Sri Lanka: Release of 1000 Acres From HSZ Completed

11/04/2015
An extent of 570 more acres of land in Valali and Kankasanthurai South in the Grama Seva Division, Valikamam sector in the Jaffna peninsula were released by the Security Forces to the District Secretary for Jaffna Friday (10) morning for distribution among rightful owners.

Under today’s phase, 397 acres from Kankasanthurai South and 173 acres from Valali in the Valikamam sector have now been released to the District Secretariat, thus completing the extent of 1000 acres assured by the Government.

Friday’s release of these lands was the second segment of the project which was initiated earlier by HE the President Maithripala Sirisena on March 23, 2015 when he visited the peninsula for release of 430 acres to the owners under the first phase.

In keeping with the President’s vision, a total of 1000 acres of land from the High Security Zones (HSZ) have now been accordingly released to the owners under this programme, says Brigadier Jayanath Jayaweera, acting Military Spokesman and Director Media at Army Headquarters.  (Ends)           SLARMY 

27 வருடங்களின் பின்னர் நிலங்களைப் பார்வையிட ஆவலுடன் சென்ற மக்கள்! கண்ணீருடன் திரும்பிய சோகம்

[ சனிக்கிழமை, 11 ஏப்ரல் 2015, 12:56.46 PM GMT ]

வலி,வடக்கு உயர்பாதுகாப்பு வலயத்திற்குட்பட்ட 9 கிராம சேவகர் பிரிவுகளில் மீள்குடியேற்றத்திற்காக அழைக்கப்பட்ட மக்கள் இன்றைய தினமும் ஏமாற்றத்துடன் திருப்பி அனுப்பப்பட்டுள்ள நிலையில் தங்கள் காணிகளை, வீடுகளை 27 வருடங்களின் பின்னர் ஆவலுடன் பார்க்க வந்த மக்கள் கண்ணீருடன் வீடுகளுக்கு திரும்பியிருக்கின்றனர்.

Sri Lanka Release of 1000 Acres From HSZ Completed by Thavam Ratna

The Solution to the Ethnic Problem 

By Izeth Hussain-April 10, 2015, 8:11 pm 

The situation on the ethnic front seems to be very confused, but we can be certain, absolutely certain, on one point: the solution to the Tamil ethnic problem stares us in the face. I have the temerity to use the definite article "the" rather than "a", meaning the solution with the emphasis on "the" and not a solution which would imply one possible solution among others. The solution I have in mind can be encapsulated in the following formula: 13A-+ (13A minus plus). It means 13A minus police and land powers plus a fully functioning democracy. In this formula the plus factor of a fully functioning democracy is more important than anything else.

The Solution to the Ethnic Problem by Thavam Ratna

All those who voted for Swan wake up and be alert ! Maithripala’s duplicity shall be defeated

(Lanka-e-News- 11.April.2015, 3.30PM) It has come to light that it is none other than the incumbent president Maithripala Sirisena who is behind the efforts to perpetuate the evil most abominable executive presidential powers under the 17 th amendment despite making promises to the people at the last presidential election that the controversial and most reprehensible presidential powers will be abolished. 

Here are two instances confirming the justifiable suspicions which have arisen that Maithripala is seeking to tenaciously hold on to the obnoxious executive powers after amending them minutely, thereby brazenly and blatantly acting in breach of the solemn promises he gave to the people who toiled and the various other forces that risked  their necks to make the Swan symbol of his  to win at the last election.

One such instance is : The decision taken at the SLFP committee that met yesterday(09) in connection with the constitutional amendment .Apart from the supreme court verdict that a referendum is necessary , it was decided that if support is to be extended to the proposed 19 th amendment ,the proposed electoral reforms should also be amended under the 20 th amendment simultaneously. It is to be noted , the Elections commissioner had already clearly stated , if the electoral reforms are to be implemented, at least a period of three months is necessary , meaning that the support of the SLFP will not be extended within the 100 days program to the 19 th amendment under the circumstances.

