From shanty to home : Myth vs reality of Colombo’s Urban Regeneration Project

Photo by Abdul-Halik Azeez, courtesy The Picture Press

by Iromi Perera 

- on 07/11/2014

The ambitious Urban Regeneration Project (URP) launched by the Ministry of Defense and Urban Development aims to transform Colombo into a world-class destination for tourism and investment. Central to this eliminating “shanties, slums and other dilapidated housing from the city of Colombo by resettlement of the families presently living under unhygienic and poor environmental conditions in such housing in new housing schemes of internationally recognized standards and in doing so to make the City of Colombo the most attractive city in South Asia”. Underlying this apparently laudable goal are however many myths and following are some of the key ones.

From Shanty to Home Myth vs Reality of Colombo’s Urban Regeneration Project by Maria Anderson

Morrison responds to questions over his Platinum-etched Sri Lankan tea set…

By Kate Doak.

JULY 11, 2014

The Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has responded to questions surrounding a gift that he received from the Sri Lankan Secretary for Defence and Urban Affairs Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa earlier this year during a Joint Working Group function on asylum seekers between Australia and Sri Lanka.

In a very carefully worded statement to The Deadly Newt, the Minister’s office refused to state why he decided to keep the seventeen-piece Noritake Odessa Platinum tea set that was presented to him by Mr Rajapaksa on the 22nd of April 2014, while suggesting that Mr Morrison was entitled to keep the platinum-etched gift from his Sri Lankan counterpart according to existing parliamentary regulations on such matters.

The Hon. Scott Morrison and Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa — Source: Sri Lankan High Commission in Canberra

“The item was a gift of the Sri Lankan Government”, stated a spokesman from Mr Morrison’s Ministerial office.

“The Minister has complied with the relevant guidelines on disclosure.”

The spokesman also declined to answer questions over the level of engagement that Minister Morrison and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship had partaken in with Mr Rajapaksa as a part of the repatriation of 41 asylum seekers to Sri Lankaover the last weekend, as well as the status of the professional and personal relationships between the two politicians.

According to overseas vendors, the Noritake Odessa Platinum china collection in a 17-piece configuration has a Recommended Retail Price between approximately $936.14 and when purchased either online or via authorised vendors. 

Noritake China – Odessa Platinum Collection. Photo courtesy ofwww.noritakechina.com

Morrison receives gifts from Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence officials

Leaking information, a qualification for promotion at SLBC

 

Friday, 11 July 2014 

After being accused of leaking tender and other confidential documents of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation to outsiders and given a punishment transfer from the Sports Division to the Cassettes Division, the notorious Harendra Liyanage has now been given a transfer. According to reports, he has been appointed acting controller of the Publications Division.

SLBC employees say that this promotion has been granted with the mediation of two top officials, one a female, of the institution and on political considerations.

Heaving a sigh of relief after his transfer, employees now wonder as to whether leaking confidential information has become a qualification for promotion at SLBC.

This man had once been a monk at a temple in Tangalle and arrived at SLBC in the 1990s to do a painting job during a renovation of its buildings.

Later, he had obtained a typist’s position without any qualification, but by way of using political affiliations and doing dirty work of top officials. After leaking confidential information of the institution, he has now secured a promotion, which is just one example of the low depth the home of broadcasting has fallen to, employees point out.

Gnanasara, rejected by the West, gets Australian visa!

 Friday, 11 July 2014

General

Bodu Bala Sena general secretary Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera has been given visa to tour Australia, say BBS sources.

By doing so, the Australian government has totally disregarded precedents given by the European Union and the US to cancel his visa immediately.

Accordingly, Gnanasara Thera is due to visit several Australian cities at the end of next month.

Early this year, the French embassy rejected his visa application, practically denying him permission to enter any European Union country. Gnanasara Thera has gone to the French embassy and told its officials that it was unfair to reject visa for him as the US has given him visa to travel to that country for five years. The officials have turned him back, saying that just because he has US visa, that does not make him entitled to obtain visa for the EU.

As matters stand thus, it is surprising that the Australian government has given him visa to set foot on its soil.

Anura Kumara comments on recent incidents and the rule of law

Anura Kumara comments on recent incidents and the rule of law

Jul 10, 2014

News1st provided footage of the incident in Divulapitiya to the Minuwangoda police upon a request made by the Police.

