JAFFNA UPFA CANDIDATE’S FATHER REMANDED

2013-09-02
Suspect Ambalavaner Ramanathen being escorted to the police vehicle after the Chavakachcheri Magistrate remanded him. Jaffna District SLFP Organiser Angajan Ramanathen looks on. (Pic Courtesy: CaFFE media) 

By Dasun Edirisinghe

reporting from Jaffna

Father of Jaffna District SLFP organiser Angajan Ramanathen, Ambalavaner Ramanathen, was remand till Sept. 12 by Chavakachcheri Magistrate S. Lenin Kumar, when he was produced in the Court yesterday over alleged shooting incident.

Ambalavaner Ramanathen has been charged with the shooting of UPFA Jaffna District candidate at the Northern Provincial Council election Kumar Sarvanandan’s supporters.

Angajan Ramanathen is also a UPFA Jaffna District candidate.

According to witnesses, the shooting incident took place during a clash between UPFA groups belonging to Jaffna District candidates Angajan and Sarvanandan around 7.45 p.m. on Tuesday (27) near the Chavakachcheri Post Office in Jaffna.

After the shooting one person was assaulted. The shooting resulted in a supporter of Sarvanandan being injured.

Witnesses said that some UPFA supporters had chased a group backing a rival candidate from Kodikamam to Chavakachcheri terrifying civilians.

Addressing the media, Jaffna SLFP organiser Angajan said that they would seek bail for his father, Ambalavanar, from the High Court.

Meanwhile, local election monitor, Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) said that so far intra–party violence among the UPFA candidates had been reported from the Kurunegala District.

CaFFE National Organiser Ahmed Manas said that it was the first intra–party violence reported from the Northern Province in the run-up to the Provincial Council election scheduled to be held on Sept. 21.

Tamil Academics Being Harassed: FUTA Calls For Explanation From Chief Of Defence Staff

September 3, 2013 

The Federation of University Teachers’ Association claims that Tamil scholars were being harassed by the CID after Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya claimed publicly that academics from Sri Lanka had attended a conference organised by the Transnational Government of Tamil Ealam.

Chief of Defence Staff

The General had stated that he relied on information provided to the military by a foreign mission based in Sri Lanka, FUTAsaid in a statement issued yesterday.

FUTA said the Ministry of Higher Education and the University Grants Commission had launched investigations into the participation of several Sri Lankan academics at the conference. The academics in question had been questioned at the airport regarding the conference agenda, FUTA said.

The Association said that it was aware that the World Research Conference on Tamilological Studies 2013 was an international conference at which Tamil scholars from around the world are participating. The President of the Conference is Emeritus Professor A. Sammugadas, University of Jaffna, FUTA siad.  “Over one hundred papers have been selected for the conference on a range of subjects such as science and technology, religious and cultural memories, architecture and design, genealogy and kinship, race and ethnic relations, archaeology and historiography as well as many more areas,” the FUTA statement said.

FUTA said  the Chief of Defence Staff had no authority to make judgements regarding the content and nature of academic conferences. “The Tamilological conference was by no means furtively organised. None of the Sri Lankan academics attending the conference did so without following the usual procedures required when attending overseas conferences,” FUTA explained.

“Thus, for the Chief of Defence Staff to make a statement as if this was a sensational discovery by the intelligence services is puzzling to say the least,” the Association charged.

Public statements such as the statement referred to being made by the military are extremely problematic and reflect the alarming degree to which Sri Lankan society is being militarised both directly and indirectly, the FUTA statement said.

“The reaction of Sri Lankan authorities to this Conference is an extremely serious issue – it seeks to curtail the scientific interests of the academic community to issues that the state declares as ‘safe’. This is regressive thinking and symptomatic of a highly insecure, authoritarian regime,” FUTA charged.

Referring to Gen. Jayasuriya’s statement as being rash and irresponsible, FUTA said that the UGC reaction was disappointing but highly predictable. “In the current context rather than standing up for academic freedom, the UGC, which is responsible for the quality and development of higher education in this country meekly submits to the rash and irresponsible statements made by one of the most senior military officers in Sri Lanka,” FUTA said.

The Association said that such incidents add credence to the fears expressed by many in society that Sri Lanka is heading towards one of its darkest periods.

“This is yet another instance, where militarisation of all sectors of society and the infiltration of the military into areas which should not be their concern are condoned by those in positions of authority,” FUTA said.

