Young MPs urge government to open dialogue with Diaspora

 Thursday, 27 February 2014

A group of young parliamentarians representing several political parties have called on the government to build a dialogue with members of the Sri Lankan Diaspora in order to ensure there is sustainable reconciliation in the country.

The parliamentarians have reportedly been working towards promoting positive and open dialogue with Diaspora communities since 2011.

Gampaha District SLFP parliamentarian Vasantha Senanayake has been quoted in the media as saying that a report on the issues raised by the Diaspora and recommendations in addressing those issues was handed over to the government by the group of young parliamentarians.

He has observed that the cross-party parliamentarians have the support of their respective party leaders while National Languages Minister Vasudeva Nanayakara had shown interest in the initiative.

Other parliamentarians in the group are Niroshan Perera (UNP), HunaisFarook (All Ceylon Muslim Congress), Harin Fernando (UNP) and Shehan Semasinghe (SLFP). Tamil National Alliance political activist Raghu Balachandran is also part of the group.

INSTRUCTORS UNION TAKES TO THE STREETS...

February 26, 2014

The All Ceylon Teacher Instructors Union launched a protest this morning (February 26) in front of the Isurupaya in Battaramulla demanding authorities to establish teaching instructor services in the country. (Pics by Osanda Daham Nimsara)

Obstructing the election meetings of the Democratic Party

Government undermines the essence of elections

Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) has observed that the continuous obstruction of electioneering for Democratic Party (DP) has violated the fundamental rights enshrined by the Sri Lankan constitution while undermining the essence of the electoral process.

Recently CaFFE issued a press release stating that DP has been continuously harassed by the agents of government and supporters of UPFA politicians. The party has been barred from holding election rallies, especially in Hambantota District. In addition several incidents of intimidation have also been reported.

CaFFE has observed that DP has not been allowed to hold any meetings in building/property that belongs to the local councils (in respective districts) and that the police have consistently refused to allow the party to use Public Announcing systems when they are to hold rallies/meetings in private premises. This has prevented the DP from propagating its views to a wider public and has significantly weakened their election campaign. However such restrictions are not imposed on UPFA or the UNP, which also is a violation of the principal that everyone should be treated equally.

The DP has informed CaFFE that permission has not been given to hold seven meetings which are to be held between today (February 27) to March 23 in Hambantota District. Today, CaFFE witness the blocking of the meeting in Weeraketiya, which is an open harassment to carry out political activities of a political party.   We see that this is an infringement of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the Sri Lankan constitution as well as several of the international agreements we are a party to.

CaFFE requests the relevant authorities to ensure a level playing field to all political parties which is a hallmark of a free and fair election. This is a must for maintaining people's faith in representative democracy and the belief that political change is possible through peaceful means.

181 NOTORIOUS CRIMINALS ELECTION CAMPAIGNING

2014-02-26
The police headquarters has received information that 181 notorious criminals belonging to 15 groups of thugs have come to the Southern and Western Provinces to work in election campaigns.

A survey conducted by the Police headquarters had found that among those criminals were those who had involved in election law violations in the elections held during the recent past, a senior police official told ‘told the media
Police headquarters had sent details of these persons to all police stations in the Southern and Western Provinces and instructed to keep a tab on them.

The police have also requested all political parties not to employ thugs in their electioneering activities.

According to the findings of the survey the highest number of thugs and criminals are involved in campaigning in the western province.

COORDINATING SECRETARY OF DEPUTY MINISTER DIES AFTER CONSUMING POISON

February 27, 2014 
The Coordinating Secretary of the Deputy Minister of Coconut Development and Janatha Estate Development died today (February 27) after consuming poison at his residence.

Gamini Ranasinghe, aged 52 years, is a resident of the Serukale area in Anamaduwa. Last evening, he consumed poison at his home and was rushed to the Chilaw hospital.

He subsequently died in hospital this afternoon (February 27) while the reason for his suicide has not yet been uncovered. 