Among those who participated when taking this decision was : Dr. G L Peiris , who was not a party leader demanding the continuance of  executive presidency but who attends the meeting of party leaders and creates obstacles. Others at the meeting were Mahinda Rajapakse’s SLFP Gen. secretary  Anura Priyadharshana , Susil Premajayantha, Nimal Siripala and Dilan Perera who slung mud fiercely at Maitripala during the Presidential campaign describing Maithripala as one who deflowered a young woman. 

Interestingly, it was Maithripala who headed that committee . When this is the actual position ,none can blame those who harbor  suspicions it is with the knowledge and support of Maithripala that the progress of the 19th amendment to abolish the executive presidency in fulfillment of the aspirations and hopes of the people is being impeded.

Maithripala who before the presidential elections loudly and proudly announced that after becoming the president he will act neutrally sans party affiliations , subsequently when he took over the SLFP leadership justified this move on the ground that he took over this leadership to enlist the support of that party to abolish  the executive presidency under the 100 days interim program of the new government in keeping with  his election promises  to the people. Now, when there is no SLFP support to accomplish his goal , and Maithripala is  taking refuge in various excuses to justify the hindrances , the irritated and annoyed majority who voted for the Swan are naturally questioning whether Maithripala took over the SLFP leadership to scratch his big b……ls.

The second instance  that gives ground to suspect Maithripala is in league with those who are stymieing is : The latest directive of the attorney general (AG) today(10) which seeks even to change the verdict of  supreme court (SC) giving restricted permission pertaining to the 19 th amendment. That is ,the clause which stipulates the president shall  ‘act on the advice of the Prime Minister’ to be amended to  ‘discuss with the prime minister .‘

It can be justifiably concluded that these maneuvers are being made with the full knowledge and  consent of Maithripala because , when the petition regarding the 19 th amendment was being heard in the supreme court , the AG at no stage made any such suggestion , and the AG now taking this stance  even when  there was  no such stipulation in the SC opinion that  was announced . 

It is well for Maithripala to remember that 6.2 million people voted for the Swan symbol to abolish the executive presidency , and not for him to dilly dally citing bogus reasons or to leap from tree to tree exhibiting the favorite habits of his ancestors or to indulge in double deals and double games. Though those games and sports may derive enjoyment for him , the people cannot be made to suffer any longer on account of political duplicity and chameleon propensity , no matter how high the leader may be in the hierarchy . It is well to remind , a  leader who strives to forget or digress from the  purpose and perspectives , and casts away his responsibilities towards the masses who elected him , his political journey will be short-lived, and founder on the rocks.

All the forces and the people that  voted the ‘Swan’ into power are ready holding arms to provide the necessary support if  a referendum  is needed  to abolish the executive presidency . The mustering of support to secure a two third majority is the responsibility of the SLFP led by Maithripala , if nor it is Maithripala’s  alone based on his promises . This is the inescapable conclusion.

In the circumstances , all the forces and the people who voted for the ‘Swan’ must awake and be alert.  Is Maithripala getting ready to abolish the executive presidency , or under that pretext trying to perpetuate the evil executive presidency and dance the devil like his predecessors,  giving  fresh lease of life to the most abominable executive presidency under a new color and cover ? In which case his offensive approach must be nipped in the bud .

---------------------------
by     (2015-04-11 10:16:33)

SRI LANKA: POLITICS OF CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM – ANALYSIS

By Dr. S. I. Keethaponcalan-APRIL 11, 2015

The change of government in January 2015 in Sri Lanka turned the attention of the nation, at least partially, to constitutional reform. President Sirisena won the presidential election promising to make changes to the system of governance. Without wasting too much time, the present government, first released a draft proposal, then published the draft bill called the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, and finally announced amendments to the 19th Amendment. The proposals entail several elements. This article, however, deals with the central aspect, i.e, powers of the president and the politics played around this issue.

Sri Lanka Politics of Constitutional Reform – Analysis by Thavam Ratna

The 19th Amendment, & The Dangers Ahead

By Rajiva Wijesingha –April 11, 2015

Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha MP

The Supreme Court has given an excellent ruling on the gazette draft 19^thAmendment to the Constitution. But I fear there is some danger that its verdict might be subverted, and it is essential that Parliament be vigilant.

It may also be necessary to seek clarification as possible from the Court. Its intentions may be perverted, because it very properly looked essentially atthe Amendment as gazetted. There may be claims however that it also considered the amendments that were smuggled in as it were into its deliberations. But it has not ruled on these.

