Gaza talks: Hamas says Israel not serious about Cairo summit

Negotiations mediated by Egypt in chaos as Israelis say they 'will not negotiate under fire' and Palestinians threaten to leave

Patrick Kingsley in Cairo and agencies

 Sunday 10 August 2014 

Hamas negotiator Moussa Abu Marzouk in Cairo. Israel has been accused of not taking the talks seriously. Photograph: Asmaa Waguih/Reuters

Attempts at talks between Palestinians and Israelis aimed at ending theGaza conflict look in danger of breaking down following warnings from both sides.

Hamas's lead negotiator said the Palestinians may abandon the Cairo-based negotiations if Israel does not take them more seriously, and says that the Islamist group may continue its war of attrition if its demands are not met.

Israel said it would not return to the talks as long as Palestinian militants in Gaza kept up cross-border rocket and mortar fire.

In an interview with the Guardian Hamas's deputy chairman, Moussa Abu Marzouk, said the Palestinian delegation would decide on Sunday whether or not to leave Cairo – where they have negotiated indirectly with their Israeli counterparts for a week.

"There will be a meeting in order to decide if we are going to continue the talks or not – because there is no seriousness from the Israeli side about the talks," Marzouk said late on Saturday night, in the hotel where negotiations have centred.

Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, said on Sunday: "Israel will not negotiate under fire. At no stage did we declare [Israel's military offensive] was over.

"The operation will continue until its objective – the restoration of quiet over a protracted period – is achieved. I said at the beginning and throughout the operation – it will take time, and stamina is required." Israeli air strikes and shelling killed three Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, including a boy of 14 and a woman, medics said, in a third day of renewed fighting that has jeopardised international efforts to end the conflict.

Hamas has complained that throughout negotiations – conducted via Egyptian intermediaries – the Israelis had never formally responded to any Palestinian demands, which centre on ending an eight-year blockade of the Gaza strip. Marzouk also claimed that the Israeli delegation had made no attempt to negotiate since the end of a temporary ceasefire on Friday morning, when the Israeli team flew back to Jerusalem to observe the Jewish sabbath, and did not return.

"They don't talk about peace or ceasefire during their religious ceremonies," said Marzouk. "But they can kill and destroy as they did in Gaza on Saturday. It's open season for killing."

Marzouk said Hamas had not made a final decision about escalating its own attacks on Israel, should the talks fail – but claimed that "all the options are available to the Palestinian people in order to them to gain their rights". He said: "If we don't have justice and rights, we will keep resisting our enemies until we get them … If they don't give us our rights today, we will continue the battle."

Marzouk said the concession Hamas most wanted from Israel was the right to build a port and airport in Gaza, facilities promised to the Palestinians under the Oslo peace deal. In return, he said Hamas had no problem with relinquishing power to a Palestinian Authority-led unity government that "should control everything in Gaza", including its border crossings.

But he said Hamas would not agree to disarm while the Gaza strip was still occupied. "Disarming is out of the question. There is no discussion. It's not on the negotiation table. There is no force that can take away from the Palestinian resistance their right to resistance, nor their tools to resist."

Marzouk also denied that Hamas should down its arms in order to protect innocent lives in Gaza, saying that it was Israel's responsibility to stop bombing civilians. He also denied that Hamas fighters endanger civilians by firing rockets from civilian areas.

"I cannot understand how [Hamas's critics] always blame the weak, the party that gets attacked. Who started the battle? … Did Israel really have to kill all this number in order to get their targets? To demolish all these houses in order to achieve their goals? The ones who should be blamed are the Israelis."

Marzouk said it was hard for Hamas fighters to avoid civilian areas in such a densely populated tract of land as Gaza, and argued that Israel had the sophisticated military equipment necessary to avoid killing any civilians. "Why do they keep killing all these civilians even though they have these [accurate] weapons? They don't miss the target even by a few centimetres … The fact is unquestionable. They kill for the sake of killing."

In Photos: Thousands around world march in 'Day of Rage' protests for Gaza 

From London to Melbourne to Delhi, thousands head to the streets on Saturday to hold protests in solidarity with Gaza

Saturday 9 August 2014

Pro-Palestinian supporters hold signs in protest of Israeli attacks on Gaza in Melbourne on Saturday (AA)

- See more at: 

In Photos Thousands Around World March in 'Day of Rage' Protests for Gaza by Thavam Ratna

Iraq: minority Yazidis 'buried alive' by IS militants

SUNDAY 10 AUGUST 2014

Minority Yazidis in Iraq are reportedly buried alive as the US steps up airstrikes against the Islamic State, which declares 'caliphate' in the region.

