India's growth speeds up in after-glow of Modi's triumph

A labourer works at the construction site of a residential complex in Kolkata August 29, 2014.

BY RAJESH KUMAR SINGH-NEW DELHI Fri Aug 29, 2014 

(Reuters) - The after-glow of Narendra Modi's election victory nearly four months ago helped India's lumbering economy register its fastest growth in two-and-a-half years for the quarter ending in June.

Gross domestic product grew a faster-than-expected 5.7 percent year-on-year, a government data showed on Friday, sharply higher than a provisional 4.6 percent expansion in the previous three months.

The last two years marked the longest spell of growth of less than 5 percent in a quarter of a century, and Modi must spur the economy to far faster growth to provide jobs for increasing numbers of youth joining the work force, and to lift millions out of poverty.

"We are at the starting point of the pickup in the growth cycle in India," said Sonal Varma, an economist with Nomura. "This data gives us the first sign into that."

She expects the economy to expand 6 percent year-on-year in the fiscal year to March 2015, higher than 5.5 percent estimated by the Reserve Bank of India and faster than a near decade-low of 4.7 percent last year.

India's new prime minister has promised to make it easier to do business through speedier clearances and stable tax policies, giving investors in Asia's third-largest economy hope of a rosier future after years of low growth and high inflation.

That hope has led to a marked increase in foreign capital inflows to the country - even before the election - making Indian shares the best performers in Asia this year.

Even though Modi is yet to launch big-bang reforms needed to propel the economy back to a near double-digit annual growth, his three-month-old administration has received a big thumbs-up from Indian corporates.

An overwhelming majority of CEOs in two polls, published by two national dailies on Thursday, credited Modi for reviving business confidence.

Aiding the sentiment, the global economy is showing signs of strengthening and is expected to lift overseas demand for Indian merchandise and underpin the recovery.

"We believe economy is definitely on a path of improvement," said Shubhada Rao, chief economist at Yes Bank in Mumbai. "For the full year, we could see a 60 to 80 basis points improvement from the last year."

STRUCTURAL REFORMS

However, without an overhaul of India's strained public finances, stringent land acquisition laws, chaotic tax regime and rigid labour rules, economists say, a broader and sustained economic revival will likely remain elusive.

Modi was expected to replicate his success as head of Gujarat state in breaking the political logjam in New Delhi that had blocked efforts to push these structural changes.

But a lack of majority in the Rajya Sabha means some of these measures cannot be carried out without bipartisan support. That has already delayed plans to increase foreign ownership caps in the insurance and pensions sector and revamp labour laws.

"For India's better economic performance to be sustained, the government will have to follow through on politically costly measures," said Bill Adams, senior international economist for PNC Financial Services Group.

The improvement in the latest GDP figures is in large measure due to the steps taken by the previous government to kick-start investments and spur consumer demand, which have led to a revival in manufacturing and mining activity.

Year-on-year growth was also helped by a favourable statistical base because of weak economic activity last year.

A wider economic recovery is still some distance away. Soaring prices of essential food items have squeezed India's consumers.

With private spending accounting for 60 percent of the economy, that bodes ill for a faster turnaround. It grew 5.6 percent on year in the June quarter compared with an 8.2 percent rise three months ago.

A weak consumer demand is also weighing on capital investments, which barely grew in the past two years. The sector, which contributes little over 32 percent to India's GDP, posted an annual growth of 7 percent, helped largely by a favourable statistical base.

"A strong recovery is not on the cards until ... greater efforts are made at reducing structural bottlenecks," said Shilan Shah, an analyst at macro-research firm Capital Economics.

