Army officer in Rathupaswala shooting was sent overseas on diplomatic appointment – says Min. Amaratunga

Army officer in Rathupaswala shooting was sent overseas on diplomatic appointment – says Min. Amaratunga

Minister of Public Security John Amaratunga states that the army officer who was involved in the 2013 Rathupaswala shooting had been sent overseas on a diplomatic appointment made by the previous regime.

Jan 26, 2015  Ariram Panchalingam

Min. Amarathunga said that investigations will commence into this report.

Three individuals died in the Rathupaswala incident. An army officer was involved in the incident. I got to know that the previous government has sent this said army officer on a diplomatic appointment. We have to find out whether the army officer is still on diplomatic duty or whether he is back in the country.

On Aug. 1, 2013 the military opened fire on residents of Rathupaswala who held a protest demonstration urging authorities to close down a rubber glove production factory in the area and provide them with clean drinking water. Three youths were killed while 26 others were injured. Min. Amarathunga said that the investigation is underway.

A complaint was lodged by the residents of the area with the police. The police commenced investigations into the incident. Statements were taken down by the suspects and have been sent to the attorney general but nothing has been done thereafter. This is very unfair it has not gone beyond the AG’s office. Someone has influenced and stopped it from going further. Now the people are holding protests asking for the perpetrators to be brought to book. I have received a document in this regard; necessary steps will be taken to punish the wrong-doers.

CJ is not resigning due to fear of imprisonment! 

Monday, 26 January 2015

Illegal chief justice Mohan Peiris is not resigning from the position due to the fear that he would be arrested, investigated and imprisoned over his past wrongdoing, including the military coup attempt, say sources close to him. The sources say former president Mahinda Rajapaksa is repeatedly asking him not to resign.

Rajapaksa has advised him to reach a deal with either the prime minister or the president if he resigns. Accordingly, Peiris has informed the president and the prime minister that he should be given an ambassadorial posting if he was to resign. Knowing very well that he would have to spend the rest of his life behind bars if action is taken against his past wrongs committed on the orders of the former regime, Peiris is trying his utmost to escape punishment by securing an ambassadorial position overseas.

Rajapaksas Made Plans To Kill Me And Imprison My Children: President

January 26, 2015

President Maithripala Sirisena says the former regime had formulated detailed plans to torture him and his family when Mahinda Rajapaksa emerged victorious at the Presidential elections.

Addressing a rally held in Polonnaruwa yesterday afternoon, the President had said,” Today, Mahinda Rajapaksa is saying he doesn’t even have a house to live in. I would like to ask him, if I was defeated, would you have given me a house?”

He had said that when he decided to contest as the common Opposition candidate, he entered the battle ready to sacrifice his life.
“If I was defeated not just me, we would all have been laid underground by now. During the Rajapaksa regime, all plans were made to arrest my children and inflict all suffering possible on me and my family once the elections were over,” the President said furthermore.

He also stated that if he had not accepted the Chairman position of the SLFP, it would have been a major obstacle for the successful implementation of the 100-day program.

“Some might ask me, why not have resorted to a general election instead of accepting the Chairmanship? If I had made that decision the 100-day program would have been over,” he said.

VIDEO: My husband was arrested for investigating First Lady: ex-DIG’s wife

January 26, 2015
Former DIG Vass Gunawardena’s wife, Shyamali Priyadarshani Perera, today alleged that her husband was arrested under “false charges” due to him spearheading an investigation into a conspiracy to sell 100kg of gold belonging to the treasury and its direct links to the former First lady.

Speaking to reporters after filing a complaint with the Bribery Commission this morning, she said that her husband had received information through the army intelligence unit regarding an attempt to illegally sell 100 kilograms of gold, worth around Rs 500 million, belonging to the state treasury.

Shyamali Perera claimed that her husband, who was then the DIG Colombo (North), had revealed to her that the investigation had uncovered the involvement of First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa and that he was ordered to halt the investigation and push it aside by then Western Province DIG Anura Senanayake.

