Battle for Kobani between Isis and Syrian Kurds sparks unrest in Turkey

President Erdoğan calls for ground operation to defeat militants as thousands protest over government’s inaction

Kurds clash with police in Turkey as protesters demand tougher action against Isis

Fighting between Kurdish forces and Islamic State (Isis) militants for the Syrian border town of Kobani fuelled rising tensions inside Turkey on Tuesday as thousands of protesters took to the streets to voice anger and frustration about the inaction of the Ankara government.

In a graphic illustration of the domestic and regional impact of the deepening crisis, demonstrations turned violent and Turkish police used teargas and water cannon.

Following a warning from the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that Kobani was about to fall, Turkish media reports said up to 14 people had been killed in eastern cities and dozens more wounded.

The toll included eight deaths in the eastern city of Diyarbakir, the Dogan news agency said. One man was reported to have been killed by a bullet to the head in Varto in the eastern province of Mus when police allegedly fired live ammunition.

Clashes also took place at protests in the western cities of Ankara and Istanbul. Curfews were imposed in five Turkish provinces.

Erdoğan, speaking in the eastern city of Gaziantep, said that a ground operation was needed to defeat Isis – sidestepping accusations that he is unwilling to allow Kurds in Turkey to help their embattled kinfolk in Syria or to deploy the army across the border to fight Isis because of the country’s historic enmity towards Kurdish separatists – in addition to ongoing peace negotiations with them.

“I am telling the west – dropping bombs from the air will not provide a solution,” the president said to cheers from crowds of Syrian refugees in a speech that was translated into Arabic. Erdoğan also tested the readiness of the US, Britain, France and other allies by calling for a no-fly zone and a secure land zone as well as training for moderate Syrian rebels.

The Turkish parliament last week authorised the government to take military action against Isis. But Turkey has not announced plans for any operations, with Ankara apparently seeking a commitment from the west to move decisively against the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, as well as the jihadis. Erdoğan said he wanted to fight both Isis and the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK).

France said on Tuesday that it was vital to act in order to stop the Isis advance. “Everything must be done so that the Daesh (Isis) terrorists are stopped and pushed back,” the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, told parliament. “A tragedy is unfolding, and we must all react.”

If Kobani does fall, Turkey is likely to face a massive backlash from its Kurdish population. Thousands of people have already arrived on the border from all over the country to offer their support. “If they take Kobani, we know they will come to Suruc,” said Ibrahim Akkus, watching from the nearby hillside on Tuesday.

Isis now controls large parts of both Syria and Iraq and has ramped up its offensive in recent days despite being targeted by US-led air strikes.

On the Turkish side of the border, journalists heard the sound of warplanes before two large plumes of smoke billowed west of Kobani. But the air attacks appear to have done little to slow Isis. The BBC reported eight strikes in total.

Hours after two of the group’s black flags were raised on the outskirts of the town on Monday, the militants punctured the Kurdish frontlines and advanced into the town itself, said the local coordination committee.

“They’re fighting inside the city. Hundreds of civilians have left,” said the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdurrahman. “IS controls three neighbourhoods on the eastern side of Kobani. They are trying to enter the town from the south-west as well.”

Capturing Kobani would give Isis, a direct link between its positions in the Syrian province of Aleppo and its stronghold of Raqqa, further east. It would also give the group full control of a long stretch of the Turkish-Syrian border.

Kobani residents described seeing Isis fighters looking “relaxed” and walking freely in the streets. But those who entered were soon killed by Kurdish fighters who are more familiar with the locality. “I don’t know where they were all coming from, but once they were killed, more Isis would come,” a man named Mahmoud said as he walked from Kobani to a nearby town. He said he believed that the Isis men were using hard drugs because of their confident demeanour. Looking exhausted, the 50-year-old lamented that he could not stay in his home town to fight.

“If I die, who will look after my children?” he asked. “I want to go to my land. I don’t want to live in Turkey. I don’t want to live in any country. I just want to live in my own land. Why is Isis coming to my land? The world has turned its back on Kobani.”

