How to Shut Down a Country and Kill a Disease

China’s response to SARS a decade ago was effective but brutal. Is there a better way to stop the spread of Ebola?

With every passing day the absence of a powerful international response to West Africa's Ebola epidemic allows the horror to grow, pushing the nightmares in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea closer to the catastrophic worst-case scenario forecasted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: an estimated 1.4 million cumulative cases, with 980,000 dead, by Feb. 1, 2015 -- a prediction so dire as to be impossible to imagine. For Liberia and Sierra Leone, the dire augury translates to this: In the absence of radical measures to stop the virus's spread, the two countries could witness a combined 10,000 new cases per week by the time Americans sit down for Thanksgiving feasts, and they could see some 14 percent of their populations perish by Easter.

What is to be done?                           Full Story>>>

Tens of thousands expected to get Ebola vaccines from January: WHO

Who Plans Large-Scale Ebola Vaccine Trials In Africa By 20150-NewsIn2Day

Scientists at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg, Manitoba, prepare an experimental Ebola vaccine for shipment to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva in this undated handout picture released October 18, 2014.

BY STEPHANIE NEBEHAY-GENEVA Tue Oct 21, 2014

(Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people in West Africa are expected to begin getting experimental Ebola vaccines from January, but population-wide immunization is still far off, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Tens of Thousands Expected to Get Ebola Vaccines From January WHO by Thavam

Jaffna Press Club remembers Nimalarajan and Sachithananthan

 The Jaffna Press Club held a memorial service over the weekend, remembering the lives of two Tamil journalists - Mylvaganam Nimalarajan and Mr Sachithananthan.

The event was held on the date marking the 14^th death anniversary of Nimalarajan, who was a senior journalist having contributed to the BBC Tamil and Sinhala services, the Tamil daily Virakesari and Sinhala weekly Ravaya. The Committee to Protect Journalists stated he was gunned down in his home due to his coverage of the political violence before and during the 2000 parliamentary elections. Members of the government aligned paramilitary group the EPDP, are suspected of carrying out the killing.

Also remembered was veteran Tamil journalist Mr Sachithananthan, who passed away earlier this month, having suffered a heart attack.

Mr Sachithananthan, who had worked for the Eela-Naadu and Thinakkural, was a veteran journalist who had been severely injured in 1981, when Sinhala mobs attacked the Eela-Naadu office and Jaffna Public Library in 1981.

See more on Sachithananthan from TamilNet here.

Four years, Many deaths: Good Bye Sri Lanka

by Frances Harrison

Sri Lanka: Vatican Says a Papal Visit During Any National Election Would be ‘Inappropriate’

[Roman Catholics account for around six percent of the population in Sri Lanka- Filepphoto]

Sri Lanka’s snap poll casts doubt on Pope’s visit-22/10/2014

The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka on Tuesday asked the government to clarify its plans for a snap presidential election, amid fears the polls will scupper a planned visit by the Pope.

Sri Lanka has not yet announced an election date, but the country’s information minister said Monday that the polls would be held in January, the same month that Pope Francis is due to visit.

The Church had earlier said it would be “inappropriate” for the Pope to visit any country at the time of a national election.

“We are yet to decide anything,” said church spokesman Cyril Gamini Fernando. “There will be a meeting of the bishops to discuss this.”

Official sources said Church authorities had asked the government to clarify Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella’s announcement Monday that President Mahinda Rajapakse would run for a third term at an election in January.

United National Party opposition parliamentarian John Amaratunga told ucanews.com that it would be wise to delay the election until after Pope Francis’ visit.

“The Pope will come to Sri Lanka to hold the canonization of Blessed Joseph Vaz and this is a great opportunity for the Catholic community in the country,” said Amarathunga. “The election should not be in January and it could be held at any time in March.”

Amaratunga also cautioned that there could be “post election violence”.

An early election had been widely expected, but Monday’s announcement was the first confirmation that Rajapakse is seeking a fresh mandate after removing the two-term limit on the presidency soon after winning re-election in 2010.

Official sources said January 7, 8 and 9 were considered astrologically auspicious for Rajapakse and the vote could be held on any of those three days.

Rajapakse gained popularity among Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhalese community by crushing a Tamil separatist rebellion in May 2009 and ending a 37-year-long Tamil separatist war.