FUTA has called for an explanation from the Chief of Defence Staff.

Ominous Black Swan Hits India: Is Sri Lanka Spared?

By W.A Wijewardena -September 2, 2013 

Dr. W.A. Wijewardena

Public authorities: Claiming ‘no problem’ while sitting on a barrel of dynamite

The Lebanese-American finance philosopher Nassim Nicholas Taleb of Black Swan Theory fame has a wonderful observation on the experts working in governmental agencies. In his 2007 book ‘Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable,’ he has referred to those experts working at Fannie Mae, Federal National Mortgage Association in USA that refinances the residential mortgage loans as people who sit on a barrel of dynamite vulnerable to the slightest hiccup.

But, according to him, those experts will announce at the top of their voice that there is nothing to worry because the occurrence of any destructive event is highly ‘unlikely’. The implication which Taleb has not bothered to comment on is that, as history has shown, when that highly unlikely event takes place, all those who have trusted them stand to lose but they themselves manage to emerge unhurt.

Black Swan: Happening the improbable

         Read More  

NORTHWESTERN PROVINCIAL COUNCIL ELECTION

2013-09-02


First election related incident of Violence in Puttalam - UNP supporter hacked 

A United National Party (UNP) supporter was admitted to Chilaw hospital after a group carrying out propaganda were assaulted by a hitherto unidentified group last night (August 31.) Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) said that he is the first casualty of election violence in Puttalam District. This incident was reported from Arachchikattuwa, an area notorious for violence related to elections.

HHAM Senevirathne, a supporter of UNP candidate Priyantha Ashoka, was carrying out propaganda activities for an election meeting at Anamaduwa Road when the incident occurred. This is the most serious physical attack on a UNP supporter in this election and Senevirathne said that those who attacked him said 'there is no place for UNP in Arachchikattu.'

He was later transferred to Colombo National Hospital due to his injuries. The image attached shows how he was treated in Chilaw Hospital. 

CaFFE National Organizer, Ahmed Manas said that there are 43 illegal election offices of Puttalam District candidate Sanath Nishantha and illegal temporary offices have been a major source of conflict in Northwestern and Central Provinces. 
CaFFE Media

Provincial Council Elections 2013

By Nirmala Kanangara -In Putalam and Kurunegala districts Pictures by Lalith Perera

Monday, September 02, 2013

In the run up to the North Western (Wayamba) Provincial Council elections next month, people in both Kurunegala and Puttalam districts are yet to show any interest in elections.

This was clearly evident when travelling in both districts last week.

Buying Water in Udappuwa and The gravel road leading to Digiliya

For them canvassing for a party or for a candidate is not an important feature in their lives as they are battling hard to survive due to the sky rocketing cost of living.

Unlike on previous occasions, hardly any decorations were seen in the province. Only blue flags were seen fluttering in some places but green and red flags were not seen in most of the areas but in very few places.

Provincial Council Elections 2013 by nelvely

The TNA’s delegitimisation of the diaspora is short-sighted and counterproductive

Tharshan Kumaran Tamil Guardian 02 September 2013

The recent appointment of retired Supreme Court Judge, C.V Wigneswaran, as the Tamil National Alliance's Chief Ministerial candidate for the Northern Provincial Council election, has been widely welcomed by many within the Tamil nation, the Sinhala nation and the international community. 

The TNA’s delegitimisation of the diaspora is short-sighted and counterproductive by nelvely

Gotabhaya tells Pillay:US had no moral right to move Geneva resolution 

By Shamindra Ferdinando-September 1, 2013

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has told United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay that the United States of America had no moral right to move a resolution targeting Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) in Geneva.

The Defence Secretary pointed out the irrationality in the US action in the wake of atrocities committed by its forces in various parts of the world. The US twice moved resolutions in Geneva condemning Sri Lanka after an abortive Canadian bid to humiliate the country.

The Defence Secretary met the UN delegation, headed by Pillay, at the Defence Ministry on Friday.

Asked whether Pillay had responded, the Defence Secretary said that the UN delegation remained silent. "Obviously, Pillay couldn’t have endorsed my criticism of US action, though the entire world knew of death, destruction and instability caused by the super power," he said.

The Defence Secretary said that Pillay’s silence reflected the difficulties experienced by the UNHRC in dealing with atrocities committed by US-led Western powers. The bottom line was that Pillay would remain as UN rights chief as long as she didn’t antagonise the US, the Defence Secretary said.