In Istanbul, hundreds of nationalists attacked an office of the pro-Kurdish Democratic People’s party (HDP) with sticks and knives, trapping around 60 people inside the building. In another neighbourhood, groups of pro-Kurdish protesters set fire to the building of the local Nationalist Movement party (MHP) after shots were reportedly fired from there.

Protests across Turkey were accompanied by pro-Kurdish demonstations elsewhere, including at the European parliament in Brussels. In Cypus, a protester urged the US to “hit the jihadists harder” to help Kurdish forces defend Kobani.

Nuclear workers kept in dark on Fukushima hazard pay
1 OF 5. Workers in protective suits and masks wait to enter the emergency operation center at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture in this November 12, 2011 file photo

2 OF 5. A worker is screened for radiation as he enters the emergency operation center at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO)'s tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture in More...

BY MARI SAITO AND ANTONI SLODKOWSKI-Wed Oct 8, 2014 6:

(Reuters) - Almost a year after Japan pledged to double hazard pay at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, workers are still in the dark about how much extra they are getting paid, if anything, for cleaning up the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

Nuclear Workers Kept in Dark on Fukushima Hazard Pay by Thavam

Elder Abuse is On the Rise

Salem-News.com-Oct-06-2014

A crippling social injustice toward a silent minority- the elderly.

Discrimination against the elderly is known as ageism. Image: blogs.rj.org

(SALEM, Ore.) - Child abuse is heard of and seen in the media almost daily in the United States. It is something that drives people to donate money to help children in need, to have people rally together to fundraise, and the thought of a helpless child being abused is like a dagger to the heart for most people.

What is even more painful is that there is another defenseless group of humans being abused where stories of it rarely make it to the television, that people rarely think about, and that not many people think about donating money towards: our elders. Read on to learn more about this tragic occurrence.

Events of elder abuse, exploitation and neglect happen daily with hundreds of thousands of cases each year.

According to Garcia, Artigliere & Medby, a law firm that specializes in elder abuse, elder abuse is defined by “any knowing, intentional or negligent act by a caregiver of an older person that causes harm or serious risk of harm to a vulnerable adult.”

Here are some more facts to consider:

• To one single older person, the event may be a one-time only thing, or it may go on for months to years. Often times the older person is physically handicapped, mentally handicapped, vulnerable, weak, and/or unable to help themselves and must depend on others for activities of daily living.
• As with child abuse, elder abuse occurs more often by someone the older person knows rather than a complete stranger. It is frequently a family member, spouse, a certified/licensed caregiver, neighbor, solicitor, or a friend. The majority of people who abuse elders are relatives such as a daughter, son, or the spouse/partner of the older adult.
• There are many risk factors that increase the chance of abuse happening to someone; if the older person has memory problems such as dementia, physical disabilities that prevent the person from driving, walking, or even leaving their bed, an alcohol or substance abuse problem, a shared living situation, depression, loneliness, and/or a lack of a social support structure. An older person can have one or all of the risk factors combined.

Forms of Abuse

There are many types of elder abuse:

• The one that is brought to mind first is physical abuse, such as hitting, restraining, burning, kicking, pushing, and slapping. Improper medication handling that leads to harm, such as not giving the right medication, giving too much of a certain medication, or not giving medication when needed falls under this category.
• Another type is emotional/psychological abuse. A common occurrence is where someone takes something or someone that the older person cares for and uses it/them to pressure the older person into doing a certain action. The abuser relies on both verbal and non-verbal forms such as blaming, shunning, ridiculing, name-calling, harmfully criticizing, ignoring, and threatening.
• Financial exploitation is another form of abuse where the older person’s money, pension, property (be it land, jewelry, clothing, pets, antiques, etc) is illegally/unauthorized used or gained by another person. A person changing an older person’s will to include their name in it as heir falls in this category.
• More often than not the type of abuse seen or heard about is neglect. It can happen in a nursing home, in the own person’s home, or a shared living situation. An older person is deprived of basic things such as food, clothing, comfort, proper heating or cooling of the home, much needed medication, toiletries, and in some cases they are denied access to by medical professionals by the abusers. One older person may be starved if they do not give the abuser(s) what they want, and in another case the older person may lay in bed for days in their own waste, causing severe bedsores and infection, because the abuser is “sick and tired” of taking care of them.

