How To Intimidate Dissidents In Rural Sri Lanka

By Emil van der Poorten -December 15, 2013

Emil van der Poorten

Last week I sought to deal with the matter of the denigration of Sri Lankans domiciled overseas who were vilified and demonized, by an obviously orchestrated chorus of government sycophants writing under a whole range of pseudonyms, some obviously choosing to use more than one pseudonym, though the, perhaps deliberate, use of execrable English, proves to be a consistently dead give-away!

Yes, there are people in the much-vilified “Tamil Diaspora” who hang on to a pipe dream of the establishment of “Eelam.”  But to repeat myself, it is not only totally and absolutely dishonest to tar every critic of this violent and corrupt government with that brush, it is stupid and is proving counter-productive because nothing this government says is given any credibility by those outside this country and, let’s face it, continuing to crank up the capacity for racism of the so-called “Sinhala-Buddhist” lumpen, no matter how successfully, is going to be cold comfort when the hammer comes down, as it is showing increasing evidence of doing sooner rather than later despite the return of some of the “Sophisticated Sycophants” to the ranks of the Rajapaksa Regime.

That said, let’s talk about the (human excreta) and abuse directed at local critics of the most corrupt and violent regime in the history of independent Sri Lanka.  Most of this doesn’t even pretend at criticism but is either rank racist rant or attempts at sly threat of the imminent demise of the critic by unnatural causes!

The lower forms of Sri Lankan life, if one tracks their regurgitations, is obviously orchestrated by someone of greater intelligence and proven venality.  It soon becomes obvious that these are not unconnected malcontents, no matter how stupid, at work.

Given the lack of the democratic right to dissent and discuss issues of public importance in the usual forums, one is driven to begin juxtaposing the “contributions” of these people against each other, comparing and contrasting what they have to say.                         Read More       

manithanaal thangik kolla mudiyaatha 

aayutham

பள்ளி, புத்தக படிப்பையும் தாண்டி மனிதர்களாகிய நாம் படிக்க வேண்டிய பாடம் ஒன்று இருக்கிறது. அது என்ன என்று தெரிந்து கொள்ள வேண்டுமா. இந்த ஒளிப்பதிவினை பாருங்கள்.

https://www.youtube.com/user/karpagamaraan/videos?shelf_id=1&sort=dd&view=0

Arrogance Of Power: The Southern Polity – The UNP

By Rajan Hoole -December 14, 2013 

Rajan Hoole

The Indo-Lanka Accord and Sri Lanka’s Fault Lines: July 1987 – Part – 5

Rather than the SLFP or the JVP, it was the utter irresponsibility of the UNP which prepared the ground for the anti-Indian frenzy. It had first gone about cultivating anti-Indian sentiment and then capped it by default on the ethnic issue, thus creating conditions for the arrival of the Indian Army. Prime Minister Premadasa was chief among those responsible for the post- Accord wrecking process. As Prime Minister at that time, he must bear direct responsibility for the July 1983 violence, which brought India into this country. As for dealing with India, his populist anti-Indian approach where he tried to gain political capital through being rude to every Indian emissary beginning with Narasimha Rao and G. Parthasarathy, was most unhelpful. It was a senior member of the Government passing the buck.

From the first All-Party Conference (APC) with TULF participation in January 1984, Premadasa insisted on the preservation of unitary status and stated that the Government could go no further than District Development Councils. The APC reached a crucial stage when on 14th December 1984, Jayewardene presented a draft proposal allowing for DDCs in a province to merge into a provincial council through a referendum in each district. In practice, this would have proved cosmetic in the East since colonisation had made heavy inroads into the ethnic balance.

Even this was unacceptable to Premadasa who indicated his opposition by attacking India as a stumbling block to peace. Mathew went further and got sacked from the Cabinet. The result was more violence in the country and in July 1985, the Government was forced to talk directly to the TULF and all the militant groups in Thimpu. The latter had been opposed to the APCs.

When the Accord was to be signed on 29th July, Premadasa opposed the Accord and he with Athulathmudali boycotted the ceremonies after Rajiv Gandhi’s arrival – in an act of shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted, so as to salvage something for themselves personally.

