Whistleblower: how RBS 'deliberately destroyed' businesses

TUESDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2014

Exclusive: a whistleblower from RBS's shadowy GRG unit claims that staff destroyed businesses "that didn't need destroying" in an attempt to help save the bank during the credit crisis.

Staff inside RBS's global restructuring group, GRG, used "immoral, survivalist tactics" to destroy a number of businesses "that didn't need destroying" in an attempt to help save the bank during the credit crisis.

Whistleblower How RBS 'Deliberately Destroyed' Businesses by nelvely

EU agrees to launch negotiations with Cuba

Every year hundreds of thousands of European tourists travel to Cuba-10 February 2014 

The European Union has agreed to launch negotiations with Cuba aimed at restoring full bilateral relations with the Communist-run island.

The talks, which could begin as soon as next month, will try to increase trade and investment, and include a dialogue on human rights, officials said.

Since 1996, the EU has restricted its ties with Cuba to encourage multi-party democracy and progress on human rights.

The bloc is Cuba's second-biggest trading partner after Venezuela.

It represents a major source of investment, and hundreds of thousands of European tourists visit the island every year.

'Vote of confidence'

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton stressed that human rights remained "at the core" of its dealings with Cuba.

"These negotiations will help consolidate our engagement with Cuba," she said. "I hope Cuba will take up this offer."

EU ambassador to Havana, Herman Portocarero, said the aim was to support change

The announcement comes with Cuba engaged in an economic and social reform process launched by President Raul Castro.

The EU ambassador to Havana, Herman Portocarero, said the talks came in response to "serious" changes in Cuba.

"It is to some extent a vote of confidence in the reforms and that the new realities in Cuban society are irreversible, and that we want to be on board," Mr Portocarero told the BBC.

"We hope to promote a future model of Cuban society which is closer to European values."

But he added that the EU had a number of "red lines" in order for the relations to be normalised. These included such issues as human rights and the possibility for civil society groups to have legal status.

The move indicates the most important diplomatic shift since the EU lifted sanctions against Cuba in 2008.

It follows the visit by Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans to Cuba in January. During his trip, Mr Timmermans called on the EU to change its policy toward the island.

He said the best way to promote change was through dialogue, not isolation.

In 1996, the EU agreed on a set of rules governing its relations with Cuba, called the Common Position.

It states that the EU's objective is "to encourage a process of transition to a pluralist democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as sustainable recovery and improvement in the living standards of the Cuban people".

Despite the policy, more than half of EU member states have bilateral agreements with Cuba.

Cuba has rejected the Common Position, arguing that it constitutes an interference in its internal affairs.

DESERTED VILLAGE

.....Sweet smiling village, loveliest of the lawn,This feature poem was published in print on February 2014 issue of Monsoon Journal

DESERTED VILLAGE

By: C. Kamalaharan

Thy sports are fled, and all thy charm withdrawn;

Amidst thy bowers the tyrant hand is seen,

And desolation saddens all thy green...

Apologies to Oliver Gold Smith

Returning after a lapse of fifteen years
To my village, where reigned wholesome fare,
Without hindrance whatsoever to nature,
With lush green vegetation all around,
And plenty to suffice for a peaceful living.

Lo and behold! the entire village completely ravaged;
A village where once flowed milk and honey
Is now in wilderness, a scene of utter desolation.
A tensed silence prevailed all over,
As I wandered with mounting apprehension.

No more could be heard the timepieces of nature;
The crowing of roosters and the pealing of bells.
The rattling of landmasters and the grinding of bullock carts.
The whirring of water pumps and the jarring of loud speakers,
And the clattering of the ‘kottu rotti’ eateries.

The only sound heard was the chirping of birds,
The cawing of crows,
The cuckoo of the cuckoos,
The buzzing of flies and bees,
And the barking of stray dogs.

As I wandered along the dusty lanes,
My heart sank at the sights of devastation;
Dilapidated buildings among the dense foliage,
Rows of shops as piles of rubble,
And topless palmyrah palms as erect pillars.