The footage was provided to the Minuwangoda Police a few days after the incident took place on June 23, which resulted in the death of an individual in police fire. We provided the footage to a police officer identified as M.B.C. Sampath on June 27  at 5 p.m.

News1st also provided evidence before court on the matter.

Meanwhile, JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, speaking in Parliament on Thursday said that the recent incidents bear witness that the rule of law in the country had collapsed.

The MP made this observation while speaking at the adjournment motion debate.

Please watch video.

“Campaign To Undermine And Disrupt Pope’s Visit To Sri Lanka” Says Catholics

 July 11, 2014

Kithu Handa (Voice of the Catholics) – the national movement to protect the Catholic religion asserts the demand made by  Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary, Galagoda Atte Gnanasara for the Pope to apologize to Sri Lankan Buddhists, is part of a plan that is being hatched to disrupt the Pope’s visit to Sri Lanka next year.

In a media statement released over Gnanasara’s comments, Kithu Handa states they have received information to believe that a campaign to undermine and disrupt Pope Francis’s visit to Sri Lanka in January 2015 is being carried out.

According to their release, the following proposals had been made at the Executive Board meeting of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress on February 11, 2014 as measures to be taken in light of the Pope’s visit to Sri Lanka.

·         Drafting and passing an act in parliament that would uphold Buddhism in light of the Pope’s arrival

·         Prevent Catholics from using phrases and expressions that are associated with Buddhist culture

·         Obtaining funds from Catholic churches to restore temples that had been damaged during the Portugese colonial era and to reclaim temple land in which Churches have been built and relocate such Churches

·         Urge the Northern Catholics to disown their links with the Tamil diaspora

·         Highlighting the stances that have been maintained by the Cardinal and Jaffna Archbishop on the ethnic Tamil issue

·         Considering Pope Francis as a state leader and not a religious leader and thereby ordering Buddhist monks to boycott Pope’s welcome event and handing over an official letter to the Pope inclusive of above mentioned proposals.

Kithu Handa has gone on to further criticize Gnanasara’s demand for the Pope to apologize to Sri Lankan Buddhists over the atrocities committed by Catholic/Christian colonialists.

“We regret his statement and we are also appalled at his words, which we believe has negatively impacted the reconciliation that Catholics and Buddhists have maintained over the years,” Kithu Handa media release states.

Furthermore it asserts that it is not the Pope who if at all should apologize to Sri Lankan Buddhists but the state leaders of Portugal, Netherland and England because it was their ancestral leaders who invaded countries and committed killings in the name of Catholicism/ Christianity to justify their ruthless economic and political agendas.

Namal pressurizes for Tangalle killer’s freedom!

 

Friday, 11 July 2014 

MP Namal Rajapaksa is indirectly pressurizing Colombo high court judge Rohini Walgama to release Nil Balakaya member, Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha chairman Sampath Chandrapushpa Vidanapathirana, who had murdered British tourist Kurram Shaikh and raped his Russian girlfriend at ‘The Nature’ resort in Tangalle on the 2011 Christmas Day, say reliable sources in the judiciary.

At MP Namal’s request, President’s Counsel Kalinga Indatissa is appearing free of charge for the main accused Vidanapathirana. Some days ago, Indatissa and additional solicitor general Shavindra Fernando both went to the official chamber of judge Walgama and discussed the case with her. Indatissa has claimed his client should be freed without calling for submissions from the defendants, as none of the charges contained in the indictment paper has been proven beyond reasonable doubt. Additional solicitor general Fernando too, has made the same claim and said the case is a very weak one.

Without showing much agreement to their request, judge Walgama has told Indatissa that it was better to call for submissions from the defendants. Accordingly, lawyers for the accused have taken steps to make their submissions.

Juge Walgama has discussed this with other judges in the high court, and all of them have advised her to give her ruling in consideration of all facts, as this is a case which is under international focus. A majority of these judges is of the opinion that the high court should find all accused guilty in such a manner that will enable any ruling at the court of appeal. Judge Walgama is now caught between the devil and the deep blue sea over this case, say the sources further. The verdict in this case is due before the end of this month.

