Saturday, April 11, 2015

SriLankan AirLines’ Sexual Harassment: Rajapaksa’s Brother In Law Used Three Houses For ‘Other Purposes’

April 11, 2015

The Board of Inquiry into the misappropriations of Sri Lankan Airlines has revealed the former President’s brother-in-law Nishantha Wickramasinghe in his capacity as the Chairman of SLA, misappropriated funds of the institution to lease three houses which he had used for ‘other purposes’.

Nishantha

The BoI report notes that Wickramasinsghe first appointed as a Director who was then appointed as the Chairman by PB Jayasundara, had been paid a monthly allowance of Rs. 500,000 along with other perks although his conduct has been described as ‘appalling’ in several aspects even by the CEO Kapila Chandrasena.

The BoI team states that there was no apparent justification for the former Chairman to have engaged on a full-time basis. The Chairman however had said that it was the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who wanted him to be in SLA on a full-time basis but that the CEO and other officials have not been able to give any reasons as to why he was appointed on a full-time basis.

Wickramasinghe had been paid a monthly housing allowance which had not been specified. Investigation has revealed that he exploited this loophole to the maximum through which he had required the SLA to lease three houses in Ja-Ela, Andiambalama and Seeduwa, justifying the leases stating that since he visits the SLA office at night he has to live in those houses.

When he was confronted with the electricity bill of each house, he had said he lived in those houses alone. However, Major General Chandrawansa’s statement has made it evident that Wickramasinghe was lying since he had stated that the Chairman was using the houses for ‘other purposes’.

The former President’s brother in law had also been provided with a company car (Mercedes Benz bearing no: KL 4449) but he had also assigned for himself two other vehicles through loan agreements SLA entered into with certain other financial institutions. A Montero (no WP KV 3836) had been secured by submitting fraudulent documents and a Prado (no: WP CAB 707 ) had also been acquired.

He had also been provided with a driver, fuel allowance and a company mobile. However, apart from the entitled allowances, he had obtained a phone connection an Apple iPad and six other phones, which he still hasn’t handed over despite resigning on January 9.

The inquiry team also notes that there is prime facie evidence to support complaints of the Chairman’s ‘personal interest in certain members of the cabin crew’ and he had personally participated in the interview of the cabin crew. There have been complaints of favoritism and inappropriate association between him and certain cabin crew members and the inquiry team has noted that evidence pointing to such behavior has exposed SLA to abuse of power and has even caused reputational risks to the airline as well as financial losses.

The report contains details of one such inappropriate association of Wickramasinghe with a cabin crew member named Chathurika Muhandiram. He had appointed her, without any authority, as a brand ambassador of the SLA.

There has been no such appointment or recognition of such a post officially known to SLA and the CEO as well as the Head of HR have been unable to provide details as to how such a position was created.

Upon inquiry, the cabin crew member in question had said that she was appointed by the SLA but had been evasive and had not wished to speak on how she received her appointment. Wickramsinghe had however justified it crediting it to her competence, talents and had also said that she was related to him and that he knows her since her childhood.

Investigations had revealed that she with Wickramasinghe, travelled to Vietnam for the APOT Asia Forum in 2014 on two business class tickets, which were purchased by the SLA as revenue from another airlines.

BOI team has also noted allegations of sexual harassment that have not been keenly dealt with. The report notes that representations made by victims who made complaints of sexual harassment particularly against persons holding top managerial positions had not been adequately dealt with. The Head of Human Resources Kakulawala had said that in order to find an employee guilty of sexual harassment, the evidence should be proven beyond reasonable doubt and had said that it’s as difficult as proving rape.

The team has noted that such an approach is unacceptable especially when female employees can become vulnerable in the airline industry.Read More

Churchill and Hitler–Two Europeans

Tribune Libre -Galtung Johan-18 Mars 2015

Who wrote this?

“The Aryan stock is bound to triumph”.

“The Dictator of the Red Citadel (Petrograd)–all Jews”

Churchill and Hitler–Two Europeans by Thavam Ratna

A Political Gang War in Delhi7

What’s behind Arvind Kejriwal’s bloodletting within the Common Man Party?