However, she stated that former DIG Vass Gunawardena had received numerous threats after certain media had reported the incident and that one day the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), Hudson Samarasinghe, had visited their home asked her husband to make a statement that Shiranthi Rajapaksa was not involved in the case.

Shyamali Perera stated that several days later steps were taken to arrest her husband and son under “false charges” and that she continued to receive threats while once a grenade was hurled at their home.

She added that her husband had instructed her to lodge a complaint regarding the matter as the new government is probing incidents of corruption and misuse.

 Shyamali Perera also said that her husband, Vass Gunawardena, has decided to reveal many secrets known by him and assist in investigations in the future.

The ex-DIG, his son Ravindu Gunawardena and four other suspects have been charged with the murder of businessman Mohammed Shiyam which took place in the Dompe area on May 22, 2013. He was arrested on June 10, 2013 while the case is still being heard by the Colombo High Court.

Meanwhile Vass Gunawardena’s wife Shyamali Perera was accused of threatening the witnesses of the businessman murder case.  

She was ordered to appear before court for allegedly threatening and intimidating witnesses in the case.

In 2009, she was arrested and remanded in connection with the assault on an IT student.

Govt. to tackle deaths in police, judicial custody - Justice Minister

By Shamindra Ferdinando-January 25, 2015

Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, PC, yesterday called for tangible measures to guarantee the safety and security of those in police/judicial custody.

Minister Rajapakshe said that the new government was determined to prevent deaths of suspects and convicts in custody.

The PC was responding to a query by The Island whether he would discuss with the police ways and means to ensure those in custody didn’t die in controversial circumstances, while being taken to various locations purportedly in connection with investigations.

The minister said that he would take it up with Public Security, Christian Religious Affairs and Disaster Management Minister John Amaratunga.

Minister Rajapakshe said that deaths in custody whatever the reasons and circumstances might bring the country under international scrutiny.

Civil society organisations, too, would be involved in a process meant to safeguard the interests of those in custody, the minister said, adding that the country couldn’t turn a blind eye to what was going on. "The bottom line is that a death in custody is not acceptable. Therefore, the new government will work rapidly towards having a mechanism to prevent any untoward incident."

Responding to another query, the Minister said that the previous government hadn’t investigated any of those cases though the then Opposition, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), civil society organizations as well as some members of the international community expressed their concern.

The minister pointed out that suspects in many high profile cases had died in mysterious circumstances over the past several years.

Minister Rajapakshe said that the circumstances under which the then government quelled a riot at Welikada prison during the second week of November, 2012, too, would be investigated, though that couldn’t be compared with individual cases of deaths in police custody.

The PC alleged that a three-member committee that inquired into Welikada riot had pathetically failed in its duty. The Welikada riot claimed the lives of 27 prisoners while 20 received injuries. Several police commandos including its former chief, DIG Ranawana, received injuries.

Asked whether he was seeking a fresh inquiry, Minister Rajapakshe said that the probe conducted by the previous government was not acceptable. As the investigation conducted by retired Supreme Court judge Bandula Atapattu (Chairman of the Committee), retired DIG, who is also an attorney-at-law Gunasena Thenabadu and senior lawyer Lalitha P. Andrahennadi attached to the then ministry of Rehabilitation and Prisons Reforms hadn’t been satisfactory, a new three-member team would undertake a comprehensive inquiry. The team comprises retired Supreme Court judge Wimal Nambuwasam (Chairman), retired DIG Asoka Wijetilleke and retired administrative official attorney-at-law S.K. Liyanage.

Outgoing President of the BASL Upul Jayasuriya told The Island that action should be taken to ensure safety and security of those in custody. The issue had been raised on many occasions and it would be the responsibility of the new government to inquire into past incidents and take adequate measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

EU to ban fish imports from Sri Lanka for illegal fishing

26/01/2015

Location: Madrid
Contact: Marta Madina: mmadina@oceana.org +34 911 440 884

Brussels — Today, the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), Oceana, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and WWF welcome a decision by the European Union fisheries ministers to sanction Sri Lanka for its failure to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

After months of discussion, ministers have decided to ‘red-card’ Sri Lanka by putting in place trade restrictions for failing to properly monitor its fishing fleet, punish vessels guilty of illegal fishing, or develop robust fisheries laws to deter IUU fishing. The decision to red card Sri Lanka means EU member states’ fishing vessels cannot now operate in Sri Lankan waters.

