Cutting a corner in Trinco

Editorial

May 24, 2013, 7:45 pm 

The government has reportedly frowned on an agreement between the US embassy in Colombo and the Trincomalee Urban Council to set up an American activity and information centre in Trincomalee without first obtaining permission from the External Affairs Ministry.

An American corner will be a boon to the people of Trincomalee in that they will have access to a number of facilities that neither their urban council nor the Eastern Provincial Council nor the government for that matter has been able to provide them with. There are already two such centres in Kandy and Jaffna.

In fact, the US should have set up a fully-fledged library in the East. It could render a much better service to Sri Lankans if it establishes one library each in all provinces with its funds that go to some NGOs that squander their easy dollars on talk shows at five star hotels, wine and cheese parties and foreign trips. However, the US embassy and the Trincomalee UC should have known better than to sign an agreement without the knowledge of the External Affairs Ministry. Diplomatically speaking, such action amounts to cutting a corner.

If a local government authority in any other part of the country had entered into such an agreement with the US, perhaps, there would not have been objections from the government, we reckon. But, whatever the US does in Trincomalee causes concern to any Sri Lankan government because of the unusual interest the world powers have evinced in the Trinco harbour.

Sri Lanka’s experience with foreign pacts has mostly been bitter. Once bitten, twice shy! The Portuguese, having landed here, first obtained permission to secure an area about the size of a cow’s hide, but went on to build a fort and capture part of the littoral. The British violated the Kandyan Convention to expand their power throughout the country and there have been many such instances where foreigners took Sri Lankan rulers for a ride to further their interests. A person who has been hit with a firebrand, as popular Sri Lankan saying goes, is scared of even a firefly!

The US, we believe, may have wanted to be of some assistance to the people of Trincomalee in the post-war period by setting up an information centre. But, its history has been such that even its gifts are popularly viewed as Trojan horses. Even if a tippler drinks a glass of milk near a palmyrah palm, it is said, people think he is gulping down toddy.

It is hoped that the government will not act like a bull in a ‘China’ shop in handling the issue of the American corner to be set up in Trincomalee. The xenophobic mistrust of everything should be avoided. (After all, this country is governed by Americans to all intents and purposes in that the key UPFA politicians and top bureaucrats are US citizens!)

US information and activity centres, we repeat, will benefit Sri Lankans and nothing should be done that might discourage the US embassy from expanding that project. However, the fact remains that foreign missions engaged in such activities should desist from overstepping their diplomatic limits, appreciate the concerns of their host government and act accordingly. Diplomacy is a delicate art; a great deal of care and caution need to be exercised in practising it. Departure from established procedures and traditions is to be avoided.

One of the arguments against devolution under the Thirteenth Amendment is that there is the possibility of provincial administrations having direct dealings with foreign powers. The Trinco UC-US embassy agreement will be grist for the mill of the opponents of the Northern PC election which is likely to pave the way for a TNA-controlled provincial council in that part of the country.

Douglas Devananda Undermines The Northern Provincial Council

By S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole -May 25, 2013 |

Prof S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole

Many Tamils who have suffered at the hands of the LTTE have tended to see others on LTTE hit-list with some sympathy. For those on the list, with a dedicated sense of service to the Tamil people and unquenchable thirst for justice, the choice was simple when faced with assassination by the LTTE – run abroad into oblivion or seek protection from the army and do the best they could under the circumstances.

Thus the much respected Mr. R. Sampathan and my uncle Neelan Tiruchelvam of the TULF, T. Sritharan (a.k.a. Sugu) and Robert Subathiran of the EPRLF, and TELO’s Sivajilingam are people who, while staying on in Sri Lanka, sought the protection of the army and lived at Summit Flats in Bambalapitiya or in their well-guarded homes without turning their back on their policies. Despite the protection Tiruchelvam and Robert were to get assassinated. But all of them retained the love and respect of the Tamil community because they never joined the army in its perverse attacks on the Tamil people and they kept underscoring the sufferings of the Tamil people under the Sri Lankan state and seeking solutions within the system.

Then there are others who carried arms and sought the protection of the army and joined in its military operations or intelligence work, often against the Tamil public. Prominent among these is Douglas Devananda. Because he consistently spoke up for devolution, many of us believed that he possessed at least the remnants of the sense of justice that drove all Tamil militants to take up arms and was therefore redeemable.

It was widely reported in the press (19 May, for example, The Sunday Leader) that Minister Douglas Devananda is heading the group of 31 government parliamentarians against removing land and police powers from provinces and that they were prepared vote against such a move in parliament. That leadership role seemed to prove his pro-Tamil rights credentials.

