Fake LTTE of Gota still in operation, many destructions in the south

 Sep 02, 2015

During the investigations of the missing journalist of Lanka e News Prageeth Ekneligoda the CID was able to reveal information’s about a fake LTTE group formed, preserved and operated by the Sri Lanka Army intelligence.

A group of LTTE members named “Tossi” who was serving for the LTTE intelligence and later surrendered to the Sri Lanka army was influenced by a group of army intelligence who were able to speak fluent Tamil has wielded this fake LTTE under the instructions of the ministry of defense. 
Thavendran (Sumathipala Suresh Kumar) a rehabilitated LTTE who was attached to the army intelligence following the end of the war now currently under police custody said the fake LTTE was preserving a camp in the Girithale jungle and Prageeth was a frequent visitor to this camp.

This fake LTTE organization was functioned in stealth without doubts and it has kept links with factual LTTE leaders. However information’s reveal that in spite of having a trustful relationship with the LTTE there were few terror operations conducted in the south following the orders of the organization.

Meantime CID reveals this fake LTTE organization has appeared as true LTTE representatives and continued its dealings with the LTTE organization abroad and with the Diaspora members.
However it was disclosed that following the end of the war this fake LTTE group was used for political murders. This group has consisted with 650 intelligence members and functioned as a large network.

Thavendran pukes 
Thavendran who was serving under the leadership of Gnanavel who was a leader of the LTTE secret service “Tossi”, has joined the army intelligence and conducted many operations following rehabilitation.

He has revealed information’s about many operations he did with the LTTE and with the army intelligence and the links he had with many organizations, people and mainstream media organizations in the south.

Based on the information’s revealed by Thavendran the CID would question the former army commander Sarath Fonseka and the former Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Meantime police headquarter reports confirm that the CID would take statements from the former army commander Jagath Jayasuriya, Major General Kapila Hendawitharana, Brigadier Wanniarachchi, Major General Amal Karunasekara and Major General Janmika Liyanage.

Split in the army 
The defense secretary with greatest difficulty gave permission to the CID on the 27th for further detain and investigate army intelligence lieutenant colonel Kumara Rathnayaka, lieutenant colonel Siriwardana, staff sergeant Rajapaksa and corporal Jayalath who were taken in to custody on suspicious grounds for the disappearance of Prageeth Ekneligoda. Before this the CID took a sergeant major in the army and two Tamil nationals including Thavendran into custody.

Heads of the army has urged the government not to betray the army intelligence officers who did a great service to defeat the LTTE militarily. They have warned the government stating that if the government fails to comply there would be possibilities that many secrets about military operations conducted in the north would be revealed.
When SATHHANDA inquired about this in the police headquarters with a senior police officer, he said if there is no hindrance from the government for the CID investigations conducted we would be able to expose many war crimes and disclose under whose instructions this was done.

வலுக்கட்டாயமாக துறவிகளாக்கப்படும் சிறுவர்கள்! பிக்குகளின் அட்டகாசம்

[ புதன்கிழமை, 02 செப்ரெம்பர் 2015, 03:02.01 PM GMT ]

பௌத்த மதம் மற்றும் ஏனைய மதங்களில், மத முன்னேற்றத்திற்கு சிறுவர்கள் இணைத்துக் கொள்ளப்படுகின்றனர்.

அவ்வாறு இணைத்துக் கொள்ளப்படும் சிறுவர்கள், அவர்களின் விருப்பமின்றியே இணைத்துக் கொள்ளப்படுகின்றனர்.

ஏனெனில், சிறுவர்களின் ஜாதகம் அல்லது பெற்றோருக்கு அவர்களை பராமரிக்க முடியாத சூழலில் இந்த சிறுவர்கள் மத முன்னேற்றத்திற்காக அவர்களுடைய மத நிறுவனங்களில் சேர்த்துக் கொள்ளப்படுகின்றனர்.

இவ்வாறு இளமைப் பருவத்தை இழந்து துறவியாகும் சிறுவர்களுடைய மனதில் கோபம், வைராக்கியம், சமுதாயத்தில் வெறுப்பு போன்ற உணர்வுகள் ஏற்படுகின்றன.