“This decision reiterates that EU fisheries ministers are serious about confronting illegal fishing globally. We encourage Sri Lanka to put the measures in place to dissuade IUU fishing by their vessels, or by vessels landing in their ports,” said Tony Long of The Pew Charitable Trusts. “Our Coalition is ready to support the government of Sri Lanka in combating IUU fishing, especially towards implementing stronger measures in their ports and tracking its fleet,” he continued.

Sri Lanka was initially among eight states ‘yellow carded’ by the European Commission in November 2012. Five of these were de-listed in 2014 due to their efforts in combating IUU fishing. Now, only three states remain on the red list and will do so until their governments take resolute action.

“Karmenu Vella is to be commended for the Commission’s proposal of this measure. We are calling on him to not only maintain these efforts but to increase enforcement of this pioneering legislation across the EU,” said Andreas Baumüller from WWF. “We also recognise that Sri Lanka has recently increased efforts to combat IUU fishing and we welcome opportunities to work with the government and local stakeholders to achieve the needed improvements,” he concluded.

Notes to editors:

Sri Lanka is the second biggest exporter of fresh and chilled swordfish and tuna to the EU (€74 million of imports in 2013). The Commission states that it cannot tolerate not knowing whether the fish imported into the EU was caught sustainably or not. EU citizens have the right to know what lands on their plate.[1]
IUU fishing depletes fish stocks, damages marine ecosystems, puts legitimate fishers at an unfair disadvantage, and jeopardises the livelihoods of some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. IUU fishing is estimated to cost between €8 billion and €19 billion annually, representing 11 million to 26 million tonnes of catch.
The EU’s IUU regulation, which came into[2] force in 2010, aims to keep illegally caught fish out of the EU by requiring “catch certificates” for seafood imports and exports. The law also bars the import of fish from states and vessels known to be involved in IUU fishing. The regulation and the EU’s enforcement of it are unique.
Since 2012, the EU has warned (yellow carded) 17 states.  In March 2014, the EU went on to ban, ‘red card’ imports from Belize, Cambodia, and Guinea, although in December the Council removed the sanctions on Belize due to its moves to combat IUU fishing. To date, 9 countries remain yellow carded: Ghana, Curaçao, South Korea, PNG, Philippines, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu, St. Kitts and Nevis and Solomon Islands.
In October 2014 the European Commission removed yellow cards from Fiji, Panama, Togo and Vanuatu following improvements in their measures to tackle IUU fishing.
The main purpose of the FAO Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) is to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing through the implementation of robust port state measures. Sri Lanka ratified the PSMA in 2011[3]

[1] http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-14-314_en.htm

[2] [http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/illegal_fishing/index_en.htm

[3] http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/legal/docs/6_037s-e.pdf

WATCH: Chomsky Blasts 'American Sniper' and the Media that Glorifies It

The famed professor draws a disturbing parallel between "Sniper" and our "global assassination program."

Here's Chomsky via WGBH below.

By Janet Allon / AlterNet-January 26, 2015

Noam Chomsky had some choice words about the popularity of "American Sniper," its glowing New York Times review, and what the worship of a movie about a cold-blooded killer says about the American people.

It's not good.

During a Cambridge, Massachusetts event hosted by The Baffler, Chomsky first read the glowing recent review the New York Times gave the movie. That review begins inauspiciously by insulting, “America’s coastal intelligentsia, which has busied itself with chatter over little-seen art dramas while everyday Americans showed up en masse for a patriotic, pro-family picture which broke all attendance records in its opening days.”

So, Chomsky wonders aloud: “What was the patriotic, pro-family film that so entranced everyday Americans? It’s about the most deadly sniper in American history, a guy named Chris Kyle, who claims to have used his skills to have killed several hundred people in Iraq.”

