Shenanigans Of Kshenuka & Beach Boy Diplomat Sajin

| by Pearl Thevanayagam

Cherchez la femme: (no matter what the problem), a woman is often the root cause’

- Alexander Dumas in his famous 1854 fiction, Mohicans of Paris.

(October 08, 2014, Bradford UK , Sri Lanka Guardian) President Mahinda Rajapaksa is not enthralled by Ms Kshenuka Seneviratne and in fact when she complained to him once that Nimal Siripala de Silva was acting against Sri Lanka’s interests he is quoted as telling Dayan Jayetilleka that, “I won’t work according to the whims of various women. She has become a headache even to me.”

The President has ordered a high level probe into the incident involving Sajin and Nonis and given her apala kalaya he could find a way to silence her once and for all. Drs Rajiva Wijesingha and Dayan Jayetilleka too would not be sorry to see the back of her as she has become a diplomatic nuisance both locally and abroad.

Ms Seneviratne is well known for her underhand manipulations since A.C.S Hameed was FM. She was accused of financial irregularities at the UK High Commission and other diplomatic missions for treating them as her personal fiefdom.

UNHRC probe is gathering momentum contrary to President’s complacent declaration that US is softening its stance on Sri Lanka’s alleged war crimes. Only US can perform its hat trick and deflate the President’s bloated ego by issuing a mission statement that US stance has not changed. All the while the President and First Lady posed with their counterparts showing enough bonhomie.

As if Sri Lanka is not deep enough in hot water, its diplomats are taking their beach boy tactics to the lowest level as was seen in the shenanigans of Sajin vs Nonis prodded by Kshenuka. External Affairs Minster Prof. G.L.Peiris and UN ambassador Ravinatha Aryasingha Aryasinghe are the only duo who behave with decorum and decency no matter how much stubborn they are in standing by Sri Lanka at the UN that it did not commit war crimes.

Their diplomacy is not to be scoffed at. It is only to be expected the learned professor and astute Aryasingha are the saving grace pleading on behalf of Sri Lanka with panache even as they lie through their teeth. They are keeping a stoic silence amidst the brou ha ha involving physical assault in the presence of guests at a dinner in New York on UK High Commissioner Dr Chris Nonis by Sajin Vas Gunawardene prodded by Foreign Ministry stirrer and darling old babe of the diplomatic corp Kshenuka Seneviratne.

Former FM Rohitha Bogollagama never failed to engage Kshenuka to organise dinner do’s along with his wife which the latter tolerated with gritted teeth. Kshenuka, no spring chicken, managed to twist ageing diplomats with her podgy finger at every given opportunity. A.C.S .Hameed was putty under her manipulations since he had a weak eye for the fairer sex and his being not exactly handsome and short of stature he fell for her vile charms.

How the President would manage to extricate himself from her hold on affairs both foreign and internal during this crucial time in Sri Lanka’s history where it is under world scrutiny for alleged war crimes, only time will tell.

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

Mechanisms Needed to Implement Recommendations of UN Treaty Bodies to Sri Lanka -AI

08/10/2014

Making its commendation to the  on going 112th session of the UN Human Rights Committee, the  Amnesty International has emphasized  the need for effective mechanisms and procedures to ensure the transparent and effective implementation of the recommendations to Sri Lanka by UN Treaty Bodies, including the Concluding Observations of the Human Rights  Committee.

Read the full report here 

Mechanisms Needed to Implement Recommendations of UN Treaty Bodies to Sri Lanka -AI by Thavam

We Must Stand United As Patriots To Defend President Mahinda Rajapaksa

By Telli C Rajaratnam -October 8, 2014 

Dr. Telli C Rajaratnam

Will of the people is the Grund norm of the Constitution; In defence of 18th Amendment to the Constitution

Stability of Government is a sine qua non for development and rapid economic progress. A classic example is Singapore. Singapore has been successful due to political stability. Lee Kuan Yew served as Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990.

