Ebola-hit countries must screen all departing travellers -WHO

GENEVA Mon Aug 18, 2014 

(Reuters) - Authorities in countries affected by Ebola should check people departing at international airports, seaports and major border crossings and stop any with signs of the virus from travelling, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

The U.N. health agency reiterated that the risk of getting infected with Ebola on an aircraft was small as infected people are usually too ill to travel, and said that the risk is also very low to travellers in affected countries, namely Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

There was no need for wider travel or trade restrictions, the WHO said in a statement.

"Affected countries are requested to conduct exit screening of all persons at international airports, seaports and major land crossings, for unexplained febrile illness consistent with potential Ebola infection. Any person with an illness consistent with EVD (Ebola Virus Disease) should not be allowed to travel unless the travel is part of an appropriate medical evacuation."

If a traveller has stayed in areas where Ebola cases have been reported recently, he or she should seek medical care at the first sign of illness - fever, headache, sore throat, diarrhoea, vomiting, among other symptoms, the WHO said, noting: "Early treatment can improve prognosis."

Countries that do not have Ebola cases must strengthen their capacity to detect and contain any cases immediately, the WHO said, but it did not recommend any active screening of arriving passengers.

"It is better if countries do screening on the front-end," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told Reuters.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Nepal and India begin relief efforts as monsoon floods claim at least 180 lives

Helicopters carrying supplies sent to cutoff villages in west Nepal while 400 boats deployed in Indian state to help evacuate people

Associated Press in Kathmandu

Monday 18 August 2014 

Nepalese villagers carry their belongings through flooded streets in western Nepal. Thousands of people have been displace by the floods. Photograph: Bhabuk Yogi/AP

Authorities in Nepal and neighbouring India have sent food, medical supplies and tents to areas where monsoon floods have killed at least 180 people and displaced thousands more in recent days.

Four helicopters with relief supplies and medical workers were sent on Monday to villages cut off in western Nepal, said Jhanka Nath Dhakal of the country's National Emergency Operation Centre. Most roads into the area are submerged or damaged by flooding, preventing vehicles from passing.

Thousands of people are without shelter in 10 flooded districts, and local officials on Monday distributed rice and lentils as well as cooking pots to people who lost their homes. The area is mainly farmland where the poor live in mud and straw huts that wash away easily.

At least 100 people have died in Nepal since Thursday, and at least 84 have died in India owing to torrential rains or overflowing rivers after Nepalese dams were opened, authorities said.

At least 50 people have died in Uttarakhand state, India, many of them washed away as rivers overflowed, submerging villages and fields. Officials in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state reported a further 10 deaths overnight, pushing its toll to 34.

People in the worst-affected villages were being evacuated to relief camps set up in government and school buildings, said Alok Ranjan, a government official in Uttar Pradesh.

State authorities said soldiers were using about 400 boats to help evacuate people from their homes after entire villages were marooned in northern Uttar Pradesh.

Nepal's prime minister, Sushil Koirala, appealed to domestic and foreign agencies to help flood victims in the country. The main opposition party, the Communist party of Nepal (Maoist), disrupted parliamentary proceedings and demanded the government declare a national emergency.

Dhakal said the government was trying to send medical teams and supplies to prevent diseases such as cholera that can follow flooding. They are also distributing tents and plastic sheets to make temporary shelters, utensils to cook food and clothes for those who lost their belongings.

The June-September monsoon season often brings flooding to Nepal and India. The rains caused a landslide this month that covered an entire village near Kathmandu, killing 156 people.

Last year, more than 6,000 people were killed as floods and landslides swept through Uttarakhand during the monsoon season. Heavy deforestation over the last few decades has made the area more vulnerable to landslides.

'Deceptive' Presidential Commission on Missing Persons an attempt to mislead people - TNA

17 August 2014
The Presidential Missing Persons Commission, is a ‘deceptive move to mislead the Tamil people and international community', said the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) spokesperson, commenting on the Commission’s press brief in Mannar. 

Condemning the Chief Commissioner’s claims that the disappeared were all dead, Suresh Premachandran, in a post on social media, said, 

“Since he is saying that the disappeared are dead, he is obliged to explain those who are affected, how their children, or relations who were handed over alive, or arrested or surrendered died.”

Suresh Premachandran highlighted that though over 3000 disappearance complaints were made to the commission in Mannar, only 250 were announced as being received in the commission press brief, which was using false statistics of the disappeared.

Tamil people that have filed complaints to the presidential commission have also faced investigations from the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) and forced to accept death certificates for their disappeared, added Premachandran.

Bishop of Mannar refuses to participate in Sri Lanka's domestic inquiry on missing persons(10 August 2014)

Rapes surge in Sri Lanka amid weak laws

Incidents of rape have increased 20 percent in last two years as current law fails to criminalise domestic sex attacks.

