SLAF returns land, but wings of owners clipped

Sunday, September 28, 2014

The Air force last Thursday returned more than 240 acres of paddy lands to 37 families In Keppapilavu, a village in Mullaitivu District. There were conditions attached. Before the lands were given back, the owners were met by senior Air Force officers individually and asked to sign a document agreeing to the conditions.

One of the conditions was that if there would be any civil war in future, those lands would be willingly given back to the Air Force.The conditions further said if the lands were not given back willingly, legal procedures would be instituted to take the land back to the Air Force. Another condition was that the owners cannot put up permanent fences or plant big trees such as coconut in those lands. Most of the owners said they had no choice but to sign those documents leaving behind doubts whether the military was not sure if there would be another civil war.

At least one of the owners of these lands refused to sign the document saying it was her land which she had got as dowry and she would not sign temporary documents which serve only as permits to use the land. The lands were part of some 1,200 acres of lands currently used by the military in the area.

Buy Mihin, fly SriLankan: Holding hands and drowning in the sky!
Mihin Lanka is popularly known as Sri Lanka’s struggling, low-cost airline.  It offers cheap tickets with some frills thrown in a desperate bid to remain afloat.
It is also known that SriLankan Airlines, the country’s debt-ridden national carrier, is helping in a big way to keep Mihin’s nose above the water (just about).
Code-sharing is one way of doing this. This attractive arrangement means that passengers can actually buy budget-priced tickets from Mihin and often fly SriLankan with meals, newspapers, blankets and whatever other facilities the higher-paying travellers on the national carrier get. In the end, both make colossal losses. After all, it’s all one family, eh.

Compromising with China: The slip is significant
Freudian slips strike really close to the mark sometimes, don’t they? The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies invited the media to cover an event it was hosting on September 22.

It had the usual, nondescript intro. The Kadirgamar Institute seeks your kind cooperation in providing media coverage…blah, blah. The date and time were given. The event was then described as: Discussion forum with Chinese Delegation compromising [sic] of former scholars and ambassadors.
Now, “compromising” is a word many right-minded Sri Lankans might be thinking when considering the vast generosity of the Rajapaksa regime towards the Chinese. Not only has Sri Lanka borrowed huge sums of money from China, it has used those loans to build infrastructure, some of it for use by the Chinese themselves (we are visualising “ports” here).

But whether it’s wholly suitable to use the word “compromising” in an invitation pertaining to the Chinese is debatable. It is one thing to think it, and another to verbalise it. However, this is where the term “Freudian slip” becomes relevant. The simplest definition of it is, “A mistake in speech that shows what the speaker is truly thinking.” We are not saying that intellectuals and researchers at the Kadirgamar Institute believe there is anything compromising about Sri Lanka-China relations.

Still, being “a multi-disciplinary research forum dedicated to analysing Sri Lanka’s strategic interests in the realm of international relations, within the contemporary domestic and global contexts”, perhaps the good folks there subconsciously know where we are heading?

Top public officials violate ethics; join UPFA campaign
Public officials—particularly officers of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS)—are meant to be apolitical and there was a time when they were. That time has clearly passed.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) on Thursday launched a 90-day mission for the reelection of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The first office for this campaign was opened at an auspicious time by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa on the same day. The objective of those present was to work towards and support the reelection of President Rajapaksa for a third term.

Present among the crowd were some recognisable public officials who hold high position in the country’s governance structure. Some were SLAS officers. Others were political appointees.

They did not declare what they were doing there. However, they clearly wished to be associated with the political campaign to reelect the head of a specific political party as President for a third term.

Among them was National Delimitation Commission Chairman Jayalath Ravi Dissanayake; Mass Media and Information Ministry Secretary Charitha Herath; Telecommunication and Information Technology Ministry Secretary Gotabaya Jayaratne; Economic Development Ministry Secretary Nihal Jayatilleke; Ports and Highways Ministry Secretary R. W. R. Premasiri; Industries and Commerce Ministry Secretary Anura Siriwardena; and the inevitable Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivaard Cabral.

