FORMER KENYAN VP TO LEAD C’WEALTH ELECTION OBSERVER TEAM TO SRI LANKA

September 14, 2013

The former Vice President of Kenya, Kalonzo Musyoka has been appointed by the Commonwealth to lead the observer team to Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council Elections slated for the 21st September 2013.

The four member observer mission team which was announced by the Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma, will comprise Kalonzo as the Chairman, members Ms Jenni McMullan former Electoral Officer for Victoria, Australia, Dr Shamsul Huda former Chief Election Commissioner Bangladesh, Ms Examin Philbert Secretary, Caribbean Association of Local Government Authorities Saint Lucia.

In his letter to Kalonzo, Commonwealth Secretary-General said the elections were a “landmark to the Sri Lankan north province” and thus Kalonzo’s vast political and diplomatic experience will be of great benefit, Citizen News reported.  

The Wiper leader who left the country on Friday night for Colombo and later Jaffna,  where he is expected to take up the new assignment as from the 14th  to 28th of September said it is heartwarming to serve humanity and thanked the commonwealth for appreciating his work.

The Kalonzo led mission is mandated to observe and consider all aspects of the electoral process and assess compliance with the standards for democratic elections to which Sri Lanka has committed itself to and where appropriate, the mission may also make recommendations for the future strengthening of the electoral framework.

The two weeks mission will culminate with the submission of a report to the commonwealth secretariat in London, who will in turn send it to the Government of Sri Lanka, the Office of the Commissioner of Elections, relevant Sri Lankan political parties and eventually to all Commonwealth governments. 

FOREIGN OBSERVERS ARRIVE TO MONITOR PROVINCIAL POLLS

September 14, 2013

Election observers representing India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan have arrived in the country to monitor the forthcoming Provincial Council polls, the Elections Secretariat said.

The foreign observers had arrived in the country last night to monitor the election in the Northern, North Western and Central provinces on September 21.

The foreign observers are expected to meet Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya today (14) at the Elections Secretariat for discussions. 

They are also scheduled to meet with representatives from the political parties contesting the country’s first ever election in the Northern Province and local monitoring groups.

The Indian team is led by former Chief Election Commissioner N Goplalaswamy and includes Chief Electoral Officers of Himachal Pradesh Narinder Chauhan and Sunil Kumar Gupta of West Bengal, according to Indian media.

In addition to the Indian observers, there are five observers from Pakistan, three from Bangladesh, two each from Nepal and Maldives and one each from Afghanistan and Bhutan. They will be in Sri Lanka for the next ten days.

The People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) has also invited a group of foreign observers, who had arrived in the country last night. 

PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchci stated that the observers will take part in training sessions today and tomorrow. 

Announcing the De Zoysa-Sivanayagam 2014 Fellowship in Digital Journalism

Image courtesy Simon Fraser University

by Groundviews

- on 09/14/2013

On September 21, 2013, Sri Lankans Without Borders in partnership withGroundviews will announce the launch of the De Zoysa-Sivanayagam 2014 Fellowship in Digital Journalism. As noted on SLWB’s website,

Lasantha Wickrematunge led the fight for press freedom in Sri Lanka, “unbowed and unafraid,” for a number of years before he was assassinated in 2009. It was a cause that was bequeathed to him by a number of courageous journalists who came before him. In commemorating Wickrematunge, we also pay homage to the memory of two other journalists whom Wickrematunge knew. Although Richard De Zoysa and Subramaniam Sivanayagam belonged to two different generations and had different social and political backgrounds and experiences, their legacies are united in their struggle for the right to free expression in Sri Lanka.

More details about the new Fellowship can be read here. The partners will jointly select one candidate for a six-month fellowship with Groundviewsto be based out of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The successful candidate will:

• Possess excellent knowledge of written and spoken English (and working knowledge of Tamil or Sinhala preferred but not mandatory);
• Be willing to travel around the country and stay in basic accommodations;
• Be experienced in digital research, including accessing legal authorities and sources related to freedom of expression online in other countries;
• Be able to respond and adapt to changing priorities and needs;
• Be prepared to cover some of the fellowship expenses; and
• Submit a full report upon completion of fellowship.

