Lankan refugee ends hunger protest

 Friday, 11 April 2014

After observing a fast-unto-death for 34 days demanding the closure of special camps for Sri Lankan refugees in the Tamil Nadu, Sri Lankan Tamil Chenthuran (alias) Murugan on Thursday called off his hunger strike following an assurance from senior police officers who promised to look into his demands.

Also, he demanded the police not to invoke the Foreigners Act against Sri Lankan Tamils ​​and drop all the cases filed against him.

Chenthuran (32) ended his fast at 7 am on Thursday by drinking tender coconut water, said his wife Mangayarkarasy. She along with her daughter came to meet her husband who was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at the Government Vellore Medical College Hospital. He began his fast-unto-death protest on March 7 when he was arrested by the Q branch CID under the provision of Foreigners Act, after he came out on bail. He was shifted to the hospital on March 3 after his health condition worsened.

After the senior police officers were informed of the health condition of Chenthuran who started vomiting blood, IG Kannappan and ADGP Ramanujam spoke to Chenthuran over the phone during the early hours of Thursday.

"The police officers told my husband to end the protest temporarily. They explained to him that they would not be able to take a decision in the present situation (elections), "Mangayarkarasy said.

After the elections were over, they would look into the demands of her husband, she said and added that he refused to call off his hunger protest despite she pleading him to, on Wednesday.

"But, he was determined to continue his protest until his demands were fulfilled. He continued the protest despite knowing his health condition. He suffered a stroke on Wednesday night. The doctors told me that my husband is putting his life in grave danger, "said Mangayarkarsay.

She complained that despite the High Court granting permission to her to meet her husband two hours a day, the police on security duty were making her wait for long hours. Mangayarkarasy had to come all the way from Pammal in Chennai.

The doctors told her his sugar-level had shot up, so has his blood pressure. "He was hail and healthy before he started his hunger protest for 42 days in year 2012," Mangayarkarasy added further.

Following Chenthuran's 34-day hunger protest, the State government had released 17 Sri Lankan from Special Camp at Chengampet. They were shifted to the open camps.

Sri Lanka: 60 Tamils ​​detained for subversive acts. PoliceSri Lanka: 60 Tamils ​​detained for subversive acts. Police

Sri Lanka: 60 Tamils ​​detained for subversive acts. PoliceSri Lanka: 60 Tamils ​​detained for subversive acts. Police

Tamils ​​protest over detentions

Friday, April 11, 2014 

Police said today that 60 people including 10 women had been arrested and detained by the Terrorist Investigations Division (TID) during the past two months for allegedly supporting subversive activities in violation of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Police spokesman Ajith Rohana said they were arrested amidts reports of a reemergence of the LTTE. Most of the arrests have been done after a policeman was shot in Kilinochchi by KP Selvanayagam also known as 'Gobi' a former LTTE operative who escaped after the shooting.

  "They were arrested for being involved in LTTE propaganda, transferring money and accepting foreign donations and taking steps to create a rift among the main nationalities," he said.

 They were arrested during raids carried out in Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mannar, Mullaitivu, Jaffna and Colombo.

  "We arrested 65 but we did not have evidence against five of them; they were subsequently released by the investigators. The others are being held at detention centres, "he said.

  "We have detained them at detention centres gazetted by the Ministry of Defence. We have given them the required facilities and the Red Cross can anytime check or inspect them, "he added.

 SSP Rohana also rejected allegations levelled against the police of not providing proper facilities for the detainees and a report that a woman held at the Boosa Detention Centre had to undergo an abortion. (Supun Dias)

The Assassination Of Ranjan Wijeratne

By  Rajan Hoole  - April 11, 2014 

Rajan Hoole

The 1990s: The Culture of Untruth and a Perilous Vacuum Part 2

To a Government used to thriving on crises, the assassination of Ranjan Wijeratne came as both a setback and an opportunity. He was killed in a car bomb blast in Havelock Road on 2nd March 1991. Killed along with him were 25 civilians and 6 STF men who were in his escort. Despite there being several reported complications, the LTTE were believed to be responsible. Several questions were raised in the Press at that time as to whether the LTTE could have acted alone. These concerned logistics and intelligence. There were also reports of anonymous telephone calls warning some persons in the area before the incident.