We rejoiced that these 31 parliamentarians would halt the government’s efforts to undermine Tamil desires to have even a slight say in our affairs by denying government the 2/3 vote for a constitutional change – only to be jolted back into reality just now. Douglas has pronounced like a wise Solomon Rajah “If there is no delegation of such powers when forming the Northern Provincial Council, the Tamil people will be concerned. Likewise, Sinhala people will be concerned if these powers are delegated. Therefore, it is advisable to hold it back for the moment until there is understanding.”  (Daily Mirror, 20 May).

The trick is this – because a province already has these powers, to hold back those powers the constitution needs amendment and the 30 parliamentarians Douglas leads would be persuaded to vote for it. A big favor indeed to his masters. To give these powers back later would need another amendment!

Machiavelli and Chanakya with their combined chicanery would be put to shame. By taking over the leadership of the 31 parliamentarians opposing the withdrawal of powers from the provinces, Douglas has undermined those noble Sinhalese men and women who were prepared to speak up for Tamils and block a constitutional change. He has shown his true colors as a person prepared to serve rabid Sinhalese nationalists against fellow Tamils.

If provincial council elections are ever held, the Tamil people should vote against this Rajapaksa-Devananda combine. Who is the Tamil who wants a provincial council without land and police powers? Only Devananda, it would seem. He is reportedly wanting to be the chief minister candidate. For what? To hand out a few street sweepers’ jobs?

Tamils want a provincial council so that a) we Tamils have at least a local government to which we can speak of our needs and be understood by, b) land settlement cannot be used for ethnic cleansing and c) the police will not be used to beat up protesters – certainly not to show India and the West that President Rajapaksa has given us self-rule in his great generosity flowing from his love for the Tamil people when in fact we would have no real powers at all.

Douglas Devananda and his government know that the TNA will be resoundingly elected and all the government’s ongoing underhanded efforts to change the demography of the North and control political protest will come to a halt unless these powers are withdrawn. With a Chief Minister around, Devananda cannot act like a colonial governor and summon high ranking government servants to be suddenly present at his Srithar Theatre to answer to him.

The 30 other well-meaning parliamentarians have been tricked by Devananda unless they too are in league with him in this game. If they mean well, let them prove it by electing another leader for their group and stand firm against any constitutional change.

Whatever happens, the TNA must not withdraw from the elections. If they do, it would give the powers of the province, however hollow, to the government and let the government claim the moral high ground. Even if it is a province without powers, the TNA must contest and rout the government to show how the Tamil people feel about this government. The rest of the world has to wake up at long last when after all these struggles Tamils’ representatives are elected to a Provincial Council without any meaningful powers. It is time for India and the world to see how empty the 13^th amendment is and offer us some other redress.

Douglas Devananda by his devious behavior has shown that any sympathy for abject collaborators like him, was and continues to be misplaced.

Tension over army 'seizure' of Sri Lanka Jaffna land

By Charles Haviland-24 May 2013BBC News, Colombo

The army has been accused of 'wholesale militarised seizure' in Jaffna

In a new development, villagers have driven out a group of surveyors sent by the authorities.There are growing tensions in northern Sri Lanka as Tamil people try to prevent the Sinhalese-dominated army from taking over their land.

Thousands more are engaged in court action to try to win back land they were displaced from years ago.

Sri Lanka's army defeated separatist Tamil Tiger rebels after a brutal 26-year war in 2009.

The military says it needs land for security purposes and insists it is reducing its overall presence there.

Opposition parliamentarian and lawyer MA Sumanthiran confirmed reports from Point Pedro, at the island's northernmost tip, that dozens of landowners turned away surveyors sent by the government to inspect land earmarked for a new army barracks.

Land in post-war northern Sri Lanka is a highly contentious issue, pitting local Tamil people against the almost entirely Sinhalese army.

'Colonised' north

Two thousand people are petitioning the Appeal Court in Colombo to get back land which they fled during the bloody 26-year war. Northerners have staged street demonstrations on the issue.

Several clashes between the security forces and protesters in Jaffna have occurred in recent months

The powerful military has occupied it for decades and now seeks to gain possession of it. Much of it - about 6,400 acres (26 sq km) - surrounds Jaffna's airport and a harbour which is being developed for the navy.

In a recent article Jaffna-based lawyer and activist Kumaravadivel Guruparan, and a UK-based Tamil doctor, R Sivakami, described the process as "wholesale militarised seizure" conducted through "dubious" legal means.

