Wednesday, August 27, 2014

191 instances of election violations & violence – NEM IHR

WEDNESDAY, 27 AUGUST 2014

Network for Election Monitoring of the Intellectuals for Human rights (NEM-IHR) states it has received 191 complaints of election violence and violations in relation to Uva PC election from the day the nominations were handed over until the morning on 27.08.2014.

A communique signed by the Chief Executive Officer of NEM IHR Dr. Uditha Gunasekera states among the complaints they have studied are 97 instances of illegal propaganda, 34 instances of election violence, 11 instances of illegal use of state resources, 10 instances of using state power unfairly, 8 instances of unjustifiable influence on public viewpoint, 4 instances of police partiality, 26 instances of obstructing legal propaganda campaigns and one other incident related to the election.

The communique further states, “During the past few days a tendency of election violence escalating was observed. The worst damage was inflicted on the JVP. 15 of their party offices have been attacked and damaged and 4 instances of using firearms have been reported against that party.

Also, attacks against 14 election offices of the UNP, 2 offices of the Democratic Party and one office of the UPFA have been reported while two vehicles belonging to UPFA and an office of NFF have been attacked.

We believe that the incidents are an attempt to sow terror among activists of opposition political parties and sabotage their election campaigns. We have already emphasized that the IGP’s mediation is essential to curb the situation. We also emphasized that firearms belonging to gangs of thugs and politicians in Uva Province should be taken over by the police.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economic Development is taking steps to deploy 50 Samurdhi Officers each to all Divisional Secretariats in Badulla and Monaragala districts on 7th and 8th of next month. The complaint we received regarding this indicates that these Samurdhi Officers, on the pretext of their duties as state officers, are to be used in the election campaign of the UPFA to distribute various items to Samurdhi recipients.

Also, complaints have been received of a plan to send graduates who were recently recruited by the Ministry of Economic Development to all houses in Uva Province on the pretext of carrying out an economic survey but in reality to carry out the election campaign of the UPFA. This is an instance of deviously deploying state employees in election campaigns by the Ministry of Economic Development and is a violation of the circular PCE/2014/UVA/03 issued by the Commissioner of Elections on 16.07.2014.

Such surveys and distribution of goods to Samurdhi recipients that influence the public opinion and give false hopes to people regarding various economic programmes totally jeopardizes the attempt to hold a free and fair election. Election authorities should take urgent measures to prevent such attempts,” states the Chief Executive Officer of the NEM IHR.

terror floating in Uva!

JVP tells IGP to act promptly
BY RUWAN LAKNATH JAYAKODY

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) yesterday demanded IGP N.K. Illangakoon to act promptly and disarm hoodlums deployed by the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), and institute legal action against those goons, presently running amok and threatening the conduct of a free and fair election in Uva.

The government is deploying thugs to create a reign of terror in the Moneragala District, the JVP claimed yesterday.
General Secretary of the JVP, Tilvin Silva said the government, which from the beginning of election campaigning in Uva, was engaged in violating election laws (Sri Lanka Transport Board buses), is now using State power to destroy Party offices belonging to Opposition (14 JVP offices in total), burn stages and using firearms to oppress the people.

Armed groups arriving in Defenders are spreading fear in Monaragala, obstructing duties of Police and elections officials, he explained.

"We even have empty shell casings at our damaged and destroyed Party office premises. Yet, despite complaining to the police, no arrests have been made. Candidate Anura Widanagamage issued death threats to Elections officials. The environment has become such that the Opposition can no longer continue their campaigns," Silva lamented.
The JVP said that the thugs behind this devastation were hired groups from outside the area, adding that they were travelling in vehicles provided to security details of government big-wigs.

