Big boys boost Budget 2014

 November 26, 2013 

• Heads of JKH, Carson, Spence, Hayleys, Hemas and CT Holdings say Budget 2014 is broadly progressive at sell-out Daily FT-Colombo Uni. MBA Alumni Association forum
• Economist Coomaraswamy and IMF’s Mathai say good Budget but list several concerns
• Treasury Secretary Dr. Jayasundera says all-encompassing Budget has delivered clarity, consistency and continuity

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam and Cassandra Mascarenhas
Six of the country’s biggest listed conglomerates yesterday welcomed the 2014 Budget as being broadly good, despite listing a few concerns – a stance also maintained by two top economists at the sell-out Daily FT-Colombo University MBA Alumni Association Forum yesterday at The Kingsbury with Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera as the Chief Guest.
Coming together for the first time on a common platform, Aitken Spence Chairman Harry Jayawardena, JKH Deputy Chairman Ajit Gunewardene, Carson Cumberbatch Director Mano Selvanathan, Hayleys Chairman Mohan Pandithage, Hemas Holdings Chairman Husein Esufally and CT Holdings Managing Director Ranjit Page shared their perspectives on Budget 2014 along with KPMG Sri Lanka Managing Partner Reyaz Mihular, Economist and Advisor Dr. Indrajit Coomarasawamy and IMF Resident Representative Dr. Koshy Mathai.
The business leaders’ description of the 2014 Budget presented last Thursday by President and Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa ranged from “progressive” and “good” to “commendable”.
Their commendation included proposals concerning consolidation within financial sector, expanding the coverage of VAT at retail trade, boost for dairy, agriculture and exports, as well as import replacement sectors.
Moves to support research and development and position Sri Lanka as a hub for professionals especially to encourage return of expatriates as well as enhancing Sri Lanka’s status as Knowledge Process Outsourcing were also welcomed.
The Government’s official stance on banning Terminal Handling Charge (THC) on shippers was hailed as a boost for exports. Support for plantations was welcomed. Another was increasing cess on imports to encourage local manufacturers.
These six firms account for nearly Rs. 370 billion in turnover last year and Rs. 25 billion in net profits and largely mirror the economy, hence the invitation for them to share their view from the top.
The business leaders also had a few suggestions in addition to concerns.
They urged putting an end to revenue leakages, widening the tax base and inculcating a pride in paying taxes. On the trade side, a more pragmatic approach to new Free Trade Agreements was called for, with hassle free access to ‘Made in Sri Lanka’ products.
Welcoming the five hubs + tourism push, the Forum was also told that Sri Lanka needs to assess ‘what next?’ for the country and how best Sri Lanka can be internationalised to become a true hub like Dubai or Singapore. The Government sticking to the stated budget deficit requiring diligent revenue effort and prudent management of expenditure was also emphasised.
Coomaraswamy described it as a “clearly crafted Budget” sans major populist measures and Mathai confessed “it is a very, very good Budget”. They also commended the fiscal consolidation and discipline shown in the Budget 2014, in addition to a host of other measures.
However, among their recommendations were to make the revenue effort more buoyant, automatic fuel price revision, reforms, and boosting public investments and exports.

Govt: 7,400 children became victims of abuse in 2012

By Saman Indrajith-November 25, 2013,

 Child Development and Women’s Affairs Minister Tissa Karalliyadda told Parliament yesterday that 7,418 children had become victims of abuse in 2012.

Of those incidents, the highest number––1,174––had been reported from the Colombo district, he said.

The minister said that out of all such incidents reported last year, 3,800 were punishable offences under the Penal Code. He said that 313 children had been employed as child labourers, while 1,054 had been identified as those without guardianship and protection. There were 944 children who were not attending schools, while 1,307 had been victims of domestic violence and 196 had been sexually abused, the Minister added.

Since 2009 there had been 18,777 cases of juvenile delinquency, the minister said.

Mothers of 322 boys who had become victims abuse in 2012 were employed overseas. Fathers of 35 other boys abused in the same year were working abroad. The government was taking action to prohibit mothers with children below five years of age from going abroad for employment and a report had been called, minister Karalliyadda said.