They said that as a result "the ethnic demography of the north-east is effectively being re-engineered".

Further south where the final bloody battles of the war were fought, the army says that it needs more land for what they call a "public purpose" - army camps and even army-run holiday resorts.

Human rights campaigners say such moves are keeping vulnerable people, displaced by the war, out of their rightful homes. They accuse the government of trying to "colonise" the Tamil north with Sinhalese.

But the military spokesman, Ruwan Wanigasooriya, described such talk as "absolute rubbish".

He said the land acquisition was "for the security of the people who live there".

"We have gone through 30 years of mayhem. We can't afford a recurrence of conflict," he added.

During the war the Tamil Tigers expelled 100,000 Muslims from the north, while several thousand Sinhalese fled Jaffna in the early years of the war.

Only relatively low numbers have so far returned.

Recently the radical foreign-based website Tamilnet has also reported army seizures of hundreds of acres of Tamil or Muslim-owned land in the ethnically mixed Eastern Province. The reports have not been verified.

Sociology For idiots, 13 A And The NPC Election

By Rajan Philips -May 26, 2013 

Rajan Philips

First, the government puts itself in a political quandary over elections to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC).  To have them, or not to have them, becomes the teasing question.  The President goes on record repeatedly promising to have the election in September.  The government goes out of its way to make sure that Sri Lanka would host the Commonwealth Summit in November.  All of this makes sense.  A free and fair election could showcase the government’s claim at the Commonwealth summit that postwar reconciliation is on course in the island’s former battlegrounds.  The government could even brag that it has re-enfranchised the Tamil people whom the LTTE had disenfranchised previously (especially in 2005). That is one way of looking at it.

Then there is the crooked way of doing things.  A chorus of voices  emerge asking the government to postpone the election until after the CHOGM, or not to have an election at all.  First, they argue, as the election in September will have to be ‘an election with witnesses’ it will be exploited by enemies at home and abroad (the LTTE rump, NGO parasites, opposition pigmies etc.) to pillory the Sri Lankan government in the Jaffna  peninsula in front of foreign election monitors and international media.  Second, they admonish, 13Aand the PC system are India’s impositions on Sri Lanka and permanent security threats to it, so they should be abolished as soon as possible rather than consolidated by having elections and creating a new Northern Provincial Council.

But the government seems to have made up its mind to go ahead with the NPC election in September under the Constitution as it stands including its Thirteenth Amendment.  That much has been stated categorically at last week’s Cabinet press briefing by Anura Priyadhashana Yapa, Petroleum Industries Minister and the celebrated Chair of the Parliamentary Select Committee that impeached Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake.  The Minister did not quite close the door on abolishing 13A for a new system of devolution saying that such a change would have to be first discussed publicly to hear the views of a cross section of people.  Mr. Yapa’s main antagonist at the parliamentary committee, UNP’s Lakshman Kiriella quickly claimed victory for his party.  According to Mr. Kiriella by agreeing to conduct the NCP election under 13A the government was accepting the “UNP’s position that devolution was the way forward”.  Except that the UNPers may know the way forward but their leader knows only to step backward at every juncture.

The genealogy of 13A

There are two sides to the disenchantment with 13A and the Provincial Councils.  If 13A and the PC system are considered too much and too dangerous in the extreme South, they are considered too little and too ineffectual in the extreme North.  Not long ago a visiting Indian parliamentary delegation was told in Jaffna that India should give up its “obsession with the 13^th Amendment”, and move towards a ‘transitional administration’.  TNA’s President Suresh Premachandran told the same delegation that what is needed now is “an interim administration, overseen by India or the United Nations, until there is a final political settlement for the Tamils.”

Dayan Jayatilleka took Premachandran to task for giving Gotabhaya Rajapaksa the biggest ammunition against 13A by opening his big mouth about interim administration and UN oversight.  To his credit and ambidextrously Jayatilleke has also put the pertinent question to GH Peiris as to which Tamil party of significance will accept anything less than the province as the unit of devolution.  One can argue from dawn to dusk for and against 13A and the Provincial Council system, and Dayan Jayatilleka and GH Peiris are worthy opponents and provide great reading.  In the end, who is correct? – is a practical question.  As well, political changes are brought about by originality and leadership, and not by scholarship and literature.

