SA Can Influence Sri Lanka in Positive Way

Alan Keenan, IOL News  |   18 Nov 2013

It was always questionable for the Commonwealth to hold its heads of government meeting in Sri Lanka.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa looked forward to the gathering as a precious opportunity to rebuild his government’s tarnished image, which has suffered in the face of criticism for alleged war crimes committed in May 2009, at the end of a decades-long civil conflict, and for growing authoritarianism since. The Rajapaksa government hoped the Commonwealth meeting would showcase its own, happier, picture of a democratic country at peace, committed to reconciliation and moving forward.

Events, however, have not gone according to the government’s script.

On November 8, Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh said he would not be attending, after intense anti-Sri Lanka protests in the south India state of Tamil Nadu. Singh’s announcement followed the Canadian prime minister’s earlier decision to boycott the Commonwealth meeting, citing Sri Lanka’s lack of progress in ensuring accountability for wartime violations and serious ongoing human rights abuses. The prime minister of Mauritius recently followed India’s and Canada’s lead, also citing human rights concerns.

The hundreds of international journalists attending the meeting have also cast a harsh light: the regime’s tactics of political repression have been on display for the world to see. Just days ago, Tamil families whose relatives “disappeared” after surrendering to the army at war’s end were physically prevented from coming to Colombo to protest.

Journalists from Britain’s Channel Four, responsible for some of the strongest reporting on war-crimes allegations, were prevented from travelling to the Tamil-majority north. International human rights lawyers, and even the UN special rapporteur on the independence of the judiciary, had their visas revoked for a meeting on the rule of law with local lawyers. Australian politicians were earlier detained and forced to leave the country after meeting with Sri Lankan rights activists.

These events illustrate some of the central concerns detailed in the new Crisis Group report on “Sri Lanka’s Potemkin Peace: Democracy Under Fire”:

South Africa has an important role in preventing further deterioration in Sri Lanka and nudging the Rajapaksa government in a more democratic and peaceful direction, especially with regard to reconciliation and devolution. South Africa is well-placed to influence Sri Lanka in positive ways, given its quiet initiative to build trust between the government and Tamil leaders and eventually to support a negotiated settlement to ensure a lasting solution to the ethnic conflict. But it must navigate carefully, to ensure the process is inclusive and comprehensive, and importantly is not exploited for narrow political advantage within Sri Lanka.

September’s long-awaited elections to the northern province were won in a landslide by the main Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance. To move forward, the new council needs Colombo’s co-operation as well as financial, technical and political support from the international community.

The South African government, along with India and other influential international partners of Sri Lanka, should explore how it can best support the council. It should also make it clear to Colombo that diplomatic pressure will intensify if it refuses to allow the northern council to enjoy its full powers or, as threatened earlier this year, pushes through constitutional changes that weaken or eliminate provincial councils.

South Africa should also make the most of its newly won seat on the UN human rights council, which has passed two resolutions calling for accountability and postwar reforms from Sri Lanka. If no credible and independent war crimes inquiry is under way when the council next meets in February, South Africa and other member states should establish an international mechanism to examine the many allegations of violations of international law by both sides in the civil war.

When engaging with Sri Lanka, South Africa should respect the lessons of its own experience: real reconciliation requires open exploration of the past and a commitment to build more inclusive institutions. As long as the Sri Lankan government rejects both approaches, South Africa should use all the tools at its disposal to shift Sri Lanka in a better direction.

No doubt that the Sri Lankan forces did commit crimes; but when, and how much, is it ethical to kill in war?

No doubt that the Sri Lankan forces did commit crimes; but when, and how much, is it ethical to kill in war?

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Was it ethical?

From Sri Lanka, questions about wars by Praveen Swami 

The real question in the debate over India’s Sri Lanka policy isn’t whether it is pragmatic or ethical. It goes, instead, to the heart of the ethics of the wars our country fights, and will fight in years to come
Florence-on-the-Elbe, they used to call the historic German city of Dresden, before it began to turn to ash that evening in February 1945. Inside of days, the United Kingdom and the United States bomber command dropped some 3,900 tonnes of ordnance over the city, creating an inferno which would claim an estimated 25,000 lives. 

No Doubt That the Sri Lankan Forces Did Commit Crimes; But When, And How Much, Is It Ethical to Kill in War... by nelvely

Sri Lankan Govt Media Calls British PM Buffoon, A Bumbling Boor And Bully

November 20, 2013

Sri Lanka’s state media has referred to British Prime Minister David Cameron as a buffoon, a boor and a bully, after he issued an ultimatum about a war crimes probe against the country.