In 1783, the Treaty of Paris left the United States independent and at peace, but with an unsettled governmental structure. The Second Continental Congress had drawn up the Articles of Confederation in 1777, describing a permanent confederation, but granting to the Congress – the only federal institution – little power to finance itself or to ensure that its resolutions were enforced. In part, this reflected the anti-monarchy view of the Revolutionary period and the new American system was explicitly designed to prevent the rise of an American tyrant.

However, during the economic depression due to the collapse of the continental dollar following the American Revolution, the viability of the American Government was threatened by political unrest in several states, efforts by debtors to use popular government to erase their debts and the apparent inability of the Continental Congress to redeem the public obligations incurred during the war.

The Congress also appeared unable to become a forum for productive cooperation among the States encouraging commerce and economic development. In response, the Philadelphia Convention was convened, ostensibly to devise amendments to the Articles of Confederation, but which instead began to draft a new system of government that would include greater executive power while retaining the checks and balances thought to be essential restraints on any imperial tendency in the office of the President.

The United States of America – Founding Fathers

Individuals who presided over the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary period and under the Articles of Confederation had the title ‘President of the United States in Congress Assembled’, often shortened to ‘President of the United States’. However, the office had little distinct executive power.

With the 1788 ratification of the Constitution, a separate executive branch was created, headed by the ‘President of the United States’. This new Chief Executive role no longer bore the duties of presiding over Congress in a supervisory role, but the title ‘President’ was carried over nevertheless.Read More

Why Did Mahinda Say US Had Changed?

| by Upul Joseph Fernando

( October 8, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Diplomatic circles focused attention on President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s recent view that, following his talks with United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, he (Rajapaksa) felt that the US had softened its stance on Sri Lanka. It is not known that Mahinda took such a view due to the cordiality of Kerry or what was prompted to him by External Affairs Ministry Monitoring MP, Sajin Vass Gunawardena, who spearheads the effort to change the US stand on Sri Lanka through a PR firm employed by Colombo at a heavy cost.

Chris Nonis controversy

Why Did Mahinda Say US Had Changed by Thavam

ලැජ්ඡයි ඇමති තුමා !

2014/10/08
නීති විරෝධී ජනාධිපතිවරණයක් එපා‘ යනුවෙන් කන්තලේ නගරයේ අලවා තිබූ ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණේ පෝස්ටර් කිහිපයක් බුද්ධ ශාසන හා ආගමික කටයුතු පිළිබඳ නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය එම් කේ ඒ ඩී එස් ගුණවර්ධන මහතා ඉවත් කළේය.

සන්ධානයේ ප්‍රජාත්‍රන්තවාදය මැනවින් පිළිබිඹු වන මෙම ජායාරූපය ලංකාදීප කැමරා ඇසේ සටහන් විය.

විශේෂත්වය වන්නේ සන්ධාන ආණ්ඩුවේ පරිණතයයි කියන දේශපාලඥයෙක් තවත් විපක්ෂයේ පක්ෂයක ප්‍රචාරක පෝස්ටර් ගලවා ප්‍රජාත්‍රන්තවාදය ස්ථාපිත කිරීම සදහා ගන්නා උත්සාහයයි.

ලැජ්ජයි අමති තුමෝ !

ජායාරූපය -ලංකාදීප(අපගේ වෙනස් කිරීමකට ලක්ව ඇත)

New duty for Deputy Minister!

WEDNESDAY, 08 OCTOBER 2014

The Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana & Religious Affairs M.K.A.D.S. Gunawardena has been conferred with a new duty. He is seen removing posters put up by the JVP in Troncomalee town.

The posters removed by the Deputy Minister states ‘No third term for Mahinda, No illegal presidential election!’

He had also deployed police to obstruct JVP activists who had been putting up posters in Trioncomalee town.

Buyer’s Remorse – Is The ‘Rajapaksa Brand’ Suffering?

