Leave no room for UPFA govt. -Ranil


2015-06-22
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday that he would not leave room for the establishment of a UPFA government. He said the 100 Day Period mandated by the people had ended at the moment. 

Addressing a get together of the United National Party (UNP) at Temple Trees, the Prime Minister said a new stable Parliament is needed to get people’s friendly legislation passed smoothly without any hiccups. 

He said the government can no longer go about withdrawing clauses of legislation just to get them passed as it did with the 19th Amendment in the recent past. 

He also said Sri Lanka should show the world a stable legislature in order to attract foreign investors. He stressed the need for creating a bright future for the youth and thereby creating new avenues for employment. 

UNP General Secretary Kabir Hashim said the present regime is an interim one which was elected for only one hundred days and it is essential to elect a new stable government.

 Making a presentation, Mr. Hashim said UNP will be able to get more than 119 seats at the general elections. He recalled that 6.2 million votes which were obtained by President Maithripala Sirisena at the last presidential election would have given an opposition alliance 119 seats at a general election. He claimed that UNP could get this amount of seats at the next general elections.

 Deputy Minister of policy planning Dr. Harsha de Silva said people will be able to see clearly that the economy handed over by the previous regime manipulated a bankrupt one. 

Uva province Chief Minister Harin Fernando said the only promise which this government failed to keep was to dissolve Parliament on April 23. He said he is willing to dedicate himself for the party as he did in the Uva Provincial Council elections in the recent past. (Yohan Perera) - See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/77009/govt-ranil#sthash.2glC7rUo.dpuf

Is President Sirisena Following A Saffron Agenda?

By Hilmy Ahamed –June 22, 2015

Hilmy Ahamed

The President’s resolve to ensure the passage of 20A in its current form, is seen by more than twenty minor and minorities parties as a blatant attempt to dislodge them from parliament. His commitment to 20th Amendment may be due to the assurance that he gave the SLFP members when he sought their support for the 19th Amendment, yet it is important that this process is not bulldozed.

The group of small parties that met at the headquarters of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) wants the gazette notification published on the 20th amendment withdrawn and a proper consultation undertaken. Failure would mean that it passage would be challenged both in and outside parliament.

While, it is agreed and accepted that delimitation and constitutional reforms to rid the scourge of the preferential vote are an absolute necessity, and a promise in Maithripala’s Yahapalanaya manifesto that needs to be honoured, it is important that the fears expressed by the minor and minority parties are addressed forthwith.

President Maithripala Sirisena could stand accused of totally betraying the minority communities that ensured his victory at the Presidential election of January 2015. The 20A will eliminate the representation from parliament; most of the minority parties who helped him reach the presidency. Many of these parties do not command a large enough voter base to win electorates but are strong enough to win representations in the districts. They fear that if 20A is implemented in its current form, it would cement the two party rule. This may auger well as a nation to move away from ethnic based politics, yet, Sri Lankan electorate has been polarized along ethnic and religious lines. We need to go back to the days when the elected legislators represented all the people and communities alike. This may not be the easy after over 35 years of ethnic/communal politics that was introduced under the JR Jayewardene constitutional reforms.Read More

President’s dilemma about dissolving parliament

By Jehan Perera-June 22, 2015

The demand for the dissolution of parliament is getting increasingly compelling. Civil society leaders, such as the Ven Maduluwave Sobitha, who led the movement for good governance during the presidential elections have come out strongly to insist that President Maithripala SIrisisena should use his presidential powers to dissolve parliament and hold the much anticipated general elections. Public opinion surveys and everyday conversations on the topic indicate that the general population is getting disillusioned with the present situation and agree that general elections to elect a new government with a parliamentary majority are necessary. There is recognition that the present minority government led by the UNP cannot deliver the changes that the people want for the reason that it does not command a majority in parliament. The UNP is alive to this problem and has been demanding the dissolution of parliament.

President’s Dilemma About Dissolving Parliament by Thavam Ratna

Proposed 20th amendment of the constitution

Monday, 22 June 2015

The government has gazetted the 20th amendment to the constitution for a new electoral system.