With regard to the text before it, it was categorical in rejecting efforts to transfer the power of the President to the Prime Minister. The clauses it has dealt with clearly were what Jayampathy Wickremaratne had claimed were included through human error. These were the changes to the Chapter on The Executive, Chapter VIII, which made the Prime Minister the head of the Cabinet of Ministers and allowed him to determine the number of Ministers and the assignment of subjects and functions.

The meeting of Party Leaders, held on March 15^th, had agreed that the attempt to make the President act only on the advice of the Prime Minister (through a new 33A) be rejected. That section in the original draft was removed, and one would have assumed that the changes to Chapter VIII also would have gone. But Jayampathy described these as consequential provisions which he did not bother to check.

He did say, in admitting the error, that they would be removed, but instead what we found was that 33A was brought back in the amendments he subsequently gave to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court was not required to look into these, and it did not do so in its judgment, except to refer to an amendment that it thought would satisfy objections raised to one of the provisions in the gazette.

The way Ranil referred to this in his speech in Parliament made me realize however that he would try to claim that the subsequent amendments had been looked at by the Court, and had not been rejected. This would be casuistry of the highest order. After all the Court made clear its views on the authority of the President when it wrote ‘If the people have conferred such power on the President, it must be either exercised by the President directly or someone who derives authority from the President….If the inalienable sovereignty of the people which they reposed on the President is trust is exercised by any other agency or instrument who do not have any authority from the President, then such exercise would necessarily affect the sovereignty of the People. It is in this backdrop the Court in the Nineteenth Amendment Determination came to a conclusion that the transfer, relinquishment of removal of a power attributed to one organ of government to another organ or body would be inconsistent with Article 3 read with Article 4 of the Constitution. Though Article 4 provides the form and manner of exercise of the sovereignty of the people, the ultimate act or decision of his executive functions must be retained by the President. So long as the President remains the Head of the Executive, the exercise of his powers remain supreme of sovereign in the executive field and others to whom such power is given must derive the authority from the President or exercise the Executive power vested in the President as a delegation of the President.’

The smuggled in 33A subverts this principle, but I suspect Ranil will try to claim that it has been approved by the Court. Certainly so substantial an amendment, which clearly transfers a power attributed to one organ of government to another, cannot come in siply as an amendment. But Ranil will try to skate over this, and how he will do this was apparent from his claim that this virtual usurpation of powers will not apply to the currently elected President. But that was not accurate, since the gazette draft makes clear that the President loses much authority after the next General Election.

The country cannot leave such important issues to the subterfuges Ranil will employ. I hope it will be possible for the matter to be canvassed in the Court, which should be asked to rule on whether the smuggled in 33A can be passed without a referendum. The wording of the judgment, as quoted above, makes clear that there can be no such derogation of power. But it may be best to get a clear ruling from the Court if possible, otherwise the Amendment may well be smuggled in to Parliament.

It was agreed at the meeting to decide on when the Bill would be taken up that only the gazetted version could be voted on at the 2nd reading, which is standard practice. I suspect there will be a lot of amendments, including my own, which will try to introduce specific Cabinet portfolios. But it will be necessary to discuss these at length, and also to disallow anything that contradicts the very clear opinion of the Court regarding the continuing Executive authority of the President. I trust the Speaker will receive legal advice to this effect, consulting the Court if necessary, and rule out of order any amendments that go against the clear ruling of the Court.

CaFFE demands immediate electoral reforms

Saturday, 11 April 2015

Electoral reforms are much discussed and are in the agenda of the political parties these days. There is an engagement between political parties, civil society organizations and election officials about the feasibility of such reforms and the time it would take to come up and implement the electoral reforms.

President Sirisena’s manifesto
In his election manifesto, President Sirisena said that ‘Another serious problem that our Sri Lanka Freedom Party led government failed to address during the last twenty years is the change of the electoral system. The existing electoral system is a main spring encouraging corruption and violence. Candidates have to spend a colossal sum of money due to the preferential system. I will change this completely. It will guarantee the abolition of the preferential system and ensure that every electorate will have a Member of Parliament of its own. The new electoral system will be a combination of the firstpast-the post system and the proportional representation of defeated candidates. Since the total composition of Parliament would not change by this proposal I would be able to get the agreement of all political parties represented in Parliament. Further, wastage and clashes could be minimised since electoral campaigns would be limited to a single electorate only.’