The government is also maintaining a lot of unauthorized offices, using a large numbers of vehicles, using public property in their campaigns and utilizing government servants (from the Ministry of Economic Development, Samurdhi officials and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation) in promotional and publicity activities, the JVP said.
"The government has turned their units into terror mongering, because they are planning a Presidential election soon. They stole three seats from the Badulla District, in which they have no faith and gave them to Monaragala. Shasheendra Rajapaksa is engaged in doling out inducements to voters. The police are also manipulated by these gangsters," Silva reiterated.
The poorest Province in Sri Lanka is Uva, the JVP opined.

"Farmers do not have water or land, or a proper selling price for their produce, yet the government is selling acres of land to companies like the Dole Food Company, from the United States of America. Roads, schools and hospitals are in dire straits. The estates and plantations are facing a bleak time and at a time when the basic rights of the people in Uva are wantonly robbed from them, floating markets are being opened for a certain class in the metropolis," the JVP explained.

Elections Commissioner’s sordid and unscrupulous conduct opposed from within his own department – rebellion within

(Lanka-e-News- 26.Aug.2014, 11.30PM) It is a universally acknowledged fact that an Elections Commissioner ought to be absolutely impartial given the fact that he holds a most responsible position , and any corrupt activity of his can bring ruination on a country which is depending on him fully just like they depend on elections to elect their right candidate. It is also equally true that the highly valued right of franchise of the people will be rendered meaningless if the Elections commissioner turns shamelessly partial and unscrupulous in order to favor and fawn on the rulers. He cannot therefore indulge in comic and clownish activities although he has been selected deliberately by the equally unscrupulous rulers to be a comedian to serve their selfish self centered power greed.

Mahinda Deshapriya , the present elections commissioner of Sri Lanka who is a stooge of MaRa , had already displayed signals that he is not only incapable of being impartial but also incompetent to handle his tasks duly so much so that the staff within his own department itself have turned against him over his obnoxious and shameless conduct.

This resentment against Deshapriya had been triggered following Deshapriya’s disgraceful sordid actions on the 18 th of August and his lukewarm conduct in the past amidst the threats which were faced by his own senior elections officers.

Hereunder is detailed the disgraceful incident that took place on the 18 th of August :

Mahinda Deshapriya who summoned the secretaries of the opposition political parties – UNP, JVP and Democratic party to his elections commissioner’s office for a meeting regarding Uva provincial council (PC) elections , made a beeline to the Parliament to woo and meet with secretaries of the government , Maithripala Sirisena the SLFP secretary , and Susil Premajayantha , the UPFA secretary .

For this meeting Deshapriya has invited additional elections commissioners U. Amaradasa and R .M.A.L. Ratnayake ,deputy elections commissioner (administration) M.M. Mohomed and three most senior elections officers close to Deshapriya .

The superior officer next to Deshapriya is from Beliatta , the village of Rajapakses. Except Amaradasa , the other two officers have rightly opposed this action of Deshapriya.

This same Deshapriya who made a sprint to the parliament with the other officers, crept into Temple Trees in the night under the cover of darkness , met the President over a sumptuous meal and booze and for a secret discussion ( Lanka e news exposed this in its report on 21 st July that while the Uva elections has begun , a secret sumptuous party is being thrown to elections commissioner , chiefs of the forces and the police at Temple Trees).

It is a well and widely known fact that in the whole history of the elections commissioner’s department ,never were its officers attacked , insulted, harassed and threatened as now under Deshapriya’s tenure of office as Commissioner of elections. Yet instead of standing by his officers and acting with a backbone on their behalf , he has all along been emptily bragging about how he was a stupid and spurious pro communist activist when he was a youth in the communist party while in the University. The officers of the department are therefore thoroughly disappointed and disillusioned regarding Deshapriya’s sordid and shameless conduct selling his so called ideologies and soul to curry favor with the most evilly powerful in the political hierarchy. The following episodes further expose Deshapriya’s offensive official conduct …….

* Son in law of Minister Gamini Lokuge scolded Deshapriya’s own subordinate elections officers in most insolent language .