By Vishwamithra1984 -October 8, 2014 

“The keys to brand success are self-definition, transparency, authenticity and accountability.” ~Simon Mainwaring

As was shown in the Uva Provincial Council election results, there is no denying that the ‘Rajapaksa brand’ did suffer quite badly. To lose in a multi-ethnic district like Badulla and dropping 25% from the earlier poll in an almost 100% Sinhalese Buddhist district such as Moneragala, despite the fact that the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which was expected to score heavily managed to secure only less than 7%, in the context of current measurements, is close to dismal for the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). This poor performance at an election held on the brink of the Presidential Elections may have been due to multiple reasons. But the very fact that the voters of these two districts, Badulla and Moneragala, showed some semblance of ‘guts’ to teach the governing circles a lesson or two may have gone too far for the liking of the so-called strategists of the Government. The next follow-up question is: “Has the Rajapaksa brand suffered?”

In the writer’s considered view it is yes, it has. Whether that setback is a temporary one or a one that would have long-term implications is another matter altogether. Before venturing out to say how and why the Rajapaksa brand has suffered, I must define what the Rajapaksa brand is from two points of view. How does the Government project the Rajapaksa brand and how is it perceived by the Opposition and the people at large?

Defined in terms of the Rajapaksas themselves, the Rajapaksa brand in a nutshell is as follows:

1. Defeating the LTTE and making way for peace in the land on the long haul

2. Development of the economy by way of increasing the growth rate up to 7+% and maintaining that rate of growth

3. Massive infrastructure development through building of roads, bridges and introducing new ventures such as Mattala Airport, Hambantota Harbor and Colombo Port City et 

Read More

The Horrendous Lie

| by S.J.Emmanuel

( October 8, 2014, Berlin, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Editorial published by the Daily News, a state own nwespaper, in its edition of 30th Sept.2014, accuses me of being racist and you are basing your accusation on the assumption that I compared Parabaharan to Jesus Christ. I never said or wrote any such Thing in my life.

The Horrendous Lie by Thavam

Hardline Sri Lanka Buddhists seek ties with 

India’s Hindus

An Indian Hindu nationalist group said Wednesday that it has no intention of forming an alliance with a hardline Buddhist group in Sri Lanka>

Sri Lankan General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thero speaks during a press conference in Colombo on October 7, 2014. The Buddhist Force, or the BBS, said they were in talks with high levels of India's Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a group with close ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to form a grand alliance.

Tuesday, Oct 07, 2014

COLOMBO - A Buddhist group accused of instigating religious hate attacks in Sri Lanka said Tuesday it is in talks with Hindu nationalists in India to form an alliance against what it called rising Islamic extremism in the region.

Indian Hindu nationalists say ‘no’ to alliance with BBS

An Indian Hindu nationalist group said Wednesday that it has no intention of forming an alliance with a hardline Buddhist group in Sri Lanka.

October 8, 2014 

The radical Sri Lankan Buddhist organization Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) on Tuesday said it was in “high-level” talks with India’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist group linked to India’s ruling party.

Hardline Sri Lanka Buddhists Seek Ties With India’s Hindus by Thavam

Let’s fight like Che to build land where everybody is happy

WEDNESDAY, 08 OCTOBER 2014 

“Capitalism destroys the Earth and people living in it. Masses die without food and medicines in hospitals. The world before us is a place where a child dies every four seconds. As such, we have a responsibility of changing this world.

Enemies should be driven away from this land where Comrade Che Guevara has trodden and the red flag of Socialism should be raised high to build a land where all people could be happy,” said the General Secretary of the JVP Tilvin Silva addressing the ceremony held to commemorate the 47th anniversary of sacrifice by Ernesto Che Guevara.

The plaque to commemorate Che Guevara built by the Socialist Youth Union (SYU) at Yahalakele, Moragahena in Horana was declared open by the Ambassadress of Cuba Her Excellency Indira Lopez  while Mr. Tilvin Silva and the participants paid floral tributes.

The area where the mahogany tree planted by Che Guevara is when he visited Sri Lanka was named ‘Che Garden’. At the ceremony Cuban Ambassadress Ms. Indira Lopex, who returns to her country after completing her term in Sri Lanka, was presented a momento to appreciate her services to Socialism.