Here is the 22 page gazetted English version of the proposed 20th amendment

20th Amendment(E) by Thavam Ratna

Mahinda Rajapakse meets with the Queen of England...

(Lanka-e-News- 22.June.2015, 11.30PM) Mahinda Rajapakse is with the Queen of England.

 MR : "Your Majesty, any tips you can give me to stay in power, the way you have been for so long?"
"Well," said the Queen, "the most important thing is to surround yourself with intelligent people."

MR frowned, and then asked, "But how do I know the people around me are intelligent?"

 The Queen: "Easy; you just ask them to answer an intelligent riddle."
 The Queen pushed a button on her intercom. "David Cameron, would you come in here, please?"
 David Cameron walked into the room and said,
"Yes, ma'am?"
 The Queen smiled and said,
 "Answer me this please, David. Your mother and father have a child. It's not your brother and it's not your sister. Who is it?"
 Without pausing for a moment, David Cameron answered,
"That would be me, ma'am."
 "Very good! Thank you, David !" said the Queen.
Then she turned to MR with a smile and said "See?"

 Now its MR's turn to apply the same logic....

 MR went back to Sri Lanka and asked Namal Rajapakse..
 "Namal , answer this for me. Your mother and your father have a child. It's not your brother and it's not your sister. Who is it?"
"I'm not sure," said Namal .

 "Let me get back to you on that one..."
Namal Rajapakse  went to his advisors and asked every one, but none could give him an answer... Finally, he ran into Bandula Gunawardana and asked,

 "Bandula, can you answer this for me? Your mother and father have a child and it's not your brother or your sister. Who is it?"..
 Bandula answered, "That's easy, it's me!"..
Namal Rajapakse, "Thanks!"
Then he went back to MR. 

 "I did some thinking and I have the answer to that riddle. It's our Bandula Gunawardana.." 

MR slapped him and said.
 "You Dumb Idiot!
It's David Cameron ".

---------------------------
by     (2015-06-22 19:56:19)

The Chairman of the Bribery Commission Must Go

Dr A.C.Visvalingam-22/06/2015 

Most readers would undoubtedly be aware that, other than in respect of routine administrative matters, no outsider should ask a Commissioner or employee of an Independent Commission to discuss with him matters relating to the work being carried out by it. No room is provided for any unauthorized person to go into specific matters pertaining to an investigation or other related issues until such time as the Commission concerned has reached a firm and final decision on its own without being subject to partisan influence.

 The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption (CIABOC) is an Independent Commission and, as mentioned in the preceding paragraph, there is absolutely no license for its Commissioners or employees to meet or speak to anyone privately regarding its investigations. By ensuring that the personnel of the Commission shun all unauthorized contacts, the persons being investigated, as well as the general public, could rest assured that the work of the Commission is being conducted in an independent and impartial manner.

 In order to ensure that the standards of investigation, evaluation and decision-making observed by the Commission would be of a high standard, it has been more or less of a tradition to appoint a retired judge of a superior court as the Chairman; and other eminent persons with a legal background as the Commissioners. In keeping with this practice, Justice Jagath Balapatabendi, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, was appointed Chairman/CIABOC some years ago by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

 The average citizen knows that it would be a very serious offence to try to meet, even on the grounds of previous friendship, a judicial officer who is going to decide the merits of any litigation in which that particular citizen might be involved. He would render himself liable to be charged for contempt of court at the very least. Equally serious would be a situation if a judge during the hearing of a case were to meet a litigant or a witness in that case outside the courtroom in the absence of the counsel appearing for the contending parties. For all practical purposes, the same rules apply to CIABOC.

In view of this background, we were greatly perturbed by recent news reports that Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa had either summoned or requested the Chairman of CIABOC, to come and see him, and that the latter had complied. We had little idea of what they might have discussed but our very profound concern was heightened by the fact that, at the time they met, CIABOC was, inter alia, actively investigating allegations pertaining to some of the Speaker’s close relatives as well as several members of the political party to which he belongs.

