Wednesday, July 15, 2015

EU to observe Parliamentary Elections in Sri Lanka

Brussels, 14/07/2015

Following an invitation from the Sri Lanka authorities, the European Union has today started the deployment of an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to Sri Lanka to observe the Parliamentary Elections scheduled for 17 August 2015.

Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, has appointed Mr Cristian Preda, Member of the European Parliament, to lead the EOM as Chief Observer. Federica Mogherini said: “The European Union has once again responded positively to the invitation of the Sri Lankan authorities to deploy an Election Observation Mission. This shows our continued commitment to work with Sri Lanka to strengthen democracy by advancing the openness and inclusivity of the election process".

Chief Observer Cristian Preda is expected to arrive in Colombo in the coming days to join the team of election experts deployed today. “Our mandate is to observe the elections without interfering in the electoral process, contributing to transparency while respecting local laws and regulations", he said.

Background

The EU Election Observation Mission will consist of a Core Team of eight election analysts, and 18 Long-Term Observers,who will be deployed to all Sri Lankan Provinces, plus 28Short Term Observers deployed shortly before Election Day.

The EOM will closely follow the electoral process and make its assessment on the basis of Sri Lankan legislation, as well as regional and international commitments.

This analysis will take into account aspects such as the legal framework, the performance of the election administration, political campaign activities, respect for fundamental freedoms, conduct of the media, the voting, counting and tabulation of results. Attention will also be given to the complaints and appeals phase. The EU Election Observation Mission adheres to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation which ensures the mission's independence and integrity.

Shortly after Election Day, the mission will issue a preliminary statement of its findings at a press conference in Colombo. A final report, including recommendations for future electoral processes, will be presented at a later stage.

For more information:

EU EOM webpage: http://www.eueom.eu/sri-lanka2015

EU elect ion observation missions: http://eeas.europa.eu/eueom/index_en.htm

EU relations with Sri Lanka: http://eeas.europa.eu/sri_lanka/index_en.htm

Hacking the hackers: Surveillance in Sri Lanka revealed

by Groundviews - on 07/15/2015

It was sometime in April 2013, that I wrote my last blog post. Titled ‘And Then They Came For Us’, or something along those morbid lines, the piece was a commentary of sorts based on tweets, photographs and Facebook updates sent out by friends attending a peaceful vigil at the center of Colombo, when marauding thu monks disrupted their activity. In the aftermath, as a mini-war broke out online with images of participants shared at a furious rate by the disruptors, accompanied with vicious, inflammatory and inciteful comments, I began the quiet job of dismantling my blog and cleaning out my ‘online footprint’. It was not just that I was disturbed at the way hate spewed forth online; the Government’s increasing interest in the world of the wide web had me convinced it was a matter of time before public example would be made of online activists.

A Panopticon state: We must not wait until they come for us, Roel Raymond

Former Fisheries Minister Rajitha Senaratne, a friend of the Rajapaksa family for more than 40 years, said a core group of party leaders had planned to defect in secret — swapping their telephones for ones they trusted not to be tapped, speaking in code and via group chats on Viber, a mobile app.

For Sri Lankan President, Renounced by Aides, Confidence of Re-election Dims, New York Times, Ellen Barry

As noted on the Wikipedia entry on The Hacking Team, the company is

“… a Milan-based information technology company that sells offensive intrusion and surveillance capabilities to governments and law enforcement agencies. Its remote control systems enable governments to monitor the communications of internet users, decipher their encrypted files and emails, record Skype and other Voice over IP communications, and remotely activate microphones and camera on target computers. The company has been criticized for providing these capabilities to governments with poor human rights records.”

In 2013, Reporters Without Borders warned that The Hacking Team, amongst other similar companies called ‘digital mercenaries’, all sold products used to commit violations of human rights and freedom of information. “If these companies decided to sell to authoritarian regimes, they must have known that their products could be used to spy on journalists, dissidents and netizens”.

In early July, The Hacking Team itself got hacked, and around 400Gb of internal emails were dumped online. This was far too much data to download and sift through especially from Sri Lanka. On 8th July, Wikileaks released more than one million emails from this trove through a web based, searchable portal. This article is based on the email accessed through the Wikileaks portal.

