To CHOGM Or Not To CHOGM

By Easwaran Rutnam

Canada remains the sole country threatening to boycott or send a low level delegation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka in November after Britain and Australia confirmed they would be represented at the highest level.

But that has not stopped Canada from continuing its war of words on Sri Lanka over human rights allegations with Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird even accusing the Commonwealth of being a failure on the Sri Lankan issue. Sri Lanka has not remained silent either. Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Canada Chitranganee Wagiswara, in a statement recently, had said that hostile criticism and unfair targeting of Sri Lanka by Canada only serves to further strengthen the evil forces working against Sri Lanka and does not contribute in any manner to the ongoing rebuilding and reconciliation process in the multi cultural society of the country.

Suren Surendiran and Rohitha Bogollagama

Former Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, who was instrumental in securing CHOGM to be held in Sri Lanka, however feels the best way to deal with Canada is through candid and open discussions and not through a war of words.

In 2007 Bogollagama proposed in Uganda that CHOGM be held in Sri Lanka but in 2009 when CHOGM was held in the Caribbean there was opposition to the summit being held in Colombo in 2011. It was then suggested that CHOGM be held in Australia in 2011 and Sri Lanka in 2013.  “We vehemently opposed to any move to shift CHOGM out of Sri Lanka. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in the Caribbean and was part of the decision making,” Bogollagama told The Sunday Leader.

Bogollagama feels Canada’s position now is possibly based on a change of heart and not change of facts. Canada is home to a huge Sri Lankan Diaspora and pressure from some anti-government groups is adding to the pressure on Canada to boycott the summit.
The Global Tamil Forum (GTF), a leading Tamil Diaspora group which has members in Canada, said it will continue to push for a boycott of CHOGM in Sri Lanka by the West.

GTF spokesperson Suren Surendiran told The Sunday Leader that unless the Commonwealth leaders and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth believe, respect and practice the core values as they signed up to and they expose countries and leaders who disrespect the same, the Commonwealth as an international institution will become irrelevant fast.

“The core values and principles of the Commonwealth, are as stated in the recently signed charter: inter alia to democracy, human rights, the rule of law, separation of powers, freedom of expression, good governance, tolerance, respect and understanding and the role of civil society. As the custodian of the Commonwealth’s fundamental political values, the Group pledged to continue to promote these commonly agreed goals,” he said adding that the Sri Lankan government has failed in most counts.

With six months to go before the Colombo summit Surendiran alleged that GTF will use that time to expose the lack of democracy in general by militarization of public institutions, the dictatorial trend, the government sponsored attacks on media institutions, government sponsored premeditated attacks on the Muslim faith, the lack of independence of the judiciary, the undemocratic features of the 18th amendment to the country’s constitution, corruption, economic mismanagement, government sponsored colonization, forced evictions and land grabbing in Sri Lanka.

“We as a Diaspora institution which have country organizations as members or as associate members active in most important countries like, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and South Africa and others, we will continue to campaign hard to demand that the leaders of these countries boycott the CHOGM in Colombo in November 2013,” he said. He also said that the Tamil Diaspora in Britain is not happy with the announcement that British Prime Minister David Cameron will be attending the summit.

“Prince Charles and the Prime Minister seem to be on course to wipe out all the pressure that has been built through the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) process in the last two years by the US lead both resolutions which demand action on accountability, deteriorating human rights conditions for all people of Sri Lanka, the lack of democracy, interference in the independence of the judiciary and the lack of progress on seeking a political solution to the Tamil National question. Since the last resolution, conditions in Sri Lanka have deteriorated even further,” he said.

“FCO Minister Alistair Burt seems to suggest that the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have taken the decision to go to Sri Lanka because Buckingham Palace has taken the decision to go as the head of the Commonwealth, the member countries have requested HM or her representative to be present. The British Tamils of whom the Monarch and the PM represent wonder whether if the members requested that the Queen or her representative to visit Syria or Zimbabwe to shake hands with President Assad or Mugabe, whether Buckingham Palace would decide the same and whether the PM would accompany Her Majesty or her representative,” Surendiran said.

The government however is not shaken and feels it enjoys strong support amongst the Commonwealth countries, represented by the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Secretariat, comprising the 54 London-based Commonwealth High Commissioners.
Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the UK Dr. Chris Nonis said in a statement that the “unwavering support” of all except one country, at recent meetings, necessitates a depth and breadth of understanding that Commonwealth countries are at different stages of development, with a commonality of values and aspirations, as well as challenges and constraints.
The High Commissioner said that although there had been intensive lobbying in the past year by anti-Sri Lanka activist groups with collateral agendas, in particular in London, which is home to the Commonwealth Secretariat, they had not succeeded in their attempts to pressurize Commonwealth Nations to shift the venue, nor to pressurise the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group to place Sri Lanka on its formal agenda.

