinghe Premadasa. The loved ones of these constables have not forgotten them. They do not suffer from amnesia. At least a decent burial could be given to the loyal brave and disciplined policemen who sacrificed their lives in vain.

Compared to the crimes committed by these criminals what has Azath Sally done? Singing at a children’s’ party?

It is not total amnesia that our leaders are suffering from – its selective amnesia. They may forget the crimes of KP and Karuna but not the faults of UNPers before them. The stock answer for any crime or stupidity committed by those in power is: What did you do in your time? The nation is in the throes of the Mother of all Crises – the power crisis. But when questions are raised on the crisis, the reflex reaction has been: What did you do in your time? Yes, the UNP made many faults and that is why four successive SLFP governments were elected by the people. It may also be the result of amnesia of the people. Let the doctors speak out but our guess is that amnesia is developing into a dangerous form of megalomania.

So our name for our beloved country is: Sri Lanka: Island of Amnesia/Dementia/Megalomania. Make your pick.

That illusive Northern Election

2013-05-09  From time to time, politicians from the South, especially during various phases of political negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), have dangled a particular carrot before the Tamil community from the North and East – elections in the provinces to elect their own representatives. Tamil political parties for their part, particularly the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), for years had resisted the idea, claiming the absence of civil administration and a suitable climate for engagement in political activities. In 2008, a former LTTE cadre was installed in office as Chief Minister of the Eastern Province. Now it is the turn for the former war-ridden Northern Province to hold polls, albeit with some snags. Different to the East The North differs from the East, not simply in terms of demography and geography, but also by the politician the soil produces. It also makes it a political pie which is difficult to consume. If the East lacks a shade or two, North does not, despite all the violence it had gone through and survived. The LTTE may be crushed, but the average citizen's political aspirations, though dormant, will not easily die. The North is also a political hotbed that later turned into a theatre of violence, and though claiming to be enjoying normalcy, civil administration proper, still eludes the region. The government had given a firm commitment to India that in 2013 – with the war now being history – independent elections will be conducted in the North. The Provincial Councils were also the peaceful preposition to avoid future violent confrontations. But from the beginning, there was absolute mistrust on both sides, and the LTTE, spurred by India that fed militancy among Tamils from the North and East, continuously behaved like the proverbial 'Scrooge,' always wanting more. But this was no 'Christmas Carol' but realpolitik. Provincial Councils were introduced to Sri Lanka in 1987 following the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord, bringing with it, a strong dilution of the political positions adopted by the Tamil militant groups including the LTTE. Indeed, having fed Tamil militancy in Sri Lanka, it was one attempt by India to curb the growing monster of militancy, in its own backyard. In hindsight, the LTTE as the so-called sole representative of the Tamil people – had only achieved death and destruction on behalf of the people it sought to represent. Yet, if the government in its overconfidence feels that it would be a cakewalk when elections are held in the North that would amount to a serious miscalculation. No amount of political amnesia can wipe out the fact that the PCs were a solution offered by Colombo together with New Delhi, and it sought to dilute and dissipate the call for the recognition of a traditional homeland. An accord was signed and the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was brought to Sri Lanka, according to terms of that agreement. All three parties to the agreement would have had their own share of misgivings, but that's a pledge Colombo needs to honour, at least now. Crushing the political spirit Besides, if Colombo feels that the North is politically crushed, completely, with the defeat of the LTTE, it only needs to look at the political reactions of the people soon after the war, when the TNA handsomely won the local elections. That was the true political expression of the average voter, silently influencing the political landscape. That silent yet potent political message will not be ignored, even if the government is keen to field a militant-turned government politician who opposes the TNA, and swears by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, Douglas Devananda, or a former media spokesperson for the Tamil Tigers and a prisoner of war, Daya Master. The government cannot also forget that PCs were created to devolve power to the North and the East where a section of the people – both politicians and militant groups – clamoured for self-rule. The United National Party (UNP) demonstrated amply its inability to trust the Tamil politicians, including the pro-Indian groups, when it drove the first elected Chief Minister of the Northern Province, Varadaraja Perumal of the Eelam Peoples' Liberation Front (EPRLF) to desperation, and to flee the country, having defiantly raised a flag in Vadukkodai, declaring the North and the East a separate State. Though there had been no repeats of a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) again, the political frustrations that had been passed down the generations should be understood in their proper context, and the elections, if held as announced, should provide the necessary platform not just to elect representatives but also to build peace and true reconciliation. It also means there cannot be elections of the kind that Sri Lanka witnessed, post Accord. Having benefited from India's support to crush the LTTE for which the Centre continues to pay a political price to Tamil Nadu, it is no longer possible to pussyfoot. Similarly, some of the issues appear to repeat themselves, such as the absence of a conducive political climate for conducting polls and the continued domination by the military. The UDI by Perumal paved the way for President Ranasinghe Premadasa, in the clutches of the Janatha Vimukthi Peamuna (JVP), having pledged that the IPKF would be sent back to India, and there was no true implementation of the Accord and the PC system. Though introduced to appease the political appetite of the Tamil people, principally from the North, to date, it is the North that had been denied the right and the opportunity to politically administer the areas where they are the majority community. Rajapaksa agenda for North The Rajapaksa administration's approach with regard to the Northern polls is not too difficult to decipher. In 2006, through a Supreme Court Order, the government had the North and East demerged. The Eastern polls were held, a Chief Minister was installed, a former LTTE regional leader. Four years after the war victory, the government is for the first time, considering it timely to transfer political decision-making power to the local people. But there are unspoken rules. The government will seek and will tolerate a council that will directly or indirectly come under its writ – in every sense of the word. Besides, the serving governor is a former military officer, Major General G.A. Chandrasiri. The decisions, it is commonly known, are taken by the Presidential Task Force (PTF). There is a developmental agenda and the only active players are either party to the government or those strongly supportive of the government. In developing the former war zones, not just the TNA but any other group that does not politically see eye to eye with the government are excluded. Undoubtedly, this will create serious issues of legitimacy and public acceptance, if polls are conducted in the North. Then again, the lands are being acquired by the military for so-called development work and the military writ is foremost in a region that is yet to find local politicians who could decide its future course. The North, whether one would admit or not, is militarized terrain. To that extent, the TNA's former claim that the region being unprepared for polls holds true: Before anything, the North needs demilitarization of a different kind – one that restores civil administration where the brass buttons do not decide the fate of a people that suffered the scourge of war for nearly three decades. Only then will it be appropriate to hold polls in the North.