Militants for the Islamic State (IS) have killed at least 500 members of Iraq's Yazidi ethnic minority during their offensive in the north of the country, according to Iraq's human rights minister.

Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said the Sunni militants had also buried alive some of their victims, including women and children, Reuters reported. About 300 women were kidnapped as slaves.

The US has carried out further airstrikes against IS after President Barack Obama admitted their progress through Iraq had been quicker than expected. He anticipates a prolonged campaign against the group whose spread is seen to threaten Middle East stability.

The US is trying to aid thousands of Yazidis who fled the IS advance, trying to stem a worsening humanitarian crisis in a country reeling from the extremist offensive.

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French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has urged Iraq's bickering leaders to form an inclusive government capable of countering the IS militants.

"All Iraqis should feel that they are represented in this government, and all Iraqis should feel they are represented to take part in this battle against terrorism," he told a news conference with his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad.

Militant advance

IS has captured wide swathes of northern Iraq since June, executing non-Sunni Muslim captives and minorities, displacing tens of thousands of people and provoking the first US air strikes in the region since Washington withdrew troops in 2011.

After routing Kurdish forces last week, the militants are just 30 minutes' drive from Irbil, the Iraqi Kurdish capital, which until now has been spared the sectarian bloodshed that has scarred other parts of Iraq for a decade.

US President Barack Obama said on Saturday there was no quick fix for the crisis and urged Iraqi leaders to form an inclusive government that could ease sectarian tensions and unite Iraqis against IS.

Britain and France have also pledged to deliver humanitarian supplies to people trapped by the militant advance.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the UK was especially concerned by the fate of Yazidis who cornered in their ancient homeland of Sinjar in mountainous northern Iraq.

Islamic State militants have surrounded 300 Yazidi families and told them to covert to Islam or face death - imposing a deadline due to expires at noon on Sunday local time.

Ukraine says no ceasefire until separatists surrender, rebels defiant

A Ukrainian military convoy moves along a road near Donetsk August 9, 2014.

KIEV Sun Aug 10, 2014 

(Reuters) - A Ukrainian military spokesman on Sunday dismissed a call for a ceasefire by a separatist leader, saying this could only take place once rebels had shown "white flags" and surrendered.

Meanwhile the separatists stepped back from their earlier talk of a possible ceasefire and said the Ukrainian army had first to end military action.

Government forces on Sunday tightened the circle around the rebels' main redoubt, the big industrial city of Donetsk. Residents there reported heavy shelling from early in the morning.

A senior leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic had said on Saturday that the rebels were ready for a truce with government forces to allow humanitarian aid to be brought in.

Replying to a journalist's question on Sunday, military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said: "If there is this initiative, it should be carried out by practical means and not by words - by raising white flags and by putting down guns."

"We have not seen these practical steps yet," he said.

In a statement released later the rebels said they remained ready for a temporary truce to head off "a humanitarian catastrophe".

But they added defiantly: "As long as the Ukrainian army is continuing military action there can be no ceasefire."

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Writing by Richard Balmforth; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

Thai Criminal Court issues warrant for activist Kritsuda’s arrest

Thai red shirt activist Kritsuda Khunasem during on YouTube interview, in which she accuses the Thai military junta of torture during her detainment in June 2014. (Screenshot: YouTube)

By Casey Hynes Aug 10, 2014 

The Thai Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Red Shirt activist Kritsuda Khunasen, who recently claimed she was tortured while in military custody. Kritsuda is accused of possession of illegal war weapons and carrying arms in public without reasonable cause, theBangkok Post reported. The court issued warrants for two others, Mananchaya Ketkaeo and Somsak Poolsawat, as well.

Police suspect Kritsuda and slain poet activist Mai Nueng Kor Kunthee “were involved in acquiring weapons for violent purposes during the recent political demonstrations,” according to the Bangkok Post.

For more on Mananchaya and the link between him and Kritsuda, see this piece fromPrachatai.