Vasantha Senanayake in mulberry move
UPFA Gampaha District MP Vasantha Senanayake may have drawn inspiration from the Mulberry group comprising Government backbenchers who during the tenure of President Chandrika Kumaratunga worked to put right certain doings on their side. This happened when Mr. Senanayake decided to come forward in Parliament on Thursday to move a Constitutional amendment which seeks to restrict the Cabinet to 30 and restrict the number of portfolios held by the President to one.

The MP of course did not go ahead and present this private member’s Bill. He subsequently wrote to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena explaining that he had decided to postpone the presentation of the Bill on the advice of some seniors in the party. However, he added he was keen that the ‘Senanayake’ proposals were implemented as they would win bipartisan support.

The MP wants his proposals approved before the term of this Parliament ends in 2016 and the proposals to be implemented when a new government is formed.

Sri Lanka: Police Together With Pro Govt. Mob Disrupts One More Media Workshop

28/09/2014 

Another media workshop has been threatened and disrupted by state intelligence agencies and the unruly mob called so-called Nation Building Union on 27th September. This is the 4th media workshop disrupted by the same manner in recent times. On two previous occasions mobs belong to the Nation Building Union disrupted media workshops. They had been threatening to teach lessons to journalists if they continue to hold workshops. This group consists of former military personal and intelligence agents in plainclothes.

This morning (27 Sep) an officer from the Terrorist Investigation Division of the Sri Lanka Police has called journalist and editor of the Meepura web site Freddie Gamage. He has told him that a group called Nation Building Union was going to surround venue of the workshop, the Rani Beach Hotel, organised by Professional Web Journalists’ Association (PWJA)  and police cannot ensure the protection of the participants to the workshop. Freddie Ganmage is the secretary of the  PWJA.
The police and the group had propagated a lie that the channel four media team is going to conduct a media workshop at the hotel. The police told the hotel owner that ‘civilians are going to arrive at the hotel and demonstrate , which can create a scene of pandemonium ‘ reports LeN.

It further reports that ‘subsequently , the owner of the hotel was met by the Colombo police headquarters officers for the second time and threatened again that immediate action will be taken to halt this workshop . At about the same time 7 to 8 men in civil attire had entered the hotel and declared they have information, channel 4 traitors are participating, and therefore they will have to face dire consequences if the workshop is held.

Following these intimidation and threats the organizers have held the workshop at a different venue. It is learnt that that an order without publicity has been sent out last week to all hotel owners instructing them that a daily list giving full details of the names of all those taking lodging in hotels be provided .

UPFA shrinking in Uva,

UNP not seizing initiative, Chandrika warning of military spectre

by Rajan Philips-September 27, 2014, 4:03 pm 

The response of the UNP leadership to the results of the Uva election has curiously ended in anticlimax. Even though the UNP lost the election, there was enough in it for the Party to seize the political headlines for weeks on end, energize its supporters, and announce to the country that after two decades of serial losing the UNP is back in business as the only serious contender to the still powerful but increasingly decadent Rajapaksa regime. In Harin Fernando, who became a preferential phenomenon in Badulla, the UNP had the perfect commodity for sustained political marketing. Alas, the Party of the Market has become a workshop of political zombies after the Uva election. But for a single post-election statement spuriously linking the 2014 provincial victory to the 1817 Uva rebellion, the UNP leadership was back in the underwhelming business of internal party bickering.

Party Secretary Tissa Attanayake let it be known that he was resigning from the Party’s Leadership Council. If people did not quite get that, it was clarified that Mr. Attanayake was not quitting the Secretary post. Never mind that being Secretary made him a de facto member of the Leadership Council. The resignation move was seen as a ruse to unravel the UNP Leadership Council set up about one year ago with ecclesiastical blessings, and make way for Sajith Premadasa to be anointed as the UNP Deputy Leader. And he was duly anointed - a reward more for his whining, or singing, than his politics. Never in Sri Lanka, has so much been made for long about a political scion with so little leadership potential. Not everyone is pleased, especially Ravi Karunanayake who is in turn disliked by Attanayake. There was a show of selfless camaraderie on the Party’s second tier – with Ruwan Wijewardene, Gampaha District MP and Chairman of the UNP National Youth Front, gifting his Chairmanship to Harin Fernando, and the latter graciously declining the gift and returning it to sender.