* A provincial council member of the government , Janaka Weliwatte (lawyer) most viciously scolded an assistant elections commissioner and attempted to assault him.

* At Matara , Assistant Commissioner of elections , Aruna Saumya Fernando was assaulted by Rasaputra.

* Recently , when Kurunegala deputy elections commissioner Chaminda Thalangama gave an order forbidding a procession with about 150 vehicles of Anura Vidhanagamage and Thenuka Vidhanagamage at Mahiyangana , Thalangama’s camera was broken into pieces and was nearly assaulted.

In these circumstances of wanton violence and attacks launched on his own superior elections officers by the politicos of the Rajapakse regime , even though Mahinda Deshapriya has all the powers to take action against the wrongdoers who insulted , assaulted and obstructed the performance of the legitimate duties of his superior elections officers , this shameless stooge and lackey had done nothing – not even lifted a finger to safeguard the dignity or ensure the safety of his subordinate officers .

On the contrary , it is the view of Deshapriya that disciplining the party members is a responsibility of the party secretaries. The officers of the elections department are also rudely surprised and angered over Deshapriya’s pretended timidity and fear to object to the printing of invitation cards by the government politicos linked to their elections propaganda, as well as polling cards by the government printing department in violation of election laws. Moreover , Deshapriya has taken no action whatsoever against these glaring malpractices.

Meanwhile Charitha Herath , the secretary to the government’s unscrupulous Ministry of media coolies , had given an unlawful order to the government printing department to print invitation cards of the SLFP. He had further stated most shamelessly that the cost of this illegal printing will be met by the economic development Ministry of Basil Rajapakse.

A JVP member had questioned whether Basil’s Ministry would meet the printing expenses of their own election posters done through the government printer ? Indeed , every party should be given that concession .

The bribes in view of elections which began with distribution of exercise books and spades has now blossomed in all its stench to cellular phones, and even free distribution of tractors in spite of the fact that all these are election law violations. Deshapriya , the elections commissioner remaining deaf and blind to all these raging brazen election violations had irked and irritated the elections officers of his own department . Sadly , Deshapriya seems to be ignorant and oblivious of the treason he is committing by his sordid disgraceful official conduct ,disregarding even the priceless value of the right to franchise of the voters which is going to decide the destiny of a whole country – whether the country is going to be ruled by brutes, foolish brats and stealthy rats in human form or true patriots .

Buoy broke due to Gota’s folly – Anura Priyadarshana Yapa

Wednesday, 27 August 2014

The buoy being used to pump oil from tankers arriving in Colombo to the port has broken due to the foolish acts by defence ministry secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, such as the reclaiming of land from the sea, says petroleum minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa.

The minister has made the remark during a chat with a leading Sri Lankan journalist. Since he cannot publish what the minister has told him in his media, that journalist has sent us that information through a third party.

At that conversation, petroleum minister Yapa has pointed out that the port city project of the Urban Development Authority that was built by reclaiming a 500 acre sea area has affected the natural wave system, which can clearly be evident in the sea area from Ratmalana to Wattala. This change has resulted in the sea area becoming rough, which was seen only during off-season previously. This has caused disruptions to port activities due to ships’ failure to enter the port, he has explained with examples.

As a direct result of the natural wave system getting affected in this manner, the buoy broke, the minister has pointed out. He also said massive projects of this nature being carried out without environment impact assessments do more damage than good to a country.

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had to abandon his attempt to expand his port city further, up to Galle Face Green, in the face of objections by the managements of Shangrila and Galle Face Hotels. The two hotels have noted that tourists were visiting them not to see the port city, but the Indian Ocean. Saying all these to the journalist, minister Yapa has told him to give the information to the media without quoting him.

Iranian weapons delivered to Iraqi Kurdish forces

Published on Aug 26, 2014

Kurdistan's President Massoud Barzani says his forces will fight Islamic State with weapons suppied by Iran. Jillian Kitchener reports.