Rajiv Gandhi killing: Supreme Court stops release of four convicts serving life term, including Nalini Sriharan

Four Rajiv Gandhi assassins who are serving life terms

by A Vaidyanathan, Edited by Deepshikha Ghosh | February 27, 2014

New Delhi:  The Supreme Court today stopped the Tamil Nadu government from releasing four of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassins who are serving life terms.

Last week, the court had stopped the state from freeing the other three assassins - Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan - who have been spared execution because of an exceptional delay in a decision on their mercy plea.

The court today said it will decide, within a week, on the fight between the Centre and Tamil Nadu over who can decide on freeing all seven convicts.

"Our intention is not to stop the release. We will lay down guidelines. Every state must be aware of rules and procedure to be followed," said the Chief Justice of India, P Sathasivam.

Tamil Nadu had said that it would be within its rights to release Murugan's wife Nalini Sriharan, Robert Pious, Jayakumar and Ravichandran, who are serving life terms.

"If we wanted, we could have released these four. Why should the Centre rush to court?" the state government argued in court, which responded by asking, "Who is rushing? You or the Centre?"

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's announcement that she would let off the seven convicts was seen by critics as a blatantly populist move ahead of the national election three months away.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said freedom for the convicts would be contrary to all principles of justice as Rajiv Gandhi's assassination was "an attack on the soul of India."

The seven people have spent over 20 years in jail. Nalini, who was earlier on death row, was granted mercy on the intervention of Rajiv Gandhi's widow and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991 by a woman operative of the Lankan Tamil separatist outfit LTTE, who greeted him with a bomb strapped to her chest during a rally in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. For years, the case has been linked to Tamil sentiment and all regional parties in the state have campaigned for the convicts' release.

Remembering Colvin And Abolishing The Executive Presidency

By Jayampathy Wickramaratne -February 27, 2014

Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne PC

This week we remember Dr. Colvin R. de Silva, on the 25th anniversary of his death on 27 February 1989. The country lost a brilliant lawyer, a fine orator and an exemplary parliamentarian. Hardly a week passes without a newspaper article lamenting the absence of leaders of his ilk.

It was the Left that spearheaded the campaign against the introduction of the executive presidency in 1978 and today we remember Colvin when the country is feeling the full force of the executive presidency, strengthened to the utmost by the Eighteenth Amendment.

If there is one statement that epitomizes the Sri Lankan Left’s unswerving opposition to the executive presidency and its preference for the parliamentary form of government, it is one made by Dr. de Silva in the Constituent Assembly in 1971: “There is undoubtedly one virtue in this system of Parliament … and that is that the chief executive of the day in answerable directly to the representatives of the people continuously by reason of the fact that the Prime Minister can remain Prime Minister only so long as he can command the confidence of that assembly. …We do not want either Presidents or Prime Ministers who can ride roughshod over the people and, therefore, first of all, over the people’s representatives. There is no virtue in having a strong man against the people.” He was responding to a proposal by J.R. Jayewardene that the country should have an executive presidency. He explained: “We want an evolving society, and therefore we want a constitutional system that permits the evolution, that facilitates the evolution, that propels the evolution, and that itself evolves with the evolution. Nothing less would do.”

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Peer suggests government has broken promise on Sri Lanka

26 February 2014 Last updated at 17:19

Conservative peer Lord Naseby has suggested the government is not abiding by David Cameron's promised timetable for co-operating with the UN to set up an independent inquiry into claims the Sri Lankan government carried out war crimes.

Cross-party support in House of Lords for international investigation of Sri Lanka atrocities
27 February 2014
The Senior Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Baroness Warsi, speaking at the House of Lords, noting recommendations made by the UN Human Rights Chief in a report released last week, reiterated the UK’s commitment towards passing a resolution for an international investigation into crimes in Sri Lanka. 

Sri Lanka

Question

Wednesday, 26 February 2014.

Asked by Lord Naseby

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by the Prime Minister on 16 November 2013 that the United Kingdom would allow Sri Lanka until March to begin credible investigations into allegations of war crimes before taking steps through the United Nations, why they are already working to influence the United Nations Human Rights Council to call for an international investigation.

