Friday, December 6, 2013

South Africa: Nelson Mandela’s Death a Tremendous Loss

Life Epitomized Brave Struggle for Freedom, Equality, Justice

DECEMBER 5, 2013

(Johannesburg) – The death of Nelson Mandela on December 5, 2013, is a tremendous loss, not only for South Africa, but for the world.

Mandela, who led the decades-long struggle against apartheid in South Africa, was jailed for 27 years for his activism. Released in 1990, Mandela became South Africa’s first post-apartheid president in 1994. He was widely credited for shepherding the country’s peaceful transition to a more equitable and democratic system.

“Mandela’s life epitomized the fight for freedom, equality, and justice, all core human rights ideals,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director at Human Rights Watch. “His death reminds us of the uniqueness of his principled and dignified leadership, both in Africa and beyond.”

Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918. After completing high school, he attended the University of Fort Hare, where he became involved in student politics. In 1944 he joined the African National Congress (ANC). Together with Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, and other anti-apartheid activists, Mandela formed the ANC Youth League. In 1964 Mandela and 156 other ANC members were tried and convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life in prison.

At his trial, Mandela said:

I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

Despite being sentenced to life in prison and spending a total of 27 years in jail until 1990, Nelson Mandela preached passionately and without evident bitterness about reconciliation and the need to build a new South African state. A cornerstone of that development is South Africa’s well regarded constitution, which enshrines fundamental values of human dignity, equality, and freedom, as well as the importance of nation building, public participation, and social cohesion.

Almost two decades into its democracy, South Africa is not the country that Mandela had said he hoped it would become. Inequality and poverty remain rife, the education and health sectors are inadequate, and South Africa remains divided by racial separation and deep economic inequality.

“Mandela led South Africa out of darkness and brutality,” Roth said. “The country’s next generation of leaders would do well to live up to his high standards and fervent commitment to human rights.”

Aussaresses, Abbott, Rajapaksas, birds of the same feather on torture?

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 December 2013, 01:31 GMT]

While Australian Premier, Tony Abbott, whose recent statements on condoning the allegations of torture by Sri Lanka security forces, was condemned by international rights groups, European media reported that one of top French ex-military officers, Aussaresses, who confessed to coldbloodedly torturing and summarily executing dozens of prisoners during France's brutal colonial war in Algeria decades earlier, and who defended his actions, passed away this week. He was 95. He was stripped of his medals, and was convicted later in France. Allegations of rape and torture are also rampant in Sri Lanka under the rule of Rajapakse-family, with UK charity Freedom From Torture documenting more than 60 cases of torture by Sri Lanka security forces, and Human Rights Watch documented 62 cases of sexual violence involving the security forces, noting that rape is widespread and systemic.

Aussaresses, French ex-General

According to the New York Times, "General Aussaresses insisted that the torture and the summary killings were a matter of policy. He wrote everything down, he said, and briefed Gen. Jacques Massu, his superior, every day. He suggested, but did not prove, that François Mitterrand, who was justice minister at the time, had known about the torture through his representative in Algiers. Mr. Mitterrand was elected president of France in 1981."

NYT article further said, "In an article in Soldier of Fortune magazine in 2001, General Aussaresses recounted the first time he tortured a prisoner, in 1955. The prisoner had killed a man with an ax, he said, and the victim, before dying, identified his assailant. General Aussaresses tortured the prisoner to death.

“I thought of nothing,” he recalled. “I had no remorse for his death. If I regretted anything, it was that he refused to talk before he died. He had used violence against a person who was not his enemy. He got what he deserved,” NYT reported.

In August 2012, Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), a non-profit litigation and advocacy group based in the U.S., pieced together an operational blueprint of Sri Lanka's White Van abductions, and the complicity of State Institutions. The blueprint is based on affidavits from surviving abductees, a video deposition from an ex-member of Liberation Tigers who was spared execution at the last moment, information revealed from white van abductors in the South, and other circumstantial evidence including open death threats issued by Sri Lanka's Defense Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse. TAG concluded that the white van phenomenon is not a random occurrence of isolated events, but a systemic well-organized criminal enterprise carried out by independently operating cells consisting of criminal gangs and military personnel and activated by directives from high level State officials.