Application form and timelines will be published online on September 21, 2013. SLWB will give preference to working journalists, and students and graduates of journalism programs in Canada.

Sunila Abeysekera, 61, Sri Lankan Human Rights Activist

By MARGALIT FOX-September 13, 2013

Sunila Abeysekera in 2007

Sunila Abeysekera, a prominent human rights advocate who sought to bring the world’s attention to myriad acts of violence in her country, Sri Lanka, despite threats against her own life, died of cancer on Monday in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital. She was 61.

Her death was announced by Human Rights Watch. Until recently she had lived in the Netherlands because of the latest round of threats against her.

Ms. Abeysekera, a single mother and a lesbian, was also a champion of women’s rights throughout South Asia, working for reproductive rights and economic parity and to end violence against women.

A member of Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese majority, she refused to take sides in the country’s long, brutal civil war, and repeatedly demanded that both sides be held accountable for their actions.

The conflict, between the Sinhalese (who are mainly Buddhists) and Tamil separatists (who are mainly Hindu), began three decades ago; since then, according to a United Nations estimate, between 80,000 and 100,000 people have been killed.

The war nominally ended in 2009, when the Sri Lankan Army put down the rebels, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. But abuses by both sides, including intimidation, abduction, torture and murder, are reported to be continuing.

Ms. Abeysekera was the longtime executive director of the Inform Human Rights Documentation Center, an organization she helped establish in Colombo more than 20 years ago. The group monitors abuses by both the government and the Tamil Tigers, as the rebel group is colloquially known.

In interviews and in lectures around the world, Ms. Abeysekera, a forthright speaker, sought to make the violence by both factions known far beyond the region.

“There is also an element of racism and neocolonialism involved in the West’s lack of interest in the Sri Lankan situation,” she told The Unesco Courier, a United Nations publication, in 1999. “If one white person had been abducted or killed in Sri Lanka, then the Western countries would have reacted differently.”

Ms. Abeysekera was forced to leave for the Netherlands after the state-controlled news media labeled her a traitor for her support of a 2012 resolution by the United Nations Human Rights Council calling for “reconciliation and accountability” in Sri Lanka. She had previously taken refuge in the Netherlands in the late 1980s, amid death threats at home.

Sunila Abeysekera was born in Sri Lanka on Sept. 4, 1952, to a politically progressive family. After receiving her education in Colombo, she began her professional life there as an actress, singer and dancer onstage and in films; she later worked as a drama critic.

Ms. Abeysekera became politically active in the mid-1970s as a member of Civil Rights Movement, a multiethnic coalition in Sri Lanka.

The many organizations with which she was associated over the years include the Women and Media Collective in Colombo, which she founded in 1984 to promote feminism throughout South Asia; the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition, which she helped organize; and the Movement for Interracial Justice and Equality in Sri Lanka, of which she was a past president.

She was also known for her advocacy on behalf of sex workers, gay men, lesbians and transgender people, as well as people with H.I.V. and AIDS.

Ms. Abeysekera received a master’s degree from the program on women and development at the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague in 1994. She returned to the institute last year as the recipient of a Scholars at Risk fellowship; the fellowship provides residency at a consortium of institutions around the world to scholars forced to flee their home countries.

Her many honors include a 1998 United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights and a 2007 Human Rights Defender Award, presented by Human Rights Watch.

Ms. Abeysekera’s survivors include her mother, Turin; two brothers, Prasanna and Ranil; a son, Sanjaya Senanayake; and a daughter, Subha Wijesiriwardena.

When asked how she bore up under the constant threats her work engendered, Ms. Abeysekera replied that she took a certain solace in the fact that they came from all directions.

“When everyone is criticizing you,” she said in the interview with The Unesco Courier, “then you are doing the right thing.”