Lord Naseby (Con): My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I declare an interest as chairman of the All-Party British-Sri Lanka Group.

Peer Suggests Government Has Broken Promise on Sri Lanka by nelvely

MEPs vote to criminalise buying sex

European parliament backs the 'Nordic model' of prostitution, which legalises the selling of sex but criminalises buying it

The yes vote puts pressure on member states to re-evaluate their policies on sex work. Photograph: Raymond Roig/AFP

Maya Oppenheim-

Wednesday 26 February 2014

The European parliament has voted in favour of a resolution to criminalise the purchase of sex.

On Wednesday, 343 MEPs backed a report proposed by the London MEP and Labour spokeswoman for women in Europe, Mary Honeyball, which recommends the adoption of the "Nordic model" of prostitution that legalises selling sex but criminalises buying it. Some 139 MEPs voted against;105 abstained.

The yes vote formally establishes the EU's stance on prostitution and puts pressure on member states to re-evaluate their policies on sex work.

"Today's outcome represents a vital signal from MEPs that we cannot continue to tolerate the exploitation of women," Honeyball said. "Rather than blanket legalisation, parliament has backed the more nuanced approach already practised in Sweden as a means of tacklingprostitution. This punishes men who treat women's bodies as a commodity, without criminalising women who are driven into sex work.

"The idea that prostitution is the oldest profession leads some to think we should accept it as a fact of life, that all we can do is regulate it a little better. This course of action leads to an increase in prostitution levels, normalising the purchase of sex and ingraining the inequalities which sustain the sex industry."

The issue was brought to the fore in January when MEPs voted in favour of a report from the European parliament's women's rights committee that argued prostitution and trafficking were a fundamental violation.

Sweden was the first country to criminalise the purchase of sex, in 1999. Since then the Nordic model has become increasingly popular across Europe. Norway and Iceland adopted the model in 2009, and in December 2013 France followed suit. The main alternative to the Nordic model is the Dutch-style legalisation championed by the Netherlands and Germany, which fully legalise prostitution.

The issue of criminalisation is contentious. Supporters of the Nordic model say prostitution is inherently exploitative and that the criminalisation of sex-buyers will lead to a reduction in prostitution. While they argue that the model will ensure the conviction of sex buyers and the protection of prostitutes, proponents of decriminalisation fear the opposite. They argue that criminalising prostitution will drive sex work underground and increase the vulnerability of prostitutes.

Honeyball maintains that many women who sell their bodies for sex have been trafficked or coerced into doing so. She argues that "very few women work in prostitution completely of their own free will, and choices made in conditions of being unequal cannot be considered free".

Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, says women and girls constitute 96% of trafficked people. It adds that 91% of trafficking cases relate to sexual exploitation, while only 7% relate to labour exploitation and 2% to other forms.

Most of the victims of sexual exploitation are trafficked to countries where prostitution is legal and/or regulated, rather than countries which adopt the Nordic model, Europol says.

Myria Vassiliadou, the EU anti-trafficking co-ordinator, said: "If hundreds of thousands of women are trafficked, there will continue to be hundreds of thousands of customers. We must stop the demand and recognise the clear link between trafficking and prostitution … We need to create a culture where buyers are aware that the women they are buying services off might be victims of trafficking."

However, several anti-trafficking campaigners have criticised the proposal to criminalise prostitution. Some 450 civil society organisations and 45 researchers oppose the Nordic model.

Luca Stevenson, who co-ordinates the International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe, said: "The criminalisation of clients is not only ineffective in reducing prostitution and trafficking, it is also dangerous for sex workers. It increases stigma, which is the root cause of violence against us. It is a failed policy denounced by all sex workers' organisations and many women's, LGBT and migrants' organisations, as well as many UN bodies."

