Thursday, February 26, 2015

UN defends its decision to defer Lanka war crime probe report

The UN Human Rights Council today defended its move to defer the release of a report into alleged war crimes committed during Sri Lanka's civil war as a "very rational" decision taken in a "relatively unique" case.

Wednesday, 25 February 2015

The President of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Joachim Rucker said that the decision to defer the release of the report on the human rights violations in Sri Lanka to September of this year was "very rational".

Speaking ahead of the 28th session of the UNHRC, Rucker emphasised that both the stepping down of the Chairperson of of the Commission of Enquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict, William Schabas, and the Lanka report deferral were "relatively unique cases" and warned against drawing conclusions of a general nature about them.

The report, which was earlier scheduled to be released on March 25 was deferred by six months last week, following request by the country's newly-elected government for more time to conclude its internal probe. Sri Lanka has appealed to the UN to delay the report so that the new government can carry out an internal probe.

However, the UN move was denounced by Lanka's main Tamil party - Tamil National Alliance - who expressed dismay over the deferral, saying "justice delayed is justice denied". Lanka's new President Maithripala Sirisena took power last month after defeating Mahinda Rajapaksa who had vehemently resisted cooperation with the UN mandated probe.

Sri Lanka has been subject to three UNHRC resolutions in 2012, 2013 and 2014 over alleged rights abuses by government troops during the last phase of the three decade-long war with the LTTE in 2009.
In March last year, the 47-member UNHRC adopted a resolution which requested the Office of the High Commissioner to undertake a comprehensive investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes by both parties in Sri Lanka during the period.

The UNHRC is an intergovernmental body within the UN system created by the General Assembly in 2006 to address situations of human rights violations and making recommendations on them.

Unity of the Ruling Political Class and the National Government

by Dr. Siri Gamage

- on 02/26/2015

Photo by Ishara S.KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images via The Baltimore Sun

The talks of establishing a national government, among other things, highlight the underlying unity of the ruling class in Sri Lanka. Irrespective of party differences and occasional incidents of politico arrests and then release on bail, the ruling class in Sri Lanka has commonalities in terms of family connections, school friendships, local loyalties and the very political culture that gives sustenance to this class.

Unity of the Ruling Political Class and the National Government by Thavam Ratna

Response To Call For Comments On Right To Information Bill

By Rohan Samarajiva -February 26, 2015

Prof. Rohan Samarajiva

As a public proponent of the Right to Information (RTI),[1] I support the enactment of Right to Information Act. The comments below are intended to improve the legislation, caution against over-reach, and make the law easier to implement effectively. I applaud the call for comments published in the newspapers on 23 February 2015 which is very much in the spirit of RTI.

I have based my comments on the draft Right to Information bill (LDO 24/2003), downloaded from Manthri.lk. I shall be pleased to comment on a different draft if such exists.

The objective of the Act as given in the preamble is to allow the people of Sri Lanka to “more fully participate in good governance and actively participate in combating corruption in the country’s public life.” The right that is to be created by the proposed Act is limited to official information that is in the possession, custody or control of a public authority (s. 2). However, in what appears to be a later insertion in the interpretation section, s. 40 defines a public authority as “a semi-public or private entity or organization rendering any public service,” thereby vastly expanding the scope of the proposed Act. This expansion creates possibly unresolvable ambiguities, money-making opportunities for lawyers and a host of potential negative effects for private individuals and organizations. It deviates from the objective of the Act. I urge the Committee to retain the conventional scope of the right to access information to government bodies and not to extend it beyond the commonly understood meaning of public authorities. In instances when a private for-profit or non-profit organization acts as the agent of government through a contract or similar instrument the obligations imposed on government may be extended to the activities performed in the capacity of agent. Here, it is necessary to minimize the compliance burdens imposed on organizations below a certain size, as defined by annual turnover.