The unease we felt on learning that the Chairman had gone to meet the Speaker in Parliament increased steeply when we learnt a few days later that one of the Commissioners had resigned for “personal reasons”, which phrase, as we all know, is often employed as a euphemism to avoid disclosing the real grounds openly. Whilst the justification given may have been of a broadly personal nature, the public are not so credulous as to accept that explanation at face-value. In any case, “personal reasons” could cover a great deal of ground, such as a fear of having one’s honesty and integrity impaired in the eyes of one’s peers and the public by giving the mistaken impression of ignoring, collaborating in or condoning improper acts committed by a co-worker, colleague, employer, client, superior or, for that matter, anyone else.

Subsequently, in an interview given by the Director General of the Commission to the SUNDAY OBSERVER of 7 June 2015, she “admitted that there was a strong difference of opinion between the members of the Commission over the Chairman’s move to meet the Speaker”. Hence, our original suspicion that that the “personal reasons” referred to above must have meant something with more worrying implications was clearly well founded.

The Chairman of CIABOC has very wide powers, somewhat similar to those of a judge of our courts. It is, therefore, natural that the standard of judicial conduct maintained by the Chairman should not be inferior to that of a judge. Now, as far back as 2005, and again in 2010, the Citizens’ Movement for Good Governance (CIMOGG) appealed through the Press to have Parliament formulate a code of conduct for judicial officers and recommended that the said code should be based on the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, which had been drafted by judges from over 30 countries, taking into consideration the contents of many existing codes of conduct and international instruments (www.cimogg-srilanka.org). The citizens of this country are entitled to expect that not only the Chairman but the other Commissioners of CIABOC would also abide strictly by these well considered and established principles, pending their formal adoption.

 We have recently become aware that the Chairman had, at a meeting of the Commission, tried to justify why he had gone to Parliament in response to the Speaker’s request. He had claimed that he had gone to see and help the Speaker, who was apparently in a difficult situation of an undefined nature. He had asserted that he had done so as a friend and former classmate of the Speaker, and not in his capacity as Chairman/CIABOC.

 As a body dedicated to promoting good governance and the Rule of Law, it is our position that the visit of the Chairman to interact with the Speaker was totally incompatible with the high degree of rectitude required of him in terms of accepted principles of judicial conduct. The fact that he and the Speaker are friends of long standing only makes his excuse all the more unacceptable.

 An accusation made against the Chairman is that he had himself examined a petition filed against him and declared himself “clean”. This charge, which indicates that the strict procedures normally followed by the Commission’s administrative machinery had been breached, has not been denied either by the Chairman or the Commission.

 In these circumstances, in the interests of maintaining high standards of conduct in what is one of our most important institutions, we call upon President Maitripala Sirisena to urge the Chairman to relinquish his position forthwith. Indeed, it would be to the benefit of Justice Balapatabendi if he were to send in his resignation before he is asked to go so that his name and reputation may not suffer further damage.

Assuming that the Chairman will find it prudent to agree to go, as we believe he should do, the President (on the advice of the Constitutional Council, if it is functioning effectively, or on his own initiative) must look around urgently for replacements for both the Chairman and the Commissioner who resigned “for personal reasons”. It strikes us that it would be advantageous, if at all possible, to re-appoint the latter, if he could be persuaded to accept a position, either as a Commissioner or even the Chairman, not only because he is already quite familiar with the structure, personnel and procedures of CIABOC but, more significantly because his resignation some weeks ago is proof of his strong attachment to judicial propriety, which is an absolutely fundamental qualification to be a Chairman or Commissioner of this vital institution.

 Solving this problem needs to be given high priority because the public must be reassured as soon as possible that CIABOC will carry out its work freely and justly, and that it will be insulated from unwelcome and unlawful pressures from any quarter whatsoever.

 (The writer is President of CIMOGG, the Citizens’ Movement on Good Governance)

Courtesy The Island

Lawyers for Democracy condemn

Use of places of religious worship for political propaganda

Saturday, June 20, 2015

'Lawyers for Democracy' yesterday condemned the use of places of religious worship for political activities in the guise of religious ceremonies.