BY CHANDRAHAS CHOUDHURY-APRIL 10, 2015

For two years, the anti-corruption-activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal had the citizens of Delhi captivated and the country’s political class running for cover. No one in the Indian capital could ignore the impassioned rhetoric of the Aam Aadmi (“Common Man”) Party, a political outfit inaugurated by the 46-year-old Kejriwal and other political neophytes — activists, lawyers, academics, journalists, and TV anchors, backed by vast numbers of student volunteers and funded primarily by members of the middle class. The Common Man Party promised, thrillingly, an “alternative” Indian politics that encompassed many ideas hitherto thought impracticable, such as complete transparency in election finance.

A Political Gang War in Delhi by Thavam Ratna

Seven policemen killed in Sukma encounter

The injured jawans at Kankerlanka police camp in Sukma.

PAVAN DAHAT-RAIPUR, April 11, 2015

At least seven jawans of Chhattisgarh police’s Special Task Force (STF) were killed and 10 were grievously injured in an encounter with the Maoists in Sukma district of South Chhattisgarh on Saturday.

“An encounter took place between the STF and the Maoists near Pidmed village of Sukma district at around 10 a.m. today. Seven STF jawans were killed in the encounter including Platoon Cammander Shankar Rao and 10 jawans were injured. The injured personnel have been airlifted to Raipur for treatment,” said a press release issued by Chhattisgarh police.

“It was a proper and planned operation by the STF to move into that area and not a chance face-off,” claimed Mr. R.K.Vij, the Additional Director General of Police (ADG), Anti-Naxal operations, Chhattisgarh when asked to reveal details of the encounter.

Apart from platoon Commander Shankar Rao, head constables Rohit Sori, Manoj Baghel, Mohan Uike and Constables Rajkumar Markam, Kiran Deshmukh, Rajman Netam were killed in the encounter, said the police press release.

Constable Madkam Kesa, Sanjay Lakda, Ranjeet Kumar, Arvind Kumar, Auxiliary Constable Kise Deva, Baddi Kanna, Madavi Lukka,Madavi Deva, Saryam Lavena and Saryam Manoj were injured in the encounter.

This area of Sukma is the base of Maoists' Battalion No.2 headed by emerging young Tribal leader Hidma who is also a member of the CPI (Maoist) Danda Karanya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC).

Keywords: Sukma encounter, Chhattisgarh, R.K.Vij

Reuters Iraq bureau chief threatened, denounced over story

A vehicle belonging to Shi’ite militia fighters pulls the body of an Islamic State fighter, who was killed during clashes with Iraqi forces, in Tikrit April 1, 2015.REUTERS/STRINGER

Sat Apr 11, 2015 9:21pm IST

(Reuters) - The Baghdad bureau chief for Reuters has left Iraq after he was threatened on Facebook and denounced by a Shi'ite paramilitary group’s satellite news channel in reaction to a Reuters report last week (read here) that detailed lynching and looting in the city of Tikrit.

The threats against journalist Ned Parker began on an Iraqi Facebook page run by a group that calls itself “the Hammer” and is believed by an Iraqi security source to be linked to armed Shi'ite groups. The April 5 post and subsequent comments demanded he be expelled from Iraq. One commenter said that killing Parker was “the best way to silence him, not kick him out.”

Three days later, a news show on Al-Ahd, a television station owned by Iranian-backed armed group Asaib Ahl al-Haq, broadcast a segment on Parker that included a photo of him. The segment accused the reporter and Reuters of denigrating Iraq and its government-backed forces, and called on viewers to demand Parker be expelled.

The pressure followed an April 3 report by Parker and two colleagues detailing human rights abuses in Tikrit after government forces and Iranian-backed militias liberated the city from the Islamic State extremist group. Two Reuters journalists in the city witnessed the lynching of an Islamic State fighter by Iraqi federal police. The report also described widespread incidents of looting and arson in the city, which local politicians blamed on Iranian-backed militias.

A Reuters spokeswoman said the agency stood by the accuracy and fairness of its report. Facebook, acting on a request from Reuters, removed a series of threatening posts this week.

The threats appear to be part of a broader power struggle in Iraq. The country is divided between its Shi'ite Muslim majority, which now dominates the government, and its Sunni Muslim minority, which held sway under the late dictator Saddam Hussein. Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, a moderate Shi'ite, is attempting to defeat Islamic State – a radical Sunni offshoot of Al Qaeda that has seized huge portions of Iraqi territory – while at the same time trying to mend fences with the broader Sunni community.