Bogollagama meanwhile says Sri Lanka should continue its engagement with Canada despite the comments being made by its Foreign Minister on Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan diplomats must try not to be like politicians and criticize any country even if those countries work against Sri Lanka. The Commonwealth biennial meeting in November this year, will be preceded by the Commonwealth People’s Forum, the Commonwealth Youth Forum, and the Commonwealth Business Forum, and usually attracts several thousand delegates, and global media coverage. It will provide the opportunity for the 54 Heads to meet to discuss matters of global and Commonwealth concern, and agree collective policies and initiatives.

The Provincial Council For The North?

By R.M.B Senanayake -May 13, 2013 

R.M.B. Senanayake

If the people are to participate in governance then devolution of power to the periphery is essential. This reflects Tocqueville’ assertion of decentralization being indispensable for a system of active popular rule – power to the people and equal opportunities for all.

But politicians who get elected don’t want people’s participation thereafter. They would prefer the people to mind their business until the next election. The colonial state was not a democracy. With the mobilization of the majoritySinhala Buddhists carried out by SWRD in 19566 the State disinherited the Tamil population. The post 1956 State became a majoritarian State and it failed to carry out the twin tasks of ‘nation-building and non-discriminatory economic development. Powers were concentrated, and with the progress of the war the powers became authoritarian, and the law made an unmediated instrument of force where administrative fiat was more a rule, than the rule of law. This is where we are today after the passing of the18th Amendment and the subjection of the Judiciary to the Executive Presidency.

Presently, the political space is monopolized by a centralized authoritarian system. The fear of losing power is not the fear of the Sinhalese people but of the politicians in power who do not want to devolve power not even to those Provincial Councils where their own party is in control. So they project their fear of loss of power to the Sinhalese masses invoking the risk of secession. So to allow a Northern Provincial Council to function will be a great step forward.

The next question is to what extent is centralized political authority willing to relinquish power to the periphery? The Government doesn’t want to devolve police and land powers. But the Police powers were to be subject to the independent Police Commission and the powers of land alienation were to be subject to the control of the National Land Commission. But these important checks and balances were done away with by the present regime and it now wants to amend the 13th Amendment to remove these powers.  An important issue is the attitude of India which wants devolution of power as a solution to the grievances of the Tamil people.  What is the attitude of the international community towards the devolution of power? They certainly welcome the devolution of power to enable the local people to decide matters for themselves.

The implementation of policy and programmes by the public service must be under the surveillance of the people and exerted through their elected representatives. But there must be a clear separation between the role of the elected representative and the bureaucracy. Under the present regime the elected representatives although lacking in knowledge and competency have taken full control of the public service. But the role of the politician vis  a vis the public service is not to interfere in technical decision making or in running the department but only in supervising the bureaucracy to ensure that their decision making is transparent and in the public interest. They are required to act according to the law and without discrimination. It cannot be gainsaid that “the citizen has a surveillance role to play to ensure that the public servant comply with the mandate that was given them” [Hilliard and Kemp 1949:43].So the appointment, promotion and discipline of the bureaucracy is under the purview of an independent Provincial Public Service Commission. Elected representatives should not take these powers to themselves.

The Provincial Council is a collective body in the nature of an assembly with the Executive power in the hands of the Chief Minister. It must focus its efforts and resources on improving the quality of life of the communities. In addition to enhancing understanding of needs, civil society participation enhances understanding of the impact of policy and programmes as well as promotes the development of priorities. It is though interaction with the public that the state and local authorities can discover what citizens expects from their governments, local and national, areas where the implementation of policy and programmes are inadequate, and thereby promote the development of priorities.

It must be borne in mind that this institution was worked out under the Indo-Lanka Agreement to provide minorities the opportunity to share power with the Centre. While devolution although primarily focuses on power sharing for the ethnic minorities, it must also be viewed as an institution that can play a vital role in bringing the rural sector in partnership as a stake holder in managing the priorities of the area and the community.  If this institution is given the freedom to function freely within its mandate, it can act as the mechanism to resolve the grievances of the people. Community participatory engagement with the leverage to take initiatives at the community level will undoubtedly bring satisfaction to the people and keep them away from ‘disruptive politics’ and social upheavals as experienced in the country with the ‘71 and ‘87 southern revolts. This holds true for the ethnic conflict too.

The problem will be the role of the Governor who is expected to be a figurehead but unfortunately have become involved in acting as a channel for the ruling power and the ruling politicians at the Center. One hopes the Provincial Council for the North won’t end up the way the Jaffna District Council ended up.