But his party’s popularity has fallen in recent months and saw its share of the vote plummet by over 20 percentage points in September local elections.

Roman Catholics account for around six percent of the population in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka.

- AFP and ucanews.com, Colombo

Land Commissioner in East threatens Tamil farmers of Thennai-maravadi

The location of Thennai-maravadi

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 October 2014, 22:33 GMT]
The Provincial Land Commissioner (PLC) of Eastern Province, Sirimewan Dharmasena, a Sinhalese, has been threatening the Tamil farmers of the ancient Tamil village of Thennai-maravadi in Kuchchcave’li division of Trincomalee district to share their lands with Sinhalese colonisers or face security threats at the hands of the Sinhala ‘home guards’ paramilitary. The threat comes after a series of meetings with the PLC on 12th, 24th and 30th of September 2014, the Tamil farmers from Kuchchave’li said. Thennai-maravadi is situated on the border of Trincomalee district and Mullaith-theevu district. 

Until the ‘disputes’ were resolved, the resettled Tamils would not be allowed to engage in farming, the PLC has told the villagers. 

Colombo has schemed a sinister move to demographically annex the strategic ancient Tamil village in Kuchchave’li division on the border of Northern and Eastern Provinces with the Sinhala dominated Padavi Sripura division of Trincomalee district. 

Only 150 of 250 uprooted Tamil families managed to resettle in their native village of Thennai-maravadi after the end of war. They were given temporary huts for 6 months. Four years have elapsed and the families are still living in the same temporary huts without proper humanitarian assistance. The Sinhala farmers are receiving SL State support on a regular basis. 

The Eezham Tamil farmers in Thennai-maravadi are in possession of land permits since 1952. The Tamil farmers have been continuously paying the necessary taxes to ensure their continued ownership of 525 acres of farmlands. 

A total of 250 Tamil families were forced to displace from Thennai-maravadi in 1984. The Sinhala settlers from 12th and 13th Colonies, with the backing of the occupying Sri Lankan military and the Sinhala officials of the Colombo government have been encroaching the farmlands of Eezham Tamils. However, whenever the Tamils were forced to displace, the same Sinhala farmers systematically encroached into their lands, the Tamil farmers say.

Thirteen-Plus: Good For All Of Sri Lanka And All Sri Lankans

By Aahithyan Ratnam -October 22, 2014

Sinhalese React to Police Brutality and Inaction

The recent pre- and post- Uva election violence saw the police being mere spectators to horrific violence. Neither the police watching nor the cameras whirring, both in front of police stations in the presence of policemen, was a deterrent. The Sinhalese are shocked. Colombo Telegraph reported that “Senior legal professionals have condemned the attack on journalist Chandana Kuruppuarachchi that occurred a few days ago while expressing their regret over the law being made redundant.” And that the Lawyers’ Collective “condemned the killing of a suspect in police custody at Cinnamon Gardens while being taken handcuffed and the brutal attack on a girl at the Ratnapura Bus stand by a police officer in the view of the public.” Several such similar events of the Sinhalese ruing the loss of democracy and the eviscerated rule of law may be cited.

When Appapillai Amirthalingam when Leader of the Opposition was slapped by a policeman in Jaffna town, where were the good Sinhalese who object to the assault on Vass?

Democracy for the Sinhalese only?

Experience shows that the concern for old values by the Sinhalese in general and the legal profession in particular, is really a concern only for Sinhalese rights. Recall the condemnation of the UN Report by the BASL even before we had seen the report. Tamils have suffered a lot more than assaults. But who among the Sinhalese is giving voice to the Tamil downtrodden? There are indeed some but they are too few to count and really serve the purpose of keeping Tamils from boiling over in the name of not hurting those Sinhalese who do not approve of the violence against minorities.

The larger Sinhalese objection is really to their own rights being taken away and not a principled stand for justice.

Pan-Lankan Youth Organization for Unity – Serving  what Purpose?