Minister Ranawaka exposes Basil’s economic policies

 Friday, 11 July 2014 

Presenting a new economic development policy for Sri Lanka to more than 500 intellectuals and professionals at Waters Edge at Battaramulla last Monday, minister Champika Ranawaka strongly criticized the economic policy of the government. A majority of the participants said that minister Ranawaka, while being a member of the government, has dealt a severe slap on minister Basil Rajapaksa who is in charge of economic development.

“When compared with the GNP and import expenditure, export revenue is declining. Exchange rates are on the downhill. The repayment of loans together with interest is exceeding state income. Foreign debt, interest and instalments are increasing at an alarming rate compared to export income. Although absolute poverty is under control, the gap between the have and the have-not is increasing. There is a serious problem of inadequate capital investments and as if the government’s capital expenditure is realistic and is being spent on a priority basis. A social tragedy is imminent due to the promoting of an entertainment economy, and corruption, fraud are rife and there are governance allegations too,” he said, exposing before a group of knowledgeable and eminent persons the economic development ministry’s blowing of its own trumpet.

After hearing about this, minister Basil has went into a rage and raved that he would not allow him to continue for very long. Speakers at SLFP Bala Mandala meetings being organized by minister Basil these days have been ordered to repeatedly say the country has achieved considerable economic development due to the mediation of minister Basil. At the conclusion of a meeting in Diyatalawa, another government minister has referred to minister Basil and questioned as to how he could revive the country’s economy.

Corruption in Nigeria, not just Boko Haram, is at the root of violence

Secrecy surrounding security matters and deeply entrenched corruption are failing communities across the country

Philip Ikita-Friday 11 July 2014

Abuja, Nigeria, where a $470m CCTV system, in which few cameras function, has failed to prevent bomb attacks. Photograph: Olamikan Gbemiga/AP

Conflicts between pastoralists and resident local communities are not new in Nigeria. A violent attack on my village by nearby pastoralists in northern Nigeria in June highlights yet again the inability of the military to tackle this aggression.

Corruption in Nigeria, Not Just Boko Haram, Is at the Root of Violence by Maria Anderson

China Jails 32 People for Online Terror Charges

A man plays a computer game at an internet cafe in Beijing May 9, 2014. Courts in Xinjiang on Friday sentenced 32 persons to prison for downloading and spreading violent Internet content.

The sentencing is part of efforts to scour and scrub the Internet for material promoting religious warfare or teaching bomb-making methods that Chinese authorities say have fueled recent attacks.

(BEIJING) — Courts in a restive region of western China sentenced 32 people to prison, three of them for life, for downloading and spreading violent Internet content that authorities have blamed for inspiring a recent string of deadly attacks, state media said Friday.

The other 29 people were handed sentences ranging from four to 15 years’ imprisonment by seven courts in the region on Thursday, according to state broadcaster CCTV and the region’s official newspaper, the Xinjiang Daily.

The sentencing is part of efforts to scour and scrub the Internet for material promoting religious warfare or teaching bomb-making methods that Chinese authorities say have fueled recent attacks.

Escalating unrest in the Xinjiang region, home to China’s Turkic Uighur (pronounced WEE-gur) ethnic minority who want more autonomy from Beijing, has posed a serious challenge to the administration of Communist Party leader Xi Jinping in his first 20 months in power. In May, a market bombing killed 43 people in Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi.

The attacks, which have killed dozens of people this year, prompted Beijing to launch an expansive security crackdown in the region, arresting several hundred people and sentencing scores to prison and in some cases to death.

Chinese state media have said that virtually all those taking part in recent attacks have been exposed to extremist content online. It said Xinjiang separatists have recently flooded the Web with such material, raising the challenge to authorities and the risk of further attacks.

Ukraine says rebels will pay as missiles kill 23 soldiers

A Ukrainian soldier sits on an armoured vehicle at a position near the eastern Ukrainian city of Konstantinovka July 10, 2014.

BY NATALIA ZINETS AND MARIA TSVETKOVA-KIEV/DONETSK Ukraine Fri Jul 11, 2014 

(Reuters) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko vowed to "find and destroy" pro-Russian rebels who killed 23 servicemen and wounded nearly 100 in a missile attack on Friday.

Ukraine Says Rebels Will Pay as Missiles Kill 23 Soldiers by Maria Anderson

Israel won’t stop Gaza offensive despite international pressure, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks during a press conference at the defense ministry in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv on Friday, July 11, 2014. Netanyahu said he will not cave in to international pressure to stop a military offensive in the Gaza Strip. He told a news conference Friday that Israel will continue its offensive until rocket fire out of Gaza is halted.