NPC elections will be held, so Wimal must go: UNP

MONDAY, 13 MAY 2013 
The UNP said today Minister Wimal Weerawansa should quit his portfolio and leave the government right away.

UNP Uva provincial council member K. Velayudham told a news conference that the government would definitely hold the Northern Provincial Council elections and therefore Minister Weerawansa should quit as he undertook to do at his May Day speech without threatening the Government.

Will disband if Minister Wimal proves allegations: BBS

MONDAY, 13 MAY 2013 

The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) said today it would disband if Minister Wimal Weerawansa proved that the BBS had obtained funds from Norway or from any other country or organisation.

 “We challenge Minister Weerawansa to prove that BBS has taken money from Norway or from any other country or organization. If he proves that we have even taken even Rs.5 from any of these groups, we will make a public apology and disband the BBS within two hours of his doing so,” BBS General Secretary Ven. Galagodaththe Gnanasara thera said at a news conference in Colombo. (Jayashika Padmasiri)

Reasons For Separating Military From Civilian Affairs

By Jehan Perera -May 13, 2013 

Jehan Perera

The acquisition of about 7000 acres of land in the Jaffna peninsula has become a major issue that impacts upon the post-war reconciliation process.  TheLessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission recommended the release back to their owners of private lands taken over for military purposes during the war.  This was also the position taken by President Mahinda Rajapaksa when he made promises to the international community that the displaced people would be returned to their homes.  But as recent events have shown, the acquisition of privately owned lands by the military had continued dealing another blow to the possibility of national reconciliation.

Despite protests by the affected people in the North it appears that the government is determined to go ahead with its plan to take over large extents of the land in the North for use by the security forces.  Those who have been able to get inside some of these areas report that not even the foundations of the buildings remain on the land which is being prepared for new constructions.  It is believed that at least some of this land will be utilized for military-run tourist hotels and economic enterprises. It may have been this reason that prompted the government to prevent the Leader of the Opposition from entering one such acquired area when he visited the North recently.

What is worthy of note is that the acquisition of land by the military that is taking place is not limited to the North and to land inhabited by Tamils.  It is also taking place in other parts of the country.  Recently there have been media reports about the acquisition of over 1000 acres of land in the East in the traditional Sinhalese area of Panama which was a lush, serene and peaceful village on the sea coast when I last visited it during the time of the war, although vulnerable to LTTE attack.   This area was the sanctuary of Sinhalese people who were forced out of their villages in the interior parts of the country during the Great Rebellion of 1818 due to the scorched earth policy of the British colonial rulers.

The Buddhist monk in the area was quoted in the media as saying that about three years ago, the people were chased away by armed men, and the following day the area was cordoned off by military personnel. But it is believed that the land has been taken over to construct a hotel complex although the military says it is for a military camp.  Media reports claim that the permits from the departments of coast conservation, archaeology and forestry that are usually required prior to the construction of any building have not been obtained.  In one media report a military spokesperson is quoted as saying “This is a Defence Ministry land and there is no necessity to obtain approval from any department to carry out any of our development work.”

Unexpected Increase

One of the unexpected post-war developments has been the increasing role of the military in the life of the country.  There has been continued recruitment by the military, increase of the military budget and the entry of the military into commercial life.  The explanation given by the government for increasing the size of the military machine rather than downsizing it has been that it is to preserve national security.  This has made government actions in terms of increasing the role of the military in national life difficult to criticize.  After a three decade long war, there is public deference to the imperatives of national security, or what is claimed to be national security.

However, there is another explanation for the increase in the numbers of the military, and its enhanced role, after the war.  This has to do with the ideology of the government.  It appears that the government is modeling the Sri Lankan state on the lines of states such as Pakistan, Myanmar and Indonesia, where the military has become embedded with the civilian authorities in governing the country.  In these countries the military has become a part and parcel of civilian life, and not kept strictly separate from it, as in conventional democracies.  In these countries the military runs big economic enterprises such as hotels, banks and travel companies.

Where the military gets involved in business, they can often outdo the private sector in providing goods and services to the people at a cheaper price.  This was seen in Sri Lanka too during the time when vegetable prices soared.  The military started to sell vegetables at cheaper prices.  Likewise the military run hotels, restaurants and travel services are competitively priced and seem to be efficiently run.  But they contain a huge hidden subsidy.  This is on account of the salaries and logistical costs that are paid separately to the military personnel from the military budget.  These costs are not included in the cost of goods and services provided by the military.  Therefore they can be provided at cheaper rates to the consumers.