If you know this is happening to someone, get them help!

________________________

Mental health pledge welcomed, but when will it help teens?

WEDNESDAY 08 OCTOBER 2014

A government pledge to improve access to mental health treatments by bringing in targets is widely welcomed. But it falls short when it comes to talking therapies for teens and children, say experts.

Picture courtsey YoungMinds

Under new government targets due to take effect from next April in England, most people with depression who need talking therapies will begin treatment within six weeks, and A&E departments will be required to give suicidal patients the same priority as those with suspected heart attacks.

But while the new plan proposes that young people hit by psychosis for the first time should be seen within two weeks - the same target as for cancer patients - there is no promise of better access to talking therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy for children and young people.

One in ten young will experience a mental health problem, according to the Office of National Statistics. Rates of mental health problems among children increase as they reach adolescence.

The new measures, described by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg as the first step in reforming "Cinderella" mental health services, have been widely welcomed.

Mark Winstanley, chief executive officer at Rethink Mental Illness, said: "This is a watershed moment for everyone affected by mental illness and has the potential to improve the lives of millions.

It is absolutely unacceptable that we've got treatments we know work but we can't find ways to offer themDr Mina Fazel

"No one should have to wait months or even years for potentially life-changing treatment, just because they have a mental health problem rather than a physical one."

Health professionals agree that action to improve mental health services is overdue. NHS Chief Executive Simon Stevens, writing in the foreword to the new five-year plan, described the disparity of mental health compared to physical health services as "indefensible", leading to a treatment gap "with most people with mental health problems receiving no treatment and with severe funding restrictions compared with physical health services."

Three pupils in every class experience a mental health problem

In August, the government established a taskforce to look into the way mental health services for young people are delivered.

Sarah Brennan, chief executive of YoungMinds said on Wednesday the taskforce "must ensure the recommendations it makes [due early next year] lead to major improvements in service provision, and are resourced in the same way as this announcement about adult services."

In Oxfordshire a pioneering project is putting mental health professionals directly into schools. The idea is that young people in need of help can get it more easily, and with less disruption to their school lives, by having a mental health professional in school for half a day a week.

Dr Mina Fazel, who is leading the project with Oxford Health NHS Trust, told Channel 4 News that the idea, which is based on successful initiatives in the United States, is more child-focused, and young people seem to like it: "schools end up managing a lot of pastoral care within the school system, and we have got to find ways to address this together."

Paul James, headmaster of Cherwell school which has been running the new scheme since September, said "it is much easier for young people to get the help they need more quickly; while it is still early days for this approach, my colleagues report that it is already providing benefits for students who need this support."

Oxfordshire is hoping to roll the scheme out to all 34 state-funded schools.

More than 75 per cent of adults who access mental health services had a diagnosable condition before the age of 18, so early treatment of young people could have a profound impact. As Dr Fazel told Channel 4 News: "it is absolutely unacceptable that we've got treatments we know work but we can't find ways to offer them."

Thomas Duncan, the Texas Ebola patient, has died

Thomas Eric Duncan in 2011. (Courtesy of Wilmot Chayee/via AP)

By Mark Berman

October 8 at 12:04 PM

Thomas Eric Duncan died Wednesday morning in Texas, according to the hospital where he was being treated for Ebola.