TNA & LSSP join strike action

SUNDAY, 12 MAY 2013

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has stated that it will support the all island strike action called by the Coordinating Committee for Trade Union Alliance on the 21st to oppose the increase of electricity tariffs. This was stated at a discussion held between the TNA and the Coordinating Committee for Trade Union Alliance.

The discussion was held with the leaders of TNA on the 10th under the programme by the Coordinating Committee to rally support of political parties, trade unions, civil organizations and other organizations for the island wide strike on the 21st.

Parliamentarians Mawei Senathiraja, Sumanthiran and M.K. Sivajilingam participated on behalf of the TNA said a spokesman for the Coordinating Committee.

Meanwhile, trade unions of the LSSP too have expressed their willingness to join the strike action states the Coordinating Committee. He said the members of Lanka Trade Union Federation headed by its President T.M.R. Rasdeen would join the strike.

Teachers & Principals to join strike on 21st

SUNDAY, 12 MAY 2013 

The Teacher-Principal Trade Unions Joint Committee stated that teachers and principals will join the strike action organized by the Coordinating Committee for Trade Union Alliance on the 21st to oppose the increase of electricity tariffs. This was stated at a media conference held at Hotel Nippon today (12th).

The General Secretary of Lanka Teacher Services Union (LTSU) Mahinda Jayasinghe addressing the media said, "Teachers have not received any salary increase since 2005 except for a few allowances. As such, the increase in electricity tariffs would be a serious situation. Issues regarding salary anomalies have continued since 1997. Two struggles were carried out last year.  The teachers have not received any promotions. They have worked without promotions since 2010. 225000 teachers carry out their services under such pathetic conditions.

It is in such a situation that the electricity tariffs are increased. Normally teachers consume more than 90 units. As such, teachers' trade unions have decided to join the token strike called by the Coordinating Committee for Trade Union Alliance on the 21st if the increased tariffs are not withdrawn.

We have informed Secretaries of Ministries of Education and Provincial Councils in writing that we would join the token strike. The government tries to deceive the masses by bringing in various amendments. We say the whole increased package should be withdrawn. We would join the protest march against the tariff hike to be held on the 15th.

During our struggles the government attempted to repress them through intimidation and terror tactics. Now police have been asked to collect lists of trade union leaders in certain areas. We would want to know why gentlemen in the police need lists of trade union leaders.  We say such petty acts would not be able to defeat our activities and struggles. We would dedicate ourselves to defeat vile actions of the government and make the struggle on the 21st a total success."

The Member of the Central Committee of Principals Services Union Sudath Asalalal and Ven. Seelananda Thera of Piriven Teacher Services Union also addressed the media.

We Are Perfectly Entitled To Be Antagonistic Towards Government

By Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena -May 12, 2013 

Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena

So is humiliating or being antagonistic towards the Government the latest excuse that will be used to invoke the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA, 1979) against critics?