The term “public service” in s. 40 is undefined in the Bill. Possibly, this is because it cannot be precisely defined. One could claim that the act that I am engaging in at this moment, that of analyzing draft legislation and proving informed commentary thereon, is a “public service.” I am engaging in this activity as an individual and not on behalf of an organization. Does this bring me within the scope of the RTI Act as a “private entity” rendering a “public service”? This is obviously absurd. But it is well within what the proposed language permits.
The above described absurd outcome may be avoided by striking the term “entity” from the definition of public authority under s. 40 and by providing a clear definition of a “semi-public or private organization.” It is true that striking the term entity will avoid potentially dragging in 20.3 million individual citizens within the scope of the Act, but is it possible to provide an unambiguous definition of a “semi-public or private organization,” especially in the context of the remainder of the interpretation section, which carefully defines in sub-clause (f) the companies that fall within the scope?[2] Does it make sense for sub-clause (f) of the definition given in s. 40 to exclude companies that are not under majority control of the government only to drag them back within the scope through sub-clause (g) of the definition on the ground that they provide a vaguely defined “public service”?Read More

Listen to people’s voice – Punish fraudsters, the corrupt and the thieves

THURSDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2015

The JVP took to the streets today (26th) against the failure of the government to expedite legal action against all those who had been involved in frauds, corruption and thieving.

The agitation held opposite Fort Railway Station was participated by a large crowd including the General Secretary of the JVP Tilvin Silva, its Information Secretary Vijitha Herath, the Member of the Political Bureau K.D. Lal Kantha.

Dispute over the Russian Embassy land

Thursday, 26 February 2015

Politics of corruption and corruption of politics are major topics in Sri Lanka. This corruption is shaped to benefit the eyes of the beholder. As such, corruption is a habit, a past time of many characters in this political drama. At times a comedy, at times a thriller and rarely does it shows features of a musical, this drama is worth the watch. Misuse of power to reach other's property is a common sighting in this arena. However such matters often get swept under the carpet and fall into the category of 'mysterious secrets'. Adding to this volume is another incident of allegedly questionable acquisition of land to construct the Russian Embassy by the VIPs of the previous regime.

The incident in brief
This land of 2 acres situated in the Bauddhaloka Mawatha was bought in 1933 by its first residents Vappu Ibrahim and his son Ismail. Ismail then handed over this land to his son Ismail Mohamed Thahir through a
deed of gift under the certification number 1628 in 1974. In 2004 Thahir bought a further 23.4 perches of this land and carried out his own businesses. In addition to that 25 families resided in it which sums up to about 150 people.

The inaugural opening of the 'Deyata Kirula' exhibition took place in 2006 and for this the organizers were in need of a car park. For this purpose, Mervyn Silva who was a Deputy Minister at the time allegedly requested Thahir to give them some space in his land to park vehicles for a week. Thereafter through a written request to the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) MP Mervyn got the CMC to carpet 2 acres of this land through funds amounting to Rs. 79 lakhs from 11 ministers.

After the exhibition ended there was no sign of giving back the land as promised and it remained to be a car park. Since Thahir's land was not returned back, the case number CA/WRIT/48/2007 was filed in the Appeal Court on January 16, 2007. Before this case was filed the police and some officials of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) stepped in to Thahir's land without permission and allegedly damaged his property where the damage is over 2.5 million. Although he informed this to the President and Prime Minister of the former regime, Chairman of Police Commission, Inspector General of Police and the Human Rights Commission there was no use.

The murder
While the case was going on and with Thahir under severe stress with more pressure he receives a phone call on February 9, 2007 to present himself for an inquiry at the Borella Police Station on his way to the Police Station he was shot dead at the Borella Junction. Before this incident he was threatened several times. With his death all documents with regard to the case were also misplaced oe destroyed at the Borella police Station. Up until now the police have received no information regarding this murder. After his death there was no interested party to continue the case and therefore the case was dismissed. Thereafter his property was handed over to two of his
children from another marriage and after the purchase of this property they were promised to be given Rs. 70 million by the court. However since Thahir was not married according to the Islamic law they were not given the property. This deed was also proved to be a forged document although it was registered by the Land Registry and due to this issue the land was handed over to Ms. Beghum. Thahir's first wife and her four children.

The Embassy of Russia comes in to action
Issues were getting messed up by the day and on December 2, 2010 Ms. Beghum came across an advertisement which stated that 2 acres of the land were now being owned by the Russian Embassy. To her dismay a 12
feet high aluminium boundary has been built up for this construction. On November 26, 2011 she learned that the then Minister of Foreign Affairs had handed over this land to the Russian Embassy and in addition to that the foundation stone had also been laid. Ms. Beghum hasn't come across any documents with the site map or permission from the CMC. She was also requested to come and visit the legal department of the UDA to hand over all documents with regard to this issue on February 20, 2012.