Consider the case of a young Tamil man who dedicated himself to a united Sri Lanka, recognizing that there are good Sinhalese with whom Tamils must make common cause, and therefore dedicated his all to a pan-Lankan youth organization standing up for unity.  After his term of office at the top there ended he returned home to work in his village in the Vanni and was personally witness to the gang rape of a middle-aged Tamil woman by several Sinhalese soldiers – this rape was well after the rapes and murders of 2009 and cannot be put down to the heat of battle but rather is part of the systematic, planned subjugation of the Tamil people by the Sinhalese state.Read More

Incumbent edge

October 23, 2014 

The incumbent advantage usually lasts only 12 years. Not anymore. With the passing of the 18th Amendment, the incumbent President has a crucial head start in any electoral contest, potentially forever

Battle lines will be drawn this week when President Mahinda Rajapaksa moves to present his Government’s Budget for 2015, setting the stage for his re-election campaign, expected to kick off officially about six weeks from now.

Incumbent Edge by Thavam

The Danger Of The Third Term: South Korean Experience

| by Laksiri Fernando

( October 22, 2014, Sydney, Sri Lanka Guardian) UNP General Secretary, Tissa Attanayake, appears to be quite naïve to talk about the winning prospects of the UNP leader, Ranil Wickremasinghe, against President Rajapaksa, without challenging the ‘illegality and immorality’ of the incumbent contesting for a third term. As many have already pointed out, his statement was an indirect legitimation of Rajapaksa candidacy for a third term. Then the party had to do some damage control. The call for an early presidential election in January 2015, as planned and now confirmed, itself is unconstitutional if one clearly goes through the constitution and the flawed 18th Amendment.

The Danger of the Third Term South Korean Experience by Thavam

Buddhism, The Lack Of It And Abuses By Its Flag Bearers

By Muhammed Fazl -October 22, 2014 

Muhammed Fazl

“It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe that lures him to evil ways” – Gautama Buddha

Historians of Buddhism in Sri Lanka may or may not have interpreted historical scriptures based on facts or opinions… but none of it matter anymore since Buddhism has lost its value and its importance thanks largely to its ineffectiveness in matters concerning governance, rule of law and social justice. Bitter it may be to some to swallow, but Sri Lanka was never a Buddhist country. The need to look for alternative and effective sources of guidance in leading the masses towards spiritual enlightenment is now a matter of great exigency.

60% of the population claiming to be Buddhists or the belief in the legend where Lord Buddha supposedly had arrived in Sri Lanka centuries ago does not make this a Buddhist country. For it to be rightly called such, it need to be governed by teachings of Buddhism as in the case of Islamic countries where Islamic Sharia is the source of governance. Buddhism as a state religion in this country has been a failure since none of the governments in power paid any serious attention in being guided by its teachings. Sri Lanka with one of the highest cases of rape, suicide, murder, theft, racial intolerance, alcohol consumption and the addiction for gambling has also contributed in negating the influence of Buddhism.

The Thripitakaya, written 500 plus years after the death of Gautama Buddha with 80,000 plus sermons to follow, how it came to be written or questions of its authenticity is no more important as long as its teachings are useful, if followed that is. Whatever religion one may follow, the beauty of the Buddhist philosophy or its sensibility cannot be easily disputed or denied.                                                           Read More

Sri Lanka opposition slams gov't over EU decision to drop ban on Tamil Tigers

Sri Lanka opposition slams gov't over EU decision to drop ban on Tamil Tigers

COLOMBO, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's main Opposition party on Tuesday strongly criticized the government over the possible de- proscribing of the Tamil Tigers as a terror organization by the European Court of Justice.

The main opposition United National Party (UNP) slammed the government for politicizing the foreign service resulting in political appointees rather than career diplomats heading embassies in key European countries. "When we come to power we will work to reinstate the ban and we strongly urge the government to do everything it can to ensure the Tamil Tigers remain proscribed as a terror organization," UNP MP Eran Wickramaratne told reporters.

Sri Lanka is concerned over the decision of the European Court of Justice to annul proscribing the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist organization. The Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) waged a three decade war in Sri Lanka, fighting for a separate homeland. They were militarily defeated by the Sri Lankan government in 2009.

The European Union (EU) proscribed the LTTE as a terrorist organization in May 2006, and has remained on its list of terrorist entities ever since.

Apart from the EU, the LTTE is proscribed as a terrorist organization in the United States, India, Canada, Britain and Sri Lanka.