Unsurprisingly, The Hacking Team was repeatedly approached by Sri Lanka’s intelligence services for its products and services. On 29th July 2013, a representative of a company called S.W. International wrote to The Hacking Team, requesting a description of their system in order to present it to “Director of the Intelligence Bureau at a personal level”. After being provided the information, on 14 August 2013, it is noted that the meeting with the Director of the Intelligence Bureau was “positive”, but that in 2013, the allocated budget of capital expenditure for the unit was already utilised.

The conversation is around The Hacking Team’s Remote Control System (RCS) product, described in the product brochure as “the hacking suite for governmental interception”. Though final pricing would obviously depend on the exact configuration and services requested, online reports suggest the going price for RCS to be in the region of 48,000 USD ($1,000,000 Birr paid by the Ethiopian government for RCS converted to USD at today’s rates).

The capabilities of RCS are quite remarkable. Taken from an email from The Hacking Team sent in May 2013,

Click the image above for larger version.

Continuing the same email thread over months, in March 2014 it is noted in an email to The Hacking Team that the “Sri Lanka Ministry of Defense is planning to develop a electronic surveillance & tracking system of their own in conjunction with a local university”.

In what is seemingly a parallel discussion, The Hacking Team is approached in November 2014 by the Sri Lankan Police and the CID. The resulting email thread leads to planning a live demo of The Hacking Team’s product(s) in January 2015. Given the events of 8th January, it is unclear whether this live demo actually went ahead.

In what is yet another discussion with The Hacking Team in May 2013, someone who is purportedly a very dear friend of the Director of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) (noted, correctly, in the email as Sri Lanka’s equivalent of the CIA) asks the company to provide information on its products and services to “very urgently move forward” with procurement. The Hacking Team’s response is rather interesting: “Can you please confirm that National Intelligence Bureau is a different body from Military Intelligence? It would be helpful if you could describe me to what body NIB reports to.”

What’s even more interesting is the manner in which proxies associated with or brokers working for the Sri Lankan government used dummy corporations to hide the money trail. The most revealing information on this score is the exchange between someone called Huzam Usuph and The Hacking Team, in April 2013. As noted by Usuph,

One of most important things in selling and dealing with Defense sectors in Sri Lanka is I have sold many sensitive technologies and the acquisition has been very confidential to date no media or any one has reported or exposed what interception technologies have been acquired by our intelligence sources.

The pushback from The Hacking Team in dealing with what is clearly noted as a dummy corporation is worth reading. It is unclear whether the deal went ahead.

In addition to digital surveillance technologies, The Hacking Team was also approached to secure military equipment for the for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in October 2013. See here and here. S.W. International keeps cropping up in The Hacking Team’s email records, and it is unclear what relationship this company enjoys with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence in particular, and other arms of the military and Police in general.

The full tranche of emails containing both the words Sri Lanka can be accessed via Wikileaks here, or as a PDF (200 pages) here.

An offline version of the search results can be accessed here (unzip the file and open it using any browser).

All of the emails referenced in this article can be accessed from a single pagehere.

Election Secretariat Lacks Teeth to Create Level Playing Field

15/07/2015

The Election Secretariat yesterday admitted that the Parliamentary Elections Act lacked provisions to compel serving Chief Ministers as well as Provincial Council Ministers to resign before they submitted nominations for parliamentary polls.

Western Province CM Prasanna Ranatunga (UPFA), North Western Province CM Dayasiri Jayasekera (UPFA) and Uva CM Harin Fernando (UNP) are in the fray in Gampaha, Kurunegala and Badulla districts, respectively.

Nominations for the August 17 polls closed at noon on Monday (July 13).

Additional Commissioner of Elections R. M. A. L. Ratnayake said that there was no requirement in accordance with the Parliamentary Elections Act for members of the Provincial Councils to resign.

When it was pointed out that some candidates exercising privileges weren’t fair by other contestants, Ratnayake said that the Election Secretariat would be soon requesting them to go on leave during the campaign.

Ratnayake asserted that the Election Secretariat couldn’t do anything except requesting the particular Chief Ministers and provincial ministers to leave office temporarily.

Responding to another query, Ratnayake said that Cabinet Ministers (40), State Ministers (14) and Deputy Ministers (28) of the caretaker government could continue regardless of the dissolution of parliament.

According to Ratnayake, in accordance with the existing law, members of parliament had to resign to contest Provincial Councils.