Issuing a statement, Lawyers for Democracy stated: "This amounts to violation of the fundamental right to practice one's religion freely, without obstructions either physical or mental. The use of places of religious worship for political activities has taken a serious tern as even the Sri Dalada Maligawa which is the holiest place of worship for Buddhists all over the world is being used by disgruntled politicians for propaganda purposes in the name of holding a pooja.

The walls of Kandy are pasted with posters with prominent pictures of the former president with slogans. It is for the first time that we have seen banners with pictures of the former president with greetings for him to be back in power on the outskirts of Sri Dalada Maligawa.

We condemn the use of places of religious worship for political propaganda and call upon those disgruntled politicians to face the people at a political level and not to interfere with the free use of places of religious worship without any political, class, caste, or ethnic or any other consideration. This development goes to show the depths to which our politicians have sunk." 

- See more at: http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/lawyers-democracy-condemn#sthash.0FasPmYV.dpuf

THE THREAT TO LIFE

• by Ranil Senanayake 
• - on 06/22/2015 

It is very gratifying to see Pope Francis declare in his encyclical that, in terms of the Earth,  “We have grown up thinking that we were her owners and dominators, authorized to loot her” he states that “The violence that exists in the human heart, wounded by sin, is also manifest in the symptoms of illness that we see in the Earth, the water, the air and in living things.” The problem is “aggravated,” the Pope said, “by a model of development based on the intensive use of fossil fuels.” The Pope’s criticism of the “myth of progress” reflects the statement by Ananda Coomaraswamy , lamenting on the ideas of ‘progress’ by the Ceylonese of his time,  “we who call art significant, not knowing of what , are also proud to progress we know not wither”. They both question the current model of ’development’ and call for responsible action.

One supposes that such clear, concerned thinking in the defense of humanity will fly in the face of the ‘consumption is development’ philosophies created to ensure the sustainability of those non-human robots, the corporations and banks. As  the musician Neil Young  notes, “ These corporations were originally created to serve us, but if we don’t appropriately prioritize, they will destroy us. Corporations don’t have children. They don’t have feelings or soul. They don’t depend on uncontaminated water, clean air or healthy food to survive. They are beholden to one thing: the bottom line”.

The attack on the person who affects that bottom line  will be fierce, it will be an extraordinary person who can withstand these pressures. But a Pope who cares for all humanity and extends this care to all living things, is an extraordinary person indeed.  His call demands attention.  To help make the sense of urgency in his message a bit clearer. I append an article  originally published in 1986, very relevant for now.

THE THREAT TO LIFE

From whatever perspective we choose this fact is clear ‘there is a threat to life as we know it”, and this threat is being constantly amplified by the actions of man. The actions of modern technological man have helped bring this threat very close to becoming real for us on this planet Earth.

In a fundamental sense, life can exist only in low entropy “islands” within the isothermal energy system that is the universe. Here, information that allows for more detailed descriptions of greater complexity, can be conserved. All being organized and sustained by the differential flows of energy possible in such “islands”.

One such organizing principle has been termed “life” and the expression of this principle in our physical/chemical milieu studied as biology. The first beginnings of life on this planet, as well as its subsequent evolution has been well documented by the fossil record: and biological evolution has been demonstrated to involve a hierarchical ascendancy to more and more complex forms of living beings. We humans, being one expression of life at a time when it has been achieved the greatest diversity in its expression on Earth.

If the historical record demonstrates that the manifestation of life on this planet shows a tendency towards greater complexity, any reduction of the conditions or options allowing evolution along this path will stifle the expression of the organizing principle (life) on it. Observation confirms the fact that the actions of man have contributed to such a reduction of options. In the course of history, the forests of the Mediterranean or the floodplains of China provide some examples of this reduction. However all these reductions pale into insignificance by the action of modern man.