Whatever the criticism of the government inviting the UN rights chief to visit the country, the week-long visit would have definitely helped Pillay to realise the ground situation, the Defence Secretary said. In fact, Pillay’s visit facilitated government efforts to dispel intense propaganda which depicted the Northern and Eastern Provinces as ‘closed military zones’ even four years after the conclusion of the conflict, Rajapaksa said.The Defence Secretary said that visiting foreign dignitaries had been misled by those working overtime to destabilise the country. "During our meeting at the Defence Ministry, the UN Human Rights commissioner alleged that the government had removed road blocks in the Northern Region just ahead of her visit. She was convinced the government would temporarily do away with road blocks during a visit. Obviously, she was misled by the UN mission here or those who had met her here. I told her there was absolutely no need to do that. In fact, the number of road blocks should have increased during VIPs’ visits to guarantee their security."

Asked whether Pillay had raised the much-talked about allegation that 40,000 people had been killed during the final phase of the war on the Vanni east front, Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said that he was very surprised the UN delegation had refrained from referring to the killings. Had she taken up the matter we would have asked her to furnish information regarding them and questioned the basis for the allegation, the Defence Secretary said.

Responding to a query, the Defence Secretary said that Pillay had been here on a fact finding mission and her mandate was to examine accountability issues in relation to the resolution moved against Sri Lanka at the UN. However, she had ended up taking up petty political issues at the behest of those who couldn’t stomach the eradication of the LTTE, he said. The Defence Secretary alleged that Pillay had declared that post-war Sri Lanka was moving towards an authoritarian state with democracy undermined and the rule of law eroded to appease those in the Opposition subservient to their foreign masters. "We are having elections at four different levels; presidential, parliamentary, provincial council and local government. People have the freedom to exercise their franchise to get rid of the government in power. It is unfortunate the likes of Pillay are blind to the ground reality and tend to issue statements without examining facts," the Defence Secretary said. According to him, somebody in the Opposition had got Pillay to call Sri Lanka an authoritarian state. "Those who feared to call Prabhakaran a terrorist, happily describe the President as a dictator. The people are not blind to such machinations."

Commenting on Pillay’s allegation that those who had demonstrated against the government and criticised the ruling coalition would be targeted once she left the country, the Defence Secretary said that during Friday’s meeting he queried whether people would join the protest organised by the TNA in Jaffna if they really felt they could become targets. They protested because they knew nothing would happen to them, he said.

Pillay pulls no punches

 September 2, 2013 

• Says UN never called for investigations only on Lanka Army
• Calls for international investigation likely to continue without credible national mechanism
• Makes rallying call for witness protection laws in the pipeline since 2007
• Says no officials asked for lifting of confidentiality clause in UN Panel of Experts report
• Military court of inquiries “not transparent or independent”
• Slams alleged reprisals against people who spoke with her in NE

By Dharisha Bastians 
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay’s remarks at the conclusion of a weeklong fact-finding mission to Sri Lanka provided strong cues that her oral report to the Human Rights Council later this month will be critical of the country’s post-conflict human rights condition.
Navi Pillay, who left Sri Lanka early Sunday, is scheduled to make an oral presentation on her Sri Lanka Mission when the UNHRC sessions open in Geneva in late September. Her full report will be presented to the Council in March next year.
At a no-holds-barred press briefing before she left the island, Pillay warned of calls for an international inquiry into allegations of civilian casualties during the last phase of the war unless a credible national mechanism to address accountability issues was established by the Government.

The cornerstone of the process was legislation to protect witnesses and victims willing to come forward, the UN Envoy said in her concluding remarks in Colombo on Saturday (31).
“The reality is that there is no protection here for witnesses and victims to testify and have some confidence in the process,” High Commissioner Pillay said.
The Witness Protection Act that has been in the pipeline since 2007 has to be adopted, Pillay asserted.
Despite remarks made by senior Government officials ahead of her visit, Pillay said no Government officials requested the UN lift the 20-year confidentiality guaranteed for sources in the UN Secretary General’s Panel of Experts report during her visit. She said that the report was subject to the UN standards on confidentiality.
“In the Sri Lankan context, where there is no protection for victims and witnesses and since there have been reprisals against people who have cooperated with the UN mechanisms, the Secretary General in his judgment has placed an embargo on some of that material,” the UN High Commissioner explained.
Responding to a question by a journalist, Pillay emphasised that neither she nor the UNHRC have called for an investigation a scrutiny or an investigation just on the excesses of the Sri Lankan Army. “We call for investigation into all killings, all deaths, all disappearances – wherever the perpetrators are,” she observed.
Addressing the issue of alleged reprisals against those who made representations to her during her visit to the former conflict zones, High Commissioner Pillay said she found the incidents disturbing.
“That does not happen on my missions. To me this just does not happen during my missions. Which is why I am stressing that there must be freedom of speech to address their concerns to an important visitor invited by the Government,” she charged.
The Government had flatly denied the allegation of reprisals, she said.
Asked how she authenticated the allegations made about reprisals following her northern tour, High Commissioner Pillay said: “What do you do when you receive a complaint? You investigate. All I am calling for is an investigation into these reports of intimidation. If I am faced with a bare denial, then I report what I am told by members of the community.”