Nelson Mandela life story: An unconquerable spirit

For those who shared his struggle and his captivity, Nelson Mandela's moral strength was a source of constant inspiration - and occasional amusement

"Mdala" - "old man", as Nelson Mandela and I used to call each other on informal occasions - was, like all human beings, not free of weaknesses and failings. He was an uncommon amalgam of the peasant and the aristocrat; the democrat par excellence, but not without a touch of the autocrat; at once proud and simple; soft and tenacious; determinedly obstinate and flexible; vain and shy; cool and impatient. He was,

Nelson Mandela Life Story an Unconquerable Spirit by nelvely

Shenzhen And Hambantota

By S. Sivathasan -December 6, 2013 |

S.Sivathasan

The caption may invoke the prejudice of comparing the incomparable. It will certainly look a study in contrasts. Yet there is many a point of comparison. Shenzhen has already created history with late entry in three important areas, as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), in urban development and in maritime transport. This transformation was achieved in 33 years with incredible changes to be seen in the next few years. The reality and the principal contrast is that Sri Lankans are not Chinese.

The year 2050 is a convenient point of time to frame targets, since global magnitudes on a variety of parameters stand already estimated. They encompass population, urbanization, energy, food availability, GDP, FDI, shipping and the like. Hambantota therefore has an astronomical time span of 37 years, to draw up worthwhile, implementable plans reaching up to 2050. From the limited information available in the public domain, it appears that a comprehensive development of the port area is in sure and competent hands, though the sequence of some segments seems misplaced as the country would affirm.

Shenzhen

Shenzhen was a fishing village till 1980 in which year China’s first SEZ was established there. It was then home to a population of 333,000 people. It has grown since, 4 times in the first 10 years and 21 times in 20 years till year 2000. A further fifty percent in the following decade took the population to 10.35 million by 2010. The city core has a population of 3.5 million, with a density of 13,000 per sq. mile. In speed of growth the city has been among the fastest in the world.

What brought this about? Firstly, the disposition of the leadership. It meant business. It had a vision by the country and the constancy to stand by it. When Deng was asked by Mao what he was doing during the time he was eclipsed, he replied “I was preparing”. It certainly would have included living by the cardinal instruction of Liu Shao Chi’s self-abnegation in his “How to be a Good Communist”. After he unselfed his self, there was no thought of myth building, familial succession or place in history. Today Deng is revered in China and respected by the world.

With thrust from FDI, manufacturing came first with service industries to follow. City development with office space and magnificent housing provided for an explosive demographic change. Together with a modern city supported by full infrastructure, Shenzhen held an investment of $ 30 billion by 2010.

In Shenzhen 11 years after the SEZ was established and subsequent to the sea port being developed, following a felt need the Airport was opened in October, 1991. At Hambantota, the SEZ is yet to take shape but 3 years after the sea port was opened, the International Airport too was opened. Shenzhen Stadium accommodates 33,000. The Hambantota International Cricket Stadium accommodates 35,000. The former was opened after 13 years of exponential development. The latter, ahead of the SEZ and the port. Is the precedence well thought out?

Hambantota Read More

Breaking The Silence Journal: St George's

Tamil Guardian 04 December 2013

After generating high levels of interest at 6 other London universities, the ‘Breaking the Silence’ genocide awareness campaign reached St George’s University on the 26th of November.

Situated in a student hub outside St George’s Library, the exhibition attracted students and staff from all disciplines and members of the adjacent St George’s Hospital.

Breaking the Silence Journal St George's by nelvely

Paris, France, 6 December 2013 - Secretary-General's remarks at opening session of Elysée Summit on Peace and Security in Africa

LATEST STATEMENTS-6 December 2013

Mesdames et Messieurs,
Je suis ravi de participer à ce sommet sur la paix et la sécurité en Afrique, qui vient à point.
Je remercie le Président Hollande d’avoir pris l’initiative d’organiser cette importante rencontre.
This Summit takes place as the world mourns the loss of Nelson Mandela, one of the towering figures of our time and indeed of any time.
We who are gathered here to pursue peace and human dignity need look no further for guidance than his inspiring example.

PARIS, FRANCE, 6 DECEMBER 2013 - SECRETARY-GENERAL'S REMARKS AT OPENING SESSION OF ELYSÉE SUMMIT ON PEACE A... by nelvely

The Denigration Of Dissenters From “Overseas”

By Emil van der Poorten -December 6, 2013

Emil van der Poorten

It never ceases to amaze one who has several decades of “hands-on” experience being part of and subsequently working with new immigrant populations for many years in a “First World” country that such absolutely malicious nonsense can be consistently published about those Sri Lankans, who for whatever reason, have settled permanently in Europe, America or Australasia and choose to offer, often very constructive, criticism of the governance (or lack thereof) in what used to be considered the beacon of democracy in South Asia.