Duncan, the first person ever diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, died at 7:51 a.m., according to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.
Thomas Duncan, The Texas Ebola Patient, Has Died by Thavam

Top 10 Effective Home Remedies To Prevent Urinary Tract Infection

Oct 08, 2014

Urinary tract infection is one of the most common physical disorders that people face. This painful infection occurs more commonly in women than men, with half of women almost certain to have at least one infection at some point in their lives. And it is not a one-time thing either! Recurrences are common. Pregnancy, intercourse, menopause, holding urine for prolonged period of time, etc, are the common causes of this infection. A bout of UTI can be very painful. The symptoms include fever, abdominal pain, urge for urinating frequently, burning sensation while urinating. This common but painful condition is generally treated with a course of antibiotics. But there are many home remedies that can help ease the symptoms of UTI:

Top 10 Urinary Tract Infection Home Remedies

1. Using Baking Soda:

An effective home remedy to ease the infection is mixing one spoon of baking soda in one glass of water and drinking it frequently. Baking soda has the power to neutralize the acidity present in urine, which helps in soothing the burning sensation associated with UTI.

2. Indian Gooseberry: 

Indian gooseberry, which is popularly known as Amla, contains Vitamin C in large amount. It restricts the bacteria from growing inside the human body and also keeps the bladder healthy. Mix one spoon of amla powder and one spoon of turmeric powder in half a cup of water. Boil the mixture till half of the water evaporates. Consume this natural residue thrice daily for five days and watch UTI symptoms vanish without a trace!

3. Apple Cider Vinegar:

The growth and multiplication of the UTI causing bacteria can be prevented by proteins, enzymes and few essential minerals. All these are present in apple cider vinegar. Consuming ACV is a really tasty way of treating this infection. Mix water, two spoon full apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and honey. Drink this healthy concoction twice a day till the infection clears.

4. Blueberry:

Blueberry possesses anti-bacterial properties that can help cure this severe infection. It can be sprinkled over the favorite cereal of the infected person. It can also be consumed in the form of juice without adding any kind of artificial sweetener. This juice should be consumed early in the morning during breakfast and also at night. Making blueberry a part of your daily diet can also help prevent reccurrence of UTI.

5. Juice of Cranberry:

Proanthocyanidins found in cranberry prevents the bacteria from crossing the urethra walls. Cranberry also has anti-biotic effect and can help fight the infection. An easy way to restrict urinary tract infection is by drinking half glass cranberry juice on a regular basis. People who are already suffering from this infection must drink four glasses of this juice regularly in order to protect the kidneys. Do not add artificial sweetener to the juice. But if you need to dilute the taste, you can add apple juice.

6. Pineapple:

Pineapple contains an enzyme named Bromelain, which is anti-inflammatory and helps in decreasing the symptoms of UTI. Prescribed antibiotics must also be taken along with this fresh fruit. Consuming one cup of pineapple everyday can help prevent urinary tract infection. One can also drink pineapple juice every day.

7. Water:

Water gives us life. Water is the most basic yet most important remedy of UTI. You need to drink at least 8 glasses of water each day to prevent this infection. But, if you are already suffering from this infection then it is important to drink at least eight ounce water per hour! That’s a lot of water but it is needed to flush out the bacteria causing UTI. Urinating once or twice in four hours is necessary to remove the infection causing bacteria present in the bladder.

8. Hot Water Compress:

Hot water compress if used regularly reduces the pressure on the bladder and in turn gives relief from the pain of infection. If the infected person suffers from abdomen pain then he needs to pour hot water into a flexible bottle and then hold that bottle on the lower abdomen.

9. Tea Tree Oil: 

The anti-bacterial property of tea tree oil helps in fighting against the bacteria causing urinary tract infection. The opening of the urethra must be washed daily while taking bath. Add ten drops of this oil to water while taking bath. Alternatively, mix six drops of the oil, two spoons yogurt in warm water and then soak the body in same water for a few minutes.

10. Uva Ursi: 

This herb contains substances which can fight against infections such as UTI. It is readily available in the form of supplement. Uva Ursi contains anti-septic properties which help kill the bacteria causing this infection.

These home remedies for urinary tract infection are better at preventing UTI than curing it. If you notice UTI like symptoms and they last for more than two days, then a trip to the doctor is warranted. Without proper medical intervention, UTI can infect the kidneys and lead to a more serious medical condition.

