Heads roll at Inland Revenue Department

 Tuesday, 25 February 2014 

Several senior changes have been made at the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) just before the impending retirement of the Commissioner General Mallika Samarasekara, official sources said, triggering concern that an irregular appointment would be made.

Ms. Samarasekera’s appointment in 2011 was smooth compared to earlier when trade unions opposed the appointment of outsiders to this key post.

K. A. P. Kaluarachchi, Deputy Commissioner General is on the verge of retirement while H. B. A. Seneviratne, Senior Deputy Commissioner General has been posted at the Finance Ministry as senior tax consultant, just five months before Ms. Samarasekara is due for retirement, the sources said.

However Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera has given an assurance to senior IRD officials at a meeting held at the Finance Ministry this week that a competent and qualified official will appointed as the next Commissioner General but he declined to comment on the seniority basis, these sources said.

The department is also confronted with a major shortage of highly professional staff to establish a good governance structure.
The Department has to fill 775 vacancies including the posts of 3 deputy commissioners, 126 posts of senior and general assessors’, 469 senior and general tax officers and 177 officers of other ranks.

Interviews to recruit suitable persons to fill these vacancies are now being carried out but finding suitable and qualified candidates have become a difficult task, the sources revealed.

Dr. Jayasundera has emphasized the need to recruit younger professionals to fill these vacancies and to reorganise tax administrations along functional lines, adopt a national system of unique taxpayer identification numbers, strengthen audits and improve tax payer services.

A Revenue Administration Management Information System is being introduced with technical assistance of the Singapore Government.

Human resource development on subject specific knowledge and change management is being done through distinguished institutions including the National University of Singapore and other training programmes supported by the Asian Development Bank, the sources added.

Agency banking networks

• Sri Lanka’s Praja Naya Niyamaka (PNN) Scheme

February 25, 2014 

Total Financial Inclusion (TFL) is the dream of all those who are concerned about exclusion of the poor, marginalised and displaced, from the formal financial sector.
The poor, even when they manage to pull themselves out of poverty, often fall back into poverty when faced with a financial shock, with which they are unable to cope. They have to raise emergency funds to meet expenses connected to death, sickness, crop loss, livestock theft, etc. This is where micro insurance schemes can play a vital role.
In the absence of micro insurance, the local money lender or pawn broker is the recourse if the victim is not a member of a group of micro savers such as those set up by financial service providers such as micro finance institutions or a Seetu group (ROSCA, Rotating Saving and Credit Group.) India has resorted to an interesting experiment, Bank Agent Networks.
Praja Naya Niyamaka

Agency Banking Networks by nelvely

BRITISH INMATE DIED OF HEART ATTACK – PRISONS DEPT.

February 25, 2014

The cause of death of a British national at the Magazine Prison in Colombo has been confirmed as a heart attack, the Department of Prisons said today.  

Viswalingam Gopidas, who was arrested and imprisoned on charges of aiding the LTTE organization, had suddenly passed away due to an ailment yesterday (24) morning.

Commissioner General of Prisons, Chandraratne Pallegama stated that the inmate had fallen ill at around 7.30am yesterday and died shortly after being admitted to the prison hospital. 

 The 41-year-old citizen of Britain was serving a sentence until 2015, however was scheduled for an early release under prisoner exchange, the prisons department said. 

Northern Province health sector underdeveloped – Dr. Sathyalingam

By Mirudhula Thambiah- February 25, 2014
Health Minister of the Northern Province, Dr. P. Sathiyalingam, said the health sector in the Province is facing many setbacks, and had been neglected even though it was nearly five years since the end of the war.
 
He went on to say that he had met with the Minister of Health, Maithripala Sirisena, recently, and in the course of the discussions, had sought his support to uplift the health sector in the North. Dr. Sathiyalingam added that the sector lacks both manpower as well as facilities in the Province.
 
The Health Minister of the Northern Province also said   he had brought the situation in this regard, to the notice of the officials of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
 
Responding to the concerns expressed by Dr. Sathiyalingam, Minister Sirisena had reportedly said that there was a shortage of doctors in all the districts, and he was taking steps to fill the vacancies.   
 