Women activists say existing laws in the country have encouraged domestic sexual violence [EPA]

Colombo, Sri Lanka - Recent allegations that a naval officer in the northern city of Jaffna raped an 11-year-old girl have cast a spotlight on the growing problem of sexual violence in Sri Lanka.

According to police statistics, incidents of rape have increased by nearly 20 percent in the last two years, with 4,393 cases registered during 2012-2014 as compared to 3,624 in 2010-2012.

In the Jaffna case, police confirmed they had apprehended and brought before the courts a suspect attached to the navy, but refused to comment further.

"While this particular case has received significant media attention, thousands of others do not," said professor Savithri Fernando, who counsels victims of sexual abuse.

"Sexual abuse is rampant," she told Al Jazeera citing the Asian Human Rights Council research on rape in the island nation.

Preethi (name changed) said she was raped while working in a garment factory in the capital, Colombo. A few male supervisors at the factory treated the mostly female staff as "personal attendants", she told Al Jazeera, adding that the verbal abuse led her to lodge a formal complaint with factory authorities.

"An inquiry was held, but many women employees refused to comment against these men. Finally they decided to transfer me to another section," she said.

"It was a week later that two of the men who I had lodged a complaint against raped me," she told Al Jazeera. Preethi said she was afraid to report the incident for fear of losing her job, although she left the factory several months later.

"I am in search of new work, but I am afraid to take a job at another garment factory. There is no protection for women," she said. "I was not the first to be raped and I am scared that it will happen again."

Buddhika Fernando, manager of the Star Clothes Merchants where Preethi worked, told Al Jazeera that it was an internal matter and "was dealt with", refusing to comment further.

Poor conviction rates

According to a 2013 UN Survey, which explored violence against women throughout the Asia-Pacific region, nearly 15 percent of Sri Lankan men said they had committed rape. Of those, 65 percent said they had done so on more than one occasion. But of all the men surveyed, only five percent said they had been arrested and jailed for their crimes.

Accoding to article 365 of the country's penal code, those found guilty of grave sexual abuse can face rigorous imprisonment. Perpetrators can be jailed for up to 20 years and must pay compensation to the victim.

"Cultural norms in Sri Lanka have contributed to the unwillingness of sexual-abuse victims to report these crimes," said Fernando, who teaches at the University of Colombo. "Very often, a woman will be shunned by her local community when they learn of such an act," she said. "If a woman is unmarried, it will be near impossible for her to find a husband if it becomes public knowledge."

Weak laws

Police spokesperson, Ajith Rohana, told Al Jazeera that police have established a children's and women's bureau to investigate acts of sexual violence. He could not confirm the frequency of rapes in Sri Lanka, but noted: "Any time a rape is reported, we immediately investigate and arrest the perpetrators, who will then be produced before the courts."

Fernando says existing laws in the country have encouraged domestic sexual violence, noting it is not illegal in Sri Lanka for a person to rape their spouse.

Many rapes in the country occur between spouses, leaving the victims with no legal protection, she said.The penal code in Sri Lanka only criminalises marital rape if the wife and husband are legally separated. Otherwise it is not recognised as a crime.

One woman who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity said she was raped by her husband, a part-time labourer, on several occasions.

"Our finances are tight and often he resorts to alcohol when he cannot find work. When he is drunk he attacks me," she said.

"I must now either divorce him or endure this, [but] if I divorce my husband I will be forced to leave my home… I have little work here and do not think I can get any elsewhere."

In April, Sri Lanka's Minister for Child Development and Women's Affairs, Tissa Karalliyadda, proposed that a rapist be bound by law to marry their victim, provided the victim consented in court. Karalliyadda told Al Jazeera that this would "discourage perpetrators from such acts, and of course the victim had the option to refuse to marry".

He has also proposed tougher sentences for rapists, though the proposal has yet to come before parliament.

But Sepali Kottegoda, the executive director of the feminist group Women and Media Collective, said such a law would not "dissuade" rapists.

"No victim would want to marry a person who has sexually abused them. It will amount to nothing," Kottegoda told Al Jazeera, adding the minister should resign for suggesting such an anti-rape law.

"This is not the first such comment made by the minister. It demonstrates that he either does not take his job seriously or is unable to perform his duties effectively," she said.

Phew, What A Country

| by Pearl Thevanayagam

(August 17,2014, Bradford UK,. Sri Lanka Guardian) Hee, hee, what a country. We are a sovereign nation and we make our own rules and regulations and we will tell those super-powers to go and fly a kite since we wiped out terrorism and 40,000 or more Tamil civilians in just five months. As a sovereign state we can do bloody well as we please and nobody can touch us.