Former JVP MP and Badulla District candidate Samantha Vidyaratne yesterday said that there was a definite need to amend the Parliamentary Elections Act. Obviously, Chief Ministers and provincial ministers as well as heads of local government authorities contesting the August 17 polls had an undue advantage, Vidyaratne said, adding that the Elections Secretariat shouldn’t be so naïve to believe a level playing field could be created by requesting Chief Ministers, provincial ministers and heads of local authorities to go on leave.

The JVP firebrand said that in accordance with President Maithripala Sirisena’s election manifesto, the parliamentary polls at the conclusion of the 100-day project was to be conducted by a genuine caretaker government. The former MP pointed out that both UNP and SLFP benefited from the current arrangements as both parties were represented in the coalition holding power.

Vidyaratne said that the civil society, the media and those genuinely interested in the wellbeing of the country should examine the perks and privileges enjoyed by Ministers, State Ministers and Deputy Ministers in spite of the parliament being dissolved. “Good governance is nothing but a joke in this country. They carry on regardless. For them dissolution of parliament hasn’t made any difference.”

- The Island

Removing Impunity For Offences Committed Under The Previous Regime

By R.M.B Senanayake –July 15, 2015

R.M.B Senanayake

The Rule of Law is an essential part of restoring Good Governance. Good Governance must include restoring the Rule of Law to bring to book those who acted with impunity through the exercise of political power. The cry of “good governance” seems to be reverberating in our country today. It is as if a social revolution is taking place. A similar situation in the past in the West was he cry for ‘good government’’. During the French Revolution the cry was for liberty, equality and fraternity. In the American Revolution the cry was for freedom and a breakaway from British rule and from the sovereignty of the King of England. The Founding Fathers of the American Constitution were statesmen. They realized that human beings are not angels- the Bible would vouch for that. Those entrusted with power tended to misuse it. That was to be expected of human nature. Men tended to arrogate as much power as possible to themselves. They would also like to be exempted from the application of the law which could be confined to the common people. Even if they were bound by the same law they would seek to act with impunity. But if the law is not applied and those who transgress it are not punished the law would be undermined. Those who are in power may seek to avoid being penalized for their violations of the law. But when they lose power they cannot or should not escape punishment. It is not an issue of taking revenge but rather one of re-affirming the law. So to reaffirm the law it is necessary to try those who violated the law but did so with impunity by the exercise of their power. When they are no longer in power the law must be re-affirmed and they should be tried for the offences they committed with impunity when they were in power. If this is not done those who are being tried under the same law could make a valid criticism.

But the cry for good governance has not stressed the need to try those who violated the law with impunity because of the undue exercise of power. We cannot naively accept that there are good men and bad men. Men are neither all good or all bad but a mix of both goodness and badness. But all must be subject to the law and anyone who has violated the law must be punished. The people’s slogan for good governance must be expanded to include the upholding of the Rule of Law and the need for the independence of the Judiciary. The Rule of Law cannot be upheld if the Judiciary is not ensured is independence.Read More

Mahinda cannot become P.M. or speaker under existing laws..! If he is appointed by any chance president is liable for FR violation

(Lanka-e-News- 15.July.2015, 10.20PM) The announcement made by president Maithripala Sirisena yesterday in his address to the nation notwithstanding, exposing ex president Mahinda Rajapakse, it has now been proved based on the existing laws that the latter is not elgible for the post of speaker or prime minister (P.M) even if Kurunegala district SLFP candidate Mahinda Rajapakse gets elected to parliament.

Under the present constitution, Mahinda Rajapakse cannot hold the post of prime minister or speaker.

Mahinda Rajapakse who changed the constitution based on his maniacal greed for power to continue forever in power cannot even become a prime minister under the 19 th amendment to the constitution. In other words , despite Mahinda Rajapakse moving heaven and earth to secure the post of prime minister supported by his villainous slaves , due to this 19 th amendment , all their hopes and dreams of making him a P.M. have been dashed to the ground.

“If the president has been elected twice on people’s votes ” , by the 18 th amendment of 92 ( c) of the constitution the barrier that existed against his appointment again was withdrawn . But the subsequent 19 th amendment has restituted that prohibition.

Accordingly,

Those below the age of 30 years

Those who are barred from holding the post of member of parliament

A president who has been elected twice by the people ,as well as a president who has been removed on an impeachment motion cannot be appointed to post of president under 92 of the constitution.