CaFFE’s proposals
Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) has always been concerned with electoral reforms and has been pushing for a change in political culture, to ensure that basic tenets of democracy are respected. After the Presidential Election on January 8 CaFFE commenced a dialogue with civil society organizations, trade unions, intellectuals, electoral administrators and other stakeholders on electoral reforms.

The initial draft were presented at ‘Nagarodaya’ on March 2 by Prof. Rohan Samarajiva and Dr. Sujata Gamage.

Media has reported that political party leaders agreed to a suggestion made by the Commissioner of Elections to reform the system so that 134 MPs are appointed for newly delimited electorates, 75 MPs through PR system and another 25 through the National List.This can be done in less than 3 months as the country has the technical tools and experts to handle the technical aspect of the reforms, i.e. delimitation, in 90 days.

Thus a base document on electoral reforms was presented at a discussion held at Foundation Institute yesterday (March 11th) where Dr. Sujata Gamage, Professor Rohan Samarajiva, Mr. H.G. Dharmadasa, Former Additional Commissioner of Elections and Former Director General of Registration of Persons and Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, Executive Director of CaFFE spoke about various aspects of electoral reforms.

In their presentation titled ‘Deeper analysis of shortlist of options and the details of how revised election process will work’, Dr. Sujata Gamage and Professor Rohan Samarajiva discussed three basic principles on which the new reforms can be based on.

CaFFE believes that there are three aspects of electoral reforms
- Political Aspect – Amending the constitution and an outline of what reforms should be.

- Technical Aspect (the Delimitation Process) – once amendment is done, a delimitation commission needs to be appointed, to figure out the size of electorates, voters per electorate, what should be electorates with multiple seats or other forms of proportional arrangements. This can be done in less than 90 days, thus if there is a political will amending the electoral process would not be difficult.

- When to implement the new electoral system

CaFFE is of the view that electoral reforms have to be completed and the delimitation process initiated within the 100-days. When to hold the election is a political decision, which has to be separated from the issue of electoral reforms.

If the leaders are in a hurry to hold an election, they can agree about the reforms (constitutional amendment) but hold the election before delimitation is completed. Thus they can hold the next general election under the existing system and use the new system for subsequent elections.

As an organization that monitors the 100 days programme we see that the desire among politicians regarding the electoral reforms is low. If there is political will, the current government had adequate time to carry out the reforms within the 100 days. That’s why we started this initiative to create a discussion on electoral reforms and attached herewith is the base document we have prepared based on our research and discussion.

Analysis report 

Simulation of three FPP+PR+NL scenarios in electoral reforms using results of 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2010 general elections

The distribution of FPP and PR seats across 22 electoral districts used in the simulation of the three scenarios 140+70+25 and 150+75+25, and 160+50+25

Please note that this document may be subject to change as our dialogue continues.

(The above documents on data analysis were done by Dr. Sujata Gamage and Professor Rohan Samarajiva)

The real problem

Editorial-April 10, 2015, 7:43 pm 

The government is all out to have the 19th Amendment to the Constitution passed. The executive presidency is vested with draconian powers and they must be done away with urgently and constitutional safeguards introduced to restore democracy, we are told.

However let’s not dupe ourselves into believing that the abolition of the executive presidency or the curtailment of powers vested therein will be a kind of panacea. Most of the problems that warranted amendments to the Constitution have been caused by the presidents rather than the executive presidency. The sad truth is that we have had to weaken that institution because we cannot trust our presidents with power. We didn’t have any problems with the Constitution or the executive presidency during President D. B. Wijetunga’s tenure, did we? He never let the unbridled power get the better of him. He acted with restraint without making a nuisance of himself.

Having become President following the assassination of his predecessor, Wijetunga presided over one of the worst political crises in the country. But, he ensured a smooth transition of power following his party’s electoral defeats in the late 1994. He took on the LTTE with might and main, but never did he ride roughshod over the citizenry. He maintained a very low profile. His example is worthy of emulation.