Foreign Employment Promotions and Welfare Minister Dilan Perera said that now it had become mandatory for every woman who went abroad for employment to submit a family background report. After calling for that report and discouraging women from seeking foreign employment at the expense of their families, the number of Sri Lankan women going abroad had come down by 37 percent, he said.

The Minister was responding to a question raised by UNP Colombo District MP Rosy Senanayake.

COPE Wants Basil To Stop Rogue Investors Cheating Public

November 26, 2013 

Rogue investors collected money from people before the commencement of Business and quit the country later suspending the project halfway, a parliamentary committee found.

Minister Economic Development – Basil Rajapaksa

The Committee on Public Enterprises noted in its latest report to the Parliament; “Having referred to several incidents taken place in relation to certain projects on housing complexes, it was discussed about the rogue investors those who collected money from people before the commencement of Business and quit the country later suspending the project halfway.”

COPE has not named the rogue investors and the amount of the money cheated in its report. But the COPE wanted the involvement of the Board of Investment under the Ministry of Economic Development in these kinds of situations to protect the General Public.

Mervyn Breaks Into Song About President Rajapaksa

November 26, 2013 

Minister Mervyn Silva whose ties to the ruling Rajapaksa regime were recently restored, literally sang the praises of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Parliament during the budget debates today.

Mervyn Silva

The Minister broke into song twice – once about SLFP MP and President Rajapaksa’s father D.A. Rajapaksa and again in adoration of the current head of state, during House sittings today.

Addressing the Chair, Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, Minister Silva said that if he mentions the things he said to D.A. Rajapaksa in Parliament today, clad in a pair of shorts, the House would accuse him of seeking a return to a feudal system.

“I will protect President Mahinda Rajapaksa like a precious jem,” the Minister sang to the amusement of the members.

It was alleged recently that Minister Mervyn’s son Malaka had been brutally assaulted by Presidential Security Division officials inside the ODEL car park.

The Minister went to several Western diplomatic missions in Colombo after the assault, in an attempt to seek asylum for his son, claiming his life was under threat from the ruling regime.

In a strange twist, the Bribery Commission of Sri Lanka also filed action against Silva not long after the attack on Malaka Silva. It is the first time the Commission has filed action in court against an incumbent minister in the Government, making it clear that the move had been sanctioned by senior officials in the ruling regime.

The Bribery Commission had summoned Minister Silva to make a statement over his assets. The complaint relates to the luxury cars owned by the Minister’s son Malaka and claims that neither the Minister nor his family possess the funds to make the high end purchases. The hearing was supposed to take place in August but has since been postponed. It is not clear what created the rift between the Rajapaksa regime and Mervyn 

Police officers who raided illegal casino did not carry out duties - PM

Tuesday, 26 November 2013 

Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne has said that the 23 police officers from the Police Organized Crimes Division, who raided the Casino at the Salaka building in Town Hall, were transferred on the basis that they were not carrying out their duties in a satisfactory manner.

The Premier has said that they were not transferred on the basis of any influence.

This statement was made in response to a question posed by JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake whether the transfers were connected to the raid.

Jayaratne has said the transfers were approved by the IGP on October 20, 2013 but effective from November 4, 2013.

Referring to an allegation made by Dissanayake that a person named Hula was the one who was behind these transfers resulting from the raid, the Premier has said there was no trace of any such person.

Land theft by fmr. elections chief

Tuesday, 26 November 2013 

A theft of a land committed by 

former elections commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake who tried to earn public sympathy by claiming that he was under severe stress due to political interferences during elections, has come to light.

During the period he was the elections chief when Chandrika Kumaratunga was the president, he had acquired a 123.4 perch land at Lady McCallum Drive located within the city limits of Nuwara Eliya previously owned by the National Housing Department. He had paid only Rs. 30,000, or Rs. 243.11 per perch, for this very valuable land.