But since you invaded us since the 15th century and plundered our resources we want our pound of flesh in return. We want your World Bank and IMF to lend us ad infinitum and we will pay you back when we are good and ready and not a day sooner.

Although we subscribe to being a non-violent nation as Buddhist majority we do not turn the other cheek as Lord Jesus Christ preached. We are the only country where our Buddhist monks have lovers and the blessings of the government and who demand meat feasts for danas and who order SUVs from devotees just for chanting Pirith (Buddhist mantras) and tying poonools (holy threads at funerals and marriages). Tell the man on the moon that Buddha’s preaching of not harming a living organism is just an ancient precept and not to be taken seriously.

Their saffron robes come askew and they do not tolerate other religions. The much bandied about 2500 year old Buddhist culture is not in keeping with Buddhist principles of loving kindness towards fellow human beings and all creatures great and small. The kurakkan robe who leads parliament closes one eye when his naughty boys step out of line be they contrabands of drugs masquerading as consignments of essential items.

We are also a gay paradise and advertised in tourist magazines for our boys to be exploited by western gay community as a result of which we are on the brink of superseding India and Thailand for HIV Positive cases.

We are unique in that how we spend our money is not accountable since we have Nivard Cabraal, the Central Bank governor, who would defend the government to the hilt and proclaim the economy is bullish while IMF and World Bank say it is on a downward trend and our spending far exceeds income. Bullish or bearish, the concern of the sheepish citizen is whether his family can be fed, clothed and sheltered with his salary and not the numerical data thrown by economists.

My late great aunt who had several hundred acres of coconut land would mop up spilt coconut milk on the table with the squeezed grated coconut so as not to waste it. She would slice the cabbage to its finest with the knife between her toes so that we ingest all its goodness. Although she could barely read or write she was a far better economist than all the Harvard trained experts put together with her simple philosophy of waste-not want-not. The old woman was cheated by the goldsmith who stuffed the thali with copper with just a thin coating of gold for her only daughter’s wedding. So hey-ho, all her scrimping and saving went up in smoke.

We can buy our scribes for a bottle of whisky or laptops and they will wipe the floor with us just to keep their positions since they have neither pensions nor permanency in their tenure. We will keep these media hacks on edge and not give them any permanent perks so that they are forever beholden to our benevolence.

They lose their jobs as and when government changes and if they do not toe the line they are out the door and desks cleared of their family photographs on the table and those of mistresses in bottom drawers.

When George Arney of BBC asked a pertinent question regarding the plight of the Tamils JRJ countered him with “what about your IRA problem”, and that shut him up. He was booted out post-haste when he foolishly posed on top of a Buddha sculpture but that is another story.

Our laws based on Soulbury Constitution can be bent and twisted at will by successive powers just because they can. Although Britain does not have a written constitution it abides by democratic principles no matter how flawed they are.

We did not sign up to the UN treaty on Geneva Convention for Refugees in 1951 and we did not ratify UN war crimes tribunal and Ms Navi Pillay, the UNHRC High Commissioner, who will relinquish her post this month would be barking up the wrong tree since we have engaged our own international arbitrators who have been paid handsomely. Money talks and to hell with human rights.

Pillorying Ms Navi Pillay has become a pastime for pro-government media. That she is of Tamil origin is a truncheon the Sri Lankan state is touting about notwithstanding the fact she was elected as human rights commissioner for UNHRC where she exercised her justice and impartial investigations into human rights in many states and managed to bring them before the ICC (International Criminal Courts) in Hague much to the chagrin of leaders who thought their human rights violations would go un-noticed.

The list is endless and this writer feels enough has been said.

Ho,ho, cry my beloved country.

(The writer has been a journalist for 25 years and worked in national newspapers as sub-editor, news reporter and news editor. She was Colombo Correspondent for Times of India and has contributed to Wall Street Journal where she was on work experience from The Graduate School of Journalism, UC Berkeley, California. Currently residing in UK she is also co-founder of EJN (Exiled Journalists Network) UK in 2005 the membership of which is 200 from 40 countries. She can be reached at pearltheva@hotmail.com)

Social Media: Sri Lanka's New War Zone J Jeganaathan

IB226-Jegan-SriLankaSocialMedia.pdf This essay examines the role of social media in shaping the post-war political developments in Sri Lanka as well as the ethnic question of Tamils. It explores how the social media has transformed the ethnic conflict within the new realm of cyberspace and the impact on post-war Sri Lankan ethnic question.

Social Media Sri Lanka's New War Zone by Thavam

They Can Kill Me! But Not My Voice!

By Upul Jayasuriya -August 17, 2014 

Upul Jayasuriya -BASL President

Let me briefly explain this situation before I advert your attention to issues that are more important to the BASL and the society at large.