There is a further hidden cost of military involvement in civilian affairs which is why democratically governed countries keep the military strictly separate from civilian affairs.  The military are disciplined to take orders from the top.  They are not expected to question their superiors.  But in democratic life, it is exactly the opposite that is expected to take place.  It is the people who should be able to decide what they want.  The democratically elected leaders are expected to listen to the people and implement their wishes, so long as they conform to principles of human rights and respect for democratic values.

Democratic Cost

The reported statement of the military spokesperson who said that lands taken over by the Defense Ministry do not require going through the approval process of other government departments shows the limited and sometimes one-track focus of military thinking.   They tend to see security issues in primarily physical and military terms.  But security has also got other dimensions, such as human security, food security, environmental security and also the need to preserve historical and archaeological sites. Good governance requires the ability to see the larger picture in a holistic manner and how the different aspects of life interact with one another.

It is significant that the government’s decision to suddenly acquire large extents of land in the North has been taken prior to the establishment of a legitimate and popularly elected civilian administration for the formerly war-stricken Northern Province.  Those decisions that severely affect the lives of large numbers of people would more appropriately be taken in consultation with the elected Provincial Council after it is constituted.   The general practice in the country has been that when the government wishes to take over large tracts of land for a public purpose it discusses this matter with the affected population and with their political representatives, and gives the necessary time for legal objections to be made through the judiciary.

In Jaffna in the North more than 2000 persons who owned land are ready to file petitions in the courts of law.  There is a possibility that 5000 petitions may end up being filed in the courts. It is to be hoped that, as advocated by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, government policy will not substitute for recourse to courts of law where the affected people have proof of title, and even where they do not have this, the civilian arm of government has the duty to carefully check and reissue them with the rights to which they are entitled.  This is a matter of national interest, as what happens in one part of the country will have its consequences on the other parts as well.

The military’s takeover of land is an expansion of the role of the military in the life of the Sri Lankan nation which will affect every one of its citizens, and not merely those who belong to the ethnic minorities. Especially in a country that is recovering from three decades of warfare and violence there can be no equality between those who have guns in their hands, and those who are unarmed.  This is why the military – civilian relationship in governance is problematic and why the established democracies in the world keep them separate.  This democratic process now appears to be overpowered, as in Panama in the East, where the local authorities are trying to accommodate the military’s take-over of the people’s lands.

Arrest drama of Azath Saaly, a warning to silence government critics. - Saravanabavan MP

Sunday , 12 May 2013

The arrest of Azath Saaly undoubtedly emphasize to comprehend, it is utilized to hunt the ethnic and religious political opponents in a biased manner at a situation four years are completed after the end of war, but still  Terrorism Prevention Law is  not abolished.

The Colombo urban council Deputy Mayor and Tamil Muslim National Front Leader Azath Saaly was arrested under Terrorism Prevention Law and was detained in prison and released.

This unscrupulous activity is a warning given to silence the critics of the Sinhala government’s anti-democratic activities said Tamil National Alliance Jaffna district parliament member E.Saravanabawan.

He gave a statement concerning the arrest and release of Azath Saaly said, critics of anti-democratic activities of the government, even though he is an individual or a media is subject to face a variety of legal or illegal revengeful actions is not a new issue. Many have been assassinated or have disappeared.

Continuous to these activities, Azath Saaly's arrest should be observed. Arresting him in the manner of instigating conflict among ethnics, the interview given by him to “Junior Vikadan” published from India is the reason was said.

However his interview was published by exaggerating, and to make the necessary amendment he had written a letter to that publication was said. He even showed a copy of the letter to the police was notified by him. However he was detained for 15 days, for an inquiry and necessary permission was granted towards this.

 If a main mosque in Colombo is demolished, a situation for Muslims may arise to carry weapons was said by Saaly at the interview was stated.

He was accused that these statement would   create racial conflicts, however more than ten mosques in Sri Lanka are attacked and damaged. Some of it is demolished. Attacking against the worship center of a particular race, and legal action not taken against such activities, are whether those create racial clashes?

Or to express objection will create racial clashes?

The violence executed by the Buddhist Sinhala racists against Tamil and Muslim community, whether laws of this country not visible to the eyes. If oppose and voice against such violence, accused of provoking ethnic conflict and Terrorism Prevention Law is utilized.

Sinhala Buddhist movements instigate racism.

Azath Saali should not be released, and it would pave way for Muslim fundamentalism said Jathika Hela Urumaya., Buddhist Balasena, National Freedom Front, Patriotic National Movement and some Buddhist Sinhala fundamentalist organizations, blatantly instigating racism against the Tamil and Muslim community.

They are instigating violence, but so far they are not punished. It is said, even though they are in the government; they have the freedom of expression in a democratic country.

