Needed: An Opposition

Editorial

March 31, 2015, 7:27 pm 

The Rajapaksa administration was accused of gross abuse of power, profligacy, nepotism and callous disregard for public opinion. But, have those who dislodged it promising a clean break therefrom made a difference?

No sooner had President Maithripala Sirisena been sworn in than he appointed a new Prime Minister who did not have a majority in Parliament. Article 43 (3) of the Constitution says: ‘The President shall appoint as Prime Minister the Member of Parliament who in his opinion is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament [emphasis added].’ Did he mistake ‘most likely’ for ‘most unlikely’?

The President then arbitrarily declared the then Chief Justice’s appointment null and void without consulting the judiciary and reinstated a Chief Justice who had been impeached by Parliament. Worse, he appointed the Opposition Leader as well! By no stretch of the imagination could such executive actions be considered acceptable.

A government without a robust Opposition to keep it in check is like a juggernaut with a faulty brake system careening downhill. The Rajapaksa leviathan hurtled like a runaway locomotive in spite of all warnings and went off a precipice, toppled over before coming to a halt. Having wriggled out of the wreckage a badly bruised Mahinda Rajapaksa is trying to get his bearings! All signs are that the incumbent government is moving in the same direction as its predecessor albeit at a slower pace; besides the aforesaid questionable executive actions, it has already appointed 77 ministers and catapulted quite a few square pegs into round holes at the highest level of government. The newly appointed Governor of the Central Bank (CB) has been accused of a mega bond racket. The police are reported to have obtained a court order to arrest former Minister Basil Rajapaksa upon his return to the country in connection with some corrupt deals. Stern action is, no doubt, called for in battling corruption. If anyone has lined his or her pockets at the expense of the public he or she must be severely dealt with according to the law. But, the CB Governor who is alleged to have caused a staggering loss of Rs. 9 bn to the state coffers is without any such problem!

The SLFP has joined the government to all intents and purposes. The TNA and the JVP are represented in the ad hoc National Executive Council. They have no moral right to stake their claims for the post of the Opposition Leader. An attempt is being made to make MEP leader Dinesh Gunawardena the Opposition Leader. He is capable of holding that position and doing a much better job than Nimal Siripala de Silva. Of what use is an Opposition Leader who shamelessly licks the President’s sandals?

But, the question is whether any constituent of the UPFA coalition led by President Sirisena, who is the head of government, can be considered part of the Opposition. Some UFPA rebels have been collecting MPs’ signatures in a bid to have Gunawardena appointed the Opposition Leader. They won’t be able to justify their claim unless they sever their links with the UPFA and sit separately in Parliament.

Executive President is practising political polygamy with the UNP as the consort and other parties including the SLFP as concubines in the harem. What the country needs most at this juncture to prevent itself being plunged deeper into chaos is a real Opposition. The present situation is fraught with the danger of a countervailing power emerging outside Parliament. The JVP has already revealed its plan to capture state power by 2020 and declared that it won’t baulk at resorting to ‘people power’, if necessary, to achieve that end.

The need for a strong, parliamentary Opposition capable of taking up the cudgels for the people’s rights and act as a counterbalance to the powers of the government, we repeat, cannot be overemphasised.

Comments on Sri Lanka President SirisenaVaiden Visit to China

By Col. R. Hariharan.-31/03/2015

Question: President Maithripala Sirisena’s Chinese visit is starting later today (March 25, 2015).  This visit comes after his government’s willingness to strengthen ties with neighbour India with leaders of the both countries visiting each other’s nation within a month and the suspension of Chinese aided Colombo port city reclamation project.

How do you see this visit and do you think China would be ready for any renegotiations on its Port city projects or any debt finance?

The present government says Chinese government is clean, but its companies are involved in corrupt deals under the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The government says it wants to eliminate the corruption similar to what Chinese leaders are doing in their country. Appreciate your comment.

Answer: There are two parts to this question. The one relating to Sri Lanka-India relations will be viewed by China as a multilateral international issue, while the other relating to suspension of Chinese aided projects will be treated by both countries as a bilateral one.

China under President Xi Jinping is promoting the revival of the Silk Route as well as the 21stCentury Maritime Road in a big way as a part of its strategic westward reach. It involves reaching out to South Asian countries as well as the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). India by its size, soft power and economic clout dominates both the subcontinent and the Indian Ocean neighbourhood.