A powerful prime minister with a steamroller majority in Parliament could become as problematic as an executive president. Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s United Front government which came to power in 1970, it may be recalled, abused its two-thirds majority to extend the life of Parliament by two years. The late President J. R. Jayewardene went a step ahead and replaced a general election with a referendum in 1982 to rule the country for six more years while retaining his five-sixths majority.

True, the situation took a turn for the worse after 1978, when the executive presidency came into being. But, it is because of the kind of politicians we are burdened with that the Constitution has to be amended in this manner and the country is in a mess.

No amount of tinkering with the Constitution or even the promulgation of a new one will solve our problems so long as the country is governed by power hungry politicians who subjugate the national interest to their personal agendas. We need statesmen who can be trusted with power. That is the only solution.

Abuse of privileges

The executive president’s legal immunity continues to worry champions of democracy. No one should be above the law in a democratic society where everybody is considered equal. Therefore, it is argued that not even the head of state should be immune from prosecution. JVP Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath pointed out in a TV debate on Thursday night that the incumbent government had reneged on its promise to strip the executive presidency of legal immunity.

Is it only the executive president who should be deprived of legal immunity? True, presidents have abused power because they were above the law. But, parliamentarians also abuse their privileges with impunity. They utter diabolical lies, insult people and make various bogus claims in Parliament. The victims have no way of replying to them or seeking justice. That there are anti-social elements in the garb of lawmakers is only too well known. These dregs, too, enjoy the freedom of the wild ass.

Parliamentarians should, no doubt, have certain privileges without which they cannot carry out their legislative duties and functions. But, action should be taken to prevent their privileges being abused to defame people.

At a time efforts are being made to reduce the presidential powers, serious thought should be given enabling the people to defend themselves when their rights are blatantly violated by parliamentarians who act in a cavalier manner.

Political Patronage Of Criminals & Police Dilemmas

By Rajan Hoole –April 11, 2015

Dr. Rajan Hoole

Law Enforcement and the Security Services: Politicisation and Demoralisation – 8

The assassin of Vijaya Kumaratunga was in police custody and was killed off. The Commission looking into the assassination found the Police guilty of killing the assassin to cover up for Premadasa. The truth about the Police action, as we reliably understand, was ironic. One element in the Police action was revenge for the assassin having killed one police officer and injuring another.

There was also another important element. Several senior police officers involved in anti- JVP operations did believe that Premadasa, first prime minister and later president, was in league with the JVP, particularly with regard to eliminating his rivals in the UNP. They also believed that the link was through Somawansa Amarasinghe, a member of the JVP politburo who was Minister Sirisena Cooray’s brother-in- law. There was no evidence for this belief. It was a gut-feeling founded on circumstantial factors. Many would today dismiss these suggestions as ridiculous. Wherever the truth may lie, one must keep these beliefs in mind to understand how people thought and acted during that crucial era.

These police officers believed that key persons arrested by them, whether JVP operatives or underworld figures, may in time be released through political influence. One police officer said, “You may not approve of this, but if you want to fight crime in this country, you cannot do it through the courts. Almost every leading underworld figure has a powerful politician as patron, and it makes it very difficult to pin them down in court.” Good examples are Sothi Upali and Gonawela Sunil. The latter was convicted for rape and was released from prison by Jayewardene under an amnesty specially designed for him.

Police officers who were disgusted with the collusion between the UNP government and criminals were quick to become disillusioned with the PA government, which was newly elected in 1994. A police officer on election duty in the Badulla District met with the party of a PA candidate. Going a little further, he discovered that the brother of UNP candidate Wickremaratne had been badly beaten by the party he had passed. The incident was recorded in the investigation book by the local area inspector. The victim died about the same time that the assailant was installed as deputy minister. The latter charged the inspector who did his duty with maliciously making a false report. Justice was stalled.