Upon my complaining to the Police about the incidents that have caused concerns to my security commencing from the 15th of July, the Executive Committee of the BASL moved court seeking Police protection for me. The circumstances that prompted the EXCO of the BASL to move court was that there have been large number of instances where in private citizens too have been granted such security as provided for under section 22 of the Police Ordinance including an instance wherein a brother of a victim from Wanathamulla has been granted such security with six guards upon an undertaking given by a DIG in the Magistrates court.

The Authorities denied similar security that was sought by the head of the UN-official Bar that leads the legal fraternity with a membership of over 15,000.

What have we done in the past? Have we acted in keeping with the objectives of the BASL constitution?

I would like to bring to your attention some of the objectives of the BASL that is encompassed in its constitution.

1. the extension of co-operation and support towards the maintenance of the honour and independence of the Judiciary of Sri Lanka;
2. the consideration of matters of national importance relating to the Rule of Law and Administration of Justice and if need be, making of representatives thereon to the Government and/or any other relevant authority and taking any further steps in respect thereof including filing of actions or intervening in actions in Courts of Justice;
3. the promotion, observance and the protection of Human rights and liberties including the protection of the right of access to the Courts and of legal representation before Courts, Tribunals and other persons or bodies, judicial, administrative and investigating authorities

We have fought when the independence of the Judiciary was challenged.

Read More

CaFFE to aid Uva voters without identification documents 
August 17, 2014 4:
Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) will commence a series of free mobile clinics to facilitate National Identity Cards and Special Identification Documents issued by the Department of Elections to the 40 350 eligible voters in Badulla district without identity cards. The initiative is held targeting the September 20 Uva provincial council election centering on Welimada, Bandarawela and Uva – Paranagama DS divisions between August 19 and 23.
 
 
First mobile clinic will be held on August 19 at Uva Paranagama and Welimada.Meanwhile clinics will be held at Ella on August 20, Bandarawela on August 21 and 22 and Haputale on August 23. In pre election surveys CaFFE has identified that a significant number of people in Uva did not have valid identity cards needed to cast their vote. This situation can specially be seen among the most vulnerable communities, i.e. Indian origin plantation sector workers in Badulla district, those living in border villages and the communities in four of the 10 most poor divisional secretariat areas in Sri Lanka.
 
 
Valid identification documents are a must to vote in Sri Lankan elections and a large number of people, often from the poorest social segments, are not able to vote. CaFFE has conducted similar clinics during previous provincial council elections which had a positive impact in the voting patterns. For example CaFFE and its sister organization Center for Human Rights and Research (CHR) facilitated over 35 000 national identity cards in the Northern Province prior to the September 2013 provincial council election and this was a main contributing factor to the increased voter turnout in the Northern election.
 
 
This is a joint initiative by CaFFE, CHR, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Department for Registration of Persons.

Democratic Governance, Voluntary Associations and People’s Rights

August 17, 2014,

Some months ago the Friday Forum issued a public statement that reflected on certain emerging trends in our country, and posed the question whether Sri Lanka is moving towards authoritarianism. Though circulated widely, this statement did not receive extensive publicity in the national newspapers. A recent letter issued "To all NGOs" by the Director/Registrar of an Institution known as the "National Secretariat for NGOs" located in the Ministry of Defence confirms our concerns that the government is on a dangerous path that will soon erode every basic norm of democratic governance.

Democratic Governance, Voluntary Associations and People’s Rights by Thavam

India Beefs up Defence Ministry Representation in Sri Lanka

By P K Balachandran

COLOMBO: Apparently in view of the strategic importance of Sri Lanka in the context of the increasing influence of China on it, and the existence of strong ties with Pakistan, India has beefed up the Defence Ministry’s representation at the Indian High Commission here.

Col Gurinder S Klaire has been appointed as Deputy Defence Advisor to assist Defence Advisor Capt Prakash Gopalan. With this, for the first time, there is an army man in the Defence wing of the mission. Traditionally, Defence Advisors in the Colombo mission have been only from the navy. 

Sri Lanka has lately seen high profile military leaders from China, Pakistan and India visiting it. In May this year came General Xu Qiliang, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and the commander of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force from 2007 to 2012. 

Also in May, came the Chief of Staff of the Chinese People’s Armed Police, Lt Gen Niu Zhizong. Gen Niu requested the Lankan Army Commander Lt Gen Daya Ratnayake to send the “maximum number” of officers to China for training in anti-terrorism.  

The visit of high level delegations from China coincided with the discovery that Lanka had entered into a contract with a Chinese government company to build an aircraft repair and maintenance facility at Trincomalee for its air force. This led to concern in New Delhi as it impinged on the 1987 India-Sri Lanka Accord regarding the military use of Trincomalee. 