This fraud had been committed on 16 June 1995. At a nominal payment for the land, he had retained 18.4 perches and sold the rest, 105 perches, to The Finance Company of Ceylinco Group for Rs. 5.2 million.

He has thus earned a big profit with least effort. It is very disgusting that Dayananda Dissanayake has swindled public properties while misleading the people by talking about work-related stress.
Amila Gunaratne

Unveiling Ho Chi Minh statue in Sri Lanka, historic and timely: President Rajapaksa

November 26, 2013 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said Ho Chi Minh was a great valiant leader who spearheaded a major liberation battle against powerful imperial forces in the Indo-China region. “As a result of the introduction of Buddhism to Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Vietnam established close relationship since ancient times as two nations sharing common values and principles. Both our countries comprise peoples with a strong desire to live in freedom,” he said.
Unveiling Ho Chi Minh statue at the Public Library in Colombo, he said: “We believe that unveiling of a statue of Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh in our country is very timely and historically important as I believe he was a great leader who spearheaded a major liberation battle against powerful imperial forces in the Indo-China region.
“Vietnam and Sri Lanka always refused to live under foreign domination and were not prepared to surrender to invading forces. The people of Vietnam and Sri Lanka fought against the invaders. The 1918 Kandyan rebellion and later the Matale rebellion are historical proof that we were not prepared to live under foreign rule,” the President said.
The full text of the speech of President Mahinda Rajapaksa is as follows:
We believe that unveiling of a statue of Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh in our country is very timely and historically important as I believe he was a great leader who spearheaded a major liberation battle against powerful imperial forces in the Indo-China region.
As a result of the introduction of Buddhism to Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Vietnam established close relationship since ancient times as two nations sharing common values and principles. Both our countries comprise peoples with a strong desire to live in freedom.
We always refused to live under foreign domination and were not prepared to surrender to invading forces. The people of Vietnam and Sri Lanka fought against the invaders. The 1918 Kandyan rebellion and later the Matale rebellion are historical proof that we were not prepared to live under foreign rule.
Whenever an Asian country launches an independence movement to free themselves from the colonial yoke, Sri Lanka extended support to those struggles. We always stood with the people who fought against imperial forces anywhere in the world. When the valiant fighter Ho Chi Minh fought for Vietnamese independence, Sri Lanka stood with Vietnam, though many powerful nations were on the other side. Ho Chi Minh visited Sri Lanka on three occasions. Communist leader Dr. S.A. Wickremasinghe told me that he met Ho Chi Minh in Paris when participating in a labour conference.
In the 1970 general elections, in which I was a candidate for the first time, Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s election manifesto stated the party’s support for the Vietnamese freedom struggle. In my first speech in Parliament I have extended my best wishes to the fight for unification of Vietnam.
In 1970, Prime Minister Bandaranaike recognised the freedom struggle of South Vietnam. Sri Lanka was among the first countries to establish international relations with Vietnam. As Sri Lanka always approved and supported the Vietnamese freedom struggle, I believe it is most appropriate for us to erect a statue of Ho Chi Minh in our country.
In 2005, we have introduced our policy statement, Mahinda Chinthanaya drawing the essence of the freedom struggles of our people. I see all the endeavours from the defeat of separatism to make the nation self-sufficient by raising the standards of farmers and preventing the sale of public properties to foreigners. These are essential steps to safeguard the independence of the nation. We value this privilege of unveiling the statue of the great Vietnamese leader and offer the best wishes of the people of Sri Lanka to the Vietnamese people.

GR reiterates commitment to non-aligned policy, appreciates Aussie support

By Shamindra Ferdinando-November 25, 2013, 10:08 pm 

 Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday stressed that Sri Lanka wouldn’t be aligned with China or India at the expense of its non-aligned foreign policy practiced for many decades.

Dismissing allegations that the Hambantota port was part of a strategic Chinese security project targeting India, Defence Secretary Rajapaksa explained that the Chinese support for the new port was commercial in nature. Having reiterated Sri Lanka’s commitment to work closely with both India and China, the war veteran declared that the country would remain neutral in the future.