அதுமட்டுமின்றி, வலுக்கட்டாயமாக பௌத்த மதத்தில் சிறுவர்கள் துறவிகளாக்கப்படுகின்றனர். இதற்கு பெற்றோரும் சம்மதிக்க வேண்டிய சூழல் உருவாகின்றது.

அதனால் தான் வளர்ந்த துறவிகள் அரக்க குணமுடையவர்களாக உள்ளதை அவதானிக்க முடிகிறது என சிங்கள ஊடகமொன்று செய்தி வெளியிட்டுள்ளது.

‘AG is enemy of the country and friend of terrorists’ -Field Marshal Fonseka (video)

(Lanka-e-News -02.Sep.2015, 10.00AM)  If the attorney general (A.G.) of this country says ,  ‘K.P. has not committed any wrongs, and no case can be filed against him’ , this is an A.G . who is acting on behalf of terrorists , Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka pointed out .

When Lanka e news inquired from Fonseka in regard to A.G. ‘s advice to the appeal court that there are no adequate  charges which  warrant filing action against Kumaran Pathmanathan alias K.P. , the Field marshal gave the above answer.

Fonseka commenting further said :

''Even a small child in this country knows  who this K.P. is. During the period I was the arm commander , based on the full information available with the intelligence deivision it was K.P.who collected funds from foreign countries for the LTTE , and procured arms for them to fight the war . He collected them in huge amounts. Owing to that a number of precious and valuable lives of ours was  lost . Moreover , after Prabhakaran , it was K.P. who took over the LTTE leadership. The  photograph of K.P. in LTTE attire  posing  with Prabhakaran are seen everywhere .''

''Intelligence reports describe K.P. as a most dangerous terrorist. In such circumstances , if this country’s A.G. says, ‘K.P. has not committed any wrongs, and no case can be filed against him, ’ such an A.G. is not acting in the best interests of the country or justice. He is acting for and on behalf of terrorists ,'' Fonseka asserted .

''Earlier on , the ex defense secretary mollycoddled and pampered K.P. owing to his  greed for K.P.’s ships and colossal wealth . It is based on that same principle the present A.G. is trying to safeguard K.P.''

''Hence , if the A.G. despite all these facts and evidence says , this traitor K.P. is innocent and has done no harm to this country , the A.G.  himself has taken over the role of a  villain and enemy against the country and the security forces. He is traitorously acting in dereliction of his responsibilities and duties towards the people and the State .''

''Therefore the authorities and the upper crust of  the hierarchy will have to take action against him. The country or the people cannot expect justice or protection of the rule of law from such an A.G.,'' Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka emphasized. 

Video tape of Fonseka is hereunder 

---------------------------
by     (2015-09-02 05:36:16)

The Coca-Cola Incident – Are we the next Plachimada?

Image courtesy Killer Coke

by Ariesha Wikramanayake 

- on 09/02/2015 

On August 17th 2015, the Coca Cola factory in Sri Lanka leaked diesel fuel into the Kelani River, polluting the water supply for millions of Sri Lankans living in suburban Colombo.  The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational company that is a global leader in the beverage industry.  Although the company is a universally recognized, iconic institution, over the past few years, it has been involved in a number of unconscionable environmental issues, particularly in relation to its unsustainable water use practices. Several of these issues have impacted the environment in severe ways and thereby adversely affected the lives and livelihoods of millions of people who call the areas in which Coca-Cola chooses to manufacture its products, home.

Currently, Sri Lanka is asking for an apology and attempting to fine the company; however, most seem unaware of the adverse impacts that Coca-Cola could potentially cause, and in fact, have already caused in several other communities. One such community is Plachimada, a small fishing and agricultural village in the Palakkad district of Kerala, India. In 1999, the Government of Kerala invited a subsidiary of the Coca Cola company in India to establish a plant in Plachimada. Within two years, the residents of Plachimada began to feel the impacts of the factory, which included severe water shortages and water pollution. The story of what happened there is similar to what is happening in Sri Lanka today.