The riveting news of all, although not made hugely public, was that Ranil Wickremasinghe would be leaving for the re-United Kingdom to attend – of all things – the annual conference of the British Conservative Party starting today in Birmingham. What politics is this? Reverse celebration of the Uva rebellion? The Uva voters who lost the election even before voting, have now been defeated again – betrayed, that is, by the UNP leadership. We are left to wonder if President Rajapaksa, in one of his more meditative moments, might be thinking: "what more can I do for these (UNP) fellows to put me out of my karmic presidential misery?"

While his supporters are busy imagining that the presidency is Ranil’s for the taking, Mr. Wickremesinghe is still having trouble differentiating between a national constituency and non-national affiliations. Instead of storming the country after Uva, he has taken flight to sit as a guest backbencher at what would mostly be a soul-searching rather than an inspirational conference of the British Conservative Party. The Tories will be infighting to stave off defeat at the next elections, hardly the place for the UNP leader to go to learn about winning. A meeting with Modi next door could be more rewarding. But serious leaders stay home and do the hard work and do not depend on diplomatic endorsements and overseas recognitions. If at all such testimonials will be burnt by the electorate. Uva gave Ranil Wickremesinghe yet another chance to affirm his self-belief and project his confidence to the country. But he seems bent on blowing his moment rather than seizing the initiative.

The open question and Chandrika’s stinger

In Uva, the UNP got closer than anywhere else in ten years but did not win. In politics, as in sports, what matters in the end is winning and not how close one gets to winning only to end up losing. The government lost votes hugely from its 2009 total, but still won, its internal estimates were apparently right on the mark: 58% in Moneragala, 48% in Badulla. Dirty tricks were not unexpected, but plenty of new dirty tricks were deployed. Winning against the UPFA, means winning against all of its tricks and against all odds. Anything less is not a win. The diminishing vote tallies of the government are a strong trend and a powerful indicator of its declining support. But trends and indicators - do not an election win. It would be naïve to expect these trends to automatically extend to the next presidential or parliamentary election. They need a political agency to convert them into real votes and real victory. Who will provide the agency for the opposition? That is the question, and it remains open in spite of Uva.

What Uva has shown is that the political contest in the south is still a two-party contest, everyone else is an also-ran. There is no third force worthy of electoral mention. The JVP can give zest to a political campaign, but in Uva it could not reach its own target of 10%. There is nothing new about the two-party-vote-split in Sri Lankan politics. Doric de Souza made that abstraction after the LSSP’s electoral debacle in March, 1960. LSSP, the then bearer of the Left banner, was not targeting a piffling 10% in the 1960 election but ran on a sweepstake "NM for PM" slogan. It is a whole new electoral world out there now, and the old UNP-SLFP-Left categories are not only meaningless but are also non-existent in the way they used to exist.

Of the three, remarkably, it is still the UNP that still has its old brand name intact, albeit without the old brand of leadership. The SLFP is a different family party now, and it requires nothing less than mathematical genius to see the current SLFP as the old vehicle of Sinhalese nationalism under the political leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa and the strategic leadership of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Not necessarily speaking for the founding family of the SLFP, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga has spoken her mind about the creeping militarization of Sri Lanka: "I have strong fears over this. Today, even the roads are being swept by the military. Even the drains in front of my house are being cleaned by them. My greatest fear is whether they will commit a massive destruction by discarding their brooms for weapons at a crucial time when the people attempt to bring about a change." Well said, and better by someone than no one. But wouldn’t it be politically more consequential for Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe to stay home and do such frontline lambasting in Sri Lanka, rather than flying away to sit as a silent spectator at the Tory conference in Birmingham?