Ana Mohr, who supports sex workers in Bucharest, and has been lobbying MEPs to vote against the EU resolution, said: "The Nordic model increases the vulnerability of prostitutes and pushes sex work underground. In essence, criminalisation leads to stigma, and stigma leads to harassment."

She added that women who were forced to give up prostitution would be left with few alternatives to make money.

A spokesman for Anti-Slavery International said the Nordic model did not go far enough. "A comprehensive range of legislation is needed to ensure the prevention of trafficking and the provision of victim protection," he said. "Women who are forced to become prostitutes via trafficking are examples of modern-day slavery."

Ukraine unrest: Russian fighter jets on 'combat alert'

THURSDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2014

Armed men seize the regional government headquarters in Crimea. Ukraine summons the Russian ambassador after Russian fighter jets put on "combat alert".

Ukraine Unrest Russian Fighter Jets on 'Combat Alert' by nelvely

Kerry warns Russia that military action in Ukraine could lead to international backlash

By Anne Gearan, Published: February 26 E-mail the writerVideo- February 26

The United States warned Russia on Wednesday against military intervention in Ukraine and said any incursion could lead to a broad international backlash.

Secretary of State John F. Kerry also pledged $1 billion in emergency U.S. loan guarantees to help Ukraine’s new, temporary government as it reels from the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych last weekend.

“I don’t think there should be any doubt whatsoever that any kind of military intervention that would violate the sovereign territorial integrity of Ukraine would be a huge — a grave — mistake,” Kerry said in a roundtable interview with reporters.

The United States, United Nations and others would react, Kerry said, without specifying how.

The Obama administration is trying to avoid a confrontation with Russia over the fate of the former Soviet republic, whose Russian-speaking eastern areas identify strongly with Moscow, while also firmly defending the former opposition figures now at the helm in Kiev.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered large-scale military exercises, raising fears that the decision was a prelude to invasion. The restive Crimean region on the Black Sea, once part of Russia proper, is seen as a potential flash point.

Kerry suggested it would be hypocritical for Russia to send in forces after objecting so forcefully to outside military action in Syria and Libya, but he also stressed that Washington is not looking for a fight.

“This is not ‘Rocky IV.’ It is not a zero-sum game,” Kerry told reporters. “We do not view it through the lens of East-West or Russia-the U.S. or anything else. We view it as an example of people within a sovereign nation who are expressing their desire to choose their future.”

The White House said President Obama and Putin had agreed on the importance of all sides refraining from violence in Ukraine when the two spoke by phone late last week. Kerry said he will see Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov next week.

Those who threw off the Yanukovych “kleptocracy” now badly need international help, Kerry said. He urged Ukraine to stick to a fast calendar for elections, while undertaking difficult fiscal reforms and anti-corruption measures that would allow wider investment by the International Monetary Fund.

The $1 billion U.S. loan guarantees would allow quick loans from the IMF or other international financial institutions. They would be followed by a much larger international aid package that is expected to include European and U.S. contributions and international loans.

“There’s got to be some reality here,” Kerry said. “I don’t think it’s enough for us to be heralding the advent of democracy and to applaud the courage and conviction of the people who brought about this transition and then just not do anything. I think that’s unconscionable.”

Ukraine’s deep fiscal crisis is one of the roots of three months of political upheaval that culminated in the abrupt ouster of Yanukovych. He had walked away from a European Union economic alliance last fall in favor of a short-term bailout from Moscow, setting off street protests and demands for his resignation.

Kerry also cautioned the former opposition not to overreach. The new government must answer to the people, or “they could then find themselves opposed by the very people who were pushing for these changes.”

Separately, Kerry predicted confidently that even if Afghan President Hamid Karzai continues to boycott a security agreement with the United States, his successor will agree to it. The agreement would allow a small number of U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan after this year.

“It will be signed,” Kerry said.

President Obama pressures Afghanistan leader Karzai on security deal
President Obama orders the Defense Department to prepare to withdraw all U.S. troops by year's end if Afghanistan doesn't sign the pact.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during a news conference last year at the White House with President Obama. (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press / January 11, 2013)

By Shashank Bengali and Ken Dilanian

February 25, 2014, 7:33 p.m.