Therefore when Mahinda Rajapakse is not eligible to hold the post of president , it necessarily presupposes that he is not eligible to be appointed as acting president to carry out the duties of president.

38(2) and 40 (2) ( c ) of the constitution clearly stipulate that , it is the prime minister or the speaker shall act for the president . In the circumstances , Mahinda Rajapakse who is not eligible even to be acting president cannot hold the post of prime minister or speaker.

Moreover 40(1( (a) of the constitution very clearly states , in case the presidency terminates prematurely , it is a member of parliament who is eligible to become a president who should be selected, and not a member of parliament who is ineligible to be elected as the president .

Accordingly , Mahinda Rajapakse who was appointed as president a second time in 2010 is not eligible to be prime minister or speaker.

35(1) of the constitution states the circumstances under which legal action cannot be filed against the president: Cases cannot be filed in respect of any matters done or not done by him in his official status or privately.

Hence, if the incumbent president apppoints Mahinda Rajapakse to the post of P.M., there is nothing to forbid a fundamental rights petition being filed against it, meaning that if Mahinda is appointed P.M. , under the 19 th amendment to the constitution , there is nothing to bar the filing of a FR petition against the president for violating fundamental rights.

By Sameera of the legal research division of Lanka e News
Translated by Jeff

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by (2015-07-15 16:56:03)

Blues in a bind after Sirisena blowup

SLFP plunges into crisis with Maithri’s speech, Mahinda’s brinkmanship
UPFA defies President’s order; holds emergency meeting at Darley Road
Court issues injunction against holding SLFP CC meet in party leader’s absence
Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed to lead UPFA election operations committee
Susil says President Sirisena agreed to give Rajapaksa the appointment
Mahinda sits at head table during UPFA leaders meet

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa chairs the crisis SLFP meeting yesterday along with senior and loyal supporters from the party and UPFA

By Dharisha Bastians-Thursday, 16 July 2015

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) was plunged into crisis yesterday, after President Maithripala Sirisena denounced his predecessor’s candidacy on the UPFA ticket and Rajapaksa loyalists renewed attempts to wrest control of the alliance.
A high-stakes game of political chess between Presidents incumbent and former continued yesterday with Mahinda Rajapaksa securing an appointment as head of the UPFA Elections Operations Committee only one day after President Sirisena strongly opposed his candidacy.
Rajapaksa loyalists held an emergency meeting at the SLFP Darley Road Headquarters that had previously been cancelled by President Maithripala Sirisena, issuing a direct challenge to the President’s authority.
Hours later, SLFP member Prasanna Solongaarachchi filed a motion in court to prevent the SLFP Central Committee being convened without approval from the party leader. The Colombo District Court issued an injunction preventing the Central Committee from convening without the permission from SLFP Chairman, President Siriena.
Earlier yesterday President Sirisena wrote to SLFP General Secretary Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, ordering him to cancel the Central Committee meeting that had been convened without his permission.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, who attended the meeting, was seated at the head of the table, flanked by the General Secretaries of the SLFP and the UPFA, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Susil Premajayantha.
A letter dated 3 July, appointing Rajapaksa as leader of the UPFA election campaign was also released to the media by Secretary Premajayantha. He said the decision had been made with President Sirisena’s concurrence the same day he had agreed to grant Rajapaksa the nomination on the UPFA ticket.
The meeting followed President Sirisena’s shocking speech at the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday, where he predicted Rajapaksa’s defeat and claimed he had tried to block the former President’s candidacy.
A meeting of the SLFP Central Committee called last evening by General Secretary Yapa has also been cancelled by the President.
Moves are afoot to sideline Sirisena from the UPFA and the SLFP after party seniors said his remarks had badly damaged their chances at the August election.
Sirisena flayed former President Rajapaksa as Sri Lanka’s only sitting president to have contested the presidency and lost his seat, and ridiculed him for now seeking power through Parliament.
“All other presidents served two terms and left office with their dignity intact. Now he has set the record as the only sitting president to be defeated at an election,” Sirisena said.
Tuesday’s speech was President Sirisena’s first public admission that he was fighting Rajapaksa for internal control of the SLFP and the UPFA.
“He removed presidential term limits and set himself up to contest for life, depriving all others in the UPFA the chance to contest. Now what is he trying to do? He wants to deprive SLFP seniors of the opportunity to become Prime Minister by claiming that title for himself,” the President charged.
Sources said his loyalists had met with former President Rajapaksa at his Mirihana residence last morning to determine how to respond to the President’s fiery assault on Tuesday.
Premajayantha however told reporters there were no moves to oust President Sirisena as UPFA leader. “Even if President Sirisena says Mahinda Rajapaksa is going to lose, our position is that he is going to win,” Premajayantha told the media outside the SLFP Headquarters.
SLFP General Secretary Anura Yapa also spoke to media after the meeting, saying the party’s sole aim was to defeat the UNP at the forthcoming election. “Today the SLFP is united,” Yapa said.
The SLFP General Secretary said the party would be making a decision about President Sirisena’s statement on Tuesday at the Central Committee meeting later last evening. “I don’t want to speak of these things publicly,” Yapa asserted.
Former UPFA Matara District MP and staunch Rajapaksa loyalist Dulles Alahapperuma criticised the President’s remarks on Tuesday saying it was the first time in the history of world politics that the leader of one party had declared he had dissolved parliament in order to rescue the leader of another. “I was shocked by the President’s statement,” Alahapperuma said.