This question is unfortunately self-explanatory as we entered into the theatre of profound absurdity last week with the PTA detention order arresting dissenting Muslim politician Azath Salley inter alia stating that he had engaged in ‘humiliation of the Government’ and proclaimed ‘antipathetic statements against the Government which lead to public disturbance.’

Facing a collective danger

Granted, the detention order issued under the Presidential stamp also accused Salley of creating ‘religious disharmony among various communities’ which prima facie, is a ground covered by the PTA. But on what precise legal grounds pray, are these references to ‘humiliation of the Government’ and ‘antipathetic statements against the Government’, justified?

Using this same basis, a reporter, a columnist, an editor or a citizen using the media to express extreme frustration with actions of the Government will be as liable as Salley, to being arrested under the PTA. This is in flagrant contradiction of the basics of freedom of expression. And while the Sri Lankan media has been battered and beaten enough in recent decades, the use of the PTA in this manner takes informal censorship in this country to new and dangerous levels. Rather than one politician becoming enmeshed in its toils, this is a collective danger that we are facing, make no mistake about that.

Open deprivations of liberty

True enough, Salley was released on the order of President Rajapaksa on Friday in line with patterns of Presidential (or monarchical) magnanimity that we now witness regularly. Yet, the very fact that a detention order containing parts that were so eminently ridiculous was issued in the first instance remains highly relevant. Perhaps one cannot ask for justifications or for that matter, call for observance of pernickety legal niceties such as issuing a legal detention order from a Government that drags its own Chief Justice before abusive Parliamentarians and then ejects her through military might.

However, it is necessary to raise these questions, not so much that an insufferably arrogant and power-mad administration will take heed but that Sri Lankans will understand the monstrous manner in which their life and liberty rights are being taken away from them. Take heed, these are not deprivations that occur insidiously but in the full frightening glare of daylight.

Perfectly proper to ‘humiliate’ or ‘antagonize’ Government

The PTA is draconian enough in its scope and impact. But it needs to be reiterated that it does not prohibit humiliation of or antipathetic statements issued against the Government. Antipathetic means in effect, showing a strong aversion or repugnance or if its meaning is given in a slightly less aggressive form, being ‘opposed’ or ‘antagonistic to’. And it must be said categorically that being opposed to, antagonizing or indeed, humiliating the Government are perfectly legitimate activities that any Sri Lankan may be engaged in. This is an accepted part of democratic life. Critics cannot be penalized in that regard.

Indeed, as has been stated both by our courts and in comparative jurisdictions, the limits of permissible criticism are wider with regard to the Government than in relation to a private citizen, or even a politician. In fact, the dominant position which the Government occupies in its use of state power compels it to display restraint in resorting to criminal proceedings against its adversaries. However, in the sad twilight of non-law that Sri Lanka occupies now, these salutary injunctions are cast to the winds. The arrest of Azath Salley was meant not to warn only him but also all other critics just as much as JS Tissanaiyagam’s arrest under these same PTA provisions was meant, (not successfully in that instance), to pass that same message.

Why is the PTA invoked against a misquote?

Let us now proceed to the apparently justifiable part of the detention order relating to the arrest of Azath Salley. Section 2 (1) (h) of the PTA prohibits the ‘…commission of acts of violence or religious, racial or communal disharmony or feelings of ill-will or hostility between different communities or racial or religious groups.’

Even so, there are certain qualifications to the utilizing of this provision. First, the PTA should be used only in the most extreme and relevant cases against individuals. In this instance, Salley had been misquoted in an Indian newspaper as stating that the Muslim community will resort to arms against injustice done to them. Reportedly he had requested a correction but the newspaper had been slow in publishing this. His arrest then followed through a detention order on the request of the Defence Secretary. The Presidential revoking of the detention order came a few days thereafter when Salley affirmed that he had been misquoted and stated that he would never support a Muslim call to arms.

In this context, it needs to be asked if a mere newspaper misquote should be a good enough reason for the PTA to be invoked? The severe consequences of the invocation of the PTA at the proverbial drop of a hat cannot be underestimated. Public awareness of these matters is imperative. In this case, the frivolous use of the PTA is well highlighted by the very fact that the Presidential revocation came scarcely with the ink drying on the initial detention order. It would have been a comedy of particularly ribald sorts if not for the fact that a person’s life and liberty was at stake.