Today we rapidly remove the conditions necessary for the continued existence of genetic, ecological and cultural information, as these are seen to be unimportant to the society of modern man. These losses have now reached critical proportions, the actions leading to such losses being vindicated by the human value system called “Consumerist Growth”. This value system claiming representation of the will of humanity.  Using a theory called “Consumerism sovereignty” where  “whatever contributes to the satisfaction of the individual is decreed good and whatever detracts from the individual satisfaction is decreed bad”; the salesmen of the world set about the activity of creating desire. So that, more and more resources were required to satisfy the individual preference, The individual preference being constantly redefined by the pecuniary actions of these same salesmen. The product of these actions has been to place an ever-increasing demand on all resources, be it renewable or non-renewable. As the values and ideals of the “Consumerist, growth oriented society extend to include more and more of humanity, there is a proportionate reduction in the ability of life to express itself on this planet.

The diversity of species or ecosystems, the function of the great chemical cycles such as Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen, etc. The value of public goods such as clean air and water, are but some units that we can measure this threat to life by. But until the paralytic grip that the present economists and salesman have on the decision-making politicians and administrators are weakened, there exists a little hope for planning a sane, sustainable future for living beings on this planet.

The “Consumerist, growth oriented society” is in a fundamental sense, an antithesis to life. Its promotion and sale to the world as “development” and “progress” can only be seen as an irresponsible action by power brokers that view the development of a currency system to be of greater validity than the conservation of the living systems.

In the worlds of the American cartoon character Pogo Possum “We have met the enemy, and the enemy is us”. But the problem lies in belling the cat. Self criticism is hard enough for an individual, for an entire discipline and it’s associated professions it will require a sense of responsibility of gargantuan proportions.

Today in Sri Lanka, we are looking for a new and sustainable direction to base our development efforts on. Now that the world has begun demonstrating a new direction, the divestment of all interests in Coal by the Norway Fund or the recognition of the inability of fossil fuels to contribute to development by the G7 countries, suggest future scenarios. We should be cautious in proceeding with planning made without consideration of these realities. We should look towards a national sustainable development plan that considers the history of our current situation while planning for short, medium and long-term goals to frame our progress. We should do way with the ‘model of development based on the intensive use of fossil fuels’ that we are so addicted to at the present.

Good governance incomplete without effective mechanism for economic policy governance 

 Soldiers marching in North Korea. In extractive institutional systems such as North Korea, the state plunders the fruits of hard work by its population through various devices and apportions them among those who support or are made up of the top echelon of the government

 Monday, 22 June 2015

Good governance to be complemented by economic policy governance
Restoring good governance in the political sphere was the main promise made by the incumbent President at the presidential election in January 2015. It was considered that good governance would usher a new era to Sri Lanka by paving way for the creation of justice-based rule and a society responsible and accountable for its actions. 

Good Governance Incomplete Without Effective Mechanism for Economic Policy Governance by Thavam Ratna

Remembering Former Principal St. John’s College Jaffna: Reflections Of A Son

By Rev. Dev Anandarajan –June 22, 2015 

Rev. Dev Anandarajan

It is 30 years since the death of my beloved father who was killed by the LTTE on June 26th 1985. Many things have happened since then and I hope we can contemplate on the violent path taken by the LTTE and the unconditional support given by most of the Tamils to address their grievances against the Sri Lankan state.

I wonder if we have a collective maturity as citizens of Sri Lanka (Tamils, Sinhalese, Muslims, Burghers and other minorities) and Sri Lankan Diaspora to learn the lessons from the violent path from both sides and what that has led us to.

Mr. C. E. Anandarajan

I am not going to dwell on the politics of the conflict but rather reflect on the legacy of my late father whom the LTTE portrayed as a ‘Traitor’ when they gunned him down. What they did not know and failed to realise was that many such people whom they killed loved the land and the people they served. They were not stooges of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) or against the legitimate rights of the Tamil people but were doing their part in a very explosive political situation. Many of those who were killed both by the militants and the GOSL had opportunities to leave the country as many of us have done and seek greener pasture and safety. But they stayed put because of their conviction and dedication.