MR to respond to MS at Anuradhapura rally

Mahinda Rajapaksa who is contesting as a UPFA candidate in the Kurunegala District at the August 17 parliamentary election, told reporters yesterday that his response to President Maithripala Sirisena’s speech on Tuesday would be made at the party’s maiden rally in Anuradhapura on Friday (17).

The former President who chaired a meeting at the SLFP’s Darley Road Headquarters yesterday, in an apparent attempt to wrest control of the UPFA’s election campaign, spoke to reporters on his way into the building.
President Sirisena claimed yesterday that he had stood firmly against Rajapaksa’s candidacy at the parliamentary election and predicted the ex President would be defeated in the August poll.

MS speech is motivating: UPFA

UPFA General Secretary Susil Premajayantha said that President Sirisena’s special statement has motivated all UPFA nominees as well as activists and supporters.

“President Sirisena expressed in his speech that Rajapaksa was going to lose again. Our main goal is to defeat United National Party (UNP). We believe it is a kind of a challenge. However we accept President Sirisena’s statement as a blessing since it has motivated us. Former President Rajapaksa will lead us for the victory,” Premajayantha emphasised.

Who changed Maithri’s mind?

Now the question is as to who instilled fear in Maithri’s mind that the UNP would get a two thirds majority? And, if Maithri decided on such a move based on intelligence reports, on what grounds did intelligence units prepare such a report.

by Upul Joseph Fernando

( July 14, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Indian Premier Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka after Maithripala Sirisena assumed the Presidency. He met Mahinda Rajapaksa too during that brief visit. Following that meeting, Mahinda displayed to his followers that he had received some blessings from Modi and this information reached New Delhi. After Modi returned to India the truth of what Modi told Mahinda was revealed.

Modi had told Mahinda that the latter had ruled Sri Lanka for two terms and was time for him to retire from politics to be at leisure. This had been Modi’s response when Mahinda had expressed his desire to return to active politics and looked for blessings from India. Modi had given a piece of advice but Mahinda did not want to reveal it thinking it would be detrimental to his desire to return to active politics.

Mahinda who declared his intention to return to active politics and gave an interview to a certain Indian media attempted to convince the Indians to get support towards his second journey in politics. During that interview Mahinda pointed out that Chinese investments and projects in Sri Lanka did not pose a threat to India and, he would like Ms. Sirima Bandaranaike did in 1962 would be a bridge to bring India and China together. Before Mahinda declared his desire to contest the upcoming general election in August, Chinese Navy Chief Zhao too made a similar statement to the media in China. Following is the report of that statement; “The Indian Ocean cannot be a backyard of India which Navies of other countries could not visit, the Chinese Ministry of Defence has said. As the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy expands its profile in the Indian Ocean with recent submarine visits to Sri Lanka and more recently Pakistan, its officials have moved to assuage India’s concerns by emphasizing its motivations were driven by trade and security and not aimed at India, Indian media reported.

Senior Captain Zhao Yi told visiting Indian journalists in Beijing on Tuesday that India had a “special role to play in stabilizing the Indian Ocean region”, but it could not be treated as its backyard.