Sunila Abeysekera And The Prerogatives Of The Displaced

By Malinda Seneviratne -September 15, 2013

Malinda Seneviratne

Sunila Abeysekera, 61, passed away a few days ago.  As in the case of all deaths, she is mourned by those who knew her best, friends and family.  But Sunila was not just ‘friend’ and ‘family’.  She was a political personality.  This is why Human Rights Watch posted a short note acknowledging her ‘work’ and expressing sorrow.  This is why those who stood with Sunila or found ‘comrade’ in Sunila for sharing views or sharing common enemy speak of her passing with sorrow.

Some, in passing, mention her voice, i.e. in the literal meaning of the word (for others ‘voice’ is about expressing opinion, objecting to what is considered objectionable, articulating about and for the inarticulate).  Those who identified with her political work lament that she is irreplaceable.

Sunila Abeysekera

No one is one-dimensional and Sunila was no exception, but her most public face was political. For this reason such her life will be assessed, celebrated and criticized for political reasons, primarily, with word on Sunila making way through ideological lens.  I write, for example, as a person who did not identify with Sunila’s politics, who objects to the machinations she was part of and in whose few brief encounters with her found little to cheer.

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Global Tamil Forum on Northern Provincial Council Election

 Saturday, 14 September 2013

GTF calls upon the Tamil diaspora to help the TNA achieve the best possible victory by impressing upon their relatives and friends in Sri Lanka about the significance of this election.

Tamils and others who live outside the North but registered to vote in the North must take the trouble to travel to ensure their votes too are counted in favour of the TNA. Most importantly, we call upon the Tamils and other communities in the North to take an active part in the election, with the expectation the outcome will prove that a proud community with long history, however mistreated and brutalised, will not give up on the mission to achieve its legitimate political rights and will continue to work towards achieving justice, peace and equality for all.

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

GTF welcomes the announcement to hold elections for the Northern Provincial Council. For the first time in 25 years, and 4 years after the end of the war, elections for the Northern Provincial Council have been scheduled to take place on September 21. The Sri Lankan government agreed for the elections under intense pressure from the international community.

It is our strong conviction that the existing power devolution arrangement under the 13th amendment to the constitution does not commensurate the level of self-governance aspired by Tamils in the North-East, and that a genuine state power sharing arrangement has to be arrived through political negotiations.

We also note with alarm the steps being taken by the Sri Lankan government to further weaken the 13th amendment to the constitution through a bogus Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) process, and welcome the attention of the international community, particularly India, on countering such regressive moves.

Given the circumstances, we urge the Tamil community in Sri Lanka to exercise their democratic right to vote. The view of the international community seems that a Provincial Council controlled by an authentic Tamil leadership will go some way in addressing the grievances of the Tamils, including their desire to preserve the cultural, political and economic identity in the North-East. It is equally important that an administration run by the elected representatives from the region could play a significant role in restoring the confidence and dignity of our people, as opposed to them becoming subservient to a military-run administration and anti-Tamil elements for mere economic survival.

Through repeated election victories, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has been given the political mandate of the Tamil people. A decisive victory of the TNA in this forthcoming election is critical to send a powerful message to the Sri Lankan government and the international community.

Only time will tell whether a TNA-led Council will become an effective agent of change for the Tamil people or its efforts will be sabotaged by an intransigent, power-hungry government bent on marginalising Tamils. The outcome, whether positive or unfavourable, will convey a powerful message to the people of Sri Lanka and the international community regarding the true intention of the Sri Lankan Government in amicably settling the Tamil problem. It is therefore critical, as the first step, that TNA secures full control of the Northern Provincial Council by a sizeable majority of votes.

GTF has developed a strong collaborative working relationship with the TNA. We have promoted TNA among the international community. Equally, our active engagement with the TNA adds credibility to the political positions we adopt and promote world-wide.

Mannaar villagers protest against SL Navy occupying church lands

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 September 2013, 15:35 GMT]
Tamil villagers of Chi’ruth-thoappu on Thursday staged a peaceful protest against the Sri Lanka Navy occupation of 17 acres of land belonging to their church. The villagers demanded the Sri Lanka Navy base Gajaba to vacate the land. The protest comes as the SL State has recently taken a move to legally appropriate the lands after having it occupied for 10 years. The SL military occupying the land has also exploited the natural resources of the church the villagers complained. The church is situated along Mannaar – Thalaimannaar Road. 