Pace Prof. Peiris, SWRD Bandaranaike demonstrated extraordinary originality and vision among Sri Lankans of his generation and every generation in articulating the ‘federal idea’ for this island as far back as 1926.  He was bold and original and he did not need to see the depth of snow in the Canadian federation, or the level of oppression in the Soviet Union, details that might be of relevance in academic backrooms.  Young Bandaranaike’s early articulation was not an isolated flash in the pan; the idea has been continually evolving as a counter-thesis of power-sharing to the dominant trend of power-concentration in Sri Lanka’s state and politics.  And to close Jayatilleke’s point, any Tamil politician of today will wager on the insight of Bandaranaike as to the form of government in Sri Lanka and not on even a highly accomplished Peradeniya academic.

At the other end, SJV Chelvanayakam, hardly eloquent or florid, was possessed of a razor-sharp legal mind.  He may not have read anything more than KC Wheare on federalism, and he did not need to travel the world like our generation of parliamentarians to attend workshops on power sharing, but Chelvanyakam had an original grasp of what power sharing meant for what he called Sri Lanka’s two ‘deficit provinces’.  By some historic coincidence, it fell to the two St. Thomas’s College classmates to formulate a political pact on power sharing.  That was the celebrated B-C Pact.

That it took 31 years for the B-C Pact to emerge after the federal idea was first mooted by SWRD in 1926, and another 31 years for the adoption of 13A says not so much about the idea itself as about Sri Lanka’s political class and its self-absorbed muddling and machinations.  SWRD’s immediate successors panegyrized the so called Bandaranaike principles but excommunicated the B-C Pact.  By the way, when SWRD reluctantly relented to pressure orchestrated by JR Jayewardene and the UNP (with GG Ponnambalam synchronizing in Jaffna, attacking the ‘Christian’ Pact) and tore up the pact, JRJ wrote in his diary (to paraphrase the footnote on JRJ’s diary entry, in James Manor’s biography of Bandaranaike) that the Prime Minister should have stood his ground and stood by the Pact regardless of protests!  The Pact was torn up but the idea did not die.

The Federal Party pleaded for recognizing Tamil also as an official language in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and for including the provisions of the B-C Pact in the 1972 Constitution, but those pleas were arrogantly rejected.  Much was expected by way of rectification in the 1978 Constitution but expectations were frustrated.  It took another ten years before JRJ finally caught up with his diary entry in 1958 and ushered 13A in 1988.  There is no denying India’s interference in 1988, but there should be no denying either of the political dialectic within Sri Lanka and the synthesis that manifested itself as the Thirteenth Amendment.  Needless to say, if the provisions of the B-C Pact had been included in the 1972 Constitution, or even one half of 13A had been included in the 1978 Constitution, there would have been no pretext or occasion for India to muddle in anyway in Sri Lanka.  There is more.

Regional marginalization

Prof. Peiris is on the mark in saying that it was “post-independence marginalisation of the North and parts of the East from the economic mainstreams of Sri Lanka … that facilitated large-scale mobilisation for the secessionist war waged by the LTTE”, and that “a concerted attempt to bring about a major structural transformation of the northern and eastern regional economy” is now necessary.  In a warning that should apply not only to the ‘northern and eastern regional economy’  but also to the economy of the southern region, Peiris rightly says that such economic transformation cannot be brought about by “a scatter of ill-conceived international airports, cricket stadia and film villages.”

Despite the aversion to 13A, the geographer in Peiris could not help conceptualizing the ‘northern and eastern regional economy’, a concept not very different from what a Bandaranaike or a Chelvanyakam would have articulated.  It would be farfetched to suggest that the post-independence marginalization of the Northern and Eastern Provinces was an inevitable outcome of the Soulbury Constitution, or that a more inclusive economic development of the country would not have been possible under the Soulbury Constitution.  In fact, the Soulbury Constitution started looking much better only after it was replaced in 1972, and again in 1978.  It was not the constitution or market forces that led to the marginalization of the North and East but the dynamic of electoral politics fuelled by ethnic expediency.  The experience of regional or provincial marginalization invariably provided the matrix for political identification.

There was a parallel development in the Tamil political sphere.  Fearing discrimination, or marginalization, the Tamil political leaders focused on representation as their political line of defence and demand.  From the modes of ommunal representation and balanced representation, the representation argument took on a federal form predicated on provincial units.  The transition from one mode to the  other was also driven by the electoral rivalries among the Tamil political parties

History and claims to traditional homelands were rhetorical embellishments which would have withered away if the experience of marginalization had been reversed and the question of representation had been resolved.  Neither happened; representation became even more lopsided by land colonization in the east, and disenfranchisement in the central plantations; worse, another toxic ingredient was added to the communal cauldron by the influx of the military into Northern and Eastern Provinces, starting from the 1960s.  A country’s armed forces are invariably stationed in different parts of the country.  But the government was fomenting trouble by sending into areas where people primarily spoke Tamil, an army of soldiers who only spoke Sinhalese.  That was then. Now it is not only the language disconnect, but also dispossession of people’s land for stationing the military and its enterprises, that has become the new existential threat.