Mrs. Kumaratunga’s stinging words may not find a positive resonance in Ranil Wickremesinghe, but they have provoked an angry response from the Defense Ministry: "… the Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi-led Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Mrs. Kumaratunga appeared to have taken a common stand against the military. … The TNA is pushing the government to withdraw the Army from the Jaffna peninsula. The TNA also wants the government to reduce the strength of the Army in the Vanni region. In Colombo, Mrs. Kumaratunga is propagating falsehood as regards the intentions of the Army." Tying the former President to the TNA is a new version of the oldest communal trick in Sri Lankan politics. Not to mention that the Ministry officials have no business responding to political criticisms, which ought to the responsibility of government ministers, if not leaders of the UPFA.

President Kumaratunga is now limited to making occasional comments from the sidelines. Her latest stinger on the military is not a reflection on the men and women of the armed forces but an overdue public criticism of the process of militarization under the Rajapaksa government. The voters of Uva issued a stinger of their own indicating the growing disaffection of the people with the UPFA government. But neither public criticism nor voter disaffection can have electoral consequences without the agency of a strong opposition party and determined opposition leadership. The UNP came ‘close’ in Uva more by default than any design by its leaders. Post-Uva, the Party has failed to seize the initiative. Instead of rising to the occasion, its leader seems determined to be missing in action.

UNP Crisis: The Secret Deal Is Now Public

September 28, 2014

Sri Lanka’s closely guarded political secret, that the owners of two media organisations have been brokering Sajith Premadasa’s entry as Deputy Leader of the United National Party (UNP), on behalf of the Government is now public.

Rajapaksa and Sajith | File photo

The confession has come from none other than the General Secretary of the UNP, Tissa Attanayake. He admitted that he had been meeting Tiran Alles MP and Kili Rajamahendran during talks with his leaderRanil Wickremesinghe for the re-entry of Sajith Premadasa as Deputy Leader. He revealed this at the Working Committee meeting of the UNP held on September 23.

Tiran Alles, who has confessed to handing over millions of rupees to the LTTE to stop Tamil voters from exercising their franchise at the 2005 Presidential elections, is the Publisher of Mawbima Group of Newspapers. They publish the Ceylon Today (English) and Mawbima (Sinhala). Their Director Editorial Thushara Gunaratne has been given the assignment toname and shame anyone who criticises Alles. Kili Raja Mahendran alias Maharajah is the owner of MTV networks who owns the TV station Sirisa.

Today’s Sunday Leader and Sunday Times newspapers reported the revelations made by Attanayake. If the Sunday Leader said Attanayake has confessed to meeting Alles and Maharajah, Sunday Times quoted the head of the Eksath Bhikku Peramuna accusing Alles of acting on behalf of the Government. He alleged that a lot of money has changed hands.

Here are some highlights of Sunday Times report:

“The EBP members, during a 90-minute meeting with Wickremesinghe, placed their demands and a heated debate ensued. Others present were Karu Jayasuriya, Ravi Karunanayake, Wijayadasa Rajapaksha and Malik Samarawickrema, a former Chairman of the UNP and a close confidant of Wickremesinghe. Though invited Premadasa was absent. National Organiser Daya Gamage, who arrived for a different errand, also took part. Venerable Ananda charged that Tiran Alles (a National List MP of the Democratic National Alliance -DNA-) was in tow with a UPFA dignitary to ensure Sajith Premadasa was made Deputy Leader. He alleged that large amounts of money had changed hands. Wickremesinghe was to quickly assert that there was no such thing and that the delegation had got it completely wrong. Daya Gamage declared, “We cannot work on other people’s agendas.” Added Wijayadasa Rajapaksha, “The General Secretary of the party should not be a kapuwa (marriage broker). He must work for the best interests of the party.”

“Attanayake was to drop a bombshell during his speech. Whilst taking pride in the fact he was able to ‘unite’ Ranil Wickremesinghe, Karu Jayasuriya and Sajith Premadasa on the same platform in Passara, he said, there were others who were strongly critical of him. He revealed that during consultations with his leader Wickremesinghe for the return of Premadasa as Deputy, he had met both Tiran Alles and Raja Mahendran. Eyebrows were raised when the self-confession came. All that while he had told party leaders and the Sangha that he did not deal with “anyone outside.” He said the purpose of his meetings was to ensure that the media organisations owned by them did not criticise the national leader or the UNP. Did Attanayake brief Wickremesinghe about his meetings? During Wickremesinghe’s meeting with the Eksath Bhikku Peramuna last Sunday, Attanayake denied any link with ‘those outside.’ He also denied it when asked by the Sunday Times at one of his press conferences. Here are the relevant excerpts from last week’s political commentary.

