US Opens up to Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood, Syria, and Iran

Robert Malley was Obama's colleague at Harvard Law School. (ABC)

By Nicola Nasser-Mar 17 2015 

The appointment of Robert Malley as White House Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Region is not considered a sufficient indicator that there will be any radical change in U.S. strategy despite the campaign launched against the U.S. by the Zionists due to its openness to Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, Syria and Iran.

US Opens Up to Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood, Syria, And Iran by Thavam Ratna

Prison and intimidation: the price of being a journalist in Angola

Rafael Marques de Morais is facing libel for exposing the horrors of the country’s diamond trade. A veteran investigator, he explains why the situation for journalists is getting worse in the country 

 Angola is the third largest producer of diamonds in Africa. Photograph: Ben Curtis

Basia Cummings-Wednesday 18 March 2015

The price Rafael Marques de Morais has paid to be a journalist is high.

Dedicating his career to investigating corruption Angola, in 1999 he publishedThe Lipstick of the Dictatorship, a significant criticism of Angola’s long-standing president José Eduardo dos Santos. The result was 43 days in jail – 11 of which were spent in solitary confinement without food or water.

Undeterred, he continued to write and publish where he could, and in 2011 after years of investigation he revealed the horrors and corruption of the country’sdiamond trade.

Today he faces a $1.6m libel trial brought by seven generals he exposed in the book Blood Diamonds: Torture and Corruption in Angola.

The book is harrowing read detailing 500 cases of torture and 100 murders of villagers living in the vicinity of the diamond mines in the Cuango and Xá-Muteba districts.

Marques de Morais filed crimes against humanity charges against the seven Angolan generals as a result of his investigation, but is now being counter-suedfor $1.6m. The trial – which has been looming over him after several postponements – finally begins next week.

“I lodged the criminal complaint against them because it’s the norm that leaders in authoritarian countries persecute and prosecute its citizens for telling the truth,” he said during a trip to London, where his defiant reporting of his country’s corruption is being honoured by Index on Censorship, who have shortlisted him for a journalism award.

He’d spent years convincing victims and witnesses to go on record. “This is the kind of journalism that’s needed in a place like Angola, where reporting and investigating alone are not enough. You have to take it to the next level, to act on behalf of your sources and the subjects of your stories.”

Rafael Marques de Morais in London. Photograph: Index on Censorship

Ten journalists have been murdered in Angola since 1992, including a pro-opposition radio presenter, Alberto Graves, who was shot in 2010. The country scores low on civil liberties and political rights according to Freedom House who have catalogued “state-backed intimidation of protest leaders, scores of arrests, and the violent dispersal of demonstrations.”

Human rights activists have also been targeted: in November last year student Laurinda Gouveia was beaten for two hours by a group of police officers for taking part in an anti-government demonstration.

In this climate of oppression, free expression is nearly impossible. “A journalist has first to fight, inch by inch, for the right to do his or her job. So, you have to be an activist in order to be a journalist,” he says.

And the situation is getting worse. “In the early days we had a small, close-knit but vibrant community of journalists who were extremely vocal and very open in denouncing what was happening in the country. It was a force to be reckoned with,” he says.

Many, tired by threats and economic pressures, have given up and “few have remained adamant to continue to speak for those who don’t have a voice,” he says.

He has mixed feelings about reporting on the internet: the potential audience is bigger, but he has doubts about the quality of reporting online.

“Ironically, with social media you have more people speaking out through networks, but they’re not articulating information that can be of greater benefit to the public,” he says.

But it could also be what he calls “the last frontier in the battle for freedom of expression.” He has set up the website Maka Angola to continue his reporting on the government: “I cannot work for a newspaper in the country, I can’t get a job in the newsroom because of who I am, regardless of the skills I have.”

Angola is one of the world’s richest countries in natural resources, with large oil and diamonds deposits. But the effects of this wealth are not felt far beyond the ruling elite. Reports estimate that between 2007 and 2010 $32bn in oil revenue went unaccounted for in government ledgers.

It’s these resources and incredible wealth, Marques de Morais claims, that help Dos Santos evade international scrutiny and opposition, despite having ruled since 1979.

The constant battle has taken its toll on the journalist: “it’s diverted a great deal of my time which could have been applied to more investigations,” but he remains defiant: “it’s also made me stronger. In the same way I have committed to the case, and to fight, the generals have also had to commit to it.”