Mr. Tilvin Silva’s address at ‘Che’ commemoration:  

Download (Right-click & select "save link as" or "save target as"...)

MR can’t seek SC opinion on 3rd term: Ex-CJ

Wednesday, 08 October 2014 

Former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva PC said yesterday the President could not seek the opinion of the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of seeking a mandate for a third term.

“The President can seek the opinion of the Supreme Court on an issue of public importance, or to obtain an interpretation on the constitution. The latter could only be done during the course of judicial proceedings and not otherwise” he told Daily Mirror.

He said the matter that was raised by him and subsequently by others in the legal fraternity was confined to a personal disqualification of the incumbent President.
“When the Supreme Court’s opinion is sought in a matter of public importance it is in the exercise of its advisory jurisdiction. The clear fact is that this isn’t an issue which falls within that ambit simply because it’s a personal disqualification for the incumbent. The Articles in the constitution are clear on this. If the President so decides he could seek the opinion in his private capacity from private individuals but that’s as far as he can go,” Mr. Silva said.

He said he had accepted an invitation from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) to come to its platform and educate the public on the constitutional aspects of the issue.

“I have gladly accepted the invitation by the JVP. The JVP offered me a platform to educate the people on this very important matter. I accepted the invitation free of any political affiliations,” Mr. Silva said adding the provisions of the constitution were clear on the matter.

“Section 31 (3A) of the Constitution states that the President can proclaim an election any time after the expiration of four years in office, however, it specifically states that, ‘notwithstanding anything to the contrary in preceding provisions. The succeeding provision 31 (3A) (d) stipulates that that the incumbent has to hold office for the full six years commencing from the date of election. Accordingly the Supreme Court has computed the date of assuming of the second term to be November 19, 2010. The provision is a fait accompli. The President must hold office for the entirety of the six years and cannot call for an early election” he said.

The former Chief Justice said in any event the Interpretation Ordinance was clear on the facts that even the article stipulating disqualification, 31(2) which was repealed by the 18th Amendment, stands firm.

“The President was disqualified from contesting a third term on the date he was elected. There has been a debate about whether the Interpretation Ordinance is applicable when interpreting the Constitution. Judicial precedent is very clear and a nine-judge bench has held both on the validity of S.6 (3) of the ordinance to the constitution and on the repeal of laws. The very day Mahinda took oaths, he was accordingly disqualified from seeking a third term,” Mr. Silva said.(Hafeel Farisz)

500 Prison Guards Stage Boycott 





BY PREMALAL WIJERATNA

 October 8, 2014

Over 500 prison officials attached to Welikada Prison boycotted duties since yesterday morning causing disruption to prison routine works even hindering the transport of prisoners to Courts.
A prison guard union official said their members attached to Welikada Prison, Colombo Remand Prison, Magazine Prison and Female Prison Guards have joined the boycott. Because of the boycott transport of 300 remand prisoners to Courts came to a standstill.
The same source revealed the boycott had been launched by prison guards and officials due to the failure of prison authorities to resolve nearly 20 grievances forwarded by them. Their main grievance is the interdiction of one of their members without any proper inquiry.

They said their members who take prisoners to Court were being penalized when suspects in Court cells were found with cigarettes and other prohibited items. In addition, they were dissatisfied with the manner the authorities treated Prison Intelligence Unit officers who enjoy more privileges than others.
When asked about the boycott, Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Minister, Chandrasiri Gajadeera said prison officers boycotting their duties was illegal. "In another way it affects prisoners also and when they are not taken to Court on trial dates their cases get postponed", he pointed out.

The Minister emphasized that the prison officers and guards should have taken up the issue with the Prison Commissioner or the Ministry Secretary or himself as the minister. But they had failed to do so, he noted.
He also said that some officers who were found to have flouted prison rules have been charged under disciplinary procedures. The Minister also said several senior officers at Welikada Prison were summoned for a meeting with him yesterday. Ministry Secretary G. S. Vithanage said the boycotting parties had not informed the Ministry about their action.
Two cops jailed for torture 


By Menaka Indrakumar- October 8, 2014

Two police officers were sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs. 10,000 each, by the Badulla High Court, for having tortured two suspects who were in the custody of the Ampara Police.