(Additional reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in Mumbai; Editing by Robert Birsel and Alison Williams)

Echo chamber symphonies

August 28, 2014 

With repeated reassurances by side players in the international arena, it is no wonder the Government was  surprised by the TNA’s visit to New Delhi and its audience with the Indian Premier

The TNA delegation with Prime Minister Modi at his office in New Delhi-Subramanian Swamy

Subramanian Swamy is the new celebrity in Sri Lanka.
In the capital, he travels in tinted jeeps with a security detail, presumably because he has been a vocal critic of the LTTE. Swamy is mobbed by reporters eager to hear his views on Indo-Lanka relations and the Tamil issue. He is afforded lengthy television and print interviews, in which he never minces his words. He is vociferously anti-Tamil Nadu and Tamil diaspora, purports to be an expert on the Narendra Modi Government’s positions on the Sri Lankan issue and using silky tones, criticises the Tamil National Alliance and its continuing struggle for maximum devolution and a permanent political solution to the ethnic issue. Naturally, everything he says is music to the Sri Lankan Government’s ears.

Echo Chamber Symphonies by Thavam

அரசாங்கத்துடன் இருதரப்பு பேச்சுக்கு தயார். சுமந்திரன் அறிவிப்பு- UNP மீதும் குற்றச்சாட்டு:-

Global Tamil News

28 ஆகஸ்ட் 2014

இனப்பிரச்சினைத் தீர்வுக்கான இருதரப்பு பேச்சுக்கு தயாராக இருப்பதாக தமிழ்த்தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பு அறிவித்துள்ளது. பேச்சை ஆரம்பிக்குமாறு கூட்டமைப்பு வேண்டுகோள் விடுக்க வேண்டிய அவசியம் இல்லை என்றும் பேச்சை நடத்த வேண்டியது அரசாங்கத்தின் பொறுப்பு என்றும் கூட்டமைப்பன் பாராளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் சுமந்திரன் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

கொழும்பில் இன்று முற்பகல் இடம்பெற்ற ஊடகவியலாளர் சந்திப்பில் விளக்கமளித்த சுமந்திரன் விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் நிலைப்பாட்டில் இருப்பதால் கூட்டமைப்புடன் பேச முடியாது என அரசாங்கம் முன்னர் கூறுவதாகவும் ஆனால் நிரந்தரமான உறுதியான அரசியல் தீர்வு ஒன்றுதான் கூட்டமைப்பின்; நோக்கம் எனவும் சுமதந்திரன் குறிப்பிட்டார்.
நாட்டைப் பிரிக்காத ஐக்கிய இலங்கைக்குள் சிறந்த அரசியல் தீர்வு ஒன்றை தமிழ்த் தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பு வலியுறுத்துகின்றது. நாட்டை துண்டாடும் நிகழ்ச்சி நிரல் கூட்டமைப்பிடம் இல்லை என்றும் கூறிய சுமந்திரன் இந்தியப் பிரதமர் நரேந்திரமோடியுடன் நடத்தப்பட்ட பேச்சுக்கள் நம்பக்கையளிப்பதாகவும் கூறினார்.

அதேவேளை ஐக்கியதேசிய கட்சியின் செயற்பாடுகளை கடுமையாக விமர்சித்த சுமந்திரன் ஜனாதிபதி தேர்தலில் தமிழ் மக்கள் கண்ணை மூடிக் கொண்டு ஐக்கிய தேசிய கட்சிக்கு வாக்களிக்மாட்டார்கள் என்றும் எச்சரிக்கை விடுத்தார்.

இனப்பிரச்சினை தீர்வுக்கான சரியான ஒழுங்கமைப்புகள் இன்றி ஜனாதிபதி தேர்தலில் தமிழ் மக்கள் தங்களுக்கு வாக்களிப்பார்கள் என ஐக்கியதேசிய கட்சி எதிர்ப்பார்க்க முடியாது என்றும் அவர் சுட்டிக்காட்டினார்.

இந்த ஊடகவியலாளர் சந்திப்பில் விளக்கமளித்த மனோ கணேசன் ஸ்ரீலங்கா சுதந்திரக் கட்சியும் ஐக்கிய தேசிய கட்சியும் பொறுப்பற்ற முறையில் செயற்படுவதாக குற்றம் சுமத்தினார்.