Coca Cola left Plachimada with dangerously high levels of cancer-causing cadmium and lead in the soil, which led to crop failures and further contamination of its precious groundwater. In response, the people were forced to start a grass-roots movement to stop the company from further exploiting and contaminating the natural resources of the area. Finally, in August 2006, the Government of Kerala and the State Food Authority banned the manufacture and sale of Coca Cola in Kerala alleging that further investigation found pesticides and harmful chemicals in the products. Events like these have occurred in other areas in the country, such as Wada in Maharashtra and Mehdiganj in Uttar Pradesh, and several other communities have opposed proposed Coca Cola facilities for similar reasons. The events in Plachimada may prove to have been more severe than what happened recently in the Kelani River; however, more often than not problems that began with water contamination were only a precursor to further violations, especially when left unregulated. Often, additional issues and hazards were discovered only after the facility was systematically investigated.

The Sri Lankan Government should take Kerala as an example and in doing so make an example out of the Coca Cola Company by taking a timely and strong stance against it. After the Plachimada crisis, the Government of Kerala took steps to draft the Kerala Groundwater (Control and Regulation Act) in 2002, which has since helped the community to protect and redevelop their groundwater resources. The Sri Lankan government should do everything in its power to protect its natural resources and its citizens.  Currently the government is being pressured to reduce the fine that was imposed on the company and to settle the case in a manner favorable for Coca Cola. However, it is very important that we stand our ground to prevent Sri Lankans from suffering like the residents of Plachimada. It is also necessary that Coca Cola take responsibility for its mistake, especially since the company frequently attempts to project a image of environmental support, and has “green-washed” its products—even using the poster child of climate change as a façade. This is why the government should fine Coca Cola a well-deserved and significant fine to deter similar irresponsible behavior in the future and set up environmental policy regulations to prevent companies from taking advantage of and polluting our country’s resources.

It is equally important that the Government of Sri Lanka should inform the public of the facts of the incident and demonstrate their interest in protecting the citizens of this country.  Residents of Colombo and suburbs are not fully aware of the health implications of this incident.

Coca Cola should cover the full reparatory cost of cleaning the water supply in addition to a penalizing fine and permit environmental authorities to test their systems periodically.  If Coca Cola does not comply, it would be worth considering the option of banning the manufacturing of Coca Cola in Sri Lanka to prevent our country from suffering from the same damages as Kerala.

An apology hardly suffices because let’s face it – The Coca Cola Company might think that “Coke adds Life” (1976), but we know better!

Ariesha Wikramanayake is a final year undergraduate student at University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida. She is double majoring in Biology and Ecosystems Science and Policy.

###

References:

Chacko, Robin. “The Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd – The Plachimada Fiasco.” Jananeethi. (2005): 7-32. Print.

Government of Kerala. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. State Profile of Kerala 2010-2011. Thrissur: MSME- Development Institute, 2011. Web.

Mathews, Rohan. “The Plachimada Struggle against Coca Cola in Southern India.” DPH. Intercultural Resources.

Operandi, Modus. “Water: the Coca Cola Company in Kerala.” Openrim.org. (2007): Web.

“Case against Coca-Cola Kerala State: India.” Righttowater. The Rights to Water and Sanitation. Web.

“Coke’s Crimes in India.” Coke’s Crimes. Killercoke.org. Web.

Koonan, Sujith. “Legal Implications of Plachimada.”International Environmental Law Research Centre. (2007): 1-17. Print.

“Coca-Cola: News & Events.” Coca-Cola Enterprises . The Coca-Cola Company.

Other References Not Cited:

“Indians force Coca-Cola bottling facility in Plachimada to shut down, 2001-2006.” Global Nonviolent Action Database. Swarthmore College.

Surendranath, C. “Coca-Cola: Continuing Battle in Kerala”. India Resource Center, 10 Jul 2003. Web.

Majumder, Sanjoy. “Indian state bans Pepsi and Coke.”British Broadcasting Corporation [New Delhi] 9 August 2006.