“Northern Hospitals are continuing to adopt the old methods of entering pertinent details as well as maintaining the database in books. However, such information is not being fed into a computer, and in an endeavour to revamp the administration and develop the health sector, we have decided to computerize all data,” he said, and added that they had sought financial assistance from UNICEF to computerize the administration of the Northern Health Ministry.
 
Head of the Health Unit, UNICEF, Dr. Esatulla Majeed, had pledged the necessary assistance to develop the health sector in the Northern Province, Dr. Sathyalingam said. 

Money laundering through duty-free vehicle purchases

 Tuesday, 25 February 2014 

Central Bank and Customs officials have found the money launderers are paying premium prices to purchase duty-free vehicle permits.

The trend has reportedly come to light at a top level conference of Central Bank and Customs officials.

Officials from the two institutions have discussed whether advertising of such permits should be banned.

A local media report states that a duty-free permit to import a vehicle now fetches a profit of between Rs. 800,000 and Rs. 1 million.

“We are trying to prevent persons buying vehicle permits in large numbers and giving legitimacy to their undeclared money,” a senior Central Bank official has been quoted as saying.

He has said that if investigations reveal that anyone had been involved in money laundering legal action would be taken.

The government offers more than 5,000 duty-free permits to ministers, MPs, senior officials, provincial council ministers and religious dignitaries. However after the government relaxed the regulation enabling permit-holders to sell their permits most of them have opted to do so.

The Central Bank has directed the Customs to keep a close watch on those importing vehicles on duty-free permits.

13-year-old found dead in IDP camp 
By S.G. Nathan-February 25, 2014

A 13-year-old girl was found dead on Sunday in a camp for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Pattithidal in Thoppur division.

The body has been taken to the Trincomalee Hospital for post-mortem examination, Thoppur Inquirer into Sudden Deaths, A.J. Noorulla, said.

The deceased girl is a Grade Seven student. She was displaced from Sampur during the last leg of the war and sheltered in Pattithidal IDP camp.

Muttur Police are conducting further inquiries.

Monk arrested for molesting minor 
 February 25, 2014
A Buddhist monk has been arrested by Koslanda Police on the charge of molesting a 13-year-old student, who was attending the Sunday Damma School at the monk's temple.
 
According to the police, the child had been molested several times by the 36-year-old monk, since October 2013.
The suspect is due to be produced before the Bandarawela Magistrate today.
Koslanda Police are conducting further investigations.

Fourth daring heist by helmeted robbers

February 24, 2014, 10:23 pm 

By Norman Palihawadana and Madura Ranwala

Armed robbers wearing full face helmets staged a heist at a private bank in Kohuwala, yesterday morning.

Three other heists have been carried out in a similar manner in Matugama, Malabe and Negombo recently.

Two robbers armed with a gun and a sword entered the Nations Trust Bank Kohuwala branch around 10.20 a.m. and got away with nearly Rs. 1.5 million in cash and a gold chain snatched from a female bank officer.

The duo also grabbed Rs. 55,000 from a customer.

They had used a red motorcycle for the robbery, the police said.

The robbery took place near the Balapokuna Junction, where the bank is situated and the suspects entered the premises as ordinary customers.

Kohuwala police who had commenced investigations by examining the CCTV camera footage of the bank would be able to arrest the robbers very soon, a senior police officer told The Island.

Police have recorded statements from 15 eyewitnesses.

According to the police bank security officers were not armed at the time of the incident and they were being questioned.

The bank branch was closed after the robbery.

Six teams from the Kohuwala Police have been deployed to arrest the suspects.

Another team from the Mount Lavinia Crime Unit is also investigating the heist.

India: Concern mounts over anti-corruption party’s economics

Former New Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Admi leader Arvind Kejriwal. Pic: AP

By Asia Sentinel Feb 25, 2014

Aam Admi looks like it wants to turn India back to socialist days, writes Asia Sentinel’s Neeta Lal

After a stunning victory in the New Delhi elections two months ago on a platform of rooting out corruption, the shine is coming off Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Admi Party because of concerns over the party’s economic platform.