வாக்குறுதிகளை மீறி மக்களை ஏமாற்றி சர்வதேச நாடுகளையும் ஏமாற்றி சர்வாதிகார ஆட்சி செய்யும் இந்த அரசாங்கத்தை வீட்டுக்கு அனுப்ப வேண்டும் என்றும் கூறிய மனோ கணேசன் 18 தடவைகள் இந்த அரசாங்கத்துடன் தமிழ்த்தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பு பேச்சு நடத்தி களைத்துப் போய் விட்டது என்றும் இனிமேலும் இந்த அரசாங்கத்தை கூட்டமைப்பு மாத்திரமல்ல தமிழ் மக்களும் நம்பமாட்டார்கள் என்றும் கூறினார்.  

‘Sinhala colonisation a great worry for Tamils’

Tamil National Alliance leader R. Sambanthan shares a word with Union Minister Pon. Radhakrishnan in Chennai on Wednesday. BJP State president Tamilisai Soundararajan is in the piccture. Photo: B.Jothi Ramalingam

August 28, 2014 

The most urgent step necessary in Sri Lanka is to halt the Sinhala colonisation programme being implemented by the government to change the very identity of the traditional Tamil areas, Tamil National Alliance leader R. Sambanthan said on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, Mr. Sambanthan said the programme was aimed at drastically changing the demography of the Tamil-dominated areas and rendering the demand for devolution of powers redundant. “If there is no intervention, the damage… will be irreversible and irreparable,” he said.

Mr. Sambanthan termed fruitful his meetings over the week with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi.

He said Mr. Modi underscored the need for finding a lasting political solution within a united Sri Lanka. The Prime Minister said that he was committed to ensuring the implementation of provisions under the 13 Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, facilitated by the India-Sri Lankan accord of 1987.

Further, Mr. Modi wanted the TNA to unite all Tamil-speaking people, including the Muslims. “He advised us not to take extreme positions. By remaining firm on non-violence, the Prime Minister said, we will win international support,” Mr. Sambanthan said.

The TNA delegation also informed Mr. Modi of the rampant militarisation of the northern and eastern provinces.

Earlier, Mr. Sambanthan met State BJP leaders, including president Tamilisai Soundararajan and Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, to apprise them of the outcome of the TNA delegation’s meeting with Mr. Modi.

Sri Lanka not interested in 13th Amendement implementation: Sri Lankan MP R Sampanthan

PTI Aug 27, 2014

CHENNAI: Tamil National Alliance leader and Sri Lankan MP R Sampanthan today alleged that the island nation government was not interested in implementing the 13th Amendment and was only impeding the functioning of the Northern Provincial Council.

"The government is not interested in implementing the 13th Amendment and is interested in blocking, impeding and restraining the functioning of the NPC," Sampanthan, the veteran Lankan Tamil leader told reporters here.

Regretting that the Chief Minister is unable to even have his choice as Chief Secretary, he said, "that is the situation under which he is functioning."

Alleging that the Governor was interfering with administrative and financial matters, he said, the gubernatorial authority had not even consented to a Bill seeking to set up a "Chief Minister's Fund" intended to take up development work.

"The Governor is impeding his function. Our Chief Minister had been a judge of the Supreme Court. Their expectation is that he will resign, which he wont do," he said.

Accusing Sri Lanka of settling Sinhalese people and militarising traditional Tamil regions, he alleged that their objective was to break the linguistic and cultural contiguity between Northern and Eastern Provinces.

"Their objective is also to change the demographic composition and change the cultural and linguistic identity of Tamil regions. The most urgent need is that this should end," he said.

"It is their hope that if they continue with this, a political solution for Tamils will be irrelevant, a solution could become redundant and they can have their own way," Sampanthan said.

On the Aug 23 meeting he had with Prime Minister Narendra Modi,he said the PM had stated he was committed to ensure that Tamils are able to live in Sri Lanka with self-respect,justice and in safety and equality, fulfilling their legitimate aspirations within the framework of a united Sri Lanka.

This was the position of "not only India, but the European Union and the international community and TNA as well," he said.

Modi said he was committed to implementation of not only the 13th Amendment, but going beyond building upon it to ensure justice for Tamils, he said.