Powerful: Egyptian Feminists Literally Shit, Bleed on ISIL Flag (NSFW)

Reason Magazine

Nick Gillespie|Aug. 25, 2014

Egyptian activist Aliaa Magda Elmahdy and an unnamed collaborator have made an incredibly bold statement against the Islamic State (ISIL).

From a writeup at Liveleak:

[Elmadhy] posted a photo to Facebook Saturday of herself and another unidentified women defecating and menstruating on an Islamic State flag while in the nude, in what appears to be a protest against the Islamist terror group’s recent advances in northern Iraq and Syria

Aliaa Magda Elmahdy did not specify why she posted the photo, though past controversies, such as a 2011 incident in which she posed in only stockings and red shoes for her blog — to protest against Egypt’s conservative culture — suggest that she was opposing the Islamic State terror group’s brutally restrictive and misogynistic ideology.

In the image, the 23-year-old feminist is seen facing the camera, while the other woman, dressed in a black hijab, has her back towards the viewer. Two presumably plastic machine guns are in the background, and the veiled woman is holding up her middle finger. The letters IS are inscribed on Elmahdy’s stomach and on the second woman’s bottom.

Melting pot

But I think the bigger point is that America has a totally different relationship to its ethnic minorities than the UK. This country is instinctively more multicultural than the US. It is a far more genuine melting pot than the US. We are all crammed together on this small islands, forced to share the facilities. America has the luxury of endless space. It is less a melting pot than an archipelago of immigrant communities from gated suburbs to ghettoes.

27 liberty g w Why there are fewer jihadis from the US than Britain

Americans can live apart from each other which is both a blessing and a curse. But there is one difference. When immigrants come to the US and get “naturalised” as newly minted American citizens they make a pledge of allegiance not with a president or a monarch or a congress or a culture or even a democratic system but with a piece of paper that guarantees their freedoms and differences.

It is a purely legal contract to uphold the constitution. It says nothing about their culture of origin. It is thus possible for a Russian, Ukrainian, Syrian or Iraqi American to be both fiercely patriotic for Uncle Sam and for his or her own culture of origin.

The notion of a Norman Tebbit test of national loyalties is absurd in the US. In other words Pakistani Americans may find it much easier to be embraced by their new home than to be merely caressed by it. Becoming an immigrant to the USA is complicated, expensive and lengthy, especially if it is done legally.

You have to really want to be there in order to get and stay there. This ethos of the promised land has been handed down from one generation to the next. And here comes the real problem. The contract with Uncle Sam only works if those who sign up to it believe that they have as a good a shot as their neighbour at pursuing the American dream, that their new home is a land of equal opportunity.

Inequality

This is where the deal breaks down more and more. Inequality rather than race is America’s more poisonous divide because although they coincide inequality crosses ethnic boundaries. Inequality is fundamentally UN American. It has existed for much longer than most Americans care to admit. Since the recession it has been caught out.

For instance in 1978 the CEO of the average Wall Street firm earned 24 times as much as his secretary. Now it’s 400 times as much. The curse of inequality has been leavened by the collapse in faith towards America’s Federal institutions.

27 Douglas McAuthur McCain Why there are fewer jihadis from the US than Britain

Above: Douglas McAuthur McCain is believed to be the first American killed while fighting for IS

According to a Gallup poll this summer only 30 per cent Americans trust the supreme court, 29 per cent the presidency and 7 per cent congress. Meanwhile an astonishing 76 per cent believe that the next generation of Americans will be worse off than the current one.

The ideological fibre that supposedly binds America together is more frayed than ever. The nation of believers is becoming a country of cynics racked by self-doubt and lacking a clear direction. Barack Obama’s election in 2008 was the last attempt to reverse that course. It hasn’t worked and it is hard to see who or what can give it another shot. In this vacuum it is entirely possible that an increasing number of Americans will join their British, Belgian or Swedish counterparts to seek extreme solutions in the shifting sands of Syria or Iraq.