Source

Lessons from Scotland

by Devanesan Nesiah 

   

- on 10/07/2014

Scotland has much to teach us. The democratic decision of the UK government to hold a Referendum in Scotland in response to persistent demands from a section of the Scottish people for an independent Scotland (to which the government and a large majority of the population were totally opposed) and the happy outcome (a decisive No vote in Scotland by a majority significantly greater than widely predicted) has many lessons for us. To consolidate the vote against secession, the UK Government needs to deliver on its promise of greater devolution. Moreover, to its credit, it is the Scottish National Party rather than the UK Government that mobilized water participation to a record 84.6%. Irrespective of how they voted, bringing out voters who had never voted before is a service to democracy.

I am not suggesting that there is a need for a similar Referendum in the North or in the Northeast. Neither the Tamil people nor their leaders have ever been seriously interested in secession or asked for such a Referendum. The Vaddukoddai Resolution and other statements made by Tamil leaders in the late 70s under severe pressure from young militant groups were effectively repudiated by every responsible Tamil leader; nor was this the issue on which they gained Tamil votes ever before or thereafter. Proof of this is the full participation of Tamil leaders in the 1881 District Development Council (DDC) Elections, even though those Councils did not have even a semblance of devolution, and comfortably secured all 11 seats in Jaffna district. This was despite extensive (but incompetent) attempts at vote rigging directed by Ministers Gamini Dissanayake and Cyril Mathew and  backed by some police and thugs who came in from outside with a DIG sent for the purpose of securing at least some seats for pro-government candidates. That initiative led to deadly violence including the destruction of the priceless Jaffna Public Library, but failed to gain a single seat in the Jaffna DDC. I should know because I was the District Secretary of that first (and only) Jaffna DDC (mid 1981- mid 83) and Government Agent (mid 1981 – mid 1984). I came in to close contact with virtually every political leader and senior public servant as well as very many senior service personnel serving in that district. As the District Secretary, I also had the privilege of working very closely with two admirable men, viz. my District Minister Hon. U.B. Wijekoon and my DDC Chairman “Poddar” Nadarajah (later killed by the LTTE).

The lessons to be learned from the Scottish Referendum include:

1. Respond to political opposition nonviolently, in a democratic way, which has not been the way of successive governments, still less of the LTTE and other militant groups in Sri Lanka.
2. Trust the people on all sides to take wise and correct decisions, provided that they have adequate information and are not bullied in to participating in or tolerating violence.
3. Respect the views and rights of national and regional minorities, especially the right to dissent.
4. Devolution is not a step towards but, rather, a formidable barrier to secession. This was understood by the UK government (which offered more devolution to Scotland) and the LTTE, which consistently opposed every proposal for devolution (e.g. the Constitutional proposals of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaranatunga) as well as the successful functioning of the devolved North East Provincial Council.
5. National Reconciliation is of the highest priority. Holding the Northern Provincial Council election was a major advance towards that goal but has since been negated by the failure of the State to devolve power. Both in the North and in the East political power lies with the Governors (both military men) who work directly under the President and are not answerable to their Provincial Councils. Even the Chief Secretary works under the Governor and not under the Chief Minister. If a similar situation prevailed in Scotland, the Scots would surely have voted for secession.
6. There have been some minor advances in recruiting Tamils to State institutions, but their numbers in the public services and, particularly, in the police and armed services are utterly inadequate. This is linked to the language issue on which there has been only very minimal progress. There is no effective alternative to the teaching of both Sinhala and Tamil, and English as well, in every school in the Island, and to adequate ethnic diversity in recruitment to the public, police and armed services.