Going back to the future

Twenty five years have gone by after 13A was adopted and we are still arguing its genealogical legitimacy and whether or not it poses a threat to national unity.  If national unity means being inclusive of the Tamils and the Muslims, and if they both indicate that 13A is a reasonable starting point for their inclusion, how could anybody reject that except by telling the Tamils and the Muslims that inclusion means not getting what they would reasonably like, but being satisfied with what they are given.

The government has no choice but to hold the election in September, if for no other reason than the Commonwealth summit it will be hosting in November.  But apart from deciding to go ahead with the election the government does not appear to be having any plan as to what to do either during the election or, more importantly,  after the election.  Sure it would like to win the election in the North as it has in every other province, but it would be better off not trying too hard to win.  Trying Daya Master or any other turncoat, or some ‘independent group’ of nondescripts will simply not cut it for credibility before the Tamil voters.

Instead, the government would be better off by following  the prudent advice that CWC leader S Thondaman gave President Jayewardene in 1981, and keeping out of the election altogether.  JRJ did not heed the advice and the decision to contest the DDC elections in 1981 ended in a tragic fiasco.  The Jaffna Public Library was burnt among other atrocities and everyone knew then and knows now who did it.  But thirty two years later a retired police officer is writing imagined memoirs blaming it on the LTTE and the caste differences among the Tamils.  This is sociology for idiots.  Politically, in the four years after the war the country has travelled thirty years back to the future.  Hopefully, the government will not make it worse by mishandling the NPC election and its results.

Northern PC polls on the horizon

May 24, 2013, 7:51 pm

The Island of May 20 carried the following in a news item:"Although the Provincial Council system had not yielded the intended results, it was not the time to criticize it in view of a Provincial Council election on the horizon", observed Mahanayake Thera of Malwatte Most Venerable Tibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala when the Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardena called on him yesterday."

Reading this news item I was struck by the statesmanlike comment of the Venerable Mahanayake Thera. It confirmed my view that the majority of the people of the country do not oppose the holding of an election in the Northern Province. However as happens the democratic and civilized elements of society who are in the majority, do not express their views in a strident manner, whereas the small minority who are vociferously campaigning against the holding of elections do so, and are able to get news coverage, and may even attempt to pass off their views as that of the silent majority.

Whatever our private opinion may be as to the usefulness or otherwise of the Provincial Councils it is only just and fair that the people of Northern Province should exercise their franchise and elect a Provincial Council just as much as the people of all the other eight provinces in the Country have done. It seems strange that only when the election to the northern province is in the offing that certain politicians are suddenly seized with misgivings not only on the holding of an election in this particular province, but even as regards the question of devolution of powers to the people of the country and the Provincial Council system.

These Councils were established in 1988 under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the Provincials Councils Act, and have been operating for the last 25 years in all the provinces of the country (the eastern province more recently) bar the Northern Province. The people of the Northern Province are also part of the body politic of the country. It seems strange that anybody should seriously put forward the proposition that they alone be debarred from exercising their democratic voting rights at a Provincial Council election. This was also pointed out by Mr Sajith Premadasa of the UNP in a recent statement. Can it be that those who are campaigning against the holding of elections are opposed to the principle of equality of all people which is the corner stone of democracy, or are they living in the colonial past when it was believed that one set of people could rule over another?

Admittedly the Provincial Councils have not as the Mahanayake Thera pointed out ‘yielded the intended results’. They are currently more in the nature of white elephants. But this is not the fault of the system but the way in which it has been operated. The powers that the Councils have are in themselves very modest, furthermore even those powers have not been adequately used and have been stymied by the governmental and bureaucratic interference of successive governments over the last 25 years. They could be made to work more efficiently by making some amendments to the Provincial Councils Act in respect of the administrative and financial powers of the councils, and also if there is a change of heart by governments and bureaucrats so that they do not try to stifle its workings. In this way the Councils can serve as providers for the public services they are supposed to deliver and give ordinary people in the provinces a greater say in matters affecting their localities. This holds good for all the people of the country whether they be Sinhalese Tamils Muslims or Burghers.