The Defence Secretary was addressing the inaugural session of the fourth edition of the Galle Dialogue at Light House hotel yesterday. Among some 35 countries attending the two-day confab are the big five, the US, Russia, China, the UK and France as well as regional power India.

This year’s conference dealt with emerging maritime trends in the Indian Ocean.

Having discussed the circumstances leading to heavy international naval presence in the Indian Ocean, the Defence Secretary asserted that both China and India were battling for greater influence in the region. He said: "the intention of both China and India to increase instruments of maritime power is an interesting aspect of great power strategic competition. Much attention is given to the potential tension between Chinese security concerns regarding sea lines of communications in the Indian Ocean, which are critical to its economy and India’s supposed attitude to this region as its backyard. There is also wariness about China’s relationship with India’s near neighbours and Indian commentators in particular are concerned about ports funded by China in these countries, which they dub ‘string of pearls.’

While emphasizing the importance of Sri Lanka’s relationship with New Delhi in spite of what he called occasional bilateral issues, Defence Secretary Rajapaksa paid a glowing tribute to the sustained Chinese support over the past several decades with the focus on the People’s Republic of China being one of Sri Lanka’s foremost development partners.

Calling for close cooperation among countries to ensure peace and tranquility in the Indian Ocean, Defence Secretary Rajapaksa cited the ongoing working relationship between Sri Lanka and Australia to stem the flow of ‘illegals’ to highlight the need for cohesive measures to tackle contentious issues. Paying a glowing tribute to Australian support for Sri Lanka’s efforts, the outspoken official said that the country could take delivery of two Australian Bay Class patrol vessels next year to boost the country’s capacity to patrol high seas. The Defence Secretary said that as the country sought the support of wealthier nations to secure the required assets to meet the challenging task of patrolling the seas.

The war veteran admitted the country lacked the resources to meet the task at hand.

In his welcome remarks, Navy Commander Vice Admiral J. S. K. Colombage too, appreciated Australia extending its support to bolster Sri Lanka’s offshore patrolling capacity. VA Colombage commented on Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott visiting Sri Lanka’s flagship, SLNS Sayura at the Colombo port on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to announce the proposed delivery of two patrol vessels.

Nearly 250,000 of you stood up against human rights abuses in Sri Lanka

Supporters in New Zealand hand over Amnesty International’s petition calling on government leaders not to give Sri Lanka the Commonwealth chair, Wellington, 5 November 2013. © Amnesty International

“Does anyone specifically have a question that’s not on Sri Lanka or human rights?”

This was how an exasperated Commonwealth spokesperson unwittingly summed up theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at a press conference in Sri Lanka last weekend.

The meeting, which ran from 15-17 November in Colombo, was the subject of heated media debate, fuelled largely by Amnesty’s campaign which exposed Sri Lanka’s appalling human rights record and called on Commonwealth government leaders to strip it of the organization’s chairmanship. The campaign mobilized nearly 250,000 Amnesty supporters – around 50,000 signed our petition to Sri Lanka’s president and just under 195,000 signed our petition to the Commonwealth Chair.

A public relations disaster

The Sri Lankan government meant the meeting to be a triumph, but it quickly turned into a public relations disaster as the country’s dreadful human rights record became the only story in town.

Not that you’d know it from reading the Sri Lankan press. With a few heroic exceptions, independent media died there along with so many journalists allegedly killed for criticizing the government. UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit to a newspaper office in the north said it all – six of its journalists had been killed over the years.

The Commonwealth is an institution that has struggled to define its purpose in recent years. Eventually it came out with a set of principles – its charter – which was signed by the Queen in March 2013. It included three core principles: human rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law.

Which made the earlier controversial decision to host CHOGM in Sri Lanka – a country so heavily criticized on all three fronts – an even bigger embarrassment for the Commonwealth. More so since the host nation becomes Chair of the Commonwealth for the next two years at the meeting’s close.