The two officers found guilty and convicted were the Officers-in-Charge (OIC) of the Crime Investigations Branch and the Traffic Branch of the Ampara Police.

Rajapaksa administration trying to muzzle the budget debate and make mockery of Parliament -MP Eran Wickramatne

(Lanka-e-News- 08.Oct.2014, 6.30PM) The Rajapaksa administration is trying to ram the 2014 budget through parliament by deliberately cutting the debate short, in yet another attempt to undermine democracy, Parliament and in the process the rights and freedoms of the people of this country.

Article 148 of the Constitution specifies that Parliament has full control over finances.

The most important scheduled debate in Parliament is the Budget debate.

A citizen cannot be taxed a single rupee without Parliaments approval. That approval is not limited to the vote in Parliament which is an artificially created majority. The debate in itself is a part of the approval.

If allowed to happen, this budget debate done at lightning speed will be one of the shortest in parliamentary history. Nobody asked for a rushed budget. The government is running scared after the results of the Uva elections and is trying to escape criticism and accountability by strangling the budget debate process.

It has been the practice in this once-democratic nation for representatives of the people to be given adequate time express their views in parliament.

The standing orders provide for 26 days of debate.

However we now understand that the budget will be held on Oct 24. The second reading starts the next day will and is to end on the 30th.The committee stage debate will then take place, which will then end on November 18th.The debate will be 20 days instead of the 26 days provided for in the standing orders.

By deliberately slashing the time of the debate, the Rajapaksa administration is attempting to muzzle parliament itself and undermine its control over the country's finances.

This attempt comes as questions are raised about the economic data, budget numbers and skyrocketing foreign debt levels by legislators, economists and concerned members of the public.

The inadequacy of household income, the inability of people to meet their health costs, the desperation of youth who are living without appropriate employment, income and hope needs to be addressed in the budget debate.

It is an irony that Sri Lanka has the largest Cabinet and number of Ministries for any government in the world, but is moving to have the shortest budget debate. If at all the number of days for the budget debate should have been increased.

Japan, India and US Must Unite to Counter China and Promote Asian Peace

By Mohan Das Menon

Published: 04th October 2014

Can dreams of nations with dissimilar political frameworks collide or clash to an extent that their very contents become distorted and irrelevant? Chinese author Liu Mingfu originally conceived the idea of an innately Chinese political version of a dream in his seminal articulation, China Dream in the Post-American Age some years ago. Liu surmised, “When China is threatened, it has no choice but to use war to protect its right to rise.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping has subsequently adopted the China Dream as a political motto. His serial pronouncements on the primacy of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) make it quite self-evident. Chinese nationalism premised on “strong army-rich country” would be the base-frame for national strategic articulation particularly while discussing China’s territorial issues with foreign interlocutors. China would never concede territory to a neighbour as India once did to the immense benefit of Sri Lanka in the case of the Kachchativu Islands.

The recent heightening of tensions and the display of brinkmanship by PLA on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) should be viewed in this backdrop. That PLA continued adopting aggressive postures even when president Xi was visiting India should not be interpreted as its defiance of the political leadership. Rather, it should be viewed as part of a grand Chinese design. As many China experts have noted, Beijing’s not-so-magnificent obsession for territory often extends to the point of interpreting, even claiming, area propositions, such as Chumar in Ladakh, as their “own sovereign territory”.

National sovereignty in the case of China is preserved not through political dialogue or diplomacy but by PLA’s top guns in active operational command who spearhead decision-making within the Central Committee. This is the reason why 16 or 17 rounds of special representative (SR) level interface between India and China have yielded no credible positives.