Un-equality and lack of restraint shown in the arrest

Second, what about the patent inequality in the application of the law when the Bodu Bala Sena, whose functions are presided over by the Defence Secretary, not only threatens to take to arms in pursuit of its militant Buddhist ideology, (as oxymoronic as it may sound when we hear ‘Buddhist and ‘militant’ linked in one sentence), but does indeed take to arms when it attacks leading Muslim business establishments? Why is the PTA not invoked against them?

Third and most importantly, in terms of the law, the Defence Secretary, when acting under the PTA cannot go on a flight of fancy on his own in arresting people. On the contrary, there are specific safeguards that he has to observe. As the Sri Lankan Supreme Court has cautioned on more than one occasion in relation to arrests under emergency law, vague suspicion on the part of the Defence Secretary in circumstances that show a reckless disregard for the right to personal liberty cannot legally justify an arrest.

Intertwining constitutional safeguards with familiar principles of administrative law, the general principle is that, when requesting for a detention order to be issued, that the Defence Secretary must be satisfied on reasonable grounds capable of supporting his decision that such drastic action is necessary in the circumstances of the case. These grounds are liable to be examined by a court in satisfying itself that the decision was indeed reasonable and to ensure that the Secretary has not misdirected himself on the law in arriving at his decision.

These are, of course, legal questions that a court of law, functioning independently and without dictation by the executive, should examine. And certainly, these questions have been asked time and time again by the Supreme Court during past decades in relation to the arbitrary arrests of politicians to persons suspected of ‘terrorist activity.’ The question however is whether Sri Lanka still draws that level of public confidence that one would expect from its judicial institutions to administer these well established legal precedents and restore confidence in the applicability of the law.

A monumentally unwise action

At an overarching level meanwhile, Salley’s arrest under the PTA should confirm even to the perennially hopeful that, despite this administration’s proud boasts to the contrary at international fora, the emergency regime in Sri Lanka is still potently and perilously alive. The lapsing of Emergency Regulations some years ago has merely been replaced by the PTA. Commonwealth leaders who are eagerly preparing themselves for their forthcoming junket to this country for the Heads of Government meeting should apprise themselves of this fact even as the Commonwealth Secretariat delights in holding workshops on the Rule of Law.

In the final result, as much as the Government would hope to pass a dire warning to critics against ‘humiliating’ or antagonizing it through issuing detention orders of this nature, catapulting a politician not particularly known for taking principled positions into the spotlight through an unwise arrest (and revocation of such arrest) under the PTA can only be monumentally unwise. We will surely see this in time.

Spreading the sunshine

Editorial-May 11, 2013

The ability of the political establishment to look after itself and its fellow-travelers was demonstrated anew by last week’s cabinet decision to give provincial councilors who have served more than two and a half years duty free car permits. On top of that, even ex-provincial councilors who had served two and a half years will be entitled to this concession. It wasn’t long ago that the sale of duty free permits issued to MPs to import motor vehicles was officially sanctioned. Such sales, on so-called `open’ papers, were notorious and it was well known that this was common practice even before it was legalized. Those who engaged in such sharp practices were in no way hounded since President Premadasa’s time when a special unit headed by a retired senior police officer was put on the job of harassing some of those who supported the attempt to impeach the then president. Luxury vehicles were stopped on the road and their engine and chassis numbers checked sending an ominous message.

Prohibitive rates of duty on motor car imports that have long been in force in this country have made these duty free or concessional duty permits most attractive. Predictably, politicians holding the ladle in their hands first served themselves the gravy. Senior public servants, including professionals, were quick to jump on the bandwagon. University academics too are now recipients of the privilege as were some long-standing income tax payers who were accorded a duty concession that has since been withdrawn. Time was when public servants, required to do official traveling in their private vehicles, were granted car loans by the government. When money values were different to what they are today, these were generally sufficient to buy either a new or used utility vehicle and often, mileage claimed for official use of privately-owned covered the cost of the monthly loan installments. There were no official drivers then as now and most public servants drove themselves from their homes to their offices, circuits and other official business.

Today the taxpayer picks up a hefty bill on account of the transport cost of the people’s leaders and public officials. We do not know whether the Treasury has quantified what all this costs though we can be certain that it would by far exceed such expenses borne even by many resource rich developed countries. Almost everybody and his brother seem to have an official car and chauffer paid for by the taxpayer or the company. Regardless of the provision of duty free concessions to purchase a car for themselves, the beneficiaries of the perk use their official vehicles, provided by the taxpayer, for all official and most private business. Ministers are particularly well served and have fleets of government-owned, taxpayer funded vehicles at their beck and call. There is no line drawn between public business and private purposes. Values such as those demonstrated by former US President Harry Truman who with his wife, Bess, seated by his side, drove himself home to Missouri following his tenure at the White House are today the stuff of legend. There were no Secret Service guards in attendance during that long ride from Washington to Independence. Truman is reported to have once said that his early choices in life was to be a piano-player in a whorehouse or a politicians ``and to tell the truth there’s not much differences between the two.’’