The government of Sri Lanka has fully supported the EU in its listing of the LTTE and has periodically provided information supportive of the regulation and also with a view to facilitate the commission's defense in the European Court of Justice.

Releasing a statement after the announcement of the European court, the Sri Lankan External Affairs Ministry insisted an in- depth study of the judgment must be made and cautioned against the release of substantial assets maintained by the LTTE that could now be used by proxy organizations supportive of the Tamil Tigers cause. "The Sri Lanka government remains committed to providing to the European Commission and EU Member States, any further assistance and information available, to maintain the LTTE as a brutal terrorist organization," the Ministry statement noted.

"Sri Lanka is further mindful the European court decision may have an impact including from a security perspective, on the large majority of Sri Lankans living in EU territory, as well as EU citizens of Sri Lankan origin, who are likely to come under pressure once again by pro LTTE activists," it warned. The Sri Lankan government has long been wary of organizations supportive of the LTTE based in Europe and banned 16 organizations in April this year resulting in condemnation from rights groups.

Sri Lanka: Comments India and the ECJ judgement annulment of the LTTE's inclusion in the EU's list of terrorist organisations

                               

By Col R Hariharan- Dated 21-Oct-2014

[Here are answers to e-mail questions raised by a legal analyst on the recent ECJ judgement annulment of the inclusion of the LTTE in EU terrorist organisations list.]

General Court of the European Union PRESS RELEASE No 138/14 Luxembourg, 16 October 2014 Judgment in Joined Cases T-208/11 and T-508/11  Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) v Council

The Court annuls, on procedural grounds, the Council measures maintaining the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on the European list of terrorist organisations.  However, the effects of the annulled measures are maintained temporarily in order to ensure the effectiveness of any possible future freezing of funds.

The Tamil Diaspora is quite large here in the West but do you think that if the LTTE ban was removed in India, it would pose a threat to our national security in India? A step towards this was done in Europe by removing the sanctions on the group by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) just few days ago.

Fortunately, the ECJ does not advise Indian government on its policy. It does not matter to European Union if they nurture one more terrorist organisation as they have given refuge to scores of them historically in the past. These included Chechen terrorists, Jihadi supporters, and Tamil terrorists till they posed no threat to EU members.

But India has been fighting extremism, insurgency, terrorism and a number of armed separatist and anti-state armed movements for over five decades.  Any threat posed by the LTTE remnants to India's national security would be minuscule.  The ban on LTTE was not imposed based on its capability to pose a threat to national security but based on its long history of extremism and terrorism and waging war on a friendly neighbour using India as a source of assistance.

The ban on the organisation which had engineered the assassination of former PM Rajiv Gandhi and scores of others who had sought refuge in India is unlikely to be removed in the near future for two reasons.

At least three instances of LTTE remnants attempting to revive the organisation using Tamil Nadu as a base to recruit/train potential cadres for induction into Sri Lanka have come light.  Secondly, the threat of Jihadi terrorism using Sri Lanka as a launch pad has become real after the apprehension of a few agents belonging to Sri Lanka.  And Tamil Nadu has been targeted by Jihadi elements in the recent past.  The unearthing of links of Bangladesh JMB Islamic extremists in West Bengal have raised questions about their possible linkages in Tamil Nadu. 

The  LTTE has in the past used   other extremist organisations like Maoists in India to further its aim. So it would not be beyond the realm of probability for Jihadi elements and LTTE using each other to further their interests in India and Sri Lanka.

No security agency would agree to take that risk of lifting the ban on LTTE at present. 

Do you think the LTTE remainders have learned to embrace India since IPKF days?

This question is not understood. Who wants LTTE to "embrace" India?

Since the IPKF days, LTTE assassins murdered Rajiv Gandhi and 14 leaders and cadres of EPRLF in India. Even after being wiped out in Sri Lanka LTTE remnants have not "learned" to carry out a realistic assessment on their leadership and organisational failure in the last Eelam War. The LTTE remnants  are still carrying out a black campaign against India for LTTE's failure to win a war they "embraced" when they were offered a chance for peace with an honourable agreement; not only that even now India is blamed for  all that is going wrong for Tamils in Sri Lanka and elsewhere.