"Modi has told us exactly what the government's position is and he has also told President Rajapakse that commitments made to Tamils must be fulfilled," Sampanthan said.

On certain views expressed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy in Colombo recently, the MP said "he is entitled to his views..we need not be worried about that."

On the Katchatheevu issue, he said, it was between the governments of India and Sri Lanka while on the Tamil Nadu fishermen issue, he said, the fishermen of Lanka and India should settle the issue through dialogue.

International Human Rights: Dispelling the Myths By Radhika Coomaraswamy

A Talk given at the Colombo Club, August 2014

by Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy 

- on 08/28/2014

Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. I do so with trepidation since speaking to captains of industry is quite outside my zone of comfort. My brother Indrajit Coomaraswamy, with whom you are more familiar, once told me in the middle of a political argument- you must realize, in society there are different roles that everyone must play. He said he was a civil servant and his job is to gently persuade governments to do the right thing.  He then added ‘you are a social activist- it is your role to speak truth to power”.

International Human Rights Dispelling the Myths by Radhika Coomaraswamy by Thavam

Uniting The Dupes

| by Tisaranee Gunasekara

“A programme to convert Hindu people into the Catholic religion is being implemented today. This problem is having a severe impact on the Hindu people of North-East. Those people asked us to obtain help from Bodu Bala Sena to find a solution to this problem.”

N Arunkanthan, President, All Ceylon Hindu Federation (Joint Media Conference with the BBS – 26.8.2014)

( August 28, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Bodu Bala Sena has a new ally – All Ceylon Hindu Federation. The purpose of this ‘Buddhist-Hindu’ partnership, according to Galagoda-Atte Gnanasara Thera, is to build national integration.

Uniting the Dupes by Thavam

U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay: 'I am supremely confident that I speak with moral authority'

by Henry Hullah-August 27th, 2014

In a world dominated by conflict, Human Rights are usually the first casualty.

It is the difficult mandate of United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner to try and protect them.

As the longest serving holder of this post, Navi Pillay is leaving just after scolding attacks on the entirety of the security council. She spoke to them in the past week, telling them that greater responsiveness towards the Syrian crisis could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

Many commentators believe that what the world has allowed to happen in Syria in turn let ISIS flourish. Chrsitiane Amanpour asked Navi Pillay about the monstrosities of the extremist group that Pillay's department has been documenting.

"This group is committing huge atrocities against men, women and children, large number - thousands of people killed and injured." Pillay told the program.

"What I want say is all actors, state and non-state actors, are accountable under international humanitarian law. But what I see here is neither side is taking measures to protect civilians."

A U.N. report released on the day of the interview has said that chemical weapon attacks by the Assad regime have been ongoing in Syria, even after United Nation's efforts to destroy them.

"Our recent report, which is being released today, shows levels of mass atrocities that are over six months period that have really deteriorated, increased to a large measure."

"Mostly chlorine gas," asked Amanpour.

"That is correct," she confirmed.

In the same region, Gaza has been left devastated by the Israel Defense Forces.

Pillay came out strongly against the actions of the IDF on the program, but went on to say that Hamas' actions are also unacceptable:​

"Obviously the acts of the Israeli government and the Israeli Defense Forces have caused far more civilian deaths and injuries"

"On the other hand, the Hamas and other armed groups are placing civilians as shields. They are placing mortars and rockets within civilian densely populated areas. And those amount to violations of international humanitarian law as well, as disregard for civilians."

'I am supremely confident that I speak with moral authority'

Over the six years of her tenure holding one of the highest posts in the United Nations it is no surprise that she has received some criticism.

In Israel she has been attacked for her stance on Gaza, while in Sri Lanka an official named her the 'Tamil Tigress'.

Amanpour asked how she has dealt with such attacks and criticisms over the years.

"I am supremely confident that I speak with moral authority," the High Commissioner said.

"These comments do not disturb me at all. There are still the other 190-odd countries who appreciate the work being done by my office because we assist them. They know the importance of investigating serious incidents. And so we continue with our work."