The Government’s flagship English Daily, the Daily News in its editorial yesterday said nothing short of a full apology was required from Cameron “for being, in short, the total unmitigated boor on his recent trip to Sri Lanka to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting”.

A free Laptop from President to Daily News Editor Rajpal Abeynayake

“The disrespect was palpable, but what stood out was the exceptional boorishness. From the time he landed on Sri Lankan soil, the Prime Minister played the Imperial blunderbuss. May be he didn’t have to play the role — being a Tory of the Bullingdon set, perhaps immaturity and entitlement-oriented behaviour comes naturally to him,” Daily News Editor Rajpal Abeynayake said in his editorial that have been obnoxiously critical of Government dissidents in the recent past.

The state daily said that Cameron had engaged in petty politicking during his visit and issued an ultimatum against his host head of state without “a modicum of respect for the fact that the best hospitality was afforded.”

“In many ways if his buffoonish behaviour did not have such far reaching implications, possibly, it would have been hilarious,” the deeply insulting editorial said of the British Premier.

“But the problem was that this is the Prime Minister of Britain, and though the gentlemen cannot possibly help but be the regular bumbling boor, the office he holds has ensured that he has alienated a great many Sri Lankans. An unqualified apology is in order, and we expect one to be dispatched from 10 Downing Street as soon as possible, under Prime Ministerial seal,” it said.

UK not happy with local probe

November 19, 2013

British Prime Minister David Cameron says investigations carried out by the Sri Lankan government on human rights related issues are not fully independent as most of them have been military-led inquiries.

He told the British House of Commons Britain wants to see a proper, independent inquiry into the incident which allegedly took place during the war.

In a briefing to the House of Commons on his recent visit to Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth summit, Cameron said that the Sri Lankan issue is now an established part of Britain’s foreign policy which is to raise at every international forum the importance of a strong, united, prosperous and reconciled future for Sri Lanka.

UK Not Happy With Local Probe by nelvely

Letter To President On Strategic Development Projects

By Chandra Jayaratne -November 20, 2013 |

Chandra Jayaratne

H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksa,

The President & Hon. Minister of Finance & Planning,

Presidential Secretariat,

Janadhipathi Mawatha,

Colombo 1.

Your Excellency,

Strategic Development Projects

This intervention is made in a spirit of democratic engagement in pursuit of transparency and good governance Sri Lanka.

I write with reference to the government policy on identification of viable foreign direct investments (FDI’s) for the promotion of strategic development projects in Sri Lanka and the Cabinet’s rationale and basis for assessing the viability of such projects for the grant of tax benefits and concessions, in terms of the Strategic Development Projects Act No.14 of 2008.

Current economic models advocate the importance of a more holistic approach to FDI. It is believed that sustainable FDI can only be achieved through projects that yield profits sufficient to maintain effective corporate engagement without harming vital host country interests while producing positive net benefits for the country’s long-term development goals, all as evaluated on prioritized economic, environmental, social and governance indicators. In this context, it is considered vital to identify an effective approach to attract prospective investors and to assess a suitable methodology for seeking sustainable FDI to maximize the benefits and minimize the costs to the host country.

Additionally, it is also considered essential to ensure broad participation and transparency in selecting national and regional development priorities to evaluate an FDI which is in keeping with the government’s inclusive approach to development.

In context of the above parameters for the evaluation of FDI, it would be incumbent upon the government to provide the public with the rationale and basis for evaluation of the proposed FDI funded ‘mixed development project to set up an operate an Integrated Resort’ and a locally funded ‘ICONIC integrated resort’ referred to in the government gazettes No; 1829/24 and 1829/23 of 23rd September 2013(now withdrawn), both of which include the approval for operation of Casinos. They are identified as strategic development projects justified on the grounds of earning foreign exchange through tourism promotion.Read More

ANDREW ALEXANDER: Did David Cameron see the truth in Sri Lanka? 

By ANDREW ALEXANDER- 20 November 2013A Commonwealth Conference seems a strange launch pad for any campaign for human rights. 

This useless organisation, set up as a pretence that the British Empire lived on, has long contained a notable proportion of corrupt and repressive regimes, in conflict with their own people and even each other. 