Meeting boycotted

By the time the meeting started it already had leader boycotts by Canada, India, and the next CHOGM host Mauritius. Canada and Mauritius cited human rights violations as their reason for their leaders’ non-attendance. Others, especially the UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron, had made it clear they would go but take a strong stand on human rights in Sri Lanka.

In the end, only 25 out of 53 heads of government attended – a historic low for CHOGM meetings. Ahead of the meeting, Amnesty collected nearly 195,000 signatures from people from Commonwealth member states asking Sri Lanka not to be the chair. Ultimately, this didn’t happen, but thanks to Amnesty members around the world, Sri Lanka’s next steps as Commonwealth chair will be watched not just by the body it leads, but by witnesses around the world.

Read more

World must not abandon Sri Lanka’s victims after CHOGM

Sri Lanka’s misguided attempt to ‘win the world’

New Zealand’s lost opportunity at CHOGM

Sinhalese Settlers: Heroes Or Victims?

By Rajan Hoole -November 26, 2013 |

Rajan Hoole

The Rise and Fall of the Tamil Militancy and the International Legal Implications of the Government’s Counter-Insurgency – Part 3

On to Weli Oya 

After this, the profile of the Mahaveli Authority was on the wane. In the East security worsened and in 1984 its work was slowed down by a delay in the Saudi government signing a loan agreement. Covert land settlement activity came under the JOSSOP. About June 1984 Arthur Herath, SP Vavuniya, chased away the Tamils from Kent and Dollar Farms. The first move towards demographic transformation of the Mullaitivu District, was made by turning the farms into an open prison camp. Several hundred prisoners were brought there. On 30th November 1984, the LTTE came into that area, and in their first massacre of civilians, killed about 62 persons including 3 prison guards. As to what the settlement was about, we will refer to our Bulletin No.4, Padaviya – Weli Oya: Bearing the Burden of Ideology of February 1995 and to Special Report No.5 From Manal Aru to Weli Oya… of September 1993. The quotations below are from Bulletin No. 4.

Once the prisoners had been brought to the area in late 1984, they were used to apply pressure on Tamils living in the surrounding area:

“An activist in a leftwing political group said that he with others from the group had gone to Kent and Dollar Farms just after the November 1984 massacre. The survivors had told them that the settlement of prisoners was being used to further harass Tamils into leaving the area. They were told that young Tamil women were abducted, brought there and gang-raped, first by the forces, next by prison gaurds and finally by prisoners.”

To this was added other forms of harassment such as theft of cattle. After some weeks the Army reined in the convicts, spoke to the neighbouring Tamil villagers pleasantly and inquired after their welfare. But an insidious message had been given. It was the same year that an Israeli Interests Section was opened in the US Embassy in Colombo and Israeli advisors started making their appearance.

Following the massacre of prisoners by the LTTE on 30.11.84, the Government removed the velvet glove and adopted an openly iron-fisted approach to the Tamil civilians in the area. About Christmas Eve 1984, the Army by loud speaker ordered several villages in the area to vacate. These included Kokkilai, Kokkuthoduvai, Karnaddu Kerni, Kayadikkulam and Koddai Kerni. Eventually a total of about 2,700 Tamil families in that area came to be displaced, including those from Thennamaravady, the northern-most village in the Trincomalee District. The latter stands empty now. Their former MP, Mr. R. Sampanthan reflected, ‘A beautiful village and such wonderful people’. All of them were rendered refugees.

Sinhalese Settlers: Heroes Or Victims?                               Read More

NPC administration under iron fist of SL Governor Chandrasiri

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 November 2013, 23:46 GMT]
Demonstrating the consolidation of power in the Sri Lankan unitary and military system, the colonial governor in North, Major General (retd) GA Chandrasiri is continuing to demonstrate his executive powers including the cadre management of the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) without giving room for the elected NPC to have any say in the affairs of the NPC. 

The Chief Secretary of the NPC, Ms Viyaluxmy Ramesh, is continuing to receive instructions from the SL governor and she doesn’t cooperate with the elected representatives of the NPC. 