“Four years on, thanks to this court case the reports that I published about corruption and human rights abuses are still a much-talked about and important issue in Angola.” This is his victory.

The winners of this year’s Index on Censorship awards will be announced on Wednesday evening at a ceremony in London

Don't Want NSA to Spy on Your Email? 5 Things You Can Do

FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2012 file photo, a student works with a computer and a calculator at Reynoldsburg High School in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. According to a new survey from Pew Research Center released Monday, March 16, 2015, more than half of… ViewThe Associated Press 

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer- Mar 16, 2015

More than half of Americans are worried about the U.S. government's digital spies prying into their emails, texts, search requests and other online information, but few are trying to thwart the surveillance.

That's according to a new survey from Pew Research Center, released Monday. A main reason for the inertia? Pew researchers found that a majority of those surveyed don't know about online shields that could help boost privacy or believe it would be too difficult to avoid the government's espionage.

The poll questioned 475 adults from Nov. 26 to Jan. 3 — about a year-and-a-half after confidential documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed the U.S. government has been monitoring a broad range of online communications for years as part of its efforts to diffuse terrorist threats.

"It all boils down to people sort of feeling like they have lost control over their data and their personal information," Mary Madden, a senior researcher for Pew, told The Associated Press. "But at the same time, when we asked them if they would like to do more, folks expressed that as an aspirational goal."

Here are five steps you can take to be more private online.

———

STEALTHY SEARCHING

Don't want a digital dossier of your personal interests to be stored and analyzed? Wean yourself from the most popular search engines — Google, Bing and Yahoo. All of them collect and dissect your queries to learn what kinds of products and services might appeal to you so they can sell advertising targeted to your interests. Just because that trove of data is meant to be used for commercial purposes doesn't mean snoopers such as the NSA couldn't vacuum up the information, too, to find out more about you. A small search engine called DuckDuckGo has been gaining more fans with its pledge to never collect personal information or track people entering queries on its site.

Just 10 percent of those participating in Pew's survey said they use a search engine that doesn't track their searching history.

———

SCRAMBLE YOUR EMAIL

Encryption programs such as Pretty Good Privacy, or PGP, can make your email appear indecipherable to anyone without the digital key to translate the gibberish. This can help prevent highly sensitive financial and business information from getting swept up by hackers, as well as a government dragnet. Yet only 2 percent of the people surveyed by Pew used PGP or other email encryption programs. Part of the problem: Encryption isn't easy to use, as email recipients also need to use encryption or leave their regular inboxes to read messages.

———

CLOAK YOUR BROWSER

A privacy tool called Blur, made by Abine, enables its users to surf the Web without their activities being tracked. It also masks passwords and credit card information entered on computers and mobile devices so they can't be lifted from the databases of the websites that collect them. Blur charges $39 annually for this level of protection. Privacy Badger from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group, offers a free way to block tracking of browsing activity.

Only 5 percent of the Pew respondents used these kinds of tools.

———

CUT OUT THE INTERNET

It might sound old-school, but if you want to share something really sensitive, meet face to face. The Pew poll found 14 percent of respondents are choosing to speak in person more frequently rather than text, email or talk on the phone because of the Snowden revelations.

———

GET SMARTER

If you're looking to become more literate about the ins and outs of digital privacy, two of the most comprehensive guides can be found through the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Surveillance Self-Defense site, https://ssd.eff.org/en , and https://prism-break.org/en/ .

U.S. rate hike fear keeps Asian firms in check; India most upbeat

Labourers work at the construction site of a railway bridge in Kouri in the Reasi district in Jammu and Kashmir state March 4, 2015.

BY ENGEN THAM-Wed Mar 18, 2015

(Reuters) - Concern over a U.S. interest rate hike kept sentiment in check at some of Asia's biggest firms, as optimism about the outlook for business over the next six months was near steady in the first quarter, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey showed.

The Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asian Business Sentiment Index was 71 for the March quarter versus 72 three months earlier. A reading above 50 indicates an overall positive view.

Companies in India were the most upbeat for the fourth straight quarter, logging 97 on hopes that low inflation and aggressive interest rate cuts will boost the domestic economy.