But David Cameron had no reservations during last week’s occasion, even if three nations refused to attend, given Sri Lanka’s record in its own civil war. 

Ultimatum: British Prime Minister David Cameron during the CHOGM meeting in Colombo urged the Sri Lankan government to take fast action on human rights in the country

He set off for the Tamil north of the country, and visited a refugee camp and a newspaper office where the bullet holes in the walls were the result of a raid by government forces, he was told. 

He could say that he had seen for himself how brutal was the government of President Rajapaksa.

ANDREW ALEXANDER Did David Cameron See the Truth in Sri Lanka by nelvely

The Commonwealth’s raison d’etre

Editorial- Sunday, November 17, 2013

As the 23rd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) concludes today in the host city of Colombo, the future of Britain and its former colonies as a united body must surely be on everybody’s mind.

The Commonwealth’s raison d’etre by nelvely

Grand commission on truth and reconciliation

November 20, 2013

• If LLRC had a broader mandate, it would have silenced critics of the war victory then

It is indeed a remarkable feat that the Rajapaksa administration was able to hold CHOGM 2013 despite mounting criticism from across the world. The success of holding CHOGM 2013 was owing to diplomacy by Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris.
Canada and India had different attitudes as decisions to not attend CHOGM had been made under domestic compulsions. The pro-separatist lobbies in these countries are hyperactive and there is a massive propaganda effort to tarnish the image of Sri Lanka.

Grand Commission on Truth and Reconciliation by nelvely

Sri Lanka patrol boat gift will be used against civilians: Geoffrey Robertson

Shane Green

Patrol limits - November 19, 2013                                                          

Shadow immigration spokesperson Richard Marles wants to know what limitations of use are on the patrol boats gifted to Sri Lanka.

• Federal politics: full coverage
• No restrictions on patrol boat gift
• 
  

Australian patrol boats given to Sri Lanka will be used by the country's navy against civilians, leading human rights advocate Geoffrey Robertson has warned.

Delivering the annual Victorian human rights oration, the eminent QC condemned both sides of politics for turning a blind eye to Sri Lanka's human rights breaches.

In a scathing critique, Mr Robertson said the 2009 “final solution” by the Sri Lankan government to end the civil war against the vicious Tamil Tigers terrorist group involved indiscriminate bombardment, killing an estimated 40,000 to 70,000 civilians.

“The Sri Lankan navy, the beneficiary of the Australian gun boats, played the worst part,” he told a packed audience in Melbourne. “They just stood off shore bombarding people and shelling people in this vast crowd in this target area.”

There was also ample evidence on the land of torture and rape, summary executions and the displacement of 350,000 civilians.

Mr Robertson contrasted British prime minister David Cameron's strong criticism of Colombo's human rights record with the approach taken by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who said: "We accept that sometimes, in difficult circumstances, difficult things happen.”

Mr Robertson said this was a long-winded paraphrase of former US secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld's “stuff happens”, when describing looting in Baghdad. “But genocide is not stuff. It's not a difficult thing that happens, nor is torture, or mass rape or mass murder,” Mr Robertson said. “These are breaches of universal law, which must, when they happen, be universally condemned by every state that takes its international obligations seriously. “

Mr Robertson said both Coalition and Labor governments seemed to think that turning a blind eye would help to stop Tamil asylum seekers - but such thinking was foolish and ignorant.

The history of human rights proves “you can't deal with leaders who are mass murderers”. “They always lie and cheat and make promises they've got no intention of keeping.

“Of course, the patrol boats will be used for the purposes of the Sri Lankan navy, whether it's shelling civilians or having fireworks displays when the judges are sacked,” he said. “Human rights violators can't be trusted not to violate human rights again and again.”

Mr Robertson said the only way to stop people seeking asylum was to end the persecution that makes them seek asylum, and risk their lives in doing so. “And that was David Cameron's point and it seems to elude Mr Abbott. People will always risk their life to retain their liberty...

“We cannot in international law turn away those who face persecution. And Australia's only message to Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth conference should have been: End the persecution.”

Mr Robertson also used the oration to condemn Australian attempts to tap the phones of the Indonesian president and his wife, describing the efforts by Australia's Defence Signals Directorate as stupid, ethically wrong and illegal.

He called for an inquiry to determine the minister or official who was responsible for making the decision to conduct the phone tapping. And he called on Mr Abbott to admit the mistake and promise to Indonesia it would not happen again. "He can't continue with this nonsense, 'Oh, everyone does it.' How would we feel if Therese Rein's phone was being tapped by the Indonesians? That's simply not good enough. There is a right to privacy and we've violated it."