The Iraqi military is rebuilding following its collapse last June. That has forced Abadi’s government to rely on a constellation of Shi'ite paramilitary forces backed by Iran. The paramilitary forces, which include Asaib Ahl al-Haq, routinely denounce Western media coverage of Iraq’s internal conflict.

Abadi is scheduled to meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on April 14 to discuss the campaign against Islamic State.

Rafid Jaboori, a spokesman for Abadi, said the government was “definitely against any message that encourages hatred or intimidation, whether it comes from a local or international network.” At the same time, the al-Ahd segment “was primarily a criticism of the government, something that we have to live with” he said.

Jaboori said the environment for media “has improved significantly since this prime minister took over.” He advised any foreign journalists who feel threatened to call the Iraqi police for help. Many Iraqis – both Sunni and Shi'ites – do not trust the police, some of whom are believed to have links with the Shi'ite paramilitaries.

Michael Lavallee, a U.S. State Department spokesperson, said: “We condemn all forms of intimidation and violence toward the media as the protection of journalistic freedoms is an essential aspect of all democratic societies.”

He said the State Department had spoken with Abadi’s office “to raise our concerns about the potentially dangerous atmosphere created by an editorial broadcast on a private Iraqi television network about the Reuters bureau chief and the Reuters staff in Iraq.” The State Department “will continue to closely monitor the treatment of international media in Iraq and raise objection to any form of intimidation that may inhibit the ability of the media to perform their work.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a media advocacy group, says that at least 15 journalists have been killed in Iraq since the beginning of 2013.

(Edited by Michael Williams and Simon Robinson)

Nuke deal lays basis for upturn in US-Iran ties

April 8, 2015, 8:48 pm

US Secretary of State John Kerry (2L) and US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman (2R) listen as US President Barack Obama address the US people about the status of Iran nuclear program talks at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne after Iran nuclear program talks finished with extended sessions April 2, 2015 in Lausanne. AFP

For the West, the nuclear power accord with Iran gives the West substantial relief from its nuclear power related worries. If seriously implemented, some progress could be registered in taking forward the global Nuclear Non-proliferation regime and in keeping the Middle East free of the possibility of nuclear warfare. Needless to say, the Middle East is proving one of the world’s most volatile conflict zones and it goes without saying that a nuclear-powered Iran would have led to many more major powers in the Middle East acquiring a nuclear weapons capability.

US President Barrack Obama could claim two very significant foreign policy victories for his administration, following swiftly on the heels of each other over the past couple of weeks, which could be considered historic.. One is the drastic improvement in US ties with Cuba and the other, the breakthrough nuclear power deal with Iran.

In both cases, the respective processes of rapprochement open the possibility of decades of mutually-hostile bilateral relations being finally laid to rest. Looked at positively, these breakthroughs in ties are ‘win-win’ situations which the states concerned would do well to build on and consolidate.

With its process of ‘détente’ with the US, Cuba could be said to be giving its foreign policy a more marked pragmatic orientation and this could be seen as an inevitable consequence of its efforts to liberalize its economy. It’s a typical instance of ‘Economics driving politics.’

On the US-Iran relations front too it could be said that economics has emerged as a prime shaping factor because the deal concerned gives Iran the opportunity of containing some of the adverse material consequences that flowed from the years-long West-initiated economic sanctions regime which was imposed on it.

On the face of it, benefits could accrue to Iran as a result of the nuclear power deal with the West and these pluses need to be attributed to the substantial foreign policy changes which the Hassan Rouhani administration has initiated in Iran. Here too a spirit of pragmatism prevails. Rather than blindly follow his predecessors’ anti-West line in foreign policy, Rouhani has chosen to improve Iran’s ties with the West and it is this breaking of new ground in foreign relations which has paved the way for the nuclear power agreement. An immediate positive fallout from the nuclear accord is the lifting of economic sanctions which brought Iran considerable material hardships over the years.

More particularly, a scaling down of Iran’s nuclear programme, as envisaged in the accord, would have the effect of easing Western fears over Israel’s security. But, right now, the Netanyahu administration in Israel is not buying into Western assurances on this score and it will require considerable Western exertions to convince Israel that no nuclear threat could emanate from Iran from now on.