During her visit, a Senior Assistant Secretary had stated that the land has been handed over to the Russian Embassy and that she would be notified of the compensation that she would receive.

She then comes across three people who asks her to pay them 80% of the compensation that she receives after she was asked to sell the land. One of the three had served as a coordinator to former powerful minister (Sajin Vaas Gunawardena) related to the first family while the other had served as a coordinating secretary to powerful ministry secretary (Gotabhaya Rajapaksa). Later on in response to a letter she sent to the then Defence Ministry, she learned that this land is now being looked after by a member of the former first family (Namal Rajapaksa) and that if she wants to settle this issue she should pay a sum of Rs. 5 Million per perch to the the Defence Ministry. These three people have once forced Ms. Beghum to sell the land at a meeting they had at a star class hotel.

The present situation

This land was said to have illegally acquired by the then Minister of Defence and to investigate further the Anti-corruption Front visited the site on February 2, 2015. Here a few Russian officials had interfered with their mission. Making matters even worse there has been documents which showed that former powerful VVIP had bought 86.4 perches of this land for Rs.500 million in order to build an headquarters for a security firm.

Police Is Deliberately Remaining Inactive On Rajapaksa Crimes: Rajitha

February 26, 2015 |

Minister Rajitha Senaratne today said that the Police department is deliberately remaining inactive on the crimes committed by the Rajapaksa family despite certain allegations against them being proven and are instead resorting to focusing on the ‘small fish’.

Rajitha

Speaking at a media briefing today, Minister Senaratne said although the government changed, the state mechanisms yet remain the same and are headed by Rajapaksa henchmen who were granted promotions and various other perks during the previous regime.

“I will reveal the names of these officials within a few days. Those in law enforcement authorities are not taking necessary action so that they can tarnish the image of the government and disappoint those who supported us,” he said.

He went on to state however that they would keep the pledges they made to the people and would take grave action against those who committed abuses during the Rajapaksa regime.

He said the counsel, who advised the Attorney general’s department on the course of action against the Avant Garde controversy, has then appeared and obtained bail for the Avant Garde owner.

“He most probably came to an agreement with the AG Department to refrain from objecting to bail being granted in the case,” he said.

The Minister went on to state that arrest Shashi Weerawansa etc are not the important matters.

“The first question should be who has funded to start CSN? In the Rajapaksa family alone, two charges against them have been proven in cases filed at the Bribery and Corruption Commission and two rape cases have been filed as well. . . We will deal with these issues first. We are not in a hurry to go for a general election, this parliament can function for another two years so priority will be given to bringing those who committed crimes and abuses during the Rajapaksa regime, to book,” he added.

New Regime Should Not Commit Hara-Kiri

by Helasingha Bandara

( February 26, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The majority of the Sri Lankans has contributed to the defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksha (MR), laying the faith on Maithripala Sirisena to usher a revolutionary change in political, social and economic cultures of Sri Lanka. The conspiracy theory of Mahinda Rajapaksha is a ludicrous explanation of his defeat. He dug his own grave by choosing the wrong path of rule while in power, choosing to appease his greed, choosing to adhere to wrong political maneuvers, choosing the wrong people to save him and choosing the wrong time being duped by an astrologer. The truth is that the public desired a change from corrupt governance to good governance, end of story. Among many expectations, restoration of democracy, elimination of corruption, prosecution of murderers, criminals, plunderers, drug dealers and enforcement of law and order that would result in a social, economic and political transformation were hoped to take priority. The re-emergence of Rajapaksha or for that matter, anyone else would be immaterial as long as the new regime headed by the new President implement what they have promised people, without fear or hesitation. The promise that Rajapakshas are to be protected should only be limited to their political activities in relation to the war. They should be treated as any other ordinary citizen when it comes to other crimes. No positive discrimination will be tolerated by the people who wanted a change in which every citizen is expected to be treated equally in both positive and negative actions. Delaying of actions against crooks, fraudsters, murderers, criminals, rapists, cheaters, deceivers, liars, thieves and so on for any reason is committing Hara- Kiri. We the contributors to the change, which once was thought impossible, will consider that our efforts are betrayed if the regime does not take the right path towards that most fancied change, irrespective of political consequences. Maithri has said that he would not contest again. Therefore he has nothing to lose by doing the right thing.

Who is Mahinda?