What about the United States, where her various requests to visit with officials were met with no response.

"They're a very key partner to my office. So they do help. They do champion human rights. But they have to look to their internal affairs as well."

"Issues such as addressing racism, racial discrimination and suppression of freedom of assembly, Guantanamo, the use of armed drones, the assassination contracts that have been issued.

"I feel that the United States is moving so far away from the standards that we require from other states, that the United States requires from other states."

Protection urged for Sri Lanka war crimes witnesses

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa speaks during a media briefing on the final day of the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo last year. (AFP)

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE-Wednesday 27 August 2014

COLOMBO: International rights groups have demanded protection for potential Sri Lankan witnesses at a UN-mandated war crimes investigation into the island's ethnic war which ended five year ago.

Six organizations in a joint letter expressed alarm over alleged intimidation, threats and reprisals against those likely to engage investigators probing the bloody finale to Sri Lanka's Tamil separatists war.

The letter published on the website of the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists urged "meaningful steps" to protect those who cooperated with the war crimes probe which was approved by the UN Human Rights Council in March.

"Human rights defenders in Sri Lanka face widespread intimidation," the letter said adding that it could intensify ahead of the presentation of an update on the investigation at the council's September and March sessions.

Sri Lanka has made it clear that it will not grant visas to UN investigators.
Colombo says it will also not accept the authority of the UN Human Rights Council to probe charges that Sri Lanka's military killed 40,000 civilians in the final months of the war in 2009.
The open letter, also signed by Amnesty International, said they were "deeply concerned" about ongoing attacks against rights activists in Sri Lanka.

"We are alarmed to learn of intimidation, threats and reprisals against all those perceived as likely to engage with and provide information to the investigation mandated by the UN Human Rights Council...," the letter said.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and other leaders have urged Colombo to cooperate with the UN rights body after ending a prolonged separatist war that pitted ethnic minority Tamil rebels against the largely Sinhalese army.

Outgoing UN rights chief Navi Pillay earlier this month suggested that her staff investigating allegations of mass killings may not have to travel to Sri Lanka at all.
She said there was a "wealth of information" outside the country.

Colombo maintains that its troops did not commit war crimes while crushing the Tamil Tiger rebel movement at the end of a conflict which lasted more than three decades and claimed more than 100,000 lives.

UN Investigators for Sri Lanka, Show Your Work!

by Rebecca Wexler 

- on 08/28/2014 

If the  U.N. wants to promote reconciliation in Sri Lanka, it has to show its work.  U.N. investigators should use tools and methods that are transparent, replicable, and open to scrutiny by all.  Every Sri Lankan, both inside and outside the country, deserves the chance to question the methods behind U.N. findings.

Last week, Sri Lanka’s president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, announced that he would not grant entry visas to U.N. human rights investigators looking into allegations of mass killings.  Since investigators won’t be able to collect evidence on the ground, they will have to rely more on digital evidence, like photographs, videos, and satellite images, which can be transmitted out of Sri Lanka and Mr. Rajapaksa’s control.  As U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Navy Pillay has said, there is a “wealth of information” outside the country.

Unfortunately, digital forensic investigations lend themselves to spectacles of expensive, high-tech, proprietary tools.  These tools can mystify experiments for regular citizens who don’t know how they work, and far exceed the budget of university scientists, both in and out of Sri Lanka, who may wish to replicate and confirm U.N. findings.  In particular, secret, closed, or proprietary investigative tools and methods obstruct external review and critique.  Commercial interests may conflict with the disclosure of methods and algorithmic functions.  As a result, using the wrong tools can produce a degraded authority for investigators via power, prestige, or financial advantage, rather than the accountability of scientific peer review.  The U.N. should resist the temptation.

Open tools and methods, in contrast, invite publics to participate in the process of investigation and authentication alongside experts.  After nearly thirty years of civil and ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, the target decision-makers for the U.N. investigation should not merely be courts and NGOs, but also include publics with divergent identity politics.  If the U.N. hopes to convince Sri Lankan publics to change their assumptions, and reach beyond identity networks and lived experiences to find common ground with former enemies, it should give them the resources to do so.  Investigative methods and tools for producing measurements from digital evidence, and each analytic step applying these measurements to reach conclusions, should be open for everyone to see.