When the people were hit with the new electricity charges from which the government has now part retreated, this newspaper and others advocated that government functionaries, be they ministers or high officials, living in official residences pay their own electricity bills. Former Minister Mangala Samaraweera said somewhere that when he was a minister living in an official bungalow he paid a thousand rupees on account of the electricity consumed and no more. We would wager that this practice continues – if at all with even the thousand bucks picked up by some vote or the other. Some readers might remember that Samaraweera, while holding cabinet office, got a lift fitted in his official residence for the convenience of his mother who lived with him. We believe the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, then part of his turf, did the job. While we do not begrudge Mrs. Samaraweera, a most gracious lady, the comforts her son could give her, the chances are that if such expenses had to be personally borne and not passed on to the taxpayer, it would not have been too hard to find a ground floor room in one of those palatial bungalows that ministers occupied where an older parent could have been comfortably accommodated.

The bottom line is that basically selfish human nature will almost always serve itself with some happy exceptions like President Truman mentioned earlier. Those who spout loudly in opposition did not or will not do better when in government. But when people are asked to bear hardship, as the public are in the case of sharp increases in electricity charges, their pain would be somewhat alleviated if their leaders too share part of the burden. It can be credibly argued that it is unfair to require a public functionary living in accommodation that he would normally not occupy in his private capacity, be asked to meet all electricity charges in an official residence. Security considerations, for instance, may require lighted gardens at an official bungalow which will not be necessary if the politician had not offered himself to the service of the people. But the people are cynical enough to think that where politicians especially are concerned, it’s all a matter of self-service!

Nobody takes any notice of profligacy in government. The beneficiaries like to think that all the perks they lavish on themselves are merely a fraction of a percentage point of GDP. But ordinary people hard-pressed to meet the cost of living resent such expenditure. But has very little they can do about it. Some leaders, like President Mahinda Rajapaksa, like to spread the sunshine as those who have enjoyed his hospitality at `Temple Trees’ are well aware. They know very well that the wherewithal to pay for it all comes from the public purse rather than the private pocket. But being human, they don’t really care as long as they stand to benefit.

Killed But Not Forgotten

Court orders full probe on Matale mass grave

D. G. Podinona, wife of dissapeared Benet Gamage, during the 1988-1989 period in an emotional mood at Matale court premises, when the Mass Grave case was taken up for hearing on Wednesday
Picture by Saman Kariyawasam

 Sunday, May 12, 2013

The Matale mass grave issue was back in the limelight last week with families of several persons who had gone missing in the Matale area during the 1988-1989 period requesting courts to carry out investigations to determine whether remains of their loved ones are among the skeletal remains unearthed from the mass grave.

The Matale magistrate and additional district judge Chaturika de Silva last week ordered a full probe into the Matale mass grave – which is by far the largest to be unearthed in the country – after accepting the 13 affidavits that were handed to court by 11 relatives of persons who had disappeared in the Matale area during the period of the mass grave.

Attorney at Law and JVP Central Committee member Sunil Watagala who also appeared before the Matale Magistrate said the magistrate had also permitted the JVP to become an intervening party in the case.

“The judge told the court that after considering Clause 138 of the Criminal Procedure Code and Article 41 (1) of the Judicature Act, she had decided to include the 13 affidavits handed over by the relatives of the missing persons and to call for a full probe,” he explained.
When the affidavits were first handed over to court on the 8th, Attorney at Law, Upul Kumarapperuma had a heated exchange of words with the CID in open court.

Watagala said that Kumarapperuma was angered by the statement made by the CID that the relatives and any others who wanted to complain about their loved ones who had gone missing during the 1988-1989 period should visit the fourth floor of the CID office in Colombo to lodge their complains.

Kumarapperuma had criticized the CID for its attitude towards the aggrieved parties and the lack of interest in conducting a proper probe into the Matale mass grave.

“Kumarapperuma asked whether the CID had even taken steps to publish a notice in the media requesting people who had lost their loved ones during the 1988-1989 period to come forward with their complaints,” Watagala said, adding that the CID was unable to respond.

The Magistrate had then asked the CID to set up a desk at the Matale Police for persons in the area to come forward and make their statements about the persons who had gone missing in the Matale area during the period of the mass grave.

However, when the case was taken up on the 10th, the Magistrate had officially ordered the CID to set up a desk at 10.30 a.m. on the 14th of this month to enable people in the Matale area to give their statements about their loved ones and others who had gone missing during 1988 and 1989.