Kejriwal resigned as chief minister on Valentine’s Day after a tumultuous 49 days in office, triggered by the engineer-turned-politico’s failure to introduce an anti-corruption bill. But just before resigning, Kejriwal’s government filed a police complaint against Mukesh Ambani, the country’s richest man and chairman of Reliance Industries, for “creating an artificial shortage of gas in the country”.

Though such allegations are hardly new for Ambani, Kejriwal’s finger-pointing sans evidence and the way in which he quit office have raised serious questions about the rookie politico’s economic policies and his approach towards businesses.

That concern has intensified as after winning 28 of the 70 seats in the Delhi assembly, and being pushed into forming a minority state government with the backing of Congress in December, the AAP is now setting its sights on the national stage. It plans to field candidates in most of India’s 543 constituencies for the forthcoming general election.

(MORE: India readies for the biggest election on earth)

AAP’s ambitions are increasingly being watched by Indian business leaders and urban liberals with trepidation who feel the party’s economic policies are incoherent, hostile to the free market and don’t infuse confidence in India Inc. The party fulfilled a campaign pledge to block foreign-owned superstores, including Wal-Mart, from opening in Delhi, saying they would drive India’s ubiquitous family-owned shops out of business, and has threatened to limit foreign investment, a troublesome concern in a country starved for foreign investment.

On Sunday, Kejriwal followed up on his charges against Ambani, launching a nationwide campaign by going after not just Ambani but the Congress and BJP parties as well, saying the Reliance owner had funded the campaigns of both the BJP’s prime minister candidate Narendra Modi and that of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. Kejriwal has repeatedly accused the tycoon – as well as his billionaire brother Anil – of influencing the current administrative system to land key projects and acquire huge sums of money.

“Corporates are worried. Kejriwal talks about businesses and politics being hand-in-glove but making such sweeping statements and accusing respected businesses without evidence is not conducive to the country’s business climate,” said Amar Aggarwal, a third generation jeweler in Delhi’s walled city.

Industrialists are also wary of its pursuit of what they term as the party’s “socialist, left agenda” which they feel is too ambitious and tough to implement. Many dismissed as impractical and unworkable Kejriwal’s decision to provide 700 liters of free water and halve electricity tariffs to Delhi’s residents soon after coming to power. The main worry was: Can the state exchequer, already burdened by subsidies, afford a higher dole out?

Kashmiri villagers clash with police over suspected shooting of civilians

Police station torched in Indian Kashmir amid suspicions security forces shot dead seven civilians after mistaking them for rebels

Kashmir police at a parade on Monday. The army said it had killed seven militants during a joint operation with police. Photograph: Mukhtar Khan/AP

Agence France-Presse in Srinagar-

Tuesday 25 February 2014

Hundreds of angry villagers have clashed with police in Indian Kashmirfollowing suspicions that security forces shot dead seven civilians they mistook for rebels.

The villagers torched a police station in the forested Kupwara region close to the defacto border with Pakistan to demand security forces hand over the bodies for identification and burial, an unnamed police officer said.

"Police fired tear gas and warning shots in the air to disperse the angry crowd who were hurling rocks at them," the officer said on condition of anonymity.

A local resident, Manzoor Ahmed, said by phone that one villager was shot and wounded during Tuesday's clashes before paramilitary reinforcements were called in to control the situation.

He said villagers suspected that seven people killed overnight on Monday were civilians rather than armed rebels, as rumours circulated about civilian hunters who had gone missing.

On Monday, the army said it killed seven suspected rebels in Dardpora, a remote village 87 miles (140 kilometres) from the main city of Srinagar, during a joint operation with police.

"The identities of the seven are being ascertained," army spokesman NN Joshi told AFP.

The shootings took place near the highly militarised border that divides the Himalayan region between India and Pakistan. Both countries have claimed the territory in full since independence from Britain in 1947.

About a dozen militant groups have been fighting Indian forces since 1989 for independence or to merge the territory with Pakistan. The fighting has left tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, dead.