If we go by his performance so far, President Xi has emerged as a pragmatist who does not lose sight of his end goals as long as his “core interests” are not threatened. China’s media comments after Prime Minister Modi’s three-nation visit in the IOR indicate a better appreciation in Beijing of India’s role in IOR. Perhaps President Xi having factored Modi’s assertive leadership style understood that wishing away India in this region would not be easy and it would not benefit China. So Beijing seems to be in a mood to cooperate and coordinate (if possible) its activities with India in this region.

This could be related to the international strategic environment as well as China’s desire to take advantage of India’s growth story which is being rewritten under Modi’s leadership. Of course, China objections to Prime Minister Modi’s February 2015 -visit to Arunachal Pradesh showed that despite all the cooing comments Beijing would not compromise upon its core interest.

India’s experience in dealing with China holds an important lesson for Sri Lanka leadership – there will be no mixing of metaphors when it comes to China’s national interest. We can expect President Sirisena to face the moment of truth when he talks with President Xi. So the Sri Lankan argument about cleaning up corruption in all projects including the Chinese ones just as China is doing, may not cut much ice except sympathetic nods.

China will be attaching importance to the Sri Lankan leader’s visit because of the not so friendly impression he and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had created in the run up to the election. They decried Chinese-promoted mega projects as extravagant and suspected the opaque processes adopted to promote them as the source of corruption to benefit Rajapaksa clan. They had also accused Mahinda Rajapaksa of being partial to China at the cost of Sri Lanka’s cordial relations with India. Chinese normally do not forget such comments easily.

Even before the visit China had been relentlessly pursuing action through local media (as well as using some political connections if w by an NGO’s statement in the court) to clear its association with any criminal or corrupt activity. China is conscious of its emergence as a global power and reacts strongly when small countries make accusations against China.

Chinese leaders would mince no words about their unhappiness at such remarks in one-to-one talks. (Probably they would have done this when Foreign Minister Samaraweera visited China earlier (preparatory to Sirisena’s visit).

Sri Lanka is perhaps the most important among the Indian Ocean islands to promote China’s present strategic objectives. This is further increased due to the geo-strategic advantage India already enjoys in Sri Lanka. So China’s first priority would be to consolidate its existing goodwill and protect the economic assets it had created during the Rajapaksa days.  So we can expect China to make serious efforts to show Sri Lanka the tangible economic advantages Sri Lanka in kick starting the stalled projects are resumed. Some of them like the rural water supply project are really value-added ones.

Among the projects Colombo port reclamation is most prestigious and strategically important for China both from maritime security and commercial points of view. Already Sri Lanka appears to have tacitly agreed not to cancel the project as indicated by Sri Lanka Prime Minister. Sri Lanka government has also agreed for the construction of breakwater that would help the Project. But Chinese are tough negotiators with immense patience; so Sri Lanka would probably end up giving in more than gaining much.

However, to save faces on both sides we can expect Chinese to provide access to books to show their hands are clean. They would make some concessions on financial terms by some deferred repayment and probably loosen some clause relating to Chinese control of  “sovereign” rights parts ceded to them as a part of the project. We can also expect easier terms for fresh loans.

Of course, we can expect China to beef up the existing strategic security partnership pact between the two countries. Sri Lanka has strong appetite for improving its naval platforms and aircraft for surveillance and protection of its near ocean waters. To meet this need the existing joint committee on coastal security could be activated with offer of coastal naval craft and speedy delivery of those in pipeline. We can also expect China to try and free Sri Lanka from Indian navy’s monopoly in training the island nation’s naval forces. But this is more easily said than done.

Lastly, China seems to be interested in promoting China-Sri Lanka-India trilateral cooperation as a win-win strategy for “peace and prosperity” of the three countries. Though Foreign Minister Wang Yi had spoken about it, it does not appear to within the realms of probability in near term. While we can expect to hear more about this after Modi’s visit to Beijing, President Xi might bring up the idea in his talks with President Sirise as he would probably welcome such an initiative.

(Col R Hariharan, a retired MI specialist on South Asia, served as head of intelligence, Indian Peace Keeping Force (1987-90). He is associated with South Asia Analysis Group and the Chennai Centre for China Studies.E-mail: haridirect@gmail.com Blog: http://col.hariharan.info)

(This article is an elaboration of answer given to an international news agency’s question on President Sirisena’s visit to China on March 25, 2015.)