At one level, Wijeratne was a failed strategist. Trying the methods which succeeded against the JVP in the North-East had swelled the LTTE's ranks and got the Army bogged down. Yet it was he, who as minister, had regularly visited the soldiers in the front, kept a sense of movement and boosted the morale of the troops.

Wijeratne was not a normal politician. Blunt and straight talking, he remained the successful planter in politics. He was known to be honest. It was suggested by a senior journalist that Wijeratne was probably the only UNPer who, during the insurgency, did not maintain back-door contact with the JVP. A particular impression about him needs to be questioned - that he was content to play faithful second fiddle to Premadasa. However, others better informed maintain that he was ambitious and no less so than Gamini Dissanayake or Lalith Athulathmudali. Premadasa owed to him the presidency and repaid the debt by making him foreign minister and deputy defence minister. Equally, it was true that had not Premadasa been made presidential candidate through Wijeratne's efforts, the power the latter wielded would have been modest.

His role in suppressing the JVP insurgency and then fighting the LTTE made Wijeratne very powerful. Premadasa is said to have been unhappy about Wijeratne executing Wijeweera without referring to him. There was a difference of approach. Ranjan Wijeratne regarded rebels with an elitist contempt. Premadasa had no qualms about rights and wrongs and accepted power as an unscrupulous game, but he emotionally identified himself with the social underdog. He pandered to the ideological propensities of the Sinhalese elite as a means to power and not because they mattered to him. His private detestation of the Sinhalese elite sometimes surfaced in below-the-belt shots at the Bandaranaikes in Parliament.                                       Read More

On rumble strip

Editorial- April 11, 2014

The government had apparently been cherishing many delusions until the last PC polls, one being that the people would keep giving it thumping majorities in spite of their economic difficulties simply because it defeated terrorism. The outcome of those electoral contests shook it awake, jolting it to go into damage control mode though there is no imminent danger of its collapse. The Opposition is still struggling to get out of a political mire of its own making and whether it will be able to regain lost ground and make a comeback in the foreseeable future remains to be seen.

However, the ruling UPFA has realised that something needs to be done urgently to grant the people some relief so as to arrest the erosion of its support base if trouble is to be avoided. It is against this backdrop that the much-advertised reduction in expressway tolls during current festive season should be viewed.

The government has hit the rumble strip. If it tries to speed away without heeding the warning, its journey is bound to end in disaster. It needs an immediate course correction.

Infrastructural development does not necessarily translate into votes unless the ordinary people benefit from it. Else, the UPFA would have been able to bag Hambantota with a record majority because it is there that the government has carried most of its mega development projects including an inland harbour and an international airport. In Colombo, people use the newly-built modern jogging tracks, repaved sidewalks, re-laid roads, promenades but vote for the Opposition. The expressways are too expensive to be of any use to the ordinary people who continue to crawl on old roads in their old vehicles.

The challenge before the government is to enable the common people to benefit from its expensive development drive. Ad hoc measures such as temporary toll reductions, however welcome they may be, won't work in the long run.

We suggest that the expressway tolls be brought down to realistic levels so that the ordinary people, too, would be able to use them. Moreover, people need food and other essential commodities at affordable prices.

Let the people of the Southern and Western Provinces be thanked for having knocked some sense into the government.

To nap or not to nap

Researchers preoccupied with increasing productivity put forth various theories from time to time, the latest being that workers' performance could be greatly enhanced by allowing them to catch forty winks in the afternoon. They declared a few months ago that their method had worked, and some companies adopted it. But, it is now being claimed that workers spend an hour or so to overcome grogginess due to napping. Besides, most workers are said to be abusing the so-called screen breaks.

Some international companies went so far as to set up nap rooms with a view to increasing the productivity of their workers, but they are reported to have imposed restrictions on relaxation breaks.