Kritsuda was detained by the army in late May, days after the military took over the country in a coup. She was held by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) for nearly a month, with no information given on her condition or whereabouts for weeks despite outcry from human rights groups. By law, the military can detain individuals for up to seven days, but Kritsuda’s detention far exceeded that.

Kritsuda was released June 24 and appeared on national television alongside her boyfriend, also an activist, one day before her release. She told the nation her treatment in detention was “too good for words to say,” but recently backtracked on those comments, saying they were made under duress. Kritsuda appears in a YouTube video recounting being suffocated with a bag over her head, and claims she was forced to sign a statement saying she requested to remain in the army’s custody longer than the standard detention period. For further details, see this piece from Saksith Saiyasombut.

Kritsuda said she and her boyfriend, who she claims was also tortured, are now in Europe and plan to seek political asylum. But deputy national police chief Pol Gen Somyot Phumpanmuang has said the police will pursue extradition if possible, according to the Bangkok Post.

Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists called on the Thai government to investigate Kritsuda’s torture claims immediately.

“Only by promptly investigating Kritsuda’s allegations and prosecuting those responsible can the junta undo its knee-jerk denial of her serious charges,” HRW’s Asia director Brad Adams said in a statement.

The organization noted that Col. Winthai Suvaree, spokesman for the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said “‘Kritsuda was not mistreated while in military custody,’ and that her allegations were ‘groundless without any supporting evidence.’” HRW also reported that Deputy National Police chief Somyot Phumpanmuang said police would look into whether the circulation of Kritsuda’s YouTube video broke any Thai laws.

The Chiangrai Times reported the following:

“Army spokesperson Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumner said he met Kritsuda in detention and she was not ‘tortured or beaten as she says’, adding he tried to convince her to ‘be patriotic and stop conflict’ between political rivals. ‘Was I wrong to do that?’ he added.”

The ICJ issued a statement from Secretary General Wilder Tayler saying, “Kritsuda’s allegations that she was subjected to torture and other ill-treatment as well as arbitrary detention by military officers are deeply concerning and require an immediate investigation. Her account, if verified, suggests that she is the victim of serious human rights violations which require that the perpetrators be held responsible and that she be provided with an effective remedy and reparation.”

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has also reportedly expressed concerns about human rights violations under the military government. The NCPO has repeatedly said no detainees have been tortured and that the government is committed to addressing human rights abuses occurring in Thailand.

On the possibility of Kritsuda returning to her home country, Prachatai quoted her as saying, “I’ve got lots of trouble already. If you want me to continue living in Thailand . . . I just can’t.”

Gothabaya commits yet another egregiously stupid blunder: No more commercial buildings lesser than 60 stories in Colombo

(Lanka-e-News- 08.Aug.2014, 11.55PM) Yet another egregious stupidity of Gothabaya Rajapaksha was exposed in yesterday’s Dinamina newspaper of the government owing to which blunder , the people of Colombo were deprived of water for four full days continuously ; all because idiot Gothabaya wanted to provide super luxury facilities to the wealthy classes to go boat riding at Etulkotte. 

This same idiot Gothabaya had in his latest of the series of blunders introduced a prohibition which is as bad or even worse than his aforementioned unplanned water cut for four days which caused dehydration to people of Colombo. That is , via his Urban development authority (UDA) he had introduced a regulation that in future if a commercial building is to be constructed it must have at least 60 stories.

It was reported in the Dinamina newspaper that this was revealed by a secretary of Gothabaya and this was a proposal in the 1977 new urban plan , but was not implemented because of the war that hindered it. Curiously, this brazen and blatant lie has been uttered by a secretary of none other than Gothabaya the American citizen who fled the motherland in fear during the thick of the war ,and stayed put in America for 15 long years without even turning his face in the direction of his motherland , who is now professing great love for his country but still crowing ‘yankee doodle do’ , while his President brother is crowing ‘any diddle would do’ , and together have put the country on the sure road to perdition.

By 1977, the tallest building in Sri Lanka was the 13 storied Ceylinco building. Hence , only a gobaya (idiot)or a gonharaka (bullock in human form ) would plan of 60 storied constructions in that age of 13 storied buildings. In the circumstances, it is only a moron like Gothabaya who has an infinite capacity to lie and build castles in the air would nurse such plans.

Having left Gothabaya alone to his favorite occupation of building castles in the air , still the fact remains , previously commercial buildings in Colombo city had to be mandatorily constructed on four stories at least. 