However, by easing its tensions with Iran, the US has come some distance in eliminating a decades -long legacy of mutual distrust and hostility between the countries. To be sure, the current relaxation of tensions between the countries would not lead to a 'cosy' relationship on the lines of ties which were conducted by the US with Iran decades ago, when the Shah of Iran was considered by the West as its 'policeman' in the Gulf region. But the 'detente' process may help ease some of the West's security concerns in the Middle East.. For instance, it will enable the West to conduct its military campaign against the terroristic IS in a more focused manner, considering that the latter is a 'Sunni Muslim' outfit and Iran is reportedly more aligned with Shiite Islamic groups.

But reassuring Israel would prove a tough nut to crack for the US. Going by reports, the Netanyahu government wants the US nuclear accord with Iran to be tied to the condition that Iran fully recognizes the state of Israel. In other words, Israel wants Iran to subscribe to the 'two state' formula in resolving the Middle East tangle.

The US has taken exception to these Israeli conditions by pointing out that resolving the nuke issue with Iran does not bear any relation to the question of Iran recognizing Israel. Apparently, the US would need to exercise the deftest diplomacy to take Israel along with it on the nuclear issue. In the weeks and months ahead the US would need to prove to Israel that there is no basis to its fears that Iran poses a nuclear threat to it. Besides, the US should ensure that Jewish settlements on contested territories in the Middle East should cease.

More broadly, the international community, inclusive of the biggest powers of the West, would need to work towards undermining the perceived legitimacy of violent religious fundamantalism, for the purpose of seeing some stability and peace in the Middle East. Currently, it is hard line attitudes across the numerous divides in the Middle East which are getting in the way of a negotiated settlement being worked out to the Middle East imbroglio. Accordingly, generally speaking, moderate opinion should be fostered in the region, which would favour accommodation and tolerance across the divides of the Middle East.

To be sure, these are no easy tasks. But the endemic turmoil and bloodshed in the Middle East, ought to drive home to all sections concerned that armed force and militancy cannot enable the region to clinch longstanding peace and stability. From this point of view, the West's show of force against groups such as the IS, is unlikely prove fruitful in the medium and long terms. Soft power and not hard power seems to be the answer to the Middle East's recurring agony.

Kenya criticised for closure of money transfer firms following Garissa attack

NGOs caution that revoking licences of remittance companies over fears they are linked to al-Shabaab will hit a vital lifeline for ordinary citizens

The closure of this money-transfer service in Nairobi and others like it to will make it harder for ordinary Somalis to pay their way say the NGOs.

The closure of this money-transfer service in Nairobi and others like it to will make it harder for ordinary Somalis to pay their way, say NGOs. Photograph: Khalil Senosi/AP

Mark Anderson-Friday 10 April 2015

NGOs have raised concerns about the disruption of a vital humanitarian lifeline after Kenya ordered the closure of 13 remittance companies specialising in money transfers to Somalia.

The closures, a response to allegations that the firms have links with al-Shabaab, follow the Islamist group’s deadliest attack on Kenyan soil, the Garissa University shootings that left 148 people dead on 2 April. The shutdowns will make it harder for ordinary Somalis to pay for food, water, healthcare and education, according to a statement issued by 15 NGOs.

Somalis depend on their friends and relatives abroad to send home about $1.3bn (£890m) annually. This amounts to more than all development and humanitarian aid to the country combined, according to Keeping the Lifeline Open, a report by Oxfam, Adeso and the Inter-American Dialogue.

Rahma Mohamed, 39, lives in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, a self-declared country in northern Somalia. She depends on money transfers from her ex-husband, who lives in Europe, to support herself and her eight children.

“I don’t work and I do not have any other source of income, so I can’t imagine any other way I would support my family if the remittance companies are closed,” she said.

The concerns raised by Mohamed were reflected in the NGOs’ statement. “Somali families are losing their only formal, transparent and regulated channel through which to send and receive money,” they said.

“Many of the companies whose licences have been suspended are delivering legitimate, formal remittances to the country and should be allowed to continue their services.”