Kyle's first kill was a woman who apparently walked into the street with a grenade in her hand as the Marines attacked her village. Here's how Kyle describes killing her with a single shot:

“‘I hated the damn savages I’d been fighting,’” Chomsky said, quoting Kyle. “‘Savage, despicable, evil — that’s what we were fighting in Iraq. That’s why a lot of people, myself included, called the enemy savages. There was really no other way to describe what we encountered there.’”

Chomsky also pointed out that The New Yorker loved the film, saying, "it was great, kept to the cinematic values, said it was well done." On the other hand, Newsweek's Jeff Stein, a former US intelligence officer, deferred, calling it appalling. In that review, Chomsky says, Stein remembered a visit he had made to a “clubhouse for snipers, where to quote him, ‘the barroom walls featured white-on-black Nazi SS insignia, and other Wehrmacht regalia. The Marine shooters clearly identified with the marksmen of the world’s most infamous killing machine, rather than regular troops.”

“Getting back to Chris Kyle,” Chomsky said, arriving at his larger point. “He regarded his first kill as a terrorist — this woman who walked in the street — but we can’t really attribute that to the mentality of a psychopathic killer, because we’re all tarred by the same brush insofar as we tolerate or keep silent about official policy.”

“Now, that [sniper] mentality helps explain why it’s so easy to ignore what is most clearly the most extreme terrorist campaign of modern history, if not ever — Obama’s global assassination campaign, the drone campaign, which officially is aimed at murdering people who are suspected of maybe someday planning to harm us.”

Chomsky recommends reading some of the transcripts with drone operators, calling them "harrowing" in their dehumanizing treatment of people who are targeted.

The implication is clear and chilling. Are we all, at least tacitly, American snipers?

Kurds 'take full control' of Kobani from Islamic State

MONDAY 26 JANUARY 2015
Kurdish forces are reported to have defeated Islamic State fighters to take full control of the symbolic Syrian town of Kobani, in what could be seen as vindication of US-led coalition airstrikes.

Above: Kobani on 16 January 2015

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "trusted sources" had reported that the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), under the leadership of Mahmoud Barkhdan, had taken "full control" of Kobani.

Kurdish forces were said to have seized "wide areas" of the neighbourhood of Maqtala - the last area Islamic State fighters occupied - though it was reported that "clashes continue" in the neighbourhood where Islamic State fighters are thought to have planted dozens of landmines.

The pushed back gained momentum earlier this year when it was reported that Kurdish fighters had regained control of 80 per cent of the town.

The claim was being disputed by some Islamic State Twitter accounts on Monday that said fierce fighting continues in the town.

However, footage also showed Kurdish fighters raising the YPG flag where an Islamic State flag had previously flown.

Kobani has become symbolically important since Islamic State fighters first began their attack on the town in September 2014.

Strategically important because of its proximity to Turkey's border, the town also became the target of propaganda campaign by both sides.

The Islamic State group filmed with British hostage John Cantlie in the town, in a bid to show Islamic State's control of the area.

A pro-YPG Twitter campaign targeted Islamic State Twitter accounts with pictures of female YPG fighters in Kobani.

For the US and its coalition partners, the importance of Kobani can be seen in the intense airstrikes campaign that supported the Kurdish fighters.

Operation Inherent Resolve, the coalition campaign against the Islamic State group, has hit the Islamic State hundreds of times around Kobani.

In total, 410 airstrikes have hit Iraq and Syria this year, and 44 per cent of those were in Kobani. Of the Syria airstrikes alone, more than 80 per cent were in the border town.

The attack on Kobani, known as Ayn al-Arab in Arabic, has sent a flood of refugees over the border into Turkey. Last year the UN Refugee Agency said more than 190,000 Syrians had fled Kobani.