Racist oppression in the democracy of Sri Lanka is justified and voice against it, is observed as terrorism activities. There is no rule of law exist here with much hurtful feelings was expressed by Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem, which emphasize oppression and violence against the Tamil and Muslim community has intensified.

North maritime organization machines operating assignment was inaugurated recently by Minister Dougls Devananda and on conclusion of the meeting, Minister met the reporters, challenged openly that he could throttle the neck of journalists.

A minister with joint responsibility and possessing cabinet status, if could challenge violence publicly, we should comprehend the democracy of Sri Lanka.

The arrest of Azath Saaly clearly establishes an issue.  The arrest of Azath Saaly undoubtedly emphasize to comprehend, it is utilized to hunt the ethnic and religious political opponents in a biased manner at a situation four years are completed after the end of war, but still  Terrorism Prevention Law is  not abolished.

This is not the first time in Sri Lanka those criticize the government getting assassinated, disappearing and getting arrested. However it is much condemnable the Muslim Ministers maintaining silence and  the  Iyathul Lama Council forwarding a letter to President to show compassion concerning the arrest of Azath Saaly who objected the religious oppressions against the Muslim community and urging for Tamil and Muslim unity.

The arrest of Azath Saali, the attack against "Udayan" press including many incidents, are the many occurrences to silence the government  critics, which we consider it as threats of violence. It is clearly evident in a democracy country, democracy is still continuing as a question mark, which establishes the government’s dictatorship attitude.

However a time would occur to reply the people towards the multitude violations which we intend to notify here was said.

Sunday , 12 May 2013

Cost of blind plunges

May 12, 2013, 8:37 pm 

When Leader of the Muslim-Tamil Alliance Leader Azath Salley was arrested recently under the much-dreaded Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), we were told by the government spokesmen that he was a threat to national security as he was inciting the Muslims to violence against the state. In a bid to justify the use of those draconian laws, they cited as evidence an interview he had given to a South Indian magazine and claimed that a statement therein was tantamount to a call to arms! There was high octane performance on the part of the CID, which arrested him and obtained a detention order in record time. (If only the police acted so efficiently in dealing with suspects connected to the government as well, this country would be a much better place!)

But, no sooner had Salley submitted an affidavit denying what was attributed to him in the aforesaid interview than President Mahinda Rajapaksa released him. Why on earth did the government plunge feet first into using the PTA to deal with Salley without first ascertaining the veracity of the allegations against him? It put the cart before the horse obviously for political reasons. Would anyone in his proper senses planning an armed uprising against Sri Lanka have gone around giving press interviews and revealing his intentions? Salley also erred. He should have met the CID, which says it sought an appointment with him to obtain a statement and put the record straight instead of having himself arrested and staging fasts. He has failed to act responsibly.

Welcoming Salley’s release, UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has bragged that the government has buckled under pressure from the Opposition. If so, the question is why Salley submitted an affidavit to the President without continuing to hold his ground and fast until he was released unconditionally. If the Opposition thinks it is so strong as to mobilise the public to the extent of taming the government, will it tell us why it pathetically failed, in spite of its public protests, to secure the release of former Army Commander Gen. Sarath Fonseka unconditionally and thwart the impeachment of Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake?

Real threats to national security emanate not from those who fight for democratic rights of the people but from those who resort to aggression and violence against others of different ethnicities and religions During the war, the Muslims in the North and the East bore the brunt of LTTE terror and today they are suffering at the hands of a bunch of racists among the Sinhalese. Minister Wimal Weerawansa got it right—for once—the other day when he lambasted an outfit ‘with external links responsible for attacks on the Muslims’. He stopped short of naming that organisation but flayed it for what he called furthering the interests of some foreign powers and the LTTE; he claimed that the on-going hate campaign against the Muslims might lead to a situation where they were compelled to change their position on the demerger of the North and the East and join forces with the separatists striving to re-merge the two provinces. However, it is not the fear of the Muslims supporting a possible re-amalgamation of the North and the East that should prompt one to oppose the on-going anti-Muslim frenzy but one’s sense of justice and fair play.

Now that Minister Weerawansa has talked the talk, he has to walk the walk, so to speak. He should take on, with might and main, the lunatic fringe of the UPFA support base carrying out a hate campaign against the ethno-religious minorities, who should, for their part, isolate fanatics among them. Extremism, in all its forms and manifestations, needs to be defeated if national reconciliation which continues to elude us is to be achieved.

The government swung into action against Salley under the PTA plunging the country into political turmoil in the process simply because it chose to take what had been published in a magazine seriously. But, unfortunately, there are no laws available for the public to move courts against politicians on the basis of what is published in election manifestos which contain promises such as the abolition of the executive presidency and restoration of democracy and the rule of law. How sad!