Finally turning to the police and land powers, they have been on the statute book for the last 25 years but have not been implemented up to date. Why should they suddenly become the focus of so much agitation? (Some would say: ‘Let sleeping dogs lie!’) Is it a diversionary tactic to undermine the whole system of devolution so that all power can be concentrated in the hands of the Centre alone, which is the antithesis of democratic governance? If that is the case the people of the country must stand firm on their democratic rights and this includes the democratic right of their brethren in the North to vote at the Provincial Council election on the Horizon.

Dr. Nirmala Chandrahasan

War Victory Celebrations Hinder Rather Than Promote Reconciliation

By R.M.B Senanayake -May 25, 2013 |

R.M.B. Senanayake

The Government celebrated last week the victory of the Armed Forces over the LTTE with an impressive display of weaponry. If Sri Lanka is one country and the Tamils and Sinhalese are brothers should the victor celebrate the war victory?

The American leaders during the Civil War between the North and the South in 1961-65, did not think so. The American Civil War was to prove one of the most ferocious wars ever fought”. Without geographic objectives, the only target for each side was the enemy’s soldier.  750,000 soldiers died.

General Lee of the Confederate Army surrendered with his Army on April 9, 1865. In an untraditional gesture and as a sign of (Unionist) General Grant’s respect and anticipation of peacefully restoring Confederate states to the Union, General Lee was permitted to keep his sword and his horse, President Lincoln had earlier treated the Confederate states with respect and appealed to them to restore  allegiance to the Union. He was prepared to compromise on all other issues of the South if they agreed to do this one thing. He was shot by, a Southern sympathizer and Andrew Johnson became president. The leniency showed by both Presidents made reconciliation possible.  Confederate nationalism died a natural death and American nationalism triumphed. It was the conciliatory attitude of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson that led the South to surrender.  Similar attempts were made by Church leaders in the north in the final phase of our civil war but they were branded as LTTE sympathizers by Sinhalese chauvinists.

Should not Sri Lanka follow this noble example of the American Presidents? Should the majority community gloat over the victory? Will that help reconciliation? Will it not strengthen Tamil nationalism instead?

The Sinhalese are currently in a state of relief that the civil war has ended, a point repeatedly emphasized by the government.  On the other hand, there is uncertainty, confusion and anxious expectation among the Tamils as to how their living together with the Sinhalese in the country will go on. One would like to believe the government that the era of reconciliation and a new beginning has started. But events like the celebration of the war victory do not convey such message.   It is not the presence of the Army that is resented but their intrusion into civilian life and the suspicion that they are behind the several attacks on the Tamil press and the Tamil political parties. The military’s  claim to be a national army is somewhat vitiated since it consists almost entirely of Sinhalese. So they  are seen as “foreign” occupiers. The soldiers for their part continue to see the majority of Tamils as disguised terrorists. The restored civil administration is manned mainly by Sinhalese officials who neither speak Tamil nor understand the mentality of the population. It is absolutely necessary to restore civil administration in the North and give the Tamil politicians a voice in the affairs of State at the provincial level. Failure to do so will only revive the demand for Eelam.

The years of civil war have left deep scars. The mistrust between the two ethnic groups of Sinhalese and Tamils is deeply rooted, and many wounds are still open and will remain so for a long time. The Prevention of Terrorist Acts (PTA),  gives the Security authorities special powers that allow them, without a court order, to arrest, interrogate, torture, without fear of having to stand trial, because the law guarantees them immunity.

This state of affairs is first of all not the fault of the government. It was Prabakaran who refused to accept any compromise during the peace talks and insisted on Eelam. The LTTE systematically eliminated Tamil leaders and intellectuals who wanted to compromise. But the Government must still   accept the fact that the Tamil people will vote for their regional parties rather than for the two national parties- the UNP and the SLFP. The Tamil people are unlikely to barter their right to be represented by their leaders merely because of government largesse.  It is therefore unfortunate that the talks between the government and the Tamil National Alliance broke down.

The Church having members of both communities in its ranks welcomes the restoration of a single unified State of Sri Lanka. But this unity must be borne of the freely given consent of the Tamil people and not achieved through any form of coercion. It also does not remove the need for devolution of power. In fact the ethnic issue was resolved in 1987 with the acceptance of the 13th Amendment by both the Sinhalese and Tamil leaders although Prabakaran did not give his free consent but was pressurized to do so. So the 13th Amendment should be the basis for a resolution of the problem and any amendments should be to remove any ambiguities or short comings rather than to do away with the powers already envisaged.

Sri Lanka military infuriated against International Amnesty Council. Claimed, Muppets of diaspora Tamils.

Saturday , 25 May 2013

Military completely rejected the accusation charged by International Amnesty Council that war criminals are roaming like freed birds in Sri Lanka. It further quotes Amnesty Council is functioning  as the Muppets of diaspora Tamils, by submitting  false accusations, and losing its reputation in the international sector.