Follow @mattfrei on Twitter.

- See more at: http://blogs.channel4.com/matt-frei-on-america/united-states-jihadis/4029#sthash.jKr1gAar.uVKvfCsQ.dpuf

Insight - A broken man living on dreams pulls Japan into Syria hostage drama

BY TEPPEI KASAI AND ANTONI SLODKOWSKI-TOKYO Wed Aug 27, 2014

(Reuters) - When Haruna Yukawa was captured in Syria earlier this month, a video apparently released by his captors showed them pressing the Japanese man to answer questions friends say he had struggled with for years: Who are you? Why are you here?

Insight - A Broken Man Living on Dreams Pulls Japan Into Syria Hostage Drama by Thavam

Transparency and democracy must decide Japan’s nuclear future

An anti-nuclear protester holds an umbrella decorated with chemical symbols during a march towards the Diet building in Tokyo late last year. Pic: AP.

By Graham Land Aug 27, 2014

The story of nuclear power in Japan is one fraught with complexity. The country’s introduction to the power of the atom came in the shape of wholesale death and destruction, the likes of which had never been seen before. Yet not even 10 years after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the Japanese government allocated 230 million yen for a new nuclear energy program. The first commercial reactor in Japan went online in 1966 and the country eventually built 54 operational atomic power plants, supplying around 30% of its energy needs with future goals of an even higher percentage. Then in March of 2011 the Fukushima disaster happened, putting the brakes on the expansion of nuclear power and resulting in the shutdown of every operational plant in the nation.

It’s strange to think that the only victim of a full-on nuclear attack in the history of the world would become one of the largest proponents and users of nuclear power. It couldn’t have been an easy sell in the wake of the Second World War and it surely isn’t one now. Yet, even in the era of Chernobyl, Japan did not back down from atomic energy use. Perhaps it was overconfidence or the somewhat insular nature of an island nation, which has traditionally seen itself as exceptional in many ways. Or perhaps Japan’s characteristic lack of government transparency was the key to selling nuclear power in a country that lived under the unique specter of having been ravaged by atomic bombs.

Fukushima temporary waste storage. Pic: Ricardo Herrgott/Global 2000 (Flickr CC)

A Nuclear Vox Populi

As of today there are no nuclear reactors online in Japan, despite efforts by politicians and the industry to get back on track. Interestingly, the Japanese people elected a pro-nuclear prime minister in Shinzo Abe, yet they remain understandably skeptical of something that has caused so much damage to their country and individual psyches.

However paternalistic its attitudes may be, the government of Japan would do well to listen to the wishes of its people when it comes to nuclear power. Yes, the benefits of the energy source are well known, especially in a country that relies on imports for 84% of its energy needs. But the dangers of nuclear power can no longer be swept under the rug or hidden behind a government-created myth of safety.

At least let the people know about not only the risks of nuclear energy, but also the full results of the Fukushima disaster. The Japanese government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) have been notoriously tight-lipped about both what happened in the immediate wake of the disaster and ongoing developments in containing it. As a result, public trust in the government and TEPCO remains low and when earthquakes and tsunamiscontinue to threaten the region around Fukushima, that trust is not likely to recover any time soon.

IAEA experts visit Fukushima. Pic: IAEA Imagebank

Continuing Threat

Over three years on, the dangers coming from the four damaged reactors at Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant have not gone away. Scientists and authorities simply do not know how to ensure the safety of the area. A recent $316 million plan to surround the damaged reactors in a wall of ice in order to block the flow of contaminated water in the basements of the plant has been met with doubts from some nuclear experts. Any and all work containing or stopping the leaks, while necessary, is dangerous and costly. Meanwhile, a planned lift of restrictions for the return of inhabitants to villages surrounding Fukushimahas been delayed due to residents’ concerns. Further concerns have surfaced about debris from the disaster contaminating rice crops. Luckily, the contaminated rice crops reportedly never reached the market.

