In the shadow of the epics

With Muslim puppeteers and audiences and tales from Hindu mythology, Wayang Kulit is a tangible manifestation of Indonesia’s pluralism.

PALLAVI AIYAR-July 20, 2013

King Jarasandha of Giribajra Kingdom on the screen.

The audience numbered in the hundreds: mechanics and small retailers, office workers and academics, mingled as they squatted or stretched out on the dry lawn in front of the stage. Women wearing headscarves cradled children on their laps, whorls of spicy smoke floating above them, as their husbands chain-smoked clove cigarettes.

It was ten at night on a Thursday in South Tangerang, a suburb of Jakarta, and it wasn’t a popular band or comedian that the crowds had gathered to watch but rather, an extraordinary classical art form called wayang kulit. This is an Indonesian shadow puppet performance wherein ancient stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata are brought to silhouetted life on a screen, using backlit figures cut from raw buffalo hide.

In the Shadow of the Epics by nelvely

Two Cheers For Democracy

War criminal Ghulam Azam’s punishment means a lot to secularists

TASLIMA NASREEN

Photo: AFP

Ghulam azam, a 91-year-old war criminal, has been sentenced to 90 years in prison for the crimes he committed during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971.

A collaborator of the Pakistani army, Azam was directly involved in killing 3 million people and the rapes of 2 lakh women. After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh, Azam returned to the country with the help of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Meanwhile, the Jamaat-e-Islami, the once-banned political party of Islamists, was given a free hand in the Islamisation of politics. Beginning in the mid-1970s, Islamisation went on to destroy the secularfabric of the newborn nation.

Of course, Azam will not live another 90 years to end his prison term. An ailing man, he will stay in the hospital until he dies. He will not really suffer like other prisoners. He enjoyed a celebrity life for more than 40 years as the top leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh, the country whose birth he had violently opposed. Even though he will be privileged as a prisoner in his last days, still his punishment means a lot for the secular people in Bangladesh.

The war criminals have got every opportunity to turn a secular country into Darul Islam, the land of Islam. Many of them were even made Parliament members. TheJamaat-e-Islami uses religion to win the hearts and minds of god-fearing ordinary people.

A few months ago, however, there was a big secular uprising despite the threats of the Islamic fundamentalists. Many secularists demanded the banning of Jamaat-e-Islami. I supported that demand even though I am all for democracy, because the Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh is a terrorist organisation. The Islamists aim to bring theocracy and bury democracy and secularism forever.

The punishment Azam got now in his 90s is just a symbolic one. Sheikh Hasina has been in power before, but she was reluctant to bring war criminals to justice. But this time, probably, the popularity of the recent secular movement made her decide to punish war criminals. She got a huge number of votes in the last election after she promised to bring them to justice and fight the fundamentalists. Though she also promised to bring back 1972’s secular Constitution, as Prime Minister she showed no such initiative.

Her party is considered the most secular in Bangladesh, yet they arrested somesecularist bloggers a few months ago. Indeed, there is no true secular political party in the country that can assure the security of all the people, including non-believers, and protect their right to express their opinions fearlessly.

Bangladesh may have won the war in 1971, but the war actually is far from over. A war is still going on, a war of two opposite ideas — secularism and fundamentalism; between rational, logical thinking and irrational blind faith; between modernism and barbarism, humanism and Islamism; between those who value freedom and those who do not.

The old generation committed an enormous mistake by letting fundamentalists influence the people. Now the new generation has to transmute their country into asecular nation — free of religion, fanaticism, fascism and barbarism. People need to get angry. I am painfully aware of the evil powers that once attempted to eliminate me, and with whom the pro-Islamist government ultimately conspired to throw me out of Bangladesh, my own country, 20 years ago, never to allow me in again.