WASHINGTON — Signaling his frustration with events in Afghanistan, President Obama ordered the Pentagon on Tuesday to step up plans to withdraw all U.S. troops by January if Afghan leaders don't sign a bilateral security agreement.

In an unusually blunt statement, the White House said Obama had telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to make it clear that he had authorized new contingency planning before a two-day meeting of NATO and allied defense ministers in Brussels this week that will focus on long-term security efforts in Afghanistan.

Obama said it was still possible to conclude an agreement after elections to choose Karzai's successor on April 5. But he warned that "the longer we go" without a deal, "the more likely it will be that any post-2014 U.S. mission will be smaller in scale and ambition."

Republican critics have said keeping U.S. special operations forces and drone bases in place is crucial for battling terrorist networks in neighboring Pakistan. But Obama appeared to downplay that mission, saying "going after the remnants of core Al Qaeda could be in the interests" of the United States and Afghanistan.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who was traveling to the NATO meeting in Brussels, called it a "prudent step" to start planning for a complete pullout of the 33,600 U.S. troops still in Afghanistan after nearly 13 years of war.

"We were not actively planning for complete withdrawal and now we will," said Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary.

The harsh language highlights the rift between Obama and Karzai, as well as growing reluctance in the White House to further extend what already is the longest war in U.S. history.

Obama has made clear his intention to end America's wartime footing, and the announcement comes a day after Hagel previewed a proposed Pentagon budget that would cut 120,000 personnel from the active and reserve Army ranks, retire entire fleets of Air Force aircraft and mothball 11 Navy warships.

White House officials have hinted for months that they would consider pulling all U.S. troops out by year's end, but the so-called zero option was widely seen as a ploy to pressure Karzai to approve the bilateral accord, which gives U.S. troops legal protection for their actions. The Afghan leader has given no indication he will sign, however.

Now some senior Obama aides have begun to embrace the prospect of a full pullout, arguing it would be both politically popular at home and strategically viable given other military options in the region, according to a senior administration official who declined to identify the aides. The administration's contingency plans include using air bases in Central Asia to conduct drone missile attacks in northwestern Pakistan, U.S. officials said this month.

Obama ordered all U.S. forces from Iraq in 2011 after Prime Minister Nouri Maliki refused to sign a similar bilateral security agreement. The administration now is providing weapons to help Maliki's government fight Al Qaeda-linked militants and other extremists who overran the strategic city of Fallouja last month.

Pentagon officials say a pullout from Afghanistan could allow Taliban fighters to rebuild their forces, threaten the government in Kabul and deepen instability in Pakistan. Afghan security forces are improving, the officials say, but still need training and intelligence-gathering capabilities.

A U.S. withdrawal would result in "a proliferation of terrorist and other militant groups operating on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border," said Seth Jones, a Rand Corp. analyst with close ties to the U.S. special operations and intelligence communities.

The loss of CIA bases for armed drone flights and intelligence operations also would limit U.S. options, said Richard Russell, professor of national security affairs at the National Defense University. "You need to have people on the ground exploiting leads."

But Pentagon planners increasingly share the White House's exasperation, particularly after Kabul released dozens of prisoners from the formerly U.S.-run prison at Bagram air base this month over strong U.S. objections. U.S. officials had turned over evidence linking the prisoners to attacks on coalition forces and Afghan civilians.

One U.S. Defense official said Obama's announcement means military planners from America's North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies and the International Security Assistance Force, who have an additional 19,000 troops in Afghanistan, can discuss options for pulling their forces out at the meetings in Brussels, which start Wednesday.

"This will help inject more certainty, not complete certainty, into the discussions," said the official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

There was no immediate reaction from Karzai's office. Former Afghan officials said Obama's comments were unlikely to sway the Afghan leader, noting that he had ignored an influential council of Afghan dignitaries that overwhelmingly endorsed the security deal in November. The council included some Afghan presidential candidates.