Police officers identified several prominent PA men with gangland connections, although they were not allowed the same freedom that their UNP counterparts had during UNP rule. One cannot say for how long this will remain true. A recent case just before the October 2000 general elections is probably just the tip of the iceberg. A new van belonging to a businessman was stolen at a traffic light junction in Colombo by thugs who beat up the driver. Much later it was recovered by the Police along with other stolen vehicles and returned. The Police said that the vehicle had been used for election campaigning by a PA minister and they will not be filing charges. In this situation, several police officers opine that since it is impractical to fight crime by eliminating politicians who harbour criminals, the next best thing is to eliminate hard core criminals against whom there is considerable evidence. As with Vijaya Kumaratunge’s assassin, even under the PA, one now and then hears of a well-known criminal dying after a reported gun-battle or an escape attempt.

The fact that many policemen justify extra- judicial measures has its roots in the criminalisation of the State. Although the elite as a protected group are often not unhappy with extra-judicial measures, they are no recipe for the goals of justice, equality and social harmony. Take for instance two examples, both of which are part of this country’s experience.

During the late 1980s an important hospital in this country was affected by JVP-instigated strike action. Employees and then doctors walked out. The Police went there and could make no impact. Patients hardly in a state to move and mothers on the point of delivery dragged themselves out of the hospital. Police officers watching this felt very angry. They made inquiries and obtained the names of two employees identified as the ring leaders. Through the hospital authorities their addresses were obtained. They were ‘neutralised’ and there were no further strikes. This is the kind of action members of the elite have approvingly described as ‘fighting fire with fire’.

But then the PA government that followed has been given little credit for greater democratic tolerance, although similar situations have been created. This time, most ironically, by the Government Medical Officers’ Association, who struck for demands going contrary to the Government’s political programme of devolving power to the regions. Many in the same class of people who approved of ‘fighting fire with fire’ were at least uncomfortable when the Police so much as questioned the GMOA leaders. Extra-judicial measures therefore work – and then no more than temporarily – only with people from the vulnerable classes. In the long run they will lead to violent social upheaval. The justification for extra-judicial measures is inter-twined with the criminalisation of politics and as long as the ruling class is happy to canvass mafia bosses and gangsters to join political parties, and the others remain complacent about it, this state of affairs will continue.

*To be continued.. Next week –Magistrates – The Weak Link in Policing

*From Rajan Hoole‘s “Sri Lanka: Arrogance of Power – Myth, Decadence and Murder”. Thanks to Rajan for giving us permission to republish. To read earlier parts click here

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Public Tribunal Unanimously Opposes Port City Project

11/04/2015 

A public tribunal hosted by anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International Sri Lanka yesterday decided that the Port City project should be cancelled, as all benefits it may provide are outweighed by economic, social, environmental and political harm.

“They (China Communications Construction Company Ltd.) simply say that there are no impacts. The economic, environmental and social harms far outweigh the benefits. We have to stop this,” Attorney-at-Law S. G. Punchihewa, who chaired the panel of judges said.

Attorney-at-Law Chandrapala Kumarage and Coast Conservation expert Dr. Jayampathy Samarakoon made up the rest of the panel.

Quoting various individuals who had presented their cases against the development of the Port City, Punchihewa said that 32,000 species of marine life could be destroyed, and along with coastal degradation, would affect up to 500,000 lives depending on the fisheries industry.

He added that coastal tourism would face harm, which would not justify the 83,000 jobs and tourism opportunities created by the Port City.

Punchihewa also said villagers in the areas where the 8.5 million tonnes of sand and granite are being mined are facing difficulties as well.

He said that an Environment Impact Assessment had not been completed, and the whole project was based on a report compiled by an academic who was at the University of Moratuwa, who has since been employed by the Chinese, and added that proper archaeological assessments were also not done.

Meanwhile, Punchihewa noted that if Port City project goes ahead, the country would have to face what he called “constitutional crises.”

Punchihewa said that the foreign land ownership would give China rights to the airspace, and a maritime territorial strip extending up to 200 nautical miles.
“Will our executive, judiciary and legislature be effective in there? Will the people living there be Chinese or Sri Lankan?” Punchihewa asked. Further, he said that the agreement between the two countries was commercial, and written just to reclaim land, and not to construct any buildings.

Punchihewa and the testifiers said the new regime is now not concerned with the project despite saying that they will halt it during election season.
However, no government representatives, professionals in the construction or tourism industry and officials of CCCC were present at the tribunal to either express their ides or to defend themselves.