As a result of this latest decision of this bird brained Gothabaya , the businessmen of Sri Lanka will be denied the opportunity of erecting a commercial building on his/her own land in Colombo. Besides , indirectly it is providing encouragement to foreign wealthy business tycoons , not to mention the casino moguls and drug barons, the bosom pals of ‘yankee doodle do’ and ‘any diddle would do.’

தேர்தலை குறி வைத்து அரசின் அபிவிருத்திகள் - வடக்கு முதலமைச்சர் 

 08 ஆகஸ்ட்டு 2014, வெள்ளி

வடமாகாணம் முழுவதையும் நோக்கி முதிர்ந்த திட்டத்தின் அடிப்படையில் வேலை இடம்பெறவேண்டுமே ஒழிய அடுத்த தேர்தலை மையமாக வைத்து அபிவிருத்தியில் ஈடுபடுவது பல பாதிப்புக்களை ஏற்படுத்தும். தேர்தலை முன்னிட்டு திட்டம் இன்றி வேலைகள் கொடுக்கப்பட்டமையால் தான் இன்று தொழிலாளர்கள் பாரிய பிரச்சனைகளுக்குள் அகப்பட்டுத் தவிக்கிறார்கள் என வடமாகாண முதலமைச்சர் சி.வி.விக்னேஸ்வரன் தெரிவித்துள்ளார். 

வவுனியா, ஓமந்தை, நவ்வி பிரதேசத்தில் இன்று  பிரதேச வைத்தியசாலைக்கான அடிக்கல்லை நாட்டிய பின் உரையாற்றும் போதே அவர் இதனைத் தெரிவித்தார். 

மேலும் அவர் உரையாற்றுகையில்,

வடமாகாணத்திற்கு ஐந்நூறு கோடி ரூபாவுக்கு மேற்பட்ட நிதி தந்துவிட்டனர் எனத் தம்பட்டம் அடிக்கிறார்கள். ஆனால் பெரும் பகுதி நிதி தரப்படவில்லை. அதனை அரசாங்கமே வைத்து விளையாடுகின்றது எமக்கு தந்துவிட்டதாக கூறும் பணத்தின் பெரும் பகுதி எமக்கு தரப்படப்படவில்லை. நாளாந்தம் பத்திரிகையிலும் தொலைக்காட்சியிலும் நிதி தந்துவிட்டனர் எனக் கூறுகின்றார்கள். ஆனால் அவை தரப்படவில்லை. 

அதில் சுமார் ஐந்தில் இரண்டு பங்குதான் கிடைத்துள்ளது. மிச்சம் அனைத்தையும் அரசாங்கமே வைத்து விளையாடுகிறது . விளையாடுகிறது என்று நான் ஏன் கூறுகின்றேன் என்றால் என்ன செய்கிறார்கள் எப்படி செய்கிறார்கள் எங்கே செய்கிறார்கள் யாருக்கு செய்கிறார்கள் என்பவை எல்லாம் மர்மமாகவே உள்ளன.

மேலும் இந்த வைத்தியசாலை அமைப்பதற்கு வட மாகாணத்திற்கு குறித்து ஒதுக்கப்பட்ட அபிவிருத்தி நிதியில் இருந்து ஒரு கோடி ரூபாவும் சுகாதார சேவையின் பிரித்தொதுக்கப்பட்ட கொடை நிதியில் இருந்து அறுபது லட்சம் ரூபாவும் ஒதுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. 

இங்கு ஆரம்பிக்கப்படும் வேலைத்திட்டங்கள் போன்று மேலும் பல வேலைத்திட்டங்களை மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டியுள்ளது. அதற்கு நிதிப்பற்றாக்குறையே பிரதான காரணமாகவுள்ளதhகவும் முதலமைச்சர் சுட்டிக்காட்டினார்.

- See more at: http://onlineuthayan.com/News_More.php?id=360353308209683010#sthash.QtJWiu1N.dpuf

Sri Lanka: Are We Heading Towards A Militarized Society

By Upul Kumarapperuma -August 9, 2014

Upul Kumarapperuma

The definitions given to the word militarization in dictionaries state it is an “act of assembling and putting readiness for war or other emergency”.

When the word militarization is defined in the context of politics it gives a more complicated and terrified meaning as much as a tool capable of dismantling political, administrative and social structures of a society.