TNA to meet PMs of India and Britain

BY Lakshmi Jayakody -Wednesday, 20 Nov 2013

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is to meet Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and British Prime Minister, David Cameron.

TNA MP Suresh Premachandran, speaking to Ceylon Today said, though a final decision had not been arrived at as yet, consequent to an invitation extended by the British PM, when he had met the Northern Province Chief Minister, C.V. Wigneswaran, in Jaffna last week, he had extended an invitation to him to come to Britain, in connection with the issues faced by the Tamils in the Northern Province.

The TNA has also decided to hold discussions with the Indian Prime Minister, focusing on the range of issues exchanged between the TNA and the British Premier.

Meanwhile, TNA MP Mavai Senadhiraja, is to tour Australia at the end of the month to attend an event organized by the TNA Branch in Australia.

Decision on CHOGM limousines later

By Ravi Ladduwahetty-Wednesday, 20 Nov 2013

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday that no decision had been taken up to now, on how the limousines which were imported for the recently concluded Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), were to be either used or disposed of. He was responding to a query made by Ceylon Today in this regard, during a breakfast meeting with newspaper editors and heads of media institutions, held at Temple Trees, yesterday.

Asked by the representative of this newspaper as to what his decision was, with regard to the 63 luxury limousines used during the CHOGM by the visiting Heads of States and country representatives, the President had said there was time to decide what should be done. "We will come to a decision later as that is not the immediate priority of the government."

There were 37 of the 53 Heads of State who had originally confirmed participation for the Colombo CHOGM but only 21 arrived, which meant that there was a minimum of three limousines for each country – the Head of State, the Foreign Minister and another vehicle for the rest of the officials.

Some were imported while others were leased through Diesel and Motor Engineering Co. PLC, the general sales agents for Mercedes Benz AG of Germany.

Elaborating on the infrastructure that took place in Colombo and the outstations in recent times, the President said, "Everybody including international leaders had been under the impression that all these developments were done to coincide with the CHOGM, but that was wrong. For instance, did people think that we constructed the Hambantota Port for the CHOGM?"

He also explained that all work in connection with development and infrastructure, had been carried out according to a long-term plan, and not designed for the CHOGM alone.

"What we did was put up national flags" he pointed out.

However, he also commented, on a lighter note, that the conference hall at Temple Trees which he had developed to meet voters during elections as well as to provide them with meals, was now fit to host international leaders as well.

"This was meant to be a local dana shalawa but it is now an international dana shalawa," he quipped.

The empty gesture

Wed, 20 Nov 2013,

British diplomats joke that the inelegant acronym, CHOGM, stands for "Chaps on Holiday on Government Money". Some also say that wealth is the only thing which is not common in the Commonwealth. In fact, after the days of colonialism and apartheid, the Commonwealth has been an organisation in search of an agenda. It duplicates the work of the United Nations in various ways, but since it has no unifying thread other than memories, the Commonwealth does not even endeavour to take a position of its own in the UN. It tried to identify certain issues in which the Commonwealth had a special talent, such as problems of small and island states. But these have not particularly benefited from the Commonwealth.

India, therefore, had nothing to lose from the prime minister skipping the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet, and it was not for the first time that an Indian prime minister missed such an event. Charan Singh did not find it worthwhile to attend the Lusaka CHOGM either. Nobody, except the Indian delegation, shed tears for the absence of the Indian prime minister. Even the minister of external affairs could have spent his time more productively in neighbouring Maldives.

On the bilateral front, it is not even certain that President Rajapaksa has time for the prime minister of the biggest democracy in the world. Intoxicated by liberation from the threat of Prabhakaran and his LTTE, the president talks of one Sinhala nation with no minorities. In his vision of Sri Lanka, neither the Rajiv Gandhi-Jayawardene agreement nor the 13th Amendment has any place. To him, India is only a destination for Buddhist pilgrimage. In his eyes, India's only role in Sri Lanka was to moderate the belligerence of the LTTE. With the LTTE gone, India has no teeth and Rajapaksa would rather deal directly with the Tamils than with their patrons in India.