The government is currently conducting a special investigation into the matter, while CCCC has claimed that it has submitted all relevant paperwork.

The Chamber of Construction Industry recently called the government to allow the Port City to go ahead, as it said that proper procedure has been followed, and that retracting signed agreements would paint an extremely negative picture in the minds of potential investors.

However, the professional body was also criticized at the tribunal for not caring about the public.
The findings of the tribunal will be forwarded to the President and the Prime Minister shortly.

By Chandeepa Wettasinghe /DM

How Sri Lanka Won the War

By Peter Layton-April 09, 2015

How to win a civil war in a globalized world where insurgents skillfully exploit offshore resources? With most conflicts now being such wars, this is a question many governments are trying to answer. Few succeed, with one major exception being Sri Lanka where, after 25 years of civil war the government decisively defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and created a peace that appears lasting. This victory stands in stark contrast to the conflicts fought by well-funded Western forces in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last decade. How did Sri Lanka succeed against what many considered the most innovative and dangerous insurgency force in the world? Three main areas stand out.

How Sri Lanka Won the War by Thavam Ratna

Dedicated J'pura faculty to focus on Kidney Medicine, Environment and Water

By Ifham Nizam-April 9, 2015, 6:48 pm 

‘ Also, Sri Jayewardenepura University is the only University with a Medical Faculty close to the Maharagama Cancer Hospital, thus, would be in a position to take up the challenge and work closely with the Maharagama Cancer Hospital’

The University of Sri Jayewardenepura will pump in five billion rupees to set up a separate faculty, named Engineering and Technology, with a special focus on kidney disease, environment and water, a senior university don said.

University's Vice Chancellor, Professor Sampath Amaratunge told The Island Financial Review the proposed faculty would be a research arm for the Science faculty.

Citing examples, the Vice Chancellor said that the faculty would act also as a kidney research centre.

The focus of this centre would be kidney medicine, environment and water, he said.

Fielding questions, the VC said that they had approached Japanese and Korean funding agencies in this regard, with the prior approval of the High Education Minister and University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka. He also said that the University also working on its own funds.

He said that they were in a position to take this decision especially with the intake of students from the Advanced Level Technology stream.

Professor Amaratunge added that, likewise, they would also give priority to the engineering student for research.

The VC also said that they would seek funding from the European Union countries for the establishment of a Cancer Research Centre, adding the number of deaths due to cancer had increased and the need for researching various kinds of cancers remains a high priority. He added that prostate cancer is one of the biggest challenges in the country.

'Sri Jayewardenepura University is the only University with a Medical Faculty close to the Maharagama Cancer Hospital, thus, would be in a position to take up the challenge and work closely with the Maharagama Cancer Hospital, Amaratunga explained.

He said that they would also set up centres for rural development and Nano Technology.

The University dates back to 1873, when the Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumanagala Nayaka Thero laid the foundation stone for the university as an Institute of Buddhist and Oriental Studies, named Vidyodaya (meaning "awakening of knowledge").

Corruption Watch to monitor probes on corruption

 Saturday, 11 April 2015 

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) has decided to launch of Corruption Watch to monitor the progress of corruption-related complaints that have been made to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, the Financial Fraud Investigation Division and the Crime Investigation Division.

So far complaints against alleged incidents of corruption have been made to the above mentioned institutions by the Voice Against Corruption, Anti-Corruption Front, Coalition against Corruption, the Special Presidential Commission against Corruption and the general public.

TISL said it will follow up with the institutions that are probing complaints and report to the public through weekly media briefings the number of complaints received, the number of investigations initiated and the progress that has been made.

Senior Manager of TISL Shan Wijetunga has said that there are so far 1,595 complaints lodged against several persons including MPs, their secretaries and heads of government organizations.

While commending the efforts made by the Government in addressing the allegations, TISL urged the authorities to expedite their investigations while maintaining the highest standards of transparency and due procedure.

TISL also stressed the need to strengthen the existing avenues for redress against corruption by making the necessary revisions to the Bribery Act and enhancing the CIABOC through resources and stronger mandate.

“The government should also be mindful of not appointing those alleged with corruption related charges to posts such as Ministers and Ministry Secretaries until they have been cleared of all charges,” the organization said.