Therefore, I would love to see millions of angry, passionate young people with a vision rise against the Islamists’ insanity, and guide the country to a new era.

letters@tehelka.com

 Tehelka Magazine, Volume 10 Issue 30, Dated 27 July 2013)

Domestic Violence Becoming A Ghastly Trend

By Megara Tegal-Sunday, July 21, 2013

Startling and highly disturbing research findings reveal that a woman is raped every 90 minutes in Sri Lanka. The research was carried out by women’s rights pressure group, Women For Rights (WFR) recently, and has determined several alarming statistic relating to women in Sri Lanka.

These include an increase in domestic violence reports, rise in child abuse reports, a drop in female representation in parliament and the continued economic dependence of women.

Rape on the rise

Grave crimes such as rape have increased dramatically over the recent years with little action being taken to safeguard women. Corresponding with WFR research, Lawyers for Human Rights and Development (LHRD) released a report last year, which clearly illustrated a link between the increased numbers of rape crimes islandwide with the suspended sentencing of convicted rapists.

Suspended sentencing permits the perpetrator to serve either a minimum prison sentence or none at all, after paying the victim a compensation fee – which is most often a negligible amount.

According to police records, during the first quarter of 2012, 458 cases of rape and incest were reported, none of which ended in a conviction, and 393 are pending investigation. In 2011, 1,870 cases of rape were recorded by the police, and under the category of unnatural offence and grave sexual abuse 517 cases were recorded with 508 pending either investigation or trial.

While the island becomes increasingly unsafe for women – including female tourists, as the United Kingdom issued a travel warning to those visiting Sri Lanka claiming that rape and sexual abuse is rampant in the country – women are not safe even in their homes. According to WFR domestic violence and harassment has increased rapidly in the past two years. In 2011 the percentage of domestic violence experienced by women was estimated to be 60 percent. However, new findings reveal it has increased to 80 percent. The shocking frequency of domestic violence and harassment shows that a mere 20 percent of households are free of violence and abuse.

Victims at home and in public

Co-chairperson of WFR, Saroja Savithri Paulraj, informed The Sunday Leader that domestic violence has become a ghastly trend.

“Cases reported are increasing day by day. It is mostly attributed to the fact that women are economically dependent on their husbands and family and therefore cannot live freely”. She explained that they feel they cannot leave their abusive spouse, as they have no means of earning an income and will fall beneath the breadline. It would be impossible for them to care for their children in such a situation, and as a result they continue to live in a physically and mentally unhealthy environment. “There is clearly a direct relation with the low levels of education and domestic abuse”, she added.

“95 percent of women in public transport are victims of abuse”, she added, “apart from being unsafe in their homes, women are hardly safe in public spaces”. There is a dire need to protect women in Sri Lanka from those living in urban areas to rural areas.

Govt to blame for shocking statistics

“In a country where 51 percent of the population are women and 49 percent are men, parliament representation remains at a lowly 3 percent of women”, stated Saroja. “We hope to increase this amount with the efforts of our campaign. In addition a man heads the Women’s Affairs and Child Development Ministry. We are urging the government to give this position to a woman and to increase female representation in parliament.”

While the survey provides information on the decline in women representation in parliament, the research was primarily conducted in rural areas, such as Akuressa, Kahawatte, as well as the northern and the eastern regions of the country that has had very little research conducted in the previous years due the raging war.

“The situation is the result of the current social and political environment. Our organisation is conducting an islandwide awareness campaign. We want to make the women in the island aware of their rights and make them vigilant when it comes to these issues. It’s been four years since the war ended but the government has not brought about peace and reconciliation. It is essential that the government protects women and gives them the freedom to participate in politics”.

Saroja further stated that there is a direct correlation between alcohol abuse and domestic violence. She explains that liquor shops can be found at almost every junction in the island, and politicians or government officials own most of them, or they hold the licences to these shops. She added that it is for this reason that politicians are responsible for the violence that happens in homes.