Associated Press | July 11, 2014
JERUSALEM — Israel’s prime minister says he will not cave in to international pressure to stop a military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Benjamin Netanyahu told a news conference Friday that Israel will continue its offensive until rocket fire out of Gaza is halted.

Israel Won’t Stop Gaza Offensive Despite International Pressure, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Says by Maria Anderson

Braveheart

Faced with death threats and government harassment, Sri Lankan activist Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena charges on, focusing on battling sexual violence and standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.

She is one of Sri Lanka’s bravest women.

BY ISABELLE BOURGEAULT-TASSÉ----BY ANOKHI ADMIN

Lawyer and media columnist Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena is Sri Lanka’s outspoken critic of human rights abuses and one of its foremost crusaders. Her weekly legal columns in Colombo’s The Sunday Times and her several books have examined decades-long abuse of the rule of law against majority Sinhalese, minority Tamils and Muslims, and the poor in particular. She has become a formidable and legitimate critic that the government hasn’t been able to easily dismiss.

Braveheart by Maria Anderson

Sri Lanka: Over 300 new complaints on missing in Mullaitivu District

Sri Lanka: Over 300 new complaints on missing in Mullaitivu District

July 09, 2014 

The Presidential Commission to Investigate Complaints Regarding Missing Persons has received over 300 new complaints during sittings held in the Mullaitivu District, the Chairman of the Commission told the Colombo Gazette.

Former High Court Judge Maxwell Paranagama, Chairman of the Commission, said that 387 new complaints had been received during a four day period.

He said that the Commission registered the information related to the complainants and will later give them a new date to record their statements.

During the sittings conducted in the Mullaitivu District from last Saturday to yesterday, the Presidential Commission recorded statements from 129 people who were invited to make their submissions.

“Apart from those invited to give statements we had 387 people who came to make fresh complaints over the four days we conducted sittings in the Mullaitivu District. We registered the information of those people and will look at giving them a new date to hear their statements,” he said.

As for the next step, Paranagama said that the information received will be studied and if there are any concerns regarding some of the complaints then those complaints will be investigated and will be forwarded to the Attorney General (AG) for further action.

The Presidential Commission to Investigate Complaints Regarding Missing Persons has so far recorded over 14,000 complaints from the time sittings commenced.

Once sittings are completed a report will be compiled and presented to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. (Colombo Gazette)

Report by Easwaran Rutnam

Enemy At The Gates; Targeting Freedom Of Expression

 By Chandra Kumarage - July 10, 2014

Chandra Kumarage

“It is clear that the freedom of expression and opinion is a fundamental right, the mother of all rights.” – Abid Hussain, UN Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Information, Speech in Sri Lanka, 1999.

A notice has been issued by one D.M.S, Dissanayake as the director/registrar of the NGO Secretariat in a letterhead of the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development warning the NOGs that they are acting beyond their mandates by conducting press conferences and workshops, training journalists and disseminating press releases. It can be inferred without any doubt that this warning has been issued at the instance of the Defence Secretary himself and being fully aware that there are no such mandates issued on NGOs by any law. Mandates are directed against the State by the Constitution to protect the fundamental rights of the people in Sri Lanka and civil society organizations formed by them.

The NGOs or non-governmental organizations which are civil society bodies are bound by their constitutions, articles of association and agreements. They have been recognized as actors in international relations. The NGO Secretariat which is under the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development in its Legal Authority provisions, section 10 provides , ‘Where in respect of a voluntary organization registered under this Act, any allegation of fraud or misappropriation is made by any person, the Minister may refer such matter to a board of inquiry by a panel appointed by him and when such board after an inquiry reports its findings to the Minister(section14) he can take appropriate action on the findings of the report. If the report reveals any misappropriation or fraud, criminal proceedings can be instituted against the culpable individuals holding office in such NGOs. Such a procedure could be taken even under the ordinary criminal procedure of Sri Lanka. Once, during the Chandrika Bandaranaike regime, an investigation was initiated against President Rajapaksatoo in respect of activities of an NGO named ‘Helping Hambantota’ in which he was an office bearer. But the then Chief Justice Sarath Silva prevented the continuance of the investigation on an application made on behalf of MR.                         Read More