In any multi ethnic democracy there should be appropriate ethnic diversity at every level of government, the administration and the military. We see this in many countries including the UK, the USA and India. In each of these three countries the current Head of Government is from a minority ethnic group. In fact in India the previous Head of Government was from another minority ethnic group, and the national anthem is sung in the language of yet another minority ethnic group. Such a situation would be unthinkable in Sri Lanka. Even five and a half years after the end of the civil war, progress in implementing the broadly accepted Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission report is minimal. We have lessons to learn from many multiethnic democracies around the globe and, most recently, from Scotland.

Enemies Of The President’s Promise: Sleepy

By Rajiva Wijesinha -October 7, 2014 

Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha MP

Perhaps the saddest influence on President Rajapaksa was his Foreign Minister, G L Peiris. There were two main reasons for this influence. One, commonly known, was the hold he had on the President’s eldest son, Namal, who had been elected to Parliament in 2010 and who saw himself as his father’s successor – a prospect made possible when, soon after that Parliament was elected, after a few crossovers from the opposition made a two thirds majority possible, the Constitution was changed to remove term limits with regard to the Presidency.

In principle this made sense, since otherwise the lame duck syndrome would have set in almost immediately. There would then have been internecine warfare between Basil, who had previously assumed he would succeed, and the old guard of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. This was inevitable given Basil’s political history, even though they had a healthy regard for Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had remained faithful to the party during the dark days when President Jayewardene was using all the powers of government to split and destroy it, and also when he was treated with disfavor, despite his seniority, by PresidentChandrika Kumaratunga.

The latter had left the SLFP because of disagreements with her mother over the succession. When she felt sidelined in favour of her more right wing brother Anura, she set up her own left wing group together with her husband. Basil however, in the darkest days for the SLFP, had actually joined Jayewardene’s UNP. His elder brother indeed did not entirely trust him, but found him a hard worker and a capable strategist, and hardly ever spoke ill of him to others.

With Namal the situation was very different. The intensity of his dislike and perhaps nervousness with regard to Basil became clear when he attempted to get a group of young Members of Parliament to send a petition to the President requesting that GL be appointed Prime Minister. That post was held by a senior and very old member of the SLFP, D M Jayaratne, who seemed at death’s door a year or two after he was appointed. This led to the memorable quip by the President that he was the only senior member of the government who was praying for the man to live, whereas his colleagues were all dashing coconuts (a formula to invoke both blessings and curses) for his death. Members of the opposition indeed claimed, when the Prime Minister was in the United States for treatment it was doubted would be successful, that there had been seven aspirants for his post.

                             Read More

Sri Lanka: UN review highlights empty rights promises

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has undermined the independence of the judiciary in Sri Lanka.

© 2013 Getty Images

“

The Sri Lankan authorities have promised time and time again to tackle pressing human rights issues but almost never follow through. The Committee review is an opportunity for the international community to highlight this disconnect, and push the government to take genuine action.

”

David Griffiths, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director.

7 October 2014

Sri Lanka must stop making empty promises to the international community and the Sri Lankan people on improving the country’s still desperate human rights situation, Amnesty International said ahead of a UN review of the country’s rights record.

The UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) in Geneva, Switzerland, will on 7 and 8 October 2014 be reviewing Sri Lanka’s respect for rights enshrined in the key human rights treaty: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). This is the first such assessment since 2003.

“More than a decade since the last Committee review of Sri Lanka’s record in 2002, it’s disturbing to see how many rights issues raised then still persist in the country – and how the government has ignored promises to address them. Sri Lanka still relies on draconian laws to silence dissent.  Torture and enforced disappearances continue unchecked, as do violations of freedom of expression and association. On top of that, Sri Lankan authorities must now answer for escalating attacks against religious minorities,” said David Griffiths, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director.

“The Sri Lankan authorities have promised time and time again to tackle pressing human rights issues but almost never follow through. The Committee review is an opportunity for the international community to highlight this disconnect, and push the government to take genuine action.”

Major changes have occurred in the nature and scale of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka since the last review in 2002. The country transitioned from a lengthy cease-fire to intensive armed conflict with the Tamil Tigers (LTTE). Since fighting ended in 2009, the post conflict period continues to be marked by serious violations of human rights.