The recent ruling by the Fukushima district court that TEPCO pay the family of a suicide victim 45m yen (US$433,000) in damages further demonstrates Japan’s complex relationship with nuclear power. The court found that 58-year-old Hamako Watanabe’s forced evacuation from her home resulted in Watanabe’s depression and suicide by self-immolation. The case highlights the different types of risks nuclear energy poses vs. other kinds of power.

Renewable Japan?

In an era of looming climate concerns, dwindling oil supplies and nuclear fears, renewable energy is an increasingly appealing option. The market in solar energy products has blown up in Japan, and good prospects exist for geothermal and wind power, yet Shinzo Abe’s government is pushing coal. You might think a nationalist and populist like Abe could at least see the political benefit of increased energy independence without nuclear power, which has not always been kind to his country.

Fukushima memorial at the European Parliament. Pic: greensefa (Flickr CC)

Rotherham abuse scandal: Labour joins calls for crime commissioner to resign

Labour chief whip telephones Shaun Wright advising him to quit as 15 victims announce plans to sue over abuse

Shaun Wright received a number of reports about widespread abuse but failed to act swiftly enough, according to the report. Photograph: South Yorkshire police/PA

Helen Pidd, Ami Sedghi and Josh Halliday

Wednesday 27 August 2014

Shaun Wright, the police and crime commissioner for South Yorkshire who was accused of turning a blind eye to the sexual exploitation ofchildren in Rotherham, is consulting his family over his future afterLabour called for his resignation.

Rotherham Abuse Scandal Labour Joins Calls for Crime Commissioner to Resign by Thavam

Alberta, Canada to Stop Child Labour & Create Stronger Protection Laws

Please sign and share this petition worldwide in an effort to get the province of Alberta to implement and enforce new, stronger child labour and protection laws that will defend the underage population. Recent studies show that too many young adolescents are working and many in dangerous positions! The laws are too lax in Alberta and better enforcement is needed to protect children.

Children need to be children! They will be grown quick enough, living adult lives with adult responsibilities. Alberta is known as the province with the most lenient and lax child protection laws when it comes to labour. Of the 797 adolescents in a recent survey, 49.7% had experienced at least one workplace injury in the previous year.

The Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) is calling for changes to current child labour laws after the recent death of a 15-year-old worker on the job. An AFL spokesperson states that Alberta's child labour laws are among the most lax in Canada. The AFL has repeatedly made recommendations to improve working conditions and safety standards, specifically for young workers.

As Siobhan Vipond, AFL Secretary Treasurer, says, "Alberta needs targeted inspections of workplaces that employ 15-17-year-olds, especially in construction and other comparatively dangerous occupations. The AFL made urgent recommendations earlier this year, and this past weekend we are sadly reminded why these changes are so desperately needed in Alberta (more information on this issue can be found at http://nupge.ca/content/11772/alberta-remains-one-most-dangerous-places-canada-work-especially-young-workers).

Please sign and share this petition worldwide in an effort to get Alberta to implement and enforce new, stronger child labour and protection laws that will defend the underage population. Recent studies show that too many young adolescents are not only working but in jobs that could endanger their health and well-being.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Incompatible UNHRC and UNSG’s panel of experts guidelines

By Neville Ladduwahetty-August 26, 2014

Paragraph 10 (b) of the UNHRC Resolution of March 2014 on Sri Lanka calls for the investigation of alleged HUMAN RIGHTS violations during the period February 2002 to May 2009. The UN Secretary General’s Panel of Experts, on the other hand, states that alleged violations during the "final states of the armed conflict" should be investigated on the basis of provisions of HUMANITARIAN LAW. These incompatible guidelines would set in place different parameters as to how accountability issues are investigated.

Incompatible UNHRC and UNSG’s Panel of Experts Guidelines by Thavam