Protesters block first paddy stocks entering Mattala

September 2, 2015 

A protest is currently underway near the Mattala Airport, blocking lorries from entering the premises with the first stock of paddy to be stored at the airport. 

The storing the surplus paddy harvest of Hambantota district at unused warehouses at the Mattala Airport commenced today.

One lorry carrying paddy stocks, which are to be stored at an unused section of the airport, had entered the premises this morning, however protesters had prevented two more lorries from entering.

The protesters state that using the international airport to store paddy cannot be allowed and that it should not be used for such a purpose. 

Sri Lanka’s second international airport, built at a cost of USD 210 million, could be used as a temporary paddy storage facility.

The Chair of the state-owned Paddy Marketing Board (PMB), M D Dissanayake in a letter to the Southern Regional Manager W S Thilakaratne had recently explored the possibility of using the airport’s facilities for paddy storage.

All PMB paddy stores in Hambantota have reached full capacity and the PMB needs additional storage space. 

Relevant authorities had alter granted approval for the proposal. 

The Mattala Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport, built with Chinese funds, at the southern port district of Hambantota was commissioned in 2013.

Congolese rebel Bosco Ntaganda faces war crime charges

WEDNESDAY 02 SEPTEMBER 2015

The former Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda pleads not guilty to 18 charges of war crimes at the International Criminal Court today.

The 41 year old faces charges of rape, mass murder and recruiting child soldiers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ntaganda, whose brutal actions earned him the nickname "The Terminator", is accused of presiding over the deaths of hundreds of civilians between 2002 and 2003.

Prosecutors claim the warlord masterminded ethnic massacres in the mineral-rich northeastern Congolese province of Ituri, which are thought to have claimed the lives of more than 60,000 people since 1999.

The International Criminal Court first issued a warrant for his arrest in 2006, but he managed to evade capture and instead led the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo and The National Congress for the Defence of the People - both of which are thought to have committed human rights abuses under his rule.

In 2008 Channel 4 News filmed the aftermath of a village massacre which was allegedly performed by troops under his command.

Instead, he was absorbed into the Congolese army as part of the peace process in 2009 where he was appointed a general and commander of up to 50,000 soldiers.

Whilst in the role he enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle, frequently being pictured in expensive restaurants and at sporting events despite his international arrest warrant.

In 2012 he defected from the army and created a new rebel group, the M23. It is alleged that a power struggle within the group caused Ntaganda to surrender voluntarily to the United States embassy in Kigali, Rwanda just a year after the group's formation. Once at the embassy he requested to be sent to the Hague.

His trial is set to be the ICC's most prominent to date. Prosecutors have amassed more than 8,000 pages of evidence and intend to call more than 80 witnesses, including more than 70 victims.

However critics have pointed out that the trial against Ntaganda only focuses on crimes committed in Ituri, which ignores numerous other war crimes which were allegedly committed by troops under his command in the following years.

China chemical factory blast death toll rises to 5

The chemical factory after the explosion in Lijin county, Wednesday. Pic: AP.

By AP News Sep 02, 2015

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese state media say the death toll from an explosion at a chemical factory in eastern China has risen to five.

The factory that produces adhesive materials exploded on Monday night in Lijin county in Shandong province.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday that at least five people had been confirmed dead, citing local authorities. On Monday the toll was reported as one.

Xinhua said the cause of the blast was under investigation.

This image of last night’s chemical blast was tweeted by People’s Daily. Pic: Twitter.

The blast came nearly three weeks after massive chemical warehouse explosions in Tianjin — just 300 kilometers (190 miles) away — exposed lax enforcement of safety regulations.

The Tianjin blasts killed at least 158 people. The warehouses were closer to homes than is allowed under safety regulations, and they were storing too much hazardous material.

Obama wins enough Senate support for Iran deal

US President Barack Obama, surrounded by a number of lawmakers, including Barbara Mikulski (C) D-MD, in the White House, in Washington DC on 29 January 2009 (AFP) 

Wednesday 2 September 2015
With Democrat Barbara Mikulski's support, Iran nuclear deal now has 34 backers in Senate - the number needed to uphold Obama's veto 

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday earned sufficient congressional backing to ensure the Iran nuclear deal does not get blocked, when a 34th senator announced her support for the accord.