If naps help improve workers' performance, Sri Lanka should have the highest level of productivity in the world. For, most workers doze off fitfully during working hours, snapping back to work from time to time. They also nap, nay sleep, in buses and trains on their way to work. Their batteries are fully charged at any given time, so to speak. But, there has been no discernible increase in their productivity; the country is lagging behind the rest of the world.

Workers, no doubt, need breaks to beat stress and regain energy, but the wisdom of allowing them to nap at work stands questioned. Sleep not where you work and work not where you sleep!

Sri Lanka's chairing of Commonwealth criticised again  11 April 2014 Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Chairpersonship of the Commonwealth again drew critical attention this week in the wake of his government's categorical refusal to cooperate with the UN investigation into its mass atrocities and rights abuses On Thursday the Matter was raised in parliament Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague When Asked by his opposition counterpart Douglas Alexander was whether, in the light of the UN probe, he had to resign As Chairperson Asked President Rajapaksa.   Mr Hague replied any decision on the Chair-in-Office role is for all Commonwealth Heads of Government to take by consensus. He said Britain "fully supports" the investigation by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights authorised in a UN Human Rights Council resolution passed on March 27 and co-sponsored by Britain. Also Thursday, a senior Scholar at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, warned Sri Lanka's chairing the Commonwealth was 'annoying' the 53-member organization .  Sir Ronald Sanders, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute and a former Caribbean diplomat, said in an article on the institution's website: "The predicament for the Commonwealth is that President Mahinda Rajapaksa is the current Chairman-in-Office of the association, yet his government is refusing to accept and co-operate with a UN-mandated investigation. " such a Refusal is not consistent with the 'values-Based' organization claims that the Commonwealth is in numerous declarations that proclaim Its commitment to IT principles, including 'the Rule of International Law'. " If the Commonwealth does not take some form of action with the Sri Lankan Government about this Development, IT will be further criticised As hypocritical and meaningless. " Sir Sanders noted nine commonwealth countries had voted on the UN resolution in March - three in favour (Sierra Leone, Britain and Botswana), 3 against (Kenya, Maldives and Pakistan), and 3 abstaining (India, Namibia and South Africa). He said body that could take up the matter is the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), a group of nine rotating foreign ministers deemed a 'custodian of the Commonwealth's fundamental values ​​and principles', but which includes Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Professor GL Peiris . " So far CMAG has shied away From dealing with the Sri Lanka Matter On the basis that there has been 'no Serious or persistent violations' of Commonwealth fundamental values ​​- an assertion that has stunned Civil society organizations and some Commonwealth Governments . " The Commonwealth "has already been heavily criticised for failing to deal with the Sri Lankan government's unconstitutional impeachment of the Chief Justice and to investigate alleged attacks on journalists, human rights defenders, members of religious minority groups and other members of civil society, as well as on temples, mosques and churches, "he said.

Shaffters swindle Janashakthi Insurance money!

 Friday, 11 April 2014

Former chairman Chandra Schaffter and incumbent Prakash Schaffter are swindling the assets of leading Sri Lankan insurance firm, Janashakthi Insurance, internal sources at the firm told 'Lanka News Web.'

The father and son duo had sent millions of rupees of the firm out of the country on several occasions.

An internal audit has revealed that Rs. 500 million had been sent to England recently. The money sent to England on several occasions, has been investment in real estates in London, said the sources. The Schaffters live in Sri Lanka solely for business purposes, and consider England as their motherland

The Sri Lanka Securities and Exchange Commission had investigated several such instances and following an audit in 2008-09, it had recommended to the insurance regulatory commission to cancel the license given to Janashakthi Insurance. Prakash Shaffter had bribed a leading politician with Rs. 25 million and got the allegation covered up.

Furthermore, the father and the son are using leading cricket club Tamil Union as their personal property. The buildings constructed in the land belonging to this club had been built without proper permission. Tamil Union had disregarded a warning by the Urban Development Authority over that, and after which the building was to be dismantled, when the Shaffter duo had spent money on leading politicians and got the allegation covered up.