Paper No. 5901                                   Dated 26-Mar-2015

Power brokers in a UK hung Parliament?

by Victor Cherubim

( March 31, 2015, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) The runners and riders are at the starting gate for the UK General Election in 38 days. The starting pistol has been fired with the dissolution of Parliament. The traffic-light colours symbolising – Red (Labour), Amber (Lib Dems), Amber & Blue (Lib Dems / Conservatives and Green (Green Party) have now been replaced by the colours of the rainbow. We hope to see Purple (UK Independence Party, UKIP), Orange (Northern Ireland Unionists), Yellow (Plaid Cymru – Welsh Independence Party), Yellow and Black (Scottish Nationalist SNP founded in 1934) and colours of a polyglot of nondescript, some absurd, others nonplus individuals, – all vying for a seat at Westminster. The election no doubt may awaken the curiosity in the minds of Sri Lankans everywhere.

UK Election and Sri Lanka

Having observed the elections in the UK since Harold Wilson’s Labour Party in 1966, Government policies at Westminster have had a bearing on the Commonwealth and in Sri Lanka. With the migration to UK of Ceylonese students for professional qualifications, as barristers, doctors, engineers, in days past, followed some thirty odd years ago by Tamil refugees, followed by economic migrants, followed more recently by moneyed entrepreneurs. Sri Lankans have played a role in British politics.

We may have believed that, “Made in Britain” is always best, as we depended on British aid from the Colombo Plan, and from other British funds for our Hydro Power development. During the 30 odd year’s war, we may have got small arms which were British, but shipped from the European Union nations. Whether we like it or not, our citizens long to visit Britain mainly to work here, to be educated here particularly at Oxbridge in days past, imbued in Trotskyite, Marxist and Socialist tradition, turning from being refugees to business entrepreneurs over the years on British high streets and being the voter base for the parties at the polls. Some Sri Lankans may have been forced to return home, with a jaundiced view of Britain, others have fought High Court battles and remained indefinitely in Britain, stating that Sri Lanka is not safe for them.

The laws of England and customs and traditions of Britain have formed the backbone of our own laws, at times replacing our own customs.UK Charities like “Save the Children” and the work of “Halo” in mine clearing; have been of invaluable assistance to Sri Lanka. The UK Election on May 7, 2015, will also have an impact on the way Britain thinks and votes at Geneva, on financial aid and whether Britain will support Sri Lanka’s apparel trade and reduce trade barriers. “The design, manufacture and export of our textiles and apparel products, account for about half of the country’s total exports to UK, employing about 15 % of our workforce.” This is besides, our traditional exports of tea, rubber and coconut, among others.

The current election trend

Two main features are prominent, at the polls in Britain. First, is “party loyalty”, of the two main rival parties, the Conservatives and Labour? This feature which was the hallmark of British politics has perhaps, slowly been eroded over time. There were always diehards “Reds” and “Blues” at election time.

Today, we see a slow change in voter loyalty. Along with the change in taste buds from Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding, to Samosas, Pilau rice and Chicken Masala, the voter base of the two main parties has also changed. We see a pattern over the years. Labour governments replaced by Tories and Tories replaced by Labour.

Strangely, today it appears Britain has “caught the cold“of Coalition Party Politics of the European Union nations. Nobody knows whether this trend is here to stay or is a passing phase. No single party is sadly able to command a majority in the House of Commons. To obtain a majority of 326 seats in Parliament to form a government is seen as a gruesome task, for both the Conservatives and Labour. Opinion polls suggest they are neck and neck at 34 % in voter polls. “Few recent elections have been closer and as a result many political insiders are regarding the coming weeks not as one General Election campaign, but 150 or so by-elections in key marginal seats to be canvassed.” Both parties remain concerned that they cannot break ahead, like either Maggie Thatcher or Tony Blair, in elections past.

The rationale of the electorate

Insurgent parties both north and south of the border, the SNP in Scotland and UKIP in England, are hoping to unseat, Labour in Scotland and Conservatives in England.

This is causing the second trend in party politics, which is voter apathy. English voters seem to grumble that 50 out of the 59 Scottish MP’s representing up to two million voters of Scotland, will have the power and leverage over 300 plus MPs for England and Wales answering to 40 million voters. The Scots with this power may indeed become a major power broker with either of the major parties, at this election.