The ‘haves have fled to safe havens,
While the ‘have nots’ remained to languish,
And fend for themselves, doing manual labour.
Only a few retail outlets remained open,
To feed the hapless ‘have nots’.

Arriving tired and weary at the junction,
A one time hive of activity,
A few middle aged rustics puffing cigars,
Mistook me for an outsider,
Held me captive and questioned.

“Who are you?” the harsh tone stunned me!
“Asking me, a native of this place such a question!
Feeling offended, ”Who are you?” I retorted.
“We are natives of this place.”
“Me too, a son of the soil”, I hit back.

“We have not seen you before,” they persisted.
“Was out of the country.”
“What brought you here?” ”Came to see my home.”
“Where is it?” “Over there in the thicket.”
“O.K, you may go but return soon.” 

Trudging through the overgrown thicket,
I was taken aback to see strangers in my home.
The same question, ”Who are you?” they demanded.
“This is my home, I came to see it.”
“Your home!, It’s ours now,” a lady lambasted.

“What nonsense are you talking?” I raised my voice.
“Are we talking nonsense?” the lady yelled.
“Yes you are! unlawfully trespassed on my property.”
“We’ll beat you, get lost” the men joined the brawl,
Threatening me, clenching their fists.

Thoroughly shaken and in a state of hopeless despair,
I stood thunderstruct not knowing what to do.
“Why are you waiting?” a man shouted in a fit of rage.
Realising the impossibility of evicting them,
I left my home disheartened, disappointed and disgraced.

 By C. Kamalaharan 
Added on :09 Feb 2014

Thirty Years Of War And Still On

By Athulasiri Kumara Samarakoon -February 10, 2014 

Athulasiri Kumara Samarakoon

Wars occur first in the realm of ideas. Therefore, the elimination of physical elements of wars alone can neither bring peace nor permanent credible solutions to conflicts.  When a war is fought particularly on identity issues of people, peace and reconciliation becomes even more difficult. Sri Lanka’s ethnic war led to the physical elimination of a major party to the war, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. However, even the Government concedes that the end of the war with the removal of the LTTE has not yet brought reconciliation and argues that reconciliation will take time. In the absence of well directed conscious efforts and political will to achieve reconciliation, no matter how long a country waits for time to heal the wounds of a war, especially ethnic wars, true peace will still prove elusive. For peace should be created in the realm of ideas first, and then those ideas of peace should be made part of public’s consciousness and popular imagination. More the parties to a conflict breathe life to violent memories and ethnic hatred, the longer it takes to achieve peace. If the mainstream political practice of a Government is to perpetuate its power with a strategy of using hatred and violent memories, then the very unity of that nation becomes a far cry.

The failure of Sri Lanka’s reconciliatory attempts after 2009 maybe attributed chiefly to its lack of strategic vision to foster ideas of peace and reconciliation. Government of Sri Lanka has continued to believe in the power of material forces rather than the power of ideational forces. It is true that not only ideas, but material power as well matter a lot in attempts at state-building. However, whereas the primary focus should be given to the ideational realm, the Government has paid it very little attention. Therefore, reconciliation and positive peace have become a more distant possibility and this is costing the nation hugely in many ways. Government has failed to lead the nation(s) to think in terms of one nation because in its ‘imagined nation’ there is no scope for the imaginations of the minorities of the nation.                                                 Read More

Civil servants in Jaffna threatened to withdraw their support to NPC

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 February 2014, 22:58 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has been refusing to extend his cooperation to the repeated pleas made by the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran to appoint a non-military governor and to install a Chief Secretary capable of extending allegiance to the elected representatives of the NPC, has now gone to the extent of allowing the occupying Sinhala military in Jaffna to harass and threaten the other senior civil officials to render the NPC defunct. While escalating the rift between the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) councillors and the SL governor-installed chief secretary on one hand, the SL military on the other hand subjects the civil servants who extend cooperation to the elected NPC to systematic harassment and intimidation. 

Many senior civil servants of the Northern Provincial Council, who have opted to cooperate with the ministers of the NPC, are now being intimidated by the Sri Lankan military system in Jaffna not to cooperate with the ministries of the NPC. The intimidation has been stepped up in the last few days with phone threats and SMS messages originating from phone numbers belonging to the Sri Lankan military intelligence. 