The key ministers supporting the Accord were Gamini Dissanayake, Finance Minister Ronnie de Mel, Justice Minister Nissanka Wijeratne and Foreign Minister A.C.S Hameed. Those who opposed it at the cabinet meeting of 15th July 1987 were Gamini Jayasuriya, Athulathmudali, Ranil Wickremasinghe, Ranjit Atapattu, E.L.B. Hurulle and M.H. Mohamed. Dissanayake and J.N. Dixit, the Indian High Commissioner, are credited with being the principal architects of the Accord. In return for the North-East being merged into one provincial council and Sri Lanka not doing anything adverse to India’s interests, India was to oversee the disarming of Tamil militants and the ending of the militancy.

Premadasa, who had conveniently been away on a foreign trip, arrived in time for the final cabinet meeting on 27th July. He opposed the Accord and was supported by Jayasuriya and Wickremasinghe. However, when Jayewardene stood firm on going ahead, only Jayasuriya resigned. Jayewardene who had undated resignation letters of UNP MPs in his possession and, thanks to the Referendum, a steam-roller majority in parliament, was to have his way. Even on the matter of whether the 13th Amendment introducing Provincial Councils required a nation-wide referendum, Jayewardene had a Supreme Court that would be reluctant to oppose him in toto. Had he done this in 1985 or earlier, the course of the Accord would have been less stormy. But in July 1987 the battle lines within the party were drawn. The presidential elections were due at the end of 1988 and the JVP had built itself up as a potent source of terror.                              Read More   

*From Rajan Hoole‘s “Sri Lanka: Arrogance of Power  - Myth, Decadence and Murder”. Thanks to Rajan for giving us permission to republish. To read earlier parts click here

War Issues: Lalith Weeratunga bound to 

UNHRC to explain Govt’s position

Yasushi Akashi stresses importance of 

Witness Protection Act

by Zacki Jabbar-December 13, 2013

Japan’s Special envoy to Sri Lanka Yasushi Akashi yesterday revealed that President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunga would visit the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) next month to explain the steps taken to address accountability issues stemming from the last stages of the war with the LTTE, which the international community was pressing for.

Akashi, who is the Japanese Governments Representative for Peace-Building, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka, told the media in Colombo at the conclusion of his five-day official visit, that the Presidential Secretary’s presence in Geneva ahead of the annual sessions scheduled for March 2014, would go a long way in easing international pressure on the Rajapaksa regime to conduct an independent probe into allegations of war crimes.

Akashi said that Weeratunga’s impending visit to the UNHRC had been intimated to him by President Rajapaksa.Asked if he had raised good governance issues including the failure of the Sri Lankan government to establish a Witness Protection Act with President Rajapaksa, the Japanese envoy replied "Yes, the President assured me that it would be done. He told me that the Cabinet had discussed proposed legislation and the Bill would be presented to Parliament shortly."

When pointed out that the President had since the war ended in May 2009, given the same assurance to all visiting leaders but it had not been implemented, Akashi said: "I emphasised that the Witness Protection Act was a prerequisite in the light of certain incidents that had taken place. Pledges need to be followed up with concrete action. It should not be a case of just sound and fury. Implementation of the LLRC Report would be a good testing ground for the government to exhibit its sincerity."

Akashi admitted that even Sri Lankans, not just the international community were impatient and concerned about the delay on the part of the government to implement the recommendations of its own LLRC. But, inquiries into allegations stemming from a thirty-year-war could not be addressed over night, he pointed out, calling for a concerted effort to address accountability issues raised by the international community.

Responding to a question on the killing of 17 Tamils and Muslims working for the French NGO Action Contre la Faim (ACF) workers at Mutur in August 2006 and the murder of five Tamil School children in January 2006, allegedly by the military, the Japanese envoy replied that he did not have any information of potential witnesses. But, he stressed that those responsible should be brought to justice and in that regard it was essential that the Witness Protection Act be established.

Replying to another query on remarks by the UNHRC Chief Navaneethem Pillay during her visit to Sri Lanka in August this year that the Sri Lankan government was acting in an authoritarian manner, Akashi said: "She was doing her job and that’s her right, but I have no right to comment on that."

Are Sri Lankan Universities In Dire Straits?