The last time I saw my father was in December 1984 when he with my mother and brother came on a holiday to Bangalore. Two of my sisters Vasanthy & Jeyanthy and I were already in India. We booked a cottage at Vishranthi Nilayam in Bangalore and had an enjoyable family time. Sorna was the one missing as she was married and was living in British Guyana. Knowing the political situation I was making inquiries to get my father to relocate to a Mission school in Ootty When I mentioned this to him his response was firm. ‘I will live and die in Jaffna.’ 
When a Student Organisation organised a meeting to condemn the Standardisation Policy of the GOSL they approached Principals and Educationist to speak at the meeting. Many refused fearing they may be targeted by the GOSL. My father willingly agreed to speak in a public forum condemning the policy which he did.                Read More

Rural Roads: Which is better, concrete or blocks paving?

By Goyan Dias-June 22, 2015

We are aware that the former government commenced a rural road concreting programme in year 2005. We all thought because of longevity of concrete pavements, the rural mobility burden prevailed so far would be resolved but after completing about 2500Km, by year 2009 the concreting programme was terminated, instead it was replaced with cement block paving, and at the moment rural roads pavements are being carried out using these interlocking blocks, made out of cement and sand.

CONCRETE PAVEMENTS

Reason for immediate termination of concrete pavement works was not that concrete pavements were not suitable, for our rural roads, but due to the bad engineering governance executed over the whole process, disregarding the accepted designs and construction standards. If the concrete pavements had been done as per the designs provided they would have had life spans of 30-40 years without any sort of maintenance burden, thus confirming that the concrete pavement is the least life cycle cost pavements option for our rural roads. When the present status of completed concrete pavements are considered none of these had been done in accordance with the designs provided, as a result almost all concrete pavements have failed structurally. In order to rectify the situation authorities now seem to be overlaying concrete pavements with asphalt concrete (Figure 01) or dumping asphalt to patch out holes. By now certainly we have been the world’s first nation to have amazing pavements as shown in figures 1,2 & 3 respectively.

Between 2010 and 2011 newspapers were flooded with public complains, like the one illustrated in figure 04 and 05. These news items demonstrate the status of engineering governance.

According to information available the estimated cost for 100m length of concrete pavement is Rs.0.5m,; this means per km it is Rs.5.0m. In reality what we have experienced is that the structural life of most of the pavements had come to an end within first two years, thus resulting a life cycle cost of 2.5m per km per year.

BLOCK PAVED PAVEMENTS

Blocks being produced at a central location it has been possible to maintain the required compressive strength and other quality standards, as a result not like in the case of on site mixed and poured concrete, the block paved pavements seem relatively satisfactory for the moment, but it would have been better if the authorities had followed the design provided by RDA. Unfortunately, because of this reason blocks paved pavements experiences settlements, point depressions, drainage deficiencies, all these have caused due to not adhering to the approved design. Yet compared with concrete pavements, blocks paved roads seem quite satisfactory. Other obvious advantages of block paved roads are cracks, point settlements won’t get propagated because blocks are inter blocked.

It is learned that the present administration is planning to readopt concreting option again instead of block paving. Carry out a scientific analysis and arrive at a decision. We all need to keep in mind that it is not the designs that have gone wrong but the way it is being done, due to political interference.

Sri Lanka revealed as first foreign buyer of JF-17

2015-06-22

A Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Thunder military jet fighter sits on a static display at the 51st International Paris Air Show in Paris, France, June 16. (Photo/CFP)

Sri Lanka will become the first foreign country to acquire the JF-17 Thunder, otherwise known as the FC-1 Xiaolong or "Fierce Dragon," the multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation of China, reports the Pakistan-based 92NewsHD.

According to the report, the order will be for around 18-24 aircraft, confirming claims made at the 51st Paris Air Show last week that the first contract for the sale of the JF-17 had been signed with "an Asian country."

Rumors that Sri Lanka might be the first to export the JF-17 arose earlier this month when a photo of the office of a Sri Lankan air force commander revealed a scale model of the JF-17.

The Pakistan Air Force announced that they will begin delivery of the JF-17 to Sri Lanka from 2017, adding that its Pakistani and Chinese developers will continue efforts to promote the aircraft to other countries.