Caricatured by Pillay - Sri Lanka's response


01 September 2013
Responding to the UN Human Rights Commissioner’s visits, the Sri Lankan government, in a statement has said that it is disturbed, surprised and dismayed by many of Navi Pillay’s comments, concluding that the leadership should be judged by its people and not “external entities with vested interests”.

The government said that it was ‘disturbed’ by Pillay’s attempts to pay a floral tribute in Mullivaykaal, saying that “ if such a gesture needed to be made it should be done at a venue common to all victims”.

The government also accused the UN of “selective manipulation of the media in Sri Lanka” since the UN had invited three international news agencies to cover the planned tribute.

On Pillay’s comments concerning the separation of police powers and the creation of the new Ministry of Law and Order, Sri Lanka said that “it is inappropriate for the High Commissioner to propose the assignments of Cabinet portfolios of a sovereign nation, which is a prerogative of the Executive Head of State.”

See full statement here. Extracts below:

“The High Commissioner’s often repeated position of war crimes, in this instance not even alleged, and the call for an international investigation, are reflected in her statement as an innuendo, although detailed information was presented on the falsity of these allegations at the meetings she held with the representatives of the Government of Sri Lanka.”

“With regard to the High Commissioner’s expression of surprise that the GOSL seemed to “downplay” the issue of incitement of hatred and violence against religious minorities, the Government is equally surprised and dismayed at this reaction,”

“The High Commissioner’s observation that Sri Lanka “is showing signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction” is a political statement on her part, which clearly transgresses her mandate and the basic norms which should be observed by a discerning international civil servant.”

“The judgment on the leadership of the country is better left for the people of Sri Lanka to decide, than being caricatured by external entities influenced by vested interests.”

Sri Lanka rights group says it was harassed after UN meeting

Monday, 2 September 2013 

Activists demonstrate in front of the UN office in Colombo. (AFP)

COLOMBO: A Catholic-run human rights group working in northeastern Sri Lanka said it had been harassed by security personnel after meeting UN rights chief Navi Pillay recently.
Pillay ended her first official visit to the formerly war-ravaged country at the weekend with a stinging press conference in which she accused the government of becoming "increasingly authoritarian".
Veerasan Yogeswaran, a 60-year-old priest who runs the Centre for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, said five or six plainclothes policemen visited him at midnight and before dawn, just hours after the meeting with Pillay.
"The concern is that they are going to homes at midnight and questioning people," the priest told AFP from his home in Trincomalee, 260 km northeast of the capital Colombo.
"This should not happen four years after the war has ended. People feel harassed and intimidated.
"Just imagine the plight of the ordinary people when they are visited at midnight by the security forces."
Pillay denounced the intimidation of people she had spoken to during her week-long fact-finding mission to probe alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, which is under international pressure over its rights record.
"This type of surveillance and harassment appears to be getting worse in Sri Lanka, which is a country where critical voices are quite often attacked or even permanently silenced," she said on Saturday.
The Centre for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in eastern Sri Lanka helps families of people who went missing during and after Sri Lanka's decades-long Tamil separatist war as well as people in detention.
Rights activist Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, who heads the Colombo-based Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), said he travelled to the war-affected districts of Mullaittivu and Jaffna and spoke to local people who also said they were questioned after meeting Pillay.
"I have had reports confirming that civilians who spoke with her... had been visited and questioned by people they suspected to be military intelligence or army," Saravanamuttu told AFP.
The CPA chief who is a member of the ethnic Tamil minority is routinely denounced on state television as a traitor and Tamil Tiger supporter.
Sri Lanka's government has criticised Pillay, saying that she transgressed her mandate. It denied anyone who spoke with her had been harassed.
Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the government was prepared to probe her allegations of intimidation if she could provide evidence.
"Those who make these allegations are only trying to discredit the country," Rambukwella told reporters. "If there is a complaint from them to the law enforcement authorities, we are ready to have a complete investigation."
There was no immediate comment from the UN in Colombo or Pillay's office in Geneva to government demands for evidence of intimidation.
Sri Lanka's battle with separatists from the minority ethnic Tamil group ended in 2009 with a no-holds-barred military offensive which crushed the Tamil Tiger rebel group.
The military campaign sparked allegations that troops killed up to 40,000 civilians and committed other war crimes such as executing surrendering Tamil rebels and shelling civilian centres which had been declared no-fire zones.
In March, the UN passed a second resolution in as many years pressing Sri Lanka to investigate alleged war crimes more thoroughly.