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had enquired about it from her Lankan counterpart, GL Peiris, when the latter met her in New Delhi recently. Subsequently, Peiris told the parliament that the location of the facility had not been decided. In April, Pakistan’s Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee, General Rashad Mahmood, visited Lanka.

There were visits from India too. In December 2012, the then Army Chief, Gen Bikram Singh, was in Lanka. In July this year came the Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha. ACM Raha and Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa discussed the possibility of holding joint air exercises. It is learnt that India’s National Security Advisor, Ajit Kumar Doval, will be participating in the Lankan Defence Ministry’s prestigious ‘Galle Maritime Dialogue’ in November.

The Opposition And The People

| by Tisaranee Gunasekara

“…the truth won’t set us free until we develop the skills and the habit and the talent and the moral courage to use it.”

Margaret Heffernan (Dare to Disagree)

( August 17, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) First they came for pavement traders and unauthorised vendors. Hundreds of thousands lost their livelihoods. 

The Opposition and the People by Thavam

Plunder and squander of public funds

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Financial Regulations were referred to as the ‘Bible’ of the public service while Administrative Regulations were no less hallowed. Today, unbeknown to the citizenry, key members of the ruling administration are making a mockery of both.

Vital processes are being overruled and overridden, often by persons who have neither legal nor legitimate right to deal with public funds. They seem to enjoy “special” political patronage that lets them circumvent the Ministry of Finance, the Cabinet of Ministers and even Parliament in deciding how the taxpayers’ money should be spent, or truth be told, frittered away. The public must hold them to account; but obviously they cannot.

The Sunday Times (Political Commentary) of August 10, 2014, exclusively exposed how the Monitoring MP for the External Affairs Ministry is contracting US lobby firms on behalf of the Government. The companies have cost the country millions of dollars but the transactions came to light only through mandatory filings in the US.

The disclosures, made by lobby firms under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act, show that the Monitoring MP gave his personal address in documents. The premises at Dudley Senanayake Mawatha, Colombo 8, are now occupied by the Korean International Cooperation Agency but had earlier housed Cosmos Aviation, of which the MP is a director. Americans can access this information on the web.

By contrast, the taxpaying Sri Lankan public know nothing. They don’t know that lobby firms were hired to do the job of an embassy; why particular agencies were favoured over others; the basis for terminating the contracts with earlier companies and their performance appraisals; if Cabinet had been notified and its approval obtained; whether budgets had been predetermined and approved by Parliament; how and why an MP was chosen to act for the Government and not the country’s diplomatic mission and so on. This week the Political Editor refers to contracts entered to in the US by the Central Bank. The information comes from the US where this information is public. Not so here. Why not?

The Sri Lankan public must demand to know. The fact that an official address was not listed in transactions purportedly made on behalf of the State is not only irregular but raises reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing. Perhaps the Government MP had felt due process was unnecessary in a situation where the rulebook was brazenly flouted. හැන්ද අතේ තියෙනකොට කාගෙන් අහන්නද ?  ’(Who is there to ask permission to be served when the spoon is in your hand) is a pithy local saying to describe what’s going on.

The example of how Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen repeatedly approaches foreign governments for money, circumventing the Ministry of Finance and Planning is a textbook case of sheer disregard for standard financial regulations. He has written directly to the leaders of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kazakhstan seeking funds to build houses for displaced Muslims in the North. He secured a payment of US$1 million from Pakistan and is expecting more contributions.

The Minister defends his actions by saying the money was channelled via the External Resources Department to the Ministry of Economic Development for implementation of housing projects. He contends that there is nothing wrong with him or anyone else canvassing for funds so long as it ends up with the Government.

But the Government, which turns a blind eye to Minister Bathiudeen’s actions, takes an opposing stance when the Northern Provincial Council wants to seek its own funding to develop the North. In no uncertain terms is that allowed. Imagine a situation where every provincial council in the country did the same, leave alone every one of the 70 Ministers, 40 Deputy Ministers and MPs selecting their pet projects regardless of what the national priorities were, overlooking accepted procedure, bypassing the relevant Ministry and approaching foreign Governments and agencies for financing?

The Government has taken fresh interest in funds entering the country for certain non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and threatened that the law will be amended to give authorities the right to review NGO financing. But hidden away from the eyes of any monitoring agency, hundreds of Foundations — set up through Private Members’ Bills in Parliament and in the name of certain Ministers — are gathering contributions and carrying out “projects”. It is not known how much of their collections go towards genuine causes and how much is “lost in the pipeline”. They are, quite simply, operating within a lacuna, a grey area. Neither the NGO Secretariat, nor Parliament nor the External Resources Department is responsible for how much money comes to them, from where or what it is used for. Perhaps this is why the number of such groups has increased dramatically in recent years.