The Sri Lankan Police in Jaffna is reluctant to act on the complaints being made by the civil servants on the threats. The police has also advised some of them to withdraw their complaints. 

The phone threats to NPC civil servants have been coming from phone numbers 078 636 74 73 and 077 222 69 69. Internal sources with the mobile phone provider confirmed that these phone numbers belong to ‘national security’ authorities. 

The latest victims of such threats are S. Sathiyaseelan, the secretary to the NPC ministry of education and K. Giritharan, the chief accountant, legal sources in Jaffna said. 

The latest discourse is just another example demonstrating the non-workability of the rotten 13th Amendment under the unitary state system of Sri Lanka, political observers in Jaffna say. 

Mr Wigneswaran has been extending a number of pleas to the SL President, first on the issue of non-military governor and then on the chief secretary who was not cooperating with the NPC. The NPC also moved resolutions on both the issues. But, all these efforts were to no avail. 

Lacking statesmanship in addressing the archer and the flawed system behind it, the TNA and the Chief Minister of the NPC chose to target the arrow, Ms Wijialudchumi Ramesh, installed by the colonial military governor Major General (retd) G.A. Chandrasiri, the political observers in Jaffna further said. 

Colombo has in turn encouraged the SL minister for Industries and Trade, Mr Rishard Badurdeen, who is behind many controversies in Mannaar and Vanni, to interfere in the dog fighting by encouraging the civil servant Wijialudchumi to hold political press conference and meetings in Colombo. A group of Sinhala extremist lawyers and trade unionists have been deployed to keep her locked to the fight. 

The lawyers group also considers filing lawsuits under the Sri Lankan judiciary, which in the past did away with the merged North East Provincial Council, news sources in Colombo said.

 Sri Lankan government to probe activities of Northern Provincial Council - report
Mon, Feb 10, 2014, 11:29 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Feb 10, Colombo: The anti-government activities of the Northern Provincial Council in Sri Lanka had come under government scanner and the government has decided to conduct a special investigation into the Council's recent measures.

According to a report in Sinhala weekly The Divaina on Sunday, the government has become seriously concerned with the activities of the Council violating the Constitution and working against National Security and the country's Foreign Policy and decided to conduct a special probe.
The government has requested a report from the Governor of the Northern Province G.A. Chandrasiri in this regard, the report said.

The government has also focused attention on a discussion held by the Provincial Minister of Education of the Northern Provincial Council Thambirasa Kurukularasa with the US Pacific Command for Asia Pacific region.

In addition, the government has reportedly learnt that some of the councilors of the Northern Provincial Council have instructed the schools in the north not to hoist the national flag and not to sing the national anthem.


Meanwhile, the intelligence services have informed the government that students at the Olumaddu School in Mullaitivu have been following the defunct terrorist group LTTE's greeting customs during school sports meets, The Divaina further said.

Tear Up The National Flag And Dump It !

 

By Muhammed Fazl -February 4, 2014

Muhammed Fazl

I call upon all Sri Lankans to tear up the national flag & dump it & demand a new one to be designed so as to create a state of unity, equality & justice and to ward off the curse that has engulfed us all, all along!

Reasons for my conclusion;

1. SL never had lions nor was a bone ever found. We don’t have a national animal (we have a bird though) and the lion supposedly is to show bravery of the Sinhala race. The country was in existence thousands of years before the advent of the Sinhala race and it will continue to exist for thousands of years more even if the race becomes extinct! Talking of origins, neither the race, its people or the language is native and it all evolved from Asia, particularly India, Nepal etc…

And of bravery, now that is a far cry from reality. Sri lanka is a land of cowards & traitors who meekly surrendered it to the Portuguese, the Dutch and finally to the Britishers. Our independence was NOT hard fought, we just got it on a platter. Even at that stage, we were made to think that the Britishers were doing us a favor and we even said ‘thank you Sir’ on bended knees. Let us also NOT forget that it was the ‘Sinhala’ race that instigated and sustained the struggle for the division of the country during the 1983-1998 war!