The president of the WFR, Sumana Benaragama, spoke on the same matter, elaborating, “the government is not taking action, and when women and children are involved the whole system is affected. To name a few widely publicised events – even in the international media – that are still pending court verdict, investigation, or of which the government has taken little notice, include Rizana Rafeek’s case, and the foreigner who was raped and her boyfriend murdered while vacationing down south. The usual pattern is that the police take the perpetrators into custody but release them under bail and they are given back their positions as government officials or politicians.”

WFR urge govt to act

“This situation must change for the betterment of the country. It isn’t that only women will benefit from such changes, but it will ensure a better future for the country, as our children will grow up in safer and happier environments”, shared Saroja.

Sumana added that it is those who live in poverty who are affected the most. “Awareness in the rural areas is very low and that makes them a lot more vulnerable. Our islandwide campaign is to raise awareness and urge the government to take action against these injustices to women and increase female representation in parliament, to ensure that Sri Lanka has a future that is not as corrupt and bleak as it is now”.

New Zealand earthquake damages Wellington parliament

21 July 2013

Footage shows the earthquake's effect on swimming pools and shops as people recall the tremor

A minute-long earthquake has shaken New Zealand, halting trains and damaging Wellington’s parliament building.

The 6.5-magnitude tremor was centred 35 miles (57 km) off the coast south of the capital at a depth of 6.3 miles, said the US Geological Survey.

But while some structural damage and power cuts were reported, officials said there was no risk of a tsunami.

The quake hit at 17:09 (05:09 GMT) and was felt as far north as Auckland.

It smashed windows, knocked stock off shop shelves and burst some water pipes, but there have been no reports of serious casualties.

 Tony Vale, Radio New Zealand: “It felt like the house was about to get up and walk down the street"

Wellington resident James Mclaren said the earthquake had caused power cuts in the city suburbs and prompted the temporary closure of its airport.

"There’s been a bit of structural damage, lots of shattered glass everywhere," he told the BBC. “Initially there were a few screams and panic, people thought it was another Christchurch."

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake centred near Christchurch in February 2011 killed 185 people.

Sunday’s tremor was the latest in a series that have shaken the lower half of New Zealand’s North Island in recent days.

New Zealand lies on the notorious Ring of Fire, the line of frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions that circles virtually the entire Pacific rim.

The country experiences more than 14,000 earthquakes a year, of which only around 20 have a magnitude in excess of 5.0.

1983 pogroms against Tamils – eyewitness report

Published: July 19, 2013Posted in: InterviewTags:

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Two voluntary workers Joyce Newby and David Newby were in the south of Sri Lanka, on the day the pogroms against Tamils begun in Colombo in 1983 July. Both of them had planned to stay in Sri Lanka for a long time. But having lost lots of friends in the July killings and  disgusted by the turn of events, they soon left Sri Lanka. Joyce Newby however kept brief notes of the day and remembers the events vividly to this day. She now lives in England and hopes to return to Paranthan (in the north of Sri Lanka) where she lived for several years.

Here we publish her eyewitness account of the day as part of remembering the 30th  anniversary of the  brutal massacre that took place. If you want to send messages to Joyce Newby, please mail info@tamilsolidarity.org and we will pass them on to her.

…The next day I was due to go to Galle, about 60 miles away with Beatrice, my Sinhalese nurse partner. The driver came quite early and we departed. David was due to visit a children’s home on the edge of Colombo and stayed behind. We got to our state receiving home and worked there all day and then I went to my lodging – I think Beatrice was with me – and we slept. Next morning we were awakened by the owner who told us that there had been bad rioting in Colombo and we must get a pass from the army post to allow us to return.

We set off in the SCF vehicle and found the first army post. All the soldiers looked very nonchalant – not terribly friendly. However, we eventually acquired a pass and then one of the army asked if we could take army personnel with us. I was very nervous but said “Sorry we are only allowed to take S.C.F personnel”. At that moment I thought I might be shot but they just stood aside and we left!