More than 2,000 coconut palms and more than 300 palmyra trees were in the lands that belongs to the church. Earlier, the income from these resources went to the villagers of Chu'ruththoappu. 

Hundreds of these valuable trees have been cut and exploited by the SL Navy, the villagers complain. 

Fr Anthony Victor Sosai, the vicar general of the Mannar diocese, Mr Martin Dias, the head of the Mannaar Piratheasa Chapai (PS), deputy head, TNA politicians and a large number of the public took part in the protest. 

TNA parliamentarian Selvam Adaikkalanthan has sent an appeal on behalf of the villagers to SL Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, urging the SL defence establishment to release the lands belonging to the church.

Beware Of Pandankarayas Who Suddenly “See The Light!

By Emil van der Poorten -September 15, 2013 

Emil van der Poorten

The admonition that is the title of this column is an unashamed parody of that warning people against “Greeks bearing gifts.”

It comes to mind in a Sri Lankan context for a not dissimilar reason:  a relatively recent trend for those supporting the most violent and corrupt government in Sri Lanka’s post-1948 history who, after giving a new and expanded meaning to the word “apologist,” choosing to leave the sinking ship of state.  It doesn’t take a crystal ball to divine the fact that this shift of allegiance is driven by their undeniable skills in recognizing looming disaster brought upon them by the behavior of those whom they have spent an inordinate, though well compensated, amount of time covering up for up to now.

Of course, the apologists, to cover their posteriors as they retreat, keep up the chant of “They did it first!” against those they so assiduously attacked while playing commentating pit bulls to their masters.  This was their battle cry and shield every time those they defended until recently were caught with their hand in the metaphorical cookie jar (or worse, much worse).  The “disengagement” from those they lionized till just the other day is attempted with a degree of sophistication.  Far be it for them to perform a simple volte face, a mea culpa.    Rather than simply jump ship, losing the veneer of respectability they have cultivated over the years, they have devised a simple rearguard strategy.  After all, their conduct could well still be fresh in the memory banks of even Sri Lankans, a nation notorious for loss of short-term political memory!  It also presents an opportunity for those with word-smithing skills to affect a measured and orderly retreat and many of these literary, previously-sea-faring, rodents have the ability to do this.Read More

UN Paralysis Over Syria And Commonwealth’s Covert Support To Sri Lanka

I By Rajan Philips -September 15, 2013

Rajan Philips

Eight years after its birth the so called R2P (Responsibility to Protect) norm of the United Nations is going through yet another traumatic phase in its slower than slow evolution.  This time it is in Syria where the international community, far from exercising any responsibility to protect, has been responding with monumental inaction to a catastrophic human tragedy.  The civil war that began in March 2011, as an extension of the Arab Spring has become a prolonged winter of violence consuming 100,000 lives and displacing as many as a third of the Syrian population. Seven out of 21 million are refugees in a country that has traditionally had 1.8 million refugees from surrounding countries.  For two years, the UN and the international community have been paralysed from doing anything by the veto power play of the Russians and the Chinese in the Security Council.

Last month the Assad regime used chemical weapons in an attack killing 1000 civilians, marking only the fifth time the use of chemical weapons in history and the first time ever their use by a state against its own people.  President Obama’s threat of military retaliation as punishment for chemical warfare was beginning to fizzle out as a result of his curiously cautious decision to obtain Congress support in advance.  Obama has since been saved from a huge embarrassment by the diplomatic life line thrown by his arch detractor Vladimir Putin.  After months of vetoes and weeks of denials, Russia and Syria are now offering to turn over Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons for international scrutiny and destruction.Read More

Why and How Ex- SC Judge CV Wigneswaran Praised LTTE Leader Prabhakaran as a Great Hero

By D.B.S. Jeyaraj-13 September 2013


The nomination of Retired Supreme Court Judge Canagasabapathy Viswalingam Wigneswaran as Chief Ministerial candidate for the Northern Provincial Council Polls by the Tamil National Alliance(TNA) was widely hailed when announced in July. This writer while outlining the process by which the “unanimous” selection was made had this to say in his weekly column published by “Daily Mirror” on July 27th 2013. “A veritable Pandora’s box of the “Eelam” variety seems to have been opened and one does feel that the Sitar strumming Wigneswaran may not be able to play the melody of his choice in the days to come. He may even find the strings on his instrument snapping if the current trend continues. All these developments and more will be scrutinised in greater detail in a forthcoming article”.