The irony is that even though the Indian prime minister's attending the CHOGM was not important and he may not have been welcome to pay a bilateral visit to Colombo at this juncture, the decision to cancel a multilateral engagement for a bilateral reason betrayed several weaknesses in foreign policy decisionmaking. First of all, the Centre underestimated the depth of feeling that the approaching elections have forced Tamil politicians to demonstrate. The link to the elections is evident because the same politicians were silent during the war, when Tamils faced brutalities in Sri Lanka. India's opinion was very relevant to the choice of Colombo as the venue for the CHOGM. Having had to shift its position in Geneva several times, New Delhi should have anticipated another embarrassment and seen to it that the CHOGM was moved out of Colombo. With the Commonwealth's focus on democracy and human rights, we could have gathered enough support to shift the venue.

The unseemly sight of Tamil Nadu holding the nation's foreign policy hostage does India no credit internationally. Multilateral diplomacy has enough precedent of treating the venue of a conference as neutral ground, which should have been explained to the Tamils. When Fidel Castro or Yasser Arafat travelled to New York to attend the UN sessions, even the most vociferous of their followers did not object to it as reflective of fraternisation with the US. To accept the argument that, by boycotting the CHOGM, India is registering some kind of displeasure with the Sri Lankan government is to disregard the conventions of multilateral behaviour. In foreign policy, the Centre should be the final arbiter, even if the border states are consulted on certain matters that concern them.

We have short memories, but the archives in Delhi must have the details of what Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi accomplished at the Melbourne CHOGM, soon after the military coup against the Fiji Indians. For the Fijian chiefs who had masterminded the coup, their link with the Commonwealth was vital and it was that very link that Rajiv Gandhi severed. He met the heads of many of the delegations in Melbourne and stressed that Fiji should be expelled from the Commonwealth on account of its racist constitution, imposed by a military government. India's success helped democracy return to Fiji within a very short time. In the case of Sri Lanka, we could have accomplished something similar.

International public opinion is already agitated over the war crimes of Sri Lanka and initiatives within the Commonwealth would have served the Tamil cause better. Before the meet, Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma had hinted that the international body would "assist" Sri Lanka in setting up a national inquiry on torture to investigate all charges, starting from 2009. This was a proposal with immense possibilities. The Indian prime minister could have strengthened the proposal and gained more for Tamils in Sri Lanka and India than the empty gesture of his absence has accomplished. Electoral exigencies should not blind us to the potential of diplomacy, which India has exploited fully in the past.

The writer, a former ambassador and governor for India of the IAEA, is executive vice-chairman, Kerala State Higher Education Council.

express@expressindia.com

After CHOGM, Rajapaksa Regime faces fresh challenges

By Our Political Editor-Sunday, November 17, 2013

• Indo-Lanka relations on collision course again, consequences could be disastrous
• GL’s ‘Look Africa’ policy fails as Africa is not looking at Lanka; Ranil decides to boycott following Siri Kotha attacks

The Commonwealth summit that ends today has posed tough and newer challenges to the UPFA Government.  It is still too early to make a fuller assessment of the week-long event including the three-day meeting of leaders. Yet, some important foreign policy and domestic issues have already come to the fore. One is Sri Lanka’s future relations with India, the country’s one time strong ally and closest neighbour.

The two now appear to be heading again towards a frightening collision course. Another is External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris’ much touted ‘Look Africa’ policy. He wanted Sri Lanka to veer away from close ties with western nations to build strong alliances with African countries. This was his mantra to gain international support. After an investment of hundreds of millions of rupees over many months, CHOGM showed it was only a pipedream. As one wag commented, the problem with Peiris’ ‘Look Africa’ policy is that Africa is not looking at us.

After CHOGM, Rajapaksa Regime Faces Fresh Challenges by nelvely

Live Recording Of Dr. Tanya Ekanayaka In Concert For The ‘Pianists Of The World’ Series In London

November 20, 2013 

A live recording of Sri Lanka’s internationally acclaimed concert pianist-composer (also a musicologist and linguist), Dr. Tanya Ekanayaka‘s solo piano recital on 25th October 2013 for the ‘Pianists of the World’ recital series of the world renowned concert venue, St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London. The series consisting of twelve recitals annually was founded by concert pianist Dame Myra Hess.

Dr. Ekanayaka’s programme included two world premierѐs comprising two of her own recent compositions, ‘Vannam (Gajaga, Hanuma, Mayura) & You’ and ‘In Lotus: Olu Pipila With Moment’ both of which evolved in 2013 as well as well-known works from the classical repertoire. Evolving spontaneously when she is at the piano, often within a few minutes, Dr. Ekanayaka’s compositions are considered to represent a new musical genre and are what serve to distinguish her recitals.