On the journey home Beatrice asked the driver to stop at the first market and she got out to buy fish and packets of sugar. “We always have to queue for food when there’s rioting” she said. I realised that this happened every so often. We would all have to obey curfews – the roads would be empty except for the army and all the Tamils in Colombo would be terrified. Any big building available would be turned into a refugee camp for the Tamils. Schools and Universities would be closed. I was nervous as I had no idea where David was. As we approached Colombo we saw evidence of violence. Roadside stalls had been broken; buffalo carts burnt leaving a pile of ash by the road.  Homes had been damaged but there was no evidence of crowds or rioters now.

I was concerned as I knew the new building SCF was renting was owned by Tamils. We got nearer and nearer and drove down Kinross Avenue and into the driveway. As we did so David suddenly appeared on the balcony, first floor and shouted. My – was I pleased to see him.

When Beatrice and I were travelling back to Colombo from Galle we keep seeing signs of burning and destruction along the road. David was in an SCF van on the way back from work at the children’s home. About 5 miles from Colombo he encountered unruly crowds of men coming straight at him on the main road. He was flagged down and told to give them his petrol. There were many Buddhist monks among them. Fortunately the van used Diesel fuel which could not make petrol bombs so they let him go!

The job of clearing up has just started and that is a massive job. The central shopping area in Colombo, called the Pettah, where hundreds of little shops were, looks like the aftermath of a bombing raid. Many of our local shops have just vanished. The photographic  shop where I get my film developed has been burnt down. Two Saree and material shops have gone and nothing left but just bare brickwork and no roof. Both these shops gave me old cotton reels for the children. Our banana shop has just been shovelled away – a bare piece of ground. Yesterday the vegetable shop in the market had disappeared – probably the owner’s in a refugee camp.

Our friends tell us of horrific tales of escapes and non-escapes from the mobs. We are all expected to pick up the reins and continue as before but that is very difficult. David and I find we are very irritable. Many of the Colombo Tamils have fled to Jaffna, some to India and some to other countries. Several thousand are still in camps and naturally they are the poorest ones with nowhere else to go. It all seems such a waste when the simplest act of living can be so difficult here.

Indifference Towards Attacks On Muslims:War Battered Sri Lanka Could Ill Afford

By Latheef Farook -July 20, 2013 

Latheef Farook

Organized attacks on Muslims which began almost two years ago continue unabated while the government remains indifferent, impatient Muslims thinking of turning to streets to highlight their grievance and Muslims worldwide closely monitoring developments here.

Growing feeling within the Muslim community is that though these attacks look isolated, but they are well organized and coordinated with ulterior motive .The deliberate employment of few Buddhist monks in the forefront in these attacks is dangerous as, at some point that some Muslims may be provoked to react and trigger a calamity leading to unpredictable consequences.

However the country which has just emerged after a thirty year ethnic war cannot afford another catastrophe. Muslims suspect that this is what the racist provocateurs wanted, to implement their design to attack, loot, plunder and kill Muslims least bothered about the impact on the country.                        Read More

MaRa regime Minister threatens and orders mosque to be closed -pork and blood put inside mosque

(Lanka-e-News-19.July.2013, 11.30PM) In addition to the attacks launched by the religious extremists on Muslim mosques , there had sparked another dangerous situation where the politicos of the MaRa government have also begun directly threatening and intimidating, forcing the closure of mosques , according to reports reaching Lanka e News.

After putting pork from which blood is spilling into the Arafa Jumma mosque in Mahiyangana , in the night just prior to the dawning of 12 th Friday , a special religious day for Muslims , this Friday (19) again, when the Jumma prayers was to be held in the mosque this Friday (19) , that is today , the Uva provincial council (PC) hooligan of a Minister, Anura Vidananagamage had arrived at the mosque and threatened the prelates of the mosque, necessitating the closure of the mosque.