VIDEO: IF PILLAY’S REPORT IS NEGATIVE, GOVT. MUST TAKE 90% OF THE BLAME - JVP

September 2, 2013 

If the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Navi Pillay compiles a report that portrays Sri Lanka negatively following her visit here, the government has to accept 90% of the blame for it, JVP General Secretary MP Tilvin Silva stated.

Two factors need to be taken into consideration with Navi Pillay’s visit to Sri Lanka, which include her mandate in compiling a report for the UN regarding Sri Lanka’s progress and the fact that she was invited by the government to come to Sri Lanka and witness the situation for herself, he stated.

Silva said that the government, with the knowledge that Pillay was coming to Sri Lanka, was working to ensure that her report to the UN would be positive towards Sri Lanka.

However, he explained that recently the government has been increasingly acting in a manner that seems to provide Pillay with more evidence to portray Sri Lanka negatively in her report.

The MP said that all the “patriots” within the Mahinda Rajapaksa government can only point their fingers now at the government itself and none other than the President.

He added that the government is attempting to fool the people, the UNHRC, the international community and other authorities but in the end the only outcome would be something negative towards the country

Show us the proof we’ll do the probe

Monday, 02 Sep 2013

The government yesterday expressed its willingness to investigate allegations raised by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, that some defenders of  human rights and families of the war victims who had met her during her week-long official tour in Sri Lanka, had been threatened and intimidated by State agents.
Government Spokesman and Media Minister, Keheliya Rambukwella, told the media yesterday the government was ready to investigate, but insisted that Pillay’s office must provide evidence to prove the allegations in order to investigate the matter.Rambukwella said some groups may attempt to discredit the government by either threatening those who spoke to her or by making false claims.

”We take these claims very seriously,” the minister said.
On Saturday, the UN Rights Chief censured the government for failing to act on those allegations. She said ‘bare denials would not help’ and that she would expect the government to investigate the claims.
Asked by a reporter from the State media as to how sure she was about the authenticity of those complaints, Pillay, a former judge of the South African High Court and the International Criminal Court, responded: “I would respond to that in my former capacity as a judge. What would you do when a complaint is made? You investigate it. Bare denials would not help.”  

Rambukwella was the first to respond from the government ranks since Pillay made the allegations in public on Saturday (31 August).
 She charged that some families who met her in Mullaitivu had been visited by the police prior to and after their meetings with the High Commissioner. Several people in Trincomalee who met the UN Rights Chief had been questioned about their conversation with her, she added. She also noted that human rights’ defenders, journalists and at least two priests who were scheduled to meet or had met her had been intimidated.
“This does not happen during my missions,” she said.

“This type of surveillance and harassment appears to be getting worse in Sri Lanka, which is a country where critical voices are quite often attacked or even permanently silenced. Utterly unacceptable at any time, it is particularly extraordinary for such treatment to be meted out during a visit by a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,” she noted in her opening remarks which captained a litany of criticism of the government’s human rights record.
“I wish to stress that the United Nations takes the issue of reprisals against people because they have talked to UN officials as an extremely serious matter, and I will be reporting those that take place in connection with this visit to the Human Rights Council,” she added.

The UN Rights Chief will deliver an oral presentation on Sri Lanka at the forthcoming UN Human Rights Session this month and deliver a comprehensive report at the 24th  session of the UN Human Rights Council in March 2014 as part of her mandate granted by the UN-sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office have reacted to the concerns raised on Sri Lanka by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay.