Singapore firms registered the least positive outlook for the third consecutive quarter in anticipation of the first U.S. rate hike in almost a decade, which could happen as early as June. Local banks are likely to match the hike, making mortgages expensive and pulling down demand for property.

"There is significant risk as people may have different interpretations of movements in interest rates in a way that can cause dramatic changes in financial markets," said Antonio Fatas, a Singapore-based economics professor at INSEAD.

China's reading rose to 54 from 50, as businesses became more optimistic about their future amid central bank efforts to moderate the economic slowdown with looser monetary policy, including successive interest rate cuts since late last year.

Optimism slid the most in Australia where firms reported a score of 70 from 85 in the fourth quarter, as falling prices of commodities tempered sentiment in the resource-exporting nation.

The poll, by Thomson Reuters with global business and management school INSEAD, was conducted over the first two weeks of March. Of 111 respondents, 45 percent reported a positive outlook, 51 percent were neutral and 4 percent were negative.

Participating firms included Japanese beverage conglomerate Asahi Group Holdings Ltd, South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd and Australian building materials maker James Hardie Industries PLC.

RISING RATES, FALLING OIL

Strong U.S. jobs data has fanned expectations of a rate hike in the next few months. Low U.S. rates had prompted investors to flood Asia with cheap, speculative funds that could be pulled out as the rates rise.

In developed economies such as Singapore, where a property boom is fuelling lending, the knock-on effect of a rise in local rates could make repayments expensive.

"The combination of really rapid lending growth and prospect of rising interest rates is quite worrying," said Daniel Martin, senior Asia economist at Capital Economics.

Fear of a U.S. hike is balanced somewhat by relief afforded by a drop in global oil prices, reducing energy costs across the board. Oversupply and limited storage capacity has left the price of U.S. crude at a six-year low.

"The fall in gasoline and energy prices means households have more money to spend, so it's positive for real income," Martin said.

Overall, the survey showed Asian firms consider global economic uncertainty as the biggest threat to their six-month business outlook, followed by rising costs and other risks such as regulatory change and increased competition.

PROPERTY TOPS, FINANCE WEAK

Companies in the property sector were the most positive in the survey with a reading of 88, a one-point increase from the previous poll. Retail and drugs followed with 82 and 81 respectively, from 83 and 70.

Financial institutions, dogged by regulatory uncertainty and a lingering hangover from the global financial crisis, were least positive with a score of 55, though that was an improvement from 50 in the previous two quarters.

A robust economic recovery and low interest rates are boosting business at finance houses in Taiwan such as Yuanta Investment Consulting, said the company's chief economist, Aidan Wang. Yuanta plans to expand this year and anticipates an increase in hiring, Wang told Reuters.

Elsewhere, the picture was more subdued.

"Finance firms anywhere in the world are very weak," said INSEAD's Fatas. "It's a combination of the financial crisis, a lack of confidence, and increased regulation which has made business very complex."

(Editing by Christopher Cushing)

The Rage of the Cultural Elites

Yoshitoshi Kanemaki

CLUBORLOV

Reported by ClubOrlov's special Kiev correspondent, Yu Shan-TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015

A certain unhappy incident happened to my aunt in the summer of 1966. The Cultural Revolution—a political movement initiated by Mao Zedong—was beginning to engulf the country. That same year many American college students were protesting against the Vietnam War and Leonid Brezhnev was keeping his seat warm as the General Secretary of CPSU, having replaced the somewhat volatile Nikita Khrushchev two years earlier. My aunt was then a freshman studying literature at Fudan University in Shanghai. 

The Rage of the Cultural Elites.odt by Thavam Ratna

​‘They Are the Best Feminist Activists in China’
Why did Chinese authorities detain five feminists on International Women's Day -- and what will become of them? Zhao Sile, a part of the women's rights movement, explains.

BY RACHEL LU-MARCH 17, 2015

On March 8, International Women’s Day, Chinese police detained five women for planning a protest against sexual harassment. With their detention now stretching into its second week, the activists have yet to be formally charged — an increasingly common limbo many Chinese activists have faced as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s tightening restrictions on civil society, NGOs, and dissent. Foreign Policy reached feminist Zhao Sile (pictured above) via mobile messaging app WeChat to discuss the detention of her fellow activists and the future of the feminist movement in China. Zhao previously worked as a reporter in Hong Kong and was part of the team that won the Human Rights Press Awards in 2012 for its coverage of elections in the village of Wukan. Zhao is currently a freelance writer and columnist, as well as a major contributor to feminist public discourse in China. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Foreign Policy: What do you know about the detention of the five feminists in China over International Women’s Day?