In setting the tone for the abuse, our expatriates are accused of a) living in the lap of luxury after having got into places such as Canada under false pretexts, or b) being sentenced, primarily those of Tamil origin (invoking the caste of “untouchability”), to a lifetime in pursuit of something akin to a PhD in toilet cleaning.

These broad accusatory generalizations parading as descriptions of the immigrant’s lot are so deliberately false that the authors should be prosecuted for stupidity above and beyond anything expected of them even by their paymasters!

Having set the tone for the abuse and threat, they begin to allege the motives for criticism of any description of the Sri Lankan regime, and these are basically two in number.

The first is that because Sri Lanka is now paradise on earth, anyone critical of the broad criminality that is a day-to-day reality here is a paid lackey of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or their alleged successors, the Tamil Diaspora. Of course, this shotgun approach does not so much as consider that all Tamils, in particular, no matter where they now live, are not now and have never been (to quote the man who could well be the patron saint of these apologists for the Rajapaksa Regime – “Tailgunner Joe McCarthy, he of “anti-Commie” witch-hunt fame). What is interesting in this context is that the man acknowledged as the Tigers’ primary financial manager who bankrolled the atrocities of a group acknowledged as the worst of its kind in modern history, Kumar Pathmanathan (as he calls himself in one of his many aliases), has been, literally, embraced by the Rajapaksa Regime and appears to have been reborn as some kind of Dravidian saint! This is particularly interesting in the context of people such as Arundhati Roy, the late Nelson Mandela, Noam Chomsky, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Louise Arbour etc. etc. being accused of “being in the pay of the LTTE.” This monster and several of his surviving colleagues, under the patronage and protection of the Sri Lankan government, are now the leading “good guys” in the North and East of Sri Lanka. Does this suggest a new dimension in hypocrisy or is it just proof that the government of the Debacle of Asia truly has no limits to its application of impunity? It should never be forgotten that this man is guilty of the most capital offences in the history of our country by directly providing the wherewithal for the murder and mayhem that consumed several generations of Sri Lankans and three decades of our history. Read More

Nelson Mandela dies: The Lincoln of Africa and just as complex

The 'seamless convergence of magnanimity and power'

By Brian Stewart, CBC News Posted: Dec 05, 2013

Mandela shows then U.S. president Bill Clinton the view from the cell on Robben Island in which Mandela spent 17 of his 27 years incarcerated by the former South African government. (Reuters)

A member of the Internal Stability Unit points a machine gun at ANC supporters outside Durban in April 1994, less than two weeks before the election that month that brought Mandela and the ANC to power. (Reuters)

So much praise has been heaped on Nelson Mandela that it may be useful to pick out his defining virtues from all the dazzling emotional clutter.

Just seeing him as a wonderfully humane and even saintly leader misses the complex core of a master statesman.

Nelson Mandela Dies the Lincoln of Africa and Just as Complex by nelvely

Nelson Mandela, A Legend Of All Time

By Sulakshi Thelikorala -December 6, 2013

Dr. Sulakshi Thelikorala

“A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”- Nelson Mandela

The definition of a “freedom fighter” is made confusing in the contemporary world. It is often argued that one person’s freedom fighter is another person’s terrorist. Yet, the best examples of freedom fighters came from an era of post-colonialism, with the rise of nationalism and patriotic movements in Asia and Africa led by renowned world leaders fighting for the right of land against the imperial powers. Amongst them stood Nelson Mandela, a real freedom fighter, and one of the best of our times.

Nelson Mandela was the pioneer in the Anti-Apartheid Movement, protecting curtailed rights of the majority black population in South Africa. Mandela passed away today at the age of 95 years. Mandela has been seriously ill over a couple of months and has been treated continuously, being hospitalised several times. The South African President Jacob Zuma confirmed the demise of this great leader declaring “He passed on peacefully in the company of his family; Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father.”

05 Dec 2013

It was with great personal sadness that I learned of the passing of Nelson Mandela today.

Nelson Mandela was an extraordinary man who represented for many around the world the ideals of freedom, peace, and justice.