Mass surveillance is fundamental threat to human rights, says European report

Europe’s top rights body says scale of NSA spying is ‘stunning’ and suggests UK powers may be at odds with rights convention
Edward Snowden speaks to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from Moscow Photograph: Vincent Kessler/Reuters

Intelligence agencies and their allies may be hoovering up data on a massive scale.Photograph: Fleix Clay, Graeme Robertson, Getty Images

Luke Harding-Monday 26 January 2015

Europe’s top rights body has said mass surveillance practices are a fundamental threat to human rights and violate the right to privacy enshrined in European law.
Mass Surveillance is Fundamental Threat to Human Rights, Says European Report by Thavam Ratna

He Carried His Gang-Raped Daughter 14 Kms on his Back

January 24, 2015

(Brinda Karat is a Politburo member of the CPI(M) and a former Member of the Rajya Sabha.)

On January 22nd, the Madras High Court  issued a show cause notice to the Tamil Nadu police. The case has not received the attention it should have. This is what it is about.

He Carried His Gang-Raped Daughter 14 Kms on His Back by Thavam Ratna

Fully Disclose 9/11 Report

George Hoeltje, Letter to the Edito-Jan-26-2015

"Omission is the most powerful form of a lie." - George Orwell

(Saint James, MO.) - Obama’s latest move to release more prisoners from Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo) albeit highly irresponsible is simply another diversion to confuse the American people. I believe we already know which side of this endless “War on Terror” the “community disorganizer” is on, and I don’t think it’s the American people.

The real issue we Americans should pay attention to in upcoming weeks is the on-going effort yet again underway in Congress that is being driven by various politicians of both political parties to disclose the redacted 28 pages of the 9/11 Report that still remain classified. At the very least, doing so might provide some form of closure and relief for the families of 9/11 victims.

Further, the full disclosure may possibly open the door for more robust probing into what really happened on 9/11 and why. The premise is these classified pages contain specific information as to who really was behind America’s second “Pearl Harbor Attack”. Full disclosure if you will. A novel idea coming out of Washington for a change, wouldn't you agree?

Keep in mind that a neoconservative think tank called, “The Project for the New American Century” (PNAC) was established as a nonprofit organization in 1997 and founded by William Kristol and Robert Kagan. Key members of this group including (but not limited to) Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz and John Bolton firmly believed in American hegemony.

In fact, they felt the only way to attain this international superiority was to unify the American people behind a supreme military presence on a global scale and that would likely require a second “Pearl Harbor Attack”.

This delusional group had enormous influence on the George W. Bush administration and was largely responsible for convincing him to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. Now back to the main story...

A Capitol Hill press conference transpired in early January where former Senator Bob Graham (D-FL), and Representatives Walter Jones (R-NC) and Stephen Lynch (D-MA) along with many of the 9/11 families gathered demanding that President Obama fully declassify the redacted 28 pages.

Senator Graham, who was co-chair of the panel that produced the heavily redacted 2002 report asserted the large redaction has been a major part of an on-going “cover-up” that cloaked the significant role of high level Saudi officials he claims were involved in the 9/11 attack. In fact Graham was adamant calling for a complete release of this entire blanked out Saudi section of the document.

Graham further stated the Saudi hijackers received financial aid and other help from the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles and the Saudi embassy in Washington, as well as from wealthy Sarasota, Florida patrons who were connected to the Saudi royal family.

Thus far, the bipartisan resolution introduced a year ago to declassify this information has about 21 co-sponsors, essentially split equally down party lines. Although Representatives Jones and Lynch are pushing hard for the total declassification of this material, it appears their efforts have been thwarted and the resolution is stalled again.

Bush Jr. claimed he was concerned the release of this “sensitive” information might jeopardize the “War on Terror”.

Gee, I wonder why? Perhaps it was because the Saudis royals and Bush family were a little too friendly. However Obama’s reluctance to declassify this information is clearly an enigma. Obama was all about “transparency”, wasn’t he?

Who else could possibly be involved in 9/11 besides the Saudis? I guess will never know for sure. Kind of like the Kennedy assassination.

"Omission is the most powerful form of a lie." - George Orwell

By GEORGE W. HOELTJE

(Disclaimer: Opinions and letters published in Salem-News.com are not necessarily the views of the Editor, or Publisher. Salem-News.com reserves the right to edit or omit copy, in accordance with news policies.)