Zhao Sile: The five detained women are organizers and activists in the feminist movement in China. We are all about the same age, around 25 or 26. Some of them are very close friends of mine. The news was shocking to me because detention of young feminists in China was basically unheard of. They have never been in trouble with the police or, simply put, been persecuted like this, so I’m very worried about how they are doing in detention. I heard that one of them, Wu Rongrong, is in bad health, and the detention center not only refused to offer her medical attention but also mistreated her by not allowing her to sleep in a bed.

They are the best feminist activists in China. Their detention reminds me of the arrest of the Pussy Riot punk band in Russia, whose actions against the patriarchal authority had found support around the world. I believe the implications of the Chinese feminists’ detention are similar to that of Pussy Riot.

FP: What had led to their detention?

Zhao: As far as I know, the reason was that they had planned to pass out anti-sexual harassment fliers on buses on March 8, International Women’s Day. I believe this particular activity is relatively mild compared to what we had done before, such as singing and dancing on the street to advocate feminism. This year March 8 fell during the “Two Sessions,” which is the annual gathering of the so-called legislative representatives to pass laws, so during this time China enters something like a lockdown. The [activists’] detention could be just a part of the “stability maintenance” measures undertaken during the Two Sessions. But I also believe this is a continuation of the government’s crackdown on NGOs in China in 2014.

FP: What has the impact of the detention been on the Chinese feminist community so far?

Zhao: Organizers will definitely have to adjust their positioning and strategy — their actions probably will become more targeted, more strategic, more discrete, and more professional. As for our young volunteers and activists, I don’t think they have distanced themselves from the movement after this detention.On the contrary, the detention has galvanized many of them, and we have seen great solidarity among activists. It’s very heartening.

FP: What was the interaction like between the feminist activists and the Chinese government prior to the detention of the five activists?

Zhao: We’ve had some official cooperation with the All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF), the government-affiliated women’s association. ACWF organized women’s groups around China, including the ones I’m involved with, to write the shadow report submitted to the United Nations for the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action [which emerged from the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995]. So we’ve had some good interactions with the authorities.

However, at the same time, we’ve sometimes had a tense relationship with the police. In 2012, the police tried to interfere with our “Occupy Men’s Room” movement, which called attention to the imbalance between male and female bathrooms in China. Also, from time to time, the police would show up at our offices and ask us questions about our work.

Officialdom is split too — some liberal-minded officials are open to working with civic organizations, but those responsible for “stability maintenance” want to repress all forms of citizen activism. China plans to co-host a women’s summit with the United Nations in September, and now many feminist groups have called for a boycott of the summit in the aftermath of the detention. I believe there is some tension within the Chinese government about how to handle the case of these five feminists.

FP: What was the state of feminist activism in China prior to the March 8 detention?

Zhao: In the past, the public paid very little attention to feminist issues, but that has gradually changed in the last few years. We’ve had more support from women outside feminist circles and could mobilize more volunteers as more people began to pay attention. Starting around 2010, Chinese feminists became more active by taking our causes to the streets with song and dance performances, and feminist activism was one of the most visible forms of activism in China. In the beginning [of that period], we focused on specific issues, like the skewed gender ratio of public bathrooms and employment discrimination.

But starting in 2014, our relationship with the authorities became quite tense as our activism has grown in depth and breadth. For the party-state, no socially active organizations and individuals are welcome, so it’s inevitable that we would become a target of the government organs that prioritize “stability maintenance” measures. We just never thought detention of our activists would come at this particular point because we believed that young women had some space to express their views. But now it seems that that space has disappeared completely.

FP: What is the current status of the detained activists, as far as you know?

Zhao: A group of lawyers is helping them, and their families have been able to send in money and clothes. One of them, Li Tingting, has met with her lawyer and believes that she will be released soon. The feminist network around China has come together to express its support and campaign for the release of the detainees. The police may have made trouble for the Chinese government [because it wants to host the summit]. I don’t believe the women will be prosecuted because they have broken no laws.