The chief minister of the NPC has also gone on record stating that the chief secretary was not cooperating with him. 

The SL governor would be running the show on cadre creation for the NPC. 

A meeting scheduled to take place on Monday on the matter is also be chaired by him alone. The ruling party of the NPC has not been consulted. 

Recent district coordinating committee meetings for Jaffna district and Ki’linochchi district have also been conducted according to the instructions of the SL governor, even after the NPC elections were won by the TNA. 

When the elected representatives who form the governance of the NPC have no power to decide the administrative cadre of their own council, how are they going to use the PC system as a platform to serve the people in the North, political observers in Jaffna commented. 

Ministers and ministers

Editorial-November 24, 2013, 8:31 pm 

Another member has been added to President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Jumbo Cabinet. S. M. Chandrasena has been appointed Minister of Special Projects, whatever that means. He resigned last year as Minister of Agrarian Services and Wildlife to enable his brother, Ranjith, to be appointed the North Central Province (NCP) Chief minister in keeping with the government’s policy that two members of the same family could not function as a Cabinet minister and a chief minister. We pointed out in these columns at that time his resignation was a ruse and he would be reappointed to the Cabinet later. We also argued that it was ludicrous that in a country run by a single family the government didn’t allow a person to be appointed a chief minister simply because his brother was a Cabinet minister.

It is a mistake for a political party to field the family members of its elected representatives at elections in that the contestants benefit from its existing vote bank without delivering new votes as such. If Candidate A is a brother of Minister B, A usually wins with B’s votes.

Former NCP Chief Minister Bertie Premalal Dissanayake was disappointed that he was not reappointed CM after the UPFA’s victory last year and the government may have sought to prevent him from raising objections to Ranjith being appointed CM by getting Chandrasena to resign as a Cabinet minister. Dissanayake died a few weeks ago and Chandrasena must have got himself reappointed. There is no one to make an issue of his appointment to the Cabinet today. But, what has become of the government’s much-advertised policy that two brothers cannot hold ministerial posts? Logically, the NCP Chief Minister has to resign now. However, we are not so naïve as to expect him to do so.

The government, a wag says, hasn’t been fair by the handful of its parliamentarians who are not either Cabinet ministers or deputy ministers; it should go the whole hog and appoint all of them ministers. Now that we have a ministry for sugar, of all things, we should have separate ministries for rice, parippu, hominy, public conveniences, bullock carts and the like—we almost forgot the ideologically important kurakkan or finger millet, most of which is currently imported. If the number of government MPs is not enough for that purpose, let more Opposition members be lured into decamping and appointed ministers. (The new Cabinet, the wag says, could meet at the refurbished BMICH!)

Joking aside, it is regrettable that the government does not care two hoots about the colossal amount of public funds an ever expanding Cabinet gobbles up. Besides, we already have ministerial nitwits causing mayhem on public roads with their huge security contingents, and turning everything they lay their dirty hands on into a mess.

It may be that President Rajapaksa wants to assuage the resentment of party seniors who feel let down, by making them ministers, to prevent the disintegration of his government. The increasing size of Cabinets has also been blamed on coalition politics which has come to stay. All signs are that future governments will have to follow suit to remain in power. One way of overcoming this problem may be to amend the Constitution to prevent crossovers being appointed ministers and prescribe the number of ministers as in provincial councils. Political parties could formulate their own criteria for ministerial appointments with special emphasis on educational qualifications, efficiency, integrity etc so that dullards with king-sized egos could be left out. However, we know, that’s easier said than done!