Likewise UKIP, clawing on dissent on Europe are making inroads on the Conservative and Labour vote base. Diehard Labour voters feel jobs will be at stake if Britain goes for a referendum on Europe as promised by the Conservatives. True Blue Conservatives fear a deal with UKIP to remain in Government, is against their liking, following a five year coalition with the Liberal Democrats. There is unease in both party camps. Horse trading for Conservatives, perhaps, with the Greens, Irish Unionists and others may become a necessity to continue to remain in power.

With the outcome of a hung parliament and general voter apathy, the Conservatives possibly will woo the elderly to vote for them and that Labour may well rely on rallying the migrant voters of the Asian sub continent along with the Scottish Nationalists, to support them. he views of the smaller parties will become clearer, once the TV debate of the seven party leaders featuring David Cameron (Conservative) Ed Milliband (Labour) Nick Clegg (Lib Dem) Nigel Farage (UKIP) Natalie Bennett (Green) Nicola Sturgeon (SNP) and Leanne Wood (Plaid Cymru), takes place on Thursday night, 2 April 2015. The runners and riders are off to a start. But the unlike previous mass TV campaign, it may perhaps, be the “old fashioned” knocking on voter doors, which may clinch the result.

Sri Lanka, India and China: An Uncertain Triangle

by Cecilia Tortajada and Asit K Biswas — March 31, 2015 10:21 pm

For India and Sri Lanka, the presence of China and the fall of Rajapaksa mean that the relationships have to be recalibrated. 

Sri Lanka, India and China an Uncertain Triangle by Thavam Ratna

Ukrainian MiG 27 deal beneficial to SLAF says ex-commander

‘Final payments in $ 14 mn deal were made at the conclusion of the war’

By Shamindra Ferdinando-March 31, 2015, 12:00 pm 

Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke yesterday said that an agreement with Ukraine as regards overhauling of four MiG 27s and acquisition of four overhauled MiGs had been finalized to Sri Lanka’s advantage.

Ukrainian MiG 27 deal beneficial to SLAF says ex-commander-‘Final payments in $ 14 mn deal were made at the... by Thavam Ratna

SC Shown Basil Rajapaksa Judicially Recognized To Have Committed Corrupt Practice At Mulkirigala By-Election In 1987

April 1, 2015

During submissions in the 19th Amendment Bill determination hearing today (April 1), the Supreme Court judgement in the case of Rajapaksa vs. Kularatne was shown to the Supreme Court by Constitutional lawyer and TNA Member of Parliament M. A. Sumanthiran, where former Minister Basil Rajapaksa, brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was found by court to have engaged in corrupt practice at a by-election for Mulkirigala Seat held on 12/09/1987. Further taking up of submissions on the Bill is due to take place in the Supreme Court for a second day, tomorrow (April 2) as well before Chief Justice K. Sripavan, Justice Chandra Ekanayake and Justice Priyasath Dep.

Basil

Several citizens contacted by Colombo Telegraph after the Basil Rajapaksa case was highlighted and asked their views on the matter, pointed out that it was unacceptable that despite the existence of this judgement publicly reported in Sri Lanka Law Report Volume 2 of 1988 recognizing corruption committed by Basil Rajapaksa, President Rajapaksa appointed this very same brother to head the entire economy. Many who were contacted, said they earlier supported Rajapaksa at the last Presidential election without knowing the unprecedented corruption level that has now been exposed after the media gained more freedom, with the fall of the Rajapaksa regime. They said that this highlights the need to ensure that whoever the president should not be able to take abusive or corrupt decisions without checks and balances, as they now realize Rajapaksa did.

“The 19th Amendment Bill contains many provisions aimed to limit the presidential powers to prevent dictatorship and nepotism, bring proper accountability and checks on corruption and ensure that the judiciary and civil service doesn’t continue to be politicized. Main political parties (UNP and SLFP) decided to put aside differences and come together to form a national government, to sort out the problems caused by the Rajapaksa regime.” a constitutional lawyer told Colombo Telegraph.

“This includes restoring (through 19th Amendment), the checks and balances like under the 17th Amendment that was controversially repealed by the Rajapaksa regime by 18th Amendment to consolidate a monopoly of power in the hands of then President Mahinda Rajapaksa.” the lawyer pointed out.