Since the end of the war, Mahinda’s limited intelligence had no scope to see beyond accumulating personal wealth, enhancing family fortunes, assisting the family and friends, establishing power and basking in luxury. In this process he has contravened all civilized traditions, norms and morays plunging the country into a dark abyss. Apart from his contribution to the cessation of war there was very little that Rajapaksha regime can be proud of. He and his cronies have pulled this country towards hell by stealing people’s wealth, abusing power, introducing crime and nefarious activities etc that resulted in making the country the most undesirable place to live in for the ordinary citizen. Mahinda is clever in his political maneuvering. This does not mean that he was intelligent to choose his actions with a foresight. He has not understood how he lost power that he intended to secure for himself or for his family forever. He is still bent on telling the same lies through the very same people who caused his defeat. Nugegoda and the four cronies is the best example.

Dayan Jayathilake

If Dayan Jayathilake (DJ) contests an election independent of an established political party in any constituency of the country, it would be a miracle if he gets more than 500 votes. Such is his political standing among the general masses of the country. They do not know him, this English educated, self proclaimed political pundit. Very small percentage of people in Sri Lanka who read English media knows or knows of him. Luckily they know him or know of him too well that they would not hesitate for one minute to reject him. We need people of his education and skill caliber. Yet do we need an undignified opportunist like Dayan to lead us. The manner in which the MR regime treated and discarded DJ was most unfair and humiliating. This writer was the first to draw public attention to the unfair treatment meted out to DJ by the previous regime. To our utter surprise DJ went back to MR seeking favours and went down even below the level of Mervin Silva. He firmly believed that the political cunning and the black money that MR possessed would take him through the last election and he together with Mahindapala sang hosannas for MR. Now he knows that there is no position, power or luxuries come his way. The only remaining hope is to resurrect MR and hang on to his tail to go to heaven. There is no doubt that this man does not have the poor masses of this country at his heart when he embarks on the Mahinda resurrection journey. Those who know him or know of him know this too well.

Wimal Weerawansa AKA Panikkayalage Wimalsena

I mentioned the alias as both he and his wife are alleged to have altered their birth certificates. Not knowing how many times and not knowing which one is his right name it is safer to use all the names that I have heard. A few years ago the media highlighted the mansion that he built at the cost of 70.5 million Rupees. People wandered how Wimalsena who originates from an underprivileged background managed to have amassed such wealth. I travelled to Sri Lanka after the elections. Some villagers who are considered uneducated by the so called urbanites told me that they were tempted to turn off their television sets when Wimalsena appeared and spoke. Such were his speeches without proper substance but with hatred, degrading personal slanders and absolute nonsense that are meant for the gullible masses, a large proportion of the population that still is. Although I have thought it is inappropriate to use the name Fool’s Paradise for Sri Lanka any more after how people voted at the recent elections, I cannot but hesitate to change my mind totally as there are plenty of fools who can be deceived by such opportunistic, undignified and debased people like Wimalsena. Nugegoda was the best example of the so called urban folly.

Vasu & Dinesh

Their total votes put together in an election, contesting from their own parties would not be sufficient to save even one’s deposit. People of the country have moved forward a lot that they recognize that those two have shed their goodness a longtime ago and they are engaged in MR worship for the lack of confidence in their own goodness, skills, experience, self and self esteem. They want an MR resurrection to consolidate their own positions not the wellbeing of their fellow countrymen.

The President

The President does not have to panic about their activities or agendas if he can act swiftly on what he promised. That will sort out most of the rogues. Now that the independence of the Judiciary is believed to be back on track, most of the fraudsters will have no legal ability to contest in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, once they are convicted of their crimes.

Ravi K says Rs. 640 b stimulus to people, economy via Interim Budget

By Charumini de Silva- February 26, 2015
Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake yesterday revealed that the Interim Budget of President Maithripala Sirisena offered a Rs. 640 billion stimulus to the people and the economy.
He said the public sector wage increase and reduction in commodity prices had given a much needed to boost to people and household income after the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime put the economy in a precarious position.
Karunanayake said that research conducted by the University of Colombo had found that after the measures in the Interim Budget, a normal middle-class family could save up to Rs. 7,500 on average with the reduction of commodity prices and a salary increase of Rs. 10,000 for government servants.