The Indian government and security establishment have recently expressed fears of a possible escalation in rebel activity ahead of the country's general elections due by the end of May.

The Indian army has also expressed concern that battle hardened fighters from Afghanistan might turn their attention to Kashmir once again after the withdrawal of US troops from that country.

Horse-trading for Ukraine's new government - video

TUESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2014
Speaking from inside the Rada, Ukraine's parliament building, Matt Frei explains the horse-trading between rival parties as they vie for prominence in the country's new government.

கைதியின் மரணம் ஒரு அரசியல் கொலை என்பதை இலங்கை அரசு மறுக்க முடியாது; மனோ கணேசன்

25 பெப்ரவரி 2014, செவ்வாய்

தமிழ் அரசியல் கைதியான  விஸ்வலிங்கம் கோபிதாஸ்சின்  மரணம் ஒரு அரசியல் கொலை என்பதை இலங்கை அரசு மறுக்க முடியாது என ஜனநாயக மக்கள் முன்னணி தலைவர் மனோ கணேசன் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

தமிழ் அரசியல் தடுப்பு கைதியின் மரணத்துக்கு இலங்கை, இங்கிலாந்து அரசுகள் இரண்டும் பொறுப்பு கூற வேண்டும்

2007ம் வருடம் கட்டுநாயக்க விமான நிலையத்தில் வைத்து கைது செய்யப்பட்ட இவர் ஒரு பிரித்தானிய பிரஜை. கடந்த ஏழு வருடங்களாக சிறையில் தடுத்து வைக்கப்பட்ட நிலையில் 2009ம் வருடமும், 2011ம் வருடமும் சிறைக்குள்ளே தாக்குதல்களுக்கு உள்ளாகியுள்ளார்.

இதனால் இவர் தொடர்ச்சியாக உடல் உபாதையால் அவதிப்பட்டுள்ளார். அதேவேளை லண்டனில் வசிக்கும் இவரது மனைவியையும், பிள்ளைகளையும் பிரிந்து வாழ்ந்ததும் இவருக்கு பாரிய மன உளைச்சலை தந்துள்ளது.

இந்நிலையில் இவர் தற்போது கழிவறையில் இறந்து கிடக்க காணப்பட்டுள்ளார். இவரது மரணத்துக்கு உடனடி காரணம் எதுவாக இனிமேல் சொல்லப்பட்டாலும்கூட, இந்த மரணம் ஒரு அரசியல் கொலை என்பதை இலங்கை அரசு மறுக்க முடியாது என அவர் சுட்டிக்காட்டியுள்ளார்.

இந்த விவகாரம் தொடர்பில் பிரித்தானிய அரசாங்கமும் பொறுப்பு கூற கடமைப்பட்டுள்ளது. இது தொடர்பாக பிரித்தானிய அரசு இலங்கை அரசிடம் இப்போதாவது கேள்வி எழுப்ப வேண்டும்.

தமிழ் அரசியல் கைதிகள் விவகாரத்தை முடிவுக்கு கொண்டுவர இந்த அரசு பிடிவாதமாக மறுத்து வருகிறது. இந்த விவகாரத்தை விரைவில் முடிவுக்கு கொண்டு வரும்படி இலங்கை அரசின் கற்றுக்கொண்ட ஆணைக்குழு அறிக்கையில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

அதையும் செய்ய இந்த அரசு தவறியுள்ளது. தமிழ் கைதிகள் ஒன்றில் உடல், உள உபாதைகளால் கொல்லப்படுகிறார்கள். அல்லது அடித்து கொல்லப்படுகிறார்கள்.

தமது பிரஜையின் மரணம் தொடர்பாகவும், அவர் மீது கடந்த காலங்களில் நிகழ்த்தப்பட்ட தாக்குதல்கள் தொடர்பாகவும், இவர் தொடர்ந்து தடுத்து வைக்கப்பட்ட விசாரணை விவகாரங்கள் தொடர்பாகவும் பிரித்தானிய அரசு இலங்கை அரசிடம் இப்போதாவது கேள்வி எழுப்ப வேண்டும் என கேட்டுகொள்கிறேன் என அவர் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார்.