Swedish Govt. Appointee Dhanapala's Unethical Behavior Embarrassment To The SIPRI

April 11, 2014

Serious Questions have been raised in Sweden's Foreign ministry, after a Swedish media organization raised the Story of Ambassador  jayantha Dhanapala 's unethical role As a Director of Dialog Axiata PLC, a Sri Lankan digital Communications provider which is illegally blocking access to a number of Major news websites, the Colombo Telegraph has learnt.

Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Bildt

On Dhanapala serves the board of the Swedish Peace Research Institute , (SIPRI) which receives the Swedish Government From Its core funding. When contacted for comment by the media organization " Sydasien ", Director of SPRI, had replied through his Communications Director, to say," jayantha Dhanapala is a former Assistant Director-General for Disarmament in the UN and the current President of  Pugwash Conferences  . SIPRI relies fully on the Swedish government's decision regarding the appointment of members of the Board "

Nevertheless, the matter continues to be pursued by the Swedish Foreign Ministry.

Under the headline " SIPRI Director Involved in the strangulation of the Internet in Sri Lanka "  Sydasien  wrote; "Freedom On the Web for Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Bildt is a primary Concern.  Foreign Ministry  holds high the Banner and propagate internationally for Online Freedom. The government stresses freedom online as a cornerstone of democratic development. IT is  Foreign  Ministry who appoints board Members to SIPRI. The Vice President of SIPRI, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Now identified As Involved in the process known As' Internet  enemies' CAN  be seen As embarrassing to the organization's credibility. "(article From Swedish to English using google)

A number of Sri Lankan intellectuals have spoken out about the ethical incongruity of On Dhanapala's role while being a key member of the board of Dialog Forum Friday a vocal, high lobby Profile Sri Lankan Civil society Group.  

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Jim Flaherty's values ​​were forged by blue-collar roots, a big Irish family and heartbreaking adversity

CRAIG OFFMAN- Published Thursday, Apr. 10, 2014,

Right from birth, the odds were stacked against Jim Flaherty's success.

The sixth of eight children in a family of Liberal supporters. A hockey player measuring in at 5-foot-3. A kid from a blue-collar suburb navigating the leafy, gentlemanly climes of Princeton University. A twice-defeated candidate for leadership of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives. Hands on the country's purse strings just as all the money was vanishing.

Flaherty's values ​​were forged by jim Blue-collar roots, a Big Abadi family and heartbreaking adversity by nelvely

Burma's newspapers run black front pages in protest at journalist arrests

One journalist was imprisoned for 'disturbing a civil servant' and trespassing after attempting to interview an education official

A woman reads a newspaper with a black front page in Rangoon, Burma. Photograph: Khin Maung Win / AP

Friday 11 April 2014 

Burmese Newspapers Front pages PRINTED On Black Friday in protest against the arrests and sentencing of Recent Journalists, in the latest sign the country's media is worsening Climate.  

It came as Reporters Without Borders said it was outraged by the imprisonment of a Burmese journalist for trying to interview an education official.

Zaw Pe, a Journalist for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) News Website, was convicted by a court in the Central Town of Magway On Monday for "disturbing a Civil servant" and trespassing.  

He was jailed along with Win Myint Hlaing, the father of a student who accompanied him during a visit to the local education department about a story on a scholarship programme in 2012.

"It is unacceptable that local officials can obstruct a journalist's work and have him sentenced to imprisonment just because they feel he disturbed them," said Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific head, Benjamin Ismail.

"We call on the local authorities to release Zaw Pe and we ask the government to ensure that media freedom is respected equally everywhere."

Opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi warned on Friday that the country was "not yet a democracy".

Speaking in Berlin to accept a human rights award, she said Burma still needed a democratic constitution, true national reconciliation and a change of mindset among its ex-military rulers.

She urged the world to keep a close eye on the government and to ask: "Does it want to go toward a truly democratic union or does it want to go towards an authoritarian state disguised in democratic garb?"

Burma only recently emerged from a half-century of military rule. One of the most visible reforms since a new, nominally civilian government came to power in 2011 was a freeing up of the press. But media watchdogs say reporters still face intimidation, arrests and criminal charges, and that the media climate appears to be worsening.