When the Muslims were getting ready this noon for their Jumma prayers , a most important prayer for Muslims, this PC Minister had come to the mosque and held out threats that the Jumma prayer or the five times obligatory payers of the Muslims should not be conducted in the mosque. This brute of a Minister had threatened that if they defy the order the consequences they will have to face will be disastrous , and the devotees will be answerable to the damage that can result to the place of worship .

The Muslim devotees who were so intimidated , had got scared , and some of them had performed Luhar prayers at their homes instead of performing their Friday prayers at the mosque , while others had performed their Jumma prayers at Pangaragammana mosque situated in far away from the town.

It is learnt that the Bodhu Bala Sena the fanatical extremists who are following unalloyed rowdy-ism instead of Buddhism are preparing to hold a conference in Mahiyangana next month , and this violence and hooliganism form part of their enthusiastic fanatical preparations.

Following the threats and intimidation posed by the PC Minister today , it has become very evident as to who had done that dastardly act of introducing pork and blood into the mosque last week. It is to be noted that the chief Minister of the Uva province is Shashindra Rajapakse , another cheap lackey of the MaRa Rajapakses.

Mahiyangana Mosque closed after threats

2013-07-

Uva Province Minister, Anura Vithanagamage, has allegedly threatened the trustee of the Mahiyangana Mosque against holding Jumma prayers, Minister Rauff Hakeeem, Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) said in a statement issued to the media.

The Masjidul Arafa Mosque in Mahiyangana was closed.......yesterday, subsequent to the threats.
“The Mahiyangana Mosque has been targeted for over a week, in what appears to be the latest in an organized series of attacks carried out on mosques and the hate campaigns against the Muslims in Sri Lanka by extremist Buddhist groups, for many months,” he stated. 

Minister Hakeem also said, he was informed the son of the founder-trustee of the Mahiyangana Mosque was allegedly threatened by the Uva Province Minister on Friday morning, warning him not to conduct the Jumma prayers scheduled for that afternoon.

“In this holy month of Ramazan, when Muslims observe the fast globally, with rigorous religious observances, such acts of intolerance and impunity hurt the sentiments of the Muslims in the country. This also contributes to further polarization of communities.

“On an earlier occasion, when the mosque came under attack by extremists, evidently, no preventive action had been taken,” the SLMC Leader said, in the statement.

Minister Hakeem also said, he was reliably informed that Secretary General of Bodu Bala Sena, Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera, is ‘openly promoting a hate campaign in the area.’

“The government’s impervious attitude to such rising crimes and non-action in curbing such mounting hate campaigns will be dangerously read as that of stimulating religious violence,” he added.

Ex-Tamil Tiger rebels face ignominious homecoming

19 JULY 2013 

AFP - For Tamil Tiger rebels who survived Sri Lanka's civil war, perhaps the most difficult part of the conflict was yet to come -- the ignominy of returning home in defeat.

Sri Lankan filmmaker Asoka Handagama's latest film "Ini Avan" explores the aftermath of the 26-year war following its "catastrophic" end four years ago.

In one scene, a former militant returns to his village from a rehabilitation camp to be greeted with hostility, stony silences and cries of "murderer".

For Handagama, whose career as a critically-acclaimed writer and director for theatre, television and film has been dominated by the conflict, the post-war situation was a natural choice of subject.

"More than half of my life was been spent with this war, 30 long years. We didn't expect this to come to an end like this in our lifetime," he told AFP in an interview in Paris.

Handagama's seventh feature film, just released in France, tells the story of an ex-militant who was recruited as a child and whose whole life was taken up with the struggle for an independent Tamil homeland.

With no education behind him, he is poorly-equipped for the future with skills that are limited to driving and an ability to handle heavy weaponry.

But before he can try to begin a new life, he must first face his neighbours, civilians who lived through the war's devastating final phase fought by rebels on a sliver of land in the northeast of the country.

International rights groups estimate up to 40,000 civilians were killed during the closing stages of the conflict in which government forces crushed the Tamil Tiger rebels.