Foreign Office Minister, Alistair Burt, tweeted, saying her concerns confirm that it is vital Sri Lanka meets the declared intentions on reconciliation and human rights.

Take Steps To Move In Democratic 

Direction In Aftermath Of UN Visit

A statement issued by the National Peace Council

( September 2, 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The recently concluded visit to Sri Lanka by UN Human Rights Commissioner Navanethem Pillay was in pursuance of two resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council in relation to serious human rights problems in the country. The visit enabled the Commissioner to see the country situation at first hand without having to rely on the interpretations of other interlocutors. She met with a wide range of stakeholders, including leaders of the government, opposition, civil society and war victims. In her concluding statement to the media, the visiting Commissioner appreciated the Sri Lankan government’s efforts to give her access to all parts of the country and to all persons she wished to meet, and facilitating her visit in general, which she described as “excellent cooperation”. It was most unfortunate therefore that unwarranted and unsavoury criticisms were directed against this internationally respected UN official.

On the positive side, we note that the government set up a Commission of Inquiry into war time disappearances in the North and East, recommenced investigations into the killing of five students on Trincomalee beach, and removed the Police Department from the purview of the Defence Ministry and instead vested it in a newly formed Ministry of Law and Order. While welcoming these positive actions on the part of the government prior to the visit of the UN Human Rights Commissioner to the country we urge the government to ensure that these are not mere token gestures to lull the International Community and, on the contrary, are measures in earnest arising out of convictions. Her warning that she was “deeply concerned that Sri Lanka, despite the opportunity provided by the end of the war to construct a new vibrant all-embracing state, is showing signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction” needs to be taken seriously.

As a civic organization that works closely with community groups, the National Peace Council is gratified by the Commissioner’s strong disapproval of the questioning and intimidation to which some of those who met with her in the North and East. She observed that it was extraordinary that such activities would take place during the very visit of a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and noted that it has never happened in any other country she visited. The harassment of some or anyone who met with the Commissioner is evidence of the culture of the exercise of power of the military and the police untrammeled by any law or democratic norms, which has arisen since the end of the war. Hallmarks of this system of repression are invasive methods of intelligence gathering, which those who work at the community level now experience on a continuing basis, and the use of military force to control civilian protest, as have occurred recently and on a continuing basis. Therefore NPC welcomes the High Commissioner’s suggestion for removal of the military from civilian governance which continues to prevail in the North and East.

The role of the military is to defend the country against external enemies. It is the removal of grievances and genuine reconciliation that will remove any possible internal enemies from arising in the future. The ethnic and religious minorities will feel at ease only with re-establishment of democratic checks and balances and the Rule of Law through an independent police and judiciary, which have been overridden at the present time by a system of repressive control. It is important to bear in mind that any repressive system of control that prevails at the expense of its people and their democratic freedoms can lead to the danger of authoritarianism, as warned by the visiting Commissioner. It is also important for the government to note how its effort to present the positive side of the country’s post-war development was undermined by its system of repressive control.

Pillay’s message loud and clear

Editorial-September 1, 2013

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay went back, having delivered a strong message. What one gathers from her media statement on Saturday is that the government’s PR exercise, as it were, failed to have the desired effect on her though she courteously thanked it for ‘excellent cooperation’ etc.

Pillay stressed the need for probing the alleged war crimes and other human rights abuses while endorsing the Opposition’s slogan by saying that she was ‘concerned that Sri Lanka, despite the opportunity provided by the end of the war to construct a new vibrant, all-embracing state, is showing signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction." (Emphasis added)

Pillay’s statement, when shorn of diplomatic frou-frou, is a foretaste of what is to be expected in her final report to be submitted to the UNHRC. The main thrust of her argument is that the LLRC has ‘side-stepped the much-needed full, transparent, impartial investigation into the conduct of a conflict that saw numerous war crimes and other violations committed by both sides’ though its recommendations must be implemented and a ‘proper investigation of the many outstanding allegations and concerns’ needs to be conducted. "Unless there is a credible national process [read an investigation] calls for an international inquiry are likely to continue," she has warned.

The UNHRC head minced no words when she said, "The Human Rights Council will also be looking to see something credible in terms of investigation of what happened at the end of the war and many other past cases’ and ‘appointing the army to investigate itself does not inspire confidence in a country where so many past investigations and commissions of inquiry have foundered one way or another’. Much room has thus been left for ‘calls for an international inquiry’ to continue. Pillay has not budged an inch!