“The CID agreed to come to Matale. The judge asked for a full report on the probe at the next hearing on May 31st,” Watagala said.
He noted that the JVP was planning on presenting 50 more affidavits from family members of missing persons when the case is taken up again on the 31st.

The Magistrate has also requested for a report on the tests being carried out on the skeletal remains by experts in the Peradeniya University.

Relatives of persons who had gone missing during the JVP insurgency in the 1980s are now starting to come out after holding their silence for over 20 years.

The relatives who appeared in the courthouse on the 8th and 10th with photographs of their loved ones, who had gone missing during the 1988-1989 period, requested the court to provide justice to their loved ones. They requested that DNA tests be carried out on the 154 skeletal remains that were unearthed from the Matale mass grave to determine whether their loved ones were among the dead.
Fathers and mothers held photographs of their children who had gone missing while some held on to photographs of their brothers and sisters they had lost decades ago.

The last memory some of them had of their loved ones were of them being captured and taken away by the military.
A few had seen their loved ones several times in military custody before they had gone missing while some others had never seen their kith and kin again.

Eyewitnesses to the suppression that took place in the Matale area during the 1988-89 period say that youth captured by the military were detained at Vijaya College in Matale and tortured at the rest house in Matale before some were killed. The grave was accidentally discovered when the ground at the Matale Hospital premises was dug for construction purposes last November.

It was initially speculated that the skeletal remains were of persons killed during a smallpox epidemic in the 1940s. However, the court was informed following tests carried out by experts that the skeletal remains that were unearthed from the mass grave belonged to the period between 1986 and 1990.
Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) of the Matale Hospital Dr Ajith Jayasena who carried out the initial investigations noted that tests are continuing on the skeletal remains. He has explained that excessive tests would have to be carried out to determine the sex of the persons buried and other details that could help identify the bodies.

However, Dr Jayasena has also noted that family members or relatives of the persons who had gone missing during the respective time period need to lodge complaints with the police.

“When they come forward, we can carry out DNA tests, which are the last tests to be conducted on the skeletal remains,” the JMO observed, adding that the public needs to be made aware of the need to come forward with information about their loved ones who had gone missing.

Following last week’s court verdict, the CID has now been forced to buckle up and carry out their task of conducting a full probe into the Matale mass grave.

JVP parliamentarian Anura Dissanayake said that the entire issue over the Matale mass grave has clearly indicated the irresponsibility of the government.

“There are 154 skeletons that were unearthed from the Matale mass grave. It is up to the government to carry out the necessary investigations, tests and find who was responsible for such a crime,” he noted, adding that the govenrment does not seem ready to do their part.

He explained that the JVP had intervened due to this reason and had visited the families of persons who had disappeared in the Matale area during the 1988-1989 period.

“We got the families to hand over affidavits requesting the authorities to carry out tests to determine whether the skeletal remains are of their loved ones,” Dissanayake said.

Dissanayake hailed the verdict of the Matale Magistrate to accept the affidavits and allow the JVP to intervene in the case.
“It is a good verdict that would undoubtedly create a good precedence in the future. We hope that justice would prevail,” he said. Nevertheless, the united call by everyone concerned is for the authorities to find the culprits who were responsible for the crime and to bring them to book. The mass grave issue has given credence to the statement that the dead sometimes come to haunt the living.

BASL urges stop to harassment of CJ43

By Wasantha Ramanayake-Sunday, May 12, 2013

The Executive Committee of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) passed a resolution on Friday evening urging the authorities immediately stop harassing and humiliating Chief Justice 43 Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake. A BASL spokesperson said the BASL Executive Committee (Ex-co) deplored that Dr. Bandaranayake has been subjected to what it regarded as an “absolute unnecessary harassment and humiliation.”

The Ex-co noted that Dr. Bandaranayake had visited the Bribery Commission as requested by the Commission on April 2, in spite of the original date of May 17 given by the Commission when she appeared before it on April 1.

Dr. Bandaranayake arriving at the Bribery Commission

“ Chief Justice 43 appeared at the said Commission at the stipulated time, with her attorneys-at-law. She had been kept waiting for over half an hour and then told that no officer was present to record her statement and turned her away, directing her to return to the Commission,” on May 17, the resolution noted.

Meanwhile, lawyers close to Dr. Bandaranayake said that when Dr. Bandaranayke visited the Commission at 9 am on Friday, not a single responsible officer let alone the Commissioners or the Director General were present at the Bribery Commission.  Those present were unaware of any letter sent by the Commission asking Dr. Bandaranayake to visit the Commission on May 10. They kept her and the lawyers waiting around 35 minutes before her statement of objections was accepted by two members of the Commission. Although she was prepared to make further orals submissions they were not prepared to record it, the sources said.