Both sides have been accused of rights violations, with campaign groups alleging indiscriminate army shelling and condemning the Tigers for using civilians as human shields.

Arriving back in his village for the first time, the one-time militant finds himself reproached for the death of fathers and sons who did not survive.

"Their relatives were dead and there is a natural tendency therefore towards the people who survived," said Handagama.

"When somebody comes from a rehabilitation camp, people ask 'is he an informant of the government? How has he survived'. They are suspicious," he said.

And if the post-war period is difficult for the rebels, it is equally challenging for the civilian population.

"The end of the war didn't mean that was the end of the catastrophic period," said Handagama. "They (the people) supported the war, they had many hopes. But it ends up in a most tragic way.

"The defeat was for their expectations and hopes. With the end of the war... they have a new set of challenges and it creates, actually, a more difficult environment," he said.

Handagama is now working on the script for his next film and closely following reconciliation efforts.

As a filmmaker he says he must feel hopeful, but he acknowledges the scale of the task ahead.

"We will have to do a lot to achieve that objective (of reconciliation) because the tendency is always that you win something against somebody and then you just crush them," he said.

But he is cautiously optimistic about the future of filmmaking in the south Asian country, despite remaining difficulties.

Human Rights Watch in its World Report 2013 said that "free expression remained under assault in 2012".

The most difficult period for Sri Lankan filmmakers, according to Handagama whose 2005 film Aksharaya (Letter of Fire) was banned, was from 2006 until the end of the war.

"Freedom was there (before... but) during the peak of the war we lost that because there was a huge nationalist movement coming up and they were all consolidated to fight the war," he said.

And while acknowledging that that "mentality" was "still there" he said the current environment "is not actually that difficult" with up-and-coming filmmakers tackling new themes such as homosexuality.

But he warned that other taboo subjects such as religion remained as difficult as ever to broach in the Buddhist-majority country where tensions with Muslims and other minority religious communities have been rising.

"You can't touch that -- it will be a disaster," he said.

Tamil youth attempt to commit suicide wile at TID custody

[ Saturday, 20 July 2013, 02:53.17 PM GMT +05:30 ]

Tamil youth arrested under the prevention of terrorist act attempt to commit suicide by jumping from the second floor of TID office, receiving treatment at the Colombo national hospital.

Victim identified as Sivaraja Prakash. Since 2004 he was residing in foreign country and returned to country six days before. TID officials arrested youth while at the Bandaranaike International airport. In the recent past several Tamil nationals return from foreign countries were questioned by TID officials at the airport. Officials fail to inform relatives on this arrest. Vavuniya youth brutally attacked and tortured while on investigations [ Saturday, 20 July 2013, 03:31.20 PM GMT +05:30 ] Group of unidentified personals taken away youth for investigations at Nedunkeni, Vavuniya was brutally attacked and tortured while at the custody. Relatives have released the truth end of one month time period. Student of the Jaffna University and the former LTTE member Devarasa Pradheban (26) and father of one was arrested by group of unidentified personals arrive in the motor bike arrested victims while at his residence on June 15. Victim returned home after three days and wounds found his body. According to sources victim refused to receive rehabilitation programme and lead peaceful life with his family in the village.

Not this good earth

• Sunday, July 21, 2013

Four years after the war in the North and East ended, Sri Lankans are very quickly losing rights not only relating to personal life and liberty but also basic entitlements to the very land on which they live.

Disregarding the law 

It is now a matter of practice for land owners to be informed that their lands are to be acquired through a single letter sent by a government ministry with minimal compensation nominated. Thereafter, use of this land may be for a variety of purposes quite different to the stated purpose, with gargantuan corruption naturally becoming endemic to the process.

Taking over possession of privately owned land without having recourse to existing legislation, without a specific plan and without stating a specific purpose such as constructing a temple or the like, by the mere declaration of an area of land as being a ‘Sacred Area’ has become another common development in recent years.