I doubt whether anyone in India including Kalaignar Karunanidhi and Ms Jayalalithaa who support Tamil Eelam referendum want the LTTE anywhere near them. For that matter even among Tamil Diaspora many do not want LTTE to come near them, let alone its "embrace".

I don't see any chance of a "Tamil Eelam" without Indian support but of course I agree that the people who committed the atrocities in the last days of the war should be punished.

Are you asking me to comment on this? If anyone still expects India to support "Tamil Eelam" they should revisit India's record against the creation of Tamil Eelam as an independent entity. Support for united Sri Lanka is an article of faith in India's Sri Lanka policy. It is also commitment India made in the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement 1987. Every Indian prime minister has reiterated this commitment to Sri Lanka.

I agree with you that all those committed atrocities in the Eelam war (why last days only?) should be punished. But that should include the LTTE including remnants who have sought refuge abroad.

​(Col R Hariharan, a former MI officer, served as the head of intelligence with the Indian Peace Keeping Force (1987-90). E-mail: haridirect@gmail.com Blog: http://col.hariharan.info)

- See more at: http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/node/1639#sthash.DqLFDWyU.dpuf

ARE WE COUNTING THE PREFERENTIAL VOTES? A POSSIBLE SCENARIO ON SRI LANKA’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

By Dr. S. I. Keethaponcalan

OCTOBER 21, 2014 DR. S. I. KEETHAPONCALAN

In a recent article on Sri Lanka’s forthcoming presidential election, this author has argued that the incumbent president’s quest for a third term will not be a cake-walk and the race will be tight. The primary reason for this argument is the fact that the president does not have adequate support among the minority communities.
Are We Counting the Preferential Votes a Possible Scenario on Sri Lanka’s Presidential Election by Thavam

Open Letter To Ranil And Champika; Shed Mutual Suspicion And Talk

By Vishwamithra1984 -October 22, 2014

“I shall argue that strong men, conversely, know when to compromise and that all principles can be compromised to serve a greater principle.” ~Andrew Carnegie

This missive is addressed to Ranil Wickremesinghe andChampika Ranawaka, the Leaders of the United National Party (UNP) and the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) respectively. But it is not a “for your eyes only’ memorandum. Whoever wishes to read it could read the letter and draw his or her own conclusions and make their own assertions. The country is evidently heading for a crucial election. The Presidential Elections which everyone is talking about and getting ready for is no election to elect Provincial Councilors or Pradesheeya Sabha members whose scope of work and horizon of vision are limited and perennially lacking in the national context. All Provincial Council administrations, except perhaps in the Northern Province, are blindly subservient to the ‘Center’, treating the terrain as a breeding ground for corrupt and nepotistic practices rather than for future parliamentarians. Those who are already warming the governing seats in these councils are running amok, as was seen in the last five years and paying ‘puja’ to, as Dr. Dayan Jayatillekaquite rightly called, the “family politbureau’ in order to receive more favorable grants and wishes for their own unsophisticated advancement.

It is in that context that the leaders of the UNP and JHU should look at the forthcoming Presidential Elections. It is incumbent upon them, if they are really serious about displacing the current President from office, to explore all possibilities, not just one or two, to secure an electoral victory at the Presidential Elections. What does Ranil have to do and what does Champika have to accomplish in order to come to a common understanding and launch a combined effort to achieve victory? If Ranil Wickremesinghe and Champika Ranawaka are serious about their common goal, then there is a way. To show that way is the primary objective of this communique. Before going any further, there is one other significant question that the writer needs to clarify. Why did I select these two parties and their leaders?

1. Ranil Wickremesinghe and UNP
2. Champika Ranawaka and JHU

1. Ranil Wickremesinghe and UNP                                        Read More

Indomitable HR Activist Fr. Hanry Miller Selected for 2014 Citizens Peace Award

[Batticaloa is my home - Fr. Miller in his study in Batticloa: see Video  ]

http://www.jesuit.org/blog/index.php/2012/07/an-american-je . . .

21/10/2014 

This year the National Peace Council (NPC) has decided to give its Citizens Peace Award to Fr Hanry Miller. The awards ceremony will be held on Saturday November 8 at 3 pm in Batticaloa.

Indomitable HR Activist Fr. Hanry Miller Selected for 2014 Citizens Peace Award by Thavam