Like many of my generation, I was inspired by Nelson Mandela’s vision for a democratic South Africa. Dismantling the apartheid system and building a South Africa in which all enjoyed equal rights of citizenship was the cause to which Mr. Mandela devoted his life. The inspiration and spirit of solidarity generated by Nelson Mandela and the movement he led were never limited by national boundaries.

Nelson Mandela’s words and deeds will continue to inspire those who wish to advance human dignity and fight injustice. That too will be the enduring legacy of this great man who dedicated his life to the cause of a better life for others. I count myself fortunate to have been among those privileged to meet Mr. Mandela and to have heard personally his vision for his country and its people. May Nelson Mandela rest in peace.

Address to the nation by President Jacob Zuma on the departure of former President Nelson Mandela

www.mandela.gov.za

5 December 2013

My Fellow South Africans,

Our beloved Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the founding President of our democratic nation has departed.

He passed on peacefully in the company of his family around 20h50 on the 5th of December 2013.

He is now resting. He is now at peace.

Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father.

Although we knew that this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss.

His tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world.

His humility, his compassion, and his humanity earned him their love. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mandela family. To them we owe a debt of gratitude.

They have sacrificed much and endured much so that our people could be free.

Our thoughts are with his wife Mrs Graca Machel, his former wife Ms Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, with his children, his grand-children, his great grand-children and the entire family.

Our thoughts are with his friends, comrades and colleagues who fought alongside Madiba over the course of a lifetime of struggle.

Our thoughts are with the South African people who today mourn the loss of the one person who, more than any other, came to embody their sense of a common nationhood.

Our thoughts are with the millions of people across the world who embraced Madiba as their own, and who saw his cause as their cause.

This is the moment of our deepest sorrow.

Our nation has lost its greatest son.

Yet, what made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves.

And in him we saw so much of ourselves.

Fellow South Africans,

Nelson Mandela brought us together, and it is together that we will bid him farewell.

Our beloved Madiba will be accorded a State Funeral.

I have ordered that all flags of the Republic of South Africa be lowered to half-mast from tomorrow, 6 December, and to remain at half-mast until after the funeral.

As we gather to pay our last respects, let us conduct ourselves with the dignity and respect that Madiba personified.

Let us be mindful of his wishes and the wishes of his family.

As we gather, wherever we are in the country and wherever we are in the world, let us recall the values for which Madiba fought.

Let us reaffirm his vision of a society in which none is exploited, oppressed or dispossessed by another.

Let us commit ourselves to strive together – sparing neither strength nor courage – to build a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.

Let us express, each in our own way, the deep gratitude we feel for a life spent in service of the people of this country and in the cause of humanity.

This is indeed the moment of our deepest sorrow.

Yet it must also be the moment of our greatest determination.

A determination to live as Madiba has lived, to strive as Madiba has strived and to not rest until we have realised his vision of a truly united South Africa, a peaceful and prosperous Africa, and a better world.

We will always love you Madiba!

May your soul rest in peace.

God Bless Africa.

Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika.

Website: www.thepresidency.gov.za

Budget 2014: Is The Distribution Of Distributable Income A Disaster?

By Hema Senanayake - December 6, 2013

Hema Senanayake

Previously I wrote that the Budget 2014 would stabilize the rupee and facilitate private credit growth which will help the economy to grow. This stability will achieve through the proposed increase of foreign borrowing. I pointed out that any proposal to increase foreign borrowing must come with a promise to increase the inflow of dollars through non-credit sources in future because foreign borrowings come with an obligation to pay them back in dollars.

However, addressing the issue of the stability of currency, while ensuring private credit growth, is one important aspect of the budget. This objective will achieve from the Budget 2014 under the proposal made to increase foreign borrowing together with the proposal made to reduce domestic borrowing to fill the budget deficit which is at 5.2% of GDP. What is good is good and hence must be acknowledged so.

Another important aspect or area of the budget is to relieve the economic suffering of the people. People expected some relief from the budget. It seems they did not get what they expected from the budget. Many people and the political opposition expressed their disappointment about it. If this is true, which I think is true, then the simple conclusion I would make is that the distribution of distributable income is a disaster. Here I use a term call “the distribution of distributable income” instead of simply saying “the distribution of income.” You may think from the term I used above implies that there is a certain income that should not or cannot be distributed. That is right. The Budget 2014 did a poor job in regard to the “distribution of distributable income.” What is bad is bad and hence must be pointed out so. Read More

Pugwash Conference Hails Interim Agreement On Iran

December 6, 2013

The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs has welcomed the interim agreement on the Iran Nuclear issue as a first step towards lessening tensions in the region and strains on the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

Jayantha Dhanapala

Pugwash, headed by former Sri Lankan Diplomat and Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala who is its President said the agreement was “historic and long overdue.”