“In total these measures bring in an additional Rs. 640 billion to the economy,” the Finance Minister told a seminar entitled ‘Interim Budget Highlights 2015: Impact on Business’, organised by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka (CMA) yesterday.
Karunanayake said that this additional revenue would produce a ripple effect in the economy which would drive increased consumer spending that in turn would heighten business confidence by expanding the economy.
The Finance Minister also said that other relief measures announced in the Interim Budget, such as higher interest for senior citizens and relief for those who had taken loans and pawned jewellery, would come into effect from April.
Ravi K says…
He also stressed that the Government would bring down the number of taxes and levies to 15 by 2016. At present there are 37 taxes and levies which are highly complex.
Commenting on fiscal management, Karunanayake said that the Rajapaksa regime had made Sri Lanka a debt-ridden country due to excessive borrowing. The nation’s real debt burden, including contingent liabilities, is over Rs. 9 trillion as opposed to the previous estimate of Rs. 7 trillion, he stated.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have pledged their support to the Government to solve the crisis created by the previous regime.
With regard to the economy, the Finance Minister said the Government aimed to spur on manufacturing-led growth with a greater focus on exports, public-private partnerships, Foreign Direct Investment and new job opportunities.
Karunanayake promised that that Government would streamline the investment process while getting rid of unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles. “We want to eradicate corruption from our systems. Already there are many investors willing to invest in Sri Lanka and I assure you that there is no necessity to go behind officials to get approval. If an investor comes up with an investment plan, we will make sure that they get approval within 100-days,” Karunanayake stated.

Sri Lanka's new leaders demand speedier police action

Sri Lanka's new government on Thursday slammed the police for dragging their feet over high-profile cases including the murders of journalists and corruption under the previous regime.

26 Feb 2015

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's new government on Thursday slammed the police for dragging their feet over high-profile cases including the murders of journalists and corruption under the previous regime.

Law and Order Minister John Amaratunga demanded concrete action on high-profile cases as he publicly rebuked the head of the police force for failing to investigate the 2009 killing of prominent anti-establishment editor Lasantha Wickrematunga, among others.

Amaratunga said his government came to power at January elections pledging action against criminals and corrupt individuals under former president Mahinda Rajapakse, but police have failed to show results.

"You say you are investigating, but where are the results? The entire country is getting impatient," the minister told police chief N K Illangakoon at a news conference in the capital.

"I want you to list the high profile cases in the past five to six years and I want you to tell me in 10 days what action you have taken. I hope at least seven to eight suspects will be arrested by then."

Amaratunga also opened a new police unit to investigate financial crime, including money laundering and alleged graft under the Rajapakse regime.

Illangakoon said the police had suffered "administrative difficulties," but that he had made changes and was hopeful investigations would speed up. He said the Wickrematunga assassination case was now being investigated by the Criminal Investigations Department and he was optimistic about a breakthrough.

The case was reopened last month after former cabinet minister Mervyn Silva publicly accused the deposed president's brother Gotabhaya Rajapakse of ordering the assassination of Wickrematunga, the chief editor of the Sunday Leader, in January 2009.

Rajapakse, then secretary to the ministry of defence, has denied involvement, but rights groups say there is strong evidence the military played a role.

At a separate press briefing, government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said unnamed senior officers loyal to the former regime were trying to sabotage ongoing investigations. "We will give them another two weeks to show results or I will disclose the names of officers who are sabotaging the investigations," Senaratne told reporters.

The new government of President Maithripala Sirisena took power last month on a pledge to look into allegations of corruption under former strongman Rajapakse.

Rajapakse was the minister of finance, highways and ports, while all his immediate family members also held powerful positions in the administration.

- AFP/ec

I Have Information On Whitevanning: Former Police Spokesman

February 26, 2015

Former Police Spokesman Prishantha Jayakody who arrived in Sri Lanka today has said that he is willing to give evidence on white van abductions that were taking place during the Rajapaksa regime.

Prishantha Jayakody

Speaking to the media, Jayakody had said that he was forced to flee to Australia due to threats by former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

“I was compelled to leave due to the severe political pressure I faced. When I refused to carry out their orders, I received death threats from Gotabaya and his henchmen,” he said adding even while he was residing in Australia, he was being threatened but added that the Australian government was proactive in providing protection for him.

Jayakody was suspended from service in 2013 after he abruptly left the country to Australia.

Rugby player’s death was not accidental: Police

February 26, 2015

An inquest into the mysterious death of former national rugby player Wasim Thajudeen has been initiated following the emergence of new information with respect to the case in the recent past, Police Spokesperson SSP Ajith Rohana said.