Full Story>>>

A traumatic past and a stifling present

MEERA SRINIVASAN-February 10, 2014

The Tamils of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province do not have it easy even five years after the war ended. But the language of war crimes alone would not address their problems

With its failure to convincingly address allegations of war crimes, or implement a meaningful process of reconciliation over the last five years, Sri Lanka finds itself trapped by international pressure ahead of the UNHRC meet in Geneva.

A Traumatic Past and a Stifling Present by nelvely

Tamil cattle farmers complain of Sinhala occupation in Chengkaladi division

[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 February 2014, 23:47 GMT]
Sinhala paramilitary known as ‘home guards’ from Thambitiya in Ampaa'rai district have encroached into the grazing lands near Nediya-vaddaik-ku'lam in Pu'liyadip-poaththanai in Chengkaladi, Batticaloa, occupying the lands for sugar cane cultivation. The occupying Sinhala military and Buddhist monks from Ampaa'rai have also been accompanying the intruding Sinhala home guards, civil sources in Batticaloa said. Pu'liyadip-poththanai is located on A5 Badulla - Chengkaladi Road in Kiththu'l GS area of Chengkaladi DS division. 

Pu'liyadip-poththanai, with a vast grazing land, has been used by the Tamil farmers. 

The latest land grab along the border of Batticaloa and Ampaa'rai districts has come while the Tamil cattle farmers association was engaged in renovating the tank. 

The occupation is also a sinister move to annex the area with Ampaa'rai district, civil sources in Batticaloa told TamilNet. 

A similar pattern of occupation and land grab is also reported in Kevu'liyaa-madu and Katchchatkodi Suvaami-malai villages in Paddippazhai division along the district boundary between the two districts.

Sinhala Rulers waste Trillions Tricking the UN Trounce Rights of Eelam Tamils

By: Dr C P Thiagarajah

The news of a 3rd resolution by US and allies on Sri-Lanka in the UNHRC had been floating around for a long time. Movement of UN, US, and UNHRC staff in out of Sri-Lanka had been very frequent recently. The Sinhalese who carried out an alleged war crime and genocide in May 2009 in the last war against the indigenous Tamil population in their Traditional Homeland (TH) of North and East of Sari-Lanka are on pins as to what will happen to their Sinhala hero.

Sinhala Rulers Waste Trillions Tricking the UN Trounce Rights of Eelam Tamils by nelvely

Reckoning must begin


Editorial Tamil Guardian 10 February 2014
Almost five years after the fighting ceased, impunity still rules. Quiet diplomacy, expert reports, video footage of atrocities and two UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolutions have failed to force Sri Lanka to fall in line. Instead, emboldened by the lack of international action and the military defeat of the LTTE, an increasingly brazen Sri Lankan state is rebuffing the international community, whilst systematically dismantling the Tamil nation and its homeland in the North-East. Sri Lanka's lamentations of insufficient time and space belie a reality where the more time and space granted, the worse the situation becomes for the Tamil people. The end of the armed conflict, far from bringing them the promises of peace, left them at the mercy of a Sri Lankan state drunk on its Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism. Amidst this intensifying crisis, Tamils both at home and abroad, along side all those who believe in justice and accountability, have high expectations for the year to come. As all eyes look to the UNHRC next month, on which key states have pinned warnings and deadlines, the calls for an international inquiry are at fever pitch. 

Sri Lanka cannot investigate itself - no word or deed over the coming weeks, months and even years will change this. For over six decades successive governments of both main parties, have failed to provide justice for Tamils. Anti-Tamil riots, assassinations of Tamil journalists, killings of ACF aid workers and the Trinco 5, as well as the recently unearthed mass grave in Mannar stand as inescapable reminders of the impunity with which anti-Tamil crimes are carried out. Moreover, as a report published last week on impunity in Sri Lanka notes, there are suggestions that the government may have already begun destroying evidence on a large scale. Ultimately, the allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are too serious to be addressed through any internal inquiry. Put simply, how can Sri Lanka, which orchestrated the mass killing of the Tamil population in the Vanni with the silent endorsement of its wider polity, judiciary and civil society, investigate itself? Indeed over the past five years Sri Lanka has proved itself to be false. Its tale of zero casualties and soldiers armed with a gun and human rights charter, now stands as a fiction that was used to hide a horrific truth. Similarly, its present tales of development and reconciliation, are but a façade covering a programme of re-engineering the ethnic demography of the North-East through militarised colonisation and a catalogue of abuses including coercive birth control, rape, abductions and murder. 