It should be clear to New Delhi by now that the SR mechanism was more of a tactical ploy used by Beijing to keep India engaged in a realm of unreal hope. Meanwhile, China continued to buttress its economy and modernise its military. While PLA kept India on tenterhooks, China continued dumping goods into India, creating a massive trade deficit.

After taking over as PM, Narendra Modi has sought to bring about a subtle shift in India’s worldview. As he told the UN General Assembly, while India believed in and practised its philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, it will brook no compromise on its sovereignty and unity.

While adopting a no-nonsense approach on the border dispute with China and asking Indian forces to take on the PLA on the ground, Modi has challenged China in the economic sphere by launching his ambitious ‘Make in India’ scheme. Reports indicate that it has made a big splash in China and $15 bn announced by President Xi during his India visit is only the beginning. More will follow as India has many advantages in terms of labour, young people and open culture.

Modi had already deepened India’s multilateral ties with Japan during his recent visit and established a personal rapport with PM Shinzo Abe. He articulated a common perception of the two countries when he noted that the “expansionist” ideas of the 18th century are still visible in the world —some countries “encroach” on others, some “enter the seas”, and some “capture other’s territory”. While he did not name China, “encroachment” and “entry into the seas” are being interpreted as a reference to China’s spats with Japan over the Senkaku Islands.

After defining the parameters of India’s strategic approach in the immediate and extended neighbourhood in South and South East Asia, the new government seems to have finally worked out primary elements of its strategy vis-à-vis China. Its essential ingredients seem to be faster economic growth and steady improvements in military capability, regular engagement on the border and other disputes with China to prevent misunderstandings from leading to skirmishes, building a China containment coalition along with Japan and Vietnam, and steady projection of India’s soft power in the west and south-east Asia to counter China.

As a recent assessment by the US intelligence community predicted, China stands to more profoundly affect global geopolitics than any other country. China’s ascent, however, is dividing Asia, not bringing Asian states closer. A fresh reminder of that came when provocative Chinese actions prompted the new Japanese government to reverse course on seeking a “more equal” relationship with the US and agree to keep the US military base in Okinawa island. That outcome is similar to the way Beijing has been pushing India closer to the US through continuing military and other provocations.

Given that the balance of power in Asia will be determined by events as much in the Indian Ocean rim as in East Asia, Tokyo, New Delhi and Washington must work together to promote Asian peace and stability and help safeguard vital sea lanes.

Emmdiem@hotmail.com   

Menon is a former additional secy, Cabinet Secretariat

Global community facing challenge of 

thinking ‘out of the box’

October 8, 2014, 6:48 pm 

TURKEY, Suruc : Kurdish refugees evacuate the Syrian town of Ain al-Arab, known as Kobane by the Kurds, at the border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province, on October 5, 2014. Islamic State (IS) militants are just one kilometre from the Syrian town of Kobane and air strikes are not enough on their own to stop them, a Syrian Kurdish official said on Sunday.AFP

UN chief Ban Ki-moon, it could be said, has, with exceptional perceptiveness, sized-up a prime challenge facing the world currently in connection with the multiplicity of humanitarian crises which are upon it. The task confronting humanity is to think ‘out of the box’ in its efforts to find solutions to the issues arising from tens of thousands of people being displaced every now and then in conflicts and wars around the world. Issues in this context must be defused before they snowball into major crises, the UN Secretary General had reportedly stressed.

Global Community Facing Challenge of by Thavam

Fiddling While Kobani Burns

Turkey is talking tough about the Islamic State. But it’s still not ready for war.

• BY STEVEN A. COOK-OCTOBER 7, 2014

 Last week, the Turkish Grand National Assembly voted to authorize the use of force in Syria and Iraq. Turkish legislators also voted to permit the deployment of foreign forces in Turkey for the purpose of fighting against the Islamic State (IS). The votes were heralded in the Turkish and U.S. media as proof that Ankara is a dependable ally in the ongoing battle against the Islamic State. So why are Turkish forces sitting idly along the border while jihadist militants advance toward the border?
Fiddling While Kobani Burns by Thavam