 

If there is reliable evidences for war crimes executed in Sri Lanka, should submit to Attorney General Department said military media spokesperson Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya and had requested Amnesty Council to do so.

 

However to rescue two lacks and 95 thousand people from the terrorist, by granting rehabilitations for 11 thousand former rebels, and making them sociable, was this  military carried out war crime was queried by him.

 

Global wide in year 2012, concerning the human rights stance by holding a research, the International Amnesty on Thursday published the report for year 2013.

 

Even though war has come to an end, investigations were not carried out for war crimes and crimes against the humanity. War criminals are roaming in Sri Lanka freely was alleged in the report published by the International Amnesty Council.

 

Concerning this was queried from army media spokesperson and he made the above statement.

 

He said, we completely reject the accusation submitted by the International Amnesty council that war criminals are freely roaming in Sri lanka.

 

War crimes were not performed in a systemized manner by the army. Amnesty council which quotes such allegations should submit to the Attorney General Department with the evidences in hand, and where when and what time this crimes occurred.

 

War crimes occur unwittingly during war period. But army was not involved in any crime activities during war, at any circumstances,.

 

We defensively rescued 2 lacks and 95 thousand people from the terrorist. The terrorist attacked them when we rescued.

 

Those protectively rescued were constructed with homes and were resettled. Not only that, military has contributed immensely for the development of those people now.  Rehabilitations are carried out to 11 thousand former rebels and we have joined them with the society. We have provided them with a peaceful life.

 

Military which function with such social welfare objectives, will it execute  war crimes. If war crimes have done, how could the military give rehabilitation for 11 thousand former rebels and join them to society?

 

International society which allege war crimes against us, should realize this. Other than by operating as the Muppets to diaspora Tamils, International Amnesty council allege war crimes against us, is losing its dignity in the international sector said Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya.

Saturday , 25 May 2013

From The Headlines (With Comment)

By Emil van der Poorten -May 26, 2013 

Emil van der Poorten

This time around, rather than compose copy dealing with the burning issues of the day, I thought it might be useful to make some appropriate comments on a few items of interest from the web editions of one day’s worth of English-language newspapers from May 17th.  I hope that this will provide an appropriate snapshot of life in our Resplendent Isle

So here goes!

From the Daily Mirror

Rolls Royces and BMWs to be imported for CHOGM

The External Affairs Ministry is making arrangements to import 12 Rolls- Royce cars and 100 BMW cars for the use of the heads of state who are scheduled to visit Sri Lanka to participate in the 23rd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November, sources said.

However it is not known whether these vehicles are to be re-exported after use.

No one knows who is importing these cars, although the External Affairs Ministry is involved in the matter.

The price of the Rolls- Royce Ghost car varies between US$ 246,500 and US$ 290,000. (Rs.31,500,000 and Rs. 37,000,000). A Rolls- Royce Phantom Car costs between US$ 399,000 and US$ 470,000.(Rs.51,000,000 and Rs. 60,000,000).

A BMW 5 Series car costs between US$  58,000 and US$ 70,000.( Rs.7,500,000 and Rs.  9,000,000). A BMW 7 Series costs between US$ 73,000 and US$ 140,000 (Rs.9,000,000 and Rs. 18,000,000).

It is usual to import Rolls Royce and BMW cars for such events.

The prices mentioned do not include customs duty and shipping costs.

What is of particular interest in this piece is what looks suspiciously like the insertion of a piece of government propaganda where it states that this is the “usual” arrangement.  There is no effort to prove it.  One can but hope that this claim will be substantiated with, in addition, a clear statement of what is going to happen to these ultra-luxury vehicles once the “main event” is over!

From Ceylon Today

A Costly Shutdown

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) will have to bear a loss of more than Rs 50 million a day, as a direct result of shutting down the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery, a CPC trade union official alleged. General Secretary of the Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya (JSS) Petroleum Branch, Ananda Palitha, questioned CPC Managing Director, Susantha Silva’s statement pertaining to the repairs to be done at the Sapugaskanda Refinery beginning today, an occurrence that coincides with the delay of the crude oil carrying ship from Dubai. This has been cited as the initial reason for the shutting down of the refinery.

“Last year, repairs were supposedly carried out on the refinery as well, and it was shut down on four separate occasions. If such repairs were successful, what is the need to carry out repairs this time? The CPC has claimed the shutting down of the refinery would have taken place anyway, and that refined fuel was available at the moment. A refinery is not shut down for repairs at all.