“In particular, we welcome Iran’s acceptance of increased transparency as part of its effort persuasively to demonstrate its repeatedly asserted claims about the peaceful nature of its nuclear program,” Pugwash said in a statement.

Following is the full text of the statement:

The 24 November 2013 interim agreement on the Iran nuclear issue is an historic and long-overdue first step in lessening the tensions in the region and the strains on the nuclear non-proliferation regime. We applaud the leadership and commitment it took on all sides, and acknowledge that much work remains to be done as the parties move forward during this interim period to establish a lasting accord. From its inception during the height of the Cold War, Pugwash has consistently promoted the need for dialogue to resolve outstanding issues in regions where nuclear risks are present. This interim accord shows that it is possible to make progress when parties come together in a spirit of goodwill to find peaceful compromises to challenging problems.

Editorial-December 5, 2013

Some of the stock excuses the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) usually trots out for unconscionable tariff hikes are the high cost of thermal power generation and staggering debts. When electricity prices were jacked up last time, consumers were promised a tariff revision in the event of an increase in hydro power generation without a drastic increase in fuel prices. The CEB has so far raked in Rs. 20 bn from price increases besides saving another Rs. 25 billion thanks to weather gods who kept the reservoirs brimful. It has settled what it owed the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) for fuel purchases, we are told. But, mum’s the word on the part of the government as regards the promised relief.

People expected an electricity tariff reduction from the Budget 2014. They thought at least the fuel adjustment charge would be done away with. But, they got nothing. What one gathers from some statements attributed to high ranking CEB officials is that there will be no relief in the foreseeable future.

Experts have argued that the CEB cannot settle its old debts at the expense of consumers. But, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) is a crippled ass capable of only one thing—braying. It makes some noise from time to time when it receives public complaints and pretends to protect consumers’ interests, but willingly toes the government line.

Here is a helluva situation, as they say. The government is facilitating the monopolistic exploitation by a state venture of the public. The PUCSL is mere putty in the hands of the powers that be. The Opposition is too impotent to take up the cudgels for the ordinary masses. Whom could the people turn to? They have no alternative but to internalise their resentment and wait. The government is making a huge mistake because pent-up public anger is bound to find expression in protests sooner or later.

The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has produced voluminous reports on the CEB’s criminal waste of public funds and rampant corruption. It once called for an investigation into illegal allowances that the CEB fat cats awarded themselves. But, the problem with probes in this country is that they either don’t get underway or nothing comes of them.

The power sector trade unions tell us that one of the CEB bigwigs has been to China 44 (yes, forty-four) times within two years besides other foreign trips. All his colleagues have been on at least 100 overseas junkets each during the past few years. These allegations must be taken up in Parliament. Atop this kind of wasteful expenditure, CEB officials’ PAYE tax is illegally paid by the government which claims to be cash-strapped when it comes to the allocation of funds for other sectors such as health and education. The CEB’s corrupt power purchase deals with the so-called Independent Power Producers (IPPs) have also cost the public dear. Successive governments have, instead of cleaning the Augean stables, conveniently passed the power sector losses on to the hapless consumers.

The private sector is usually blamed for maximising profits at the expense of the public. This is exactly what the government is also doing! It is using, besides the CEB, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) etc to fleece the public on some pretext or other.

At this rate, the day may not be far off when the ordinary people, unable to make ends meet, have to survive on dog food, the prices of which the government has generously brought down through the Budget 2014. But, the problem is that after they pay for electricity, water and gas, they won’t be left with any money even to buy canine food!

Random musings: Stocks and shares

December 6, 2013

There are headlines in the financial press, such as ‘the stock market is flat,’ ‘share prices are not moving,’ foreign funds go for blue chip stocks’, etc. An elderly lady friend of mine who was a little confused about all of this asked me what the difference was between stocks and shares. There is no difference and either word can be used. It is however possible to put some gloss on this to create more clarity.
The stock of a company is sold in units called shares. A share is a unit of ownership or equity in a company. The stock market is where shares are bought and sold. So one can say I bought some company X stock or I bought some company X shares.
Owning shares

Random Musings Stocks and Shares by nelvely