Why and How Ex- SC Judge CV Wigneswaran Praised LTTE Leader Prabhakaran as a Great Hero by nelvely

National Movement for Social Justice

Righteous Country, Law Abiding Rule, Just Society

 Friday, 13 September 2013

National Movement for Social Justice which was formed with the intention of creating a righteous country, law abiding rule and a just society, whilst protecting the rule of law which is declining daily in Sri Lanka, is turning into a powerful force of the people.  It is evident from the favourable reactions.

This movement is formed with the participation of Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thero who voices his opinion bravely on national, religious and social issues and intellectuals and jurists.  With the inclusion of Buddhist priests, other religious leaders, politicians, Trade Unions, Professionals and Civil Activists, is the key factor for this movement to become a powerful force in the near future.

Particular feature is obtaining blessings of all Maha Nayake’s of all the Nikayas and other Maha Nayakes, His Eminence the Cardinal and other religious dignitaries by offering the draft amendments to them.

They all unanimously agree that the present constitution should be repealed as it is detrimental to the country.

The movement is an apolitical entity as it embraces national issues.  However, it needs a political leadership and it is a good sign that gradually it is entering more and more with the political stream.

Series of seminars have been organized island-wide to discuss economic and social background with the decline of law and order as a result of the Executive Presidential System introduced by the 1978 Constitution. It is intended to rally round the people with the movement and to educate masses.

Main task is to abolish the executive presidential system immediately and to introduce a new constitution which will establish a Westminister System of government transferring the power to parliament.

The other theme of the movement is to reintroduce the 17th amendment immediately.

These seminars are being held in order to eradicate the preferential voting system which is very harmful to the country and to reduce the cabinet to 25 Ministers.

It is proposed to introduce a new constitution to include and strengthen the democratic features and economic structures which are beneficial to the country.

Accordingly a series of seminars were conducted during this month in Colombo, Anuradhapura, Kuliyapitiya, Polonnaruwa, Kalutara, Udawalawe, Thanamalwila, Gampaha, Eppawala, Kegalle, Kandy and Galle.

These seminars are held to educate the people and attended by prominent professionals and jurists.  The degree of the decline of law and order in the country is revealed at these seminars.

People who participate at these seminars express their satisfaction when the issues confronted by them are discussed and solutions are shown.  Their sufferings and desolation come to light in the course of the discussions.

Seminars are attended by the Buddhist priests, other religious dignitaries, civil activists and political representatives.
In the areas like Anuradhapura and Kuliyapitiya, the biggest strength was Buddhist priests.  Several Mahanayakes were present at these seminars.

During the seminars conducted in Polonnaruwa, Sevenagala, Udawalawe, Thanamalwila, it was brought to notice that the farmers and Civil activists finds it difficult to act freely due to various administrative rules and regulations imposed on them by the officials, citing directives issued under the Executive Presidential system.

Adverse effects of the Executive Presidential system were revealed at these seminars citing incidents such as impeachment against Shirani Bandaranayake, former Chief Justice; order given by a Provincial Council Member to a teacher to kneel down in his presence;  killing of a worker at the protest at Katunayake demanding workers’ rights; killing 3 persons at Rathupaswela, Weliveriya by shooting at the protestors when they asked for drinking water, curtailing freedom of press, arsoning Udayan paper printing press in Jaffna.  Misdeeds of Provincial and Local Government members.  Acts of thuggery by a Deputy Inspector General of Police, are quoted at these seminars as examples to show the level of decline in law and order under the Executive Presidential system.

Seminars were held during the weekends at Naga Vihare Kotte; these seminar were attended by trade unions, civil activists, retired police officers and several other societies.