The Kenyan government is under pressure to respond to last week’s attack, which left students hiding in cupboards for days. On Sunday and Monday it launched air strikes against al-Shabaab camps near the border with Somalia.

On Tuesday, the government issued a blacklist of 85 individuals, groups and companies that will have their licences revoked, preventing them from conducting business in Kenya. Included in the list were al-Qaida, Islamic State and the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram.

Banks in the US and the UK have also closed accounts used by Somali remittance firms for international money transfers, likewise fearing that funds could end up in the hands of al-Shabaab and other militant groups.

But the aid agencies warned that closing money transfer firms would hinder humanitarian and development operations, making them more difficult to pay for.

Experts have long raised concerns that such closures will drive money transfers further underground, making them even more difficult to monitor. As Laura Hammond, senior lecturer in development studies at Soas, University of London,has observed: “People will send money the way they did before Somali money transfer companies were formed: in cash, stashed in bags and pockets, or in other ways that will be impossible to track.”

Rights groups and NGOs said the Kenyan government was punishing civil society groups rather than stifling funding sources for militants.

“This list raises more questions than answers,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Individuals and entities on the list, including licensed agencies providing essential funds, have a right to transparency and due process. Including respected human rights groups like Muslims for Human Rightsand Haki Africa, who have done excellent work documenting abuses by security forces, also raises the suspicion that this may be backlash for their critical work.”

The statement was issued by Adeso, CARE, CEFA, Concern Worldwide, COOPI Cooperazione Internazionale, the Danish Refugee Council, KAALO Aid and Development, Mercy Corps, Mercy-USA for Aid and Development, Norwegian Church Aid, Oxfam, Polish Humanitarian Action, Solutions for Humanity Somalia,VSF Suisse, and World Vision Somalia.

The statement said: “While recognising the many challenges faced by the government of Kenya in trying to stem terrorism, a disruption to flows of genuine remittances to Somalia should be avoided. If sustained, these closures could prove costly, cause inefficiencies, and at worse force some aid agencies to close their operations.”

Defense Secretary Hails US-Japan Alliance

Carla Babb

--April 08, 2015
TOKYO—

Beginning his first Asia tour, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter laid out the U.S. commitment to Japanese security Wednesday in Tokyo, urging restraint in territorial disputes between Japan and China.

China’s dispute with Japan over Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea and its controversial actions in the South China Sea set the backdrop for U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter’s talks with Japan’s defense minister.

"We don't, as we frequently say, take a stand in any of those territorial disputes. We take a strong stand against the militarization of these disputes," he said.

Responding to Carter's statements, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying called on the U.S. to be "more responsible."

"Now as you call can see, China and the relevant countries have reached a consensus to continue to push forward for the resolution of the relevant issue through dialogue," Hua said.

"We hope the U.S. side can respect the wishes of China and relevant countries to resolve the problem through dialogue, say more responsible things, and make more responsible moves, so it can genuinely play a constructive role in maintaining regional peace and stability," she said

President Barack Obama last year confirmed that U.S.-Japan security treaties apply to East China Sea islands that are at the center of a dispute with China.

In recent years China has challenged Japan's control of the uninhabited islands, which are called Diaoyu in China, with repeated air and naval patrols near the disputed territory.

China has used similar assertive tactics to strengthen its wide-ranging claims to other disputed areas in the nearby South China Sea, unnerving many of its neighbors.

Rebalance to Asia-Pacific

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, left, and Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani shake hands prior to a meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo, Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Carter’s meeting with Defense Minister Gen Nakatani reaffirmed the U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific, which involves shifting more political and military weight to the fast-growing region.

It’s a shift Japan expert Sheila Smith said is very important.

“We are at a particularly critical moment, I think, in the Asia-Pacific. And everybody looks over across the Pacific and they see this rising new China,” she said.

Chinese defense spending has increased by double digits for five consecutive years. The United States is counterbalancing this rise by strengthening regional alliances, but says it does not want to contain China.
Carter’s Tokyo meetings are aimed at firming up Japan’s new guidelines on defense cooperation with the United States.

“I think the guidelines are going to be very effective in making sure that nobody miscalculates the importance of this alliance for both of our countries,” Smith said.

In China, state-backed media claim Japan is using the United States’ increasing reliance on its Asian ally to enflame tensions on historical and territorial issues.