Basil Rajapaksa who fled the country soon after the Rajapaksa regime was ousted through the January 8 election, is now due to be questioned by police on serious allegations of massive corruption after common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena was elected president and Ranil Wickremesinghe was made prime minister.

For the judgement in Rajapaksa vs. Kularatne, click here

Ambassador Karunathilaka puke falsehood

Wednesday, 01 April 2015

We at Lanka News Web confirm the reply sent by the first secretary of the Sri Lankan embassy Kolurangan for the news we published by the caption “Sri Lankan Ambassador in Germany following Rajapaksa idiocy” is filled with mendacious falsehood.

We agree the error that there was no meeting held in the embassy premises in Germany but it held in the ITB premises where the tourist exhibition held. The most significant point is not that.

It is not a hidden fact that the Sri Lankan security forces occupy the lands of the people in Sri Lanka and build hotels. Recently Prime Minister Ranil Wicramasinghe told that these hotels would be given to the private sector. These lands are owned by the poor Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim fisheries community. The society of Threaten People is working on this issue for a long time. This year under the name “Dark clouds of the Paradise Island” few books were printed and inaugurated in the tourist exhibition.

The Society of Threaten People requested a meeting not with the Hotel owners of Sri Lanka but with the tourism minister Navin Dissanayake and with the ambassador Karunathilake. However the ambassador came with the hotel owners to the event.

When the Fisheries Solidarity protested to protect the rights against the land grabbing of the Rajapaksa regime, Navin Dissanayake was insolent and turned his face from Herman Kumara. By the way during the exhibition in Berlin the photographers of the ambassador Amunugama who came to the event without any invitation started to take pictures targeting Herman Kumara. The henchmen hoteliers of the ambassador entangled an argument with the Society of Threaten People team and used immoral words. Ambassador Karunathilake questioned from the STP team who is giving money for you.

Ivos Bowi who joined with us for a discussion said LNW the meeting held with the ambassador was a threatening one and the photographs taken of Herman Kumara was taken without permission. He said he never requested a meeting with the hotel owners and the meeting which was supposed to start at 5pm started at 6pm. The ambassador’s attitude was not friendly and he has falsified his comments to the Taragazen Sagen Newspaper that no such meeting was held. Later when I called the ambassador and inquired he accepted that it was a false and the attitude of the hotel owners who participated without invitation is an offending one and the ambassador disconnected the line at once.

Although Ambassador Karunathilaka Amunugama who has claimed in the letter that he is ready to brief the situation about Sri Lanka his official work is not that recommendable.

A mainstream Human Rights activist in Germany told our website although Mahinda Rajapaksa was defeated and Maithripala Sirisena became the president still Rajapaksa henchmen’s are serving as ambassador’s in Germany and in Europe and there is not much reforms were done in the foreign service.
Lanka News Web is ready to face any challenge to justify the credibility of our news.

Our editorial team has given the above news for the reply given by the Sri Lankan embassy in Germany denying the allegations for the article we published “Rajapaksa-style absurdities by ambassador Amunugama in Germany”

Previous article

Ambassador Amunugama claims that he did not commit any idiocy

McCain Joins Bolton, Invites Israel to Bomb Iran

Jon Rainwater-Executive Director, Peace Action West-03/31/2015

Say what, John McCain?

Senator John McCain took to the Senate floor last week to rail against peace talks with Iran. No surprises there. But McCain went beyond blasting the deal. He suggested a surprising and disturbing method of blowing up the talks.

The Israelis will need to chart their own path of resistance. On the Iranian nuclear deal, they may have to go rogue. Let's hope their warnings have not been mere bluffs. Israel survived its first 19 years without meaningful U.S. patronage. For now, all it has to do is get through the next 22, admittedly long, months.

Go rogue? This saber rattling it is not just a momentary fit of John McCain's signature pique. McCain, and his allies like Senators Lindsey Graham and Robert Menendez, have repeatedly slipped language into bills calling for the U.S. to support Israel if Israel attacks Iran's nuclear facilities. One such bill, Senate Res. 65, nicknamed the "Backdoor to War" bill read in part:

[Congress] urges that, if the Government of Israel is compelled to take military action in self-defense, the United States Government should stand with Israel and provide diplomatic, military, and economic support to the Government of Israel in its defense of its territory, people, and existence.