It is within this context of deepening crisis that the spotlight created by high-profile international visits is emphatically welcomed by the Tamil people. Personal visits to the Tamil homeland and direct engagement with Tamil politicians and activists, have served to create space for Tamil voices in the North-East to be aired on an international stage. However, as the Defence Ministry's call for Ananthi Sasitharan to be 'rehabilitated', and the  intimidation of Tamils who speak to international visitors illustrates, grave risks remain. Indeed despite the clear warning by US diplomat Nisha Biswal against intimidation of such Tamils, a government-aligned news site vilified them as “informants” - a sinister move that brands all Tamils engaging with the international community as enemies of the state and thereby, 'legitimate' targets. As international visitors to the North-East would have observed, the reverse is also true - their engagement with the Tamils, earns them the ire of the Sri Lankan state. From defamatory remarks in the Sri Lankan press, to the refusal of a visa to a US official, Sri Lanka no longer cares to even pretend to play by the rules. Meanwhile, international engagement with Tamils has highlighted yet another deepening polarisation on the island: whilst Tamils call out for yet more, Sri Lanka responds with increasing hostility and cries of neocolonial interference. 

It comes as no surprise that even when faced with intimidation, given the slightest space to speak, Tamils in the North-East call for an international inquiry, most recently witnessed through the passing of a resolution at the Northern Provincial Council. Indeed despite a prevailing tendency to decry a seeming lack of Tamil unity by pointing to effective family squabbling, there is unanimous agreement on key issues. Tamils across the world, whether they are situated in the homeland, diaspora, or even Tamil Nadu, are calling for an international investigation. Likewise however, there is an increasingly accordant Sinhala move against such an investigation, at best calling for yet more time to launch an internal inquiry, and at worse co-opting the government line of defending a 'righteous war on terror'. The UNP's almost hysterical criticisms against the government, are not for their inaction over Tamil injustice, rather over the government's failure to stave off international scrutiny. Indeed to this end, the UNP has consistently sought to work with the government, perversely united against justice for the Tamil people. Equally dismaying are pleas from Colombo civil society groups to delay an international inquiry, arguing it would jeopardise their operative space. This ignores the fact that for over sixty years, Colombo's civil society has consistently failed, whether through a lack of capability or will, to deliver justice to Tamils. It is an uncomfortable truth that despite immediate calls for an international inquiry into the military's shooting of three Sinhala protesters in Weliweriya, there is persistent Sinhala unity on deflecting an international inquiry into the killings of tens of thousands of Tamils. 

Five years ago, as Tamils stood on the streets of world capitals, helplessly calling on the world to act, it failed to do so. This year, as the call for an international investigation by Tamils and non-Tamils alike grows louder by the day, the question being asked, is will the international community deliver justice for what it failed to prevent? Sri Lanka's wanton disregard for international criticism and calls to abide by accepted norms is precisely why, now more than ever, warnings and deadlines pinned to the UNHRC must be effected. Key member states must make an unambiguous call for an international inquiry. Fear of having such a motion defeated within a notoriously self-interested circle, should not deter responsible states from putting it forward and building support for it. Tabling a resolution calling for an international inquiry sends a powerful message on the global stage: on the question of crimes against the Tamil people, Sri Lanka cannot investigate itself. It also stands as a pledge of will, which can be pursued through multiple avenues; after all, the fight for justice was never to end in March. Ultimately, a resolution which sanctions Sri Lanka's status quo, not only sanctions the Rajapaksa regime, but emboldens other rogue states, who would not fail to see the international community barking empty threats. The warnings must be realised, and the reckoning must begin.