Greek leftist Tsipras sworn in as PM to fight bailout terms

Greece's President Karolos Papoulias (R) welcomes Alexis Tsipras, Syriza party leader and winner of the Greek parliamentary elections, before Tsipras' swearing-in ceremony as Greece's first leftist 

Head of radical leftist Syriza party Alexis Tsipras waves while leaving the party headquarters after winning the elections in Athens, January 25, 2015. 

BY RENEE MALTEZOU AND DEEPA BABINGTON-Mon Jan 26, 2015

(Reuters) - Greek left-wing leader Alexis Tsipras was sworn in on Monday as the prime minister of a new hardline, anti-bailout government determined to face down international lenders and end nearly five years of tough economic measures.
Greek Leftist Tsipras Sworn in as PM to Fight Bailout Terms by Thavam Ratna

‘One is enough’: Chinese families lukewarm over easing of one-child policy

Children play on a slide in Taoranting Park in Beijing on Jan. 23. A rapidly aging population and a shrinking workforce are expected to strain China’s economy in the future. (Wu Hong/European Pressphoto Agency)

By Simon Denyer January 25 at 7:57 PM

BEIJING — When China announced it was relaxing its one-child policy in late 2013, marketing director Kang Lu chatted with her husband about whether they wanted a second baby.

‘One is Enough’ Chinese Families Lukewarm Over Easing of One-child Policy by Thavam Ratna

There Are Crazy Conspiracy Theories About Light Bulbs, and Then There Are Some Real Dangers

LEDs are very energy efficient, but they also contain many toxic metals.

By Cliff Weathers / AlterNet

January 21, 2015

The light-bulb aisle has never been more confusing. Gone are traditional incandescent bulbs, replaced by Halogen incandescents, compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), and a variety of expensive light-emitting diode (LED) lights. And while these greener choices come with their unique trade-offs, they're not necessarily the unsatisfactory alternatives their detractors claim them to be.

There Are Crazy Conspiracy Theories About Light Bulbs, And Then There Are Some Real Dangers by Thavam Ratna

Our Grandmothers Know Best: Traditional Remedy for Asthma, Bronchitis, Cough & Lung Diseases 

Some of the most common conditions that many people are diagnosed with nowadays are different lung diseases such as bronchitis, asthma and various types of cough.

There are many other factors that can cause lung diseases or disorders such as infections, allergies and smoking. This article will give you a traditional recipe for a medication that will help you with these problems. The medication is especially good for treating cardiac and bronchial asthma.

This medication has been prepared in the past by our grandmothers. It has been used to treat these conditions and it has been confirmed to have great healing power.

Ingredients:

• lbs. / ½ kg red/purple onions
• 2 cups of Pure Maple Syrup or 1.1 lbs. / ½ kg brown sugar
• 2 medium sized lemons
• 6 cups / 1.5 l water
• 7 tbsp.of raw honey

How to prepare it:

Take a large frying pan and put the pure maple syrup in it. Cook the syrup on a medium heat. In case you are using brown sugar the procedure is pretty much the same (cook the sugar in the pan on a medium heat and stir it until it gets a nice golden color). Slice the onions and add them in the pan. Cook them together with the syrup for couple of minutes. After that add the water.
This mixture needs to be cooked on a medium heat. Cook it until the water is reduced by a third. Leave it for a while to cool. In the meantime squeeze the lemons and put the juice a side. After the mixture has been cooled down add the lemon juice and the honey. Stir it well until you gethomogeneousmixture. Let it stay in the pan overnight. Squeeze out the liquid in the morning. It needs to be kept in a glass bottle.

How to consume it:

Before and after each meal you need to take one tablespoon. Repeat the procedure until you feel better.
Take a tablespoon before each meal. After you finish it, make another dosing. Repeat the treatment until your lungs get better. Children should take a teaspoon of the remedy before each meal. Children should take a teaspoon of the remedy before each meal.