While that language was later watered down, McCain's war talk is part of an effort to normalize the idea of military attacks on Iran as Plan B if Congress torpedoes diplomacy. Legislation like the soon-to-be debated Corker-Menendez bill could create a Congressional veto of nuclear negotiations with Iran. It is anyone's guess what comes after such a veto. But a good indication of Senate hawks' future plans is always what neoconservative think tanks are saying in the nation's leading papers today.

Lo and behold, Former UN Ambassador John Bolton, just wrote a piece in the New York Times bluntly titled, "To Stop Iran's Bomb, Bomb Iran." Bolton, was one of the main cheerleaders for the war in Iraq and assured the public that: "We are confident that Saddam Hussein has hidden weapons of mass destruction and production facilities in Iraq."

Now Bolton counsels us to embark on another preventative war:

The inconvenient truth is that only military action like Israel's 1981 attack on Saddam Hussein's Osirak reactor in Iraq or its 2007 destruction of a Syrian reactor, designed and built by North Korea, can accomplish what is required. Time is terribly short, but a strike can still succeed.

Rendering inoperable the Natanz and Fordow uranium-enrichment installations and the Arak heavy-water production facility and reactor would be priorities. So, too, would be the little-noticed but critical uranium-conversion facility at Isfahan. An attack need not destroy all of Iran's nuclear infrastructure, but by breaking key links in the nuclear-fuel cycle, it could set back its program by three to five years. The United States could do a thorough job of destruction, but Israel alone can do what's necessary. Such action should be combined with vigorous American support for Iran's opposition, aimed at regime change in Tehran.

So Bolton leaves open both the Israeli and U.S. attack options. He then slyly slips in the goal of regime change. This is the tell that reveals why these folks are so opposed to the current negotiations. While a diplomatic agreement can ensure Iran's nuclear programs are peaceful, they won't bring down the regime.

Old-school conservatives of the non-"neo" variety think the military option is foolish.Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called the notion of a military attack on Iran a "catastrophe." Gates argued that neither the U.S. nor Israel could obliterate Iran's nuclear facilities. Instead, he says that attacks "would make a nuclear-armed Iran inevitable. They would just bury the program deeper and make it more covert."

In fact, one of the many arguments against a military attack is that any damage to Iran's nuclear infrastructure is temporary. Iran could quickly rebuild whatever is destroyed and decide to build a nuclear weapon as a defense against future attacks.

In a recent Washington Post opinion piece titled "War with Iran is probably our best option", neoconservative Joshua Muravchik acknowledged this dynamic and gave another shocking response:

Wouldn't destroying much of Iran's nuclear infrastructure merely delay its progress? Perhaps, but we can strike as often as necessary. Of course, Iran would try to conceal and defend the elements of its nuclear program, so we might have to find new ways to discover and attack them. Surely the United States could best Iran in such a technological race.

So the failure of diplomacy wouldn't just pave a path to a military attack. It would pave the way for waves and waves of military offensives couched as a "technological race."

Say what?

Yep, the hawks' vision for Iran sure sounds ludicrous. But their vision of Americans being greeted as liberators by cheering Iraqis with sweets and flowers was equally ludicrous. A decade later we're still dealing with the tragic fall-out of chasing after that particular pipe-dream. That's why Congress needs to resist the tough-on-Iran rhetoric and give diplomacy a chance.

Follow Jon Rainwater on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jonrainwater

Does Israel Really Have a Thermonuclear Weapon?

And did the Pentagon really just declassify a document admitting knowledge of this? 

 BY JEFFREY LEWIS-MARCH 31, 2015

We all know Israel has the bomb, but does it have the hydrogenbomb?

The idea that Israel’s nuclear arsenal might comprise thermonuclear weapons has long been a subject of discussion. It popped back in the popular conscience a few weeks ago when Grant Smith — who runs an organization called the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy that has some viewsabout Israel that I find pretty awful — released a redacted version of a 1987 report published by the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA). Smith had sued to get the document, then posted it online claiming it was “confirmation of Israel’s advanced nuclear weapons” — with “advanced” meaning thermonuclear weapons.