FP: Where are you right now? Are you concerned about your own safety?

Zhao: I’m in a small town in southern China, and I plan to stay here for a while. I didn’t feel like I was in danger, but my friends and the lawyers of the detained activists had advised me to leave Beijing for a while. The detentions have indeed created some panic and tension, but the activists have not retreated. They are only thinking about how to sustain the movement and further expand it.

The quiet revolution that's changing the way we use energy

Bryony Worthington

The unsung heroes of the fight against climate change are the entrepreneurs and politicians applying themselves to the task of changing our energy consumption

In 2008 Ed Miliband, then secretary of state for energy and climate change, passed the Climate Change Act, a significant step in the growth of the UK renewables sector. Photograph: Graeme Robertson

Baroness Worthington is a Labour peer

Wednesday 18 March 2015

There is a quiet revolution underway in the way we produce and consume energy.

This revolution has been kickstarted by laws, regulations and the arrival of new technologies. It’s been influenced by people – no less passionate than those protesting on the streets – who’ve chosen to engage in the existing economic system to divert it toward more sustainable ends.

It’s not glamorous, and can be slow and technical, but more people are applying themselves to the task internationally – and it is producing results.

This quiet revolution began in the UK in 1990 with the first regulations supporting renewable electricity. The rules obliging energy companies to support non-fossil-fuel-based electricity were originally conceived to support nuclear power after privatisation, with renewable sources such as wind power added subsequently. Twenty-five years and a couple of policy re-designs later, including significantly the Climate Change Act passed by Ed Miliband, the UK has a renewables sector which, though still dependent on subsidies, is starting to make serious in-roads into conventional energy systems.

The renewables sector contains many big players using the capitalist system to increase their market share and push out incumbents. It is attracting criticism from those with vested interests and is thwarted on occasion by members of what author Naomi Klein refers to as “blockadia” – people stopping things – but on the whole its continued growth looks certain. Costs have tumbled and the need for subsidies is receding.

In the UK, the Conservative party may bark about closing the door on renewablesbut even David Cameron and his chancellor, George Osborne, can see that any private entities prepared to pour hard cash into concrete and steel, whatever its purpose, are incredibly valuable. If Labour wins the election in May we will set a target to almost fully decarbonise electricity generation by 2030.

Policies in support of renewables and energy efficiency, together with policies that make fossil fuels more expensive – such as applying air quality standards – are bringing emissions down fast in Europe. Of course two other factors – the financial crisis and warmer weather – have also contributed, but the signs are that as economic growth recovers, emissions are not returning.

Many of the regulations driving emissions down here are EU-wide, though in the UK our Climate Change Act and carbon taxation policy keep us slightly ahead.

The new European parliament and commission are embarking on a programme to create an “energy union” that has decarbonisation at its heart. The penny has finally dropped that low carbon can also mean low import dependency and increased security.

Different approaches are being tried in different countries with the UK looking to also invest in carbon capture and storage (CCS), and nuclear energy. Europe has always gained strength from countries diversely applying themselves to shared endeavours and this next industrial revolution will be no exception.

Outside Europe too, progress is being made in quiet, steady ways.

In China, pro-environment policymaking is on the increase and, for the first time last year, demand for coal appeared to have peaked as a result. A massive planned rollout of renewables, gas and nuclear energy looks very likely to continue the trend.

Realising renewable energy is the fastest technology to deploy, bar none, Narendra Modi is determined to electrify his nation using a policy to double India’s coal tax and support renewables.

In Chile a new carbon tax is imminent but high energy prices and enormous amounts of sun are already making solar power profitable. South Korea has a cap and trade scheme that is a match for the EU’s.

Even in the Middle East huge sums are being invested in all forms of zero carbon technology, nuclear and CCS included. A recent tender for new capacity in Dubai saw solar power undercutting conventional sources by a wide margin.

In North America, where the hijacking and paralysis of federal governments has led many to all but give up on national policy, state-level innovative policies continue to be introduced. The US Environmental Protection Agency is also overseeing a nationwide process to control emissions that stands a reasonable chance of being enacted if it can dodge the lawsuits. And for once the president is seriously engaged in trying to find a global solution.

It is these improved national conditions that give hope that a deal can be reached in Paris this year. It is easy to criticise the UN climate negotiations process and it is certainly far from perfect, but if there were a magic bullet it would have been discovered.