The UNHRC chief, however, struck a responsive chord with all right-thinking Sri Lankans when she expressed her concern about the vulnerability of women and girls, especially in female-headed households, to sexual harassment and abuse. She deserves praise for having challenged ministers, provincial governors, military commanders et al to ‘rigorously enforce a zero tolerance policy for sexual abuse’. She should also have taken up the issue of psychopathic predators in the garb of government politicians harming innocent women and children. Her call for either bringing charges against the remaining LTTE detainees or releasing them for rehabilitation is also reasonable. This, the government should have done out of its own volition. Her request for repealing the draconian PTA, probing all disappearances, providing counselling and other psychological support for the people in the former war zone, protecting journalists, ensuring witness protection and right to information and punishing those responsible for religious violence is to be commended.

Pillay did not forget to issue a dire warning that she would report to the UNHRC ‘the harassment and intimidation of two priests, journalists and many ordinary citizens’ who met her. She reminded the government that ‘the UN takes the issue of reprisals against people because they have talked to UN officials as an extremely serious matter’. The government should have known better than to allow these alleged incidents to happen.

It is unfortunate that while Pillay was here as a state guest some ministers kept on hurling abuse at her. She took exception to the allegation that she is the ‘Tamil Tigress in the UN’. Her consternation is understandable. Baseless allegations hurt people and that’s why they must not be levelled at anyone including heads of UN member states! She called the LTTE a murderous outfit. She has made no revelation. However, now that she has called upon ‘those in the diaspora who continue to revere the memory of the LTTE’ to ‘recognize that there should be no place for the glorification of such a ruthless organization’, the onus on her to ensure that the UNHRC agenda does not dovetail with theirs. Whether she will effectively silence her critics by maintaining objectivity and producing a balanced report on Sri Lanka’s human rights situation remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, the government ought not to lose sight of the fact that Pillay has specifically mentioned ‘the curtailment or denial of personal freedoms and human rights … persistent impunity and the failure of rule of law’. (Emphasis added) It should get its act together on the human rights front urgently if the not-so-surreptitious efforts being made in some quarters to project Sri Lanka as a failed state and set the stage for an R2P (Responsibility to Protect) intervention in one form or another are to be thwarted.

Uproar in the Rajya Sabha over Katchatheevu

MONDAY, 02 SEPTEMBER 2013 

Members from AIADMK, DMK, CPI and BJP on Monday created uproar in the Rajya Sabha over an affidavit filed by the Government in the Supreme Court on Katchatheevu, a small island ceded to Sri Lanka in 1974, and demanded that it be retrieved.

There was also a demand that the Government should strictly enforce the fishermen treaty between two nations.

V. Maitreyan (AIADMK) raised the issue of affidavit reportedly filed by government in the Supreme Court last week. “Katchatheevu is part of India. Entire Tamil Nadu is shocked that UPA government in an affidavit to Supreme Court ceded it to Sri Lanka. This is the greatest betrayal to Tamil Nadu,” he said.

Katchatheevu is an island under Sri Lankan control where Indian fishermen can rest and dry their nets under an agreement of 1974.

Launching a scathing attack on Congress for the step, Mr. Maitreyan said, “Congress considers this country is zamindari of government. Congress is anti-Tamil Nadu. People of Tamil Nadu will teach a lesson to Congress. Retrieve Katchatheevu to India,” he said.

He also referred to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s submission in the Supreme Court that Katchatheevu belonged to India and it was ceded to Sri Lanka in an illegal manner without necessary Parliamentary approval.

D. Raja (CPI) joined him saying, “We strongly deplore the affidavit by Government of India to Supreme Court. Government of India should demand reopening of Katchatheevu agreement and renegotiate it.”

Kanimozhi (DMK) said Kachchatheevu was under the control of the King of Ramanathapuram. M. Venkaiah Naidu (BJP) demanded calling an all party meeting on the issue while urging the Centre to recall its affidavit.

A large number of members associated themselves with Mr. Maitreyan’s demand for retrieving the islet to India saying fishermen from Tamil Nadu have been using the islet since ages for drying their nets. (PTI)

Who will decide on fighting corruption?

by Rukshana Nanayakkara-Monday, 02 Sep 2013

Is there one formula for fighting corruption?
Among the many strategies and programmes, some seek to address systemic issues while others create a deterrent effect through naming and shaming, investigations and punitive measures.