The arrest and release of Azath Salley

by Ranga Jayasuriya-2013-05-12 

Late last week, as pressure was mounting on the government over the detention of the Muslim politician, Azath Salley, powerful Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, plunged himself into the controversy.

He told our sister newspaper, Mawbima, that Salley was detained on a controversial detention order obtained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) as the detained politician had conspired to mobilize Sri Lankan Muslims to wage an armed struggle against the country.

He alleged Salley had held talks with a Tamil Nadu based group, to establish a joint front and that intelligence agencies had found incriminating evidence that Salley had held discussions with the Tamil Nadu group to mobilize the Tamil speaking Sri Lankan Muslims into the hands of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

It is, however, not clear as to how canvassing support for the TNA, a coalition of Tamil political parties with a parliamentary representation, would amount to a crime. Notwithstanding those discrepancies, the Defence Secretary made it clear that he meant business and that he ‘would be awake to protect the country.’ What is also not clear was whether the Indian intelligence agencies were aware of those purported findings made by their Sri Lankan counterparts.

However, strange enough, not even 24 hours after Gotabhaya Rajapaksa made those damning revelations, Azath Salley was released on Friday, after President Mahinda Rajapaksa revoked his detention order. Having signed the official papers for the release of Salley, his one-time ally , the President enplaned to Uganda. The country is a recent African success story and a member of the Commonwealth. However, the mention of its name evokes a less salubrious individual, with whom the country was synonymous for all too long: Idi Amin, cannibalizing despot, who turned the country into a hellhole and decided the life and the death of his people.

Justification for release

The purported justification for the release of Salley was that he, in an affidavit submitted to the President, had denied advocating an armed struggle. He maintained that he had been misquoted by the Tamil Nadu magazine, Junior Vikatan and that the magazine had carried a correction subsequent to his request.

Following is an excerpt from the affidavit:

Mohamed Azath Sanoon Salley

Affidavit

I, Mohammed Azath Salley of 61/A Flower Road, Colombo 7, being a Muslim do hereby solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm as follows:

I am the affirmant above named.

I state that I gave an interview to the Junior Vikatan magazine published in India. I state that in the manner in which the interview was published I have been misquoted. Upon realizing this I requested them to publish a correction which has been republished.

As a Sri Lankan Muslim, I don’t advocate or support anyone to take up arms against the Republic of Sri Lanka as I am fully aware of the consequences and the costs of such a course of action as seen through the three decade war in Sri Lanka.

I have stood for and will continue to stand for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and for the equal rights of all communities. If anyone is misled by the interview published in the Junior Vikatan or if anyone has been disturbed , I express my regrets.

I state that I attended a conference organized by the “ Popular Front of India” purely on the basis of an invitation extended to me by the said organization and I participated solely as an invitee for the first time. I had not prior knowledge of the said organization background and their motives.

As a patriotic citizen of the Republic of Sri Lanka and who supports the sovereignty of Sri Lanka I will not support anyone who makes statements against Sri Lanka or its national security and I condemn such actions and statements.

Salley’s release, as much as his arrest, was extraordinary. Neither could be described using the normal process of the rule of law. The arbitrariness of the incidents defines the Sri Lankan system. Salley was released after the submission of the affidavit. The affidavit alone, it appeared, served as the sufficient proof of Salley’s innocence against a series of earlier allegations levelled by the Defence Secretary and the purported findings of the intelligence services. It was the President’s discretionary powers that matters after all, both in his arrest and the release.

Govt. in a catch-22 situation

Salley’s arrest placed the government in a catch-22 situation. Its ministers themselves had been questioning the legality of the arrest. A major rebuke of the arrest came from none other than Justice Minister, Rauff Hakeem. Speaking in public, Hakeem described the arrest as illegal. In a meeting of the government parliamentarians, he complained that as the Justice Minister, he had been kept in the dark and that the arrest of Sally should have been handled by his ministry. The anger of Hakeem was directed at none other than the powerful presidential brother, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Another Minister, Rishad Bathiudeen, had been lobbying for the release of Salley, behind the curtain.

The dilemma of the Muslim parliamentarians in the ruling party had been worst confounded by the sense of disenchantment of the Muslims that the government had been indifferent towards, if not culpable for the growing anti-Muslim propaganda.

Worst still, the international pressure also increased as some of the Western democracies and Islamic countries conveyed their concerns to their Sri Lankan counterparts.

It was a representative from the American Embassy in Colombo, who was first to visit Salley after his release from the detention.