Officials will finalize the Japan guidelines at the end of this month when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits President Barack Obama in Washington. They’ll include new security cooperation in cyber and space domains and increased military coordination.

China under Xi Jinping- A New Trend in Foreign Policy?

by D. S. Rajan

There are signs that President Xi Jinping of China has begun a process to transform the direction of the country’s foreign policy course by beginning to focus on economic interests. Does this mean a change in the country’s hitherto followed assertive core interest-based external line? No definite answer to this question can be given at the moment, but appearing meaningful in this regard is Xi Jinping’s declaration (Bo Ao Forum, March 2015) that his country is ready to sign friendship treaties with neighbors.

China Under Xi Jinping a New Trend in Foreign Policy by Thavam Ratna

Killer tornado destroys US town

A tornado kills two people and injures at least 11 others after ripping through the town of Fairdale in northern Illinois.

SATURDAY 11 APRIL 2015
Houses were reduced to rubble as the storm virtually flattened large areas of the town. Rescue teams with dogs searched through the ruins for trapped residents after the tornado hit on Thursday night.

According to the National Weather Service, the tornado was of an EF-4 level, reaching wind speeds of about 300 kilometers per hour (186mph).

Several motorists filmed the massive twister as it drove across the countryside, damaging roads and cutting power lines.

Fairdale resident Taylor Strehl said: "It sounded almost like a jet engine blowing wind past the house. Our whole home seemed to almost vibrate. That is the reason why this building was knocked over because of such an unbelievable force."

He added: "It's uncommon that we have things like this here. But people know it's short, 30 seconds of terror, and then things are on the up and up."

Friday, April 10, 2015

WAR CRIMES IN SRI LANKA -

What the international experts say (5)

Desmond de Silva QC-April 9, 2015, 12:00 pm
Finally, the government was alleged to have deprived civilians in the conflict zone from receiving necessary humanitarian aid. This allegation is based on the fact that there was a significant shortage of food and medicine available despite deliveries that were made to the conflict zones.

War Crimes in Sri Lanka by Thavam Ratna

TNA is Entitled to the Post of the Leader of the

Opposition – ITAK

[R Sampanthan MP, Parliamentary Group, ITAK]

10/04/2015

In a letter to the Speaker of the parliament the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) has pointed out that in the present set up ‘ No member of parliament elected from the UPFA or UNP can be the Leader of the Opposition. This clearly is the legal position as well as one that accords with parliamentary tradition, both of our country and the Commonwealth. The resultant position is that it is the ITAK that is entitled to the post of the Leader of the Opposition, having 14 members of parliament.’ ITAK is constituent party of theTamil National Alliance.

The letter follows:

Hon Speaker,
Parliament,
Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte.

Dear Sir,

Leader of the Opposition

We write in relation to the above matter to put on record our position with regard to the above.

At the conclusion of the General Election held in April 2010, the Commissioner General of Elections informed Parliament that contestants from four political parties were returned to Parliament and the current Parliament therefore is constituted by members of four registered political parties, namely, the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), the United National Party (UNP), the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) and the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) and no other. The UPFA formed the government and the UNP as the largest party in the opposition, was given the post of Leader of the Opposition.

After the conclusion of the Presidential Election in January 2015 the Leader of the UNP has become the Prime Minister and a number of the members of parliament of the UNP are Cabinet Ministers constituting the government. The Leader of the UPFA is the President and a member of the Cabinet (in fact the head of the Cabinet) and a number of UPFA members of parliament (in excess of 26) are Ministers, some of them in the Cabinet. Therefore the Government today is composed of both the UPFA and the UNP, disentitling both of those parties from occupying the seat of the Leader of the Opposition. No member of parliament elected from the UPFA or UNP can be the Leader of the Opposition. This clearly is the legal position as well as one that accords with parliamentary tradition, both of our country and the Commonwealth. The resultant position is that it is the ITAK that is entitled to the post of the Leader of the Opposition, having 14 members of parliament. The DNA has 7 members, one of whom is also a Cabinet Minister now.

We consider it necessary to write this to you in view of the views expressed by you on Wednesday, the 8th of April 2015.
K Thurairajasingham, General Secretary

R Sampanthan MP, Parliamentary Group