Most US lawmakers are opposed to the deal, which would ease punishing economic sanctions on Tehran while preventing it from advancing its nuclear program. Many Republicans warn that the Islamic republic will seek to cheat its way to an atomic bomb.

Should Congress pass a resolution that disapproves of the deal, Obama would veto it. Overcoming the veto would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate and House of Representatives.

With veteran Senate Democrat Barbara Mikulski announcing her support Wednesday, the deal now has 34 backers in the Senate -- the number needed to uphold Obama's veto.

While the deal is not perfect, Mikulski said, "I have concluded that this Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is the best option available to block Iran from having a nuclear bomb."

She added that while she will vote for the deal, "Congress must also reaffirm our commitment to the safety and security of Israel."

Republicans are unified in their opposition to the Iran accord, warning that the easing of sanctions will provide Iran with a windfall of up to $150 billion, which they say could be funnelled toward terrorist operations or actions against US ally Israel.

Democrats "own it," number two Senate Republican John Cornyn posted on Twitter. "Iran deal done. With Mikulski, Obama has all the votes he needs."

Kerry makes the case

Secretary of State John Kerry, in Philadelphia to deliver a major speech on the Iran deal, said the Islamic republic will be required to live up to the agreement in full, including taking steps to expand its weapons breakout time, before it starts to benefit from sanctions relief.

"Without this agreement, Iran's so-called breakout time was about two months. With this agreement it will increase by a factor of six, to at least a year, and will remain at that level for a decade or more," Kerry said.

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✔@cspan

Now LIVE on C-SPAN: SecState @JohnKerry remarks on #IranDeal at @ConstitutionCtr http://www.c-span.org/video/?327906-1/secretary-state-john-kerry-iran-nuclear-agreement&live …

11:05 AM - 2 Sep 2015

Two top Democratic senators -- Chuck Schumer and Robert Menendez -- are opposed to the deal, as are a handful of House Democrats, including Steve Israel, the chamber's highest-ranking Jewish member.

Congress is set to vote later this month on the accord, which was reached in July between Tehran and six world powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

The White House is now eyeing another key threshold in the Senate. Should 41 senators back Obama, they could filibuster, meaning Republicans would not have the 60 votes needed to advance the resolution of disapproval.

That would save Obama the embarrassing step of cobbling together a minority coalition for a veto to preserve his landmark agreement, a process that would sow doubts among an already skeptical American public and Washington's international partners, which are keen to see strong US commitment to the accord.

Among Democrats in support, many have expressed deep concern about Iran's adherence to the accord, and stressed it is the lesser of several evils.

"The alternative, to me, is a scenario of uncertainty and isolation," Senator Chris Coons said Tuesday as he announced support for the accord.

Republican candidates in the 2016 presidential race have slammed the Iran deal as a concession to an odious regime.

"When I'm president, we won't just reverse President Obama's dangerous Iran deal. We will increase sanctions on Iran," Senator Marco Rubio said.

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Cheney: Obama will regret his "train wreck" Iran deal http://hill.cm/j2N9lNo 

11:50 AM - 2 Sep 2015

- See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/obama-wins-enough-senate-support-iran-deal-1805614501#sthash.6qQ0c5Uv.dpuf

The Great Unraveling

(Photo: Gage Skidmore/flickr/cc)

by Chris Hedges-

Monday, August 31, 2015

The ideological and physical hold of American imperial power, buttressed by the utopian ideology of neoliberalism and global capitalism, is unraveling. Most, including many of those at the heart of the American empire, recognize that every promise made by the proponents of neoliberalism is a lie. Global wealth, rather than being spread equitably, as neoliberal proponents promised, has been funneled upward into the hands of a rapacious, oligarchic elite, creating vast economic inequality. The working poor, whose unions and rights have been taken from them and whose wages have stagnated or declined over the past 40 years, have been thrust into chronic poverty and underemployment, making their lives one long, stress-ridden emergency. The middle class is evaporating. Cities that once manufactured products and offered factory jobs are boarded up-wastelands. Prisons are overflowing. Corporations have orchestrated the destruction of trade barriers, allowing them to stash $2.1 trillion in profits in overseas banks to avoid paying taxes. And the neoliberal order, despite its promise to build and spread democracy, has hollowed out democratic systems to turn them into corporate leviathans.