By Hema Senanayake - December 14, 2013 

Hema Senanayake

“Over the last 30 years, our universities, failed to carry out any world class research, any validated scientific study, or produce a noteworthy publication, to capture the attention of the international academia.”

The above observation appeared in an article which was written by Darshani Wimalasuriya under the caption of “Sri Lankan Universities In Dire Straits.” True, I agree with her but disagree with the most of the reasons she cited for above situation. Why? Because the most causes she identified are not the causes but the effects in the University system if we investigate the problem under the principle of cause-and-effect.

The real cause of the problem is how the University Administration envisions the role of Universities. For example, if the UGC chairperson professor Kshanika Hirimburegama does not envision that Sri Lankan Universities should produce research publications that capture international attention, then you would have the outcome mentioned above. Instead if UGC envision that our students must carry out world class researches then Kshanika would facilitate students to follow the advice given by Galileo Galilei.

Before we go into the Galileo’s advice let us first investigate about the role of Universities. What is the role of Universities? I have always been fascinated in explaining things with the correct word. Sometimes I do make mistakes too. However, in regard to the above question I found a good word to explain it. Hence I shall explain the role of Universities as follows:

The role of Universities is to contribute to the development of the noösphere (= noosphere).

The word noosphere was coined by Russian Physicist Valdimir Vernadsky. We know similar words such as biosphere or geosphere. Rich biosphere and geosphere are important to produce things for the wellbeing of society. But in the new world, Vernadsky argues that noosphere is the most important. He defined noosphere as the “sphere of human thought.” Why it is important? Let me give you a quick example to explain it.

n early 1970s a car drove 13 miles per gallon of fuel in the United States. By 1985 the mileage done by one gallon of fuel was 27. In both situations geosphere provided fuel. But fuel efficiency of the vehicle is purely related to the development of engineering knowhow which knowhow belongs to the “sphere of human thought.” In other words advanced engineering knowhow is an element of the noosphere. The wellbeing of the modern society is heavily depended upon the ever expanding noosphere. Therefore, am I wrong when I define the role of University as I defined above? Does this how Professor Kshanika defines it? The understanding or the definition of the role of Universities is important, because it sets your vision for the University system.

Perhaps some may define that the role of universities is to educate the future leaders of the government, businesses, services and industries in keeping with global trends. This definition is not bad. But if this understanding set the vision of the University administration then we cannot expect our students carrying out world class researches and engage in publication of latest findings that attract international attention because university administration does not envision that our students should contribute to the development of noosphere.

But Sri Lankans do contribute to the development of noosphere when they work elsewhere in abroad. One such notable person who lives in the U.S. is Dr. Bandula Wijeratna. In the list of Mahinda College alumni, which has been published in Wikipedia, Dr. Wije has been identified as the “Inventor of Angioplasty Balloon Catheters & Cardiac Stents.” This is an example of the contribution towards the development of global noosphere by a Sri Lankan scientist. Why Sri Lankan Universities cannot do such contributions? My answer is that UGC has not envisioned it.

Darshani who made the observation mentioned at the very beginning of this article has a different answer to above question. She has identified different set of reasons for the lapse. Some of those are: ragging and violence, student unions, medical doctors with poor English knowledge and “Majority of Sri Lankan University Professors, and senior lecturers do not have the desire, to improve, the quality of the local universities, or stop sadistic ragging.” I am sorry to observe that with this kind of analysis we will not go anywhere.

Can the UGC be inspirational at the same time functioning it as an administrative body? Or should the UGC be inspirational facilitating faculty members and students to envision their life with new hope? My answer is “yes” to both questions. Was professor Kshanika appointed as the Chairman of UGC to do this? Or is she doing that? I do not know.

But, what I know is that if professor Kshanika is envisioning that our University must contribute to the development of noosphere then as I said above, she must facilitate students to follow the advice given by Galileo Galilei. What is the advice of Galileo?

Galileo said, “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.”

How do we make our students to stand upon the shoulders of giants? Facilitate them to access the work that “giants” have done. This means that our students must be able to know the latest research findings published anywhere in the world. These findings are published in “peer-reviewed journals.” About six years ago I happened to ask from a professor of chemistry as to whether his students had access to “peer-reviewed journals” in chemistry. He said no. Giving access to peer-reviewed journals cost a little bit of money. But such accesses are necessary. I do not know how his students inspired at least to come up with internationally valid research question/s. If this situation has changed now then it is good. If it is so, then it implies that UGC is now envisioning big.