As Amnesty International highlights in its submission to the HRC, the Sri Lankan government continues to use the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to arrest and detain people without due process and silence dissent. The Act has contributed to the persistence of torture and ill-treatment in custody and should be repealed.

At the same time, the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has used the 18th amendment to Sri Lanka’s constitution to consolidate power by undermining the independence of the judiciary and key bodies critical to the protection of human rights – including the National Human Rights Commission.

“The 18th amendment must be repealed. It has eliminated checks on executive power and left key institutions effectively toothless and subject to the whims of the president,” said David Griffiths.

Despite official denials and promises to improve the situation at Sri Lanka’s last HRC review, endemic torture and other ill-treatment is persistent in Sri Lankan detention centres. Amnesty International has received numerous reports of former detainees alleging torture, sometimes sexual, in detention centres run by police, the army or intelligence services.

The Sri Lankan government has denied the routine use of torture in the country, and has refused to investigate the widespread reports of the practice or to hold those responsible to account.

Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Record To Be Reviewed Today

October 7, 2014

Sri Lanka’s human rights record is due to be reviewed before the UN Human Rights Committee today and tomorrow  (7 and 8 October) and the list of issues that are to be discussed before the 18-member Committee includes counter terrorism measures, accountability as well as rights of persons belonging to minorities.

The review of the human rights record of Sri Lanka is being carried out for the fifth time before the Committee that comprises of 18 independent experts and the dialogue that has been scheduled to be carried out tomorrow and the day after between the Committee members and the Sri Lankan delegation would discuss a wide range of issues to which includes allegations that have been leveled against the government in terms of violation freedom of expression, assembly and association.

Several reports submitted by NGOs on Sri Lanka’s human rights situation is also due to be discussed however, many of them do not seem to contain content favourable to Sri Lanka. The report submitted by the International Society for Human Rights for example has noted that the ‘human rights defenders and others working to promote truth, justice and accountability in relation to a UN estimated 40,000 civilian deaths in Sri Lanka in 2009 alone face a systematic pattern of threats, harassment, intimidation and violence. . .’

It has also shed light on the arbitrary arrests and detentions of human rights defenders, murders of journalists, crackdown on the rights to freedom of expression and association as well as intimidation, threats, reprisals and defamation of human rights defenders as ‘traitors’ by government officials and government affiliated media institutions.

De Facto Chief Justice Says The Only Person Who Knows Everything Is Gotabaya

October 7, 2014 

In an appalling display of his close affiliations with the Rajapaksas, de facto Chief Justice Mohan Pieris has stated in Courts today that the ‘only person who knows everything is the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Secretary.

Pieris and Gotabaya

This remark had been made by Pieris today during the hearing of a Fundamental Rights application (No: 414/14) where a group of Agricultural engineers/experts had challenged the new service minutes, pointing out it has deprived them of being promoted to higher positions in the Agricultural Department due to being forced to remain part of the Sri Lanka administrative service.

Whilst the case was being heard, Pieris had told that he is well aware and knowledgeable on solid waste management and agriculture and had gone on to criticize the engineers, calling them ‘useless’. At this point, the lawyer appearing on behalf of the petitioners, Manohara De Silva had pointed out the de facto CJ should not let his personal knowledge interfere with the ongoing case while adding that the only knowledge that should be applied is legal knowledge.

However, Pieris had dismissed De Silva’s statement adding that as a judge, he has the power to refer to his personal knowledge as well.

As the hearing proceeded, certain comments had been made on the Colombo Municipal Council, which is not at all relevant to the case that was being heard. However, Pieris had continued to comment on it as he moved on to speak about the Sathutu Uyana fund, which he had claimed was initially mismanaged but is now in right hands of MOD Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

“The only person who knows everything is the Defence Secretary. He also knows about waste management,” the de facto CJ had stated shamelessly violating professional ethics and the independence of the judiciary. Manohara de Silva had responded to this claim stating, “But I do not want him to do the job of my clients.”