To be sure, some information, like the identity of witnesses, must remain secret.  Transparency bears little weight compared with a risk to someone’s life or safety.  But with digital forensic tools, where the balance is between proprietary interest in trade secrets or marketing incentives, transparency should win.

Prior investigations into evidence of war crimes in Sri Lanka show the urgency of open tools and methods.  On August 25, 2009, Channel 4 News in the United Kingdom broadcast a leaked video that depicts men in Sri Lankan military uniforms performing extrajudicial executions.  The video provoked pained public outcries and became a focal point of frustration, mistrust, and controversy.  Some people believed that a Sri Lankan military soldier recorded the video on a cell phone while witnessing a war crime.  Others suggested that the video was a fictional scene produced with actors by a commercial film crew, using lights and fake blood, to discredit the Sri Lankan government and interfere with the post-war reconciliation process.

U.N. investigators found evidence that the video was likely authentic.  But that did not stop smart people from continuing to believe it is fake.  I was first in Sri Lanka in 2009, and then had the opportunity to return in 2012 with a Fulbright Advanced Scholars Senior Research Award, and teach documentary film history, theory and methods at the Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Trincomalee.  I spoke with intelligent, well-educated people who believe the video is fake.  And they have decent reasons.  The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or L.T.T.E., had a sophisticated propaganda wing and were known to have faked other videos in the past.

Unfortunately, both U.N. and Government of Sri Lanka investigations into the Channel 4 video contained obstacles to transparency and reproducibility.  For example, imperfect verification of evidence preservation calls into question whether all of the investigators actually examined identical copies of the video.  Analyzing the same piece of evidence is an essential first step for reproducibility of the results, and a prerequisite to meaningful consensus.  Researchers can use a cryptographic hash to confirm that their copy of the evidence is unaltered.  Yet, none of the U.N. or Government of Sri Lankan forensic reports included a hash.

Indeed, there are strong reasons to doubt whether or not all of the investigators did analyze unaltered copies of the video evidence, since investigators reported examining videos with different lengths, names, formats, and sources.  Some expressed difficulty obtaining a copy of the evidence at all.  Inconsistencies like these degrade the credibility of the forensic investigations as a whole.  Weak forensic credibility leaves publics more likely to ignore or confuse results, and to turn to alternative sources of authority, such as their own personal experience or political affiliations.

Opening the procedures and technologies of digital forensic analysis to scrutiny will help to counter this result.  The simple “show your work” mantra of elementary school math teachers is actually a profound intervention.  If you look back into history, basic concepts of transparency and replicability contributed to the widespread adoption of the scientific method.  According to Harvard historian Steven Shapin, back in the 17thcentury, more and more precise descriptions of experimental processes and results, including circumstantial details documented in charts, data, and drawings, expanded the circle of people who felt that they had witnessed an experiment almost as intimately as if they had performed it themselves, and so trusted the results.  Shapin calls this “Virtual Witnessing,” and suggests it’s how we got modern science.

By prohibiting entry to U.N. human rights investigators, Mr. Rajapaksa has ensured that the U.N. investigation into war crimes in Sri Lanka will be a remote one, and dependent on digital evidence and forensic science.  If the U.N. wants to use this science to reach across identity affiliations, and ask Sri Lankans to trust its investigative findings instead of their own communities and thought leaders, it should give them the resources to make that leap.  U.N. investigators, show your work!