MoD provides scholarships for children of SL military

Tamil Guardian 14 December 2013

The Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, teaming up with the Bank of Ceylon, awarded educational scholarships to 76 school children of military personnel on Friday. The scholarships were awarded under the "Ranaviru Dudaru Scholarship Programme", which the Ministry of Defence said was a project aimed at ensuring "a bright future for the children whose parents had made the supreme sacrifices for the entire nation." Last month, 28,000 children of the Sri Lankan military, almost entirely consisting of ethnic Sinhala personnel, received over 96 million rupees worth of books, laptops and other educational equipment, from the MoD.

BoC extends its gratitude to War Heroes with ABIMANSALA III

December 11, 2013, 8:27 pm

The General Manager of Bank of Ceylon D.M. Gunasekara handing over the cheque to the Commander of Sri Lanka Army Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake. Ms. Priyadarshani Ratnayake, President, Seva Vanitha Army Branch, Chief Marketing Officer Indunil Liyanage, Assistant General Manager (Marketing) W.M.S. Wannasinghe and Chief Manager (Marketing) Ranjith Thilakaratne are also in the picture

Bank of Ceylon, ‘Bankers to the Nation’ is paying its gratitude to the nation’s war heroes through the construction of ‘Abimansala III’ - the wellness resort for the permanently disabled soldiers in Pangolla, Kurunegala. Bank contributes towards the construction of an ayurvedic hospital in ‘Abimansala III’ under the "Brave Hearts" project of Sri Lanka Army.

Abimansala III is a project initiated by the Seva Vanitha Army Branch (SVAB) with the noble purpose of providing lifelong care for permanently disabled soldiers who have scarified their prime youth with a full life span ahead for a peaceful, united country. Most of them are suffering from serious injuries and permanent disabilities. These war heroes are in need of post injury care for their survival which is difficult to obtain from their families. The prime objective of this project is to identify and heal their minds and to make them feel cared by society.

Bank of Ceylon believes it is one of the prime responsibilities of our nation to provide utmost care for those war heroes. This is one of the community commitments of Bank of Ceylon to look into the wellbeing of "Brave Hearts" of our country. Bank of Ceylon, Sri Lanka’s No.1 Bank, was awarded Asia’s Best Brand award 2013 by the Chief Marketing Officer’s Council (CMO Council) based in Mumbai, India. Brand Finance Lanka ranked Bank of Ceylon as the No.1 Brand for the last five consecutive years and the bank is also ranked among the top 1000 banks in the world above all other Sri Lankan banks (country ranking is No.1) by "The Banker" magazine UK in 2013. BOC has penetrated half of the population in the country with 10 million account holders with over 1,000 customer touch points covering all parts of the country.

Modi Storm In The Making

By S. Sivathasan --December 14, 2013 |

S. Sivathasan

Gathering Storm

A threadbare discussion is yet on, whether the Modi phenomenon seen on December 8^th was a wave or just a gust. Many are laboring the point that there was no wave. Post-election, some see a storm in the making. Before the debate runs its course, a more devastating second landfall will overtake the first. Since the storm is already formed, watching its intensity can only be awaited. It cannot be preempted or deflected, nor can it be abated. Storm Katrina took two days between formation and landfall. For an election in a massive electorate such as India, four months are less than two days for a tropical storm. As some see on the radar, the storm has started moving and all feather weights standing on its way or seeking to resist it will be winnowed away.

Imperatives Before Parties

In the ensuing Lok Sabha encounter next May or earlier, there are only two national parties, BJP and Congress that will contend for power at the centre. The regional and state parties can have a meaningful engagement only as an alliance partner and never otherwise. No major party at state level has an all India perspective to stand at a general election seeking power for central governance. So all of them confined to a limited locality like the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra, Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu or Trinamool Congress in W. Bengal cannot stake a claim to central governance. They have to forge a pre poll alliance with either of the national parties to show up a credible performance. Those who do not do so are constrained to come into a post poll coalition. Either of the course is inescapable if they are to continue in the limelight, to partake of all what goes with power and to be of consequence.