“I admit that geographically speaking India has a special role to play in stabilizing the Indian Ocean region and South Asian region. But [for the Indian Ocean], backyard is not a very appropriate word to use for an open sea and international areas of sea,” he said. He said if the Indian side views the Indian Ocean as its backyard, it cannot explain why Navies from Russia, the United States and Australia have the right of free navigation in Indian Ocean. He said one American scholar had warned of the possibility of ‘clashes’ in the Indian Ocean. ‘I don’t agree,’ Senior Captain Zhao said, but added: “If some countries view it as their backyard, then this [possibility] could not be eliminated.” The Chinese experts did, however, acknowledge the need for more transparency, especially in the wake of concerns in Indian strategic circles over submarine visits by the PLAN to Sri Lanka last year and to Pakistan earlier this year. China described both visits as routine.

“When most submarines navigate we inform our neighbouring countries to reduce concerns and enhance mutual trust,” said Zhang Wei, Researcher of the PLA Navy Academic Institute. Zhang added that China’s attention on the Indian Ocean Region was driven by trade, with key energy imports passing through the waters. “The Chinese Navy’s presence in the Indian Ocean is to protect maritime security and of sea lines of communication. We should make efforts to strengthen trust. If there are still doubts and concerns of navigation in the Indian Ocean then I believe we haven’t done enough to enhance mutual trust,” said Zhang. (Business Standard and India Today)

The above report clearly manifested the Chinese attempt to bring back Mahinda to power and its agenda to show that Chinese funded projects in Sri Lanka never posed a threat to India and thereby seek Indian blessings. While the agendas of Mahinda and China drew similarities, Maithri’s decision to offer nominations to Mahinda yet remains a secret. When Maithri met Chandrika recently he pointed out to the latter that if the SLFP split, the UNP would get a two thirds majority to form a government and added that he was guided by intelligence reports to take a decision to offer nominations to Mahinda. He has also told the same story to representatives of civil organizations. They however, argued that Mahinda who won the terrorist war and held a general election in 2010 could not secure two thirds majority despite his popularity being at peak and pointed out that under the proportional representation system no single party could get that absolute majority.

Now the question is as to who instilled fear in Maithri’s mind that the UNP would get a two thirds majority? And, if Maithri decided on such a move based on intelligence reports, on what grounds did intelligence units prepare such a report. When Gamini Dissanayake who left the UNP and formed the DUNF wanted to return to the UNP under President D.B. Wijetunga, Ranil and Sirisena Cooray vehemently opposed Gamini’s re-entry. However, Wijetunga took Gamini on the National List and offered him a ministerial portfolio. It was said that a “3B’ system close to Wijetunga had helped to change Wijetunga’s mind to help Gamini make a return to the UNP. The ‘3B’ system is said to be; Black Money, Blackmail and Black Rist. So Gamini had convinced the ‘3B’ to change Wijetunga’s mind. The Black Rist Intelligence Unit had stated that if Gamini was taken back the UNP could win elections. This is not a proved theory so far. Ranil-Cooray camp worked contrary to those reports.

There are many rumours spreading about Mahinda’s nomination. Though there is no truth in those rumours, in this sport of politics Mahinda and China seem to have secured a temporary victory.

Thinking Of A President

By Hema Senanayake –July 15, 2015

Hema Senanayake

Peace and stability must be the focus of any development agenda. As the president of the country Maithripala Sirisena should have the same focus. Other than analyzing mere economic factors any macroeconomic analyst would concern about the political stability and peace of the country. Hence, with the same focus, I prefer to investigate the impact arising from the provision of nominations to former president Rajapaksa and his clan.

If the president Mathripala Sirisena had consciously decided rather than being succumbed to pressure to give nominations to Mahinda Rajapaksaand his group, in my view it was the best decision available for him to make after the Matara rally conducted by pro-Mahinda activists. But the decision president Sirisena made after the Nugegoda rally, held by the same group, possibly could not have been the best decision the president could have made. Being an economic analyst why do I say so?

As we know it in Sri Lanka racism is a severe threat to peace. All kind of racism is bad for the country. TNA did not give nominations to former LTTE members. Perhaps, TNA wants to deter racism in the North and East. In the South, prior to the nominations, pro-Mahinda activism wanted to be based its activities on Sinhala-Buddhist racism.

For an example, when Gotabaya Rajapaksa was summoned by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, pro-Mahinda activists were there in front of the Bribery Commission to protest against summoning Gotabaya. The activists who went there held a lion only flag instead of the real national flag. It was not an ad-hoc event; instead it symbolizes the true nature of protesters or the sentiment the protesters wanted to exploit. That sentiment was racism nothing else.