Apart from the annual budgetary allocations to the military in comparison with budgets of other important sectors of the country, there are several other indicators to identify a militarized society, such as;

a)    The subservient role of the military is converted to a stake holder of the State;

b)    The effort to glorify the military and its personnel;

The subservient role of the military is converted to a stake holder of the State;

The conventional role of the military is a limited role which is strictly limited to the issues related to national security. If the military is placed in a position, which is more than the matters related to national security, the character of the military is then changed from its conventional role to a more powerful stake holder of the country.

The Sri Lankan military had throughout performed a subservient role and its mandate was very clearly restricted to matters relating to national security.   However, there was huge propaganda machinery launched to boost the image of the military and to attract the public for the employment in military sector after 2005. Programmes like “Api Venuven Api” were introduced directly under the Supervision the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence to achieve the afore mentioned publicity campaign.

In addition to the glorification of the military through media campaigns, retired military personnel were placed in key positions in the State during the period of war and huge publicity was given to those appointments.

The image of the military has been inflated and simultaneously the mindset of the public have been nourished with nationalist ideas and interests during the period of the war and afterwards. A belief was created as a result in the society that the military was far superior than other sectors of the country.Read More

Rajapaksa foreign experts have worked for dictators – Former FM, SL

[Mangla Samaraweera, MP]-09/08/2014 Sir Desmond De Silva QC, Sir Geoffrey Nice QC and Dr. David Michael Crane were appointed as advisers to the ‘local commission investigating allegations of war crimes by all parties to the conflict’. A regime which categorically rejected all accusations of human rights violations during the war, now seeking the expertise of three of the world’s top war crimes prosecutors was interpreted by some as a 180 degree U-turn to mend its earlier ways and to rebuild its relationship with the international community for the sake of the greater good of our country.

On closer examination of the credentials of the ‘advisers’, however, it is obvious that the motives may not be pristine and altruistic as it may seem at first glance. The role of Sir Desmond de Silva, as an apologist for the excesses of the Rajapaksa regime during the last days of the war is already well documented.

Killing 40,000 Tamils is not a war crime
At the dinner organised by the Association of Professionals of Sri Lankan origin held in April 2012 at The Grange City Hotel, Tower Hill, London to coincide with their Annual General Meeting, Sir Desmond de Silva who was the guest speaker said that killing of 40,000 Tamils by the Sri Lankan security forces to liberate 300,000 Tamils held by the LTTE cannot be called a war crime.

Sir Desmond de Silva’s sham report
What is not so well known is that Sir Desmond de Silva has also been accused of ‘whitewashing’ the British government over one of Northern Ireland’s most controversial killings — the murder of Patrick Finucane by loyalist gunmen in 1989. According to the London Guardian of December 12, 2012, his widow Geraldine Finucane denounced the report by Sir Desmond de Silva on the assassination of her husband. She called Sir Desmond de Silva’s Report of the Patrick Finucane Review, a “sham” and a “whitewash.”

According to the Guardian, Ms. Finucane is quoted as saying:
“It’s a report into which we have had no input, the British government has engineered a suppression of the truth behind the murder of my husband. At every turn it is clear that this report has done exactly what was required – to give the benefit of the doubt to the state, its cabinet and ministers, to the army, to the intelligence services and to itself.

“At every turn, dead witnesses have been blamed and defunct agencies found wanting. Serving personnel and active state departments appear to have been excused.

“The dirt has been swept under the carpet without any serious attempt to lift the lid on what really happened to Pat and so many others.

“This report is a sham, this report is a whitewash, this report is a confidence trick dressed up as independent scrutiny and given invisible clothes of reliability. But most of all, most hurtful and insulting of all, this report is not the truth.

The lesser known backgrounds of the other two advisers are also important in understanding the real motives of the Presidential proclamation of July 17.

Geoffrey Nice QC worked for Gadaffi

Geoffrey Nice QC, a Professor of Law at Gresham College is an expert on ‘Head of state immunity’ and was contacted by the Gadaffi regime in Libya in its last days to challenge the referral of President Gadaffi to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Sir Geoffrey Nice QC later filed an application with the International Criminal Court on January 30, 2012 asking that the Court grant leave for observations to be made concerning the violation of Saif Gaddafi’s human rights. Nice’s expertise on the head-of-state immunity question has obviously found resonance with the higher echelons of the Rajapaksa Government.