The Sri Lankan justice system cannot ensure accountability for human rights violations and war crimes - ICJ

The Sri Lankan justice system cannot ensure accountability for human rights violations and war crimes - ICJ

February 10, 2014
With its failure to convincingly address allegations of war crimes, or implement a meaningful process of reconciliation over the last five years, Sri Lanka finds itself trapped by international pressure ahead of the UNHRC meet in Geneva.

The Sri Lankan justice system cannot ensure accountability for human rights violations and war crimes – ICJ... by nelvely

UN, Sri Lanka discuss ties

By admin on February 10, 2014

The United Nations (UN) and the Sri Lankan Government today had discussions on future ties between the world body and Sri Lanka.

Haoliang Xu, the UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director, UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, who is on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka, met with Kshenuka Senevirathne, Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, to discuss Sri Lanka’s engagement with the UN and UNDP, the External Affairs Ministry said.

The External Affairs Ministry said that the meeting provided the opportunity to explore common interests that would further strengthen UNDP’s partnership with the Government of Sri Lanka.

On arriving in Sri Lanka the UN official had said he hoped to assess the human development progress in Sri Lanka.

Xu will undertake a visit to UN / UNDP supported development projects in the Northern Province, focusing on livelihood recovery and socio-economic development.

“UN’s work in Sri Lanka has shifted largely towards more development-focused programmes. While understanding the impressive progress made so far, I also look forward to better understanding the human development priorities of the country as well as how we as the United Nations could strengthen our support to achieve these priorities,” he said.

Xu further added that his visit will in particular focus on UNDP’s Programme in Sri Lanka, in the areas of access to justice, gender equality, socio-economic development, empowerment and disaster risk management. (Colombo Gazette)

Who Is Kshenuka ? : Tigress Or Lioness

Who Is Kshenuka  Tigress Or Lioness by nelvely

Sri Lanka: Stop Hoodwinking The Public Over Kidney Disease

By Amarasiri de Silva -February 10, 2014

Dr. Amarasiri de Silva

The disease picture in Sri Lanka is fast changing. An increase in sedentary occupations, less physical exercise and new dietary practices are seen as factors that have contributed to an increase in cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity, especially in urban areas. Ecological changes and the use of agrochemicals have led to asthma, various cancers, and kidney disease in rural areas. These non-communicable diseases [i.e. cardiovascular, etc. as well as asthma, etc.] have become the major disease category in the country over recent decades. The latest addition to the list is Chronic Kidney Disease with an unknown causation [aetiology] or CKDu.

CKDu is something new, and it is spreading in many tropical countries. The production and development [pathogenesis] of this type of kidney disease is unknown and is not linked to traditional factors such as hypertension and diabetes.  One explanation for the emergence and spread of CKDu is that it is due to global warming [that exacerbates dehydration, which is linked to kidney failures and stone disease]. In Sri Lanka, it has been suggested that the cause is ecological change brought about by the green revolution, which has seen the introduction of many new agricultural practices, such as the application of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and new water management and irrigation systems. Some have even postulated that the chemical and biological warfare that occurred during the secessionist war fought by the LTTE against Government forces introduced deadly chemicals into the ecosystem of the northern region.  Because of the difficulties involved in identifying of the cause of the disease, it has become known as CKDu, or CKD with unknown aetiology or ‘u’.

CKDu seems to have been first identified in the 1980s in a hospital in Anuradhapura. Records show that the first death of a patient identified as having the disease occurred in 1993. Since then, the disease has been reported in many parts of the northern regions of Sri Lanka, and has spread into the districts of Badulla and Hambantota. In 2010, there were 20,336 confirmed CKDu patients in Sri Lanka (MOH data 2010). The largest proportion of these patients was reported from Anuradhapura District (8,044 cases or 39.5%), while Badulla District (4,656 or 22.9%), Mulaitive and Vavuniya Districts (1,287 or 6.3%), Kurunegala District (1,251 or 6.1%) and Ampara District (977 or 4.8%) recorded the second, third, fourth, and fifth highest numbers of patients respectively. CKDu has become the most researched and highly debated disease category in contemporary Sri Lanka.

Read More