In such a scenario how will events move from now till nomination? For prospective allies from the state, most primary in their calculation is which national party has the best assurance of success. Which alliance holds the finest chance of victory for them? In this respect, for once since 1984 the direction is very clear, so well in advance. Modi and BJP constitute a ‘sellers-market’ and buyers know it for sure. With bargaining power being heavily weighted towards the former the latter cannot specify demanding terms. BJP can therefore have its choice pick.

National Parties                                                 Read More

Tamil Eelam is not far away: Yashwant Sinha

DC | Siva Prasanna Kumar | 04th Apr 2013

DC | Siva Prasanna Kumar | 04th Apr 2013
Chennai: “Tamil Eelam is not far away”, declared BJP se­nior Yashwant Sinha at a well-attended party meeting held at a marriage hall in the city on Wednesday. Admitting that the BJP during its NDA rule had advocated political settlement for the Tamils within a united Lanka, the former foreign minister insisted that the position now was different.

Arguing that Eelam is a distinct possibility, Sinha said, “Bangladesh would not have been an independent country now; north and south Sudan would not have been independent countries today”.

He also picked up another prospective poll issue by demanding that the Centre reopen the agreement by which India had ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka and “redraw the fishing lines” to ensure the fishing rights of Indian fishermen and stop their getting killed at the hands of the Lankan Navy. “If Katchatheevu is brought back to our side, our fishermen will not be affected. It will then be Indian waters controlled by us”.

After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rebuf­fed Yashwant Sinha’s demand for his appearance before JPC on 2G, the BJP leader on Wednesday said failure to do so would send a “loud and clear” signal that he has something to hide. “If the PM says his conscience is clear, he should offer to appear before JPC,” Sinha said. . Sinha asserted that JPC is the only committee before which a minister or the PM can appear. He accused JPC Chairman P.C. Chako of behaving in a “partisan manner”.

and trying to “scuttle” former telecom minister A Raja’s appearance before it. “No truth will come out if the Prime Minister and Finance Minister do not appear before the JPC,” insisted Sinha, himself a JPC member.

“India should say it will no more tolerate the killing of our fishermen. If you are a weak government, everyone will take advantage. The present foreign policy is disturbing. The country’s prestige, clout and future are at stake. The UPA government and the Prime Minister may be weak, but the people of India are not weak. They will ensure the return of the NDA once again”, said Sinha, setting out the poll strategy for his party campaigners in the coming critical months.

“Go from mandal to mandal, house to house and tell the people how Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh have been responsible for the genocide in the immediate neighbourhood of north Lanka”, he told the audience, who included party state president Pon. Radhakrishnan, national committee member L Ganesan and national secretary Dr Tamizhisai Sounderarajan.

After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rebuffed Yashwant Sinha’s demand for his appearance before JPC on 2G, the BJP leader on Wednesday said failure to do so would send a “loud and clear” signal that he has something to hide. “If the Prime Minister says his conscience is clear, he should offer to appear before JPC,” Sinha said. 

Sinha asserted that JPC is the only committee before which a minister or the Prime Minister can appear. He accused JPC Chairman P C Chako of behaving in a “partisan manner” and trying to “scuttle” former telecom minister A Raja’s appearance before it. “No truth will come out if the Prime Minister and Finance Minister do not appear before the JPC,” insisted Sinha, himself a JPC member.

Rule Of Law And Anti-Corruption: Challenge And Opportunity

By Nihal Sri Ameresekere -December 14, 2013 |

Nihal Sri Ameresekere

Historical Perspective

Historically man ruled human society, including involving the ugly spectre of slavery, with the hapless poor merchandised into slavery; a practice condemned and rejected by contemporary human society. Of course, historically there have been women too who ruled in such bygone eras ! Social behavioral order in human society was then upheld, maintained and enforced through means of such leadership; whether it was tribal or community leaders, or council of elders, or kings or rulers, it is they, who, through their pronounced ‘dicta’, laid down, as to how human society should behave and function, whilst being governed by them. The ‘king shall do no wrong’ was an accepted norm at one time during human civilization – though King Herod’s ‘dicta’ recorded in the Christian Bible came to be condemned universally, as atrocious and unacceptable by mankind !