The media reported that in a letter written to the Director General of the Bribery Commission Dr. Bandaranayake pointed out that the Chairman of the Bribery Commission has violated the law of confidentiality by giving various statements to the press regarding the Immigration and Emigration Department ban on her visiting foreign countries.

She wrote that there were no such preparations to go abroad and noted that last time she went abroad was in 2006. In her objections, she said that neither the Chairman nor a member of the Commissioner should participate in any inquiry against her. She also reiterated that she had duly declared all her bank accounts and assets, which forms the basis of the allegations against her.

She alleged that the Bribery Commission chairman made various false statements to the media in connection with the inquiry and has failed to “maintain the necessary standard of impartiality and independence required by the Chairman,” of the Bribery Commission.
She pointed out that the chairman was biased against due to his relationship with a former Chief Justice.

Dr. Bandaranayake also pointed out that the other member of the Commission should not participate in her inquiry since she presided over a Supreme Court Bench that dismissed a fundamental rights application filed by the particular member.

This made his spouse to actively campaign supporting her impeachment, Dr. Bandaranayake noted, adding that the particular spouse appeared on certain Government controlled television criticising her.

Matara Bar to cold shoulder CJ 44

The Matara Bar has resolved it would not welcome Chief Justice 44 Mohan Peiris who is due to visit Matara on May 17.
The majority decision was taken at a meeting of the Bar Council of the Matara Bar, a council member said.

The decision was not because of any personal animosity towards Mr. Peiris but was in accordance with a resolution passed by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka on December 15, 2012, he added. Earlier, on two occasions the Bar Councils of Anuradhapura and Kandy decided not to welcome Chief Justice 44 when he visited Anuradhapura and Kandy, the Sunday Times learns.

At a special general meeting held on December 15 the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) passed a resolution that if Chief Justice 43 Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake would be removed without giving an opportunity to have a fair trial in terms of the rules of natural justice, the BASL would not welcome the newly appointed Chief Justice 44.

SriLankan air taxi grounded as a loss, flies anew with Cinnamon Air

By Namini Wijedasa-Sunday, May 12, 2013

SriLankan Airlines has stopped its unprofitable air taxi operation, just 28 months after it was re-launched amidst much fanfare.
“We will not operate our own aircraft,” confirmed SriLankan’s Chief Marketing Officer G.T. Jeyaseelan. The company’s costly lease agreement with the Canadian Kenn Borek Air for float planes, lapsed last month, and was not renewed.

The airline is in negotiations to operate a code-share with a private firm, Cinnamon Air, as an alternative. Cinnamon Air has three aircraft, all Cessna 8-seater float planes. Under the agreement, which is likely to be signed within a few days, one of these will sport SriLankan Airlines livery.

Cinnamon Air is managed by Saffron Aviation (Pvt) Ltd, a joint venture between MMBL Leisure Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) and Phoenix Ventures Ltd. SriLankan Airlines 2011-12 Annual Report admits that its air taxi service was a “loss-making operation”.

The float planes were reintroduced in December 2010, after a lapse of several years, caused by the unstable security situation. Mr. Jeyaseelan said the new arrangement with Cinnamon Air was “an opportunity to work it (air taxi service) better”.

There had been insufficient bookings from international markets to make SriLankan air taxis sustainable on their own. “We felt overseas tour operators were not keen to sell the air taxi product,” Mr. Jeyaseelan observed. “Instead of making the air taxi an integral part of their packages, they made it an option. To operate the service, we have to sell this product in the international market.”
“In the Maldives, the air taxi product is paid for by the resorts and not the passengers.”

Other industry sources said SriLankan’s schedule had not been sufficiently structured to allow air taxi departures to coincide with international arrivals. “It also required a road trip to get to the air taxi base,” they said. “Meanwhile, the aircraft they leased are in pretty high demand the world over, so they would have paid steeply for the leases. Sustaining the operation was a problem.”

Syrian Refugees ‘Sold For Marriage’ In Jordan

Fri, May 10th, 2013

Before the war began, Kazal was in love with her neighbour in Homs. “He was 20 years old and I dreamed of marrying him one day,” she says. “I never thought I would marry someone I didn’t love, but my family and I have been through some hard times since coming to Amman.”

Kazal says she is 18 but looks much younger. She has just got divorced from a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia who paid her family about US $3,100 to marry her. The marriage lasted one week.

“I lived with my husband in Amman, but we weren’t happily married. He treated me like a servant, and didn’t respect me as a wife. He was very strict with me. I’m happy that we’re divorced.”

Her huge, blue eyes fill with tears when she talks about the marriage.