 Wind turbines are beginning to dot Uruguay’s countryside, such as these at Sierra de los Caracoles wind farm, in Maldonado. Photograph: Nicolas Garcia/AFP/Getty Images

Climate change is a unique challenge and international politics is messy. The negotiations will only codify what countries believe to be possible today but, over time, ambitions will increase as confidence grows. What really needs to be achieved is an inclusive deal that boosts confidence in the revolution already underway.

A huge proportion of fossil fuels will remain unburned because many of the tools we need to make this happen have been created and are being improved.

They need to be applied more widely and with more ambition but it is already clear that we can, and do, drive capitalism in the directions we choose. Public pressure helps make this happen but so too do individuals working within the current system to divert its course.

It’s been said that human beings are somehow wired to ignore climate change, but the human brain is the ultimate problem-solving device. Like a brain, as more people are added to the network, with quicker connections between them, the solution-seeking parts of society will become more effective. A few will ignore the signs of harm and pursue profits unencumbered by a conscience, but they will be outnumbered.

Those wanting to help increase the pace of change can take to the streets demanding action but, in between the protests, they can dedicate their time, skills and money to improving the tools of change: laws and technology.

தமிழர்களைக் கடத்திக் கப்பம் பெற்றுக் கொன்ற சம்பவங்கள் தொடர்பில் கடற்படை அதிகாரி கைது 

 17 மார்ச் 2015, செவ்வாய் 8:15 மு.ப
தமிழ் இளைஞர்கள் கடத்திச் செல் லப்பட்டு கப்பம் பெறப்பட்ட பின்னர் கொலை செய்யப்பட்டதாகச் சந்தே கிக்கப்படும் சம்பவங்கள் தொடர்பில், கடற்படையிலிருந்து ஓய்வு பெற்ற உயர் அதிகாரி ஒருவர் குற்றப் புலனாய்வுப் பிரிவினரால் நேற்று முன்தினம் கைது செய்யப்பட்டார்.

இந்தக் கடத்தல், கப்பம், கொலை தொடர்பில், கடற்படையினர் 11 பேர் விசாரணைக்கு உட்படுத்தப்பட்டி ருந்தனர். முன்னாள் கடற்படைப் பேச்சாளரும் விசாரணைக்கு உட்ப  டுத்தப்பட்டிருந்தார். விசாரணைக ளின் ஒரு படியாக கடற்படையிலி ருந்து ஓய்வுபெற்ற உயர் அதிகாரி ஒருவர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளார்.

2008 d 2011ஆம் ஆண்டுக்கும் இடை யில் கொழும்பில் உள்ள தமிழ் இளைஞர்கள் பலர் கடத்தப்பட்டுள் ளனர். இவர்களில், கல்கிசையில் கடத்தப்பட்ட ஐந்து இளைஞர்களும், கொட்டாஞ்சேனையில் கடத்தப் பட்ட தந்தையும் மகனும் உள்ளடங் கியுள்ளனர்.

கடத்தப்பட்ட தமிழ்  இளைஞர்கள் திருகோணமலை மற்றும் கொழும் பில் உள்ள சைத் திய வீதி கடற்படை முகாம்களில் தடுத்து வைக்கப்பட்டி ருந்தனர். இதன் பின்னர் இவர்கள் கொலை செய்யப்பட்டனர் எனத் தெரிவிக்கப் படுகின்றது.

இந்தச் சம்பவம் தொடர்பில், குற்றப் புலனாய்வுத் திணைக்களத்திற்குக்  கிடைத்த முறைப்பாட்டுக்கு அமைய விசாரணைகள் மேற்கொள் ளப்பட் டன. இதன்போது முக்கிய சந்தேக நபராகச் சொல்லப்பட்ட கடற்படை அதிகாரியின் அறை, குற்றப் புல னாய்வுத் திணைக்களத்தினரால் சோதனை செய்யப்பட்டது. கடத்தப் பட்ட ஐந்து இளைஞர்களின் அடை யாள அட்டைகள் மற்றும் கடவுச் சீட்டுகள் என்பன அங்கிருந்து கண்டு பிடிக்கப்பட்டன.