The Great Unraveling by Thavam Ratna

The CIA and the Media: 50 Facts the World  Needs to Know By Prof. James F. Tracy-August 28, 2015 Since the end of World War Two the Central Intelligence Agency has been a major force in US and foreign news media, exerting considerable influence over what the public sees, hears and reads on a regular basis. CIA publicists and journalists alike will assert they have few, if any, relationships, yet the seldom acknowledged history of their intimate collaboration indicates a far different story–indeed, one that media historians are reluctant to examine.

The CIA and the Media 50 Facts the World Needs to Know by Thavam Ratna

Could Trash Talk Bring Iran and Saudi Arabia Together?

A modest proposal for how Lebanon’s garbage could bring an end to the fiercest rivalry in the Middle East.

BY KIM GHATTAS-SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

What’s the connection between the garbage piling up on the streets of Lebanon and the war in Syria? The geopolitical rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia. I’m not kidding: Solve one, and you may start enough of a dialogue to solve the other.

The whole Arab world stinks. Don’t get me wrong, I love the region with all its faults, beauty, diversity, and insanity, but the garbage is piling up — and it’s starting to reek. From Egypt to Saudi Arabia, the most common way to handle solid waste, including industrial waste, is to dump it in landfills or in the desert. Cities like Cairo have also long struggled to get a handle on waste management, with a “garbage city” sprouting up in the slums, filling up with the 15,000 tons of waste produced every day by the metropolis.

In tiny Lebanon, however, there’s only so far you can go to hide your trash. Now, a garbage crisis is the smelly icing on the cake of political paralysis, threatening to erupt into wider unrest.

On Tuesday, activists with a civil protest campaign stormed the ministry of environment demanding the resignation of the minister, Mohammad Machnouk. More than a month into a crisis that has seen garbage piling up on the streets of the capital and haphazard dumping and burning of piles of trash around the country, the minister’s only apparent initiative so far had been to remove himself from the cabinet committee tasked with finding a solution.

“You Stink” is the slogan of the protest campaign and the message that outraged citizens have in unison for their politicians, who have failed repeatedly to deliver basic services, from garbage collection to running water and electric power — all the while blaming regional events for their own failures.

The war raging next door in Syria has hung over Lebanon like a cloud since 2011, paralyzing the country’s ability to make basic decisions. The conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran pervades every aspect of politics in Beirut: The pro-Iranian Shiite militant group Hezbollah is fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, while the collection of mostly Sunni and Christian politicians that oppose Assad are aligned with Riyadh or the West. As a result, every political party and politician has a stake in how the war in Syria ends. But because of its newly expanded regional role fighting battles from Syria to allegedly Yemen, Hezbollah is the party with the most power (including military) to block any progress and strangle Lebanon’s institutions while the country is in waiting mode.

Lebanon has been headless since April 2014 when the last president’s term came to an end — the stunning result of 26 failed attempts by parliament to elect a replacement (though the legislative body did conveniently manage to extend its own term). Neither Saudi Arabia nor Iran is willing to give the other camp the throne in Beirut before a victor is declared in Damascus. And this being Lebanon, of course, no political party or politician has had the bright idea to ignore outside patrons and find a workable solution together.

The country has been muddling through, deferring decisions on anything that’s not a life or death matter. But with a disempowered parliament and cabinet, appointments of civil servants and new military commanderspostponed, public institutions have been slowly crumbling.

This abdication of responsibility by Lebanon’s politicians, spurred by the Syrian conflict and the Saudi-Iranian tug of war, has now led to the trash piling up on the streets of Beirut. It all began when the country’s only landfill shut down in July. The Naameh landfill started as a temporary solution in 1998 and by July was 13 million tons over capacity. With nowhere to take the trash, garbage collectors have left it festering on the streets. This coincided with the trash company’s contract coming to end after repeatedly being renewed with no competitive outside bidding. Somehow, no one in the cabinet saw this coming.