Through the passage of time, the concept of the ‘rule of law’ gathered a momentum of inertia in human society, with the law formulated by human society, themselves, emerging as supreme, whereby, whether it be the ruler or those being ruled, were all alike before the law, and were all ruled by the law and were below the law; resulting in the growth of the concept of the ‘rule of law’ and its supremacy. Accordingly, human society progressively became to be ruled by the law, and not by man or woman. Those being charged with the governance of human society were cast upon with the sacred task to enforce the ‘rule of law’, to maintain social order and behaviour in human society; with punishments as per the law for disobedience or breaking the ‘rule of law’.

The basic tenet, vis-à-vis, the ‘rule of law’ and corruption, has been recorded in Sri Lankan history, as far back as 300 BC, when the famous Indian Emperor Asoka’s son, Ven. Mihindu Thera, advented into Sri Lanka, to propagate the philosophy of the emancipated Buddha, he preached to the then King Devanampiyatissa of Sri Lanka thus – “Oh mighty King, all the resources you perceive in the kingdom, do not belong to you, but such resources belong to all the people of the kingdom – you are merely the trustee of all such resources, and stand duty bound to deal with such resources in trust for and on behalf of the people of your kingdom”; thus even the King became inherently accountable to the people.

In contemporary civilized human society, such historic concept so preached, as far back as 300 BC, has come to be accepted – that the resources of human society belong to the people of such human society, and that those in governance of the people, so govern such resources, in trust and for and on behalf of such people, and are accountable to the people.

Contemporary Interpretations of the ‘Rule of Law’      Read More  

Against Duckspeak on Ethnic Reconciliation

Indian Finance Minister Chidambaram-December 13, 2013

by Izeth Hussain

"Duckspeak" is a neologism used by George Orwell in his novel 1984. The rulers of the totalitarian state depicted in the novel dream of reducing the people to automata whose speech will sound like normal human speech but be quite meaningless, inane like the quacking of ducks, since it will be produced only by the larynx without the cerebral cortex coming into action at all. That is Duckspeak. Some readers will hold that Sri Lankan politicians excel in it without being manipulated or coerced by totalitarian rulers, since what they say is usually meaningless. But that is true of politicians all over the world who to varying degrees say meaningless things to fool the people. That however is a voluntary process whereas Duckspeak is involuntary, something uttered by human beings who have been reduced to automata.

Alleged war crimes

That is a preliminary clarification. I will argue in this article that there is a total incompatibility between investigations into alleged war crimes during the final phase of the anti-Eelam war and the process of ethnic reconciliation, and further, that the demand for investigations is a way of pressurizing the Sri Lanka Government into moving towards a political solution of the Tamil ethnic problem. For that purpose I will revisit my article The Ban Ki-moon conspiracy which was published in the Island of May 2, 2011. In that article I postulated what I called "a benign conspiracy" involving the US, Britain, and India, and it seems to me that we are witnessing the further unfolding of that conspiracy. The Government has not recognized that conspiracy. It is therefore glibly talking about holding our own investigations into alleged war crimes and at the same time moving towards ethnic reconciliation. It is so mindless that it amounts to Duckspeak.

I am writing this article at the present time because, quite suddenly as a result of CHOGM 2013, the question of war crimes investigations has become very urgent. It is now our major political preoccupation. The abrasive statements made by Cameron had nothing of the finesse characteristic of British diplomacy at its best. They were minatory, indeed peremptory, smacking more of the diktat than of the gentle suasion that ought to characterize relations between family members of the Commonwealth. He issued an ultimatum of the sort to be expected only when war is imminent: either carry out credible investigations by March 2014 or he would move for international investigations. His statements could be explained partly by his need to appease Tamil voters back at home, but only partly. We must take into account the sinister possibility that Cameron’s statements signify that some powerful countries could move towards concerted action on our Tamil ethnic problem.

We must take his statements in conjunction with those made by the Indian Finance Minister Chidambaram on December 1. Usually nowadays India conducts its diplomacy with us, particularly on the Tamil problem, with professional finesse and its statements are diplomatically exquisite. By contrast Chidambaram’s statements – just like those of Cameron – sounded rough and tough, and it would be foolish to write them off too as excesses due to electoral compulsions. I will give details about his statements as they represent a very important development.