Balancing The Need For National Integration With Provincial Autonomy

By R.M.B Senanayake -November 26, 2013 

R.M.B. Senanayake

The reason for the devolution of power to provincial Councils under the 13th Amendment is to facilitate the performance of certain operating functions in the field which deal directly with the people who in the case of the Northern Provincial Council happen to belong to a different ethnic group from the majority in the nation. There is much to be said for it even in the Sinhalese dominated areas for real economic development can take place only when the people themselves take charge of the process at the village level through their empowerment. Paternalistic schemes have more often failed rather than succeeded. Economists refer to this empowerment as the mobilization of the people for development and it requires the leadership to be with the people not some bureaucratic agency. But for too long the people in the South have been too dependent on politicians that they have not seen the need for self governance and not taken responsibility for the development of their areas.  As for the North the people have always been self reliant and looked much less to the government for their development. The Co-operative movement in Jaffna was the best example of such self reliance. The plantain growers of Neervely and the red onion farmers of Tinnevelly only wanted the government to ensure an open market for their produce in Colombo where they could get remunerative prices for their produce. So if the provincial councils are to be effective they must have sufficient power and authority to exercise discretion and run affairs without having to take orders from the central government or an appendage from the Central Government like the District Minister – an institution which Sirimavo established in the 1970s but soon lost interest and gave up when she realized it was an administrative blunder undermining good governance; replacing it with a politicized administration which was far from democratic.

The President and the Ministers of the Central Government must reconcile themselves to the fact that there will be an erosion of the unlimited power they exerted hitherto through their nominees instead of through elected representatives of the people. This is no doubt hard but it is no reason to scream that the NPC is espousing separatism. There is no room for another political head as a District Minister for the elected Executive is the Chief Minister of the P.C. Popular control is ensured by placing power in one elected official- the Chief Executive and he should be the Chief Minister of the PC. It is the Chief Minister and the P.C that will reflect provincial public opinion and not the District Minister. By trying to re-centralize power through a District Minister, the government will only undermine the incentives to good administration. It is the local people who can keep an effective surveillance over the agencies of the government in the province. A central government Minister has no role in such control. Popular control of the government institutions in the Province is best ensured by having a system of law which is impartially enforced by the institutions whether they belong to the central government or the PC.

Read More

Sri Lanka’s human rights situation is deteriorating and its time is running out.

Sri Lanka’s human rights situation is deteriorating and its time is running out.

Monday, November 25, 2013

CHOGM – The morning after  by M.A. Sumanthiran-
In the heady days leading up to Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 a government minister stated that 'The CHOGM will …bring more fame to our country and provide a great opportunity to showcase Sri Lanka's post war developments….this conference…will provide a great opportunity for them (the Commonwealth Heads of State) to witness the development activities in the country….’

Sri Lanka’s human rights situation is deteriorating and its time is running out. by nelvely

 Sri Lanka main opposition charges President of taking country before HR court 
Sun, Nov 24, 2013, 09:25 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Nov 24, Colombo: Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) says that President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Chairman of the Commonwealth has agreed in policy to take the country before an international human rights court in the official declaration signed by the heads of states following the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo.
The UNP has issued a special statement expressing concern over the 39th sentence of the declaration signed by the Commonwealth leaders at the 2013 CHOGM that all heads of the Commonwealth nations would adhere to the Vienna Plus 20 action plan and all areas under the Vienna Declaration, thereby working towards strengthening international human rights mechanisms including universal periodic reviews.
"The Vienna Plus 20 includes 10 mechanisms and the 10th point is to establish an international human rights court," the UNP notes.
"It is President Rajapaksa who first took Sri Lanka before the Human Rights Council and it is Rajapaksa who made pledges to the same Council. Rajapaksa also established the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission and promised the Human Rights Council the recommendations will be implemented. Now he has agreed to set up an international human rights court," the UNP said, adding that this action is in violation of the government's statements to the Sri Lankan people.
The statement also noted that when Sri Lanka came under pressure in 2002 to sign the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the prime minister, now opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe refused to sign the treaty.

According to the UNP, the President in order to take over the Chairmanship of the Commonwealth has put the nation at risk of being taken before an international human rights court.

Human rights and foreign policy

By Anuradha M chenoy- 25th November 2013 

Human rights has always been a contested issue in foreign policy matters. Strategic experts advise that human rights should play no role in foreign policy. They believe that states have only interests and power has no ethics. This is patently wrong. Apart from interests, the power of the state has to have norms if it has to have any legitimacy. For this, a state has to believe in rights.