Dr. Ekanayaka is the first Sri Lankan musician to have been invited to perform in this series and this recital marks her third solo recital appearance at St. Martin-in-the-Fields and second recital in this particular series: her composition ‘Adahas: Of Wings Of Roots’ which she premierѐd at St. Martin-in-the-Fields for their ‘Pianists of the World’ series back in 2010 represents the first Sri Lankan composition to be performed at this historic concert venue. According to the concert organisers, this year Dr. Ekanayaka performed to a capacity audience of over 500 people, one of their largest audiences of the year.

F. Haydn – Sonata in D Major Hob. XVI: 37 (Allegro con brio, Largo e sostenuto, Finale. Presto ma non troppo)

L. van Beethoven – Bagatelle in A minor WoO 59 ‘Für Elise’

For selected past performances, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/user/tanyaekanayaka
For further information about Dr. Tanya Ekanayaka, please visit: http://www.tanyaekanayaka.com/
Photograph – kind courtesy of Arun M Sundaralingam

Sri Lanka’s foreign policy challenges

November 19, 2013,

President Mahinda Rajapaksa with Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma at the final press briefing in Colombo yesterday. 

(Pic by Nishan S. Priyantha)

By Lynn Ockersz

The ascension of Sri Lanka to the chairmanship of the Commonwealth of Nations, while being a foreign policy triumph of sorts for this country, presents Sri Lanka with a challenge which it cannot permit to go unmet. That is, Sri Lanka could seize this opportunity to establish that it is able and willing to be a practitioner of democratic norms and values or prove its critics right that it is incapable of doing so and that it is, indeed, degenerating into authoritarianism.

Sri Lanka’s foreign policy challenges by nelvely

Rajapaksas trying to build Presidential election campaign on 2009 war victory again            Wednesday, 20 November 2013 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his group of advisors are now looking at building a campaign once again on the 2009 war victory for the Presidential election.

Given the mounting pressure from the international community of the Rajapaksa government to address human rights concerns and alleged war crimes committed during the final stages of the war and the threat of another resolution being adopted by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Sri Lanka at the Council sessions in March, the Rajapaksas are looking at using all this to win back the currently disgruntled masses in the country.

The government’s failure to address the issues faced by the people and the current economic crisis led to people becoming disillusioned with the Rajapaksa government.

The drop in the government’s popularity among the people and the opposition gathering momentum has resulted in the Rajapaksas deciding that a Presidential election should be called before the President completes his second term in office.

Presidential elections are likely to be held next year after the UNHRC sessions in Geneva in March.

It is learnt that the Rajapaksa advisors are currently formulating a media campaign to portray the President as a national hero who is being harassed by the international community for saving his country from terrorists without bowing down to imperialist elements.
“Whatever the outcome at the UNHRC session in March, it will be used by the Rajapaksas to address the extremist elements in the country to win votes by re-campaigning on the 2009 war victory,” a senior government minister said.

UNP Mayor Backs ‘Mihindu Senpura’ Housing Project For Evicted Slum Dwellers

November 20, 2013

Colombo Mayor and UNP Member A.J.M. Muzammil yesterday participated in the opening of the Mihindu Senpura housing scheme in Dematagoda, inaugurated to coincide with President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s 68th birthday celebrations.

The 500 unit housing scheme will house the residents of slums that were removed to make way for the ‘Mihidhu Senpura’ project.

Muzammil and Secretary to the Ministry of Defence,

President Rajapaksa said that his Government had not considered party affiliations in deciding the beneficiaries of the houses.

The housing units come with all basic facilities and are built in keeping with high quality standards. Each stage of the housing project was under the constant scrutiny ofSecretary to the Ministry of Defence, the Defence Ministry website said.

The Colombo Mayor is visible in the pictures with the President, the Defence Secretary and Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and other Government figures.

When shanty dwellers were forcibly evicted from these areas in Colombo Mayor Muzammil failed to raise a voice against the move by the  Secretary to the MOD run UDA. Having failed to stand up for the electorate that voted him into power the UNP mayor was now attempting to take credit for work completed by the regime, senior UNP sources said.

Party members quipped that it was ironic that while the entire opposition was against the construction of the President’s Cult of Personality, the UNP elected Mayor of Colombo was seen to be applauding the promotion of the Rajapaksa image all over the country.