And to be clear, the reach of this most extraordinary reduction of established legal rights to thin air as it were, extends throughout the whole country and affects majority and minorities alike though the thrust of the process may be motivated by different factors. In the formerly war affected areas, a significant factor is the continuing militarisation of particularly the Northern peninsula as we saw when hundreds of private land owners recently petitioned the Court of Appeal against arbitrary acquisition of their lands in order to expand the high security zone areas.

Wildly egocentric development

In the East (particularly in Sampur and in Panama) seizing of land ranges from military expansion to the apparent transformation of Sri Lanka into a vast tourist zone with little thought for the detrimental impact on people or indeed, actual economic benefits. Other provinces such as the South and Uva have been caught up in wildly egocentric post-war development as evidenced by the comical plight of the Mattala airport which was built at an astronomical cost and is being maintained also at that same cost but which is frequented reportedly only by the national carrier and a few budget airlines. In yet other far flung areas of the South, reports abound of villagers gathering at the junction holding placards in opposition to land being held for generations by them being acquired at the virtual twinkling of an eye or in regard to their ‘kades’ being demolished without notice and with no sensitivity to the consequent loss of livelihoods.

Little thought to the plight of landowners

This week, it was innocuously announced over national media that Sri Lanka’s Cabinet had approved the proposal made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa (in his capacity as the Minister of Ports and Highways) to award the contract to build an outer circular road to the city of Trincomalee to a Chinese company. This was proclaimed to be part of an ambitious plan to convert Trincomalee into a Metro City in the Eastern Region. What is however less known is that these plans form part of a disturbingly ill conceived National Physical Plan approved during 2007 by a National Physical Planning Council chaired by the President which is to be implemented over a period of 20 years (2011-2030) and covering the creation of so-called Metro-Regions in the North-Central, Uva, Sabaragamuwa, the East and the North.

The re-defining of administrative boundaries and the impact that this may have on provincial land powers is considerable. It is therefore of little surprise that this Government is balking at implementing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in terms of land powers in the hands of the Provincial Councils. But what is even more significant is the fact that vast tracts of land will need to be acquired by the Government for the purpose of implementation of this Plan. The apparent lack of thought given by this administration to the manner in which peoples’ rights will be affected thereto is however palpable.

Established rights to natural justice 

These are not mere technicalities. In the building of the Southern Expressway for example, the lenders which were Japan and the Asian Development Bank put into place rigorously constructed safeguards to ensure that the displacement of people does not end in injustice. Adherence to these safeguards was in fact, part of the conditions that the Government had to meet for being awarded the money.

Even with all that, unfairly treated landowners went before the Supreme Court and successfully obtained public trust precedents specifying that natural justice requires advance notice of acquisition and fair compensation in accordance with their legitimate expectations. These rights have now been cast to the four winds.

Astoundingly perilous times

On the one hand, swaggering talk of national sovereignty which is the leitmotif of the Rajapaksa Presidency is used to cover up a multitude of sins including the adamant refusal to enact a Right to Information law. On the other hand and in a supreme irony which mocks the very concept of the People being sovereign, citizens are becoming dangerously vulnerable before a behemoth executive which uses a combination of thuggery and intimidation to achieve its purpose. The Prevention of Terrorism Law (1979) has replaced the ordinary criminal procedure code to all intents and purposes in any particular case when the Government so determines.

In parallel and under our noses, established legal procedures that have protected land rights of Sri Lankans for decades since independence are being discarded. Truly these are astoundingly perilous times. We can only shudder at the furies of fate that await us.

Wide Spread Incidents Of Extortion Taking Place Throughout The Country – LfD 

July 20, 2013 

‘Lawyers for Democracy’ views with alarm the wide spread incidents of extortion that is taking place throughout the country.  The recent incident where the manager of a plantation was murdered and the statement released by the Planters’ Association reveals the several cases of extortion and intimidation that has taken place in the plantation sector.