The affidavit, which was submitted by detained Salley, provided a face-saving for the government to extricate itself from the situation. For Salley, who had already languished for eight days in CID custody, shifting between the fifth floor of the CID and the hospital, that was a fair enough bargain.

However, some other ministers are disappointed with the handling of the case, for different reasons.

The arrest thrust Salley into the limelight. “Earlier, my brother was known only in Sri Lanka. Now he is known internationally. I must thank Gotabhaya for that,” says Riyaz Salley, the brother of Azath.

And Minister Mervyn Silva quipped in a conversation with fellow government parliamentarians: “Meka hariyata car ekak ona ekata, geyak dunna wage wedak.” (This is like donating a house to a man who only wanted a car)

‘I’m more patriotic than the patriots’

Azath Salley, who was released from CID custody on Friday, describes his experience.

Q: Did you apologize to the President in order to get released?

A: No. Why should I? The government media are now saying that I apologized. All what I said was included in the affidavit.

Q: What did the CID ask from you?

A: They took a statement before I was released on Friday.

Q: Does that mean, they kept you in detention for eight days without questioning?

A: On the first day of my arrest, they asked some basic questions and wrote 13 pages. You know those basic questions like my name, mother’s name and how my forefathers came to Sri Lanka centuries ago, stuff like that. Nothing substantial. After that, I was started fasting and I was not in a position to give a statement. And they had to take a statement from me before I was released. So they took a statement on Friday.

Q: What did you tell them?

A: I told them the same thing that I wrote in the affidavit. I also told them to go and arrest Bodu Bala Sena Secretary Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera, because he had described 83 mosques in Akurana as Taliban bunkers. I told them (CID) to arrest him and get more information about the Taliban in Sri Lanka. I also told them to question Udaya Gammanpila, who had warned that the 1915 Muslim-Sinhala riots would happen soon. They (CID) should question him about those remarks, but the funny thing is that one who appeals for peace is in custody while those who fuel ethnic disharmony are roaming free.

Q: Did any government ministers visit you?

A: Yes, many

Q: Who are they?

A: Rajitha (Senaratne) and Rishad (Bathiudeen) came to see me in the hospital while I was in CID custody on the first day. But on the second day, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, S.B. Dissanayake, Tissa Attanayake and many others came, but they were not allowed to see me.

Q: Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has alleged that you had conspired to wage an armed struggle against the country…

A: Gotabhaya Rajapaksa should know I am a more patriotic Sri Lankan than him. I did not help Bodu Bala Sena. I am advocating that we, all communities, should be able to live in this country with equal rights.

Sri Lanka: IMF Slashed GDP Growth To 6.3% From 6.8%

By Hema Senanayake -May 13, 2013 

Hema Senanayake

Usually I write on economic issues, especially on macroeconomic issues. Very rarely I write something of common interest. That is why I dedicated my previous piece to write something about BBS. However this essay is on economics or the impending economic calamity of Sri Lanka. Forecasted GDP growth has now been reduced.

At the beginning of this year the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CB) forecasted that the country would achieve 7.5% of GDP growth. International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasted 6.8% GDP growth. RMB Senanayake writing to Colombo Telegraph in January this year said that “So the growth rate projected by the Central Bank of 7.5% is possible but is it desirable for it risks a larger current account deficit…”

Rejecting all the above notions I wrote that “Sri Lanka will Never Achieve The Projected 7.5% GDP Growth” (Colombo Telegraph, January 26, 2013). My forecast was that GDP growth would be just above 5% if the government tried to stick to the limit of foreign borrowing proposed in the approved budget for 2013.

A few days ago, IMF slashed its GDP growth forecast to 6.3% from 6.8%. On May 09, 2013 DailyFT reported “the IMF projects Lankan economy to grow by 6.3% this year …. The growth forecast for this year is 0.5 lower than that was predicted in IMF’s October 2012 World Economic Outlook.” Is this a sign that finally my forecast is going to be accurate? Anyway I hope not.

Now you might be thinking how on earth I did my forecast. The answer is that I saw something that those experts at CB, Treasury and IMF did not see. Isaac Newton once suggested that if you want to see beyond what others saw then you must climb up and stand up on the shoulders of giants. This means “one who develops future intellectual pursuits by understanding and building on the research and works created by notable thinkers of the past.  That was what I did.

By doing that as far back as January 26, 2013 I wrote “… the government proposed in the budget for 2013 to reduce borrowing from foreign sources to Rs.86 billion which roughly amounts to $675 million from Rs.205.6 billion in 2012, which roughly amounted to $1.6 billion. This means that the government borrowed 2.5 times more in 2012, in U.S. dollar terms than the amount what is proposed to borrow for 2013. Still with such a higher amount of foreign loans, it has now been estimated that final GDP for 2012 came down to 6.5% from the estimated 8%. …The reduction of foreign borrowing to $675 million is very unrealistic … So, by proposing to reduce foreign borrowings dramatically the government has now set the presence of the first necessary condition to create a balance of payment crisis…” (Colombo Telegraph, Jan. 26, 2013)

So far the predicted balance of payment crisis was averted by drastically reducing the credit growth in the private sector.