“The Sunday Times asked Tissa Attanayake, General Secretary of the UNP, about reports that Alles, who is from another political party, discussed with him the appointment of Premadasa as Deputy Leader of the UNP. The question was posed when he addressed a news conference at Siri Kotha, the UNP headquarters on Thursday. It was summoned to say that the Government could have further lowered electricity and fuel prices.

“Attanayake replied: ‘I have not had such talks. There have been various reports about me. This is particularly in websites and in some weekend newspapers. I don’t mind that as I have got more publicity. But I am happy about the role I played to unite the UNP. If the party is to win (the presidential election) all should get together. No one should be left out.’ Ravi Karunanayake contested Attanayake’s claim by saying he saw the General Secretary visiting Alles’ office at Rosmead Place a number of times…..”

Buddhist composes symphony to mark Pope's Sri Lanka visit
Cardinal Ranjith (R) compliments Vajira Indika Karunasena the symphony's composer (L), as Hudson Samarasinghe of SLBC (C) looks on, at the Sept. 17 performance. Credit: Fr. Sunil De Silva.
By Antonio Anup Gonsalves
Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sep 27, 2014 / 04:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In an effort for religious reconciliation, the Sri Lankan government has commissioned  a symphony from a Buddhist composer to commemorate Pope Francis' voyage to the nation which will take place in January.

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo presided over a Sept. 17 performance of the Soul of Christ Symphony, composed and directed by the nation's renowed composer Vajira Indika Karunasena, who is a Buddhist.

“The visit of the Holy Father is a landmark occasion for Sri Lanka,” Cardinal Ranjith said. “We warmly welcome Pope Francis to our country, which is rich in religious and cultural values.”

“We must use this occasion to demonstrate to the world our values.”

The symphony was commissioned by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, the nation's public radio network. The idea for the symphony was that of the SLBC's chairman, Hudson Samarasinghe.

The symphony has also been released as a CD in Sri Lanka in preparation for Pope Francis' Jan. 13-14 visit, which will be the third time a Roman Pontiff has made an apostolic voyage to the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean.”

Cardinal Ranjith cited the importance of religious reconciliation in his address, and emphasized that the Pope's visit “is an honor for Sri Lanka.”

“Pope Francis is rich with inner, spiritual strength, and that is visible daily in the way he desires to visit and meet the people, the way he talks, and how he treats everyone alike,” he said.

“He shows a great vocation in discipleship, that is, to show God's love to all, to embrace everyone in that love, and show respect and dignity to everyone equally," Cardinal Ranjith added.

The cardinal thanked the SLBC, as well as Samarasinghe and Karunasena for helping to make the Pope's visit a fruitful one.

Rambukkana Siddharatha Thero, a respected Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka, also complimented the SLBC and Samarasinghe on their efforts for religious reconciliation.

In addition to the presentation of the symphony, the event included performances by Angeline Gunatillake of a tribute song to Pope Francis, and a performance by Chilaw of a Marian hymn composed by one of its members, Juan Pinto.

Priests, artists, musicians, and actors also took part in the event.

Cardinal Ranjith outlined the schedule for Pope Francis' upcoming visit. He will arrive in Colombo the mornig of Jan. 13, visiting the nunciature and the archbishop's residence to meet with the Sri Lankan bishops, and then will visit president Mahinda Rajapaksa and religious leaders.

The cardinal also noted that a commorative stamp will be issued that day.

The following day, Pope Francis will canonized Bl. Joseph Vaz, a 17th century Oratorian known as the “Apostle of Ceylon.”

The Pope will also visit the Madhu Shrine for a prayer service, then return to Colombo to leave for the Philippines the next day.

ANC Formally Approves Moves In Lanka

Sunday, September 28, 2014

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has formally approved efforts of the South African Government to mediate in Sri Lanka, South African media reports said.

ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe told reporters in Johannesburg that the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) agreed to support government initiatives and the special envoys appointed to facilitate peace processes in Lesotho, South Sudan and Sri Lanka.

Deputy South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was in Sri Lanka in July this year and met President Mahinda Rajapaksa for talks on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Deputy President Ramaphosa visited the country in his capacity as Special Envoy of President Zuma on Sri Lanka. In this regard, South Africa has been invited by the government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil National Alliance to share South Africa’s experiences on lessons learnt from South Africa’s truth and reconciliation commission as an integral part of our negotiated political settlement.

In pursuance of this objective, Deputy President Ramaphosa met with various political leaders and delegations, including the Minister of External Affairs, Professor GL Peiris, and The Leader of the opposition Ranil Wickremasinghe, the leadership of the Tamil National Alliance, the Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council, Mr C. Wigneswaran and Governor of the Northern Province Major General G.A Chandrasiri.

UN chief calls for wider political consultation in Sri Lanka

September 28, 2014 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has emphasized on the need for wider political consultation for a successful political process in Sri Lanka while noting that all political parties in the island nation must engage for this purpose. 

The UN chief made these comments during a meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on Saturday, on the sidelines of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly.

Congratulating President Rajapaksa on his leadership, Mr. Ban acknowledged the progress that has been made in Sri Lanka in the years after the war and expressed his optimism that the remaining challenges would also be overcome with this type of political leadership, the President’s Media Unit said in a statement.

President Rajapaksa outlined the developments that have taken place, including the near-completion of all demining activities, the improvement of health services, and the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-combatants, among others achievements. 

He also informed the Secretary-General of the rehabilitation of schools that the Government has undertaken in war-affected areas. President Rajapaksa pointed out that, unlike before, some of the island’s best results from national examinations now originate from the Northern Province.

“Ban Ki-moon also underscored the need for wider political consultation for a successful political process. In this regard, he noted that all political parties must engage,” the statement said.

President Rajapaksa invited Mr. Ban to make another visit to Sri Lanka to assess the development since his last visit.

Friendship And Enmity

By Malinda Seneviratne - September 28, 2014

Malinda Seneviratne

Addressing the UN General Assembly last week, President Mahinda Rajapaksasubsequent to what can be called a pointed but relatively mild critique of the movers and shakers of the organization, reiterated the bottom-line of Sri Lanka’s foreign policy: ‘Friendship towards all and enmity towards none.’

We live in a world where it is not easy to distinguish friend from enemy or worse are required as per diplomatic courtesies to call everyone ‘friend’.  It gets more difficult if you belong to the powerful class.  The USA, for example, is at war with Syria and the ‘Islamic State’ (IS) even as Syria and IS are at each others’ throats.  The US is at loggerheads with Iran, but that country is against the IS.  The US sees friend in Saudi Arabia but that country is not exactly anti-IS.

The edge that the USA has, though, is the ability to do as it pleases without having to explain these contradictions.  In short, the USA can say ‘Our foreign policy is simple: enmity to all and friend to none’. It won’t stop the rest of the world from listening to Barack Obama and even cheering his double-speak, absolute disregard for history, utter lack of remorse over error and crime and indeed a celebration of both as justified and of benefit to all including victims, respectively.

Those who are less privileged (in terms of wealth and firepower) can afford to have a friend-to-all foreign policy and demonstrate it for the most part.  It won’t elicit any cheers though.  We do not live in a happy world and that is the reason.

Still, if sentiments have worth, the Sri Lankan position has to be applauded.  It is not too different to sentiments once expressed by the former President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, again at the UN, ‘we support the notion of nuclear power for peaceful purposes for everyone and we are against anyone having nuclear power designed for non-peaceful purposes.’

Let’s face it.  Sri Lanka can take the most principled positions in any forum and still go ‘unheard’ and have pernicious and destructive agenda thrust down its throat.  Articulation is easy but enforcement unfortunately is not in our hands.

But what is not possible in one forum can be possible elsewhere.  This is where President Rajapaksa has work to do, can-be-done work that is.  What guides engagement with the rest of the world can also guide all domestic engagement as well, especially since he is the all-powerful chief executive of the country.