On the 27th H.E. Michelle Sisson, Ambassador of the United States visited Sri Naga Viharaya with a group of officials and had discussion.   At the discussions she said that re-introduction of the 17th Amendment will support, protect and strengthen democracy in Sri Lanka.  Several other diplomats, Prominent Ministers and members of parliament of the government met Ven. Sobitha Thero and expressed their blessings for the programme of work.

It has been planned to organize a series of seminars in the near future with the participation of Ven. Sobitha Thero, politicians and jurists.  First of this series will be held at Eppawala on the 11th of September.

Signed
Dr. Rajith Cabral
General Secretary
National Movement for Social Justice

Army Wants More Troops In The North After Wiggie’s Prabha Remark

I September 15, 2013

The defence authorities have reacted angrily to remarks by Tamil National Alliance Chief Minister CandidateC.V. Wigneswaran in Velvettaiturai where the former Supreme Court Judge allegedly claimed Velupillai Prabhakaran was a ‘great hero‘.

C.V. Wigneswaran

The commanding officer of the northern province Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe has reportedly asked the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa to increase troop numbers in the area since the statement could result in a regrouping of ex LTTE combatants, a Sinhala language newspaper reported this weekend.

Hathurusinghe and Wigneswaran have crossed swords previously when the ex-Judge questioned why the senior military official was making political statements and criticizing the political candidates.

Wigneswaran’s remarks at Velvattathurai which is also the LTTE Leader Prabhakaran’s birth place have been badly received in other parts of the country.

Critics say the former Justice has been making increasingly Tamil nationalistic speeches on Election platforms.

Portal, Precipice Or Political Suicide Bomb

IBy Dayan Jayatilleka -September 14, 2013 |

Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka

“The Tamil Tigers…were the most supremely deadly and effective terrorist group to emerge at any time in the second half of the 20th century…There is no overall moral equivalence between the government of Sri Lanka and the Tigers.” -  Greg Sheridan, Foreign Editor, The Australian,  ‘Sri Lanka’s Path to Peace’ Sept 13, 2013

When the most authoritative commentator on Tamil politics, DBS Jeyaraj exposes (in his latest piece) proto-secessionist and pro-terrorist discourse on the part of the main Tamil parliamentary party the TNA, it gets my attention. It would take an idiot to ignore it. (‘Wigneswaran Praises Prabhakaran at Velvettiturai’, Daily Mirror, Sept 14^th 2013).

The TNA is not a secessionist party, but when it is reliably reported that it has not broken with the secessionist paradigm and even flirts with dangerous secessionist discourse and symbolism, it must be recognised that Sri Lanka simply doesn’t possess the geostrategic space to regard the signs as unthreatening and unproblematic.

A call for a measure of ‘self-rule’, ‘self-government’ or ‘self-administration’ within a united country is entirely legitimate. The demand for the full implementation of the existing provisions for a measure of self rule within a unitary state, as enshrined in the 13^th amendment, is also entirely legitimate. However, this isn’t all there is to it, as DBS Jeyaraj reveals:

“…Tamil nationalist politics in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu and within the global Tamil Diaspora continues to be under the shadow of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)notwithstanding the fact that the Tigers are no more in Sri Lanka. Despite the LTTE being a non-entity in the Island, many Sri Lankan Tamil politicians of the Tamil National Alliance refuse to be liberated from the residual hold of the Liberation Tigers…

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Irretrievable economic mess: Soldiers not paid for 2 months ; NSB seeks loan
(Lanka-e-News-14.Sep.2013, 7.00PM) The country’s abysmal and acute economic crisis was well illustrated when it became known that the salaries of the army soldiers had still not been paid by the MaRa regime, based on information from sources within the army.

The ration money that ought to be paid to the Army soldiers had not been released to them for the last two months! Those soldiers who do not stay in the camps and travel from homes and those soldiers who go on leave must be paid a certain amount of money by the army in respect of their meals. Usually it is about Rs. 300/- per day. The soldiers who are working sans overtime payments naturally find it difficult to eke out a living without this ration money. For the last two months these soldiers have not been paid these monies citing various bogus grounds and lies.