Recently, India has taken a somewhat different stand with the prime minister pressured not to attend the Commonwealth Heads of State Meeting in Sri Lanka on account of human rights violation. India took the soft option of sending the foreign minister. So, what is the relation of human rights with foreign policy?

States and those who govern them feel that state sovereignty is absolute and indivisible and whatever happens within a country should not be questioned by outsiders. For example, Sri Lanka currently feels that no other country, especially India, should question their record in war crimes during the recently concluded civil war. They take umbrage in the belief that talking of human rights is a threat to their national security. The argument is that as an elected regime they can legitimately use as much violence that they deem necessary to protect their nation from threat and disintegration. The question then is should the world community at large forget about human rights and each state stick to their concept of state sovereignty, allowing each other to deal with their own citizens with as much violence as they wish? This is where the human rights and foreign policy debate come in.

The very concept of human rights developed after the unacceptable genocide of Jews in Hitler’s Germany. Once the Second World War was over and the tragedy exposed, the world powers declared that never again should such genocide be allowed and the universal declaration of civil rights made the basis of the covenant of the United Nations. Since then the movement and consciousness for human rights has grown.

The problem on the issue of human rights and foreign policy has arisen because the way the question of human rights has been often used by states to intervene in other states for their own geostrategic interests. For example, US intervention and wars in Indo-China, where the concept of “saving” Vietnam, etc. from communist rule was used and hundreds of thousands killed in the process. Secondly, great powers have in many instances pointed to the abuse of human rights of some states while ignoring abuses in other states. Thus for example, the human rights abuse in Syria and Iran have been of concern to the human rights consciousness of the US and European Union but they have conveniently bypassed human rights and women’s rights abuses in countries that are counted as their own allies like Saudi Arabia, Israel and Pakistan. Because of such exceptions and justifications the very concept of human rights has been politicised.

The consequence is that whenever a country violates human rights it either tries to cover up by pointing its finger at some other countries, or does geostrategic bargaining. For example, Russia did massive aerial bombing of Chechnya as a separatist movement created a civil war situation there in 1994-96. The EU and USA rightly critiqued the Russian human rights record. But as soon as the US war in terror began and it needed Russian and Central Asian support to strike at Afghanistan, the Russians and the US negotiated and the charges on human rights in Chechnya were dropped.

Often, allegations are made against human rights activists by their own state, for example, even in India that they are threats to national security. But the reality is that human rights are the very fundamental principles of our Indian Constitution. The right to life, liberty, freedom of expression, the right to get justice, and all the Fundamental Rights are nothing less than human rights. Therefore, it is the duty of the Indian state and its law-abiding citizens to uphold human rights.

It is also true that India has violated human rights in some instances, especially in disturbed areas. We in India do not like other countries reminding us about this. But does that mean that we continue hiding this violation and then keep quiet about human rights violations in other countries, because of a quid pro quo? Perhaps this is what could have been the deal between India and Sri Lanka, if it was not for the actions by the Tamil masses and their determination to put pressure on the central leadership on the question of war crimes and the need for transitional justice in Sri Lanka.

Now the genie of human rights is out of the foreign policy bottle. India has come out openly putting pressure on another state to correct their human rights record. This is a good thing because overall the world will be a safer and more law-abiding space if all countries stopped genocide on their own citizens, protect minority rights, and create robust institutions and an independent judiciary to ensure these rights.

If India believes in this, why should Indian foreign policy not be frank about it? At the same time, India should not hesitate to critique those who use human rights only for geostrategic intervention. Further, most democratic countries are likely to be pressured by their people to defend the human rights of their compatriots in other countries.

The idea that foreign policy only reflects the exclusive voice of its chosen policy makers has given way. People at the popular level want a say in how India is dealing with its neighbours. Indian policy makers will have to balance this with a national consensus and chose a middle path, where both issues of rights, common development and security will have to balanced. The recent past shows that human rights will impact foreign policy — whether the policy makers like it or not.

The writer is professor at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Email: chenoy@gmail.com