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Rebecca Wexler is Fellow of the Information Society Project and J.D. candidate at Yale Law School, a Fulbright-Sri Lanka alumna, and a former legal intern at The Electronic Frontier Foundation.  Her forthcoming book chapter, co-authored with a forensic scientist, offers an in-depth examination of forensic video analysis and censorship in the leaked Channel 4 video dispute. [See Rebecca Wexler & Carey R. Murphey, "Video Forensics in Post-War Crisis," in Access to Knowledge in the Global South, Ed. C. de Souza (Bloomsbury Academic, forthcoming 2014)]

Why Mahinda Went To Houston?

| by Upul Joseph Fernando

( August 28, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Mahinda’s sudden visit to Houston in America has stirred the curiosity of many Sri Lankan watchers of the developing political scene. In January 2011 also Mahinda went on an unscheduled visit to Houston quite suddenly raising a whole host of speculations. To an inquisitive media the government sources at the time disclosed that the President was on a private visit to see his brother Dudley Rajapaksa who was an American citizen living in Houston. Later it transpired Mahinda had been actually visiting former American President George Bush.

He had advised Mahinda when he met him in 2006 on the sidelines of UN General Assembly Sessions that year, not to trust terrorists under any circumstance and destroy them employing whatever means available to him. He did that successfully as advised by Bush to find him entangled in a controversial international human rights violation conflict with America and the Western powers. Spectre of war crimes relentlessly pursuing him, he met with Bush to complain to him about Obama administration’s incessant attempt to bring human rights violation charges against him. Thereby he was trying to get Bush’s assistance to elicit Republican Party support in his hour of distress. But by this time Bush himself was under threat from accusers of war crimes against him who had charged him at a Swiss Court on that count. Due to extreme risk of being charged for violation of human rights in a Court of law in another country, Bush had heavily restricted his foreign travels. Mahinda fearing the same fate befalling him could have sought Bush’s advice as to how to face the threat. On this trip Mahinda also met Robert Blake, the then Assistant Secretary of State in charge of South Asia.

At the time Mahinda visited America on that occasion there were vociferous demands from human rights organisations in America to launch a war crime probe against him. Registering their disapproval of allowing Mahinda to visit America on that occasion Amnesty international issued the following media release:

Investigate

"Washington DC - The United States should investigate Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who arrives on a surprise visit to the United States today, for his alleged role in perpetrating torture and war crimes, Amnesty International said today.

Rajapaksa reportedly left Sri Lanka early Wednesday morning with a delegation of 20 bound for the United States.

"The United States has an obligation under international law to investigate and prosecute people who perpetrated war crimes and grave human rights violations such as extrajudicial executions, torture and enforced disappearances," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director.

Rajapaksa is Commander-in-Chief of Sri Lanka’s armed forces, which face numerous allegations of engaging in war crimes, enforced disappearances, and torture. Under international law, military commanders may face criminal responsibility if they knew, or should have known, of such crimes being committed by their subordinates.

The President’s visit comes as a Panel of Experts appointed by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon works on a report advising him on accountability issues in Sri Lanka. Both Sri Lankan Government forces and members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are accused of having committed war crimes in the final phase of the decades-long conflict.

Amnesty International has called for the United Nations to initiate an international investigation.

Accountability

"Thousands of victims in Sri Lanka demand accountability for the abuses they’ve suffered from the Sri Lankan security forces as well as armed groups such as the LTTE," Zarifi said.

In December Wikileaks exposed a secret United States Embassy cable sent by Ambassador Patricia Butenis from Colombo in which she noted the difficulty of bringing perpetrators of alleged crimes to justice when “responsibility for many of the alleged crimes rests with the country’s senior civilian and military leadership, including President Rajapaksa and his brothers…

The United States should further investigate these allegations and support calls for an international investigation on Sri Lanka’s role in war crimes.”

Mahinda’s current visit to America comes close on the heels of submission of a legal report to the Congress by Law Professor Ryan Goodman, proposing institution of War Crime Charges against Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as he is an American citizen. He presented this report to the Congress in August this year. Just after tabling of this report in the Congress, International Export Credit Agencies issued media reports indicating that they would in their future dealings with Sri Lanka include sanction clauses in their agreements. Next, there was the news that global insurance giant American International Group (AIG) had informed Sri Lanka that they would wind up their operations here. Latest media reports carry news of another development against the government that the US Justice Department is contemplating legal action against Sachin Vaas Gunewardena Monitoring MP who had hired a number of PR firms to shore up government’s image in America. Later, shortcomings have been pinpointed in the relevant agreements.