How to spot the difference between a terrorist and a journalist

It can be tough telling innocent hacks from violent insurrectionaries. Index on Censorship is here to help

By Index on Censorship / 21 February, 2014

To: All Governments

From: Index on Censorship

Index on Censorship here. We’ve noticed some you have had trouble telling the difference between terrorists and journalist lately (yes, you too Barack: put the BlackBerry down). So we thought as people with some experience of the journalism thing, we could offer you a few handy tips to refer to the next time you find yourself asking: journalist or terrorist?

How to Spot the Difference Between a Terrorist and a Journalist by nelvely

India likely to back UN war crimes investigation of Sri Lanka
Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan president

Mon Feb 24, 2014 
A leaked report from India states that the government will back the inquiry into war crimes against Sri Lanka when the case reaches the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHCR) next month.

India Likely to Back UN War Crimes Investigation of Sri Lanka by nelvely

The Paradigm Shift That Northern Chief Minister Calls For

By Jehan Perera -February 24, 2014

Jehan Perera

Most of the political analysis at the present time revolves around the forthcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.   The latest are the two options that the government appears to be developing, wooing supportive countries to come up with a counter-resolution, and wooing South Africa to assist in the formulation of a truth and reconciliation process as an alternative to an international investigation into war crimes.  But there are also other important developments taking place in the country which require equivalent analysis.  One of the most important of these is the relationship between the central government and provincial council and the sharing of power between them.  The root cause of the war, which has led to the charges of war crimes, was the dispute about the sharing of power between the Sinhalese-dominated central government and the Tamil-majority parts of the country, specifically the Northern and Eastern provinces.

The issue of power sharing between the central government and provincial councils has come to the fore since last September, when the Northern Provincial Council began to function for the first time since the system of devolution was set up 26 years ago.  At the present time, it is the only opposition-led provincial council.  The other eight provincial councils are all controlled and dominated by the government.  The Northern Provincial Council is acting as a true opposition, seeking to expand its powers and to challenge the central government’s unwillingness to engage in even a limited form of power-sharing.  The views therefore that emanate from the Northern Provincial Council are a challenge to the government.  The most recent challenge is the resolution passed by it that calls for direct air links between the Jaffna and the southern parts of India as well as the development of the harbor in the Jaffna peninsula that could facilitate trade links with India, which the government argues are outside the purview of the provincial councils.

The ideal situation would be one in which the central government and provincial councils do not work in opposition to each other in a zero-sum game, in which one side gains and the other side loses.  The better way forward would be for all sides to gain through cooperation. But for this to happen there needs to be a change of spirit.  There is no doubt that external relations are the preserve of the central government.  But the provincial councils are entitled to contribute to the policy discussion, which has been the case in this instance.  The Northern Provincial Council is not setting up its own airports and harbours, but is calling on the central government to do so.   The approach that the central government ought to take and the spirit that should guide it was dealt with at a conference on Socio-Economic Development in the Northern and Eastern Provinces organized by the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka at which top academics made presentations.                                                                             Read More

Sri Lanka needs an international investigation

(Mon, 24 Feb 2014

Click here to sign the petition

The UN Human Rights Council will meet in a few short weeks. They must use this opportunity to pass a resolution that will include a commitment to an Independent International investigation in Sri Lanka the form of a Commission of Inquiry. Only this will help to put the country on the path to justice and reconciliation.

Although the long-running civil war ended in May 2009, a lasting peace is not in sight and we remain gravely concerned for the future of Sri Lanka and its people. A fear and sense of injustice persists, not just among minorities and political activists, but among ordinary people desperately trying to rebuild their lives.

Only an independent international investigation of these atrocities will end this culture of impunity and give Sri Lanka a chance to climb out of its cycle of violence towards a lasting peace.

Click here to sign the petition

The British specifically promised to pursue such an investigation in November. We have designed a specific version of the petition above to demand that the British Prime Minister keep his promise.