“I agreed to it so I could help my family. When I got engaged I cried a lot. I won’t get married for money again. In the future I hope to marry a Syrian boy who’s my own age.”

‘Survival sex’

Andrew Harper, the Representative of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Jordan, is concerned that some of the 500,000 Syrian refugees in the country are increasingly turning to such desperate measures.

“We don’t have enough resources to give aid to all those who need it. The vast majority of refugees are women and children. Many of them are not used to going out to work, so survival sex becomes an option.”

His office in central Amman is surrounded by hundreds of newly arrived refugees, waiting in long lines to register for aid. He says the UNHCR has intervened with some families who have been offering their daughters up for early marriage.

“I can’t think of anything more disgusting than people targeting refugee women… You can call it rape, you can prostitution, you can call it what you want but it’s preying on the weakest.

“The government and people of Jordan are doing what they can but people are poor and we have to get more resources into the community so families aren’t forced into something that deep down I believe they don’t want to do.”

Short-term marriages between men from the Gulf and Syrian girls reportedly happened before the war began. But Kazal’s mother Manal, who dresses conservatively like her daughter in an abaya and headscarf, says she would have never considered such an arrangement in the past.

“Life here is very hard and we receive very little aid. We have a baby who needs lots of milk every day, and we can’t afford to pay the rent. So I had to sacrifice Kazal to help the other members of the family.”

She says that the marriage was arranged by an Amman-based NGO called Kitab al-Sunna, which gives cash, food and medicines to refugees. It is funded by donations from individuals across the Arab world.

“When I went for help at the NGO they asked to see my daughter. They said they would find a husband for her.”

Syrian matchmaker

The director of Kitab al-Sunna, Zayed Hamad, says that he is sometimes approached by men who want to marry Syrian women.

“They ask for girls who are over 18. They’re motivated by helping these women, especially those whose husbands died as martyrs in Syria. Arab men see Syrian women as good housewives, and they find them very pretty, so traditionally it is desirable to marry one.”

Um Mazed is a 28-year-old Syrian refugee from Homs who has started earning money by arranging marriages between Syrian girls and Arab men.

In a grubby room covered with mould, she fields phone calls from prospective brides and grooms.

“The men are usually between 50 and 80, and they ask for girls who have white skin and blue or green eyes. They want them very young, no older than 16.”

She says she has presented more than a hundred Syrian girls to these men, who pay her a fee of US $70 for an introduction, and about US $310 if it results in a marriage.

“If these marriages end in divorce after a short time, that’s not my issue, I’m just the matchmaker. As far as I’m concerned it’s not prostitution because there’s a contract between the groom and bride.”

Um Mazed means “Mother of Mazed”, one of her three children. She doesn’t want her identity known because she’s ashamed of what she is doing for a living, but claims she has no choice.

“How are we supposed to live when the NGOs give us so little help? How are we supposed to pay our rent? We’re not getting enough help to live decently, that’s why I’m doing this – so my family and I can survive.”

SLMC issues ultimatum to Hakeem

2013-05-12 Minister of Justice and Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), Rauff Hakeem, has been given an ultimatum of one month by his party hierarchy to deal with the government over the alleged harassment and intimidation of the Muslims in the country and to arrive at a solution to the problem, sources said. SLMC Supreme Command member Mohamad Naseer, meanwhile said the party had requested an urgent meeting with the president to discuss issues that are of critical importance to the Muslims. Meanwhile, inside SLMC sources said the SLMC High Command decided to give the ultimatum of one month to the SLMC Leader to negotiate Muslim grievance s with the government. The decision was taken after a heated argument at the meeting where the leader came under severe criticism by the party members for failing to take a firm stance against the recent incidents against Muslims in the country. Minister Hakeem accepted his party's decision, and had pledged to seek an audience with the President to discuss the issues pertaining to Muslims.

43 killed in two car bombs in Turkey

SUNDAY, 12 MAY 2013 

Two car bombs exploded in Turkey near the border with Syria yesterday (11th) killing 43 and wounding 140 others in one of the deadliest attacks in Turkey in recent years.

The blasts were 15 minutes apart and hit the town of Reyhanli's busiest street. Initial reports said four blasts occurred near the municipality building and post offices in Reyhanli in the southern Turkish province of Hatay.

Turkish officials blamed the attack on a group linked to Syria, and a deputy prime minister called the neighbouring country's intelligence service and military "the usual suspects."

Turkey already hosts Syria's political opposition and rebel commanders, has given shelter to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees and in the past retaliated against Syrian shells that landed in Turkey.

The attack raised fears that Turkey could increasingly be drawn into Syria's brutal civil war.