If the three-page circular Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera wrote in June is any indication, the Ministry of Finance and Planning is already in a pickle. The letter was addressed to administrative heads of ministries, provincial councils, departments, local government institutions, public corporations, statutory boards and district secretariats. It was also sent to all development partners.

The Head of the Government Treasury warns them against formulating project proposals for obtaining foreign funds without following the due process, including prior consultations with his ministry. It is a violation of the Foreign Loan Act which precludes any government agency from dealing directly with foreign agencies in formulating project proposals or in the latter stages of project implementation without Treasury approval.

The circular points to a systematic problem that was grave enough for the Treasury to step in. Everyone in power and place – some Ministers, fly-by-night businessmen with influence to the “top echelons”, ever ready for a shady deal, even corporation chairmen, it would seem, were “chasing projects” and it was throwing national planning off kilter. Curbing this waywardness has become all the more crucial because Sri Lanka, after achieving middle income status, has a limited pool of resources to tap. What is available must be carefully matched with national priorities, something tasked to the Ministry of Finance and Planning.

But when it comes to public finances, it is becoming more commonplace now for a few with carte blanche licence to decide how the money should be begged or borrowed, and spent, no questions asked — and no questions answered, either.

Unbridled power is robbing the poor

How much does corruption and power abuse cost the ordinary citizen?

Kumar David-August 16, 2014,

The common refrain of supporters of an all powerful unchallengeable Executive Presidency (EP) has been: "What does the common man care about abolishing EP; all he/she is concerned about is the cost of living, children’s schooling; decent housing". Sycophants chant: "SI-CC talk against EP is a game played by the Colombo elite. The farmer, the fisherman and the city worker take no notice". The truth however is that the EP-perfidy costs Punchi Banda in the village and Sarath baas in the city a load of money. Secondly, the abuses perpetrated by UPFA politicos, enjoying impunity thanks to EP, despoil the quality of ordinary people’s lives. The deficit in public edification on this score has to be blamed on us the promoters of the abolish-EP campaign; we have not done enough to explain the extent and seriousness of these distortions in simple words to the public.

Unbridled Power is Robbing the Poor by Thavam

Do NGOs Have Moral Obligations For Accountability And Transparency?

| by Laksiri Fernando

( August 17, 2014, Sydney, Sri Lanka Guardian) This is undoubtedly a controversial matter and at least the Friday Forum (FF) should have refrained from jumping into this controversy while issuing its belated statement – “Democratic Governance, Voluntary Associations and People’s Rights” - against the Defense Ministry circular intended to coerce the NGO activities. The threat to the NGOs came in early July and this is mid or rather late August! No doubt that the threat is continuing and therefore the FF statement is very welcome.

But unfortunately after all good things stated about the authoritarian danger of the government and exposing the contents of the said circular and most importantly aftear delineating the verdicts or determinations expressed by most respected judges like Justices Mark Fernando, ARB Amerasinghe and GPS de Silva in three court cases, including the famous Janaghosha, the statement unnecessarily or for some reason has jumped into the controversy. It says,

“Popular terms such as “accountability” and “transparency” are at times used with reference to NGOs by unscrupulous persons both within and outside the Government, to promote their own agendas.”

Apart from its insinuation against ‘unscrupulous persons’ not only within the government, but also outside, the statement begs some fundamental questions about ‘accountability’ and ‘transparency’ on the part of the Friday Forum. How come that for a Forum or NGO that advocates good governance and democracy, and stand against authoritarianism, ‘accountability’ and ‘transparency’ have suddenly become just ‘popular terms’? Aren’t they cardinal principles of democracy and good governance? Let me ask the question very directly.

Does or does not the Friday Forum believe that NGOs are morally accountable and should be transparent to the society that they serve?

I believe in the affirmative. There are people who have discussed limits and risks of regulation of NGOs (i.e. Patricia Armstrong) but to my knowledge no one has denied that the NGOs have moral obligations on accountability and transparency. Doubts about the position of the FF emerges particularly when it says,

“NGOs are accountable like private persons only if they break the law of the land.”

There is a world of difference between a private person and an NGO, while NGOs themselves are of various types and formations. NGOs, whatever the type, belong to the public sphere and not to the private sphere. That is why they are morally obliged to account and transparent to society, apart from to its membership. NGOs are not private ‘drinking clubs’ or ‘prayer meetings.’ There are norms of ‘good practices’ that not only the NGOs but also the prominent members or the leaders of the NGOs should abide by.