Then, the former president Mahinda himself began to use racist rhetoric during his rounds of visiting Buddhist temples. He openly alleged that the “Yahapalana government” was planning to close down critically important army camps in the North and East. He claimed that those camps were important to national security and closing down was a grave mistake. When TV channels went to North and East to report the true situation exist on the ground, finally it came up that in fact all those camps were closed down during his administration and none of the army camp was closed down under the Maithripala regime so far. Former president Mahinda should have known the factual situation but his intension was not talking about facts. Perhaps racism needs distorted facts.

(Lanka-e-News -15.July.2015, 11.30PM) Following the announcement made by president Maithripala Sirisena yesterday against Mahinda Rajapakse and exposing him ,the pro MaRa corrupt criminal groups turned hostile to the president and were seeking to create unrest by rising against Maithripala and opposing his position as president of the SLFP. They were therefore making hasty moves to summon a central committee meeting to chase away Maithripala , and make Mahinda Rajapakse the president of the SLFP again.

These ignorant crooks who know only corruption taught by their chieftain did not know however , a SLFP central committee meeting can be convened only by the SLFP president and no other. Hence , the Maithripala faction based on this had obtained an injunction order from court against the holding of the central committee meeting by the SLFP this evening.

The Colombo chief district judge Harsha Setunge issued the restraining order barring the holding of the meeting of the central committee without the approval of Maithripala Sirisena the SLFP president until the 29 th of next month.

In this petition filed by Prasanna Solangarachchi the former chairman of the Kotikawatte – Mulleriyawa local body , he has cited SLFP general secretary Anura Priyadharshana Yapa as the respondent .In the petition it had been averred that without the permission of the president of the party the cntral committee meeting cannot be held.

A group of lawyers includng Theeshya Weragoda and Lanka Dharmapeli made their submissions on behalf of the petitioner.

Meanwhile Susil Premajayantha and Anura Priyadharshana Yapa the notorious corrupt thieves of villaianous perfidious Alibaba their chieftain who at seventy even while fast gravitating towards the grave is acting naughty and is greedy for power like a kindergarten class child is greedy for toys only to destroy them , have held a meeting at the SLFP headquarters chaired by Mahinda Rajapakse with the particpation of Wimal Weerawansa , Dinesh Gunawardena , Dew and Vitharane who call themselves as party leaders (two penny half penny worth) when everyone treats them as codgers who have lost their utility not only in their own parties but even on earth, and therefore have no place in the sun unless they cling on to the cursed shawl of Rajapakse.They have at the meeting appointed Mahinda as the election operations chief (in addition to being their chief (Alibaba) of the thieves )

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by (2015-07-15 18:52:02)

Is Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa making a comeback?

A woman rides her bike past election posters of Sri Lanka's former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa for the upcoming general election

15 July 2015

Sri Lanka's former President Mahinda Rajapaksa will stand in parliamentary elections on 17 August as a candidate for the governing coalition, the Election Commission confirmed this week.

His successor as president, Maithripala Sirisena, leads the ruling party, but failed to prevent his rival standing as one of its candidates. BBC Sinhala's Azzam Ameen looks at what is going on.

Is Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa Making a Comeback by Thavam Ratna

JVP alleges both major parties lack financial integrity

By Shamindra Ferdinando-July 14, 2015

JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday alleged that those who had been attacking the UNP over controversial Central Bank transaction turned a blind eye to what happened during the Rajapaksa administration.

There had been a spate of questionable Central Bank transactions during that time though none of those UPFA politicians dared take up those questionable deals, former MP Dissanayake said. The JVPer was responding to The Island after having handed over nominations to contest the Colombo District.

Dissanayake recalled the Central Bank investment of about 22 mn Euros valued in 2011 at more than Rs. 3.4 bn in Greek government bonds in spite of that country experiencing an unprecedented financial crisis.

The previous government conveniently ignored the fact that the investment was made without securing approval from the Monetary Board, the JVP said, alleging the UPFA ignored even the basic financial rules and regulations.

Responding to a query, Dissanayake pointed out that those who had been critical of the foolish investment in Greek bonds, misuse of EPF funds as well as manipulation of financial market were either silent or compelled to defend the recent Central Bank transaction.