In the past four months, at least six journalists and a chief executive of a news journal have been arrested on criminal charges, such as violating the state secrets act or trespassing. Two have been jailed, including a reporter for the influential Daily Eleven newspaper, working on a story about corruption, who was given a three-month sentence.

The Daily Eleven was one of the newspapers that published a black front page. "We are publishing the black front page in protest against the sentencing of the DVB reporter and also to oppose the recent harassment of journalists," said Wai Phyo, chief editor of Daily Eleven.

Amnesty International releases Manual to fight injustice

After popular demand, Amnesty International is issuing the second edition of its Fair Trial Manual.

© Amnesty International

At a Glance

• The   Fair Trial Manual   is Essential reading for anyone having to Battle against injustice  
• It provides practical guidance on which corners prosecutors must never try to cut
• It can also help to expose politically motivated show trials for what they really are
• This is the first update to the Manual in 15 years
• The first Manual was released in 1998, and has been translated into 15 languages

"

The Fair Trial Manual is essential reading for anyone having to battle against injustice

"

Michael Bochenek, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International

Wed, 09/04/2014

"

Amnesty's Fair Trial Manual ... helped to identify the political character of ME ... As well As My trial ME Teaching How to defend myself.  The Fair Trial Manual helped ME to reveal and resist the injustice of My trial

"

Albin Kurti, former political prisoner, leader of VETEVENDOSJE!  (SelfDetermination) Party, and deputy in the Kosovo Assembly

Wed, 09/04/2014

9 April 2014
A new resource to arm lawyers, defendants and the judiciary with the tools to fight against unfair trials and injustice is published by Amnesty International today.

A Practical guide Fair On the internationally Agreed standards for criminal proceedings, the Second edition of the   Fair Trial Manual  is the First update in More than 15 years.   

"The   Fair Trial Manual   is Essential reading for anyone having to Battle against injustice, "said Michael Bochenek, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International.  

"It provides practical guidance on which corners prosecutors must never try to cut. In extreme cases, it can also help to expose politically motivated show trials for what they really are. Even in the most oppressive states, where the judiciary is little more than a puppet for political masters, highlighting abuses can and does achieve results. "

Used by a Wide Range of Manual will be the people assessing the fairness of an individual criminal case or criminal Justice System.  These include:

• lawyers and judges acting in criminal proceedings
• trial observers, legislators and human rights educators
• human rights monitors working to assist efforts to re-establish the rule of law and in complex post-conflict situations

Used the political prisoners have also   Fair Trial Manual   to represent themselves in court-As a 'DIY Defence guide'. Albin Kurti was arrested in Kosovo in 2007 during which he helped to organize a protest. He spent Five months in Prison, and another Five months under house arrest. With the Manual As a guide, he was able to Secure his own release.       

"Amnesty's   Fair Trial Manual  ... helped to identify the political character of ME ME ... As well As My trial Teaching How to defend myself. The   Fair Trial Manual   helped ME to reveal and resist the injustice of My trial, "said   Albin Kurti  , former political prisoner, leader of VETEVENDOSJE! (SelfDetermination) Party, and deputy in the Kosovo Assembly.        

The Second edition of the Manual, Published by popular Demand, reflects the significant changes to the Global Legal and political context since the First edition.  Many new standards have been adopted, for Example, On Women deprived of Their Liberty and the right to access Legal Aid.  It also reflects the growing recognition that includes fairness and regard for the rights of Victims Fair trial rights that apply at MANY times and All in All circumstances, even during States of Emergency and armed Conflicts. 

The Manual includes dedicated chapters on death penalty cases, trials in armed conflict and fair trial rights of children. 

"Criminal trials are a litmus test for a state's respect for human rights. No matter what the crime, unfair trials deny justice for everyone involved: the accused, the victim, and the public," said Jill Heine, international human rights lawyer and lead author of the Amnesty International Fair Trial Manual. 

"We hope that people who use the Fair Trial Manual will be empowered to advocate around the world for fair trials and fair justice systems."