Rather, it is supposed to work while repairs are taking place, and there is no need to shut it down for a 10-day delay in the arrival of a crude oil consignment,” Palitha noted.

He also stressed the daily loss incurred due to the halting of operations at the refinery, which according to him stands at over Rs 50 million, would “…never be recovered even after resuming refinery operations, as the output of refined products would remain the same.”

…….  A CPC official, commenting on the matter assured, the refinery would recommence operations soon.

….He confirmed that all nine of the crude oil storage tanks at the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery, were empty, and the lack of storage space had never been a problem to the CPC.

Minister of Petroleum Industries, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, and CPC Managing Director, Susantha Silva, were not available for comment.

I have reproduced most of the article because it covers all the bases and the final para displays the stereotypical conduct of senior government functionaries who were, typically,  “not available for comment.”  Were they too busy looking for someone to impeach that they couldn’t answer questions vitally important to the economy of this country?

From the Daily News

Protests about politics not ‘light bills’

Sandasen Marasinghe

Leading Trade Unions yesterday accused opposition political parties for attempting to promote their political agendas in the guise of protesting against the electricity tariff hike.

Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya Secretary Ranjith Hettiarachchi told a press conference that the objective of the JVP and other parties organising trade union action is not to reduce electricity bills, but to gain political mileage and ‘create an environment for forces hostile to Sri Lanka including NGOs to reverse the post-conflict gains achieved by the country.’

He said NGOs that have run short of foreign funds too find this situation an ideal opportunity to ensure the flow of foreign donations.

Hettiarchchi said the members of the Joint Organisation of Trade Unions would not allow these sinister forces to achieve their vile objective.

They stressed that the agenda behind the strike was to reverse the gains achieved by the country with the defeat of terrorism.

Does everything and anything critical of this government or any action that seeks relief for a population burdened by the millstones hung round its collective neck by its rulers constitute yet another “plot? The fact that there is an element of our society allegedly WANTING to be hit with power rate increases suggests that Sri Lanka is the only country in the world where Masochism is the preferred religion and where its rulers would prefer the practice of that faith!

From The Island

SLFP Mayor declares war on Weerawansa

*Pushes IGP, Polls Chief, AG to act on HRC report

by Dhammika Salwathura

Kaduwela Mayor G. H. Buddhadasa yesterday vowed to launch a protest campaign, involving 1,000 people, at the Kaduwela junction, unless the government initiated immediate action against National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa and SSP Deshabanda Tennakoon, accused of election malpractices during the last parliamentary polls in April 2010.

Kaduwela Municipal Council is controlled by the SLFP-led UPFA.

Addressing the media, at the Kaduwela Municipal Council, Buddadasa said that after investigating a complaint lodged by him, the Human Rights Council of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) had ruled that Weerawansa and Tennakoon, as well as several other police officers, had violated elections laws.

The veteran politician said that there had never been a previous case in the HRCSL finding fault with a minister for violating election laws.

Responding to a query by the media, Buddadasa said that it was the responsibility of the IGP, the Attorney General and the Elections Commissioner to initiate action against minister Weerawansa.

Buddadasa said that unlike Weerawansa, he wouldn’t stage a bogus hunger strike like the one opposite the UN mission in Colombo. Instead, his protest would continue until those responsible for law and order took action against Minister Weerawansa.

While internecine warfare is the rule rather than the exception in the Mahinda Rajapaksa government, when push comes to shove, these “differences” will be buried in the common quest for loot from the National Treasury.  On what do I base this prediction?  On the fact that past conduct is the best predictor of future behaviour.

From the Daily Mirror

‘Mahasen’ reported to the CID

An organisation that goes by the name National Council for the Protection of Historical Irrigable Cultural Heritage had lodged a complaint with the Criminal Investigations Department against the naming of the cyclone that recently went past the Island ‘Mahasen’.

In a letter addressed to the Director of the CID, the organisation urged that a comprehensive inquiry be conducted and a national apology be tendered by the Meteorological Department regarding the naming of the cyclone.

Meanwhile at a recent news conference, the organisation Bodu Bala Sena had also found fault with the decision to use the name ‘Mahasen’ for the cyclone and praised the act of lodging a complaint with CID, adding that the department had no right to use an ancient King’s name to name an act of nature. (Sanath Desmond)

This, my friends, hardly requires comment except that it could legitimately be considered a clarion call to those interested in setting up a Sri Lankan edition of the Ignobel Prize for the benefit of those with a capacity for monumental arrogance coupled with a similar abundance of stupidity!