Again, we see the dilemmas and the privileges of the powerful.  What the USA, for example, does and does not do (regardless of slick Obamian rhetoric), the confusion of identities (enemies and friends), scant disregard for objection and celebration of bad as good (with raucous cheering) we see here in Sri Lanka as well.

It is all done in the name of the people, in the name of development, justice, improving opportunities, buttressing political stability and the like, but there’s palpable disenfranchisement and disempowerment even as there is some truth in the claims made.  At times the regime seems people-friendly, but at times it appears extra-friendly to some people and not others.  At times it appears at odds with the constitution and with the law.   There have been occasions when the high and mighty has sided with wrongdoers and defend wrongdoing and clearly show enmity to the victims.

President Rajapaksa, perhaps more than any national leader since Independence has shown an enormous capacity to forgive and forget, and to turn enemy into friend.  There have been times when he has not exactly acknowledged error and arrogance of his political associates but has nevertheless taken corrective measures.  This is why many want him and no one else to intervene and resolve disputes.  He has the people’s pulse, he has the constitutional powers and he has the parliamentary numbers to put the system in order, re-invent the institutional arrangement and ensure compliance of politician and official so that no one has to depend on his kindness when seeking redress for wrongs done to them.

That would be the best ‘friendship’ (to all) that he can deliver. That would be the legacy that lasts.

*Malinda Seneviratne is the Chief Editor of ‘The Nation’ and his articles can be found at www.malindawords.blogspot.com

Extremism Rises Among Myanmar Buddhists

Buddhist monasteries associated with the fundamentalist movement, which calls itself 969, have opened community centers and a Sunday school program for children nationwide. More Photos »

By THOMAS FULLER-June 20, 2013 

TAUNGGYI, Myanmar — After a ritual prayer atoning for past sins, Ashin Wirathu, a Buddhist monk with a rock-star following in Myanmar, sat before an overflowing crowd of thousands of devotees and launched into a rant against what he called “the enemy” — the country’s Muslim minority.

Extremism Rises Among Myanmar Buddhists by Thavam

Report:Repression of Dissent in Sri Lanka in August

Summary:-28/09/2014

August 30th is the International Day of victims of Enforced Disappearances, but in Sri Lanka, it was a month when families of disappeared persons and those supporting them faced threats, intimidations, restrictions and false accusations by Buddhist Monks led mobs, Police and the state media. Police blocked a peaceful march on the International Day of victims of Enforced Disappearances in the Northern town of Vavuniya. Tamil families of disappeared in Mannar were intimidated, urging them not to testify to the Presidential Commission looking into Missing Persons. At the beginning of August, a Buddhist Monk led mob stormed a private meeting of families disappeared persons at a Church run centre in Colombo. The organizers called the Police, but the Police refused to guarantee security for the meeting and participants. The Police insisted that the meeting be stopped and participants from North are sent home. Initially, the Police also refused to disperse the mob, and only did so at the strong insistence of the organizers and participants. This event led to a chain of events, with Sinhalese newspapers and the mob making a variety of false allegations against participants and organizers, including accusing them of being linked to terrorism. One of the human rights defenders present, Rev. Fr. Sathivel, faced a series of threatening incidents. The Ministry of External Affairs warned diplomats about attending such events, but didn’t condemn the disruption of the meeting by the Buddhist Monk led mob.

A Deputy Inspector General of Police who had refused to release suspects of anti-Muslim riots in June 2014 faced death threats. A school teacher who had filed a lawsuit against a government politician also faced death threats. A Tamil Provincial Councillor from the North, who had been prominent in human rights campaigns, also complained about surveillance and threats.

Freedom of Expression has continued to be violated. A Tamil journalist in Vavuniya received death threats, and the Coordinator of the Jaffna Press Club was interrogated by the Police and accused of being a part of the LTTE by Sinhalese newspaper. An Indian academic-activist attending an international symposium on post war developments was also interrogated, and was detained when he tried to visit the Eastern Province prior to the symposium. There were reports of Muslim journalists being branded as “anti-Sinhalese and anti-Buddhist Jihadists. A New York Times reporter complained that his visa had been put on hold since June. Journalists were prevented from covering court hearings when the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence was being cross examined. An inquiry was ordered for singing the National Anthem in Tamil at a school in Colombo.