There are many vehicles to achieve this end result. In 1990, we witnessed how walls of public toilets, bus stands and public buildings became walls of ‘information sharing’ with the general public. Eventually, mobile phones proved to be a strong tool in communicating messages of public value. Today, social media is taking the lead in an unprecedented manner.

Sri Lanka is a late-comer to this scene. Our computer literacy rate averages around 35% - so the phenomena of using social media as a means  of advocating social justice is now beginning to knock on our door with more persistence. It is extremely encouraging to note the recent acknowledgement by the President of Sri Lanka on the benefits of using social media. According to news reports, at a meeting with media secretaries of ministries, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has urged them to use social media to better engage with the public.

An extremely
powerful tool
In June this year, the Secretary to the President, Lalith Weeratunga, conducted a live question and answer session with the public via twitter. At the end of it, he openly acknowledged social media as an extremely powerful tool. In spirit, social media opens avenues for engagement with people, enhances interaction with the public, improves transparency and accountability, and wins the trust from the people.

From the public’s point of view, it is a mode of receiving and sharing information, engaging in discussions and a platform to bring together like-minded people in addition to creating platforms to advocate for common goals.
Our current space for engagement in public affairs is largely measured in a context of post-war paranoia and there is always the threat the space afforded by social media too may be taken away, in whatever possible form. This looming threat became quite evident when the Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, said the rapid expansion and development of social media posed a threat to national security, adding that it can be used to cause problems by propagating certain ideologies online and mobilizing and organizing people. 

The post-war triumphalism is increasingly becoming an overused trump card of the Rajapaksa Government. In the long run, secrecy in government contracts, nepotism and favouritism within the government, political corruption and mismanagement could even make diehard Rajapaksa supporters disgruntled about the systemic issues. The government is aware of it.

During the last two years, the world has witnessed the collapse of so most powerful regimes around the world. Three years ago, one never imagined peoples’ uprisings in countries like Libya or Egypt. They soon became a reality. This is why the Rajapaksa Government did not hesitate for a minute in sending a strong message to the people through its management of the Weliweriya incident.

It is time the promoters of social media in Sri Lanka understand the perverse nature of the administration. In the collapse of repressive regimes and their leaders – both in the Middle East and Latin America – we are in search of new partners, and indeed we are learning lessons from China and other repressive regimes in the world.
Handling repressive regimes 

Recently, a Chinese anti-corruption activist, Xu Zhiyoung, was arrested for his campaigns in organizing people for what is commonly known as the New Citizens’ Movement in China. Among others, they advocated for the declaration of assets by public officials in the country. In this case, the legal system was used to suppress an activist, who actually was proposing a policy, which in turn would help to prevent corruption. Corruption is plaguing Chinese society in a big way. As a country, it has not invested enough in transparent governance and accountability mechanisms that could earn the rulers any kind of public trust. As a result, corruption continues to affect the ordinary people in multiple ways.

If the Chinese Government is serious about fighting corruption, it has to lend an ear to the voices of the people. But unfortunately, it is countries with inherent systemic issues that Sri Lanka appears keen to build political and economic relations.
Sri Lanka’s recent efforts in building alliances with Belarus rings alarm bells of concern. Military ties with another repressive human rights abuser could only bring adverse results but the government in power does not appear to be concerned about its own projection to the rest of the world.  

As much as we demand anti-corruption and transparency measures, the means and modes of government responses should also be weighed against its true intentions. The current administration has skillfully captured the Opposition, politicized the public service and the Judiciary, won over Opposition members in Parliament to muster a thumping majority, and has practically removed all possible checks and balances from the system.

Public engagement tool
Part of the regime now talks about the benefits of social media as a public engagement tool in the development discourse. This is a norm of development defined by the Rajapaksas and their loyalists. What would be the response of the government if people demand, through social media, for more accountability, transparency or simply the information relating to development? What would be the response of the regime for an organized campaign demanding social accountability?

Benefits of social media are not something defined by any government. Social media is a powerful tool that firmly rests in the hands of the people. It also, to a large extent, takes away a government’s ability to control information and to manipulate information.

People themselves should be given the power and space to decide its scope and benefits of social media. Given Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s publicly expressed fear of the increasing use of social media, it is time for civil society also to engage in a discussion about the healthy parametres of social media within which it could vibrantly operate, and potential threats it faces by this ‘new kid on the block’ by the present regime. We should be indeed well prepared.