He declared that India will not rest until 13A is implemented and those guilty of war crimes are prosecuted. "I vow in the name of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi that we will ensure this". It is a statement expressing a strong categorical commitment, with no ifs and buts about it, to ensure that Sri Lanka does certain things. He proceeds thereafter to lay the blame for failure squarely on the President: "We also hope that President Rajapakse will have a change of heart. If there is no change in Sri Lanka’s attitude, India will continue to press on the international forum for a detailed inquiry into human rights violations and killing of Tamils and punishment to those who are behind the killings". A point to be noted is that while Cameron and other Western leaders speak about war crimes investigations and not about 13A, Chidambaram speaks about both in the same breath, implying that there is a nexus between the two in the Indian mind. Furthermore, he seems to be indicating that if Sri Lanka really moves towards a political solution through 13A, India will not press the war crimes charges.

Chidambaram goes to the extent of dropping a remark that would not be regarded as acceptable in terms of the prevailing norms of diplomacy: "Whether the people of the country have voted for the right person, it is for them to ponder over." He then goes on to speak about difficulties in solving the problems of minorities, which India too has been experiencing. "Minorities" in the plural evidently refers, in addition to the Tamils, to Muslims and perhaps also to the non-mainstream Christians who have been ruthlessly harassed with hardly anybody to speak up for them. The Government has only itself to blame for having allowed it to become evident that the racist anti-Muslim campaign had the backing of powerful personages in the State apparatus. Finally, Chidambaram detonated a bomb by stating that the NP Chief Minister’s invitation to the Indian Prime Minister to visit Jaffna is still open.

We must not imagine that Chidambaram should not be taken too seriously as he is not, after all, the Indian Foreign Minister. India conducts its foreign relations in a very responsible way, as befits an emerging great power, and it is hard to believe that Chidambaram was speaking out of turn. We have to take it that he was strictly expressing the Indian Government’s views. Those views, like those of Cameron, have more than a touch of the minatory and the peremptory about them. Perhaps the most important detail in Chidambaram’s statements is the clear indication that India has no confidence in the Sri Lankan President. Other leaders may share that view, judging from the fact that some time ago Lee Kwan Yew of Singapore declared that President MR is a "chauvinist" and that there was no point in talking to him. The future looks threatening. Our Government has been sensitive to this fact and has therefore been responsive to the South African Premier Jacob Zuma’s offer to share the South African experience and expertise in making its Truth and Reconciliation Commission outstandingly successful. But I can’t see that the TRC model is going to be successful here.

The situation in Sri Lanka is entirely different from the situation that prevailed in South Africa at the time the apartheid regime collapsed. There it was mainly the defeated, the whites who had to confess, repent, and be forgiven in a process of ethnic reconciliation. Here it will be the members of a conquering army who are to be put in the dock. Can we believe that they will readily confess and repent, after which they will be forgiven by our Tamils? Another difference in the two situations, also a crucial one, is that in South Africa the defeated whites acknowledged that they were wrong in practicing apartheid. Here, neither side will admit that they were in the wrong in any way. The truth is that the kind of mindset that is requisite for ethnic reconciliation on the South African model quite simply does not exist in Sri Lanka.

Investigations by the SL Government into alleged war crimes will have to follow the usual procedures: accusations will have to be made against armed forces personnel and others, witnesses will have to be produced, elaborate processes of investigation will have to be set in motion, after which the guilty will have to be punished. That process will take many years to complete. The whole project looks fanciful because of one fact: a climate of fear still pervades this country, so that it is difficult to believe that many will be willing to come forward as accusers and witnesses. A Witness Protection Act could help, but only up to a point. However, I am willing to concede that substantial numbers of accusers and witnesses could come forth if the TNA plays an active role as a protector with the backing of some powerful countries. But the plain fact is that the process of investigations is bound to generate much hatred. That means that the process of ethnic reconciliation will have to go into abeyance for many years.