Both major political parties had proved repeatedly they didn’t care for financial integrity, Dissanayake said.

Strongly criticizing UNP’s attempts to hush up a parliamentary dossier on the alleged Central Bank bond scam, Dissanayake said the JVP had faith in the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE). The UNP’s handling of the alleged scam reflected its determination to protect those responsible regardless of dire consequences.

Referring to the investment made in Greek bonds, Dissanayake said that the previous government never examined the transaction though the then Auditor General questioned the viability of the Central Bank’s analysis on market conditions. The AG asserted the investment questionable.

The AG also noted that at the time the investment was made, the international rating agency Moody’s had downgraded Greece to "B1".

Dissanayake said that the UPFA and the UNP had disregarded revelations made by the AG, COPE as well as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). In fact, none of those politicians and officials who had been responsible for colossal losses had ever been punished though the COPE regularly tabled reports in parliament.

During Communist Party General Secretary Dew Gunasekera’s tenure as COPE Chairman, the watchdog committee submitted four reports, Dissanayake said. The JVPer said that the two major parties had proved over and over again that they weren’t interested in restoring financial integrity. Dissanayake asserted that it would be a grave mistake on the part of the electorate to believe either the UPFA or the UNP-led alliance could implement a genuine anti-corruption project. Dissanayake pointed out how the previous government bungled the preparation of a new Audit during the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s first term.

The JVP leader said that the country was facing a grave threat due to mismanagement of the national economy. Revelations made by the AG as well as the COPE had shed light on corrupt practices and questionable polices implemented by the two major parties, Dissanayake said.

Responding to another query, Dissanayake said that both major parties promoted economic hit-men. The country couldn’t make much headway though the war ended over six years ago due to corruption in both public and private sectors. The COPE had repeatedly shown how private-public partnership caused losses to the national economy, Dissanayake said, adding that a proper analysis of COPE and AG’s reports would expose those who had been masquerading as clean politicians.

Strong UNP Antidote To MR Challenge: Role For Ven. Sobitha Thero?

By Amrit Muttukumaru –July 15, 2015

Amrit Muttukumaru

This analysis is written in good faith in the interest of the country and the United National Party. Its objective is to demonstrate that all the brouhaha and panic in the aftermath of the Mahinda Rajapaksa nomination is misplaced if only the UNP asserts itself to its potential. For this to materialize its response must be principled.

The ‘old fox’ JRJ rightly castigated for foisting on us the monstrous executive presidency, had a lot going for him in some ways. He introduced proportional representation to shield the UNP when out of office with a critical mass of parliamentarians who would function as a powerful opposition. Obviously he did not bargain this will be ruined by the shortcomings of his protégé and kinsman Ranil Wickremesinghe. JRJ had the vision, confidence and above all fearlessness to have a credible second rung in the form of Lalith Athulathmudali, Gamini Dissanayake et al. It is remarkable that the ‘street-smart’ Ranasinghe Premadasa was able to outmanoeuvre these two strong personalities. At the same time one can have nothing but admiration for the manner in which Lalith and Gamini were able to build the DUNF from almost nothing into a formidable political force.

Compare this with the pathetic leadership of the UNP today. Although Wickremesinghe must bear major responsibility for this, this is not the whole story. Wasn’t there even one person in the UNP who had the guts and wherewithal to challenge him on a principled basis in the greater interest of the party and country? Citing the excuse of the autocratic UNP constitution does not wash. The fact is that Wickremesinghe (for the most part) stands tall in a sea of spineless mediocrity in the UNP of today.

I must stress that I only refer to the leadership skills of these personalities who had the capacity to politically challenge any opposition. I am aware of allegations of an assortment of wrongdoing by them.

Countervailing Power

There is no question the Rajapaksa presidency did monumental damage to the fabric and psyche of this country. It severely undermined democratic values and the rule of law. Corruption and violence reached unprecedented heights. People had to virtually look over their shoulders before passing any adverse comment on the regime. My premise is that none of these could have happened or at the very least reached such massive proportions if only the opposition led by UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had fulfilled its constitutional and moral responsibility. We must bear in mind that the UNP was always perceived to have the largest ‘bloc’ vote in the country. It may be so (arguably) even today. Undoubtedly the UNP even today is a powerful political force in this country. The question is what happened to this force during the 9 year Rajapaksa presidency?