The Government Analyst’s (GA) Department investigation, which moved at snail’s pace due to unknown reasons on this case, was concluded on 12 February, Ada Derana learns.

SSP Rohana added that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is now investigating the case upon a directive made by the IGP since last afternoon.

“Several scientific evidences of the GA report and the Judicial Medical Officer’s (JMO) report elaborate that this was not an ‘accidental death’. The secondary inquiries were based on the reports of GA and JMO” said Rohana.

A senior police officer told Ada Derana that Thajudeen had had a dispute with a powerful person over a girl sometime before his mysterious death and the investigators will draw attention to this as well. Initially, the police predicted that Thajudeen had been driving to the airport when his car crashed into a wall killing him on the spot in Kirullapone on 17 May 2012.

Thajudeen represented S Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia from 2001 to 2003. He then turned out for Havelock’s SC during the 2005 season where he played in the position of wing three quarter. He was voted the Most Popular Ruggerite of the Year at the Caltex Observer Touchdown Rugby Quiz award ceremony in 2009.

Avante Garde private security firm has all licenses to operate - Ruwan

26 February 2015

iThe controversial ‘Mahanuwara’ floating armoury owned by Avante Garde private security firm has all the licenses to operate such a facility, says defence state minister Ruwan Wijewardena.

He told a seminar in Colombo however, that it was still uncertain as to who had given these licenses, with the investigations now pointing at Rakna Lanka, also a private entity under the defence ministry.

Businessman Nimal Cooke, who participated in the seminar, said it was not a question of the license itself, but of the license given without any competition.

According to reports Cooke had tried around 1 ½ years ago to get the floating armoury contract for a foreigner by the name Tarmo Kouts, a vice admiral.

His name was proposed at a meeting attended by former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, additional secretary Damayanthi Jayaratne, Palitha Fernando, Gen. K.B. Egodawela, Air Vice Marshal P.B. Hemachandra, Wing Commander Senarath Dissanayake and Nissanka Senadhipathi.

However, it had transpired that Kouts had belittled Sri Lanka and the defence ministry when giving a floating armoury project report previously, and he was not given the tender (that report is given below).

Some years ago, around 23 firms were involved in this field, but they had lost their opportunities after having engaged in weapons trafficking and misplaced 119 weapon

Sri Lankan Airlines: Weliamuna’s Investigation Hits ‘Turbulence’- Airline’s IT Dept Suspected Of Foul Play

February 26, 2015

The Aviation Minister’s ordered probe into the airline appears to have hit turbulence as the “Urgent Notice” requested to be sent to all staff by the airline almost a week ago seeking credible information from staff is yet to be received by employees of the airline.

JC Weliamuna

Disrupting this probe on all possible counts was expected from the onset as many employees were waiting to spill beans.

Employees of the airline passing on credible information to support this investigation were anticipated by airline’s Senior Management Team especially the current CEO Kapila Chandrasena the political appointee of the former regime who mysteriously still remains in control.

Many of the airline’s employees have now raised concerns in disgust as to why only some have received the ‘Urgent Notice’ and not all and have now started pointing fingers at their very own Information Technology (I.T) Department for not dispatching this all important email.

“This appears to be another tactical move by our CEO Kapila Chandrasena as he will attempt to hinder the ordered probe and attempt to disrupt any flow of information from his staff which would expose him and his former Senior Management Team. Some of the former Senior Management Team members incidentally are still in employment with the airline and still attempt to wield their powers quite blatantly.

“Those in charge of the I.T Department should be held accountable if proved that they have willfully sabotaged this ordered governmental probe on the airline” complained a very senior employee of the airline.

Other staff members of the airline feel that due to the severity of the probe the existing CEO of the airline Kapila Chandrasena, should step aside until the Aviation Minister’s ordered probe is complete.

The former Chairman and brother in law of the former President Nishantha Wickremasinghe the so called former ‘Ace of Spades’ of the national carrier has already departed and now only the ‘king of Spades’ and number two in the airline CEO Chandrasena still remains.

There is no doubt the new Chairman of the national carrier Ajit Dias will end up becoming the ‘joker’ of the deck of cards if he does not fully support the Aviation Ministry during this probe.

It is now approximately one week since the email to all staff was ordered to be dispatched and many as of today are still to receive it.