It is true that there can be confusions not only about NGO accountability and transparency but also about good practices that the NGO members or leaders should abide by. It is possible that sometimes, the society or its agents, like the media, might expect or ask for more than what is reasonable from NGO leaders or individuals. Why should I hide, I am particularly referring to the controversy of Jayantha Dhanapala and Colombo Telegraph in the case of website blocking by the Dialog PLC. But that is not a reason to completely reject good practices, accountability or transparency. It is my view that the CT raised these issues in good faith and on behalf of the society at large, although I believe and maintain that it had gone too far beyond the reasonable limits and questioning.

But there are questions that the people should ask from NGOs. It is only a question of how we ask them and how we get involved in a constructive dialogue.

There are undoubtedly very good legal points and arguments put forward by the FF statement, more than what have been raised so far by other organizations or concerned individuals. It particularly and pertinently refers to Articles 3 and 4 (a) and (b) of the Constitution which categorically uphold that “In the Republic of Sri Lanka sovereignty is in the people, and includes the powers of government (legislative power exercised by Parliament, executive power exercised by the President) fundamental rights and the franchise.”

By raising the issue of people’s sovereignty, and fundamental rights as an integral part of it, the statement has completely refuted not only the Defence Ministry circular but also the statements by the Minister of External Affairs and the Prime Minister as dangerous encroachments of civil society freedoms and activities. However, it has to be admitted that it is on the same premises that the NGOs, as civil society organizations, should be responsible and morally accountable and should be transparent to the people. If one denies the second proposition, then one cannot defends the first. The FF statement says that,

“We must remember that NGOs are voluntary associations of people for purposes that they define for themselves. They are established in Sri Lanka according to diverse frameworks including under the Companies Act 2007.” (My emphasis).

It might be the case that the FF is established under the Companies Act. But there are other NGOs which are established and registered under the Social Services Act. Then there are certain legal obligations particularly on finance, accounts and plans of action as a result of that registration. There is no doubt that these should be changed and liberalized. However, the Defense Ministry circular is way beyond those obligations and tries to dictate terms on mandates and activities of NGOs.

It may be true that the Companies Act does not talk about ‘transparency or accountability’ or in the same manner they are discussed in good governance or in human rights. Corporate social responsibilities are however increasing topics discussed internationally. Human rights obligations are increasingly incorporated in business. The FF definition of NGOs that ‘they define for themselves’ is far too loose and exonerates ‘themselves’ from social responsibilities.

NGO accountability is an accepted norm internationally (See Lisa Jordan and Peter Van Tuijl, ed., “NGO Accountability: Politics, Principles and Innovations,” 2006). There is no good reason to reject it just because there are encroachments on the part of the State. The views expressed by FF might not be shared by other NGOs. The following was what Sarath Fernando of the Movement for Land and Agriculture Reform (MONLAR) has written to the Daily Mirror yesterday (16 August 2014).

“NGOs are not an illegal phenomena. They are recognised world over since they play a very useful role. It is up to NGOs to win confidence of the people by doing things that are useful and also by being accountable to the people. It is in the name of suffering people that funds are raised either locally or internationally. Therefore such funds belong to the people and NGOs using such funds have to be answerable to people.”

This is in stark contrast to the opinion of the FF. It may be true that the FF does not handle much funds and the members must be contributing generously. But accountability is not limited to finance or funds. However, there are so many NGOs other than the Friday Forum. In the name of good governance and democracy, we all need to uphold principles of ‘accountability and transparency’ in the case of NGOs as well.

Court orders Sri Lanka to stop deporting Pakistani asylum seekers

Sat Aug 16, 2014 

COLOMBO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A Sri Lankan court on Friday ordered authorities to stop deporting Pakistani asylum seekers, following a complaint they were being forcibly sent home without having their claims properly assessed.

The United Nations refugee agency says 88 Pakistanis have been deported since Aug. 1. The agency, UNHCR, says it has been denied access to another 75 people who are awaiting deportation.

"The president of the Appeal Court granted interim relief for two weeks to suspend the deportation of all asylum seekers," said Lakshan Dias, the lawyer of a 38-year-old Pakistani woman whose husband, brother and father are currently in detention. The woman brought the original complaint.

The Sri Lankan government says the Pakistanis are part of an influx of economic immigrants in the past year who have become a burden on the country's resources and potentially compromised state and regional security.

But Sri Lanka's Appeal Court said it wanted to look into the cases further and temporarily suspended deportations. A new hearing is scheduled for Aug. 29.

Most of the Pakistanis are from the Ahmadiyya Islamic sect, which believes in a prophet after Mohammed. They Ahmadi consider themselves Muslims, but a 1984 Pakistani law declared them non-Muslims and many Pakistanis consider them heretics.

Last month, a Pakistani mob killed an Ahmadi woman and two of her granddaughters after another sect member was accused of posting blasphemous material on Facebook.