The macro economy is a system; when you make a change in one area that affects to another area of the economy. For an example, if private credit is allowed to grow excessively then it might eventually destabilize the exchange rate of the rupee, in other words the rupee will get depreciated. Also if you drastically reduced the growth of private credit, then it will appreciate the rupee, foreign exchange reserves might go up even though such foreign reserve surges are not available for the government to use and finally the growth of GDP will be reduced to a disappointing figure. That is what has happened now; foreign exchange reserves up, GDP slashed.

My prediction was not ad-hoc, because I invited the readers of CT to keep an eye on my prediction. “Please note that the government did not propose to borrow from international commercial market this year; a promise that the government cannot keep if it wants to avoid a financial crisis. Hence the predicted GDP growth of 7.5% for this year will depend on the government’s ability to borrow heavily in USD terms, beyond the limit specified in the approved budget, period. I kindly request readers to keep an eye on my above prediction” (CT. January 26, 2013)

By the end of February this year, a high level delegation of IMF visited the country. Everybody now knows that the Treasury Secretary asked for a USD 1 billion as a budget support and such borrowing was not specified in the budget for 2013. Is this tantamount to a professional blunder done by the CB and the Treasury? I do not know but however the IMF had rejected the government’s request for a loan of USD 1 billion.

If the government wants to increase GDP along with the government’s revenue, it has to facilitate private sector credit growth. When private credit grows, foreign exchange reserves dwindle because imports are supposed to go up with the increase of private credit but GDP increases. Let me explain this point with a simple example.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is calculated in adding up four parameters. GDP = C+I+G+NE; in this simple equation C is consumption, I is investment, G is government expenditure and NE is net exports (i.e. exports-imports). Let us assume that CB removed the presently imposed credit growth limit to housing sector. As a result banks will issue more loans to home builders. Housing sector will require certain imported materials hence with the issuance of housing loans, imports might go up.

When the housing sector increases imports the value of NE reduces because NE = exports – imports. But at the same time local investments that is “I” in the GDP equation also go up. Housing loans increase certain imports and contribute negatively to NE and hence NE reduces but on the other hand housing construction contributes to increase “I” in the GDP equation, more than the reduction in NE and hence issuance of housing loans are very positive on GDP.

This means if balance of payment situation can be maintained the issue of housing loans will increase private credit growth but also increase GDP. Houses serve the well-being of lives especially in N&E given the devastation that took place during the war.

Now mega projects increases GDP too. Any expenditure of the government is added to GDP under the variable of “G” in the GDP equation but increases imports too. Eg; Mihin Air increases “imports” (or increases the outflow of dollars) but serves nothing for the well-being of the general public and contributes to destabilize rupee. That is why the government’s expenditure (which is “G” in GDP calculation) must be well spent. But the important point is “imports” is an economic activity but it does not necessarily increase the GDP. That is why professional prudence is very vital in the handling of economic policy; in fact economics is a science and it cannot be reduced to a daily decision making business.

Sri Lanka hits out at Canada

YAHOO! NEWS-By Indo Asian News Service | IANS India Private Limited – Fri, May 3, 2013

Colombo, May 3 (IANS) Sri Lanka Friday said that Canada's "hostile criticism" of Colombo strengthened "evil forces" and did not contribute to the reconciliation process in the island nation.

Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Canada Chitranganee Wagiswara said her country looked to all states in the Commonwealth to uphold the principles of objectivity, understanding and mutual respect, reports Xinhua.

Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird had publicly criticized the failure by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to take action on Sri Lanka at its recent meeting in London.

Canada has accused Sri Lanka of grave human rights violations during the final stages of the war against the Tamil Tigers which the guerrillas lost four years ago.

Wagiswara said in a statement that the CMAG had no role in the matter of a decision concerning the venue of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting as this was the prerogative of the heads of government.

"It is therefore appalling and unprecedented for certain quarters to express views opposing this consensual decision by the Commonwealth Member States at the highest level," she said.

The high commissioner said the need of the hour from the Commonwealth was to assist and support Sri Lanka vis-a-vis post conflict challenges to ensure sustainable peace.

She said separatist elements in the Tamil diaspora including in Canada still continued to disseminate anti-Sri Lanka propaganda and lobby leaders and other decision makers in the West against Sri Lanka.