Dr. Crane worked for Guinea’s Dictator
The background of the second expert, Dr. Crane may also be useful in working out the true motives behind the regimes sudden U-turn. Dr. Crane’s role in a war crimes probe commissioned by the military regime in Guinea in 2010 has been widely criticised after it allegedly played down the violence and the regime’s role in the incident.

International media reports said Crane was one of two war crimes specialists who were hired as consultants by Guinea’s former military leader President Moussa Dadis Camara who stands accused by a UN commission of inquiry of responsibility for the September 28, 2009 murder and disappearance of more than 156 civilian protesters in the country’s national soccer stadium. The Crane report places responsibility for the violence on a commander of the elite Guinean presidential guard, accusing the guards of violating orders by President Camara. Crane therefore has experience in saving the ‘skins’ of dictators facing war crimes charges and pinning the blame further down the line on the armed forces.

The background of these two experts give further credence to the rumour doing the rounds in the international grapevine that a senior defence official of the regime has been secretly negotiating for an amnesty for the chain of command. In fact, it cannot be a coincidental that the services of these gentlemen were obtained hot-on-the-heels of the congressional hearing in Washington in early July where legal avenues to prosecute a US citizen of Sri Lankan origin were discussed in detail.

In the face of damning evidence the only way to save the skin of the chain of command would be to pin the blame further down the line on the armed forces and whitewash their leaders. The credentials of de Silva, Nice and Crane are impeccable in this respect, if that is to be their brief.

Unlike the legendary knights in shining armour who spent much of their time rescuing ‘damsels in distress’, the knights of the 21st Century seem to find rescuing dictators in distress more lucrative and profitable.

SL Muslims vs neo-Fascist Nationalism

SL Muslims at the crossroads – 11

By Izeth Hussain-August 8, 2014, 6:43 pm 

If people behave like sheep, they will soon have a Government of wolves. – Bertrand de Jouvenel

My main purpose in this article is to argue that the chief antagonist of the Sri Lankan Muslims, as well as of the Sinhalese and all the other ethnic groups, the chief antagonist whom they have to confront and destroy or be destroyed themselves, is neo-Fascist nationalism. I will suggest further that what I call neo-Fascist nationalism is a spurious form of nationalism, which can never provide a satisfactory and enduring political order. But before getting to that main purpose I want to make some necessary clarifications arising out of my last article.

SL Muslims vs Neo-Fascist Nationalism by Thavam Ratna

Republican Constitution And Executive Presidency: Review, Revise And Retain

By Rajasingham Narendran -August 9, 2014

Dr. Rajasingham Narendran

The Executive Presidency instituted through the 1978 republican constitutionand subsequently amended eighteen times (are there a few more on line?) has to be faulted for myriad failures in Sri Lanka’s democracy and governance. The Executive Presidency of Sri Lanka is a badly designed institution within a badly designed and subsequently further distorted constitution.  It is probably the strongest office in the world! The constitution of 1978 was designed to bestow unbridled power on one man- Junius Richard Jayewardene- to do everything but change a man into a women and vice versa, and ensure  permanent governance by the UNP. JRJ was an insecure and unprincipled man, and  a dictator by nature.  In the process all other institutions , the parliament, judiciary and public services, were deformed beyond recognition and made subservient to the Executive Presidency.  Accountability, rule of law and everything else that defines good governance had been comatose, even before the election of the current president. The impunity bestowed on the Executive Presidency, has reached and polluted every mound and crevice in Sri Lanka. Democracy has become a sham as a result. Governance is no doubt at its poorest.

A nation that had universal franchise 83 years (1931) back- much before other British colonies in Asia- and had a vibrant democracy at independence (1948), has since the 1978 constitution, sold the sovereignty of its people to elected tin pot dictators.  The 18^th amendment introduced by Mahendra Percy Rajapaksa-a power hungry, pompous and unprincipled person- and his absolute disregard for constitutional norms, principles of governance even as laid down and ethics have dealt a death blow to our democracy. He is a small man gifted with oversize shoes, which he enlarged further. He has stumbled badly as a result.

The questions we have to ask are:

1. Is the concept of a Republican Constitution wrong or is OUR republican constitution deliberately designed wrong?
2. Is the concept of an Executive Presidency wrong or is OUR executive presidency deliberately designed wrong?                                 Read More