இந்தப் பின்னணியில் மூன்று கடற் படை அதிகாரிகள் உள்ளடங்கலாக, 11 பேர் விசாரணைக்கு உட்படுத்தப் பட்டிருந்தனர். இதன் தொடர்ச் சியாக, முன்னாள் கடற்படைப் பேச் சாளர் கொமாண்டர் தசநாயக்க, குற்றப் புலனாய்வுத் திணைக்களத் துக்கு அழைக்கப்பட்டு விசாரிக் கப்பட்டார்.தற்போது கைது செய்யப்பட்டிருப் பவரது பெயர் விவரத்தை, வெளி யிட பொலிஸ் ஊடகப் பேச்சாளர் அலுவலகம் மறுத்துள்ளது.

A Simple Solution for Electoral Reforms

Who actually gets these seats and how? Apart from political parties fielding candidates for particular constituencies, they also should nominate a list of candidates before the election department for the consideration under the district PR system. It is out of that list that 2 UNP candidates and 1 DNA candidate would get elected to parliament. This district list system is proposed new different to the present.

by Laksiri Fernando

( March 17, 2015, Sydney, Sri Lanka Guardian) It is announced that the government might make proposals for electoral reforms in the much talked about 19th Amendment, however the next election will be held under the old system. This is regrettable news. The reason could be that the proposal/s suggested are complicated, and the implementation of which would take much time and preparation.

A Simple Solution for Electoral Reforms by Thavam Ratna

19th Amendment : Full Text Of Gazetted Bill

March 17, 2015

The Gazette notification on the 19th Amendment to the Constitution has been published today.

Read the full text of the gazetted bill at the link below

19th Amendment (E) (1)

19th Amendment E 1 by Thavam Ratna

19 A: Banalities, Incongruities & A Few Positive Proposals

By Sumanasiri Liyanage -March 17, 2015 

Sumanasiri Liyanage

Once again I have to depend on the legal draft of the 19th Amendmentpublished in the Colombo Telegraph. Moreover, I am forced to assume this is authentic document although Sri Lankan press has yet to come out with the full document.

There is a Turkish poem the authorship of which has been attributed wrongly to many people, including William Shakespeare and Bob Marley. The poem reads like this:

You say that you love rain, but you open your umbrella when it rains.
You say that you love the sun, but you find a shadow spot when the sun shines.
You say that you love the wind, but you close your windows when wind blows.
This is why I am afraid, you say that you love me too.

We witnessed somewhat similar happening two weeks ago. Many politicians informed in public that they loved Senaka Bibile drug policy. But when they got a chance to implement it, they looked for a cover and Minister Rajitha Senaratna introduced a caricature of it. Similarly, during the election campaign we heard in many an occasion a praise for Dr N M Perera’s critique of the 1978 Constitution and a promise to draft an amendment incorporating his views. Fifty days after the Presidential Election we saw a legal draft of the19th Amendment that almost totally disregarded N M’s visionary critique of the 1978 Constitution.

What is included in the draft 19th Amendment to the Second Republic Constitution of 1978 may be divided into two sub categories. Before I turn to them it is essential to discuss noticeable “silences”. However, what the 19th Amendment is silent about is as important as what is present in it. It is imperative to note that if someone is seeking changes to the state structure making it more democratic and ensuring good and accommodative governance while totally disregarding the national question that is one of the key issues that has been flagged in the constitutional discourse since the early 1980s, it is nothing but hypocrisy. Dr N M Perera referring to some positive features of the Constitution of 1978 on the issue of language wrote: “Chapter iv no longer satisfies. What might have satisfied the Tamil community twenty years back [he referred to parity status to which the Lanka Samasamaja Party fought for] cannot be adequate twenty years later. Other concessions along the lines of regional autonomy will have to be in the offing if healthy and harmonious relations are to be regained” (A Critical Analysis of the 1978 Constitution, 2013, p. 16). Ironically, even after 60 years, the so-called guardian of democracy have not even given an iota of attention to this burning issue. Silences more than what is present speak louder. Should the Tamil National Alliance and Muslim Congress vote for the 19th Amendment as it is without proposing an amendment incorporating the respective demands of the numerically small communities/ nations?

Two issues that have been attempted to address by the draft 19th Amendment are (1) the changes to the executive presidential system and (2) the changes to ensure good governance.

Good Governance                             Read More