Some of the most powerful countries of the world have proposed international investigations into war crimes, and in order to evade that our Government has committed itself – without weighing the consequences – to holding our own internal investigations. At the same time we talk glibly about carrying out the process of ethnic reconciliation. All such talk amounts to Duckspeak. We would have done better to point out that we are against war crimes investigations, external or internal, at the present stage because they are incompatible with our seriously engaging in a process of ethnic reconciliation. As a sovereign nation we have the right to give priority to ethnic reconciliation, putting off war crimes investigations to a later stage after the process of ethnic reconciliation takes hold. That position would commit us to seriously pursuing a political solution to the ethnic problem, Why not? We should now give priority to establishing whether a compromise on police and land powers under 13A might be possible.

There is much that is relevant to our present situation in my article of two and a half years ago on The Ban Ki-Moon conspiracy, which I cannot cover in this article. I will limit myself therefore to just one point made in that article. I postulated a "benign conspiracy" in that article involving the US and Britain, and I included – "heretically" as I put it – India also in that conspiracy. I was apparently indulging in irresponsible speculation of the sort that should be eschewed by serious political analysts. Later, at Geneva, India quite unexpectedly supported the US resolution against Sri Lanka. That seemed to provide spectacular substantiation to my conspiracy theory. We are at present witnessing what looks like a further stage in the unfolding of that benign conspiracy – a further stage because those most undiplomatic remarks of Chidambaram which I pointed out above suggest that the Indian Government has little or no confidence in President MR. Duckspeak might be self-destructive at this stage.

Izethhussain@gmail.com

VIDEO: MANGALA SAYS ‘MEDIA TERRORISTS’ CANNOT SEE FAULTS OF GOVT

December 14, 2013 

The United National Party (UNP) says that “media terrorism” exists in the country today and that certain media organizations emphasize only on nonexistent problems within the UNP while turning a blind eye to the corruption in the government. 

MP Mangala Samaraweera, head of the UNP’s Communications Unit, stated that on one side there is state media and that there is no point in talking about them while on the other side certain “Mudalali” are using the media for their own political agendas. 

He stated that these “media terrorists” are working in a most unethical manner and that they cannot see the crimes and corruption of the Rajapaksa government. 

They exaggerate nonexistent problems in the UNP and declare to the country that they stand for media freedom, he charged.   

The Parliamentarian further stated that Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) members who are most “fed up” with the government are in the Parliament and they are still unable to escape from it. 

Mangala Samaraweera stated that when he criticizes the government in Parliament some of his “old friends” run away as if they didn’t see him, but wait till he visits the lavatory to secretly commend his speech and encourage him. 

“That is the real situation of the government,” he said, adding that problems exist from top to bottom in the ruling party and that however the UNP should win their trust. 

“If you talk to 10 people today, 7 of them are against this government but we (UNP) have still not taken advantage of that opposition,” Samaraweera said, addressing a gathering of the party’s Communications Unit in Colombo.

Costly Dams Hold Neither Water Nor Power

By Pearl Thevanayagam -December 14, 2013

Pearl Thevanayagam

Costly dams hold neither water nor power: Samanalawewa was doomed from the start

Camelia Nathaniel has re-opened the can of worms afflicting our country’s foolhardy dam projects. While Chogm and war crimes hit the headlines in the last few weeks she wrote an investigative story on the Samanalawewa Dam in the Sunday Leader recently which was obfuscated by politicians and their shenanigans.

Her reporting is a matter of fact and no fluff journalism. “Dam in Danger” she wrote did not attract the attention it deserved although it is of national importance and a serious cause for our environmental concern.

Sri Lanka has already lost two of its landmark waterfalls, Devon and St Clairs, thanks to the then Power and Energy Minister, Anududdha Ratwatte, who believed these natural beauties should be forfeited for small scale hydro-electric power projects. It is heart-breaking to watch these breath-taking waterfalls in all its natural splendour – St Clairs flowing like seven bridal veils and Devon cascading in full strength in the Hatton area – disappear.

Victoria Dam commissioned by Britain with the Queen gracing its opening displaced thousands of farmers whose very sustenance depended on the rivers which provided them with agriculture and its produce to sustain them. Their wails were described in her book Paddy Birds , written by Lalitha Withanachchi, a senior journalist at the Daily News in the nineties. Mahaweli diversion during JRJ’s tenure with Israel’s contribution deprived Kandyan farmers of their livelihood and dispersed them to the East where they became strangers and exposed  to unfamiliar territory they never envisaged.                       Read More