Does Israel Really Have a Thermonuclear Weapon by Thavam Ratna

U.S. Navy alarmed at Beijing’s ‘Great Wall of Sand’ in South China Sea

In this Feb. 25, 2014 file photo taken by surveillance planes and released by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, a Chinese vessel, top center, is used to expand structures and land on the Johnson Reef, called Mabini by the Philippines and Chigua by China, at the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, Philippines. (AP)

By Simon Denyer April 1 at 4:50 AM

BEIJING — China is building “a great wall of sand” through an unprecedented program of land reclamation in the South China Sea, raising concerns about the possibility of military confrontation in the disputed waters, according to the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

U.S. Navy Alarmed at Beijing’s ‘Great Wall of Sand’ in South China Sea by Thavam Ratna

Ex-Sen. George Mitchell: Freed Whistleblower on Azerbaijan Corruption Should Never Have Been Jailed

Natural Gas & Oil Drilling,Whistleblowers

We look at the case of Frederic "Rick" Bourke, who is considered a whistleblower after he was imprisoned for exposing corruption and bribery in the oil-rich region of the Caspian Sea. Bourke is known for founding the luxury handbag company Dooney & Bourke and is a philanthropist who has invested his wealth into ventures seeking novel cures for cancer. In the mid-1990s, he met a Czech national named Viktor Kozeny who recruited investors for the takeover of SOCAR, the state-owned oil company of Azerbaijan. Serious investors vetted the opportunity and sank huge sums into the enterprise, including our guest, former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, as well as Columbia University’s investment fund, the insurance giant AIG, and legendary hedge-fund manager Lee Cooperman, a longtime executive at Goldman Sachs. But the investment failed, and Kozeny absconded with the remaining funds. Bourke was recently released from prison, while Kozeny was never punished. When asked if Bourke should be exonerated, Mitchell responds, "I do not believe he should have been convicted in the first place."

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: Senator Mitchell, I wanted to ask you a different question. We have been following the strange case of Rick Bourke, Frederick Bourke. It’s about a country that borders Iran, Azerbaijan. In the wake of the Soviet collapse, privatization of countries was happening at a record level, and it was believed Azerbaijan would privatize its oil supply. There were many who had invested in this — Columbia University, AIG, you did, Frederick Bourke did, who founded Dooney and Bourke, the handbag company. In the end, the money was stolen. As Rick Bourke’s attorney, Michael Tigar, said, "[Victor] Kozeny was a crook. He stole every bit of Rick Bourke’s money and all of the other investors’ money. He bribed Azeri officials. He lives today happily unextradited in the Bahamas."

Ultimately, the only person that went to jail was Rick Bourke. The Government Accountability Project called him a whistleblower, yet he has just come out of jail. Do you believe he is a whistleblower, and you believe that he should be exonerated.

SEN. GEORGE MITCHELL: Well, I believe that he should not have been convicted in the trial, in which conviction did occur. I think it was a very unfortunate circumstance, and as you describe it, regrettable from Rick Bourke’s standpoint.

AMY GOODMAN: Do you believe he should now be exonerated, to be able to clear his name fully?

SEN. GEORGE MITCHELL: Well, yes, but I’m not sure what process would occur. He was tried, convicted. The conviction was upheld on appeal. But, as I said, I repeat, I do not believe he should have been convicted in the first place.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, Senator George Mitchell, we want to thank you very much for joining us. Senator Mitchell served as the U.S. special envoy for Middle East Peace under President Obama from 2009 to 2011. He previously served under President Bill Clinton, as the Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, where he helped broker the Belfast Peace Agreement of 1998. Before that, Senator Mitchell served as Democratic Senator from Maine for 15 years, including as Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995. This is democracy now. When we come back, we’re talking about Indiana. Stay with us.

Changing Burma: Preserving the old, embracing the new

Monks in a Yangon flower market. Pic: Joanne Lane, www.visitedplanet.com 

Photography installation on Pansodan Bridge. Pic: Joanne Lane, www.visitedplanet.com 

A classic old building in Downtown Yangon. Pic: Joanne Lane, www.visitedplanet.com 
Typical Yangon street wiring. Pic: Joanne Lane, www.visitedplanet.com 

By Jo Lane Apr 01, 2015 

When I first came to Burma, also known as Myanmar, in 2009 it felt like a country frozen in time due to its years of isolation and stagnation. Indeed I recall penning an article for Jet Star, something along the lines of it being one of the few places left you could glimpse the Asia of old, one that existed some 50 years ago. And at that time, within the glittering modernity of much of Asia’s new sky rise cities, that was oddly appealing but also a rather simplistic perception.
Changing Burma Preserving the Old, Embracing the New by Thavam Ratna