Freedom of Assembly and Association was also under attack. The National Peace Council (NPC) reported that 4 inter-religious reconciliation events were subjected to surveillance. Two events of the NPC in Southern and Central Provinces were subjected to monitoring by Police and two events in the East by the Military. Trade Union meetings and actions also faced obstacles. Senior government officials said NGOs pose a threat to security and that new laws will be brought into monitor and control foundations and non-profit organizations.

Student activists were arrested and suspended in two universities. When student activists protested against the arrest and detention of two Tamil university students under anti-terror laws (one was arrested after he had been injured during an assault by a mob), the Minister for Higher Education accused the main Student Union of inciting racial disharmony. Opposition political parties faced continuous and systematic intimidation and attacks in the lead up to the Uva Provincial Council elections.

In a number of incidents, Police, Military, and government politicians appeared to be directly responsible in repressing dissent. When dissent was being crushed by non-state parties, the Police appeared to side with the perpetrators, rather than enforce the law.
Read the Full report as a PDF: Repression of Dissent in Sri Lanka – August 2014 – English (26Sep2014)

Repression of Dissent in Sri Lanka August 2014 English 26Sep2014 by Thavam

969 leader attends BBS conference in Sri Lanka
28 September 2014

Wirathu welcomed on stage at conference by BBS leader

The leader of the 969 extreme Buddhist group in Myanmar, U. Wirathu, attended the Bodu Bala Sena's conference in Sri Lanka today.



The conference, which is currently underway, is aimed at forming a political framework that will be “based on Buddhist principles, creating an environment within which minorities can live peacefully with Sinhalese" instead of "so-called devolution of power”, a BBS official, Dilanthe Withanage said.

Wirathu honoured on stage at BBS conference

Addressing the conference, the BBS President, Kirama Wimalajothi, said "Sri Lanka is not a multi-religious country".

Sri Lanka is a Sinhalese, Buddhist country and Buddhism in Sri Lanka is now facing a threat from some groups including Christian and Muslim groups, he said, according to theColombo Gazette.

According to social media reports, in his speech to the conference, Wirathu thanks President Rajapaksa "for facilitating a visa to come to Sri Lanka despite attempts by Muslim extremists".
Wirathu, a Buddhist monk who leads a group that is notorious for its anti-Muslim rhetoric in Myanmar, arrived in Colombo on Friday night.

BBS leader greets Wirathu at Colombo airport. Photograph BBS

Wirathu's invitation was condemned by the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress, who said it was "concerned that the meeting on the 28th could become a spring board for replaying the tragic events of the recent past".

"The SLMC urges the government, the Ministry of Law and Order and the Ministry of Defence to take due precautions to ensure that citizens and public life in Sri Lanka are not harmed by the planned events; and reminds the government that it will bear full responsibility for ensuring the safety of the Muslim community in the context of this threat," the SLMC said in a statement.

See related articles:

BBS invites 'Face of Buddhist Terror' to Sri Lanka (25 Mar 2014)

When Buddhist supremacism unites (07 Mar 2014)

'Buddhism & Violence' - academics discuss Sri Lanka and Burma (31 Aug 2013) 

A society’s soul is judged by the way it treats its childern 

By Randima Attygalle-September 27, 2014,

"There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children," Nelson Mandela once observed. Toddlers dashed against rocks to teach an estranged spouse a ‘lesson,’ children strangled for wetting the floor, thrown in the sea by none other than their own mother or father are not scenes from a horror movie. It’s the tip of an iceberg of increasing violence against the children of our own nation. Small girls with no family security raped and strangled by perverts behind tea bushes, children ravished, stuffed in gunny bags and left to rot are a reflection of a soul dead society. A society in which primary social protection of the family is absent is surely doomed.

A Society’s Soul is Judged by the Way It Treats Its Childern by Thavam