First Published in 1998 was principally the Fair Trial Manual to support Amnesty International Staff and Members.  However, IT was so enthusiastically received around the world that IT was in large Soon Demand and Published in 15 languages. 

Endorsements

Endorsements for the first and second editions of the Manual include:

• "It is a must for anyone involved in examining how well a criminal trial or criminal justice system meets international standards of fairness. IT is frankly an invaluable toolbox for any criminal Lawyer in practice, From beginner to seasoned Professional ... I intend to Keep My Manual by My Side. "    Keir Starmer, QC, former Director of Public Prosecutions in the UK 
• "When I Found the Fair Trial Manual, I Felt like I had struck Gold. IT explains the standards in a multitude of Legal Unable, straightforward and accessible Way."    Dr Vivienne O'Connor, U.S. Institute of Peace
• "The Manual has proved to be very valuable to have a checking issues for Source 'On the Go' Within a short period of Time, and As a reference Observation in Practical situations including trial."    Mervat Dorothee Rault, Human rights consultant
• "This is an important reference guide for ME and My fellow Judges."    Mohamed Tarawneh, Supreme Court Judge, Jordan
• "I have doubt that this will be extensively revised Manual Used by Little Human rights practitioners and activists in Their Day-to-Day Work."    Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, Human rights Legal Lawyer and senior analyst, Sri Lanka    

Met Police stop whistleblower's payMet Police stop whistleblower's pay

Friday  11 APRIL 2014

The whistleblower who exposed the police's manipulation of crime figures is being forced to go without pay for months by the Metropolitan Police, it has emerged.
Met Police Stop Stop Police Whistleblower Whistleblower's PayMet's Pay by nelvely

Saudi Arabia declares all atheists are terrorists in new law to crack down on political dissidents

Adam Withnall, The Independent | Apr 2, 2014, 05.58 PM IST

Saudi Arabia has introduced a series of new laws which define atheists as terrorists, a report from rights group Human Rights Watch says.

LONDON: Saudi Arabia has introduced a series of new laws which define atheists as terrorists, according to a report from Human Rights Watch. In a string of royal decrees and an overarching new piece of legislation to deal with terrorism generally, the Saudi King Abdullah has clamped down on all forms of political dissent and protests that could "harm public order".

The new laws have largely been brought in to combat the growing number of Saudis travelling to take part in the civil war in Syria, who have previously returned with newfound training and ideas about overthrowing the monarchy.

To that end, King Abdullah issued Royal Decree 44, which criminalizes "participating in hostilities outside the kingdom" with prison sentences of between three and 20 years, Human Rights Watch said.
Yet last month further regulations were issued by the Saudi interior ministry, identifying a broad list of groups which the government considers to be terrorist organizations - including the Muslim Brotherhood.

Article one of the new provisions defines terrorism as "calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based".

Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director of Human Rights Watch, said: "Saudi authorities have never tolerated criticism of their policies, but these recent laws and regulations turn almost any critical expression or independent association into crimes of terrorism.

"These regulations dash any hope that King Abdullah intends to open a space for peaceful dissent or independent groups," Stork said.

Human Rights Watch said the new regulations were also a setback to campaigns for the protection and release of a number of prominent human rights activists currently jailed in Saudi Arabia. It said Waleed Abu al-Khair and Mikhlif al-Shammari recently lost appeals and will soon begin three-month and five-year respective sentences for criticizing Saudi authorities.

The organisation said the new "terrorism" provisions contain language that prosecutors and judges are already using to prosecute and convict independent activists and peaceful dissidents.

Ukraine PM offers more power to eastern regions to quell crisis

Arseniy Yatsenyuk meets officials in Donetsk, where pro-Russian groups demand a referendum on independence from Kiev

Arseniy Yatsenyuk tells regional leaders he is committed to devolving More powers to Donetsk in Ukraine's regions. Photograph: Efrem Lukatsky / AP

 

Friday 11 April 2014

In an attempt to deepening the closure of Quelle Crisis in Eastern  Ukraine  , the interim Prime minister has More Close to devolve power to the regions.   

Ukraine PM Offers More Power to Eastern Regions to Quell Crisis by nelvely