"I don't think that he will react to such pressure," said Said Jawad, a former Afghan ambassador to Washington, who served on the council. "In the past, he has proven to enjoy saying no to the U.S. and acting much tougher than he is perceived to be."

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

ken.dilanian@latimes.com

Times staff writers Christi Parsons and David S. Cloud contributed to this report.

Sri Lanka: Briefing exposes how activists brave retaliation before UN human rights session

26 February 2014

Repression usually intensifies whenever Sri Lanka’s human rights situation is in focus internationally.

© Demotix

“

The pattern of harassment, surveillance and attacks against those opposing the Sri Lankan authorities is deeply disturbing and shows no sign of letting up

”

Polly Truscott, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia- Pacific Director

Wed, 26/02/2014

The Sri Lankan government’s targeting of critics persists at alarming levels, with more surveillance and harassment reported ahead of next month’s UN Human Rights Council (HRC) session, Amnesty International said in a new briefingtoday. 

Suppressing calls for justice, examines the Sri Lankan authorities’ intolerance of dissent and its attacks on critics over the past six months, either directly or through proxies that range from security forces to supporters of Buddhist-nationalist groups and even immigration officials. 

“The pattern of harassment, surveillance and attacks against those opposing the Sri Lankan authorities is deeply disturbing and shows no sign of letting up,” said Polly Truscott, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia- Pacific Director. 

“Repression usually intensifies whenever Sri Lanka’s human rights situation is in focus internationally, something we are already seeing ahead of the UN Human Rights Council next month.” 

Since the end to the protracted armed conflict with the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) in 2009, the government under Mahinda Rajapaksa has led a crackdown on those it perceives to be opposing them. 

Opposition politicians, human rights activists, journalists, lawyers, trade unionists and many others have been harassed, threatened, violently attacked or even killed by the government, its supporters or security forces. 

This trend has grown even more stark during high-profile international events putting the spotlight on Sri Lanka’s human rights situation. 

The run-up to the HRC in March, when a vote is expected on a resolution calling for an international investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, has been no exception. 

As the briefing shows, Amnesty International has continued to receive credible reports of activists facing surveillance and harassment 

“The climate of fear is very real in Sri Lanka. Many people are too afraid to speak out. But Sri Lanka also has some very brave activists, who continue to be vocal despite facing retaliation,” said Polly Truscott. 

“Some even dare to attend international meetings that could actually lead to an improved human rights situation. The UN should make every effort to ensure that they are protected.” 

The visit by UN human rights chief Navi Pillay to Sri Lanka in August 2013, and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo (CHOGM) three months later both saw human rights defenders being harassed and threatened. 

Past UN HRC sessions in 2012 and 2013 where Sri Lanka’s human rights record was discussed saw the same disturbing pattern. 

The government has reserved particular ire for those calling for an international investigation into alleged war crimes during the armed conflict, when the UN estimates that more than 40,000 people were killed during the bloody final months alone. 

Activists demanding an end to enforced disappearances by security forces have received threatening phone calls and visits, and on several occasions police stood idly by as mobs attacked peaceful protests for accountability. 

“Sri Lanka is doing whatever it can to avoid accountability for the alleged horrific violations by its security forces during the armed conflict,” said Polly Truscott. 

“We urge UN member states to use the HRC to agree a strong resolution establishing an independent international investigation into alleged war crimes. And it is equally crucial that the world does not lose sight of the still very troubling assault on dissent in Sri Lanka today.” 

The briefing documents how healing and justice are being denied as Sri Lanka’s political leadership wages an intense assault against critics and exploits religious tensions leading to attacks minorities. They have launched threats and smear campaigns against human rights defenders, minority opposition politicians, and international visitors who advocate human rights accountability in Sri Lanka. 

Sri Lanka is also increasing its use of immigration to silence dissent. Authorities have deported several foreigners participating in human rights-related meetings, and used immigrations officials to put pressure on others, including foreign media and visiting activists and politicians.