Transporting of the famous Lamborghini cars for the former first Sons of the country, to Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s VVIP travel of his puppy dog from Zurich to Colombo, to the former Chairman and Brother In Law Nishantha Wickremasinghe’s blatant and costly love affair with his Flight Stewardess paramour and his diversion of a commercial flight to Singapore for personal gain are all been investigated besides many other reasons as to why the airline had to undergo a serious operational loss of approximately Rs 120 Billion.

The aviation sector in Sri Lanka got a rude awakening early last week when probably for the first time in the country’s history a full probe into the ‘Abuse of Power’ by its Board of Directors and Senior Management, “Leasing and Purchasing of Aircraft”, “Major Contracts” and all “External Interference” of Sri Lankan Airlines was ordered by Arjuna Ranatunga the Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister earlier in the week.

The task of probing this national carrier has been entrusted to Lawyer J.C. Weliamuna and his team.

In has been reported that the response in the first week of the current probe has been promising with many employees beating a path to Mr.Weliamuna’s door and fearlessly coming forward to provide critical information.

Perhaps this is the golden opportunity that the Aviation Minister Arjuna Rantunga has been waiting for to prove that he can clean up this right royal mess that this once trend setting and award winning airline has found itself at present.

Minister Ranatunga won the country great accolades by leading his national team of cricketers to win the world cup in 1996. Now nineteen years later he finds himself leading his aviation team to a different playground, a playing field with much bigger boundaries and in a world where the aviation sector presents a completely different set of challenges.

The entire nation and the aviation world for that matter watches in hope as ‘Captain Cool’ attempts to trap those perpetrators ‘Leg Before Wicket’ (LBW) or bowl the them ‘through the gate’. He no doubt will begin this innings from scratch and make every endeavor to nudge the airline to prosperity with his trade mark flicks all around the park.

But the all-important question that lies on the lips of the each and every tax payer in this county is this.

Will this probe help clean up this mess and move the airline towards greater success or will this probe require the intervention of third umpire?

The ‘Urgent Notice’ sent out to all employees of Sri Lankan Airlines is as follows:

URGENT NOTICE
TO: ALL MEMBERS OF THE STAFF OF SRI LANKAN AIRLINES
BOARD OF INQUIRY TO INVESTIGATE INTO MATTERS RELATING TO SRI LANKAN AIRLINES

Hon. Minister of Airport and Aviation has appointed a Board of Inquiry to inquire into certain critical aspects relating to Sri Lankan Airlines, and in particular, irregularities and abuse of power by the Management of Sri Lankan Airlines, prior to the appointment of the new Board of Directors in February 2015.

If any member of the Staff is aware of any instances of abuse of power and/or irregularities committed during the abovementioned period, such information is of vital importance in achieving the objectives of the Board of Inquiry. Therefore, all members of the Staff are requested to submit such vital information directly to the Board of Inquiry. Any person interfering with the transmission of such information through intimidation of whatever nature shall be severely dealt with.

Please note that, the identity of the members of the Staff who assist the Board of Inquiry will be kept strictly confidential. No staff member will be subjected to any form of victimization by disclosing such information to the Board of Inquiry
All information may be provided by email, by post or in person:

Address:
Board of Inquiry,
c/o Chairman
No. 147/5, Dutugamunu Street,
Kohuwela.
Email: srilankan.investigation@gmail.com
Phone: Mobile 0710211212 or Ext 1212

Any staff member who wishes to meet the Board of Inquiry may seek a personal appointment by phone or by a request made to the above email address.

Who Owns Sri Lankan Airlines?

by Ruwantissa Abeyratne

( February 26, 2015, Montreal, Sri Lanka Guardian) The latest issue of The Economist(February 21st to 27th, 2015) states: ” For many Sri Lankans the most remarkable feature of Maithripala Sirisena’s four day trip to India this week, his first as president after a stunningly unexpected election victory in January, was that he took a commercial flight. His predecessor, Mahinda Rajapaksa – who, with his family, had given the impression of intending to rule for the long run, usually poached an aircraft from the national fleet“. Elsewhere, in South East Asia, another new President – Joko Widodo (Jokowi), is reported to have sat on an economy class seat in a scheduled commercial flight from Jakarta to Singapore, on his way to attend his son’s graduation from a Singaporean university.