Even the gas allowance payable to soldiers had not been paid .Since January this year the soldiers have been told , a month’s salary shall be given in lieu of overtime payment , but that too has not materialized. In addition , the suppliers to the army too had not been paid for the last 4 to5 months , it is reported. The payments to owners of vehicles hired by the army had also run into arrears for the last 4 to 5 months. 

Though these payments had not been paid duly , the former army commander Jagath Jayasooriya had made sure that his con men and cronies are paid duly on time. His con men , a major and a Lieutenant who claim they are of his media have of course ruthlessly plundered large sums of public money making out false payment claims on the pretext that they are for the media.

One of the many examples that bears out this allegation is , when a reception was accorded for the former army Commander in Jaffna , a sum of Rs.35000 was collected by his con men cronies as payment for the media , though not a single media personnel went to Jaffna on that occasion.

Meanwhile Dr. Harsha De Silva dropped a bombshell when addressing a media briefing , he said , even without Parliament’s approval or debate , the National savings bank has asked for a credit line to the tune of US dollars 400 million and a sum of US dollars 200 had been requested from a Middle east Bank. This is clear testimony that the country is in an irretrievable economic mess. These hush hush deals and negotiations are because the government wants to conceal its monumental economic bungling from the people who will have to ultimately pay for the sins recklessly and irresponsibly committed by the MaRa regime, he pointed out with deep concern.

Disarm politicians and their goons!

Editorial-September 13

Nearly four and a half years have elapsed since the end of the war. The government is boasting that terrorism is a thing of the past. President Mahinda Rajapaksa tours the former war zone and addresses political rallies without fear of terror strikes. Time was when he used to grumble about being a prisoner at Temple Trees. Now, he enjoys the freedom to visit even the former stronghold of the LTTE! Whoever would have thought elections would be held in that part of the country with men, women and children moving about freely.

But, there has been no discernible decrease in security provided to lesser politicians who continue to wreak havoc on public roads in the southern parts of the country with their huge security contingents and back-up vehicles that bear down on the ordinary road users.

Polls monitors have called upon IGP N. K. Illangakoon to seize all illegal weapons in the hands of politicians in the provinces going to the polls lest they should be used to terrorise their rivals within the next few days and on the day of polling. There is no reason why the police should hesitate to do so.

It is the government politicians and their goons who have been flaunting and firing weapons as part of their election campaign. We fail to see any difference between illegal firearms and the so-called legal ones that are put to illegal use. On the other hand, there is no need for any civilian to be armed in peacetime. Therefore, all politicians and their backers must be banned from carrying weapons, ‘legal’ or otherwise.

There must be a proper threat assessment and security provided to politicians should be adjusted accordingly. Some of them need no security at all; it is they who pose a threat to others as we saw in December 2011 in Tangalle, where a gang led by a government politician killed a foreigner and raped his girlfriend. If it could be established beyond doubt that any politician is under threat, uniformed police personnel should be assigned to protect them. Private armies responsible for many crimes must be banned forthwith.

The country is awash with illegal weapons and there are thousands of battle-hardened military deserters at large besides a large number of trigger-happy hardcore criminals who have become a law unto themselves. The police have their work cut out in taking on the netherworld of drugs and crime because of the nexus between politicians and the underworld figures who do a lot of political work for the ruling party, as is common knowledge.

On several occasions during the last few years, the STF conducting operations against organised crime came up against a brick wall because the police commandos happened to take on some politically connected killers, drug barons and extortionists. While the anti-social elements are thus protected, ordinary citizens who take to the streets seeking redress to their grievances are shot dead!

The government, we repeat, should heed the polls monitors’ call for banning illegal weapons and take necessary action to rein in its violent politicians and ensure that upcoming elections will be free from violence and malpractices.

The UPFA has sought to ridicule polls monitors by claiming that they are singing for their supper and blowing issues out of proportion to impress their foreign sponsors and get more funds. But, the fact remains that they serve a useful purpose, given the violent disposition of politicians notorious for their propensity for rigging polls. The best way the government could take the much-maligned monitors off its back is to conduct free and fair polls. Will it care to do so?