Lal Wijenayake

Forcible acquisition of land from lawful owners and even state lands is fast becoming like bribery and corruption the accepted norm in our country.  It is no secret that extortion of money from reputed business establishments has become the serious problem in the business sector.  This development has dissuaded investors from investing in business ventures in our country.  It is well known that in almost all instances these acts of extortion / intimidation has been committed either by politicians or persons closely connected to politicians.  What is strange is the impunity with which such acts are committed.  In many instances such incidents goes unreported because of the risks involved in reporting these incidents because of the corruption and politicization that exists in the police and one cannot rely on the police to provide for their safety.

The Planters Association has to be congratulated for exposing this development fearlessly.

We ‘Lawyers for Democracy’ calls upon the authorities concerned even at this late stage to take immediate action to restore confidence in individuals regarding their personal safety and the safety of their property.

Lal Wijenayake , Convener Lawyers for Democracy  Read More

Expressive EU!

July 20, 2013 

• Welcomes Northern poll but wants it held in ‘civilian environment’
• Says NPC election is a fulfilment of GoSL  promises about implementation of 13A
• Claims lack of EU monitors does not underestimate importance of Northern election
• Concerned about military stifling civilian trade, industry and farmers growth with unfair competitiveness
• Hails physical reconstruction in North as being “very, very visible” but insists deeper reconciliation issues still require more work

By Dharisha Bastians
Having welcomed the upcoming polls, the European Union yesterday was explicit about the better path for democracy and prosperity in the post-war North.
The six-member delegation of the European Union which concluded a visit to Sri Lanka yesterday said that the poll was an important step in moving the political process forward in the post-war context. “It is important too because it reflects the statements made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission and the Government of Sri Lanka with regard to implementing the 13th Amendment. The Northern provincial council election represents the fulfilment of those promises,” Chair of the visiting EU Delegation Jean Lambert told a news conference in Colombo.

She said the delegation wanted to make it clear that the EU decision not to send monitors for the election in no way underestimated the importance of the Northern poll.
“The EU Parliament monitoring program generally observes national level elections but that in no way underestimates for one instant how important this election is,” she explained calling for a free and fair poll. Lambert expressed hope that the LLRC recommendations would be implemented fully and the Northern election scheduled for September would take place in a civilian environment “free from pressure or intimidation.”

The EU official also called for a greater separation between military and civilian life and economy in the North and expressing hope that the Northern provincial council poll will bring a breakthrough in the political progress required in the post-war phase.
She said that concerns had been raised about the continuing role of the military in many aspects of civilian life in the North.
“There is a need to make sure the military doesn’t become part and parcel of the everyday economy while there is a real need for the development of a civilian economy in the North,” Lambert said.
Raising issues regarding de-militarisation and the military role in civil administration post war, the Delegation Chair noted that the military’s economic role had a direct impact on the ability of a local economy to grow.
“The military doesn’t have the same overheads as civilian entrepreneurs, their wages are already guaranteed,” she noted, expressing ‘slight surprise’ at posters advertising tourist resorts run by the Sri Lanka Air Force while the delegation was flying North.
Concerns apart, Lambert also hailed the physical reconstruction in the North as being “very, very visible.” However the EU Delegation chair said there were deeper reconciliation issues that still required work.
The delegation highlighted disappearances and closure for the families of the disappeared as a key part of this deeper healing process. “Part of peace-building is moving forward on issues like disappearances. There is a desire of people to know what happened to their family members,” Lambert said, underscoring the impact the lack of such information had on women in particular, whose civil and legal status were affected.
During their four-day tour, the EU Parliamentary delegation met with Minister for External Affairs, G.L. Peiris, Social Integration Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Minister of Energy and Renewable Energy Susil Premajayanth, Resettlement Minister Guneratne Weerakoon and were scheduled to meet with Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa last afternoon. The delegation travelled to the Northern and Central Provinces during their visit.