Publicly available information indicates that the Sri Lanka Air Force currently has around 160 aircraft, 27,400 soldiers and 1,300 officers. Aircraft acquired from Chia include seven J-7 fighter jets and nine Y-12 transport aircraft, with additional orders for two MA60 transport aircraft.

FCID questions Mahindananda Aluthgamage

June 22, 2015

The Financial Crime Investigation Department (FCID) on Monday (22) questioned Parliamentarian Mahindananda Aluthgamage due to a financial irregularity amounting to over Rs. 39 million at the Sports Ministry during his tenure, the Police Spokesperson said.

Earlier, The Bribery Commission also instructed immigration authorities to impound the passport of former Sports Minister Aluthgamage, pending an investigation into a complaint against him.

State Own Rupavahini not your private theatre, Mr. Chairman

( June 21, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Film director Somaratne Dissanayake, the new Chairman of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, is unabashedly using the State television channel for self-promotion. One of his films is screened every Friday night on the “Sala Roo Siri Sara” segment of Rupavahini. A cursory glance at the station’s programme lineup showed that Mr. Dissanayake aired his production “Saroja” on June 5; “Punchi Suranganavi” on June 12; and “Sooriya Arana” on June 19. Another production, “Samanala Thatu”, is scheduled to be screened on June 26.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Mr. Dissanayake would sell sole media rights of all his films to Rupavahini, thus ensuring that these are repeatedly screened on the public-owned television station. Mr. Dissanayake’s wife, Renuka Balasooriya, has also worked her way back into the lottery programmes she once hosted on Rupavahini. She had been absent for many years. It is strange that proponents of the “Yahapalanaya” gimmick have not commented on these clear conflicts of interest.

Meanwhile, television circles are abuzz with the news that, not long after Mr. Dissanayake became Chairman, a tele drama produced and directed by Nadeeka Chandrasekera was abruptly cancelled. Nadeeka, a popular actress, had openly supported former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The drama, titled ‘La Sanda Pamula’ apparently did not attract sufficient advertisements. Not as many, one assumes, as Mr. Dissanayake’s old films do.

Police: Taliban attack Afghan parliament in Kabul (VIDEOS)

Fire and smokes rise at the site of a suicide attack during clashes with Taliban fighters in front of the Parliament, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday. Pic: AP.

By AP News Jun 22, 2015

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Police say the Taliban have launched an attack outside the Afghan parliament, setting off four large bombs as lawmakers were meeting inside.

Police officer Mohammad Asif said gunfire had broken out at the scene on Monday and that there was no immediate word on casualties.

Taliban insurgents have launched complex attacks on government targets in the past.

The video below shows inside Afghanistan’s Parliament when the Taliban attacked:

Police seal off streets in Kabul after the attack:

The Taliban captured a second district in the northern Kunduz province early Monday after heavy fighting with local security forces.

Mohammad Yusuf Ayubi, head of the provincial council, said the insurgents attacked the district of Dashti Archi from four sides, setting off heavy fighting before seizing full control of the area. He said local forces suffered casualties but did not have a precise count.

He said around 150,000 residents of the district were unable to leave.

The Taliban confirmed that they had captured the district, as well as ammunition and four tanks, in an emailed statement.

The Taliban seized control of the Chardara district in Kunduz on Sunday. The insurgents attacked the provincial capital, also called Kunduz, in a surprise attack in April and nearly captured the city before Afghan forces pushed them back.

Afghan forces have struggled to fend off Taliban advances since the U.S. and NATO combat mission officially concluded at the end of last year.

UN accuses Israel and Hamas of possible war crimes during 2014 Gaza war

Commission appointed by UN human rights council says those responsible for suspected violations of international law must be brought to justice

 A donkey and cart move through the rubble of bombed homes in Gaza City earlier this month. Many buildings are still waiting to be demolished or rebuilt nearly a year after the conflict. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem-Monday 22 June 2015

A United Nations inquiry into the 2014 Gaza war has accused Israeli and Palestinian factions of multiple potential violations of international law including suspected war crimes.

UN Accuses Israel and Hamas of Possible War Crimes During 2014 Gaza War by Thavam Ratna