Why should you care about Lebanon’s garbage? It’s not only disfiguring a fantastic summer holiday destination — it threatens to destabilize one of the only countries left in the region with a semblance of stability and a vibrant civil society. (I’ve already written about the importance of preserving Lebanon’s model of moderation for the future of the Middle East.)

But in a country with 18 different government-recognized sects and where power is split between Christians and Muslims, even garbage becomes sectarian. Residents angry about the stench in their neighborhoods have been hiring private truck drivers to dump the trash under the cover of night elsewhere. So the garbage of the Christians from the posh neighborhood of Achrafieh ended up in northern Lebanon’s poor and mainly Sunni Akkar region, threatening to exacerbate already tense religious divides.

“It leads to a whole debate across communities about who is the dumpster and who is [the rich] garbage producer,” said Antoine Haddad, secretary-general of the Democratic Renewal Movement.

When incinerators had to be built years ago, decision-makers were careful to ensure that one was placed in a Christian area and the second in a Muslim district. No one wanted to single out a specific community as the country’s “dump,” so the shame was shared equally.

Needless to say, politics and corruption play a significant role in Lebanon’s waste management policy. The landfill is located in the fiefdom of one politician, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, while the very profitable trash collection company, Sukleen, was awarded the cleaning contract by the cabinet of Rafik Hariri, the former prime minister who was assassinated in 2005 and whose son was also a recent prime minister. Hezbollah, which has members in the cabinet, turned a blind eye to the repeated contract renewals without competitive bidding, despite the outrageously high cost of Sukleen’s services, in return for favors elsewhere.

“The absence of trash collectors for even one day had more impact on our lives than the absence of our politicians for a whole year,” said environmental activist Paul Abi Rached at one of the You Stink movement’s demonstrations.

Of course, the Lebanese always love to blame their mess on outside powers. But if you look at the history of interference, invasions, and occupations by countries near and far, the blame game isn’t exactly unwarranted.

Perhaps for once, the Lebanese really should be encouraged to call on outside interference. This is not taking anything away from the powerful civil society street protests that have taken to the streets. The very diverse, nonsectarian, nonpolitical demonstrators expressing a combination of outrage and despair of a people pushed to the brink serve as a reminder of what the Arab uprisings were about: a better life, basic services, and an end to corruption. But the reality is that all the protests can probably do is awaken the leadership in the region to the urgent need to pressure their local allies to get their collective act together.

There has been a flurry of diplomatic activity in the Middle East in the last few weeks. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir visited Moscow, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem showed up in Oman, and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif came to Beirut. Much of this diplomacy is tied to trying to solve the Syrian conflict, but no one appears willing to concede an inch yet — especially not on the question of Assad’s fate, which has been a central sticking point in talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The rivalry between the two countries seems to drive every crisis in the region, and there’s not a whiff of détente in sight yet. It’s time to look for confidence-building measures: With the region’s major crises in Syria and Yemen still too big to resolve, Lebanon’s landfills may be a more manageable problem.

Why should the Iranians and Saudis stoop to this level? Because their allies in Lebanon are now drowning in garbage, and the government will soon be unable to pay public servants’ salaries — turning a barely functioning state into a failed one. Neither Riyadh nor Tehran have any interest in the complete collapse of Lebanon or an outbreak of violence. And when it comes to recycling, both Iran and Saudi Arabia already are aware of the cash-making opportunity it represents.

After cleaning up the streets and winning hearts and minds in Beirut, perhaps the Saudis and Iranians can agree on a consensus candidate for president of Lebanon. Too often problems in the region are swept under the carpet or dumped out of sight. The greater cause of the moment — from war with Israel, to fighting terrorism, to countering Iran or whatever enemy du jour — is endlessly invoked as an excuse to avoid attending to citizens’ basic needs. It’s time to start small — with recycling. The steep slope to a solution in Syria may look closer if Riyadh and Tehran can climb halfway up an overflowing landfill.

Photo credit: JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images