If you are in the UK click here to sign the UK specific version

Please consider helping us cover the running costs of the campaign with a donation:

Sri Lanka; Official Language Policy implementation at snail’s pace; not a single prosecution so far

Sri Lanka; Official Language Policy implementation at snail’s pace; not a single prosecution so far

No Tamil in this military sign board

Sunday, February 23, 2014

The pace of implementing the Government’s Official Language Policy has been far from satisfactory, Minister of National Languages and Social Integration Vasudewa Nanayakkara told The Nation. Minister Nanayakkara admitted the Government had not gone speedily enough when it came to ensuring language equality in the country. He also acknowledged that not a single prosecution had so far been conducted with regard to language violations. “This is a matter for the Attorney-General’s Department and they have to advise us. However, nothing has been done for the last two years,” he further stressed.

The Nation pointed out that the legal requirement of giving due prominence to Sinhala and Tamil, the two official languages, and English which is the link language, was still being ignored in many places, to which he agreed. “If you look at Vavuniya, you have notices in all three languages. However, as you come further down to somewhere like Anuradhapura, the notices only appear in Sinhala. This is true, but the task we have is also enormous and we have been trying very hard”.

He added restructuring the Official Languages Commission was being given priority in implementing that language policy. “The commission is currently housed in two or three cubicles. They just don’t have the space to accommodate new staff. I have told them for over a year now to look for premises that can accommodate them better, but this has still not been done,” the minister revealed.  The commission currently lacks a full-time chairperson, while the post of director-general remains vacant. Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Official Languages has been undertaking secretarial duties of the commission, which is not proper given his position, according to the minister. Such shortcomings have made speedy implementation of the language policy difficult and Nanayakkara acknowledged he was disappointed at the pace of progress.

“However, we have a research officer currently looking into the restructuring of the commission and we also hope to introduce amendments to the Official Languages Commission Act so that the process can go forward at a faster rate,” the minister said.

  By  Sandun Jayawardana  

Sri Lanka warns of US threat to South Asia

By Agencies- 2014-2-24

The Sri Lankan Government on Sunday warned that the USGovernment may pose a threat to the entire South Asian region.

Sri Lanka's National languages and Social Integration Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara urged South Asian countries not to leave room for the United States to pass a resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva next month.

The minister warned that Washington may attempt to use the resolution to force a change of government in Sri Lanka. He said that interfering in Sri Lanka's domestic affairs could be the first step by the United States to interfere in the South Asian region.

The United States is to sponsor a resolution on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC next month which is expected to call for a UN-backed investigation into war crimes in Sri Lanka. Human rights groups allege that war crimes were committed by the military during the final stages of the war against the Tamil Tiger rebels, an allegation the government denies.

The rebels were defeated in May 2009 after 30 years of fighting but human rights groups claim that some 40,000 civilians were killed in the process.

The US-sponsored resolution is expected to have the backing of several member countries at the UNHRC, including Sri Lanka's biggest neighbor of India.

However, Minister Nanayakkara said the Sri Lankan Government appreciated the decision taken by India to ban a controversial film on Sri Lanka. He recalled that India had even refused to grant a visa to the director of the movie "No-Fire Zone," who has been accused by the Sri Lankan Government of playing into the hands of Tamil Tiger sympathizers.

Festering wounds of Sri Lanka’s war

On the fifth anniversary of the end of the war in Sri Lanka, major challenges remain unresolved.

Amarnath Amarasingam

Amarnath Amarasingam is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University and also teaches at Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo.

The Tamil Tigers enforced a mandatory draft towards the end of the conflict when many of their fighters died [Reuters]

Festering wounds of Sri Lanka’s war by nelvely

Former Sri Lankan military officer Dinesh Perera now acting operations manager of Manus Island detention centre

By Jeff Waters-   Mon 24 Feb 2014

Human rights and asylum seeker advocates are condemning a decision to employ a former Sri Lankan military officer as the acting operations manager of the Manus Island detention centre.

Former Sri Lankan Military Officer Dinesh Perera Now Acting Operations Manager of Manus Island Detention Ce... by nelvely