Multitude of problems

Mahinda’s current trip to Houston came at a time when there were a multitude of problems facing him and his government. On the personal front his Brother Dudley Rajapaksa’s American citizenship could also come under threat if America acts against his brother’s government and also against the other brother, the Defence Secretary. There is a strong possibility that Mahinda’s brother could have taken him there to find some ways and means of patching up with the US Government, their soured relations. In 2011 also on a personal visit, as reported by the governmentm he had met with Bush which was revealed to the media only later.

According to the Government Media, America is on the same danger level to Mahinda as Kilinochchi was to him when Prabhakaran ruled the roost there. It is insane to think that Mahinda would take such a hefty risk just for nothing in return. Astrologers, some say, have advised him to be out of the country to bypass a bad time, though it cannot be confirmed.What is certain in this scenario is that the truth of Mahinda’s sudden Houston trip will come out in the open before long.

Wasanthi appointed without cabinet’s knowing!

 Thursday, 28 August 2014 

Wasanthi Manchanayake, who had been appointed by the cabinet to act as the inland revenue commissioner general until such time a qualified person is appointed due to the existing crisis, has now been appointed permanently without the knowledge of the cabinet.

To prove that, trade unions of the department have sent us a letter containing her signature and stamp. The TUs say the president, as the finance minister, should explain to the cabinet as to how she had been appointed to the position.

There are more qualified persons than her to the position, but she has been appointed on the basis of the friendship her husband is having with the chief-of-staff of the president Gamini Senarath.

Rajapaksa’s Daily Cost To Taxpayer A Staggering Rs 23.4 Million: Sobitha Thera

August 29, 2014

Convener of the National Movement for Social Justice, Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha thera who is spearheading the campaign to abolish Executive Presidency has stated it is high time for the present presidential system that has dragged the country into depths of a corrupt and lawless reign, is abolished.

Speaking at the Hindu Cultural Center in Kandy, Sobitha thera who is also the Common Candidate in the offing at the upcoming Presidential Elections, has described the Executive Presidency as a ‘curse’ that has to be broken if better days are to dawn for Sri Lanka.

He has pointed out the prevalent presidential system implemented by-force by former President JR Jayewardene was one that has been continuously criticised since its implementation by national leaders including Sirimavo Bandaranaike and NM Perera.

“Whomever the individual who wields the power of the Executive Presidency is not bound by laws that governs other citizens and neither is he/she accountable to the country’s parliamentary system, Constitution or the judiciary,” Sobitha thera had noted at the event while adding it is a system that was rejected even by the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa until he took over the reins.

He had asserted that although President Rajapaksa made pledges to abolish the Executive Presidency in his election manifesto – the Mahinda Chinthana and even walked from Kataragama to Colombo in objection of the system, he is now backtracking on his promise and has already altered the system in order to contest for Presidency repeatedly through the implementation of the 18th amendment.

“The daily expenses of the Executive President is close to Rs. 23,400,000 – its a financial burden, which the country cannot afford. Moreover, it is also influencing and interfering with every segment of the country’s administration as reflected by the rampant favouritism and nepotism within the foreign service where even military men who have committed cold blooded murders in Rathupaswala and Katunayake have been given diplomatic postings,” Sobitha thera had stated.

He had gone on to state that the prevalent system is one in which drug lords and thugs can survive and thrive due to the heavy financial costs involved instead of ordinary, law abiding citizens.

Sobitha thera speaking further had also expressed concern over the widespread corruption within the judicial system and the widespread development and arbitrary donations given to foreign nations according to the whims and fancies of the President – case in point, the one million USD donation to Palestine – while farmers consume poison unable to grapple their deteriorating financial situations.

“For a country as large as India there are only 24 Ministers but in Sri Lanka there are 23 ministers in charge of portfolios relating to Agriculture alone and yet, look at how the vegetable prices have skyrocketed within the past few years,” he had stated.