It was not immediately clear if the Sri Lankan government would abide by the court ruling.

Chulananda Perera, controller of the Immigration and Emigration Department, said he had could not comment because he had not received the court .

The court order comes three days after the UNHCR accused Sri Lanka of breaching international law and called on it to halt the deportations and allow the agency to assess claims.

According to UNHCR guidelines, members of religious minorities such as Ahmadiyya Muslims may need protection and require particularly careful examination of their asylum claims.

Authorities deny violating any international laws, saying Sri Lanka is not a signatory to the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention.

The number of refugees or asylum seekers rose by 700 percent in the year through June 2014 from the previous year, says the foreign ministry. That included 1,562 asylum seekers and 308 refugees.

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Writing by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Larry King)

Extremists oppose Pope’s visit to Sri Lanka – Vatican Insider

Paolo Affatato/Rome
Bodu bala extremistThe relationship between Sri Lanka’s Catholics and Buddhists is on the rocks. Sri Lanka. Francis will be visiting the island in January 2015, his second Asian destination after Korea. Once the news of Francis’ trip got round, movements of radical and ultranationalist Buddhist monks verbally attacked the Pope, setting a dangerous media propaganda campaign in motion. Vatican Insider learnt that a group of monks stormed a meeting that was organized by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, hurling violent insults and threats against participants.

These radical Buddhist groups – whose actions are fuelled by fervent nationalism coloured by faith and culture – have been targeting Muslims and also Christian Evangelicals and Pentecostals for some time now. These religious groups are seen as advocates of a strong religious proselytism. Now, these groups seem to be targeting Catholics as well. This has sparked concern among bishops, civil authorities, the Nunciature of Colombo and other European embassies ahead of the Pope’s visit.

One of the monks who will be giving Francis a particularly cool welcome, is Galagoda Atte Gnanasara. Galagoda Atte Gnanasara is leader of “Bodu Bala Sena” (“Buddhist Power Force”) a monastic organization which has grown in reputation and become increasingly popular among the island’s 20 million inhabitants (75% of whom are Buddhist) in recent years. No sooner had the Holy See confirmed the dates of the next leg of Francis’ Asian tour (Sri Lanka from 12 to 15 January and the Philippines from 15 to 19 January), than the monk issued a hostile statement to the media declaring: “Pope Francis must apologise to Buddhists for the atrocities committed by Christian colonial governments in South Asia. I am waiting to see what the Pope will say about the crimes committed here.” Sri Lanka was under Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial rule between 1505 and 1948.

Bodu Bala Sena has emerged as a worrying presence in Sri Lanka in recent years and is accused by many of “inciting violence”. This climate of hostility and revenge is based on a historical memory that has been manipulated in order to spread hatred and this could be problematic for the Argentinian Pope’s pilgrimage. Anti-Christian propaganda spreads easily via the web as well as via traditional mass media and is concerning civil authorities who – with the Holy See’s approval – are preparing the detailed programme of the Pope’s visit. As Sri Lanka’s bishops announced, the Pope should visit the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Madhu, which is situated in the Tamil area and has always been a place that symbolizes reconciliation between the island’s two ethnic groups, the Sinhalese and the Tamils. These groups had been engaged in a bloody civil conflict. Buddhist radicals openly support the Sinhalese and so they see this visit as an insult which should be strongly condemned.

This climate has given rise to another incident which is causing growing concerns, Louis Lougen (the Superior General of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, one of the biggest Catholic missionary Congregations) told Vatican Insider. On 4 August, a group of violent Buddhists carried out an illegal raid on the Centre for Society and Religion in Colombo where missionaries – priests, nuns, lay people, human rights activists, lawyers and embassy representatives – were holding a peaceful meeting.

The aim of the meeting was to pinpoint methods and strategies for helping the families of missing people – this remains an open wound in the wake of the civil war – locate their loved ones. The centre, which is led by OMI missionary Stephen Ashok, has been helping civil war victims for years. The extremists broke into the building, prevented the meeting from continuing, insulted participants and threatened to demolish the centre. They wanted to intimidate families and discredit the Oblate missionaries (whom they see as “traitors of the country”) and the Catholic Church. The local police intervened but were of little help, missionaries say. Police officers came up with abstruse excuses and reasons for not doing anything.

“The Oblates of Mary Immaculate have been present in Sri Lanka for more than 170 years; they have helped build a Catholic Church in this country and are proud of their support to all the island’s citizens.” Louis Lougen says this in a letter, which calls on the government to take decisive action to guarantee the rights and freedoms of all citizens regardless of their religious faith. The letter also recalls that when Pope Francis received Sri Lanka’s bishops during their ad limina visit, he commented on the crucial role of the Catholic Church in bringing reconciliation to the country.
-Vatican Insider