I am sure many of us would wonder in retrospect (and indeed in prospect) who owns Sri Lankan Airlines. For an answer to this question, one has to look into the airline as a legal person. Sri Lankan Airlines is by definition a public limited liability company (PLC). The standard legal designation of a PLC is that it is a company which has offered shares to the general public and has limited liability. A Public Limited Company’s stock can be acquired by anyone and holders are only limited to potentially lose the amount paid for the shares. It is a legal form more commonly used in the United Kingdom . Two or more people are required to form such a company, assuming it has a lawful purpose.

The latest Annual Report of Sri Lankan Airlines available (to the author) is the Report for 2012-2013 according to which the share distribution of the company is as follows: Government of Sri Lanka 26,275,436 51.06%; Bank of Ceylon 12,115,570 23.54%; People’s Bank 4,236,135 8.23%;

National Savings Bank 4,236,135 8.23%; Employees Provident Fund 1,863,676 3.62%; Others 2,736,511 5.32% (This share information is excluding the Rs. 26.89 billion advance towards share capital made by The Government of Sri Lanka).

According to this information the major shareholder of Sri Lankan airlines is the Government of Sri Lanka and its instrumentalities. Therefore, the airline is a government owned company. There is no standard definition of a government-owned corporation (GOC) or state-owned enterprise (SOE), although the two terms can be used interchangeably. The defining characteristics are that they have a distinct legal form and they are established to operate in commercial affairs. While they may also have public policy objectives, GOCs should be differentiated from other forms of government agencies or state entities established to pursue purely non-financial objectives.

This brings to bear the incontrovertible fact that Sri Lanka Airlines has ” a distinct legal form and has been established to operate in commercial affairs”.

This fact is also made abundantly clear in the airline’s mission statement : “We are in the air transportation business (my emphasis). We provide our customers with a reliable and pleasant travel experience. We provide our business partners with a variety of innovative, professional and mutually profitable services. We meet Shareholder expectations of profitably marketing Sri Lanka and contributing towards the well-being of Society. We are a competent, proactive and diligent team. Our contribution is recognized and rewarded”.

The airline’s vision is “to be the most preferred airline in Asia“.

These statements make it abundantly clear that Sri Lankan Airlines is a common carrier. The judiciary in the 1925 United States case of Burnet v. Riter defined a “common carrier” as “one who engages in the transportation of persons or things from place to place for hire, and who holds himself out to the public as ready and willing to serve the public, indifferently, in the particular line in which he is engaged“.

Logically, therefore, one could infer that the owner of Sri Lankan Airlines is the Government of Sri Lanka, which follows that the true owner of Sri Lankan Airlines is the “owner” of the Government of Sri Lanka. So who owns a government? The government is derived of the people of a nation who votes for it. The government is broadly regarded as an overall process of governance, and in the Commonwealth of Nations (of which Sri Lanka is a member) a government is considered to be a group of persons who yield legislative and executive power.

The issue is finally settled by Article 3 in Chapter 1 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka of 1978 – the supreme law of the land – which states: ” In the Republic of Sri Lanka, sovereignty is in the people and is inalienable Sovereignty includes the powers of government, fundamental rights and the franchise“

In the ultimate analysis therefore, the “owner” of Sri Lankan Airlines is the people of Sri Lanka. The airline is a common carrier operating under commercial principles and its aircraft that are scheduled for commercial flights cannot be “appropriated” by a group of people for State purposes or personal travel. The only way out would be to charter an aircraft under commercial principles paying the commercial fare of the airline. This would then be an unscheduled flight.

The inherent danger in such an exercise would be that the aircraft operating the unscheduled flight would be considered a “State” aircraft (as against a “civil” aircraft usually operated by Sri Lankan Airlines’ scheduled flights) the determinant being the purpose for which the aircraft operates. This would in turn have insurance implications and the insurance broker would have to be notified and special coverage obtained prior to the flight, as ordinary insurance coverage is for scheduled or unscheduled operation of civil commercial flights.

It is said that the difference between a leader and a manager is that a manager does things right and a leader does the right thing. Apparently Maithri and Jokowi did the right thing.

The author is former Manager, International Relations and Insurance, Air Lanka (8 years) and Senior Legal Officer, International Civil Aviation Organization (24 years). He is currently an aviation consultant running his own company and Senior Associate, Air Law and Policy, at Aviation Strategies International based in Montreal.

Peace for the World

A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)

Search This Blog

Systematic Genocide of Tamils

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Video